Born of Silence (The League Gen 1 #4)(27)
Author: Sherrilyn Kenyon

They turned a corner into a smaller corridor that was far less ornate.

Maris stopped at the first door on the right. “Three weeks after Darling turned fifteen, this became his room.” He opened the door and stepped back for her to see it.

Horrified, Zarya covered her mouth with her hand at the tiny room that had no windows. It was completely empty except for a single blanket on the floor and a flat pillow.

Maris jerked his chin to the door across the hall. “That’s his bathroom and dressing chamber. Every night, he had to go in there, get ready for bed and remove all of his clothes. Then nak*d, he’d come here so that his guards could cavity search him.”

Her stomach heaved. “Why?”

“Darling kept running away from home. Arturo wanted them to make sure he didn’t have anything he could use to escape or to call anyone with. Once he was searched, and they were never gentle about it, he’d be locked in here until morning.”

Or until they dragged him out for his uncle’s amusement.

She wanted to hurt someone over it. “How long was he kept here?”

“Till the night he killed Arturo.”

“No…”

He nodded.

Her senses reeled as she thought back to the times when she’d been speaking to Kere…

Had Darling really been in this room during those times?

Was that even possible? “I don’t understand. If he was kept here, like that, how did he ever have any freedom?”

“He’s cunning and resilient. Plus Nyk, Ryn, and friends helped him to escape from time to time under various ruses for a few days or weeks at a stretch. And once Nyk was crowned prince, he appointed me as an ambassador so that I could watch out for Darling and use my political ties to get him out of here whenever it got too bad for him. But this was always what he was dragged back to.”

Her mind boggled over all the things she’d never known about the man she loved. All the secrets he’d kept and things she would have never, ever guessed at.

All of it made her angrier at the world on his behalf.

Damn them!

She swallowed against the painful knot in her throat. “Please tell me that there was at least some brightness to his existence.”

“How so?”

“His brother and sister? Did Arturo treat them like this, too?”

Maris closed the door to that awful room. “No. As long as they stayed out of his sight, he left them alone.”

“Meaning?”

“Lise never pushed it. She would hit the door running to her mother’s chambers and stay there until she could return to school. Drake’s a little more… offensive. As he got older, he became cocky, and he had no respect for Darling back then.”

“Why not?”

“Like everyone else, he bought into the rumors that Darling was a crazed degenerate who earned his punishments. Since Arturo didn’t beat on him or confine him, Drake figured there had to be a reason for Arturo to beat Darling. Obviously it was all Darling’s fault.”

Obviously, indeed.

Zarya was beginning to really not like Darling’s brother. The more she learned about Drake, the more he seemed like a selfish ass.

“I’m surprised Darling has any use for his brothers.”

Maris shrugged. “Darling doesn’t forgive easily and he never forgets. But at his heart, he is a peacemaker. His father used to have a saying. The world isn’t fair. And no matter how good and decent you are, no matter how much you give to others, someone is always going to hate you for no other reason than the fact that you breathe. You can’t help that. You can’t change people or their minds once they’ve allowed them to get twisted by hatred. But you can change how you deal with them. Never back down, but walk away when you can, fight when you must. Whatever you do don’t give them the power to hurt you. Don’t let them inside you. They’re not worth it. Live your life for yourself. Stay true to yourself and if they can’t see the beauty that is you, it’s their loss. Let the bitterness take them to their graves. Spend your time on what matters most. Being you and appreciating the people who see you for who and what you are. The people who love you, and the ones that you love. They are all that matter. Let the rest go to hell.”

Those words touched her. “His father sounds like he was a great man.”

“He was, indeed. Very much like Darling.”

But those words also made her stop and think. Most of all, they made her wonder if there could ever be a real future for them after everything that had happened to divide them. Maris had said that Darling didn’t forgive easily, or forget. So where did that leave her? “Do you think he can ever forgive me, Maris?”

“Honestly, I don’t know. I think he wants to. But he’s been hurt so badly by so many. You’re just going to have to give him time to learn to trust you again. Have faith that his love for you will erase the rest.”

Something that was much easier said than done. Broken trust was the hardest thing to repair. But she wouldn’t give up on Darling. She couldn’t.

But what if he gives up on you?

Darling wiped at the sweat underneath his mask as he sat at his desk, reviewing his mail. Strange how quickly he’d gotten used to not wearing the stupid thing with Zarya. But it was easy when she didn’t seem to notice his grotesque scars.

Unfortunately, he knew the rest of the world didn’t view him through her eyes.

Don’t think about it.

How could he not when he was forced to stare at the mask while he worked? A mask that made him remember the scars it covered. And there were so many of them. Scars that twisted his lips and made his eye droop. Scars that ran down the side of his nose and across his cheeks.

And the one of Pip’s name showing through his beard as plain as the writing on his monitor.

His head throbbed from the eyestrain of trying to catch up. And then it started…

That irritating jerk.

Closing his eyes, he pressed his finger against his eyelid, trying to will them to stop. Still they spasmed and twitched. The motion made him queasy. But most of all, it made him blind.

Damn it! It was the most irritating thing and it wasn’t helped by the addition of a sudden nosebleed.

Great. Just great. What next?

Just don’t let me have to go to the bathroom. He couldn’t take any more of his broken body. He was tired of being in pain all the time. Of having to fear the next round of What’s Going To Piss Me Off Now.

As he reached for another tissue to replace the one that was already saturated, something crashed through the window on his right and exploded.

Trying to focus his jerking gaze, it took him a second to figure out what it was. Faster than he could move, fire spread up the wall, setting off alarms and sprinklers.

Crap! It was an attack and he’d left his blaster upstairs.

Darling held his breath as he tried to get to the door. Something easier said than done while his eyes kept jerking. Everything shifted and moved which disoriented him even more. Worse, his eyes and skin burned from the fumes.

In that moment, he realized what had been shot into his office. Fledon. A nasty little chemical that was lethal when inhaled.

He pushed the controls for the door.

It didn’t move.

What the hell?

As part of the fire system, the doors were supposed to spring open automatically whenever the room was occupied to keep from trapping anyone inside the office.

Panic set in as he realized that someone had intentionally blocked them and reset the sensors. He reached for his link only to remember that he’d left it in the bedroom this morning. He’d been so preoccupied with setting up Zarya’s link that he’d forgotten all about his own.

His eyes burning even worse, he pressed the alarm for his guards.

Why weren’t they coming?

Because they want you to die…

For all he knew, one of them could have locked the doors and sent the Fledon in.

Coughing, he pulled his knife out to try and pry the doors apart.

The blade snapped in half.

His head swam as he felt the poison invading his body. Unable to fight it and his dancing eyesight, he pounded against the door, trying to call out for help. But his damaged voice wasn’t loud enough to be heard over the fire.

Maris and Zarya were upstairs. They’d never make it down here in time.

I’m going to die.

And there was nothing he could do to stop it.

Look on the bright side. At least she’s not outside your doors, laughing this time.

It was sad when that thought actually did comfort him.

Coughing and choking, he hit the floor a moment before everything went dark.

13

Maris finally had Zarya laughing again as he told her stories about his older brother who was a clumsy pyrotech.

They’d just reached Darling’s office to make sure he’d eaten when they heard a loud crash inside. Rushing forward, Maris tried to open the door, but it refused to budge.

He pulled back with a curse. “The door’s jammed.”

Her heart pounded as she heard Darling on the other side, trying to get out, and she smelled smoke.

“Where’s the release?” Zarya asked.

“Just tried it. It’s jammed, too.” Maris started coughing from the noxious smoke that filled the hallway, then his face went pale. “You smell that?”

Yes, she did.

Cursing, she looked around the hallway, trying to find something fast as she wrapped the scarf on her dress around her mouth and nose. They only had a few minutes before that poison killed Darling.

Her gaze went to the stairs.

That was it…

She ran to the huge table in the foyer where there was an oversize lead vase of fresh cut flowers. Without breaking stride, she seized it, dumped the flowers and water out of it, then slammed the vase into the balustrade as hard as she could.

The iron spindle didn’t budge. Shrieking in outrage, she summoned every ounce of strength she had and slammed the vase down again and again on the balustrade. Break, damn you, break!

Finally, the wood cracked. Yes! She dropped the vase and kicked one of the iron spindles out of the balustrade. Seizing the spindle, she ran back to the wall beside the door and used it to break open the plaster and expose the wiring beneath.

“Hold on, baby,” she whispered, trying her best not to breathe the toxin in. Still it burned and hurt her throat. She could only imagine how much worse it must be on Darling who was trapped on the other side.

Maris helped her tear out the plaster. “We’re not going to make it. He’s probably already dead.”

She refused to believe that.

They had to get to him. The alternative was unacceptable.

She jerked the wires out and started reworking them. “Don’t you dare die on me, Darling Cruel!” she shouted at the top of her lungs. “I swear I’ll follow you into hell to beat you if you do!”

It seemed like eternity had come and gone before the doors finally parted. Even so, they only opened an inch, then stopped. Working together, she and Maris continued to tug and push until they pulled them farther apart.

The smoke was so thick, it was hard to see. But as she started forward, her foot grazed something hard. Looking down, she saw Darling sprawled on the floor, just inside the doorway.

As she reached for him, Maris was there. He grabbed Darling by the arms and pulled him free of the room. Then he bent down and picked him up to carry him toward the reception hall.

Coughing, she ran behind them as the guards and firefighters finally came rushing toward them.

None stopped to check on their governor. Or asked about his condition.

Maris laid Darling down on one of the sofas, then pulled the mask off Darling’s face. “Darling?”

His features pale, he didn’t respond. Her heart stopped beating as terror filled her. Please don’t be dead. Please don’t be dead…

Maris placed his hand on Darling’s carotid to feel for a pulse.

Zarya saw the agony in Maris’s dark eyes as he looked up at her.

“We’re too late.”

Darling came awake to the bitterest taste imaginable in his mouth. It was so foul that before he could stop himself, his stomach heaved.

“Right here, sweetie.”

Someone rolled him to his side and held a trash can for him while he purged his body of the toxin. It wasn’t until he was finished that he realized it was Zarya who helped him.

“Leave him on his side for a minute.”

Darling’s vision swam to the point he couldn’t see anything, but he recognized Syn’s voice while someone, Zarya he hoped, stroked his hair with a gentle hand.

“It’s all right, buddy,” Syn said comfortingly from a short distance away. “We’ve got you.”

Darling squeezed his eyes shut. “Where am I?”

“In your room. Can you see anything?” Syn asked.

He shook his head. “Eyes won’t focus.”

“That’s probably not helping your nausea. Hang on.”

Darling hissed as Syn gave him a shot in his hip. “Damn it, warn me before you hit the trigger!”

But at least it didn’t take long for the drug to settle his stomach.

Syn gripped his shoulder. “All right, we’re going to roll you back. Slowly.”

As they turned him, the room spun so badly, Darling had to close his eyes to keep from being sick again. Once he was flat on his back, he let out a long breath as he tried to will his eyes to normal.

It was useless. They continued to violently shake and disorient him.

“What happened?” Darling asked.

Syn’s voice was a fierce growl. “Some a**hole launched a rocket full of Fledon into your office.”

Darling slowly remembered the details of the attack as Zarya took his hand into hers. “I was locked in.”

“Yeah,” Hauk said irritably from Darling’s blind side. “We know. You’re lucky your girlfriend’s trained. She saved your ass, boy. You owe her.”

Darling tightened his hand around Zarya’s. That was the one thing about her, in a fight, she was always levelheaded and resourceful. “Thank you.”

She kissed him on the cheek. “Anytime, sweetie.”

Darling opened his mouth to speak, then went into a horrible round of coughing.

Zarya let go of his hand as he struggled to expel all the poison out of his body. In between the coughs, he cursed at the pain it caused him. She hated seeing him like this. But she was so grateful she’d been able to resuscitate him that his coughing was music to her ears.

Syn put the oxygen mask back over his face. “Just breathe. Slow and easy.”

Darling went completely limp.

As she panicked in concern for Darling, Syn held his hand up to her. “It’s all right. I knocked him out again. He doesn’t need to be coughing like that right now. He’s likely to do more damage.”

Hauk glared from his post on the opposite side of the room. “I want the balls of the cowardly bastard responsible for this.”

“You?” Zarya asked, meeting his bloodlust head on. “I want them for earrings.”

The Andarion smiled at her. “I really like you.”

“Thanks.” But her smile faded as she met Syn’s grimace. “What’s wrong?”

“I’m just wondering which of us is going to be the one to tell Darling that you’re the reason he was attacked.”

A pall covered Zarya all day as Syn and Hauk came and went from Darling’s room while she and Maris watched over him. Syn’s words hung heavy in her heart, and by the way Syn tended Darling, she could tell that Darling was in a lot worse shape than Syn was letting them know.

Please don’t die. The one thing all of this had taught her was how much Darling meant to her. The thought of living without him…

How could she have forgotten how agonizing those weeks of not knowing where Kere was had been?

And now that she really knew him… his face, his past… it was so much worse. He was no longer her mythical, larger than life lover. Now he was human, and he’d carved an even deeper place into her heart.

What pained her most was the knowledge that this was all her fault. The Resistant members Darling had spared were trying to liberate her from his “custody.” After his attack, they’d sent over a demand for her release.

I’m going to be the death of him. No matter how hard she tried to argue it, she kept coming back to that one basic fact. So long as she was with him, he was in danger.

But she couldn’t stand the thought of leaving him. Especially not in the condition he was in.

Yet if she stayed, her allies—his enemies, would kill him.

“Maybe I should leave.”

“Are you serious?”

Zarya hadn’t realized she’d spoken out loud until Mari’s question startled her. Swallowing the lump in her throat, she met his gaze on the other side of the bed. “How can I stay when I endanger him?”

Maris shot to his feet and closed the distance between them. “You can’t go, Zarya. You can’t. Do you not understand what it would do to him? He wasn’t human until you came.”

But she didn’t believe that. “He was human.”

Maris’s face paled and when he spoke, it was in the sincerest tone she’d ever heard. “No, he wasn’t. He was not the man you know.” He pulled Darling’s computer off the nightstand and turned it on.

After a few minutes, he handed it to her.

Scowling, she focused her attention on the video he’d pulled up. It took her a second to realize it was Darling she was looking at—something that filled her with dread. Whatever Maris intended to show her couldn’t be good and she wasn’t sure she wanted to see it.

Yet, she couldn’t take her eyes off the screen.

Dressed in a long flowing cloak over a black battlesuit, Darling had the cowl pulled up over his head. His gold mask glowed in the dim exterior light as he headed across the back gardens, into the barracks where the royal guard took up quarters when they were on duty.

None of them bowed at his entrance. That, in and of itself, was an act of defiance and treason that was punishable by death, according to their laws. Each of those soldiers had sworn a blood oath to lay down their lives for their governor and his family.

But there was no loyalty on their faces that night. Several even spat at the ground near Darling’s booted feet.

With a calmness she couldn’t fathom, Darling swept his gaze around the room.

“What are you doing here?” their commander challenged Darling in a tone that would have had any aristo calling out for the pleb’s arrest.

When Darling spoke, the most terrifying part was how calm and in control he appeared to be. “It’s the Day of Reckoning. I’m here solely for those who have assaulted me. The rest of you can leave.”