The Darkest Song (The Eternal Darkness Duet #1)

Chapter 29

With a sob I flung myself at him, and he caught me in his arms.

“It’s okay,” he whispered, stroking my hair. “You’re okay now. I’ve got you.”

Tears ran down by face, but for once I didn’t care. “Oh my god!” I cried, squeezing him tightly.

He gently pulled away. “We have to leave. Now.” I nodded and wiped at my tears. “I have friends waiting, who’ll help us.” He took me by the hand. “We’ll go out the window and I’ll fly us off the property. There’s a car waiting for us out on the main road.”

Adam pulled me towards the window, and for a moment I let him. I’d been so angry with Julian, and so relieved to see Adam alive, I momentarily forgot about all the secrets and lies. But as I stepped towards the window, it all came crashing back to me.

I dug my heels into the carpet, pulling us both to a stop. “You changed me.”

He tugged on my hand, glancing nervously towards the door. “We have to hurry.”

I yanked my hand free. “You changed me, didn’t you?”

“Sarah!” His expression was panicked. “We have to go now, we can talk when we get to the car!”

I shook my head. “I’m not going anywhere until you tell me the truth. About everything.”

He reached for my hand again, but I stepped away. He looked at me with wild eyes. “There’s no time for this! We have to go!” He looked at the door again.

“Tell me!” I shouted.

“Shhhh!” He looked at the door, we both did, waiting for someone to come bursting through. When no one appeared, he shoved his hands through his hair. “What do you want me to say? You already know the truth.”

A lump formed in my throat, but I refused to shed any more tears for him. “Why?” I asked, my voice breaking. “Why did you do this to me?”

“Because I loved you.”

I grew still. He loved me?

He took a deep, shuddering breath. “I was turned against my will, by one of the oldest vampires, Valentina Velasco. I hated her for it. I tried to kill her, but she was so much stronger. I tried to run away, but she caught me and dragged me back. She wanted me to worship her like the others did, but I refused. I begged her to let me go. I told her I was engaged to a woman I loved, but that was the worst thing I could have said. She starved me for three nights, then brought in my fiance. I tore her to pieces, and Valentina watched, laughing. She’d starve me until I was out of my mind, then she’d feed me her blood. When I was high on her venom, she fucked me. Can you imagine how I felt when I came down from that high?”

Adam looked at me with such anguish, that my heart broke for him. He glanced at the door again before continuing. “I tried to end my life by going out in the sun, but she sent daywalkers after me. They healed me completely, then whipped my back until my skin hung in ribbons. They starved me for weeks so my wounds wouldn’t heal. After that she kept me chained during daylight hours. Usually in her bedchamber.

“Eventually one of the others took pity on me and agreed to help me escape. They unchained me so I could run, but I didn’t run. Not until after I killed her. I knew Julian would hunt me for the rest of my existence. Hiding was easy in the beginning. But with the technological advances over the years, security cameras and cell phones, the only way to remain hidden was to live as a recluse. For the last sixty years I’ve been completely alone. Sometimes I’d luck out and find an abandoned house to live in for a while, but more often than not I lived in the woods, like an animal.

“I was losing my last shred of humanity. Whenever I encountered a lone hiker in the woods, I killed them without remorse. I was becoming a monster, like Valentina. So I decided to end it." Adam smiled coldly. "But I was going out with a bang. I was going to walk into the middle of the city, where a hundred cameras would be pointed at me, and take out as many humans as possible. I was going to bathe the streets in blood. Cause a scene that would prove to the world that vampires existed. What would the police think when they emptied their guns into me, and still I stood? Eventually, the Strategoi would find me and kill me. And I’d finally be free.”

Adam stared at me, his expression eerily blank. I couldn’t believe what he’d told me. The Adam I knew seemed like a completely different person from the one he described. I’d never be able to comprehend the depths of his pain, after everything he’d been through, but was he really planning on massacring a bunch of humans?

“But things didn’t go as planned,” he continued, smiling sadly. “When I walked into the center of town that night, I saw you. You were playing your violin, and for some reason I decided to wait. To listen for just a moment. Only I ended up listening all night. I followed you home, confused by how easily you’d distracted me from my plans. There was something about you…”

He stepped closer to me and lifted a hand to tuck a strand of hair behind my ear. I remained still, allowing him, and he cupped my cheek with his hand. “I returned the following night, and the night after that. The way you played your violin…" He paused, as if searching for the right words. "It was like you were playing just for me. Your song called to the darkness in me, and I knew you were meant to be mine. Slowly, I felt my humanity returning. I began to feed without killing again. I followed you home every night to make sure you were safe, and when you were attacked, I was there. I pulled him off you and snapped his neck. I flew his body out of the city and dumped it, before returning to you. I sat on your fire escape and listened to you cry, and your pain made me want to burn the city to the ground.”

“You were there?” I asked, my voice thick with emotion.

He nodded. “I followed you to your sister’s house. I was there, when you stood in the field. I heard your plea, Sarah. You said you couldn’t handle it anymore. You needed it to be over. You had a hard, thankless job, a rundown apartment, no money, no hope, no joy. I thought I could give you a better life. And yes, I wanted to be with you. I loved you already.”

I was stunned. “You loved me? Before ever even talking to me?”

“Yes. And I love you still. And I know you love me too.”

“I don’t know what I feel!” I cried, pulling away from him. “How can I know its real, and not just a reaction to your venom?"

Adam lifted his hand, then let it fall. “I don’t know. But I know what I feel is real. I’ve fed from many vampires, and I’ve never felt this way before.”

I laughed harshly. “That's exactly what Julian said. I think you’re both full of shit!”

Adam went still, and his eyes filled with fury. “Julian told you he loves you?”

I swallowed, feeling afraid of Adam for the first time. “Not exactly.”

His eyes darkened until no white showed. “What did he say?” He stepped closer. “What did he do ?

"I-”

The door burst open, flying off its hinges, as Julian flew into the room. He slammed into Adam, flying across the room with him, slamming him in the far wall.

“Julian!” I screamed, scrambling out of the way.

Adam roared and shoved off the wall, taking Julian with him. They flew across the room and slammed into the other wall, cracking the plaster.

“Stop!” I shrieked. But they would never stop. This was a fight centuries in the making. I backed away until I bumped into the wall.

They fought like animals, with their claws and teeth. They moved so fast it was hard for my eyes to follow. It was terrifying. Even more terrifying was the fact that I didn’t know who I wanted to win.

They went crashing through the door into the bathroom, and I saw my chance. I ran. Down the stairs, and back out into the courtyard where Julian and I had just argued. I never slowed to see if any guards were nearby. I bolted across the courtyard, across the lawn, and into the treeline. Still, I didn’t stop. Not even when my instincts told me that the dawn was approaching. Not until I saw the sky began to lighten.

I finally stumbled to a stop and leaned heavily against a tree. I was gasping for air, and my dress was in shreds. I had no idea how far I’d run. I’d never once even slowed down to listen, to see if anyone followed.

I forced myself to breathe quietly, but all I heard was the morning chorus of the birds in the trees. I strained my ears, but I was alone. I was alone in the woods, and the sun was coming up.

I pushed off the tree and started to jog, my eyes darting from side to side, looking for shelter, but finding none. Was this the end for me?

Soft rays of light were beginning to fall through the leaves overhead. I quickened my pace, fighting the panic that threatened to overtake me. I needed to stay calm, and focus. A sob escaped me, the sound echoing in my ears. Then there was another sound. A dog’s bark.

I skidded to a halt, tilting my head from side to side as I strained my ears. I heard it again, and my head snapped to the side, looking in that direction. Where there were dogs there were people, and where there were people there was shelter.

I ran towards the sound, not knowing what I’d do when I reached my destination. I slowed when I saw light ahead. The trees had thinned, and I could see an open area ahead. And a house. I froze, all of my senses suddenly kicking into overdrive.

The dog barked again, then someone whistled. “Come on, Sunny!” A woman called. The dog barked again, and a few moments later I heard a car door shut. I crept forward slowly. I was approaching the back of the house and couldn’t see the woman or the dog.

I heard the engine turn on, then saw the car appear. It drove down the driveway, away from the house. I remained where I was for several minutes after it disappeared from sight, listening for any sounds that would indicate there was still someone home. On the far side of the house, the first rays of sun peeked over the trees, and I knew I had to act.

I ran towards the house at full speed. My skin began to burn as I tore across the back lawn, and when I jumped up onto the back porch, I was gasping in pain. I threw open the door, thanking god it was unlocked, and shut it behind me. I froze, listening, but the house was empty.

I moved quickly, looking for a place to hide until nightfall. I searched for a basement door, but there was none. Finally, I went upstairs into what appeared to be an unused guestroom. I stepped into the small closet and closed the door. Several winter coats were hanging in there, and I pulled them down, stuffing them against the crack at the bottom of the door. Satisfied that no sunlight would make its way in, I sat on the floor and leaned back against the wall.

The closet was too small for me to stretch out my legs, so I bent them in front of me and wrapped my arms around them. That's when I realized I was barefoot. I blinked, surprised. When had I lost my shoes? I leaned my head forward against my knees and forced myself to think.

I thought about the fight, remembering how Adam and Julian tore into each other. I’d been sure they were going to kill each other, and maybe they had. Maybe one of them was dead now. But who? And what happened when the survivor realized I was gone? Did they chase after me? Did I want them to? And what would I do when night came? I couldn’t keep running forever, I needed a plan. But the sun was now up, and I could fight sleep no longer.

I woke with a start, my body tense, my senses instantly alert. I could hear sounds from below. A woman was talking, but the conversation was one-sided, so I knew she was on the phone. I could smell food cooking, so I assumed she was in the kitchen. I’d come in through the kitchen this morning, so I’d have to find a different way out.

I pulled the coats away from the door, and no light came in. I slowly cracked the door open and saw the room was dark. Night had fallen. I stood and pushed the door open, then I glanced down at my shredded gown. I needed clothes.

Only coats hung in the closet, so I grabbed the longest one, a puffer jacket that hung almost to my knees. I shrugged into it, then paused to listen again. Not knowing where the dog was, I was hesitant to go downstairs.

I went to the window and unlocked it before sliding it open. I pushed myself through, landing silently on the grass below, my body tucking into a crouched position. I waited a moment, listening, then I bolted across the front lawn and the driveway, into the woods on the opposite side.

I ran all night. I kept to the woods as much as possible, but at times I was forced to cross roads or open fields. I fed off a deer I encountered, and hid in a shed when dawn approached. I curled up in a ball between the wall and a riding lawn mower and prayed the rickety building would keep out the sun.

The following night, as I ran, I began to recognize my surroundings. I was getting close. I stopped after a while, knowing I needed to feed before facing my sister. I killed a cow, feeling guilty about killing a domesticated animal, but it was better than killing a human.

When I reached our back field, I slowed to a walk. My heart was hammering. Was I making the right choice?

It was the middle of the night when I approached the house, but Allie was sitting on the back porch, wrapped in a blanket. With my vampire sight, I could see her long before she saw me, and I stared at her face as I approached, taking in every beautiful detail.

When I reached the back lawn, I knew she saw me. I saw her eyes focus on me and heard her heartbeat speed up. She stood up slowly, letting the blanket fall. The wind carried her scent to me and I wanted to weep. I was home.

The Story Continues…

Who won the fight between Julian and Adam, and what did the victor do when he realized Sarah was gone? To find out, order your copy of The Darkest Crown . Follow Sarah as she is pulled deeper into the world of vampires, where magic and madness go hand, and love is a force so powerful, not even death can stop it.