Darkbeam Part II Read online

  DARKBEAM II

  Adrienne Woods

  Darkbeam Part II

  Copyright © 2018 Adrienne Woods

  Illustration: Joemel Requeza

  * * *

  If you purchased this book from anyone other than Fire Quill Publishing or a licensed FQP reseller, you should be aware this book is stolen property.

  This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real locales are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  * * *

  All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.

  All graphics and text associated with Fire Quill Publishing.

  First Fire Quill publishing edition April 2018

  ISBN-13: 9781947649187

  To all the Rubicon fans out there, this one is by far my favorite.

  Contents

  Acknowledgments

  Also by Adrienne Woods

  Part I

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Part II

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  About the Author

  First and the most important, as always, thanks is to our Father in Heaven, for blessing me every day, without Your guidance, I wouldn’t have done or finished with this if You were not involved in this every day. You are my purpose of life and I will love You till the end of time.

  Then I would like to thank my extraordinary beta readers, you know who you are, for your valuable input, patience and willingness to delve into this world time and time again.

  For the endless support of my family; I would be lost without your loving support and your ability to keep me pursuing this project when I didn’t want to carry on.

  A special thanks to my wonderful editors, Monique and Jess, you have become true citizens of Paegeia, and your insight to the words on these pages stayed true to Blake through and through. A big thank you for polishing my work to perfection.

  To my cover artist Joemel. There are just no more words to describe your work and talent. You were able to reach into my imagination, capture, and re-imagine what was inside my mind.

  To my publishing company, Fire Quill, for giving a home to my series and to the best team I ever worked with. Carlyle, and Anika, you are all stars for making my novels reach much further then I dream for.

  Last, but not the least, a big thanks to my fans. I will always, always be grateful for your love and support. Without you this series would not have lifted off.

  I hope that none of you will be disappointed with this part.

  * * *

  Lots of love

  Adrienne Woods

  The Dragonian Series

  Firebolt

  Thunderlight

  Frostbite

  Moonbreeze

  Starlight

  * * *

  NOVELLAS

  Venom

  Poison

  All the above titles are available in audio

  via Tantor Media.

  * * *

  DRAGONIAN SERIES SPIN OFF NOVELS

  THE BEAM SERIES

  Moonbeam

  Starbeam

  Darkbeam Part I-III

  Firebeam

  The Journal with Blake Leaf

  * * *

  The World Of Paegeia

  Illustrated by Joemel Requeza

  * * *

  DREAM CASTER SERIES

  LIGHT

  SHADOW

  MILLEU

  Part I

  “We’ve got another gig.” Isaac’s enthusiasm spilled through my Cammy.

  “When and where?”

  Elena was set to come stay at our house soon. The mere thought made my insides crawl.

  My parents had flung open their doors to her. My father hadn’t set eyes on her yet—she hadn’t been in a bed near me when they’d visited me in the infirmary—but one look at her and he would know. He’d beat the truth out of me.

  On the one paw, I was glad we’d gotten a part of him back, but on the other, this meant that the old Sir Robert, one of the few dragons the Rubicon feared, was back. I despised fear.

  And he was focused on me.

  When Elena came, I’d have to keep a low profile. If that meant more gigs, so be it. It was better than brooding on my mountaintop at least.

  Isaac replied—the gig was on the day George would return. He and his family had left to spend the summer on an island on the other side of the Wall to celebrate that his little sister finally received her human form.

  If only I could cross the Wall… but the Ancients would refuse.

  They strongly believed I wouldn’t come back—and jeopardize everything they’d done to shroud Paegeia in secrecy, unknown by the rest of the world.

  Sometimes, I felt like a prisoner.

  I shouldn’t feel like that. I should rule Paegeia.

  If I were to show everyone the truth, they would force her to face me in the arena. She would Ascend and I would break. No matter how fucked up it was, I’d end up with her.

  Sure, I would become the ruler. But fuck ruling like that. I’d rule by myself and not as a slave to that ignorant blondie.

  I wanted it all for myself. One day, when the darkness overtook me and I lost my sense of self, I would seize this world. Probably the one behind the Wall, too.

  That was how greedy my darkness was.

  “See you then?”

  “Yeah, I’ll see you at Longbottoms.”

  “Another gig already?” Tabitha lifted her head from my chest.

  “Yeah, George’s welcome-home bash.”

  “Must be good to have all the money in the world.” She was referring to Becky. Ever since George had Dented on her, they’d been inseparable.

  I asked him shortly after the King of Lion mission—that was what everyone called it now—how the Dent felt. He’d shaken his head and left without a word.

  From the look on his face, I had a feeling he had no idea.

  George would rather die than admit the truth: that what his intense connection with Becky was not genuine, that it was forced on him by a spell.

  A cold shiver rushed up my spine from the thought of the Dent. Denting wasn’t something beautiful or admirable.

  The Dent was a kind of slavery. It made dragons lose everything.

  It reminded me of the irrepressible sensations every time I dreamed about the redhead. Were the dreams even about Elena? Blonde Elena looked nothing like the girl in my dreams.

  Tabitha sighed. “What’s going on with you lately? Your head’s always somewhere else.”

  “Thinking about Brian.” The lie slipped easily off my tongue. “He shouldn’t have died.”

  I lied more and more these days. Tabitha was spot-on: my mind constantly strayed, either to the Dent or Elena.

  “That’s not on you. If anyone should feel guilty, it’s that dr
agon spawn. She never should’ve gone after that stupid sword.”

  I knew why Elena had done what she did. But she was wrong. She’d learn the sword wasn’t her destiny after all.

  The other day, I’d gone to the museum in Etan—in disguise, of course—to look at the foretellings in the Book of Shadows.

  Something had prompted Elena to fixate on the lost King of Lion sword, and I had to know what had spurred the mission.

  When I saw it, not far from a couple of mine that were still black, my lungs deflated in shock.

  A day will come and a day will go, a choice you’ll have to make otherwise the truth will never be known.

  Irene hadn’t told me about this foretelling.

  She was adamant that Elena didn’t belong in Paegeia. She wasn’t special, which was why she didn’t see anything from the spawn.

  But after what Elena had done, I knew that would change.

  Irene would dig deeper, and she’d realize the reason she couldn’t see anything wasn’t because Elena wasn’t special, but because she was extremely special—King Albert special. She had never been able to see his future clearly. It had something to do with his bloodline possessing magical abilities, and Elena’s axes that night proved it. Their blood protected them from harm and from Irene’s sight.

  I knew the words belong to Elena.

  And I knew it was about my claiming.

  I opened my eyes and found Tabitha still staring at me, her eyes soft.

  I pulled my arm out from underneath her and got up, pulling on my boxer shorts and t-shirt. I was hungry.

  I found my parents in the kitchen.

  It was weird seeing my father, knowing that he had no recollection of what he had been a few months ago.

  Samuel had kept his word and took away those memories. It was part of my prize money: get my father back and keep my family safe.

  My mom smiled at me. “Morning, sweetheart. You hungry?” Her British accent was always more charming in the mornings.

  “Starving.”

  My father didn’t offer a greeting, just grunted at me to get my attention.

  I turned my head to look at him.

  “Are you being safe with the Snow Dragon?”

  “Dad,” I whined.

  “Blake, we can’t afford another mouth to feed.”

  “I’m not stupid. Believe me, the last thing I want is a fucking egg.”

  My father picked up the newspaper and my mother took a deep breath.

  Sammy came bounding into the kitchen, kissing my mom on her cheek as she grabbed a piece of toast.

  “Where are you going?” my father asked.

  “To Becky’s. And I’m taking Daisy,” she said turning to me.

  Daisy was the VW Beetle I got cheaply and fixed up with Ty and Isaac’s help.

  Sammy leaned down and brushed a kiss over his cheeks. “See you later.”

  With that, she turned and left, and a few minutes later we heard the roar of the Beetle.

  “You remember that Elena will be staying with us next week, right, Robert?” Mom said, turning to look at my father.

  He sighed. “Does the girl know we’re not as fortunate as the Johnsons?”

  “Robert, I’m sure Sammy told her. Besides, she was the one who had the guts to go after the sword when no one else wanted to.”

  “I know.” My father sighed again and looked at me.

  “What?” I asked.

  “I heard her mark is really dark. Is it true?”

  “I’ve never seen her mark,” I said. It wasn’t a lie. It had to be hidden beneath all those layers she usually wore.

  Ever since we’d produced the new King of Lion weapons—Elena’s axes—my father wanted to know everything about the mission. I hated it. I’d tried to tell him as little as I could, but it got worse when King Caleb and half of the members agreed that Elena wouldn’t get her name on the brass plate with the other five women that made it out of the cavern. They called the Ancients to a meeting, and my father attended for the first time in fucking forever. Why now?

  It wasn’t good.

  The Ancients ruled that being a spawn of a dragon gave her the advantage.

  The half-and-half race had been treated like runts for years. Now one stepped up and did something admirable, and suddenly they had an advantage.

  Elena wasn’t a runt, but that’s what they all believed.

  I’d thought it would backfire and they would sense who she was, but luckily, she wasn’t ready and Master Longwei spoke in her defense.

  After that, my father wanted to know all about her.

  When he finally sees her, he would watch me like a hawk, like most of the professors at Dragonia.

  My mother set a plate of food in front of me and another in front of my father, and we ate in silence. After my last bite, I thanked my mom and left the kitchen.

  “Your plate won’t magically put itself in the sink, Blake,” my mother called after me.

  With a sigh, I went back and put my plate in the sink.

  She smiled. “Thank you.”

  I shook my head in annoyance as I went back upstairs, where Tabitha was already dressed and waiting for me.

  I pulled on more appropriate clothing, and then we left for Isaac’s.

  George’s party was starting, but Tabitha hypnotized me with her body.

  I desperately wished it was Irene who was making me late, but there was no way I could see her during the summer.

  I couldn’t wait for school to start and I could lie in her arms again. Could be with her again.

  Tabitha had to do for now, and I had to indulge while I could, because my mother was going to send her packing once Elena came.

  It was as if everything was working against me, wanting me to give in and tell Elena who she was.

  I wondered whether my father knew about her, but if he did, he wouldn’t be here with us. He’d have left to protect her years ago, and he would’ve told us about her. Would’ve told me there was hope.

  Why had his rider kept Elena a secret?

  At the end of his life, had he truly believed that my father could’ve been the one who would betray them?

  If only he’d known. My father would’ve died for King Albert without giving his family a second thought.

  Whatever the king’s reasoning, it had died with him.

  When Tabitha and I reached Longbottoms, my stomach started to churn.

  Elena was here.

  I parked the Beetle and rested my head against the steering wheel to get my nausea under control.

  “Nervous?” Tabitha asked as she stroked my back.

  “Always,” I lied.

  She was looking as gorgeous as always. Dressed to kill in a short denim skirt and high-heeled boots that showcased her long legs. Her denim jacket covered an extremely tight and skimpy shirt, showing off enough cleavage to tease me.

  I bit my lower lip as my eyes roamed over her body.

  Tabitha narrowed her eyes playfully and leaned her face closer to mine.

  “If you’re nervous, just remember that I’m right in the crowd, cheering the loudest.” She kissed me lightly.

  “With the way you’re dressed tonight, I’m pretty sure I’ll forget the words to every single song.”

  She laughed. “It’s to remind you that you are with one of the most beautiful girls in Paegeia.”

  “Ouch, I like,” I teased and kissed her again.

  Isaac and Ty banged on the door.

  “C’mon, Romeo, there is time for that later,” Isaac said.

  I groaned softly.

  Tabitha got out of the car. “You boys are so evil.”

  “I’m not the one with Beelzebub written over my face,” Isaac teased.

  Tabitha giggled and walked up the stairs.

  Isaac frowned at me. “You okay?”

  Telling the guys that I was nervous wouldn’t work, and neither would telling them that I was sick, because I had the ability to heal myself. I couldn’t lie to them, bu
t I had to.

  “Yeah, just a feeling, I guess.”

  “A feeling?”

  “It could be the Moonbolt finally arriving.”

  “We are so going to hit the casinos when that happens,” Ty joked as we headed up a different set of stairs.

  Longbottoms was already packed to the rafters.

  When we reached the stage and started tuning our instruments, my stomach turned again. I hadn’t seen Elena for almost three weeks and it had been blissful. Now, I got the full dose, a reminder of who she was.

  I hated it.

  Everyone was great until Elena and Arianna started with their crap.

  I tried to ignore it.

  If Elena was in danger, there was a chance that I would do something stupid again, and risk giving everything away.

  And with Arianna, it could lead to that. Those two did not like each other much

  Elena came back inside, but not before someone outside recognized her.

  The Prince of Tith’s new girlfriend.

  Ever since they had gone to the gallery, everyone wanted a picture of Elena. It made the front page of tabloids, and every radio show wanted to know the girl who had stolen Princess Arianna’s betrothed.

  Which was when Elena discovered the arrangement King Helmut and King Caleb had.

  Things weren’t looking good for Lucian.

  I glanced over at Elena, and saw Becky and George taking her away. My stomach finally started to settle once Sammy took Elena home in my Beetle.

  Thank heavens for small miracles.