The Dark King Read online

  “Seems that way, huh?” Teddy answered as he looked at us curiously.

  “It does,” Rowan replied, abruptly rising from his seat. “Anyway, I’ve got to get to science lab—have some work to do—so I’m going to head out. I’ll catch you all later. Nice meeting you, Devilyn.”

  I nodded at him.

  It bothered me that I couldn’t read him. I wondered if he was headed to Odin and Dana. To tell them that I had returned, if they didn’t already know it.

  “I’ll come with—need to hit the library,” Teddy said as he stood up. “Later, Caroline. Devilyn.”

  We both sat in silence as I watched the two of them leave the cafeteria. So now Caroline had two men besides me in her life that would protect and make sure nothing happened to her. Teddy clearly loved her like a sister and Rowan … well, he was no doubt falling for her. She was irresistible. Perfect. How could he not?

  In the end, what could I give her?

  I ran my hands through my hair, unsure of what to do, reminding myself that my father had been let out of his cage, and this time he would do everything in his power to complete the mission he had started. That was the only reason why I was here, wasn’t it?

  “Devilyn?” Caroline whispered softly, leaning toward me. I closed my eyes for a second before I turned in my seat and faced her.

  “Yes?” My gaze was completely focused on her mouth.

  She bit down on her lower lip. Always my undoing. How was I going to survive any of this?

  “Are you sure you’re okay?”

  There she was again. Worried about me.

  I couldn’t go on like this anymore.

  “I’m fine, Caroline. I told you,” I said as I met her gaze dead-on and told her the one thing I knew would crush all her hopes. “Well, actually, I guess I’m a little preoccupied because my girlfriend is trying to transfer to the school, and I’m not sure how it’s going.”

  I watched as she tried to cover her shock with a cool mask of indifference.

  It took her only seconds.

  She was so strong.

  A moment passed between us.

  “I’m sure it will be fine, Devilyn,” she said softly, carefully concealing her feelings. I knew I had hurt her, always going too far. I could hear it in her voice, but I saw no other way.

  War was before us, and I needed to plan. I needed to stay focused. I was here to minimize the casualties. Once she was secure, I would return to my hell.

  Eventually the dust would settle.

  And maybe then I would be forgiven.

  Or forgotten.

  “I can’t wait to meet her.”

  C

  I had no right to be devastated, but I was. He had a girlfriend. I couldn’t believe it. I felt like such a fool.

  A girlfriend?

  Someone who obviously meant enough to him that he wanted her to be able to transfer to our school. Talk about all hopes being crushed from a single phrase. For a few seconds there, I thought I saw desire and warmth in his eyes, but I guess my lack of experience with guys is to blame for that confusion. I looked away from Devilyn and blindly watched the students in the cafeteria shuffle in and out as the feelings of pleasure I had from seeing him quickly turned to sadness.

  Devilyn was thankfully quiet and fully immersed in the remainder of his lunch. I wished Teddy hadn’t left. I wished I could talk to him about this. I needed to just get it all out. The only way to do it was to get up and leave, even if it seemed abrupt and totally obvious.

  “I’m going to head to the library. I’ve got to check out a book for English Lit,” I said, trying hard to smile.

  “Oh, okay. Maybe I’ll go with you.”

  “I don’t know how long I’ll be in there, and I don’t want to make you late for your next class.” I was so transparent. I hated that about myself. “Just finish your lunch and we’ll catch up later,” I insisted.

  “Let’s make plans to go over our lines for drama. You guys can come to my house this weekend.”

  “Yeah, okay. Sounds good. I’ll talk to Teddy and we’ll figure out a time.”

  I walked away as quickly as I could, which was only a tad slower than a run, and went straight to the library in search of my best friend.

  • • •

  Teddy was unusually quiet through the verbal diarrhea I spewed out on him and just sat back and crossed his arms. His look was contemplative.

  “He might be dating someone, Caroline, but from the looks he keeps giving you, I’d bet money I don’t have that’s he’s one hundred percent into you.”

  I tried to smile and play it off.

  “I don’t care if he has a girlfriend.” My voice clearly betrayed me.

  He knew I was lying but he didn’t say a word. I couldn’t even look at him, so I kept my eyes glued to the book spines in front of me and pretended like I was searching for one.

  “Imagine if he and Rowan duke it out for you.”

  “Please.” I all but rolled my eyes. “I can’t believe you just said that out loud.”

  “I know. I’ve reached a new level of lame.” He laughed. “Listen, I’m a guy and I know these things, and it really does seem like Rowan has got a serious crush on you.”

  The last person I wanted to talk about crushes with was Teddy. It just felt too weird, but he wouldn’t let it go.

  “I mean, at lunch the guy won’t look at anything but you.”

  “You’re not going to let up, are you?”

  “Nope. I’m going to milk this one for a while.”

  I wasn’t sure if I could agree. I realized I was very bad at deciphering body language. Clearly a career in the CIA was not in my future.

  Teddy was quiet for a moment.

  “I don’t know about you, but I’m really hoping Devilyn will let us practice at his house for our scenes on Monday. I’m dying to see the inside of that mansion.”

  I had almost forgotten about that awful assignment. Me, Juliet? Devilyn, Romeo? Now this was really worth crying over.

  “That reminds me, he told us to come over before I left the cafeteria. I just have to look up the crap scene we have to memorize.”

  I leaned up and grabbed a Shakespeare anthology from the shelf and quickly flipped through it. I found what I was looking for in a second.

  “Oh, no,” I whispered as I looked frantically at Teddy. I was sure I had crazy eyes.

  “What is it?”

  “It’s the balcony scene!” I knew he could hear the desperate edge in my voice. I watched as he tried to bite back a smile.

  “Yeah. I kind of figured it was, but watching you panic is too much fun.”

  “I’m going to humiliate myself.”

  “You might.” He nodded in agreement.

  “Teddy!” I all but screeched at him.

  “I’m kidding!” He laughed. “I won’t let you. We’ll practice a lot.”

  “I need more than practice! I suck! And not only do I suck, but now I’m going to suck in a scene with Devilyn!” Teddy shrugged nonchalantly.

  “Just think of it like a trip to the dentist. Uncomfortable for sure, but it will be over quickly, and you’ll just have a dull pain for a few days to remember it by.”

  Chapter Five

  “To thine own self be true.”

  —Shakespeare

  The Dark

  The great Creature stirred. He was massive, frightening to behold in his anger. And he was consumed by it. A prisoner for a thousand years. Waiting for the moment to be free. Waiting patiently for the call of his Master to beckon him to do his will. His skin crawled with electric energy as he stirred from the quiet slumber he had held, his senses ready, waiting for the war that his soul craved.

  The destruction.

  The death.

  And if by magik or fate, it came to him. The calling. Beckoning him, reaching out and consuming him.

  The time had come for the Creature to finally wake.

  He looked over to the dark corner of the cell as the black light moved
with lightning force, twirling, circling, like a zephyr sent straight from hell itself. And then he slowly took shape.

  He had seen him before.

  His Master.

  He had been the one to capture him when his guard was down. Taking him, pulling him into this orb of night. Had his mate been with him it would not have been possible, but he had been alone.

  Unaware.

  Caught off guard.

  And now the same being who had made him a slave held the power to control him, to bid him to do his will, to wreak havoc on those he considered enemies. And as the Gods created him, he would do his Master’s command.

  The gust of wind came to a stop as the black light took shape in the night. His body contorted, moved in ways only the universe would allow, in a power that was from the darkest parts of time, and then he stood before him.

  Alderon.

  The same form he had seen before, but now, a shell of the Fae he was. A power like nothing he had ever seen. He stood before him and raised his left arm, his black cloak billowing in the wind as he commanded the forces that lived in the air the Creature breathed. The elements answered his call, moved to his order, became one with him as he exerted his domination over all that was.

  The Creature slowly stood, his hooves scratching against the ground, his great weight and height an incredible sight to behold. He took a few deep breaths slowly, steadily as he became accustomed to the human life force again.

  Surviving on it, as was the law of the mortal world.

  Alderon carefully lowered his arm, and the Creature bent with it, bowing low, showing his obedience. His mighty horns scratched the ground as he held the pose in utter stillness. He did not want to cross his new Master. To have lived in a void of nothing for a thousand years, to not be able to breathe properly, shift, or worse, look into the eyes of his love. He would never have that prison again.

  “There is much work to be done.”

  D

  The second I walked through the giant doors of Odin’s home, I knew he wasn’t there.

  It was an unexpected and peculiar feeling walking the empty halls like a stranger in the home that I had practically grown up in. I knew deep down that I had never belonged, no matter what he would say to try and convince me otherwise.

  He was likely expecting me, so he had to be close by. I walked through the center of the house, through the dining room and out the large glass French doors. The lush forest behind his property immediately began calling to me, directing me to a lone dirt trail, which led me away from the house and deep into the comfort of the trees.

  The second I started down the trail, I immediately started thinking of Caroline. All roads I selected, including the one in my wandering mind, led me down a path that always ended with her beautiful face.

  Within moments I stood in the very heart of the Forest of Magik. I looked around and could see the trees begin to take shape and move, eyeing me curiously as I stood in their lair. The brown bark morphed into limbs of men and women, faces moving out as they swayed with the air to watch my every movement. The Tree Fae were magical and mischievous, but they were sacred amongst all Fae, light and even dark. To destroy one would be to destroy a thousand souls all at once, and for a Fae it would mean purging your own soul into damnation.

  “My son.”

  I cursed myself for not hearing his arrival as I turned to meet his ever-loving gaze.

  “Odin.”

  “Let’s do away with formalities. I would love nothing more than to hear you call me father yet again,” he said softly as he took a step toward me.

  Even though it defied explanation, he had clearly aged. Despite being dressed in all his Godly glory, his clothing rich and embroidered, underneath he felt different. Fighting the devil inside, I was immediately saddened to see him in this state.

  How I wish things were different.

  He was Odin the all powerful, the ever loving, and how I wished he really was my biological father. How I wished that it was his blood that flowed through my veins instead of the blood the Fates had given me.

  “After all that has happened. After what I have become, how can you wish me to call you by that name?”

  “You are my son. Light or dark. My son,” Odin stated solemnly as he walked closer to me. “I have told you this thousands of times, Devilyn. There is nothing that can or will ever change it. No matter how black you think your soul may be or how full of shame, my love for you will never change. Never diminish,” he stated solemnly. “My love for you is for eternity. Do not question it any further.”

  I lowered my eyes in disgrace.

  “You are not this monster you believe yourself to be. You are not this hideous creature that must hide with a black crown on his head in the middle of a Dark Fae Kingdom. I know the man you are. I have seen your soul—”

  “You do not,” I told him, interrupting his words. I shook my head. “You do not know who or what I am. Not anymore.”

  Odin smiled solemnly at me.

  “I do.” He was but a foot away from me now, and I knew the tree Fae watched us closely, observing our every move. “I have lived a thousand lives, my son. I have lived a life unlike any other. I have seen man from the dawn of time. You think I have not seen every incarnation? You think I have not seen the very worst and the best of life?”

  I closed my eyes.

  “I have said this to you many times. And I am sure I will say this a thousand more: you are and will always be my son. No matter your choice. No matter your journey. My love for you is infinite.”

  I could not speak and hoped that my silence was an indication for my acceptance of his words.

  “And what of Tatiana, my sister?” I said to him instead as I met his gaze.

  “As you are my son, she is my daughter. She is not the same person you last saw. She has been going through a very tough time, Devilyn. She knows the errors of her ways.”

  “How can you even think to say that? She betrayed me. She betrayed Caroline—” I could not believe Odin was defending her.

  “Is there no room in your heart for forgiveness? Can someone not come to realize the error in their ways?” Odin asked me passionately. “I know I have taught you better.”

  “What you fail to even acknowledge is that we are ruled by a different guide. She is dark. We are dark. There is no changing that which runs wild through our blood.”

  “Perhaps,” Odin said with a soft smile. “But then, I believe in the power of love. I believe that you have choices and that you are not destined to be light or dark because of your family. You are destined to be what you believe you should become, what you will yourself to become.”

  “I wish I could share your sentiments. But truth is absolute, and what I know to be true prevents this.”

  “Because you will it with your thoughts.”

  I looked out into the forest in silence.

  “I tell you that she has changed,” he continued. “To prove this to you, she has asked if she can return to Manteo High and her old life to prove her allegiance to you and make amends.”

  I couldn’t believe what I was hearing, so I chose to remain silent. It was useless to argue with Odin about Tatiana. His mind was obviously made up. There was no way I would win, and now I had to protect Caroline against my sister as well as my father. My ever-loving family.

  “Your father has escaped.”

  “Yes.” I knew Odin had read my thoughts. “I made a grave mistake in my inexperience and anger. It is my fault and I take full responsibility.”

  “It is the will of the Fates. He is a force that cannot be tamed. His submission will only come when he no longer exists.”

  “Yes.”

  Never was there a truer statement. I heard a rustle in the trees and watched as a female Tree Fae moved her face away from us at Odin’s words. The Tree Fae hated any talk of death and destruction.

  “And now you are back to protect Caroline from your father again,” Odin stated. “He will have to grow stronger
. It will take him time before he arrives. And he will have an even greater plan then before, but you know this. He is overcome by the need for revenge for every offense in his life. It will consume him now more than ever.”

  I knew Odin was referring to the role he played in my father’s deep-seated hatred. My mother, Tara, had given Tatiana and me to Odin to shelter and protect from Alderon. In return, Odin had hidden her away in a place that only he knew and one where my father could never find her. Alderon’s loathing for Odin ran deep. I was sure that my father plotted to not only destroy Caroline and myself, but Odin as well.

  “As I have said before, there are the ancient laws that prevent him from destroying her outright,” Odin continued on.

  “Yes. But as we’ve seen, there are also accidents.”

  “Human accidents, yes. If she hurts herself. Only if she hurts herself.”

  “Which she is more than capable of doing,” I muttered as I thought back to her fateful run in the woods and her fall, the one that ultimately allowed the dark to find her.

  “Everyone is aware of what needs to be done. We have taken precautions. She has sent her protection.”

  I knew he was referring to Dana, the Great Mother of the Fae, and Rowan.

  “Yes, I am fully aware.” I hoped he couldn’t hear the annoyance in my voice.

  Odin’s smile betrayed him.

  “And what of Katya?” Odin asked me curiously.

  “She is my”—the word rose like bile in my throat—“girlfriend.”

  “Is she now?”

  The way Odin said the statement startled me. I looked up at him quickly, pinning him with my gaze.

  “Yes, she is.”

  “I’m glad you’ve found a companion, my son.”

  I knew he was baiting me. He could not be further from glad.

  “Thank you.”

  “Will she be visiting?”

  God. I hadn’t even thought of that. But now that he mentioned it, it would probably be a good idea to keep that opportunity open.

  “Perhaps,” I told him.

  “I’m assuming it will be a brief stay.”