The Darkling's Desire (4 page)

“Oh, that.” Petra waved a dismissive hand in the air. “That
will be done. But first…” Moving faster than Jasper had thought that a human
could move, Petra materialized beside Anastasia, taking the younger woman’s hand
in her own.

“Doesn’t she remind you of someone, Jasper? Someone you knew
once?” Deliberately mimicking, Petra cocked her head like the younger woman,
mirrored her stance. And suddenly Jasper could see it, the hints of resemblance.
The curve of the cheek, the shape of the eyes.

How had he not seen it before? Even seeing, he didn’t know what
it meant.

He was sick of the bullshit, and said so.

“Petra, cut the crap. What the fuck are you doing here? What do
you want with Anastasia?”

Petra reached a hand out for him again, as if to stroke his
face. He gnashed his fangs at her.

She laughed, a sound as light as fairy bells. Then her face
hardened, her age becoming more apparent in the lines that formed harshly,
bracketing her lips and eyes.

“Anastasia is my niece. Her mother, my sister, was raped by a
Darkling just like you.”

* * *

Anastasia felt as if she had been struck in the stomach
with the nunchakus—those heavy wooden bars attached by a chain— that Petra had
always favoured and she never had.

Her niece? She was Petra’s niece? The information coated her
thoughts like sludge, viscous and slimy, poisoning every memory that it touched.
She wanted to lean in close to Jasper, to glean comfort from his touch, but the
glint in Petra’s eyes told her that that would not be a wise move.

“What…why?” Anastasia reached for the empty blade sheath at her
hip, her eyes flicking to where the silver laid in the mud when she found the
worn leather barren. “You’ve never told me this. I’ve known you since I was a
child.” What she neglected to say was that this explained why she had never felt
completely at ease around her mentor. Though she had always treated Petra as
tradition dictated that she must, she had always found the other woman’s
presence…unsettling.

She had never trusted her as much as she felt she should, had
always blamed herself for the lack.

“It was for your own good, child.” Anastasia gritted her teeth
at the so-called endearment, the noise audible to Jasper’s ears.

“Petra. Get on to it, or we’re going. We have things to do,
missions to accomplish.” Jasper sounded bored, but Anastasia thought she
detected the slightest hint of upset beneath his words. This time he did reach
for Anastasia, his fingers resting lightly on the small of her back.

Mine,
was what his touch seemed to
mean, and though Anastasia wasn’t sure if it was genuine or if it was just for
her protection.
Mine, and fuck with her at your own
peril.

Petra chuckled once more, as if to prove a point, and then her
face sharpened, honing in on Jasper like a blade.

Anastasia’s mind whirled, her instincts screaming at her to get
to the fallen blade. As an Amazon she was never helpless, but she did not want
to face the deadly woman before her empty-handed.

“Thanks to that soulless vermin, Natalia died giving birth to
this Halfling. Surely you have noticed that she is more than human. Her
heartbeat, so slow. Her strength, more than a human possesses. I need
Anastasia’s full powers to be awakened, and you are going to do it for me.” And
there was yet another blow.

She was what? What on earth was a Halfling? She had never heard
of it before, she was certain. Even as her memory flipped rapidly through the
pages of her ancient history texts, the ones she had been made to memorize as a
part of her training, the word somehow made sense, a title to put on the
definition of herself that she had held throughout her life.

Hadn’t she always been a little bit stronger, a little bit
faster? Enough that she hadn’t always paid attention to her training when she
was supposed to?

As she saw the deadly intent in Petra’s eyes, she saw now that
having breezed through those years, having not learned all that she could, was
maybe not a good thing.

The light shining in her mentor’s gray eyes was crazed, and
Anastasia felt something sick snake through her gut.

Why had Petra waited for so long? Why hadn’t she done as she
wished with Anastasia over the long years in which they had trained
together?

It had to have something to do with Jasper.

“Why…what do you want, Petra?” Even as Anastasia spoke, she
knew. Petra wanted Anastasia, who apparently had inherited some kind of powers
from her Darkling father.

One Halfling would be no use for anything except maybe as a
super-Amazon, to conduct the Carpathians’ missions better and faster.

Many Halflings, however…well, that would be something else
entirely. How could more Halflings be made?

“What do you need more Halflings for, Petra?” Beside her Jasper
stood, tense but outwardly calm. She felt better, having him at her side, even
though her hands were fisted so tightly that her veins swelled out of her
skin.

She felt…she didn’t know what, exactly, she felt for him. But
it was strong, and it was true. She knew, somehow, that she trusted him, cared
for him, more than anything or anyone else in her life.

Still, the nerves were there. She was a warrior, she reminded
herself. She would be fine, even without him.

But having him there was infinitely better.

“The Carpathian Amazons are a proud race. We are ancient, noble
women. We should rule the supernatural world.” Petra lifted her chin as she
spoke, her eyes glinting feverishly. “Instead, what do we do? We serve the very
beasts that killed my sister. The beasts that kill so many humans, even Amazons,
their sworn allies, if the hunger strikes.”

Anastasia swallowed, hard, and opened her mouth to speak, but
Petra continued with barely a pause.

“Natalia was more than an Amazon—she had a sixth sense. Some
things from the future were shown to her. She knew that her daughter would one
day meet the Darkling who could awaken her full powers—the only vampire who
could. That vampire would be a soldier, and her daughter—my niece—would throw
her life away for love of this creature.” Petra bit her lip, and Anastasia saw
tears that glittered like ice in the other woman’s eyes. “I knew then that I had
to change part of that prophecy. I needed your powers to do it. But an Amazon of
my blood will never love a Darkling. No, my blood will help me rid the world of
them instead.”

Anastasia choked on the words that leapt into her throat, a
jumble of everything that she wanted to say. Petra’s words had so many thoughts
racing through her mind—questions about her mother, understanding of the
strength of her feelings for Jasper, sickness at her aunt’s betrayal. Before
Jasper or Petra could speak again, the thoughts bubbled over, her voice dripping
from her lips like acid.

“Our purpose is ancient and noble, as is our treaty. And if we
decide we no longer wish to uphold the terms of our treaty, the noble thing to
do is to request its dissipation to the Karpaty Council. Not to use me as a tool
for war. I don’t know how you think that you are going to make more…more
Halflings, but I will not be a part of this. I believe in the way of our
people.”

Anastasia saw the sneer curl on Petra’s lips, knew that the
woman was going to tell her exactly how she planned to replicate Anastasia and
overthrow the Karpaty Council. Though she wanted to know, she wanted to live
more. She and Jasper moved at the same time, but Petra was faster.

She laughed as she resumed pacing in front of them, having
stooped down to scoop Anastasia’s knife from the ground. She waved it through
the air theatrically, her eyes glinting madly, before stopping right in front of
Jasper and extending her palm.

With the wicked tip of the silver blade, she drew an
ancient-looking rune into her palm. The blood welled up from the shallow cut,
and Anastasia saw the flicker pass over Jasper’s face. He had underestimated
Petra once again, had been cocky, overly secure in the strength and speed of his
race.

And here was a new problem.

Jasper hadn’t fed for hours, and unless she was very much
mistaken, the joining that they had just experienced had stirred his appetite.
The scent of Petra’s blood was ripe in the air—even Anastasia could smell it. If
she focused and tried to sense beyond the coppery tang that was apparent to her
human side, she could detect exotic spices and perfume, a tantalizing odor.

What must it smell like to Jasper? Even if it was no longer
exactly to his taste, a starving man would not refuse a meal because it wasn’t
exactly to his liking.

She watched, tension bracketing every muscle in her body as
Jasper growled before running his tongue over the length of his fangs.

“You are playing a dangerous game.” Jasper looked away from her
slowly, stiffly, as if the movement cost him. “If I am pushed, who says it will
not be you that I drink from?”

“Ooh, I’d love a good bite.” Petra grinned at him, and
Anastasia felt her stomach roil with revulsion. “But I am not what you crave,
and animals will always go for the easier kill. You will drink from her, you
will bite her, and her latent powers will be awakened. Then I will take her
blood, with its new genetic code, back to the Ukraine.” Petra smiled again as
Anastasia furrowed her brow, trying to follow the stream of consciousness. What
would Petra do with the blood back home? She was a warrior, not a scientist.

“I am not the only one who has been hurt so deeply by the
Darklings. There are others who support this cause.” The curve of Petra’s ruby
lips sent shivers down Anastasia’s spine. “You cannot resist it, Jasper. Natalia
saw what the depth of your feelings for each other would be.”

Petra again looked at Jasper, and the look was tender and cruel
at the same time, full of past intimacies. Anastasia understood then that her
lover had also once been with her mentor.

Instead of making her sad, she was enraged.

Petra would not lure him in again.

“You can bite her now, while you still have control, or I can
push you some more. The outcome may not be as you like then.” Petra drove the
blade more deeply into her palm, causing more rich redness to stream over her
skin, to drip to the ground. She gasped with a nearly sexual pleasure at the
sensation. Anastasia heard Jasper swallow thickly, saw his pupils dilate as the
scent hit his nose.

She knew that he had lived a long time, that he must have
gained some semblance of control. But he hadn’t fed all day, not that she had
seen, and his hungers were aroused from their loving.

She saw the bloodlust close in, watched him bear down, pushing
through the hunger. It looked as if he was trying to sprint underwater, working
so very hard so very little result.

He wouldn’t give in. Anastasia knew that he wouldn’t drink from
Petra. His stubbornness, his will, wouldn’t let him. If the bloodlust overtook
him, that only left her.

Though Anastasia would have given her blood willingly to remove
the pain that she saw distorting his features, that would be playing right into
Petra’s hands.

Anastasia couldn’t allow her instincts to take over
completely—this was too delicate of a situation.

What could she do?

Jasper shook his head, narrowed his eyes. Anastasia watched as
he shifted his stare from the cool blond of his past to her own features, and
knew that she wasn’t alone.

They locked eyes, gray staring into green. Anastasia wished
with all of her might that mind reading was in her repertoire of purported
powers. She knew that Jasper was plotting something—he was not the kind of man
to stand idly by in a dangerous situation. She was not the kind of woman to do
so, either—but what if whatever she did interfered dangerously?

Anastasia snuck a quick glance at Petra, who was smirking at
the pain that was creeping over him. Her attention was focused entirely on him.
Rage burned through Anastasia’s veins.

She would have to take Petra down. Jasper was slowly losing
control.

Dread formed into a heavy ball in the pit of her stomach.

“Wouldn’t you just die for a taste?” Petra extended her hand,
dripping with blood, and even as Anastasia narrowed her eyes, planning to grab
the knife Jasper lunged. He sprang at Petra with his fangs gnashing, aiming for
her throat. There was not as much force behind his movement as there would have
been if he had recently fed, but it was still enough to knock her off
balance.

Anastasia leaped onto Petra as soon as Jasper sprang into
motion, understanding instantly that their only chance lay in their combined
strength. Petra screeched, an otherworldly noise that reverberated through the
clearing. Blood from her hand smeared across Jasper’s face, and Anastasia sensed
more than saw his attention waver.

Petra managed to connect with the base of his skull with her
spiked heel, and he reeled. Anastasia made the emotional mistake of reaching for
him as he fell, and Petra flipped her onto the ground, then had her back up and
in a choke hold before she could blink.

Clutching a hand to the side of his head, Jasper rolled, sprang
to his feet, shaking his head as if to clear it. It was too late. Anastasia’s
world was beginning to gray from lack of air, and only fury kept her from
passing out.

This woman had used Anastasia her entire life as a pawn in her
sick game. She had no doubt that Petra would kill Jasper as soon as he had
bitten Anastasia. She didn’t know what, exactly, they had together yet, but
she’d be damned if Petra would take it away, too.

Jasper could not make a move toward his former lover without
risking that the older Amazon would snap Anastasia’s neck.

“Glamour her.” She choked the words out, could not understand
why Petra laughed.

“That doesn’t work so well on me, does it, love?” Petra stroked
a hand through Anastasia’s hair, and Jasper growled.