Page 16 of Dark Desire
I smiled at her warmly. She truly had a heart of gold. “Thank you, Evie. For being so lovely.”
Opening the door to her guest room, I stepped inside, shut it behind me, and leaned against it. Tonight was a lot. I’d lived a crazy life, but somehow it only seemed to be getting more and more insane.
Exhaling a long breath, I began to untie the cape, letting it fall to the floor and stripping off my filthy clothes. There was a rancid smell in the room, and I realised it was probably me. The scent of smoke and mud clung to my skin, and I shuddered as I remembered those final moments tied to that stake. It truly was a horrendous way to die, and I knew without a doubt I’d never regret the choice I made three months ago.
Standing in the shower, I turned the tap to scalding hot and stood under the steaming waterfall. Closing my eyes, I pressed my hands against the cold porcelain tiles and tilted my head back, soaking my hair. I stayed like that for quite a while, longer than I needed to wash away the horrific events of the night. Afterlathering myself with Evie’s soap, I rinsed off and wrapped a large, fluffy towel around my body.
I already felt a million times better, even though my problems still seemed to be piling up. There was the missing fae’s body, Beryl making me a suspect in the desecration of a grave, the masked green-eyed man chasing me tonight, and the fact that I didn’t get a chance to finish my spell. The weight of those problems felt like a stone pressing on my chest while I tried my best to swim to the surface. But I refused to drown under the pressure. I was made of stronger stuff and nothing could–
I screamed at the top of my lungs when I whipped the cover back on the double bed to find the fae’s decapitated head resting on the pillow. My hand slammed over my mouth as I stumbled backwards, knocking into the dresser.
“Darcie?” Evie’s worried voice floated up from downstairs and then I heard her footsteps.Shit. Shit. Shit.
Thinking on my feet, I quickly cast a cloaking spell to make Evie see a teddy bear instead of a decapitated head on her blush bedding. I barely had time to swallow the vomit in my mouth when she barged into the room.
“Are you okay? I heard you scream!”
“I–Er–” My eyes darted between her and the mangled head. “I saw a spider. I’m sorry.”
“A spider?” She ran her hand through her neat hair. “Good heavens, woman. You scared the life out of me. I thought you were being murdered.”
I gulped.
She sighed, stepping closer to me and pressing her hand to my forehead. “You look really unwell. I am booking that appointment for tomorrow. No arguments.”
“Okay,” I squeaked. She gave me another deep frown before turning to glance around the room. “What is that awful smell?”
“I don’t smell anything,” I whispered, my heart thundering manically in my chest. I was going to be sick. She needed to leave because I was about to vomit all over her Egyptian cotton sheets.
“Really? You don’t smell that?”
“Nope.” I faked a yawn behind my hand and she took the hint.
“Okay. Well, try to get some sleep.” As soon as she left, I raced back into the bathroom and shoved my head down the toilet, spewing my guts out. When I had nothing left to give, I flopped down on the floor, still only wrapped in a towel and stared at the grotesque head of a man I killed.
Forcing myself to deal with this, I used amotusspell to move the head from the bed into the bin so I didn’t have to touch it, then tied the bin liner tightly. I’d have to wait until Evie was sound asleep before taking it outside and discarding it somewhere. Perhaps the sea? Do decapitated heads float? Maybe that wasn’t a good idea. I could bury it in the woods, but whoever dug it up might do so again, and I wasn’t having that. I fought back the tears. I knew I had no right to be upset about this — I mean, I did kill the man in the first place — but who hated me this much to be doing this to me?
Was it The Fates? I wasn’t sure they’d do something like this but who knows? I rubbed my tired eyes and glared at the bed. There was no way I was sleeping on that tonight. Grabbing the throw, I tugged it over me on the floor.
What a fucking night.
Chapter Seven
Staring up at the boundless black sky dotted with dying stars, I lay motionless on the cold slate roof tiles. Focusing on keeping my breaths shallow and my pulse steady, I tuned out the soft breeze and the distant lapping of waves to listen to the rhythmic heartbeat below me. The heart of the witch who thought she had escaped me once again. Soon, she would realise she could never truly escape.
Now I knew her scent, I’d always be able to track her down again, sooner or later. Planting the fae’s head in that bed, knowing she'd return to it at some point, was exactly what I needed to make her heart race and her pulse thrum so wildly it was impossible for my vampire senses to ignore. Her fear ignited and fuelled my predatory instincts more than anything else. Each beat of that heart belonged to me. From now on, only I controlled it. When it was steady, it was because I allowed it to be. When it skipped and raced, it would be because of the fear I evoked. And when it finally stopped, it would by my hand.
I knew she had fallen asleep the moment her heartbeat slowed and softened, blissfully unaware of the deadly shadow lurking onthe roof. As I waited for her to drift into a deeper sleep, I gazed at the distant twinkling stars, wondering if they were watching me too. People seem so captivated by stars, especially humans. I didn’t understand it. To me, they were cold and indifferent. They watched men be born, suffer, and wither into dust while they continued to burn brightly. Humans die in the blink of an eye, yet they live on, painfully slowly, until their light finally fades. Perhaps I was more like a star than a human. Cursed to watch on while others lived happily, yet I felt no joy.
I closed my eyes and listened to each fragile beat slowing down. I could almost hear the gentle breaths passing her lips, imagining the rise and fall of her chest with every whisper of life. My jaw clenched. She didn’t deserve to sleep so peacefully, not while I had spent my whole life living in a constant state of uncertainty and lack of control. Even as a child, I kept a knife under my pillow, afraid that the Slayers would attack while my eyes were closed.
Pulling down the devil mask I’d been wearing during the festivities, I sat up and cracked my neck. With small, curved horns protruding from the forehead, sharp, angular cheekbones, and a menacing grin, this mask was nothing compared to my demon’s real face. But she’d only see Ambroz again when I decided it was time.
Shifting carefully to avoid the roof from groaning under my weight, I climbed down onto the window ledge of her bedroom. I’d already broken the latch when I left the rotting head hours ago, so it was easy to get inside. When my boots touched the carpet, I frowned at the empty bed. Taking slow, cautious steps around it to the other side, I saw her body on the floor.
Tilting my head to take in her sleeping form, my eyes wandered over black curls that had dried naturally, making them look soft and shiny under the dappled moonlight filtering through the window. I stared at her face, losing myself tounwelcome desire at the sight of her parted lips, that freckle above them, her long, thick eyelashes casting shadows across her cheeks and the smoothness of her unscarred skin. She was sleeping on her side, curled up in a ball beneath the duvet, with only her bare shoulders, arms, and face visible. It was enough to give me the idea that she was naked beneath those blankets.
I swallowed the knot in my throat. My dick hardened. Rage boiled my veins.
