Shiela Stewart - [Darkness 05] Read online

  “Oh man, am I glad to see you.”

  Gabriella watched as Jonah ran to Trinity, throwing his arms around her. She looked up at the ceiling, fully expecting Cooper to drop down at any minute. She heard the voices around her, cheering at their success, welcoming both Trinity and Basil back. Still no Cooper.

  She was growing very worried.

  “Where is Cooper?”

  “Oh, um…” Trinity stammered.

  “What? Where is he?” she demanded more sternly. When Trinity walked up to her and took hold of her by the arms, she knew it wasn’t good. “No. No, you will not tell me he is gone.”

  “He told me to tell you—”

  “No!”

  ***

  Cooper looked into the eyes of evil and it took him back to a time in his life he was not proud of. He had always valued his independence, his tenacity, his ability to see the light at the end of the darkness, but after Avadur beat him down, he’d lost all of that. Held by the man who had tried to strip everything that was good inside of him away, Cooper knew that if he didn’t fight now, he would never get it back.

  He had someone precious to return to and no one was going to stop him.

  “You controlled me once. But I am no man’s puppet.” He clutched onto the hand that clasped around his neck with one hand and reached out to grab Rajana with his other. Then, using everything he had inside of him, Cooper sent her his power. He hoped it would be enough to give her strength to break free of Avadur’s hypnotic hold.

  When she gasped, he knew it had worked.

  “Release him!”

  The hand that held onto his throat released and Cooper fell with a thud to the ground beneath him. Then she turned on Cooper.

  “You are too dangerous.”

  Cooper screamed when she clasped onto his head.

  ***

  Trinity took Gabriella’s hands in hers and spoke solemnly. “He loves you very much, Gabriella. He wanted me to tell you that.”

  “No.” She held firm, refusing to believe Cooper was gone. “He will return to me.”

  “Gabriella,” Basil stepped up now to speak to her, “my father was free. He and Cooper are linked by blood. My father can control him; he did while we were up there. Avadur will not release him.”

  “I refuse to believe it. My Cooper is stronger than that. He will fight to be free, to come back to me.” She knew that in her heart.

  “Gabriella—”

  “Stop trying to convince me. I am not in denial. I just know the man I love and I know he will not rest until he is back here with me. With all of us.”

  “Gabriella.”

  They all jumped when Cooper fell from the ceiling to land at their feet with a thud.

  “See. I told you he would return to me.”

  Chapter Twenty-seven

  If this was what it felt like to be born, Cooper completely understood why babies thrust from the comfort of their mother’s womb wailed as loudly as they did. It was not a smooth transition.

  “Oh, darling, are you all right?”

  Right there at his side was the woman he had fought to return to. She knelt down beside him, taking him in her arms and soothing him with kisses to his face.

  What could he do but laugh.

  “The joke, right?” Gypsy asked.

  “Let the joke go, honey,” Dante advised.

  “I knew you would come back to me. They didn’t believe me but I knew.”

  All he wanted was those lips on his, and taking Gabriella’s face in his hands, yanked her to him. He didn’t give a damn about the people surrounding them. He was just glad to be home and in the arms of the woman he loved.

  “Aw, how romantic,” Gypsy sighed.

  “How did you manage to get away?”

  He pulled his lips away from his wife with a heavy sigh and leaned is head on hers. He supposed that would have to last him until they were alone. “I allowed your mother to draw on my power and it was enough for her to break his control.”

  “She just let you go?” Basil asked.

  “She pushed me out. I am apparently too dangerous to be near Avadur, given he can control me, so she released me.”

  “Just like that?” Basil sounded very skeptical.

  “Yes and no. She did something to my head. I’m not entirely sure what but it gave me a nasty headache.” Cooper turned now, to look at the people around him. Everyone looked…odd…a little distorted.

  “Your eyes!”

  Cooper turned his attention to Trinity. “What about them?”

  “They’re yellow!” Basil exclaimed.

  Gabriella turned him to face her and by her reaction Cooper gathered it was not good. “Are you wearing your contacts?”

  He touched his fingers to his eyelids. “No.”

  “How is it possible that his eyes are yellow?” Trinity asked Basil.

  “What did you say my mother did to you?”

  Cooper looked back up at Basil. “She clasped a hold of my head and I felt a sharp pain that started in my head and speared into my body.”

  “Try transporting yourself somewhere.”

  He tilted his head at Basil. “May I inquire why?”

  “Just give it a try.”

  With an inward shrug, Cooper did as Basil asked. And found himself still sitting in the very same spot he’d fallen to. “What on earth?”

  “Read my mind.”

  Cooper looked up at him, quizzically. “I can’t. What did she do to me?”

  “She took away the part of you that was a part of him.”

  “Anyone else as lost as I am?” Dante asked and received a nod from most everyone in the room.

  “When she took hold of your head, she stripped away your abilities, the very thing that would allow my father to control you. She’s worried he will break out of there,” Basil explained.

  “So are you.” Basil had every reason to worry, and even if what he said was true about Rajana stripping him of his abilities, Cooper worried as well.

  “I think we all should be worried. If Avadur got out of whatever my mother put him in once, he can do it again.”

  “I guess it is our job then to make sure he doesn’t have access to leave the Realm.”

  “How exactly do we do that?” Jonah asked Cooper.

  “We seal up the rift we made and put a block on the Realm so no one else can enter or leave. Could such a thing be done, Starla?”

  She shrugged “I have no idea. I guess I need to ask my mother and the high priestess. I’m sure it would take a lot—”

  “No.”

  All eyes turned to Trinity.

  “If we seal it up, I’ll never get my daughter. I’m sorry if leaving it open may help Avadur break free, but it’s a risk I’m willing to take,” Trinity explained, then turned to Basil. “We can handle anything Avadur throws at us. We have before, and we will again. I want our daughter home where she belongs.”

  Nodding, he stroked a hand along her cheek. “Then it is what we will do. We won’t stop until we have her back.”

  She nodded, her eyes glistening with tears.

  Basil turned to Cooper and as Cooper got to his feet, Basil held out his hand. “You were willing to sacrifice yourself for me, for us. Thank you.”

  Cooper took Basil’s hand in his, the grip firm, and when Cooper looked into Basil’s eyes, he saw the warmth that had once been held for him glittering in the eyes of the man he thought of as his son. “I told you once I would give my life for you. I realize what I did hurt you, and for that I am sorry. But it was never done to slight you or hurt you in any way. I thought it was best to keep the secret to save us all.”

  “I think I understand that now.”

  “Now it is I who must tha
nk you.”

  Basil’s brow curled in confusion. “Me? For what?”

  “If you had not called out to me, if you had not given me the opportunity to break Avadur’s hold, I might very well be in his control right now.”

  “I may have given you the opportunity but it wasn’t me that helped you break his control.” Basil’s eyes drifted to Gabriella.

  Cooper linked his fingers with Gabriella and brought them to his lips. “It is true. I would have fought to the death to return to my love.” Then he looked back at Basil, to everyone in the room. “I was not gifted with a family before I was taken by Avadur it was always just my father and me. But I like to think that I have a family now. In all of you.”

  “Aw, you’re going to make me cry.” Gypsy sniffled.

  “Stand in line,” Raven added with a bright smile.

  “Will we be able to move on from this?” Cooper asked Basil.

  “I think we still have some work ahead of us…but yeah, I think we can move on.” He held his hand out to Cooper once more.

  Taking it, Cooper didn’t just shake it this time but pulled Basil towards him and embraced him in a strong, fatherly hug. It felt good to have Basil back in his life and he was going to make damn sure nothing came between them again.

  “This really is a mushy moment.” Starla sniffled, then leaned against Danny’s shoulder.

  He released Basil and turned his attention to Trinity. “Whatever you need to find your daughter, you have only to ask.”

  “I know. Thanks, Cooper.”

  “But for now, I would like some time with my wife.” Taking Gabriella’s hand in his, he led her out the door and away from the castle.

  “Where are we going?”

  “My house.”

  “Cooper.”

  He stopped, turned to her, and silenced her with a kiss. “In a moment. When we get home.” She remained silent the rest of the way to his house and the instant they were inside, he spun her around, pushed her up against the wall and took her mouth in a fevered kiss that he was sure would leave her breathless.

  He was not disappointed.

  “When I decided to help Basil get Trinity back, I knew there was a chance I might not come back. I also knew I would fight to the death to come back. But when I saw Avadur controlling both Basil and Rajana, I feared none of us would ever return. I vowed to Basil long ago that I would protect him from his evil father at any cost. I kept that promise. I knew if he were to remain in the Realm, Avadur would torture him mercilessly and I knew Avadur would take over the Realm and then we would all suffer. So I acted quickly and pushed both he and Trinity through the rift.”

  He twirled a lock of Gabriella’s hair around his index finger as he spoke. “I know to you it was no more than minutes that I was gone, but for me it was hours. Time moves quickly in the Realm. Those hours I was without you were the hardest of my life and the frown tells me I’ve confused you.”

  She chuckled lightly. “Just a little.”

  “Come, sit.” He led her to the sofa in his living room and once they’d both taken a seat, he took her hands in his while he spoke. “These past twenty years without you were very hard for me.”

  “I understand that.”

  He nodded and continued. “But I always knew I could come to you and sit with you, be with you, even if you didn’t know I was there. While I was in the Realm, I was completely without you. I never want to be without you ever again.”

  She lifted his hands to her chest. “I feel the same way, Cooper.”

  “I do not regret turning you. My only regret is waiting so long to do so. I was tempted often, but I waited, hoping to find a cure. You may not understand, or may be angry at what I have to say now, and for that I am sorry. But I am glad I did not find a cure and I am glad I turned you because, now, I won’t fear that you will die before me and I will have to live out the rest of my existence alone, without you.”

  “I understand and I’m not angry.” She placed her hand on his cheek and he leaned into it. “I love you, Cooper, with every ounce of my being. I am glad you turned me as well and, to be honest, I wish you had done it long ago. I think that now, but I know if you had turned me sooner, before I became ill, I might not have been as accepting of my new life. Now was the right time to bring me to life.” She kissed him slowly, once, twice and on the third kiss she left her lips on his a few moments longer. “Thank you.”

  His heart nearly burst with love. Wrapping his arms around her, he held her tight to his chest. He was never letting her go ever again.

  “No, my darling Gabriella, thank you.”

  Epilogue

  Felicity sat in her room, admiring the dolls that lined the shelf on her wall and felt a certain kinship with them. She often felt like a doll whose only purpose was to be on display. There was life beyond the purity of her sanctuary and she so longed to find it. If only she could.

  When her mother walked into her room, Felicity turned, her long black hair fell over her shoulder and she brushed it back. She often wished she could be rid of the length of her hair as well.

  “Have you come to give me the answers I seek?”

  Her mother, Rajana, walked to her, running her hand along the length of her hair as she spoke. “There are always a plethora of questions with you.”

  “I have a curious mind.”

  “That you do, my sweet.” Rajana leaned down to kiss the top of her head. “What would you like to know first?”

  “Who was that lady in that cell?”

  Rajana floated along as she spoke, straightening bedding, aligning ornaments. “That…was your birth mother.” She turned now, and her face became very stern. “You remember what I told you about her?”

  Felicity nodded, her head bobbing. “That she is the essence of evil, wants only to ruin you and take over your place as reigning queen. But she seemed so nice.”

  “You are young still, my sweet girl, and impressionable.” Rajana walked back to her now and ran her fingers through her long hair. “Evil wears the face of kindness to lure in its victims. She would care for you as delicately as she would a used rag. If I hadn’t taken you from her, she would have led you down that evil path as well. I could not have that.”

  “What about those men? The two with blue eyes. Who were they?”

  “Her consorts. There now, I’ve answered your questions. Would you like to take a walk?”

  Felicity brushed her hand along the ivory skin of the porcelain doll on her dresser and shook her head. “I’ve seen all there is to see here.” She looked up at her mother. “I wish to see earth now.”

  “You are not ready,” Rajana snapped, then taking the doll from her, set it on the top shelf on the wall. “Now do as your mother asks.”

  “Why can’t I go down for even a moment? I’ve heard stories about the beauty of the world. I only want to see for myself.”

  Rajana clasped her hands on Felicity’s chin and knelt down to eye level. “You will do as your mother asks and nothing more. Is that understood?”

  She glared at her mother and refused to respond. When the fingers tightened, she held her ground.

  “Is that understood, Felicity?”

  Holding her eyes as narrow as possible, she snapped back and the electricity danced in the room. “Yes, Mother.”

  “Good. Now, let’s enjoy a walk together while I still have time.”

  She took her mother’s hand as they walked from the room. Deep inside her mind, she thought of ways to break free.

  She didn’t just want to see the world. She wanted to see her parents.

  Even if they were evil.

  Because deep inside she wondered if they were so evil, did that mean she would become evil as well?

  Biography

  Raised on a rural farm in Saskatchewan, Sh
iela Stewart relied on her vivid imagination to fill her days. Never did she realize that her need to tell a story would someday lead to becoming a published romance author. In the fall of two thousand and six, Shiela published her very first book and hasn’t stopped since.

  When not writing, Shiela spends time with the love of her life, William and their three children. She has a strong affection for animals which is evident in the five cats, one dog, three turtles and ten fish she owns. Some of her passions aside from writing are drawing and painting and proudly displays her artwork in murals in her home.

  Her favorite time of day is sunset and loves to stargaze.

  Other Books by

  Shiela Stewart

  Discovery in Passion: Passion Series Book 1

  Escape in Passion: Passion Series Book 2

  Mercy in Passion: Passion Series Book 3

  Seducing the Darkness: Darkness Series Book 1

  Desiring the Darkness: Darkness Series Book 2

  Embracing the Darkness: Darkness Series Book 3

  Charming the Darkness: Darkness Series Book 4

  Tempting the Darkness: Darkness Series Book 5

  Penetrating the Darkness: Darkness Series Book 6

  Consuming the Darkness: Darkness Series Book 7

  Surviving the Darkness: Darkness Series Book 8