The Darkest Song (The Eternal Darkness Duet #1)

Chapter 22

Chapter 22

T he next night Julian came to my room to apologize again. My room had been cleaned up and was now bare other than the bed, which I refused to sit on with him, so we stood in the middle of the room facing each other.

I crossed my arms and waited for him to speak.

“Adam is a sore subject.” Julian looked around the room as he spoke. “It would be best if you didn’t mention him around me. And since he’s dead now, there’s really no point in discussing him further.”

I screamed and flew at him as my tears began to fall. “I hate you!” I screamed, as I hit him over and over.

For a moment he stood there, taking my fury. I raked my nails across his face, leaving trails of blood, and he grabbed my wrists and shook me hard.

“Enough!” He shouted.

I screamed in his face. “I hate you!”

He yanked me against him and slammed his mouth against mine. I could taste his blood as he kissed me, and I struggled to break free. Still pressing his mouth to mine, he backed me up until I was pinned against the wall, then he shoved my head to the side and bit my neck.

“Stop!” I gasped, as desire instantly flared. I knew it was a reaction to his bite, the same thing happened when Adam bit me, but I shouldn’t be feeling it with Julian. I wanted to keep struggling, but my body relaxed against his. He pressed his hips against me and I moaned, spreading my legs to let him get closer.

He grabbed my ass with both hands, lifting me, and I wrapped my legs around his waist. He pulled his fangs from my neck and kissed my mouth again. This time I kissed him back, tasting my blood, mixed with his. I moaned into his mouth and grabbed him by the hair, holding him close, but he pulled back, breaking the kiss. I leaned forward, trying to reclaim his mouth, but he pulled away again. I whimpered with frustration as he slowly lowered me to the floor.

“What's wrong?” I asked, reaching for him again.

He put his hands on my shoulders, gently holding me back. “You’re reacting to my venom. This isn’t really what you want.”

“It is,” I insisted, reaching for him again.

He shook his head regretfully. “It's not.”

He left after that, and when I finally regained my senses, I was disgusted with myself. Feeling the need to clear my head, I went outside to walk in the gardens.

The guards paid me no mind as I passed, as though I hadn’t nearly smashed them with a flying couch the night before. I wandered into the gardens until I found a private spot with a stone bench, where I sat down with a sigh.

Being a vampire was hard. I had no control over my emotions. I was falling in and out of love in the blink of an eye. Or maybe it was never love. Maybe vampires couldn’t love. Maybe they just gave in to the desires that arose when they fed from each other. I wished there was someone I could ask about these things. I felt like a girl, going through puberty without a mother to talk to. Who was going to teach me the birds and the bees, vampire style?

I spent the rest of the night in the garden, feeling sorry for myself.

T he following night when Helen arrived with my tray, she informed me I needed to get ready because Julian was taking me on a trip. She packed my bags while I showered and dressed, and a short while later I was heading downstairs to meet Julian. I found him talking to another vampire, who I’d seen around the house a few times. Julian smiled when he saw me, and the other guy walked away.

“Hey,” I said, feeling awkward after throwing myself at him the night before. “Where are we going?”

“To an island I own, about an hour from here.”

I stared at him. “You own an island?”

“Two, actually. One’s off the coast of Ireland.”

Stunned by his casual admission, I followed him down to the parking garage where we climbed into his limo and headed for the airport. Before long we were in the jet, flying over the ocean. We didn’t speak for most of the flight, but I felt his eyes on me as I stared out the window. The sea sparkled in the moonlight, and it wasn't long before I saw an island in the distance. It was much larger than I’d imagined, and as we neared, I could see a long stretch of beach and several buildings.

A jeep was waiting for us when we landed. Julian got behind the wheel and I climbed into the passenger seat.

“Ready?” He flashed me a grin, and I nodded. His good mood was so at odds with what I’d seen so far, it had me flustered and confused.

As we drove off the runway, the road headed into what looked like a tropical jungle. Palm trees swayed overhead, and lush vegetation lined the sides of the road. I looked out into the trees as we drove, keeping my face turned away from him.

After a few minutes, we pulled up in front of a large house made of dark reddish brown wood. A line of servants stood out front, wearing neatly pressed uniforms.

Julian turned off the engine before hopping out and coming around to open my door. “You’re going to love it here,” he said, taking my hand.

He nodded to the servants as he led me up the stairs into the house. When we entered the building, I stopped in my tracks. It was stunning. The ceilings soared at least 20 feet high, and large leaf shaped ceiling fans lazily stirred the air. The wood floors gleamed, and the entire far wall was a water feature, with water cascading down into a bed of smooth polished stones.

Julian turned to look at me. “Come on, I’ll show you around.”

I didn’t want him to show me around, but I didn’t have much choice in the matter. We spent the next couple of hours walking around the property, and I found myself relaxing. Staying angry was difficult when I was surrounded by such beauty. We started in the main house, with the stunning water feature, then Julian showed me several smaller guest villas. Stone pathways cut through the jungle, connecting all the buildings, and at the center of it all was an enormous infinity pool, overlooking the ocean.

“How do you afford all this?” I asked, looking past the pool to the sea beyond. “Do you have a job? Or is this all from vampire investments ?” Adam had told me that's how most vampires made their money.

Julian laughed and sat down on a lounge chair. “I inherited a rather enormous fortune from my sire, who was killed long ago.” I sat on a chair next to him and twisted sideways to face him. He crossed his arms behind his head and leaned back in his chair. “But, yes, I have many investments and businesses that continue to grow my fortune.”

I shook my head in disbelief. “It seems like you have enough to retire at this point.”

He glanced at me. “I’m the head of a large family, responsible for nearly six hundred vampires.” My mouth dropped open, and he chuckled. “Yeah, I know. It's a lot.”

A lot? “You changed six hundred people into vampires?”

“God no! But I’m the eldest of my siblings, therefore responsible for them and any vampires they create.”

“Oh. How many siblings do you have?”

“Ninety-one.”

“Damn, that’s a lot. I only have one.”

He lowered his arms, and his expression turned thoughtful. “Would you like to talk about them?”

I looked away. “No.” I stared at the ocean, picturing Allie’s face, remembering her laugh, and suddenly realized I did want to talk about her. Badly.

“My sister’s name is Allie,” I said, without looking at him. “She’s two years younger than me, and…. perfect.” I laughed, sadly. “I don’t mean that in a snarky way. She really is perfect. She’s the warmest, kindest, person I’ve ever known. She always puts others before herself, and she’s so optimistic, no matter how bad things get. She’s funny, and beautiful-” I stopped, blinking at the tears in my eyes. “And now she’s all alone.”

“What about your parents?” he asked softly.

I just shook my head, unable to speak past the lump in my throat. We sat quietly for a while, while I regained control of my emotions.

“How old are you?” I asked after a while.

“I am one thousand and ninety years old.”

I shot upright on my chair. “ Are you serious? ”

He laughed. “Yeah, I’m old.”

“Damn!” I leaned back in my chair again. “I can’t even wrap my mind around that.” I turned on my side to face him. “What’s it like? I mean, how does it feel? You’ve lived through so much of history. You’ve seen the world change. It must have been amazing.” Then I frowned, thinking of all the wars that took place over the last thousand years. “And scary. And sad.”

He stared at me. “I couldn’t have described it better myself. It has been amazing, and scary, and sad.”

The way he said it made me want to reach out and touch his hand. To comfort him somehow. Instead, I changed the subject. “So I guess you can fly, then?”

The corner of his mouth curled up. “Yes. I can daywalk too.”

“You can go out in the sun?” Adam told me only the oldest, most powerful vampires could do that.

“I can.”

“How old do I have to get before I can daywalk?” Adam was over two hundred years old and he still couldn’t.

Julian shrugged. “It's different for everyone. It's not just about age, it also depends on how powerful the vampire who changed you was. My sire was changed by one of the original eight, so it happened sooner for me than most.”

“What’s the original eight?”

“The first eight vampires, changed by our king.”

My eyes widened. “You have a king ? Um, I’m going to need a lot more information about that.”

Julian chuckled. “Our king is the original vampire. No one knows how he was created, or even if he was created. Maybe he was never human. Maybe he’s a god.” He shrugged. “He is the most powerful of us all, by far. He has power over everyone, vampire and human alike. He can control our bodies, and hear our thoughts. He can turn a vampire to dust, just by looking at them.”

I shuddered. “I hope I never have to meet him.”

“You don't need to worry about that. He never leaves his estate. It's been hundreds of years since anyone’s seen him.”

Thank god for that! “So the original eight, do I have to worry about them?”

“You already met three, at your trial.”

I looked at him, confused, before it dawned on me. “The Strategoi.”

He nodded. “The original eight became the Strategoi. Since they were turned by our king, they are the most powerful in the world. Two have since died, and their positions were given to the next in line.”

I frowned as I thought. “So you were created by a vampire, who was created by one of the original eight, which means the vampire king is your… great-grandfather?”

He laughed. “Yeah, I guess. I certainly wouldn’t address him as such.”

“Is that why everyone bows to you, and acts like you're something special?”

He arched an eyebrow. “You don’t think I’m special?”

I rolled my eyes.

“Yes,” he said. “They show respect because I’m next in line should one of the Strategoi die.”

Damn.

We talked all night, out by the pool. I wanted to know absolutely everything about the world of vampires, and he answered every question I had. When it was time for bed, he walked me to my room and left me at the door. As I lay in bed, waiting to fall asleep, I couldn't stop thinking about the fact that the ninth most powerful vampire in the world was sleeping down the hall from me. I wanted to hang on to my hatred for him, but It had been such a pleasant night, I was starting to think we actually could be friends.