The Dark Prince (The Dark Light Series)(8)

“I had to, Gabriella. To save your life,” he finally says, answering my unspoken question. “I needed more time to figure things out. I’m sorry if it frightened you.”

“Are you the killer, Dorian?” I ask, growing tired of dancing around the question.

“No. Of course, not.” Dorian pulls me back into his embrace and I let him, despite my uncertainty. “I have no need to kill innocents, Gabriella.”

“Not even for…power?” I ask with a wavering voice.

“I don’t need power, little girl.”

“Then who?”

Dorian strokes my disheveled mane, making me suddenly conscious of the ragged state I arrived here in.

“I don’t know. There was no mandated order outside of mine. We have rules, Gabriella. We don’t kill for sport, despite what the Light may believe.”

An involuntary yawn escapes me and I try to muffle it against Dorian’s chest.

“You’re tired,” he observes.

I shake my head. “No, I’m fine.” There’s so much more I need to know, so much I want to ask him. About what he is. About what I am. “Are there others? Like you?”

“Yes, of course. Everywhere. Hidden in plain sight.”

“I think I saw one. Like you. The night after our first date, in the parking lot. I think it was coming after me. Scary as hell, like some type of freaky ghost-like figure. All distorted and demonic looking. It looked like you did. When you…changed. But it wasn’t you, was it?”

Dorian chuckles, and I sit up to check if he’s delusional. What the hell is so funny?

“Aurora,” he snickers. “She has a flair for the dramatic.”

Aurora? I knew it! “So she’s…”

“Dark, yes. She wouldn’t have hurt you though. She was just curious, maybe even a bit jealous. But she has been helping us, watching you when I can’t be here. Luckily, her involvement with that boy has made that task easier.”

Aurora’s sudden infiltration into my life has been more than a nuisance. But the realization that her involvement with Jared was orchestrated to get closer to me brings a tiny smile to my face. I know I shouldn’t be pleased with the charade but I can’t help but find comfort in the fact that their relationship isn’t real.

Way to be a bitch.

“So what’s the plan? If it’s not you, and it’s not Aurora, than how can I possibly elude whoever is out there hunting me? Especially when you don’t even know who it could be?” I stifle another yawn with the back of my hand.

“Well, for starters, the necklace,” Dorian says, tugging it gently from the inside of my sweatshirt. “It’s spelled to track you. You mustn’t take it off. This necklace…is you, Gabriella. The pearl signifies your human life- delicate, effervescent and so precious- protected by dazzling white brilliance. Yet you are also surrounded by the allure and equally radiant darkness. Just a little girl thrust into the very heart of all of us. Both Light and Dark.”

I reflexively place my fingers over the pendent of pearl and diamonds cradled in Dorian’s hand. He cups both it and my hand and smiles sweetly, taking my breath away. I don’t stop myself from tipping my head up and placing my lips on his. They feel so soft and warm, and before long a light moan erupts from my throat which Dorian relishes. My hands tug at his tie, unsuccessfully trying to loosen it. Luckily, Dorian removes it swiftly, giving me access to the buttons of his shirt where I begin to go to work on furiously. I straddle his lap, fumbling with the buttons as Dorian kneads my backside through my jeans.

“Wait,” he says suddenly, pulling my lips from his.

“What?” I ask breathless and confused.

“I have to give you something. And I don’t know how you’ll take it.”

“Ok,” I enunciate slowly. “What is it?”

Dorian opens his palm, revealing a tiny vial of iridescent liquid. I have no idea where it came from and I know it hasn’t been in his hand the entire time.

“What is that?” I ask, picking it up between my thumb and forefinger.

“Magic,” Dorian answers. “My magic, specifically. At least in part.” He takes the vial from my fingers and unscrews the top. “It will connect us. I’ll be able to feel your emotions, especially when you are in danger.”

I look at the pearlescent liquid skeptically then gaze up at Dorian with a raised brow. He rolls his eyes then sighs, taking the tiny bottle from me. He dabs a bit onto his finger and sticks it into his mouth. Just the sight of him sucking his finger causes my breath to hitch.

“See, perfectly safe. You have to believe me when I say I won’t hurt you, Gabriella. Besides, poison isn’t my style.”