Eternal Darkness (A Novel of the Amagarians Book 1) (24 page)

I will not reveal your name
or kingdom.

If you are hurt because you fucking defied me, you will rue the day, Princess.
He lashed at her with rage in
his voice.

Her
voice hitched.

Drac, please
, she whispered to him with raw ache in her voice.
I must submit myself to the council. Promise me you will not harm
my people.

If you are hurt, I will deliver death to all who participated
.
Do not let a touch mar your skin or pain be inflicted upon you, Princess. Reveal my
fucking name!

They will take me as soon as I reveal
my consort
.

There is nowhere you can be taken that I cannot retrieve you,
reveal me.

“Drac, all is well?” Gidon drawled from where he stood in their
meeting room.

Drac barely contained a snarl and Gidon raised
his brows.

Drac’s blades stepped forward in unison and flanked him. They were ten of the deadliest warriors he presided over…and the
most loyal.

“My mate has need of me. I leave for Boreas,” Drac stated and simply shiktred away. His blades followed
without hesitation.

***

Boreas—High Council tribunal

“I refuse, my lords,” Saieke expressed for the
third time.

“Very well, Princess.” The high chancellor Azul grimaced as he stroked his beard. “This tribunal has declared that you will be whipped with the aid of the wind until you reveal the name of your consort and his kingdom. The Nuria, king demands satisfaction and recompense and it will
be given”

Saieke had expected this and tried to harden against the fear. She had known pain would have broken the barrier and Drac would have felt every lash. She could only hope he would honor her request not to harm her people. She could feel the Nurians rage and determination. If she were to name Drac now, they would move to take
her immediately.

Within seconds, she would be stripped and mounted by King Ajali…after they poisoned her to ensure she was not with child, and then healed her with
the elixir.

I am coming
for you
.

She froze. He was coming
to Boreas?

Do not harm my people

Then reveal
my name.

The Nurians refuse to cancel the binding oath and will seek to return me to their kingdom as their king’s bride
.
Once I reveal your name, King Ajali will take me away. He will rape me Drac. He will need to ensure I cannot escape binding. I will fight…but I will not win. I prefer to be beaten instead of the king violating my body
, she whispered
to him.

The rage that burned against her mind was so cold she shivered, causing her mother’s eyes to widen in alarm.
If you reveal me, he would not dare to think to bed a
Darkan mate.

She did not think King Ajali would care if she was the mate of
a Darkan.

He will not care. And when he beds me forcefully, you will kill him. Everything Gidon is working for will be lost once Nuria turns with vengeance to
your realm.

You are ours
to protect.

She steadied herself as she was led into the center of the room. Manacles were slapped on her wrist, and her arms were stretched over her head and wrapped around a column. Her feet were drawn roughly apart and manacles also clamped them to
the ground.

The warrior that chained her could hardly meet her eyes, and she could feel the rage and pain from him on her behalf. She was shackled tightly and sweat beaded her
upper lip.

Everything relied on her being stalwart. If only they knew the bloodshed she prevented from hiding
her consort.

The
cruel irony.

***

Izumi willed herself to remain impartial as a queen to see her daughter punished. She understood the rage that King Ajali felt at the blow that she dealt him. He would not rest until he had the name of the one who betrayed and
dishonored him.

She could also sense the turbulence that churned from her daughter’s
chakra
. Izumi wished King Ajali could feel what Saieke felt and probably then he would relent. To sense the emotions of others through their
chakra
was a gift Saieke inherited from her, and no one else could feel the tangled mess of emotions in the chamber. From the Nurian king she felt great resolve and rage, and Izumi feared that his desire for this great land would be
their downfall.

War and death hovered if Saieke did not bend, and Izumi feared she would not. She had never imagined that her only child would be so obstinate. Saieke now faced a vicious whipping and possible imprisonment when the King absconded with her, yet she refused to yield. Izumi did not know whether to admire or strangle
her daughter.

The queen’s stomach clenched as she felt Saieke’s pained breathing as her arms were stretched high above her head in the manacles. This was more than a punishment, it was humiliation. To be whipped in the council chamber before the most influential aristocracy of their kingdom
was horrifying.

Izumi gripped the edge of her chair. There was a tense silence in the room as they hoped that Saieke would change her mind before the
whipping commenced.

“Princess, we give you another chance to reveal your lover,”
Azul intoned.

It was met
with silence.

“Do you understand you will be whipped until
you submit?”

Silence.

Izumi clasped her king’s hand as the whip whistled through the air and sliced across Saieke’s back. Izumi gasped at the pain that she felt from Saieke. The wind whistled again and again against her back and on the tenth stroke, Saieke’s gasp turned to a scream of pain. Izumi rose out of her chair and stepped toward the balcony railing, gripping
the edges.

“Stop this!”
she ordered.

The wielder looked to their king who shook his head. She wanted to scream at him. This was
their daughter.

With a grimace the man flicked the
whip again.

Saieke’s caftan had ripped in several places and dots of blood soaked through her clothing.
Crack…crack…crack
. The whip curled in the air. Izumi flinched in sheer shock as the hand that descended with the whip flew through the air. Gasps rushed through the room, and as one, the entire room surged to their feet on edge. The warrior crumpled, and screamed. He held his severed stump as blood sprayed from him in
an arch.

Izumi saw no one, but darkness coated her mind and she trembled at the malevolence that stepped into
the room.

Drac

Tears slid down
her face.

I
am here
.

Manacles dropped as claws she could not see sliced them off her feet and hands. Saieke was moved with speed and deposited away from the blood. Her body singed and her heart soared despite the pain that roiled through
her body.

Drac

She felt a feathery brush against her neck and whispers of emotions leaked from him
to her.

“What is this?” a
voice thundered.

She glanced up. Her mother gripped the railing and her eyes were wide and shocked filled. Saieke knew her mother could feel some of the malevolence that Drac brought
with him.

Everyone was standing and searching the room, but he remained in the shadows. She felt the powers of others that arrived with him— ten distinct
chakra
that were ice cold
and deadly.

Pain lanced at her back, but she could feel the
torment lessening.

Your body is already healing

“What is the meaning of this?” the Nurian
chancellor demanded.

Their warriors were tense and the intent that leaked from them was almost intimidating. King Ajali launched himself gracefully over the balustrade and landed in front of her. In eerie unison, his unit of ten landed behind him and the heat that washed from them made the air in
front simmer.

A high and mellifluous pitched sound suddenly wailed through the room. Screams of lyrical beauty and destructive harmony scraped and grated across the room, and the ceiling above her head contracted. Thousands of shards of stained glass exploded and rained down on them. Borean warriors rushed in and waved their hands in a canopy of movement that flung the glass away
from them.

Before anyone could process what was happening, Saieke felt the cold press of twin blades enclosing
her neck.

Everyone stilled.

Low and melodious laughter filled the room. The ground roiled and power pulsated, and more than fifty Mevians dropped gracefully into the room from
the ceiling.

Her parents launched themselves over
the balcony.

“Tsk, tsk,” uttered a voice so beautiful, tears sprang to
Saieke eyes.

“Anyone moves, and the princess dies,” the voice echoed. There was a tinkle of laughter that made her shudder in dread. It was so beautiful it
was unbearable.

Drac
,
she gasped.

You will not be harmed, leika
his voice came back in
smooth assurance.

Do not let them harm
my people
.

The speaker of the voice came into full view. Saieke had never seen such a beautiful woman in all her existence. She had straight silver white hair that ran like silk and stopped at her hips in a shimmer. Her intense green eyes spoke of power and age. She had silver tipped claws attached to her nails as weapons, and Saieke could smell the poison
on them.

Her black caftan flowed around her and hid her figure. She was slight and moved as if she floated on air. “I am the Mevian emperor’
s geikan.”

G
eikan
—they were assassins of the highest order. They possessed the deadliest and most unique abilities and executed the orders of their masters with
deadly efficiency.

“Truth,” the Serangite uttered into
the silence.

“I have come for the princess,” she said with a smile as she appraised their
battle readiness.

Saieke saw her king flinch and a councilor held his head as the pureness of her voice vibrated through
the room.

“Truth.”

The sounds of swords being drawn singed and resonated within the chamber as the warriors of Nuria drew their blades. The air turned frosty as wind whipped through the room from
the Boreans.

Another light and tinkling laugh grated from the assassin. She clicked her tongue and power roiled through the room and sound waves could be felt vibrating in the air with menace. “If you attack, we will kill
the princess.”

“Truth.”

Saieke gasped as blood trickled down her neck as the blades were
moved infinitesimally.

“Speak on why you are here, geikan,” King
Ajali ordered.

Flames licked and danced in his eyes, and the heat that they generated was stifling. All of his warriors had their blades drawn and smoke curled from the feet of some as the intensity of the heat they were generating scorched
the ground.

“You will allow us to leave quietly with the princess. If you oppose us in any way, the princess’s head will roll at your feet before you can even blink. It is our emperor’s wish that if the princess is not bonded to him, she is not bonded
at all.”

Saieke’s
mother jerked.

“Truth,” the
Serangite snapped.

“The princess is blood-oathed to King Ajali and is his bride,” the high chancellor of Nuria said. “To kidnap her is to
incite war.”

“It is the purview of the king to declare war of course,” came back the melodious whisper. “It is our emperor’s wish that he does so if he feels he has been wronged. Of course, we will have an allegiance by then as the princess and our emperor will be wedded by tonight. And worry not, after I am through with her there will be a blood-oath with
my emperor.”

“Truth.”

The Mevians obviously did not want an allegiance between Boreas and Nuria. The fact they were willing to kill her, indicated that their true aim was to prevent the allegiance. Wedding her to their emperor simply gained the bonus of land
and elixir.

She could see that King Ajali had reached to the same conclusions. She saw the knowledge in his eyes. A cruel smile curved
his lips.

“Are you declaring war between our kingdoms, geikan?’ he
asked silkily.

There was another melodious laugh from her, and Saieke could see the flare of triumph in her eyes. Mevia had a population of more than two hundred million, and their warrior forces were twice the size of the King Ajali’s. They also had an alliance with Avindar and they were considered to be the most powerful of
the nations.

Saieke was befuddled as to why they would want to war with the Nuria, and why they were working
with Darkans.

“If you kill the princess, I have no need to war with you, as she has no use to my kingdom anymore. If you take her and she is wedded to the emperor, it is the same. I can no longer form an allegiance so it would be up to Boreas to demand recompense,” King
Ajali said.

Her mother glared at him, shock suffusing her features. It was a merciless statement, but it was fact. Saieke was useless to him dead, and also if she was wedded to another emperor or king. Yet he was still alert and she felt the intent in him to attack, and the green in his eyes was almost obliterated by the red flames of fire that danced
in them.

“Ah…so you will not declare war then? Pity.”

She indicated her hand and the Mevians flashed across the room and positioned themselves to cover
her departure.

“Please do not do this,” her queen rasped. She stepped forward and was jerked to a stop as the blade sunk deeper and a spurt of blood flew
from Saieke.

“Would you not prefer to know that she is the Empress of Mevia instead of dead?” the melodious
voice trilled.

“Wrong,” a distorted
voice snarled.

Everyone froze.

“You will release the princess and the life of your emperor will be spared this night.” It was impossible to miss
the ruthlessness.

Knowledge leapt into the King Ajali’s eyes and wry smile twisting
his lips.

“Who speaks?” the geikan demanded with power roiling from
her voice.

She was met
with silence.

The body behind her tensed, and he looked to his commander. Tension and something darker whispered across the room. It trembled on the air and vibrated with menace. It was a snarl of rage
from Drac.

“You will release my mate.” The sheer malevolence in the voice made Saieke tremble even though she knew who it
belonged to.

“Mate?” a low hum of laughter. “Are you declaring war with Mevia?” a voice meant to
enthrall asked.

“Your hands on what’s mine, geikan. I will spare only your life, for you to deliver my message. Anyone that comes after my mate, declares war with the Darkage,” he said and stepped out of her shadows to appear right in front
of her.

***

Drac shifted the psychic hold on his beast. Fangs punched from his lips and claws extended from his hands. His beast roared and inhaled the stench of fear that leaked out from some of those around him. It howled at the rush of pleasure at the dread that suddenly permeated the room. Bloodthirstiness rushed out and coiled around him in a mimosa of
churning blackness.

The assassin’s eyes flared in shock when he stepped from her shadow. Before she could react, he disappeared and the Mevian that had the princess’s neck between his blades died before he could understand that the tide had shifted. His head slid soundlessly from his body and blood spurted into
the air.

The
princess disappeared.

Drac placed her in her the queen’s shadow, his men tightly formed
around her.

Are
you hurt?

No

He shifted his thoughts to dealing with the assassin. The Nurian king engaged her and she spun and drew her sword to deflect his blade. She whistled and destruction swept through the room. Men fell to their knees screaming in pain, and the beams and columns of the castle shuddered under the onslaught of
her power.

Drac
shiktred
to her. He slashed at her throat with his claws and the sound ended as if it never was. She grabbed the wound and flashed away. His shadows grabbed her and a strangled sound emitted from her throat when he pulled her to him. A menacing snarl ripped from his throat and
silence descended.

“You will take this message to your emperor, geikan, Princess Saieke El Shyokara belongs to me and as such belongs to the Darkage. To harm her people is to harm her, and to harm her is to wage war with me. If war is proclaimed on Boreas, you proclaim war with
the Darkage.”

There were several gasps which
he ignored.

“Inform your emperor, the princess is the mate of Drac El Kyn. If he tries to take her again he will know only death and despair. I will come in the dark when he least expects it and I do not
understand mercy.”

He flung her and she flashed herself from column to column and disappeared through the open ceiling. Drac swung his gaze around the room and settled on the Nurian king. He saw coldness in the king’s eyes but absolutely no fear. Drac disappeared and he stepped into the shadow of
King Ajali.

Drac lifted the leash on his beast and a deeper and darker rage pulsed inside of him. He simply appeared in front of the king. His warriors roared collectively, and
then advanced.

Drac raised his brows when the king held up his fist and they
all halted.

Swirls of flames suddenly extended from the king and surrounded him like
chakra
. The heat of it was brutal, yet there was no fear or rage from the fire king
only iciness.

Drac met his fiery gaze with blood lust riding in his. “You will not know when death comes, if you try to fuck my mate,” Drac growled. “She is
mine!
By the laws of the Darkage, you incite war with us, if you do not relinquish your claim, Nurian,” he said with a slow
sibilant hiss.

Drac please

The King of Nuria raised dark brows. He shifted and more than three hundred of the king’s warriors suddenly filled the council chambers with
weapons drawn.

A savage thrill shot through Drac.
Go with my blades, princess
.

No!

Queen Izumi she stepped forward. “Where is my daughter?” The Queen’s voice wobbled, but she squared
her shoulders.

Drac shifted his eyes to her from the Nurian King. Dread twisted in her and she trembled. The queen let out a startled scream when the shadow stretched at her feet and contracted, and
Saieke appeared.

Without hesitation, she flung herself into his arms and Drac drew her into his embrace, his gaze never leaving the Nurians. He let the promise of destruction show in his eyes. The Nurian king nodded, and war was averted
for today.

His princess heaved, and he looked down into her bloodless face. She stared at the carnage in the chambers. He tasted her shock and horror at
the carnage.

Take me from here Drac; I need to be away from the blood
and death.

He disappeared
with her.