Surrender to Darkness Read online

  Surrender to Darkness

  By: E.J. King

  Surrender to Darkness

  Grace Hardwick has finally adjusted to life in the Darkness– a place where the sun never shines and supernatural creatures roam freely. She’s even allowed herself to fall in love with one of those creatures, a centuries-old vampire who also happens to be Premier of the Darkness.

  But when the Darkness is attacked by a powerful group of Hunters, everything changes for Grace and William. Now, it’s Grace’s turn to protect him, even if that means she must sacrifice herself. This time around, the Guardianship isn’t their only threat and time isn’t on their side.

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  Copyright © 2019 by E.J. King

  All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

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  CHAPTER ONE

  GRACE

  Just when I had started to get used to living in the Darkness, everything was changing. My sister was back, but she was now a vampire. I had become good friends with Kathryn and she was on trial for murdering a human. William and I had finally made our relationship work, and now he was leaving.

  “There has to be another way,” I said as I watched him shove his things into a bag. “I can go with you. I can help you find Drake.”

  “Grace, we’ve already been over this. I don’t want you anywhere near my brother.” William zipped the bag shut. “I don’t have time for this right now. I only have three days to find Drake and bring him back.”

  William had convinced the other Councilmembers to hold off on Kathryn’s trial until he had been given a sufficient amount of time to track down Drake. He had been granted exactly three days.

  “How, exactly, do you plan to find him?” I stood in the doorway, stubbornly refusing to move as William approached.

  “Let me worry about that.” He sighed. “I don’t want to leave you, Grace, but we don’t have a choice.”

  “We always have a choice,” I said. “I don’t want to be in the Darkness if you aren’t here with me.”

  He put his hand against my cheek. “You will be safe. I promise. Daniel and Alexander will be watching out for you while I’m gone. It’s only three days.”

  “Three days too many.” I had thought that I was hiding my fear, but William had known. Staying behind in a land swarming with vampires without William to protect me was a frightening proposition.

  “Remember, Grace, that even when I’m not here, you are still mine.” His gold eyes burned straight into my soul. “Nothing will ever change that.”

  “Please be careful,” I said, my voice cracking. “Come back to me.”

  “Always.” He kissed me gently. “Do me a favor?”

  I nodded. “Anything.”

  “Don’t go falling in love with any other vampires while I’m gone.” He smiled faintly, but he wasn’t entirely joking.

  “I can definitely promise you that I won’t.” This time it was my turn to kiss him and then he was gone.

  CHAPTER TWO

  WILLIAM

  It had just turned dark as I flew out of the Darkness’ magical protection. My mind was still on Grace, worrying over her safety. I knew that she was quite capable of taking care of herself, but I had just left her in a place swarming with vampires. True, they were all supposed to be good vampires, not the kind that drained humans. But things had changed in the Darkness recently and that was no longer a guarantee.

  I didn’t have time to wait for the witches to use their magic to find Drake, so I was going to use other available means. Human tracking wasn’t as reliable and often took a lot longer, but it was my best option. Setting the aircraft to autopilot, I pulled out my phone and began searching for any sign of Drake.

  Realistically, he probably hadn’t travelled far from the last place we had seen him in the northwest. Drake didn’t like being controlled by the sun, so he preferred places that weren’t known for having tropical conditions. By the time I landed at my estate near Seattle, I had identified three possible places where Drake might be lurking. Each town had experienced an abnormal number of strange occurrences.

  I drove toward the one that was suffering from attacks by a wild animal biting people. The victims were left with bite wounds and blood loss, quintessential signs of a visiting vampire. The odds of it being Drake were not in my favor, but I had to start somewhere. It was a long drive and I found myself missing Grace. I wondered what she was doing back home and if she was missing me, too.

  Calling her was out of the question. Besides making me seem like a pathetic boyfriend, I knew that hearing her voice would only intensify my desire to be with her. I needed to stay focused on finding Drake. Kathryn’s life depended on it.

  We had been fortunate so far. No one had ever been sentenced to death in the Darkness. I had convinced myself that the Darkness was immune to such tribulations. I had been wrong. That fact raised an important question in my mind– what else had I been wrong about? When I was too blinded by my own desires, did I overlook important details?

  Perhaps what had happened with Drake shouldn’t have been such a surprise. If I hadn’t been so distracted by my feelings for Grace, maybe I would have seen what was happening to my brother. Maybe I would have been able to stop all this before it had gotten ugly. It was a dangerous train of thought and would only lead to pointless second-guessing. What had been done was done. It was time to move forward.

  I took the exit to Seattle, following a hunch. Prior to the Darkness, my siblings and I had spent a couple decades living in the city. Seattle had more cloud coverage than a lot of places on the west coast, and it was populous enough that we had no trouble finding enough blood supply. We still owned a house in the city and my gut told me that was where I would find Drake. He was nothing if not a creature of habit.

  Traffic increased the closer I got to the city and the slower pace allowed my mind to wander again. It went right back to Grace. Though I had waved away her concerns before I left, I was anxious about leaving her in the Darkness. I knew that Daniel would look out for her, but I didn’t completely trust Alexander. He wasn’t as bad as Drake, but he had a wild streak and he seemed particularly enamored with Grace. Not that I could blame him.

  It had been over a decade since the last time I had been to our Seattle home, but it looked mostly the same. It had once been an inn and an outside observer would have no idea that it was now the home of an ancient vampire family. Only someone on the supernatural side would detect the signs– large shade trees surrounding the home, dark curtains drawn in every window, and the fact that no one ever left the property during the day.

  As I parked in front of the house, I was surprised to see that the curtains had been pulled back, revealing that the house was definitely not empty. In fact, I could see at least a dozen people inside. Some human, some supernatural. It looked like Drake was having a party.
I must have missed my invitation.

  The front door stood wide open and I walked over the threshold without hesitating. I may not have been invited to Drake’s party, but this was still my home. The party guests were too wrapped up in their own activities to notice my arrival. The smell of blood was thick in the air and I didn’t have to look closely to know that the humans were being treated like living appetizers.

  It had been a long time since I had taken in human blood directly from the vein, but the smell of it still had a powerful effect on me. I was steeling myself against the urgent rush of thirst when I saw Drake enter the room. He saw me at the same time and a wide smile spread over his face, revealing sharp fangs.

  “Will. You made it.” Drake’s eyes flashed a brilliant gold. “Good to see you, brother.”

  “Wish I could say the same.”

  He continued to stare at me while betraying no emotion. “What brings you to Seattle?”

  “I think you know.” Focusing on my anger at Drake was helping suppress my thirst. “Our sister is in trouble, which I’m fairly certain you arranged.”

  Drake shrugged. “Kathryn is quite capable of getting herself into trouble.”

  “Why did you do it?” I could feel my hatred for him growing as he continued to look apathetic. “Why did you do any of this? You had a good life in the Darkness.”

  “A good life?” He scoffed. “Forced to live in complete denial of our true nature. Repressing the very urges that make our species so powerful. The Darkness is a house of cards, brother, and it only took a small wind to rattle the foundation. One more gust and the whole thing is going to crumble.”

  “Which is why I’m here. To stop you.” I noticed that several sets of eyes had turned in our direction. I was severely outnumbered and we both knew it. Even if I was able to get a jump on Drake, at least a dozen vampires would rush to his defense. “I see you’ve made some new friends.”

  Drake glanced lazily around the room. “What can I say, I was feeling lonely. Come with me, brother. Let’s get you something to drink.”

  I followed him farther into the room, saying, “How long do you think you can keep up this lifestyle without drawing attention? There are a lot of Hunters in the area. And Guardians.”

  “We’ve been keeping a low profile.” Drake handed me a cup filled with blood. When I started to reject it, he said, “Don’t kid yourself, Will. We both know you haven’t been drinking from that human of yours and you’re on a strict blood diet. You need the sustenance.”

  “Grace isn’t my human, she’s my girlfriend.” I reluctantly took the blood. It was true that I hadn’t been drinking nearly enough blood since Grace’s arrival. Though she had come to accept my need to drink, it still clearly bothered her. I had adapted my behavior and drank only as much as absolutely necessary when she was around.

  “Do you really think it’s a good idea to be in love with a human?” Drake said. “Especially that human.”

  I took a slow sip and relished the metallic tang as it spread through my body. “I don’t have a choice in the matter.”

  “Pathetic,” he said with a slow shake of his head. “Whatever happened to the intimidating and ruthless William Blackwood?”

  “He remembered what it’s like to be human.” It wasn’t the first time we’d had this conversation. Drake would never understand my decision to repress my vampire instincts. “Can we skip the pleasantries and go straight to the part where you agree to come back to the Darkness with me to prevent our sister from being sentenced to death?”

  “For your girlfriend’s sake, I hope you don’t always skip the foreplay like that.” Drake lifted a hand and snapped his fingers. Nearly instantly, two female humans appeared at his side. “Let’s take this conversation someplace more private.”

  Apparently, Drake defined privacy as the two of us meeting in a bedroom with two strange women hanging all over him.

  “Is this really necessary?” I said.

  Drake turned his head and purposefully sank his fangs into the neck of the brunette woman. She let out a small gasp and clutched his arm tighter. I averted my eyes and sighed. It was typical Drake behavior.

  “Don’t look so offended, Will. I saved the blonde for you.” Drake smiled, revealing bloody fangs. “I know how much you like blondes.”

  “Drake, I’m not here to play your sick games.”

  “You’re not understanding, Will. You aren’t in charge right now.” He nudged the blonde woman in my direction. “I am.”

  “I’m not going to drink from her just because you say so.” The smell of fresh blood had filled the room and I could feel the urge to drink growing stronger. The cup of blood Drake had given me was long gone.

  Drake pushed the woman toward me again. “You aren’t understanding me, brother. If you want me to save Kathryn, you need to drink.”

  I should have seen it coming. Drake hadn’t exactly been playing subtle.

  “Did you really go to all this trouble just to force me to betray the Darkness’s laws and my own beliefs? I don’t believe you are stupid enough to think that is going to happen.” I could feel contempt rising in my chest. It was taking all my will power not to punch Drake in the bloody fangs.

  “If you want to save Kathryn, you’ll think twice before you call me stupid and resist my demands.” Drake took another bite from his victim.

  Now I knew why Drake had used Kathryn as a pawn in his twisted game, but I still couldn’t understand what he would get from me drinking from the vein, other than a perverse satisfaction. “Why are you so determined to make me drink?”

  “Because I want you to remember what it is like to embrace the supernatural power within you. For decades, you’ve been resisting the very essence of your being. You’ve been pretending that you aren’t a creature driven by desire.” Drake let go of his human blood bag and took a step closer to me. “I want you to remember who you are, William.”

  “I know exactly who I am.”

  “Your choice to refuse drinking from the vein puts the entire Darkness at risk. You’re weak. We both know that if you decided to attack me right now, you would never win. You are supposed to be the leader of the Darkness, but you are its weakest link. And we know from the prophecy that you are going to be the end of the Darkness, too.”

  “Since when did you start believing the prophecies?” I said.

  “Do you really want to stand here and debate the veracity of the prophecies?” Drake scoffed. “I think we both know the only reason you are here is to save our sister. The only way you can do that is by bringing me back to the Darkness. Here is the most important part, brother– the only way you are getting me back in the Darkness is by drinking.”

  Again, he shoved the woman toward me. Her eyes were glassy as she stared blankly at me. She was under compulsion, as were probably all the humans in the house. The fire of anger in my chest burned hotter. As angry as I was at Drake, I was even angrier at myself for the strong urge I felt to grab the woman and sink my teeth into her neck. I could repress the monster within me, but it never went away completely.

  “I won’t do it,” I said through clenched teeth.

  “You don’t have a choice.” Drake’s gold eyes bore into me. He wasn’t just trying to tempt me. He intended to keep his word.

  I thought through a dozen scenarios of how I could get Drake to come back to the Darkness with me without giving into his demands. None of those scenarios had a good ending. If I had any chance of getting him to cooperate, I had to make a deal with him.

  “If I drink from her, you’ll come back to the Darkness?” I said.

  “Cross my heart,” Drake said with a grin, mockingly drawing a large cross over his chest. “Just take one sip, brother.”

  The blonde girl smiled encouragingly at me, as if she wanted nothing more than to have her blood drained. I was just glad that her hair color was the only thing she had in common with Grace. If the resemblance had gone any deeper, I wasn’t sure I would have been able to mak
e the necessary next move. I grabbed her arm, turning over her hand to expose her wrist. I could feel the blood pumping through her blue veins. I couldn’t stomach the idea of biting into her neck – that felt too intimate and far too likely to escalate.

  As I put my lips to the soft skin, I closed my eyes and focused only on my anger at Drake. It had been so long since I had sunk my fangs into human flesh and the sensation of I surprised me. The girl only gasped slightly even though I knew that pain had to be excruciating. The second her blood hit my tongue, a primal stirring awaked in my body. I drank hungrily, savoring the metallic tang and the feeling of power at holding a human life in my hands. This was the part of me I had suppressed for so long and now it was alive.

  CHAPTER THREE

  GRACE

  The Darkness was my home now, but it didn’t feel that way without William. He was the one that had turned the vampire sanctuary into the place where I actually wanted to live. I didn’t want to live there without William. I could only hope that he wouldn’t be gone long. I just had to find a way to pass the time, which was easier said than done. I didn’t exactly have friends or hobbies in the Darkness. Until now, my whole life in the Darkness had revolved around William. Now was an excellent time for that to change.

  There was one major problem – I had completely secluded myself from almost everyone since my arrival. Kathryn was still in prison and Norah was still recovering from her transition into a vampire, so the only people in the Darkness that I ever talked to were locked away. Most of the vampires still didn’t trust me, and the humans were intimidated by my relationship with William. If I was going to make new friends, I needed to try harder to embrace all aspects of the Darkness, not just William.

  I was worried about a restless night’s sleep after William left. It was my first night in the Blackwood Estate without him sleeping either next to me or across the hall from me. Even though William wasn’t there, I slept in his bed and his scent on the sheets was enough to calm my nerves. I slept surprisingly well and woke up with more energy than I’d had in a while. When William was there, we didn’t exactly do much sleeping.