Page 25 of The Dark War

Chapter Fourteen

Clara

Hotbreathsleftmymaw as I climbed the endless stairs. The blackness that donned the never-ending staircase had me running faster.

“Help me!” a woman screamed from the blackness of the shadows. Deep chuckles reverberated between the walls. Giana’s nails continued to click, our tongue lolling out of our maw. “I’m coming!” I kept yelling inside my head. Giana continued to whimper and growl at the stressing calls for help.

The stairs circled, coming to a platform that held a dark figure hovering over a body. The dark cloak swam in dark pools around a helpless woman who lay on the floor. Scooting to a halt, my paws slid across the slick marble floor covered in crimson blood.

My eyes widened; my fur coat was coated in the sticky residue. The dark figure backed away, chuckling deeply inside his chest, watching as I fell on top of the body. The woman’s eyes opened from shock, and her mouth hung open. Wings laid broken and torn, a dagger buried in her chest.

Whining, I stumbled backward, looking at the lifeless eyes. It was like I was supposed to remember her. Her hand was reaching toward me, begging me to come to her aide. Giana whined again, wanting me to go forward, try to heal her, until I felt powerful arms pulling me back. I yipped in surprise, trying to squirm out of the hold.

The fire touched across my fur to let me know it was my mate, but why was I being dragged away? The manic laughter grew louder. He reached inside a satchel that stretched across his shoulder, and my eyes widened as white dust flew into the air.

I moaned, watching the dust fly not just to my mate and me, but down below to the darkness on the platform. My eyes closed, and the white dust invaded my lungs until I cried out, trying to reach the fae woman’s body.

“She’s gone, baby,” Kane’s voice rasped until my eyes closed. Opening them, the dark figure was now gone, the body that once lay on the floor along with it. Giana howled in anger, the retreating cloaked figure flashing in my mind’s eye.

Thrashing once again, trying to sniff where the body once lay, Kane’s arms gripped me from the scene, carrying me back down the stairs, leaving the darkness.

No!

I bolted straight up in bed; Kane’s arm lay on top of my body, but the sheer shock had me moving his arm. He jolted in surprise, seeing the sweat beaded on my forehead. “Love, what’s wrong?” Kane pulled me to his lap, heaving. His hair was messy, and his back tensed while he looked around the room.

Evelyn stirred. Her gentle cry made me forget the horrible dream and climb from Kane’s arms. “Love,” he cooed, but I reached for my baby, who lay in the cot beside my bed. Her eyes opened, staring at me with the beautiful blue eyes of her father.

“Hi, baby girl.” I pulled her to me. Her hair and her body had grown so much for the six days we left her to help Osirus and travel across Bergarian. I was missing out on everything, her first babbles and smiles, her sweet little swats at the baby toys.

It wouldn’t be long until she crawled, and would I be here for that, or would I miss that too? My heart clenched, clasping her. Kane’s enormous arms came around us, picking up the both of us and settling us in his lap. His lips brushed my forehead, wincing at the wet hair that gathered around my face.

“Love.” He rocked us both. Evelyn’s heavy eyelids fell back down to her chubby cheeks. Her hand rested on mine as I held my fingers close to her heart. “Another bad dream?” Kane’s consistent purring in his chest calmed me, Torin pushing Giana to speak of our dream to them both.

“Yes.” I choked, feeling the threatening tears hiding behind my eyes. I wouldn’t cry. It wasn’t the queenly thing to do. I was to be strong for my mate and the rest of the kingdom I was to inherit. I couldn’t let the feelings inside me stir me, deter me from the mission that I now fought within my own head.

Something was wrong, utterly wrong, and no one seemed to notice it but me.

After Kane and I were left standing at the top of the stairs in Osirus’s palace, the entire area took minutes until we all began moving again. We couldn’t remember anything; we couldn’t decide why we were even in the place to begin with.

Blood pooled on the floors, blood that wasn’t our own. Much of the blood was foul and smelled nothing but rogue. The few spots of blood we found were that of our pack and shifters from the pride lands weren’t that many. We did a head count, trying to find out who was missing.

Most of them were unmated, but a few did have mates. It meant mates on the other side of Bergarian could be dead as well with their bond being broken. “Why can’t we remember?” I leaned into Kane’s body. Kane had gathered a large tunic from one of the guest bedrooms as we came down the stairs. My body was covered, just the way he expected it to be.

“I’m not sure.” Kane glanced around the room. His shifting eyes to the corners of the room only led me to believe he wasn’t sure what he wanted to do or say. Even Marcus, who was constantly coming back with something to retort, only went through the motions to help clean up the palace.

Osirus seemed undisturbed by the whole thing. He was happy the battle was over, and his kingdom had won. He thought maybe we all had a lapse of judgment and blocked out the bloody scene. But all of us? We all blocked that from our memory?

Osirus continued to stare down at me as if looking for something. His eyes softened, his hand patting my shoulder. Kane, of course, pushed his hand away, making Osirus smile. “I see no evil, no darkness in you or your mate.” Osirus glanced to the top of the stairs. “I see no dark magic at all.” He hummed. “We will figure this out. For now, let’s celebrate.”

Osirus held a large party for the warriors, but Kane and I decided to go home. Our Evelyn was being watched, and I was not in the mood for partying. The run home was much needed and greatly appreciated by both Torin and Giana. The first platoon of warriors came home with us, their concentration on fighting off the vampire rogues more important to them.

August, who we left behind to oversee the pack along with Kane’s father, Liam, had nothing new to report. Falcons had brought in word from my parents, who had continued to travel to the northern part of the kingdom and were on their way back. Mom’s pregnancy caused them to slow down in their return, but the danger was now too great to continue their deeper travels into Bergarian.

Rogue vampires and wolves that were siding with the enemy had them take back roads with the carriage. My worry for my mother only grew by the day. I wasn't sure how I was supposed to take charge of it all once my next sibling was born. Mother had mentioned giving more power to me, but I was barely hanging on as things stood.

“Love, come back to me.” Kane’s chapped lips kissed my ear. My worry over everything and everyone only grew by the day, and now Kane was feeling the brunt of it. Our bond was so intertwined with each other it was hard to hide anything from him.

“Is it the same dream?” he muttered. We had been back for three days, and the dream was always the same. The dark-haired fae woman screaming for help, but by the time I arrived, she was already dead. I wanted to say I had seen her before, maybe in real life, but I couldn’t be sure.

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