Eternal Darkness (A Novel of the Amagarians Book 1) (15 page)

“Why has food
been left?”

“My sister Tehdra is aware of
my arrival.”

“Oh,” Saieke
said softly.

He placed her gently on her feet, clasping her waist from behind. “You are my mate, and it is not something I
can undo.”

He patiently waited while she gathered her emotions and thoughts. “What does being your mate mean and why am
I
your mate?”

“I do not fully understand how is it that you are my mate, as you are not a Darkan and have no beast to connect with mine. We have connected with you psychically and that can only be done
with mates.”

She drifted away from him and sank into the heat of the water. She needed its comfort as she prayed that him claiming her as his mate did not mean what she thought
it meant.

“It seems as if the connection was formed through the swapping of
our blood.”

“You knew this
would happen?”

“I did not.” A cold and remote statement. “No Darkan has ever mated with anyone outside of our
kind before.”

“Are you sure I am your mate?” She queried tentatively, hoping he might
be wrong.

“Your taste and scent calls to me and my beast. And more importantly, my beast wants to protect you above all. It has only ever wanted to consume
and destroy.”

She absorbed that silently. “I’m frightened, Drac.”

“It is never my intent to let
you fear.”

“What does it mean for me that you say I am
your mate?”

Ours
slid across her mind like a
gentle breeze.

“You are the Princess
of Boreas.”

Ours

“Am I changing into
a Darkan?”

He lifted his brows. “That is impossible. You are born a Darkan, one cannot
be created.”

“How is it that you know? I am seeing in the dark with perfect vision and I can smell your scent. Its driving me crazy and all I can think is that I want you inside me again and drinking my blood…which should be the furthest thing from my mind as I feel I can barely move from all that we did earlier,” she said, flushing.

She did not even startle when he appeared
before her.

“I have never heard of anyone in Amagarie consuming the blood of my kind. It was a compulsion that rode me hard for you to taste me. It came from my beast and
consumed me.”

She narrowed her eyes. “Legend on Earth claims that humans can be turned into vampyres when bitten by Darkans,”
she retorted.

Amusement glowed in his eyes. “Our legends are far removed from what actual
Darkans are.”

“Yes, but many truths lie in legends.” She glared at him. “What if that aspect is true? You have only ever taken my blood and you said never before in your history has any Darkan mated outside of
their selves.”

“Why are
you afraid?”

Saieke bit her lips hard. “I can feel your possessiveness. I intend to return to my kingdom and I am afraid that you will say that I cannot leave as you have claimed me,”
she whispered.

“You are my mate, but I have not
claimed you.”

Oh!
Because she was weak. The knowledge hurt when it should not have. “Because you believe me to be fragile,” she
said hoarsely.

He cocked his head and a cruel smile edged his lips. “That is but one aspect. You are the progeny of the kingdom of wind and mountains. I cannot simply
keep you.”

He did not seem ruffled at the thought she would go back to her nation. “Are you saying it does not matter if
I leave?”

“Yes”

“So I am not your mate?” she snapped, almost confused
with herself.

She was not even sure why she was asking. After all, the fear that he would refuse her departure had been dispelled, so nothing else should
concern her.

“You are mine and only mine. There will never be another for me. Because of our beasts we can mate only once. You fascinate me. Your laughter, your smiles, your generosity, your impulsiveness, your body, your scent and your taste; you sway me like nothing
else could.”

Saieke’s breath hitched at the pain of loss that scythed through his
chakra
. The burning need to soothe him almost crippled her. She understood why he would relinquish her. If there was even a chance loving her could mean the loss of his self like his brother, he would
deny her.

“Would you have claimed me if I was a Darkan?” She could not understand the need to know, but it pressed in
on her.

“If you were a Darkan who accepted her demon…yes.”

She hated the pain twisting through her veins. “
I see.”

“I can feel your pain and I do not
understand it.”

She flicked her hand and the water rose in a wave that pushed her swiftly toward him. It molded her to him and the heat from him was sharp and sublime. “I only for a moment imagined what it would be like…if I was yours and you
were mine.”

Haunting shadows shifted in his eyes. She twined her hands around his neck and kissed him. Their tongues stroked and soothed, and she did not hesitate when she felt the insidious scrape across her mind. She opened completely to his probe and absorbed the full essence of man and beast. The fascination, gentleness and uncertainty balanced the other brutal emotions that swamped her mind. She shifted through them and absorbed them into her essence. She gently pulled her lips from his. “The way you fascinate me makes me apprehensive. I seem to ache for
you constantly.”

The sensual smile that slashed his mouth had her heart leaping
in excitement.

“You smile…” she whispered as she traced the curve of his lips. “I am not sure I will ever get used to such an intrusion against my mind. Is it that you are able to read my inner
most thoughts?”

“You are my only mate, I am untutored
as well.”

Saieke laughed huskily. “Did you make a jest, Drac?”

“No, I only speak in absolutes. You will be my
only mate.”

Her
heart lurched.

“Why do you fear at the mere mention of mate? I will not hold you to
a claiming.”

How could he be so accepting of such a position? From what he said there would be no other for him. He was willing to live without love or companionship until his death? Even though she had sworn never to be weak to the idea of love, she always knew she would marry and find happiness with her king. Never would she consign herself to a lifetime of loneness, without even knowing the joy of having a family for herself. “You speak with such convictions of never claiming me.” After a hesitant breath she continued, “I must return to Boreas to fulfill the honor bargain and to nullify the blood-oath to Nuria. I am not sure I will ever be able to return to
the Darkage.”

Hooded eyes seemed to devour her face as he took in every nuance of
her expressions.

“I can feel the fear that is in your heart. It is repulsive
to me.”

“It is not intentional. I do not fear that you will bring harm. I fear the loss of myself. I ache to be with you, yet I hardly know you. I crave you even knowing my kingdom would never accept you as my
royal consort.”

Saieke tried not to recoil from the insidious brush against her mind. “I want to know you…but
I cannot.”

“Open your mind to me and I will
show you.”

“What do
you mean?”

“
Lei
allow us to connect as one. I can share my memories. They will come to you as how I
experienced them.”

“I thought I was your only mate?” she
queried archly.

He chuckled. “I only know
in theory.”

“Show me,”
she demanded.

Let me in

Her body softened into his. She flinched instinctively against the stronger push into her mind, and then the abyss opened. Darkness seeped in and she whimpered. The hatred and rage, the cruelty, and the unadulterated blood-thirstiness shook her. Unwittingly she reached out to him through
the connection.

Drac

“Never at you,” he whispered. “These are the emotions my essence thirsts and lives for. It is a part of me, never to
be separated.”

Its malevolence is enough to destroy
any soul
.

After a tense pause he answered,
we
are one
.

Saieke forced her limbs to relax as the oppressive feelings tried to dominate her mind. How did he bear it? She tried to shift through the mire of darkness to
see truth.

Harm to you is not something we would
ever condone.

Gentleness reached out to her seeking to soothe. The strangeness of it in the midst of such rage and cruelty confused her. It was more than gentleness…stamped with possessiveness
and love?

“What are you showing me?”
she whispered.

“I want you not to fear the beast inside
of me.”

“Why do you not suppress this darkness as
Lachlan does?”

When you do not have power those precious to you can be snatched from
your arms.

A collage of thoughts, memories, their impressions clear and precise, tunneled through her mind like the rushing waters of a river. What accompanied the images were feelings. The depth of loyalty he felt to King Rajliegh—Gidon’s father—as Drac had bonded himself to his cadre. His ruthless resolve as he lowered his psychic shield to learn darkness and hone it as a weapon to become stronger—stronger to fight, to protect his king’s throne, his family and his kingdom, as they fought the subjugation of the dark era they lived in. The pain and terror at watching his brother succumb to evil. His feelings, as darkness and power beckoned and seduced, and his triumph at bonding with the beast inside. Images of her fighting the Mevians; of her fleeing to his world; of him drinking her blood; of being inside of her body, coalesced and sank into Saieke. The primal attraction, the lust, the desire, the need to protect and love her, bled from him
into her.

Saieke wrenched her mind from the depths of his, breaking the connection. The intensity of the emotions shook and
humbled her.

“You are
still afraid.”

“No…yes…only because I feel so much for you. You have a beast claiming me. What do I have to explain my desire for you?” she
asked rawly.

“My beast only detected what I would eventually come to know because of its heightened senses. Its powers allowed me to see faster, what I would have discovered even without its essence. Our animalistic essence allows us to find a mate that soothes the constant need to blood let with her smiles, her body, and her love. You are my mate, Saieke.”

Yet you do not
want me.

“I want you with every breath in
my body.”

She gasped. She had not expected him to hear her inner
most thought.

“Will you allow me to
court you?”

Her eyes widened. “
Court me?”

His lips twitched. “Yes…I do not think I have the willpower to stay away for unending years, maybe only for a
few hundred.”

Emotions clogged her throat. Uncertainty, even fear, but the sheer excitement that rushed through her at his words frightened her more than she thought possible. She felt lost in his need and desires. They scared her because they were also her desires.
Yes

Good

I think I am falling in love with you, Darkan

Penetrating eyes rested on her face.
The woman you are would never do what your grandmother did. Everything you have done is for
your people.

Yet if I allow myself to love you…to ache for you as I do now, when the choice comes, what will
I do?

He smiled.
Do you doubt you would find a way to save everyone you love? You would not be forced into a choice that would test your loyalty, duty
or love.

Her heart ached. She drew his mouth down and kissed him with voracious hunger, assuaging the heat and need that pelted within her. Pleasure rose, dark and stormy, as Saieke sank into the world that Drac seemed determined to pull her into—one of danger, lust, uncertainty and
pure decadence.

“Anxiety beats in
your breast.”

“I think that may be your breath against my nipples,” Saieke said as he flicked his tongue stabbing at
her nipple.

He lay between her legs, with his head resting between the globes of her breasts. She hazily looked around the room. “It is troubling to know that I see and hear so much more. Yet I find it exciting.” She purred as he laved the sharp nip at her nipple. She smiled; the most dangerous man she knew lay on top of her completely
at ease.

“Our libraries have extensive records of our kinds, tomes, scroll, great books, they are centuries old. I invite you to look
with me.”

“I would love that.” She
sighed softly.

“I sent a team of warriors to hunt for your Queen’
s blades.”

Relief pulsed in her. “Thank you. I was groomed with the thought that they were dispensable. Their duty is to give their lives for mine in service to the realm…but I hurt at the idea of
their death.”

“It is normal to feel a bond with ones that trained you, Princess. Do you want vengeance on
their behalf?

Saieke shifted. “Vengeance? You perceive them
as dead?”

He grunted, and then pulled her sharply back onto his body. “The emperor of Mevia is famed for claiming prisoners. I can feel the guilt lashing at you. Why do you feel
such emotions?”

“They were loyal to me, my blades, because of my plan, they are now dead or prisoners. Kamu had a
tsari
—a wife. Thyon had the court ladies fawning over him, he lost his family in the second Great War, but he had his duty to the realm that gave him purpose. I led them to their demise, but what is most painful is that I do not know their fate, so I can impart news to their
loved ones.”

“I will retrieve knowledge of your Queen’s blades. If need be, I will personally travel
to Mevia.”

“I… I…”

“Was that pulse of fear for my safety?”
he drawled.

Saieke glared at him. “It is not a matter to be
amused about.”

“Do you understand what I am?” asked so dangerously soft Saieke bit
her lips.

“Yes.”

“Then why do you feel fear for
my safety?”

Because I am falling in love with everything that you are
. Saieke looked at the resolve that lined his face, reassured by the latent violence she saw there. “There may be times I forget your power, like now, when you are purring on me like a
big kitten.”

She laughed at the look of surprise that flickered across his face. She held onto him as he grabbed her and
shiktred
with her to the cave. Saieke shrieked with laughter as he dumped her into the water. She spluttered as she surfaced. His mouth flittered over hers before sinking into a
deeper kiss.

“You make me burn,”
he murmured.

She chuckled in his mouth as she doused him with water. She blew against his lips and ice crackled along his frame. She yelped as shadows cascaded around her and swallowed. Saieke splayed her hands against his hardened stomach, reveling in the heat of him. He cocooned her in the shadows, and she could see nothing except the paleness of
his face.

“I leave soon.” She loved the raw intimacy the cocoon he held them
in created.

“I can feel your doubts rising, Princess.” He nipped her lips sharply, then used his tongue to capture the drop of blood
that beaded.

“I am but anxious about what will unfold upon my return. How will the Nurian king and my lieges react to my impurity? And the Mevians’ attack must be reported. Their actions hold frightening implications. Only my Queen’s blades and my closest friend Rai knew of my plans
to flee.”

“The Nurian king has no hold on you. You are
my mate.”

“A bit arrogant don’t you think? You have no intention of
claiming me.”

“The fact still exists if another man touches you, I will
kill him.”

His voice rang with truth. She frowned. “If you decide to never claim me, are you saying I cannot be with another man?” The very idea was repulsive to her, but she had
to know.

“Not if you value
his life.”

She spluttered in outrage, and he had the audacity
to chuckle.

“So the Nurian king cannot
marry me?”

“Yes.”

Saieke’s head fell on muscular chest, her lips kissing his skin. “I cannot make it known that I am the mate of
a Darkan.”

Pressure of his finger tilted her chin up to meet his eyes. “Your battles are mine to fight. You fear
for naught.”

“I suppose you think you can fight the empire of Mevia
and Boreas?”

She flinched from the coldness that slid across her mind. “Remove it from
your thoughts!”

Saieke gripped the hair at the nape of his neck pulling his lips close to her. “I know what you fight for…what your king fights for, a life of peace for the Darkage. Not only peace, Drac, but you desire a life of prosperity for your people. Healing waters when needed, wheat and grains that are not grown here, crystals from Avindar. You threatened that with
your thoughts.”

“If you are threatened, it is a threat against
the Darkage.”

“You realm is so feared, Drac, even now I disbelieve that I am here. What Gidon is trying to accomplish is bold…and may be impossible. The rumors of your people’s brutality are not far removed from the truth. Yet your world is so much more, so beautiful, and I have been treated with kindness…by most.” She traced the claw of his beast that boldly marked
his cheeks.

“The other kingdoms have warriors amounting to millions; they have powerful head families with destructive
keni
. Lachlan told me the Darkage has a population of less than fourteen million. I understand that everyone here is a threat, a potential force to be reckoned with due to their beast. Gidon needs to change that fear, so that your kind are seen for more than slaughter and mayhem.
That
cannot be threatened,” she said softy. “Not even if my death
is ordered.”

She moaned as his lips slanted against her
so slowly.

“You understand what we hope to fight for. Gidon wishes to rule without war and bloodshed, but he will understand, he’ll champion me if anyone tries to claim what belongs to the Darkage.
You
belong to
the Darkage.”

He stiffened, something akin to shock skating across his features. What realization did he have? Saieke smiled as a unique tightness filled her chest. She did not resist as he roiled with her onto the bank of the cave to the pallets laid out. A moan of pleasure, a sigh of fulfillment echoed from her as he slid deep inside
of her.

“Ahh,” she moaned, quivering and pulsing around his
rigid girth.

“Shhh,” he placed a soothing hand under her buttocks and lifted her even harder onto his cock. “I wish I could claim you…brand you with the ink we place on our mates for all of Amagarie to see,” he breathed into her as his hips started that slow rhythm of
maddening pleasure.

They remained in the cave for hours. They bathed, made love again and talked. Well she did most of the talking about his realm and hers—the complexities of their nation, the beauty and the trading possibilities. He listened to her keenly and gave her sound insight on what his king was trying to accomplish, the structure of government, and its conception. The last thing Saieke felt was his lips kissing her forehead, and Drac tucking her under a coverlet as her body refused to help him, drained
by exhaustion.

***

Saieke’s eyes flew open and everything seemed as if it were bathed in silvery moonbeams. Her mind stretched and the softest of flutter against her consciousness woke her fully. She could feel the shadows of Drac’s mind brushing and seeking hers, and she eagerly reached
for him.

I am in the grand solarium. Follow
my voice.

She stretched and stumbled from the bed, flashing to the bath chamber. Saieke groaned and winced, her muscles ached, and then
she smiled.

I will miss you, Drac

The thought pains you

It does

She closed her mind to his. He would not object to her leaving his nation. She was a little skeptical at that, because when she heard the word mate the thought ‘bonded for life’ had leapt in her mind. She had felt echoes of his beast’s agreement, and since forming
lei
, it was becoming clearer that they were one being. Inseparable.

She was falling in love with Drac, and while now was not the right time to be with him, she thought they could eventually have a future. Saieke massaged the spot over her chest. The thought of leaving him made her ache. She found it baffling and upsetting. There was a deep nagging need to be in his presence, and she wanted to reach deep inside him and absorb his essence and make it hers. A smile lifted her lips. Well he did ask to court her. She could ask him when…a century from now or a thousand years? It would certainly be foolish to wait, for she would pass her child bearing years in the next four centuries. What if he came too late for them to have a family? Would their love fade?
Kings’ teeth
. Could she even have a child now with the changes in
her body?

She needed to locate him so that they could scour the books that recorded his kind’s trek to the other dimensions. She hoped they would find something to explain why she now had characteristics unique only
to Darkans.

She bathed quickly, and then strolled into the dressing antechamber where several caftans were laid out for her. She dressed herself in a caftan of wine red. It was figure hugging and flared from her hips into flowing trousers, floating around
her ankles.

Saieke ensured that she was armed with the blades from the king, but was chagrined over how to manage her hair. She brushed it and let it ripple to her hips
in waves.

Saieke flashed through several lonely corridors of Drac’s castle. Some had great torches burning but it was so desolate and silent, it was eerie. She was actually grateful that her vision was now perfect in the dark. Her keener hearing identified the echo of a child’s laughter that rang out from a great distance. She flashed to the sound, descending winding stairs to cross yet another
endless corridor.

There was a great door that she used her wind to gently ease open. There was a balustrade three story high that overlooked an immense hall. Drac was there with six other Darkans, including a small boy of about eight years. Saieke quietly walked down the stairs to the balcony directly overlooking
the foyer.

Several Darkans stood together like
graceful predators.

Instinctively, she sensed they were all aware of her presence, even though they did not glance in her direction. The small boy was shrieking in joy as Drac tossed him high in the air, caught him and twirled him around. A female, who appeared to be his mother, looked on in indulgence with a smile curving her lips. She was beautiful. Rounded cheeks, auburn hair that floated gently around her shoulders, she had the brownest eyes Saieke had ever seen. They sparkled like gems. She also had a high rounded belly that proclaimed her
pregnant state.

She glanced in Saieke’s direction, and their eyes met fleetingly before she switched her attention back to the boy and Drac. Drac’s expression had the same remoteness to it, but she could feel the overwhelming affection he had for the young boy through the link that
they shared.

Are
you well?

Yes

Come here.

Saieke rolled her eyes.
Why do you order instead
of ask?

Come here please, Princess

She smiled when she felt the underlying amusement that accompanied his request. She snorted and flashed down the stairs and tried to bury her trepidation at meeting what appeared to be his family. They turned to her simultaneously when
she appeared.

She buried any uncertainty she had deep inside and drew on her mantle of royal arrogance and smoothed her expression into an aloof mask. What will they think
of her?

“Princess,” he greeted as she approached. The oldest male raised his eyes at how he referred
to her.

“Meet Princess Saieke El Shyokara of Boreas. She has been in the Darkage as somewhat of an unofficial emissary of her kingdom,” he said smooth and low. “Princess,
my family.”

She welcomed the feelings of affection that tunneled through him, grateful he was capable of more than just brutality. The affection melded from both him and his beast, at least that what it felt like to her through their link. The introductions
blurred together.

“I am pleased to make your acquaintances,” she
greeted everyone.

Present were his mother and father, his two sisters, and his younger sister’s mate. The young boy was their son. Drac’s father’s presence was imposing and dark. The fine lines that rimmed the smoothness of his eyes, proclaimed him to being close to an elder. His mother, Pia, was graceful and her warmth put Saieke instantly
at ease.

His pregnant sister, Chedra exuded the same warmth, and though her mate, Tzar, was large and fierce, he held her with acute tenderness. His other sister, Tehdra epitomized femininity, ruthlessness and warrior in the same package. She was lithe, and coiled with power, with obsidian eyes and pale alabaster skin. Her lips were red and the contrast with inky black hair against such pale skin
was eerie.