The Darkest Crown (The Eternal Darkness Duet #2)

Chapter 26

Chapter 26

I was surrounded by warm light. It held me, protecting me like a cocoon. I tried to remember how I got there, but my memories were fuzzy, and it took too much effort to concentrate. I sighed and relaxed into the light, but then it began to dissipate. I tried to cling to it, but it was no use. It vanished, leaving me in darkness.

I became aware of the bed beneath me, and a slight pressure on my chest. I could hear my heartbeat, then another, and another. I opened my eyes and looked up into the face of a stranger. I should have been alarmed, but I wasn’t. There was something comforting about her.

“Sarah!”

I turned my head at the sound of Adam’s voice, and saw him standing beside the bed. Why did he look worried? I turned my head back towards the woman leaning over me and felt my senses slowly come back into focus. I looked down at my chest and saw her hand there, over my heart. That was the weight I felt. She saw my look and removed her hand.

“She’s alright,” she said, and I heard a collective sigh of relief.

I struggled to sit up and someone lifted me and propped a pillow behind my shoulders.

“Eskel,” I murmured, looking at him with confusion. “What happened?”

“Drink,” he said, pressing a cup to my lips.

I opened my mouth, and he tipped the cup. Suddenly starving, I gulped the blood down, and with every swallow the room came more into focus. By the time Eskel pulled the empty cup from my lips I was alert, and aware of everything.

We were in Marius’ room, and Eskel, Adam and Marc were all hovering around the bed with worried expressions. Julian stood near the windows, with his hands in his pants pockets. He looked disheveled- his clothes rumpled and his hair a mess, but his body was tense and his eyes were completely black. Selene was asleep on the bed next to me, and the stranger was kneeling on the mattress between us. Her right hand was resting on Selene’s chest, over her heart.

“What happened?” I asked, pushing myself up into a sitting position. “Is she alright?”

“You may all leave us now,” the woman said, scooting closer to Selene.

Marc nodded, and with one last glance at Selene walked out of the room.

Adam looked at me. “I’ll be right outside if you need me.” I nodded, and he left.

“Julian,” Eskel’s tone was a warning, and Julian growled in response.

I looked at him with alarm, but the woman on the bed didn’t even glance his way as she spoke. “What I have to say is for Sarah’s ears alone. If she wishes to tell you later, that’s her choice. Now. Get. Out.”

Julian took his hands out of his pockets, and I saw the beginnings of claws there.

“He can stay,” I said quickly, and the woman looked at me sharply.

“Do you trust him with your life?” she asked. “With your secrets?”

I didn’t hesitate. “Yes.”

“So be it.” She finally looked at Julian. “You keep yourself under control, or I will.”

Shit. What did I miss?

Eskel speared Julian with a look, then he nodded to me and left the room, closing the door behind him.

I looked between Julian and the woman, confused by the animosity between them. “What happened?” I asked. “Who are you?”

The woman gave Selene one last look before turning her gaze on me. “I’m Diana.”

I stared at her, confused. Diana who? Then my eyes widened with disbelief. “You’re Diana ? Selene’s mom?” My eyes moved over her face, taking in every beautiful detail. Her skin was pale and flawless, with just a hint of pink in her cheeks. Her dark eyebrows arched elegantly over piercing blue eyes that were just like Selene’s, and her dark hair was short, like a buzz cut. But what was most shocking was the fact that she looked my age. Or even Allie’s. “How is this possible?” I had to fight the urge to touch her face, to feel her skin.

“I know you have questions,” Diana said. “So do I. I’ll explain what I can, and we’ll go from there. And would you please tell him to sit down?” She shot Julian a glare. “I can’t concentrate with him looming over me like that.”

Julian was standing at least ten feet away, but I didn’t argue. I looked at him, silently pleading with him to play nice, and he stalked across the room and sank into one of the chairs by the fireplace. I gave him a thankful smile and turned my attention back to Diana.

She still had her hand on Selene’s chest, and I stared at, remembering the warm pressure I’d felt.

“You’re healing her,” I said, as the realization hit me. “You healed me.”

Diana looked at Selene with affection. “She’ll be alright. It’s to be expected you would heal faster, being a vampire.” She looked at me. “Do you know what’s inside of you? Where your power comes from?”

I glanced quickly at Julian, and saw that he was watching me, listening to every word. Shit. I should have made him leave.

“Yes,” Diana murmured. “I see that you do. As witches, our power comes from the goddess Hecate. Your power is god given too, I see that now, but I cannot determine which god.”

I glanced at Julian again before answering. “Marius said it was Demeter.”

“So a goddess gifted Marius with her power, making him the first vampire,” she mused. “We have long wondered.”

“No,” I said hesitantly. Part of me felt like I should keep Marius’ secret, but I was tired of the burden. Diana was basically a stranger, but she’d just saved my life, and I suddenly realized I wanted to tell her everything.

“Phaedra was the first.” I stared at my hands as I spoke, not wanting to see how Julian reacted to my words. I repeated everything Marius told me about Phaedra, and the goddess’ curse. I confessed that I was Phaedra, reincarnated, and haunted by her memories. And finally, I told her Marius still spoke to me. The only part I left out was Dora, and the fact that Phaedra tried to kill Marius and herself. I don’t know why, but it felt too personal. Instead, I simply said Phaedra died in a fire.

Diana and Julian were both silent the entire time. When I was finally done speaking, I raised my head to look at them, afraid of what their expressions would tell me. Julian was watching me intently, but his eyes had returned to their normal color, and his claws had disappeared. Diana looked at me with sympathy.

“This must be very difficult for you,” she said, covering my hand with hers. “First, you should know that it was never a curse. The gods think very highly of themselves. They believe their magic and immortality makes them far superior to humans. For them to share their gifts with a human would be to raise that human to their level. In their eyes, it is the greatest gift imaginable. This is something that has been done only a handful of times in the history of mankind.”

I huffed with disbelief. “Having to kill humans to survive is a gift?”

Diana smiled softly. “But you don’t kill humans, do you? And from what you just told me, Phaedra didn’t either. A goddess gave Phaedra that gift. Maybe it was never meant to be shared.”

I shook my head. “It doesn’t make sense. Phaedra wanted a child, not immortality.”

“The gods all have unique powers. Phaedra may have prayed to Demeter, the goddess of fertility, among other things, but I don’t believe that’s who answered her call. Divine power leaves an imprint. You can’t see it, or smell it, but you can feel it. My power comes from Hecate, so whenever witchcraft is used near me, I can feel her power. The moment you used your magic on Selene, I felt it, and knew it was god given. But I have no way of identifying who it came from.”

“You felt it all the way in here?”

“Yes. You tried to use your goddess’ power on Selene, and her goddess’ power struck back.”

“I wasn't trying to hurt her.”

“I’m sure she wasn’t trying to hurt you either. I think her magic reacted on its own against what it perceived was an attack from another goddess. Hopefully she can provide some insight when she wakes.”

Diana brushed her free hand across Selene’s forehead. “Everyone in the castle felt the blast. I tried to go down, but was still too weak. Eskel and Marc carried you both up here. I believed I could heal you, if I was at full strength. Every man here volunteered his blood. I was going to choose Adam, since I’d already drank from him, but Eskel believed his blood to be stronger, due to him being the eldest. And it seems he was right. My power was restored almost instantly.” She gave me a wry look. “I haven’t had the chance to look in a mirror, and after seeing everyone’s reactions, I’m honestly afraid to.”

“You look young,” I told her. “Too young to be anyone’s mother, but otherwise normal.”

Diana nodded. “I admit I’m curious to see what long-term effects vampire blood will have on me. But there will be plenty of time for that later. Right now we need to focus on your training. You need a third person to practice on. Selene needs to keep her focus on maintaining the shield, and she can't do that if you’re tampering with her mind.”

I flinched and looked at Selene.

“So take one of your men down there next time,” Diana continued.

I nodded. “Okay.”

“I can help,” Julian said, standing.

Diana glared at him. “I would prefer that you didn’t.”

I looked between them. “What’s going on with you two?”

“He threatened me,” Diana said, “and Selene.”

I frowned at Julian. “You didn’t.”

He clenched his jaw but said nothing.

My jaw dropped. “You did?”

He lifted his chin. “She hit you with her magic. You were unconscious when we found you.”

“It was an accident! Besides, she was unconscious too!”

“I’ll destroy anyone who hurts you,” he growled.

I threw my hands up in the air. “Jesus, Julian! You can’t just go around killing people! Just- just go okay?” I waved my hand towards the door.

“I’m not leaving you alone with them.”

I groaned with frustration and swung my legs over the side of the bed. Diana reached out to steady me, but Julian was instantly there at my side. I scowled at him with annoyance.

“I apologize for Julian, and promise he won’t be included in our training. He won’t be included in anything until he learns to behave.” I shot him a glare before turning back to Diana. “Thank you for helping me.”

The corner of her mouth lifted. “We have a deal, remember?”

I smiled. “Yeah. Shout if you need anything, and please send word when Selene wakes up.”

Diana nodded, and I turned to scowl at Julian again. “Let's go,” I said, shoving him towards the door.

We stepped out of the room, and I was surprised to see Eskel standing in the hall. I closed the door and looked at him, feeling suddenly exhausted. “I suppose you heard all that?”

He nodded. “I apologize. It wasn't my intention to eavesdrop, but I didn’t feel comfortable leaving with Julian in the state he was in.”

Julian stiffened. “I would never hurt Sarah.”

Eskel squared his shoulders as he turned towards Julian. “I was concerned for Diana and Selene. The second you saw Sarah on the ground, you were ready to kill them both. And where would Sarah be now if you’d done it? Could you have healed her?”

“I thought the witch attacked her,” Julian ground out.

“No. You didn’t think, and that’s the problem. You let your emotions overcome you, and you reacted without thought. That kind of behavior gets innocent people killed, and murder is murder, no matter how good your intentions are.”

“He’s right,” I said quietly, and they both looked at me. “I’ll take it from here Eskel.” I touched his arm. “Thank you, for everything.”

He nodded to me, then gave Julian one last look of warning before walking away.

As soon as Eskel disappeared around the corner, Julian whispered my name. I stepped closer, wrapping my arms around his waist as I buried my face in his chest. He froze for a moment, as if surprised, then wrapped his arms around me.

“I’m sorry-” he began, but I cut him off.

“Don’t talk,” I mumbled against his chest.

He lowered his head to rest atop mine, and I sighed. I closed my eyes and let the sound of his heartbeat comfort me. I breathed in his scent and tightened my grip on him. Julian always thought he knew better than me, and that seriously pissed me off. He was rash, and possessive, and often prone to violence. But he was mine. He belonged to me.

I stepped back, and he released me. “It looks like we both need to learn some self control,” I said quietly.

The corner of his mouth lifted. “We could try mediating?”

I gave him a wry look. “You joke, but that might not be a bad idea.”

He lifted his hand to touch my cheek. “Whatever you want to do, I’m with you.” I couldn’t speak past the sudden lump in my throat, so I just nodded.

Julian let his hand fall to his side. “You might want to check on Allie,” he said, and my eyes widened with alarm. “She’s fine,” he quickly assured me. “but I know she’s worried about you. She wanted to be with you, but Eskel didn’t want her around me, and I refused to leave you. I’m sorry.”

At least he had the decency to look guilty. “It’s okay,” I said. “I’ll go talk to her.”

I was expecting Allie to be an emotional wreck when I found her, but I was wrong. She was in the library, sitting in a chair in front of the fireplace with her legs curled up next to her. Michael, Gregor, Hugh, and Godwin were sprawled in chairs surrounding hers, Harald and Alfred were perched on the edge of the table, and Marc was leaning against the back of her chair.

Allie was grinning, and the guys were all laughing at something she’d just said. They were all so enraptured by her, no one even noticed my arrival.

“What’s so funny?” I asked, stepping into the room.

“Sarah!” Allie exclaimed, leaping up from her chair. She flew across the room and launched herself at me. I caught her easily, laughing against her hair. I looked past her and smiled at my guards, who were now all standing. They looked at me with relief, and affection, and my heart swelled.

“So what’s so funny?” I asked again, gently prying Allie off me.

She released me and stepped back, grinning devilishly. “I was just telling them about The Sheikh’s Pleasure .”

“Allie!” I exclaimed, laughing. “Do I even want to know what brought that up?”

The Sheikh’s Pleasure was a filthy romance novel my friend swiped from her mom when we were in middle school. She brought it to a sleepover at my house, and we read it cover to cover in one night. Then we went back and read the juicy parts again. And again. We read it so many times, by the end of the school year the pages were falling out.

“You were way too young to be reading that,” I laughed, shaking my head. I looked at my guards. “She threatened to tell, if we didn’t include her.”

“I think I might like to read it,” Alfred said, eliciting laughs from the others.

I raised my eyebrows. “So you all in here talking about smut?”

“It's not smut,” Allie protested. “It's romance. And I was just saying that I thought your library could use some updating.” She tossed her hair. “A little variety.”

“I agree,” Gregor said. “I’ve always been a fan of fine literature.”

I rolled my eyes. “Trust me, The Sheikh’s Pleasure is not fine literature.”

“Then why’d you read it so many times?” Allie asked innocently.

I chuckled. “You’ve got me there.”

I looked at all the smiling faces in the room, and suddenly realized how truly lucky I was to have them all. We were a family, and even though I was the older sister, it was Allie that brought us all together. Even with war looming at our door, we were all laughing and enjoying ourselves because of her.

“It’s good to see you up and about,” Michael said, and the others all murmured in agreement. “We’ll give you two some privacy.”

I smiled in appreciation, and the men all filed out of the room. Marc was the last to go, and he surprised me by stopping to hug me.

He released me quickly, looking embarrassed. “Forgive me.”

I touched his arm. “It’s okay.”

His eyes met mine. “It was difficult seeing you like that. For a while we feared...”

“I’m okay now,” I assured him. He nodded once, and walked out of the room. I let out a shaky breath and turned to face Allie. She was watching me with tears in her eyes.

“I’m okay,” I said. “I swear.”

She nodded. “I know. Marc told us everything.”

I sighed loudly, then shot her a look. “ The Sheikh’s Pleasure, Allie?”

She shrugged. “The guys needed cheering up.”

“And that’s the first thing that came to mind?”

She smiled innocently, and we both burst out laughing.