Page 50 of Dark Desire
His green eyes dilated. “They recruited you?”
I pulled down my jumper to show him the mark they gave me when I was seven years old. “I am a Seeker of Fate. I made an oath on my life to maintain the balance of all. They offered me security, safety, training, food and clothing, anything I would ever need for the rest of my life. All I had to do was use my gift of time-weaving to help them retrieve significant artefacts to ensure they were never lost or ended up in the wrong hands, which would have had catastrophic consequences to the balance and fates of all.”
Zoran stared at the mark on my shoulder with anger in his eyes. I could sense how much he hated that I had been brandedor marked by another. As a vampire demon, I had already picked up on his need to feel possessive of me, and this was a glaring statement that I would never truly be his. I wasn’t free.
“There are others. Supernaturals with special gifts that The Fates mark as their loyal subjects. We isolate ourselves to keep ourselves safe because if others knew our gifts and what they were used for, we'd be targeted. That’s why I can’t belong to a coven and why I changed my name. And why I’ve moved around so much. The Fates trained me to learn how to control my gift so that it didn’t control me. But in doing so, I gave them the power they needed to influence me. They can summon my gift when they need to utilise it and send me back in time to retrieve things they need to protect.” I opened the box and dumped all the photographs onto the bed. “I started to record every mission when I turned eighteen. I bought a camera and decided if I was going to travel back to these momentous occasions, I wanted something to remember them by.”
“And that’s how you ended up at my family cottage in Serbia that night?” Zoran sat down on the edge of the bed, gripping his knees as he stared at me with astonishment. “The Fates sent you to save me?”
I swallowed and shook my head slowly. “I wish that were the reason.” I glanced down at my hands, twisting them together nervously. “I was sent to get a medallion. The medallion of the first-born Demonski Upir.”
His whole body locked with tension, his eyes narrowing. “My grandfather’s medallion? That’s why you had it?”
“Yes. Your father was wearing it. I shielded the necklace from the view of the coven until they left and then I buried him. I gave him a beautiful grave, Zoran. And…I refused to give The Fates the necklace. I kept it, which is also against my oath, but I could sense that it would mean a lot to you. I’ve had it hidden in this church for nearly three months. Seekers have been trying to getin to retrieve it. The fae I buried in the graveyard, for example. The Fates didn’t want it to end up in the wrong hands with that coven because it's powerful, but I wanted to give it back to you once I found you.”
He ran his hand through his hair and lifted his gaze to look at me. “Thank you, Darcie. It does mean a lot to me. To us. The medallion enhances the owner’s natural powers. I gave it to my brother as he now has my father's gifts. And you’ll never know how much it meant to me that you buried my father. I saw the grave. It was beautiful.”
I exhaled, feeling relief and extremely emotional that I did the right thing at least in that aspect.
“Tell me about your version of that night,” he said, holding my gaze.
“I know this is going to be difficult to hear, so I’m just going to relive that night as fast as I can, and if you have questions after or want me to repeat anything, then I will. Okay?” He blinked at me, clenching his fists in his lap and nodded. “So I was in bed when my gift was called upon. I time-weaved and found myself barefoot in my nightshirt in the middle of a forest. I had no idea where I was. The Fates told me to wait until I saw black smoke rising above the canopy before heading towards it. So I leaned against a tree and waited. But then I heard screams. Harrowing screams of a woman and child. I couldn’t ignore it. So I ran. I raced through that forest until I came to an opening and saw the cottage. Black flames laced with thick, dark magic were rising from the roof. I thought the woman and child might have been trapped inside, so I ran forward but stopped when I saw them all. Hundreds of them. So many witches and warlocks were surrounding the place, chanting. I didn’t understand what was happening, but I knew they were responsible for it. And then I saw you. Or not you. Ambroz. You were being levitated in the air by a circle of witches who were breaking your bones andtorturing you with unimaginable pain. And then they forced you against the frame of the cottage and bound you by magic. It all just felt so…wrong. At first, I was in shock at seeing Ambroz. I had no idea what a Demonski Upir was and I’d never seen anything like him before. My initial thought was that you had to be evil or they wouldn’t be doing this. But then I looked at Ambroz’s face and the suffering they were putting him through and I didn’t give a shit if you were evil or not. I couldn’t stand by and let it happen. I can’t explain it.” I shook my head, dropping it into my hands. “I’ve witnessed some shocking things. Horrific things. And I’ve had to turn a blind eye. I’ve had to force myself not to intervene with fate’s plan. But seeing you…something came over me and I knew I had to stop it. There were too many of them to fight against. I had no chance of winning. So I did the only thing I could think of. I used a transmogrification spell to turn you into a raven so you could fly behind the flames. I watched you go and I felt…relief. I hid in the forest until the coven all left and let the magnitude of what I’d just done sink in. I’d fucked with fate. Unwoven an element of time that should never have been tampered with. I’d broken my oath and I knew the consequences. But I honestly didn’t care. I couldn’t watch you die. No matter what that meant for me.”
“What does it mean for yourself?” Zoran growled, standing up and pacing towards me. I hid my face behind my hands, fighting back the tears. He grabbed my wrists and removed them. “Darcelle. What does that mean for you? Who was that vampire who attacked you earlier?”
I let out a shuddering breath and closed my eyes. “He was another seeker…sent to kill me. The Fates have sent four so far.”
Zoran stood up, growling from his chest as he glared at me. “They’re trying to kill you? For saving me?”
“I broke my oath. I saved a life that wasn’t meant to be saved. I must pay the price with my own. I know this and I’ve acceptedit. The only reason I have been fighting them off is because I wanted to find you in your raven form and change you back before I died.”
When he didn’t say anything, I glanced up to find his shoulders rising with heavy, furious breaths. He suddenly roared, his eyes turning black as Ambroz made his presence known.
“No,” he growled, his black eyes glistening with lethal intent. “No fucking way are they taking you from me. Let them come. Let them send every fucking seeker they have. I’ll end them all.”
Damn. Not a moment to get insanely aroused, Darcie.I squeezed my thighs together as I smiled a little. “When they truly want me dead, Zoran. I’ll be dead. You can’t take on The Fates.”
“Fucking watch me,” he hissed, pacing the room. “Get them here. How do you speak with them?”
“That isn’t how this works. They come to me. They seek me out when they need me. But I’ve killed four of their seekers now, so they won’t wait much longer until they show up themselves.”
He nodded. “Good. Then we’ll wait.”
I stood up, shaking my head with exasperation. “I don’t think you understand what I’m saying, Zoran. You can’t stop this. You can’t take them on.”
He walked straight into me, tugging me into him as he held my face in his hands. “I don’t think you understand what I’m saying. They aren’t taking you from me. Ever.”
I closed my eyes, knowing this was hopeless. And painful. That was the worst part. That this would hurt him. I saved him, and all he’d done was suffer for it ever since. And after they kill me, he’ll suffer even more without his soulmate.
“Give us your soul, Darcie.”
I opened my eyes as I reached up for his face, stroking my fingers along his jaw. “It won’t make a difference. They’ll still killme. And then you’ll have to live with the pain of our separation. That’s not fair to you. None of this is fair to you.”
“There has to be a way. I’m not allowing you to die for my sake.”
“That was a choice I made. And I don’t regret it. I’m at peace with it, Zoran. So let’s enjoy the time we have left together.” I wrapped my arms around his waist and squeezed. “Please?”
He shook his head, grabbing my arms and pulling them off him. “No. Let’s go and see the royals. My brother is mated to the vampire princess, so they’re kind of like family. They’ll help us.”
