Lord of Eternal Night by Ben Alderson

10

Iheard the murmurings of soft voices as I rounded the dark winding corridors beyond the dining hall. Everything was dark here. I felt the floor beneath my feet slope downwards. The further I walked, the deeper I found myself in the belly of the castle.

There were no windows. No available light to help guide my way. I had to use my hands against the cold stone wall to know I would not collide into something face-first.

I could have called up a flame, but the wine had dulled my senses. That and the clear presence of Marius that was up ahead.

Perhaps hardly any time had passed at all during Marius’s absence. I had given in to my own impatience when he would have likely returned to the dining hall soon enough?

But I stilled as the voices rose ahead. Keeping my breathing as shallow as I could muster so I would not miss out on a single word.

“You are slipping,” a familiar, youthful voice said. “I would not be the one to remind you, but it was your own request that I keep you in line.”

“Your worry is misplaced,” Marius replied, his voice a low growl.

“Is it? We all sense your change in mood. We have witnessed it enough; some even have experienced it to know where this path will lead.”

A shuffle of footsteps in the dark and the shadows seemed to vibrate. I rubbed a palm over my eyes. Was it the wine?

“It has been years since I have allowed myself more than a word with the Claim. Can this year not be any different?”

“I am merely reminding you as you have requested. Or have you forgotten the oath you made me take?” The voice sharpened. The speaker sounded so young yet held much power beneath her tone.

Marius paused in his response. In my place hidden around the corner of the dark corridor I could imagine him running circles with his forefinger over his chin.

“It all ends the same, Marius. It always will. And you will spend the year to follow in the dark place you made me swear to keep you out of.”

“There is something different about him.”

Me.

“If this has anything to do with Katharine…”

Marius emitted a low growl from the back of his throat. “Tread carefully.”

“Put your teeth away,” she said, dismissively. “They cannot harm me. But they can hurt him.”

I slowly peered around the corner, hoping to catch a glimpse of the speaker as it hit me where I had heard her before. Beyond the bedroom door during my first morning.

“It is inevitable. For years we have tried to break this curse, yet it always ends the same way. Can I not allow myself one year off from behaving?”

“You make it sound like you are a dog on a leash, Marius.”

“Am I not?”

“You are a beast in a locked cage. And there is nothing you can do to break out of it. I will not stand in your way again if this is the path you are going to choose with him. You asked this of me, and I knew a time would come when you would resist. Just know that we will not appear for you when the deed is done, and the blood warms your belly. You can deal with the consequences alone this time.”

I jumped at the sound of bone slamming into brick. If it was not for the crack that followed I was certain they would have heard my gasp. Then Marius spoke quietly, so soft I nearly missed it.

“It is his name.”

“I knew it had a part to play,” she replied softly.

“I feel as if he was sent here as punishment. This is the hundredth year without him yet the pain still cuts deep.” A strange chill fell over me. As Marius spoke, I felt the effects of the wine slip away. Who are you speaking about? “His name is not the only similarity, which is making it harder for me to distinguish the difference. Perhaps I am simply weary.”

“We are all tired, Marius.”

“And I am sorry for that, truly.”

The girl chirped a laugh. “Do not apologise again. I have heard it enough. You should retire for the day, perhaps some time to clear your head will help you make a decision on which actions to take.”

“Have I ever told you how truly blessed I am to have your council, Victorya?”

She laughed again, echoed by the deep, hearty chuckle of Marius. “Who knew the Lord of Eternal Night would be taking guidance from a child.”

“Wise, but a child nonetheless.”

“You forget yourself. If I was still alive my wisdom would be reflected by my appearance. I have you to thank for my own everlasting youth.”

Still alive. Her words thundered through me. The urge to interrupt them and reveal myself was strong, all to get a simple glance at the speaker. But I couldn’t. I had to stay unseen so Marius would not know of the upper hand I had just obtained from listening.

He was falling for me and I had barely begun. That was enough to satisfy me. I left them, calling upon the dank air in the corridor to muffle my footfalls as I left for the dining hall again. My magic thrummed through my body as I willed the air to thicken beneath my feet and the slabbed floor. Before I knew it I was back through the dining hall, leaving the door how I had found it.

I would sleep well with the knowledge I had obtained. The weapon in which Marius had unknowingly handed to me.

With a smile plastered across my face, I clambered back to his room and into his bed, revelling in the warmth of the sheets. My chest felt light and free of worry, making it easier to slip into sleep. But as I fell into the darkness I could not rid myself of the face that haunted me.

One that seemed to glow as if moonlight was woven through his alabaster skin.

Marius.

His fingers were tendrils of ice, leaving imprints of frozen burns beneath his touch. Marius held my gaze as his hand trailed up my thigh, effortlessly moving the sheets out of his way. My breath hitched. His mouth parted, exposing the points of his canines.

“Tell me to stop.”

I stared deeper into him, shaking my head slightly. “No.”

With one hand Marius explored me, and with the other he gripped onto himself. I risked a glance for a moment as his hand ran circles on the protrusion that waited beneath the material of his trousers. The outline of his manhood sent a shiver across my arms, until every hair stood on end.

“I am on your mind,” Marius breathed.

I arched my back as his hand found what it searched for.

“This is the first time you have called for me.”

I could not reply, not as I gripped onto his caressing hand to slow him. His touch intoxicated me.

“Do I fill your thoughts?”

His other hand now gripped my throat, nails biting into my skin as he held me down, stopping me from squirming as he worked away at me.

I was sensitive beneath his touch. It thrilled me. Enthralled me. Marius did not once take his deep, maroon eyes off me.

“Why do you dream of me?”

His words were the crashing wave of water that woke me. I bolted up in his bed, finding the room still lit from the daylight beyond the castle window. Marius was nowhere to be seen. The room was empty.

Breathlessly I waited for my heartbeat to calm for it thundered in my ears. My forehead was damp, as well as my arms and legs. My entire body stuck to the sheets.

It took a moment for the dreamscape to leave me. I lowered my head back onto the pillow and stared up at the ceiling, shocked at myself. My subconsciousness ruled my mind during sleep, and I had conjured that sensual thought. It sickened me.

Or did it?

I rolled over, pressing my face into the pillow in hopes to suffocate the image of Marius from my mind.

“It is the wine,” I told myself, promising that I would not touch a drop the next day. But as I closed my eyes again, I half expected to fall back into the scene with him. It had been so clear. Every detail so vivid and real.

The sleep that followed was empty and uninterrupted — but as I fell into its embrace, I was certain I still felt his phantom touch linger across the skin of my thigh.