The Dark Prince (The Dark Light Series)(12)

“But you trust Aurora?” I say with a bit of nastiness, making it sound more like an accusation. I take a sip of wine to wash away the bitter taste of jealousy.

“Yes. To an extent.”

I suck my teeth and roll my eyes. “And that’s all she said? She didn’t mention someone being in my room later that night?” Something tells me Aurora at least knows about it, if not orchestrated it.

Dorian’s head unnaturally snaps around to face me, his eyes igniting with molten blue flames. He sneers menacingly, the dim light glinting off his teeth. “What?”

I gulp, instantly regretting telling him about it. But me and thinking things through have never really gone hand in hand. “I mean, I saw someone in the shadows and then they just disappeared. I wasn’t hurt.”

“And where was she?” he demands.

“Oh, um, she was…busy. With Jared.”

Dorian grounds his teeth and a low hiss escapes. Crap. Hope Aurora is a fast runner. Or the Dark have an excellent health insurance plan.

Dorian takes the wine glass from my trembling hand and places it on the coffee table before cupping my face in his grasp. “I apologize for that. Please forgive me. Aurora will be dealt with.”

I perk up into a reassuring smile before leaning forward to press my lips against his. There’s so much more I need to know and I need to restore Dorian’s casual disposition to sift those answers from him. In return, Dorian eases into a half-smile, his eyes returning to their glittering hue.

“There’s something I need to show you,” I say, pulling his hands from my face. I spy my purse crumpled a few feet away and go to grab it. After a few seconds of rummaging, I place the photo in his hands, awaiting his reaction.

Dorian strokes the picture with his thumb, his initially surprised expression growing warm and nostalgic. “Where did you get this?” he asks without looking up.

“I can’t be sure. I found it in my room. My mother, Natalia, she left a journal for me. You know, I never knew who I was or where I came from. On my birthday, my parents- um, I mean, Chris and Donna- gave it to me. Twenty years of complete and utter confusion, and then all of a sudden, I’m bombarded with all this shit,” I say with a wave of my hand.

Dorian looks up at me with a furrowed brow. “So all this time, you really didn’t know what I was? I think I made it pretty obvious.”

I take a deep breath and shrug my shoulders. “Part of me always knew. A big part, actually. I just didn’t want to believe that the first guy I was really, really into wasn’t a guy at all,” I chuckle nervously. “Then there’s the whole crazed-killer-out-for-my-blood thing. I figured that if you really were Dark, I’d be dead.”

“Right,” he responds dryly.

“What do you mean, you made it obvious? Isn’t that against the rules or something?” I ask, my eyes narrowed with question.

Dorian nods, setting the photo down on the coffee table before grabbing his own glass of wine for a hearty sip. “I thought if you knew- if I showed you what I was- it’d make it easier. I was constantly trying to motivate myself to do it. To kill you. I thought if you knew, I’d have no choice but to follow through.”

“Oh yeah? And how’s that working out for you?”

“Not so great,” he laughs, leaning back beside me. His laughter is infectious and I join him. Given our impending doom, there’s not much else we can do.

“So what do we do now? Where do we go from here?” I ask once our chuckles have ceased.

“I try like hell to keep you alive, being the fragile little thing that you are for now. And then once you turn 21, the choice is yours.”

Twenty-one. I was simply looking forward to buying booze and getting into nightclubs without flashing my fake ID. Now knowing that my ascension will save my life, and potentially Dorian’s, it all has new meaning. I just need to make it to twenty one.

I look to the Greek god sitting next to me, making the conscious decision to do whatever it takes to save both our lives.

“So I take it you’re not twenty five.”

Dorian shakes his head. “Our physical forms stop aging when our power reaches its full potential. Using ages us but we can replenish in…various ways. My body stopped changing after 25 years.” His mouth twists with mischief, making him look young and ridiculously adorable.

He turns to me, his eyes flickering with nostalgia. “Gabriella, I have lived for two and a half centuries.”

What the…? “Holy shit! You’re 250 years old?!”

Dorian gives me a wink of his beautiful eye in response. “Surprised?”

“Um, hell yeah! Ok, that’s pretty much disgusting, Chester the Molester. I’ve been screwing an ancient artifact!”