Darkness Everlasting (Guardians of Eternity #3)(36)

A silence filled the solarium before a smile chased away Shay's dark expression. "Viper was right; you are impressive."

Darcy waved aside the ridiculous words. "Most people think I'm a freak, but that's okay."

"Most people are idiots," Shay readily retorted. "And since I'm a genuine freak myself, I think we should get along just fine."

Darcy thought so too.

For the first time in her entire life she was surrounded by those she didn't have to hide her true self from.

She didn't have to lie or pretend or concentrate on her continual charade of being normal.

It was... peaceful, she realized with a flare of surprise.

An odd feeling considering she was being held prisoner by a vampire and hunted by a pack of werewolves.

Ah, well.

It was one more strange adventure in a lifetime of strangeness.

Chapter Nine

Styx awoke alone.

Nothing new in that.

He had been waking alone for endless years. All of them without the least amount of regret.

Vampires were not by nature an intimate race. They formed clans for protection more than any need for a family, and while friends might be willing to kill for one another, they rarely felt the need to seek out one another for simple companionship.

On this evening, however, Styx discovered himself downright grumpy as he rolled to the side and found the bed empty.

By the gods, this was wrong.

Darcy should be in his arms. Her warmth should be cloaked about him, and her scent filling the room with her sweetness.

Why had she left him?

It was something he intended to discover.

After taking a swift shower and tying his hair back with a leather band, he pulled on a robe and went in search of the woman who was consuming far too many of his thoughts.

It didn't take long.

He was a vampire and he'd had Dairy's blood. The moment he climbed the stairs and entered the hallway he could sense her behind the door of the solarium.

As he walked down the hallway to join her, Styx allowed a small smile to touch his lips.

Thank goodness there were no Ravens about. Styx was not a demon who often smiled. Nor did he rush to be in the company of a mere human. His servants would no doubt fear he had gone mad.

And perhaps they would be right, he ruefully acknowledged.

As he neared the door, his smile abruptly faded at the unmistakable odor of gargoyle.

"Damn," he breathed as Levet waddled from the shadows and offered what could only be described as a smirk.

"I wouldn't go in there if I were you," the gargoyle taunted, with a twitch of his tail. "Not if you value your ... er ... valuables."

"Why?" Styx stepped forward, his expression grim. "Has something happened to Darcy?"

"She is fine," Levet said hastily, no doubt smelling death in the air. "But she is currently occupied."

"Occupied?" Styx tilted back his head to sniff the air. His expression didn't ease as he caught the familiar scent. "The Shalott."

"Yes." The smirk returned to the ugly gray face. "And Shay isn't at all pleased with you."

Styx shrugged. Shay was a long way from forgiving him for torturing Viper and attempting to sacrifice her to the Anasso.

Go Figure.

"And when is she ever pleased with me?" he demanded.

"Never."

Levet appeared inordinately smug at Shay's smoldering dislike for Styx and his Ravens. A dangerous expression considering Styx's grumpy mood had just become categorically foul.

The noble part of him wanted to be pleased that Darcy was with a companion who would intimately empathize with her. They were both part demon, and both alone in the world. Or at least Shay had been alone until Viper had mated her.

Who better to reassure Darcy that the world of the supernatural was not as terrifying as she might fear. And more importantly, that being supernatural wasn't something to be ashamed of.

The far less noble part of him wanted to toss Shay off her own estate before she could manage to poison Darcy against him.

"How long has she been here?"

"For the past hour or so. They seem to be quite taken with one another."

"Good," he gritted, wanting nothing more than to wipe that evil smile from the tiny demon's lips.

"Good?" Levet gave a small laugh. "You're not afraid that Shay will convince your beauty to stick a stake in your back?"

Styx shrugged at the deliberate taunt. It was true enough that he made it an unshakable rule to trust no one but his Ravens. And possibly Viper.

Suspicion and paranoia were a vampire's best friends when it came to staying alive.

But despite his instinctive wariness, he wouldn't believe that Darcy could ever be a threat. She might possess incredible courage and a will of iron, but there was tenderness to her soul that couldn't be faked.

"Darcy is far too gentle to harm anyone," he said with absolute certainty. "Even me."

The evil smile faded as Levet heaved a small, disappointed sigh. There would be no vampire staking today.

"I must admit you have me there. She isn't at all like a demon. Or a human, for that matter."

Styx gave a lift of his brows. "Have you managed to determine what she is?"

"She is demon; there is no doubt about that." A hint of annoyance entered Levet's tone. He didn't like not being able to determine Darcy's ancestry. It was an insult to his gargoyle powers. "But it is as if it is somehow masked by her humanity."