ADarkDesire Read Free

important.
    “Who is she?” Belia tried to keep her voice normal, but even she couldn’t miss the slight shake in her words. Why do I care?
    “Lady Layla Theraux. Princess Layla Theraux.”
    Belia’s eyes widened. “She’s a royal?”
    Nikalye met her eyes, but she knew his focus was entirely on Layla. “Her Mother is Queen of the Spirit Demons. Her Father the first of the first.”
    Belia choked on her rum, coughing hard. She gasped in some air. “You’re joking?”
    Nikalye shook his head slowly, his eyebrows turned down. “Something is wrong.”
    “What?”
    “I…do not know.”
    “Okay, tell me about Layla. What does she look like? How do you know her? Tell me everything, from the beginning and then maybe you’ll remember what’s wrong.”
    “I have been with her since birth. Layla and Akila, both identical, but completely different from one another—Akila loved to read and write, loved the history of the creatures of the darkness. Layla, she loved to fight. She was a born warrior.”
    “Sounds like she’s a badass.”
    “She has many scars. Scares she bears like a warrior, yet fears everyone seeing.”
    “And…she is still beautiful?”
    Nikalye focused on her for a second, his eyes sweeping across her face and making heat rise in her cheeks as she struggled not to shift. “Only I can see her scars.” He ran his fingers over her neck, just like he did in the snow. “Just as I can see yours.”
    “How?” Belia couldn’t speak above a whisper.
    “It is who I am. I see everything, hear everything. Layla, she was taken by the humans hunting us. Her sister and she were only fourteen years old, yet no amount of training prepared any of us for what happened.” Nikalye’s gaze went distant again.
    Belia moved forward, causing his hand to run through her hair as she touched his cheek gently. “What happened?”
    “They killed her sister, mutilated her. I did not see her, nor was I fast enough to save her, but she was always on Layla’s mind. Both when she was alive, and how Layla saw her when she was dead.” Nikalye shook his head. “Layla was with the humans for years before I could get to her. They tortured her badly, cutting her open, injecting her with silver as well as other creatures’ blood.” Nikalye fell silent, staring off into the distance.
    Belia inhaled deeply, reached out and thought better of it. She let her hand drop to her side. “Nikalye?”
    He focused on her again and lifted his hand to her face. “So many scars.” His fingers swept across her skin, tracing patterns across her forehead, around her eyes, across her cheeks and chin and down her neck, stopping where her top did.
    “She…those are the scars you can see?”
    “She has them over her entire body.”
    “Okay…” Belia swallowed heavily, blinking back the tears forming in her eyes. She hated seeing Nikalye in pain. “Okay, so you got her back safely.”
    “Yes. But she wasn’t stable. Nightmares frequently took over her dreams. Hunger took over her senses. She escaped from my watch and went on a rampage that no one will ever forget. So many dead, caused by an innocent dhampir hybrid that hungered for the blood of creatures surrounding her, all because of what the humans did. I got her back once more, but the damage was done. She never forgot what she did.” Nikalye exhaled softly. “I tried my hardest to bring her back.”
    “Did you?” Belia kept her voice low, not wanting him to forget, but when Nikalye frowned, her stomach sank.
    “I…can’t remember.”
    Belia turned his face. “Okay, so these feelings you’re getting, that she’s in danger. Why do you feel that way?”
    “Something dark rose,” Nikalye whispered.
    Belia shivered, casting a quick glance around her. “Something…dark?”
    Nikalye rubbed his forehead. “That’s all I remember.”
    “Okay, so…so this is good.” Belia shifted closer. “You remember this…Layla. If we can find her, then maybe you’ll get your