Page 9 of Taming Darkness

The air is thick with tension as Xandrious and Darius face off. His father’s eyes bleed black, and he gets to his feet with a thunderous growl. He swipes a hand through the air, and Lilith is thrown out of the room. The door slams shut behind her, leaving her in the entryway, screaming for Darius to be released. Xandrious then turns his attention back to Darius as he sneers darkly.

"So, you think you can stand up to me?" He says in a low voice that rumbles like thunder. "You think you have power? That it will save you from my wrath?" His eyes flash menacingly as he speaks. The room is sealed by his father, leaving him no escape.

Darius backed away from the Demonic King. No longer was there any semblance of his father and only the man that the world feared. Splinters cut and carve at his skin as he tries to hide from his father. Darius' back suddenly hits the wall.

Darius stands frozen in fear, unable to move or speak. His father begins pacing around him, circling like a predator stalking its prey. He stops abruptly in front of Darius and grabs him by the throat with one hand and lifts him off the ground until only his toes are touching the floorboards beneath them. Xandrious leans close to Darius' face, his breath hot against his skin as he speaks again;"No one can save you now," he whispers cruelly before dropping him back down onto the ground. "You will pay for this disobedience." he sneers, he lets his son go and Darius coughs, clutching his throat while he gasps for breath.

His father smirks. “You have done it now, son,” he tells him. Darius shakes his head. If bravery had a face, it was this six-year-old boy. No man would dare face the beast that stood over him. His father, at this moment, is an evil incarnate, yet Darius faced the devil head-on, and he did so as a small boy.

“No, father. You have." Xandrious laughs, the sound hollow just like his eyes. Darius gets to his feet and Xandrious stares at him as if he finds his sons words amusing. Fearless despite the pain he knows he's about to endure he continues to speak. "Just remember Dad. I won’t be little forever; one day, I’ll be bigger than you. You best remember that because I will remember this day,” he dares his father. Poking the beast.

Xandrious snaps his belt, the clap of it loud, yet Darius doesn’t even flinch, just lifts his chin holding his father’s gaze. The glint in his eyes was a challenge to his father. "Is that so, Son. You forget who your King is," Xandrious warns, his teeth turning to sharp points, his skin gray and horns split through the skin on his head.

Still Darius dare not flinch or beg his father for mercy. No, he glares at him.

“Karma father, one day you’ll meet yours. Only I won’t be a boy with magic that you hide behind but I'll be a man you’ll run from,” Darius growls the promise.

His father looks shocked by his son's words, yet he wasn’t about to let his son challenge him, and he didn’t. Xandrious let's one side of the belt go, the buckle hitting the ground with a thud and dragging across the floor as he stalks closer to his son. Only this time, Darius never peeped a cry. Not a sound leaves him as his father beats him with the buckle of his belt, leaving him black and blue, covered in blood and welts until he fell unconscious.

The memory warps and twists, disintegrating and moves away as I am tossed forward through his memories. It is suddenly abundantly clear why he believes his mates hate him.

At first, I don’t understand who the woman is until I recognize the kitchen Darius steps into after he opens the portal and steps through it. This is Lycus’ childhood home. And the woman is wearing the same floral dress I saw in Lycus’ memories. Her hair was pulled into a loose ponytail as she did the dishes. Unaware Darius was even behind her.

He walks behind her, and she startles seeing his reflection in the mirror, dropping the cup she was washing into the sink and splashing herself. She turns quickly, clutching her chest. Karla lets out a breath and smiles at him.

“Darius….” she breathes, glancing around.

“Are you alone sweetie? Where is your mother?” she questions. Darius just stares at her for a second. “Father sent me,” he says so emotionlessly. Karla nibbles her lip and her eyes glance around nervously once again, they even move to the window as if she is worried Xandrious will jump out at her any second. Turning back to look at Darius she purses her lips. "Are you hungry?" Darius shakes his head. She nods pointing to the fridge. "Do you want something to drink, I think I have some lemonade?" she tells him. "That's not why I am here. I don't want your food and I don't want anything to drink Karla," Darius tells her.

“Did something happen to Porter?” she asks, worriedly.

“Not yet.” Darius answers, and he can hear her heart thumping in her chest. She fears him. And Darius can smell her fear leaking from her pores.

Darius motions to the dining table. “You should sit, Karla,” Darius tells her, and her eyes nervously dart to the table. She swallows nervously. "Did I do something wrong?" she asks him. "If you tell me what I did, I might be able to fix it..." Darius shakes his head and points to the table.

“Why? Are you going to….” Darius shakes his head. "Please sit down, Karla." she glances at the chair when he speaks again.

“I won’t hurt you, but my father told me to look in your memories to see if you were involved in Porter’s betrayal,” Darius answers. "Betrayal?" she gasps.

“What did Porter do this time?” her brows knit together, and she exhales, looking exhausted. Darius smiles sadly and motions toward the dining chair. Karla hesitantly moves to take a seat. Yet when Darius lifts his hands, she flinches.

“It won’t hurt, Karla. It will just feel uncomfortable,” he tells her. She nods, and her eyes move to the clock hanging high on the wall above the glass sliding doors leading out to the backyard.

Darius glances over his shoulder at the clock. “I’ll be done before your son gets home, it will only take a moment,” Darius answers. Karla nods her head and closes her eyes.

"You'd like Lycus. He is a lot like you in some ways," she tells him. "What do you mean? Is he a Harmony-Fae too?" she shakes her head, reopening her eyes. "No, but I'm sure you'll see what he truly is. He's a good boy, quiet, and sticks to himself." Darius nods and touches his fingers to her temples, and we are suddenly plunged into her memories.

Darius flits through them, watching her entire life play out. And I was shocked to learn that Karla came from a very wealthy family. Her parents worked in the Fae courts. She knew Xandrious long before Porter did. What also shocked me was that as Darius stopped on certain memories, his curiosity got the better of him. He experienced her memories as if they were his own. He could feel what she felt, hear her thoughts. Which really showed how powerful he truly is.

However, Darius' curiosity gets the better of him when he recognizes a man. One I recognize from Lycus’ memories. Lysander Lycarian. Karla was to marry him through an arranged marriage. As I watched the memories play out, I could tell Karla was miserable. At first, she was swept up in the idea of marrying the King, but she learned quickly that Lysander was not a faithful man. She would constantly catch him cheating.

Yet his biggest betrayal was he stole her virginity. She grew up wanting to save it for her mate, but then when the marriage was arranged, she was forced to move in with Lysander a month before the wedding. Up until their wedding night he was sweet, and good to her. She was smitten with him. Once the vows were exchanged he changed into someone else. Darius watches the wedding play out and Karla sits alone at the table, she watches everyone dance when it is announced that the bride and groom would share their first dance.

She glances around eagerly looking for Lysander but he is nowhere to be seen. She puts on a brave face walking to the center of the dance floor. All eyes are on her, she turns scanning the crowd of people. More than half of them she did not know. Yet as the song plays he still has not come to show himself. All dressed in her wedding gown she truly looked like a princess, she smiles awkwardly.

Karla hated attention on her and currently all eyes were. Turning to the DJ she wanders over to him and he leans down. "We should wait, I will try to find him," she tells the man who nods and changes the music. She sees her parents who peer around for their son in law. "Go find him," her mother snaps at her and she rushes off, searching the other parts of the hotel. Thinking maybe he is sick she wanders back to the suite they have for the night.

Only when she pushes the door open, she finds one of her bridemaids on her knees, her lips wrapped around his cock while he fucks her face. A gasp escapes her and she backs up bumping into the coffee table. The china on top rattles drawing his attention as tears well in her eyes.

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