The Dark Prince (The Dark Light Series)(5)
“Is this what you want?!” Dorian seethes. “You want to see me like this? You want me to hurt you? You want me to end you right now?”
I take in the daunting apparition before me, swirls of blackish smoke enveloping him like a toxic cloak. He is beyond my worst nightmares, encompassing all things evil and cruel that exists in this world and beyond. But even I know that this is a different brand of darkness. This is no ordinary nightmare. He truly is the epitome of Dark.
“No, Dorian,” I choke out in a whisper. “This is what you want. What you need. You killed me the moment I found out the truth. So just do it.”
I feel my eyes pool with fresh tears, unable to blink them away. And why would I? This is the end. There’s no use in trying to stifle my agony. It’s true; I am dead inside. Without Dorian, without the beautiful illusion of love and true happiness, I am but an empty shell. Even the mirage of my life that pacified me for twenty years cannot pull me back from the ledge. I can’t go back to that. Meeting Dorian- loving Dorian- has altered my entire being. Life without him is death.
At the sight of my crack of emotion, Dorian releases a bit of the anger that feeds the beast within him, though his darkness is still prevalent. He reaches a pale, spiny hand toward me, plumes of charcoal writhing around it. The sharp pads of his fingertips slide down my cheek, leaving a trail of frigid cold prickles. I bite back the urge to cringe at the chilling sensation.
“I don’t want that,” he mutters hoarsely. “But you’ve left me no choice. I’m sorry, little girl.” With a sigh, he stows his darkness entirely, his body settling back into its original magnificent form. The olive tone of his skin returns and the ominous grey smoke dissipates, the ice blue of his eyes the only sign of a supernatural threat.
I hear his words but the peril still doesn’t register. There is no room left in me to feel anything else but immense pain. I can literally feel my heart splinter into several jagged pieces, the ache radiating in my chest and spreading throughout my body like a cancer. I don’t even notice the tears streaming down my hot cheeks until Dorian brushes them away. I resist the urge to burrow my face in his hand.
“So this is it? You’re going to do it?” I whisper with a weak, wavering voice. My brash and bold nature has completely abandoned me. I was defeated from the start.
“Yes.” The look on his face is pure agony and regret. Why? This is what he’s wanted all along, toying with my heart just to get close to me. Yet this is not the face of a cold-hearted paranormal killer. This is the face of a man tormented by his own demons.
I let my eyes close, before allowing myself one last glimpse of his beautiful face. Dorian. My very own angel of death. “Ok. I’m ready.”
I feel his fingers brush a trail from my cheek down to my collarbone, resting there to trace small circles with his thumb against my throat. His warm lips touch my forehead and I ease into the touch. A final kiss goodbye. I allow myself to savor it.
Dorian quietly mutters a few strangled words against my flushed skin in his secret, unnamed language. A language I’m not supposed to know, yet this time I understand every word. Words that I have craved to hear from his lips. Words that grip my shattered heart, trying to piece the jagged shards back together.
My eyes flutter open just as Dorian takes a step back, looking down at me in anguish. I let my hazels plunge into his glossy pools of azure as I offer those same words to him in my last dying breath.
“I love you, too.”
Chapter Two
We stand in silence, staring at each other, an array of tortured emotion etched on our faces. Dorian said he loves me. He knows I can understand his language, the sacred tongue of the Dark. And he knows I love him too. We are both jolted with these revelations, unsure of what to do next. I should be dead right now, but instead, I am gazing up at the most beautiful man ever created. At the Dark Warlock that I love so much it’s bound to kill me.
Tension swirls around us, the heat of our bodies mingling with the sexual electricity that neither of us can deny. Seconds ago, I was ready for Dorian to end my life in order to save his own. There was nothing I could do to fight him, and a big part of me didn’t want to. Knowing that he has deceived me in the worst way possible was like taking a bullet to the chest. I don’t think I could ever survive his betrayal.
Dorian’s brow furrows, bewilderment flashing in his eyes. He drops his hand from my throat and cocks his head to the side, causing me to stifle a giggle. I’ve always found the gesture incredibly cute and endearing. Even now, knowing what he is, he still looks like my Dorian. And I will always view him as such.