A Guardian Angel-in-training. A soul-eating djinn. A werewolf ex-convict torn between love and vengeance. More than a heart hangs in the balance.
Season 1 of Into the Wild Dark
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Wrongfully-convicted Jack Slobodnik wants his life back. Four years...
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Ch. 12: Mal's Master
August 22 | Day
Darcy Cyprian entered the great room of the manor with dramatics befitting a billionaire vampire. With a flare of his blazer and a daunting scowl, he bellowed, "Leave us." Cherie hugged her pet lizard. Ava removed her glasses slowly. Another sharp glance and they fled.
The servants rushed to shut the drapes on the floor-to-ceiling arched windows, ridding the space of daylight. As they, too, abandoned the room, the doors slammed with an air of finality behind them. I swallowed, which was the only sign of my discomfiture at the master's appearance. A mobile device lay across my lap, news article forgotten.
"Is there sometimes I can do for you?" I asked.
Darcy stalked toward me and snatched my wrist. My phone tumbled to the floor. His cool fingers found my pulse. It was his own personal lie detector test. "Malice, my darling, my pet. You're keeping secrets from me."
"What are you talking about?" I schooled my face. Did he know of the angel?
"I watched you," Darcy whispered as his nails raked my bare arm. My chest rose and fell, but I stared ahead, calling his bluff. He stood behind me, behind the beige settee. His nose brushed my collar bone. His nostrils flared. "I watched your reaction when you looked into Distefano's heart. What did you see?"
A relieved laugh fluttered breathlessly. "Is the stress of your political machinations making you paranoid, Darcy? President Distefano trusts that you're not after his council seat. No secret, there. "
He cracked a grin. "Right. No secret, there. Paranoia, eh?" He caressed the nape of my neck and tenderly wove his fingers into my hair. Then he wrenched my head back at a stiff angle. A half-smile hardened my lips. The undulations of my ribcage slowed. The room emptied of sound, the chandeliers dimmed, and my vision blurred, but I refused to give him the satisfaction of knowing he was hurting me.
"Are you quite done with the theatrics?" I rasped.
"That's up to you, beloved." Darcy's green eyes stabbed at my features. Finally, he released my hair. "Now, tell me something I don't know."
Straightening, I moved a plush bronze satin pillow and patted beside me. I hid the trembling of my fingers in my lap. The debonair businessman sat and crossed an ankle over his knee as I rang the bell for staff to deliver a crystal chalice of the vampire's delight.
I cleared my throat. "Where do you want me to start?"
"Rising human consciousness." Darcy circled a hand impatiently.
"The regional councils are concerned about a potential return to the Age of Magic," I explained. "Thanks to the internet, humans are sharing esoteric knowledge at unparalleled rates, leading to widespread awareness of energy manipulation. Worse, the rational sciences are rediscovering that the fabric of the universe is malleable."
