Chapter 36
DARCIE
The sun starts to set, and Adir still hasn’t shown his face again.
I should rest and prepare myself for whatever comes next. But I can’t.
The room is too quiet, and the questions in my head are too loud.
Bella left shortly after Henry did, saying she’d be back soon.
Since the moment the door closed behind her, I’ve paced the length of the room over and over again, sitting, then standing again.
I watch the shadows stretch across the carpet, my chest constricting, feeling like danger is closing in and there is nothing I can do to stop it.
I don’t know how long I’ve been here, how much time has passed since Henry stole me away from the safehouse, but surely the task force has noticed I’m gone. They must realize both Gregory and I are missing.
I stare out the wide windows. The beauty of the Italian countryside is lost to my worries.
I can’t believe Bella is helping Adir.
And why.
The fact that she cheated on Thane is nothing less than shocking. The Immortal couple seemed so perfect, so far above such betrayal that it never would have ever crossed my mind as a possibility.
But even knowing what happened in the past, I don’t understand Bella’s willingness to betray everyone now.
She believes she’s helping Thane—that forcing him, Lome, and Des to step down as the Council’s enforcers will benefit them.
But knowing what I do about the brothers’ powers and how humanity influences them, that will never happen.
By the Creator’s design, they will always remain more powerful than their fellow Originals, and the Originals will always be more powerful than the lesser Immortals and half-breeds.
There will always be someone who wants more power. Disrupting the current balance will only bring chaos.
How does Bella not see that?
The bedroom door creaks open.
I spin around, heart in my throat, but most of my dread fades when I recognize the petite brunette stepping into the room.
“You’re awake,” Bella says softly, closing the door behind her with a soft click that echoes through the air. “You should be resting.”
“What is going on?” I cross the room and stand in front of my friend, eyes pleading for answers. “What is Adir planning?”
Her pale pink lips press together. “I don’t know.”
“Please don’t lie to me. I already know you two have been working—”
“You don’t understand,” she interrupts me. Her brown eyes flash. “I truly do not know. Adir has…he has deviated from our plan.”
“Deviated?” I search her gaze. “What plan?”
“Come.” She looks over her shoulder at the door, then moves in the opposite direction, towards the oversized window.
The window turns out not to be a window, but a well-concealed door to the narrow balcony extending off the room.
Bella leads me onto the stone, shutting the glass door behind us.
I wait for her to turn around before asking again, “What has changed about Adir’s plan?”
In my gut, I already know. But I need her to say it.
I need her to realize she’s on the wrong side and help me escape.
The shadows marring her face darken as her skin pales. “I believe Adir intends to force a bond with you.”
My certainty grows, but I hang on to the last threads of hope that what I think is going to happen is wrong.
“What kind of bond?”
“The kind Eshe and I have with Lome and Thane.” Her haunted eyes meet mine. “He intends to bind your soul to his.”
“But he can’t do that!” I shake my head, my eyes are wide, begging her to tell me I’m right. “I’m not his One.”
He’s not Des.
“I know.” She wrings her hands. “But he’s certain he can make it work. That he can overcome the natural connection between you and Des.”
“No.” I continue to shake my head. “No.”
“I’m so sorry, Darcie.”
I hate how defeated she sounds. She’s accepted that this will happen.
But I don’t.
“Why would he even want that? What in the world could Adir possibly gain from that?”
Sure, denying Des our connection limits the brothers’ power.
Is that all he’s after?
Thane, Lome, and Des are still more powerful than Adir. And the alliance is strong. Denying them my power won’t be enough to defeat them.
What am I missing?
“If you and Adir bond, you share power.”
I blink, letting the words settle. “I will gain access to Adir’s power?”
She nods, expression solemn. “And he, to yours.”
Shit!
Shit. Shit. Shit.
“I have to get out of here.” I spin on my heel and stride back into the room. “Now!”
Bella hurries after me. “Wait, Darcie.”
“No!” I whirl back around and level her with a pointed glare. “You don’t understand. Adir can’t access my powers. Not now.”
Not when I’m a cognizant.
Not when I can throw my mind into any situation, any conversation, I want.
If Adir gains access to that power, the alliance is doomed.
Humanity is doomed.
Panic grips my chest, making it difficult to breathe.
“I have to get out of here.” I need to find Gregory. We need to escape.
“Darcie, stop!”
“No, Bella!” I shout. “I don’t care what you do—if you think working with Adir will help Thane in the long run—but I will not let him access my power. Now, either help me or leave.”
She sucks in a breath. “I-I want to help. I do. But this place is a fortress. There’s no leaving.”
“What about your power? Transport me out of here.”
“There’s a ward around the property. No one can leave.”
Fuck!
I open my mouth to press her for any possible way out of this place when the double doors swing inward.
Both of us whirl around.
My eyes grow so wide they might pop out of my head.
“Faine?” Relief explodes through my body. “You found us!”
Of all the people I imagined might rescue me, the quiet Immortal never crossed my mind.
“Well, it’s not like she had to look. I led her right to you.” Adir strolls in behind Faine.
My heart drops to the floor as my eyes fly over Faine.
She looks…different.
Straighter posture. Chin lifted. I can count the number of times I’ve heard Faine speak on one hand. She usually stays in the background, content to let her fellow Originals do all the talking.
But something tells me that’s no longer the case.
“What’s going on?” Bella asks, her voice stronger than it has been all day.
Faine’s gaze flicks to Bella before landing on me.
“I am here to witness your bonding,” she says evenly. “I brought one of the Elders with me.”
Elders?
I’ve heard that word before. But where?
The answer comes quickly.
Des had mentioned an Elder before…when I’d asked about Adir’s sentence after his trial.
He’d said an Elder was another supernatural being, and one who would facilitate Adir’s transition to a lesser Immortal.
The reason one would be here today slaps me in my face, and I take a shaky step back.
“Wait.” Bella moves forward, positioning herself in front of me. “Perhaps there is another way.”
“No, Bella,” Faine says. “This is the only way.”
I take another step back.
The balcony door is open.
Should I jump?
Would my burgeoning immortality save me from such a high fall?
“But bonds are sacred,” Bella pleads. “To force one…it can’t lead to anything good.”
Faine looks to Adir.
The Immortal of War smirks. “If bonds are so sacred, it is a wonder you violated yours, my dear.”
Bella sucks in a breath and drops her head.
Asshole.
“I won’t do it.” I take another step toward the railing. “You can’t force me to do it.”
A dangerous glint enters Adir’s gaze. “That is where you are wrong, love.”
He lifts a hand and flicks his wrist. The window rattles when it slams shut.
“This is madness.” Bella shifts to place herself between me and the Originals. “You cannot do this, Adir. It goes against the Creator’s wishes.”
For a moment, I catch a glimpse of the old Bella—the kind-hearted, but strong, Immortal who did everything in her power to make my stay in Greece bearable.
The woman who kept me company. Who kept me informed.
The woman I am proud to call my friend.
The atmosphere in the room tightens, heavy and dangerous.
“Nothing is right in this world as long as the Council and brothers hold dominion over the rest of us,” Adir counters. “Securing Darcie’s powers for our cause will ensure our cause’s success.”
He takes an ominous step forward.
The dread in my gut coils tight.
“Isn’t that what you want, sweet Bella?” He cocks his head to the side. His expression drips with insincere concern. “Isn’t that what we all want?”
He waves a hand between them, then over to Faine.
The quiet Original remains standing by the door, hands laced together in front of her, watching the room with an unreadable expression.
Adir continues, “Darcie’s immortality is already changing.”
My heart stutters.
How does he know that?
“We must secure the bond before it is too late.”
Over my dead body.
“I won’t do it,” I croak. Then, louder, I repeat, “I will not do this, Adir. I refuse.”
Cold, blue eyes pierce me where I stand, trembling. But I hold my chin high. This bond…whatever it takes to complete…it has to be consensual, right?
If I refuse to agree, it won’t work.
I have to believe that.
It is Faine who speaks. Her words aren’t cruel, but they brand her as my enemy all the same. “I believe it will. And so does the Elder.”
“Des hasn’t even confirmed I’m his One,” I counter, grasping at straws, but refusing to give up and accept defeat. “You will try to force a bond that doesn’t exist.”
Adir smirks. “That is a risk we are willing to take.”
My hands curl into fists. “Well, I’m not!”
He laughs. “Oh, Darcie. You are adorable. I admire your tenacity.”
“This isn’t tenacity!”
He continues as if I didn’t speak, “You will make an excellent life partner.”
He can’t possibly mean that.
“I will not go along with this,” I grind out, taking another step back. “You cannot make me.”
He doesn’t even blink. “It is a pity no one ever told you of the intricacies of transitions and bonding. Rest assured, Darcie, I will never willingly leave you in the dark once we are bonded.”
Bonded.
The word makes me recoil.
Bella reacts, too, as if the word snaps something inside her.
“That is enough. You’ve gone too far.”
“Trust me, sweet Bella.” His icy eyes shift to her. “I will go even farther to get what I want.”
But Bella doesn’t cower this time.
Blue light surrounds her as she calls on her power.
“This isn’t happening, Adir.” Her power spreads. Faine steps back, away from the growing threat. “Come up with another plan.”
Adir holds his ground. “There is no other plan.”
“Then we will create one.” Her chin lifts, and more of the woman I’ve come to know peeks through the fragile shell that’s surrounded her since she left Greece. “But I will not allow you to go against the Creator’s Will like this. We will reorganize the Council another way. But not like this.”
For a moment, I truly believe Adir will agree.
There’s a flicker of something in his gaze that I mistake for acceptance.
But I’m wrong.
“If you are not with me,” Adir begins, voice low, words slow. “Then you are against me.”
I stiffen.
Bella hisses. “Only fools deal in absolutes.”
“And only fools step back into cages simply because they are gilded.” Red light crawls over Adir’s arms, crackling and snapping like lightning.
Faine reaches the doorway. She catches my eye, shakes her head once, and then she is gone.
“There is another way to create equality in our world, Adir,” Bella says, trying desperately to reason with a man who is clearly unreasonable. “But it will not be this.”
“You’re wrong—”
Bella throws her arm out, cutting off Adir’s retort. A beam of blue power slices through the air.
A viscous crack echoes through the room when the attack strikes a barrier surrounding Adir. The power bounces up, hitting the ceiling,
I throw my arms over my head as chunks of plaster rain down.
Bella keeps attacking, hands swiping back and forth. Her strikes aren’t the most powerful I’ve ever witnessed, but they’re enough to force Adir back.
He stands behind a now-shimmering shield, his power bracing against the power she shares with Thane, one of the most formidable Originals to exist.
“Get out of here, Darcie!” Bella pants between bursts. “Find the vampire and use his speed to escape. I’ll hold them off as long as I can.”
Panic clamps around my chest.
“How?” I shout.
Adir blocks the only exit.
“Go to the closet. There’s a trap—”
Her words cut off when a red bolt of lightning slams into her left temple.
Bella’s eyes fly wide as the impact sends her spinning to face me.
Then, their light fades.