Page 79 of The Dark Rising
“He sold me to the Highers. To be used as they see fit. But not before my father let my pack have their share first,” she chokes out, and I slump back in my seat, my own eyes stinging with her words. “I overheard that they have done deals with others too, but I don’t know who. They didn’t exactly tell me what they were doing.”
I know what happened to her. I saw the evidence on her body when she came to Eridian, then she told me some of it, but hearing her own father was aware? He was a part of it? And that others have done the same too?
“What the fuck is wrong with people?” I whisper to myself before getting up and starting to pace the room. My emotions run high, wanting to burst out of my skin. “What happened to what wolves are meant to be?! We are protectors, providers, defenders. When did the wolves of Vrohkaria turn into monsters?” I shake out my hands, feeling the need to do... something.
“What did they want from you?” Darius asks Sarah, keeping his eyes on me. “The Highers?” I wait for her answer, as this is also what she hadn’t told me.
Sarah looks toward me. “They said I was a suitable candidate to potentially produce a pup to be an Heir. I was to be given to the Highers after my arranged mating to the Aragnis pack. I don’t know anything more than that. Just that I was to be taken somewhere.”
I look at Darius, his face a picture of disgust. “Why is producing an Heir important? What does he want with Heirs?” I ask him.
“He mentioned to me about creating stronger pups to defeat the rogures, but this obsession he seems to have had for a long time, doesn’t make it feel like the only reason he has.” He folds his arms, the muscles bulging in them. “Before you arrived in Wolvorn, no one ever mentioned the Heirs, unless it was a passing conversation about them not being around anymore. The people were glad they weren’t around because that meant they were safe.”
“But they aren’t safe. Not from the Highers or the rogures,” I growl.
“I know,” he says bluntly.
“Do they know I’m gone?” Sarah asks from the bed.
“Not yet,” Darius answers. “And when they do, they won’t know where you are, I will make sure of it. Come, little wolf,” he says to me. “We have a lot to discuss.” Darius walks out the open doorway and enters the hallway.
I move over to Sarah and press my cheek to hers. “You’re okay now, if you’re in danger here I will have you moved to Witches Rest.” Her eyes widen. “Josh will explain.”
I move as Josh stands, coming over to me and pulling me close, kissing the top of my head. I tense under his touch, my arms hanging loosely by my sides. I hear a growl from the hallway, and I roll my eyes, pulling back from Josh to see Darius scowling at us.
“I’ll talk to you later,” I tell Sarah, and follow Darius out and down the hallway.
He continues ahead of me, silent in his steps. I follow quietly as we get further and further away from the rooms on this level. Darius takes a right and descends down some steps. I look out the small windows as we continue down, seeing gardens at the back of the keep that I haven’t been to on this side. We eventually come to a door at the bottom, and Darius moves the bolt attached to it and opens it up.
We step out into the open, the smell of all the various flowers hitting my senses with their sweet, earthly smell. Darius follows a stone path further into the gardens, leading me toward the back of the enclosed keep. He pushes open an iron gate that has ivy clinging to it, ripping it apart as he pushes the gate open fully. I duck my head, feeling the ivy tickle my face as I go through.
Once out on the other side, weeping willows surround us, their leaves swaying in the slight breeze as Darius walks through them. I let my hand stroke them, feeling their life within like a pulsing heartbeat. We continue over grass, Darius quiet and me curious, if not slightly nervous at being back here on our own.
Why is he taking me out here?
We come to an open, circular space within the willow trees, the sun shining down on us and creating shadows of branches under the trees. The grass tickles my ankles as I step into the area, the strands longer here. Darius pauses and I stop, looking him over as he folds his arms.
“Zaide is staying back to either try and find where the memory crystal is, or grab it if he can,” he says. “He’s trying to ask a female that Charles brings to his office to speak to her.”
My nose scrunches in disgust. “Will he be able to stay there long?” He shakes his head.
“Just as long as he can until it becomes suspicious. I won’t have him put himself in danger for it, he can handle himself well though.”
I take a breath before my next question. “My pack? Kade?”
“We have brought records here, so we can look through them for your pack’s names. Kade is still at Wolvorn. They say it’s for his own safety.”
My stomach drops. “Safe?” I scoff, unease slithering inside of me. “He’s not safe there, what are they doing to him.” I stare off into the distance, dreading what he may be going through.
“Nothing good, Rhea,” My eyes swing back to him, and a knot forms in my stomach. “I met Aldus there,” Darius says, changing the conversation. I have a feeling he knows what’s going on, but won’t tell me. I don’t know whether I’m thankful or pissed. “He said the memories you changed keep appearing and are held behind a block so he becomes violent. Aldus and Maize are having to keep removing the block you have put there to get to his memories.”
I close my eyes briefly. “I only ever blocked his memories as a child because his nightmares were terrible. He would scream for hours or be still and quiet after sleep when he would finally let himself rest. I didn’t…changehis memories.“ God, Carzan, I’ll come as soon as I can.
“I thought as much,” he says, easily, and I have to stop the skip of my heart that he believes me. That he may actually be on my side, even if I don’t want him to be. But this is bigger than my issues with him. Than us. Lives hang in the balance and I need to shove down what’s going on between me and Darius the best I can. “Did you know about Sarah’s father?” he asks.
“No, I didn’t,” I answer, folding my own arms. “I knew her pack was doing...thingsto her. She was a mess when we got her, her injuries then…“ I trail off. “I had no idea her father was involved.”
He looks away from me, his jaw ticking. “How many more people have they done this to?” he wonders out loud.
