Tasting Darkness
Tempting Darkness Chapter 4

I could hear Darius barking orders at his men and running drills. Walking around the side of the outbuilding, I spot in the center of the field. I come up behind him. Darius looks over his shoulder at me. His arms are folded across his chest as he turned his attention back to his men and glared out at them.

Demons appeared fearful, nervously glancing at the castle roof. I look to the roof to see what they kept staring at only to replace hundreds of Phoenixes standing on the rooftop watching the demons like they were prey and were waiting to pick them off one by one.

I gasp at the sight of them when Darius moves toward me. He jams his fingers in my ribs, making me jump. ”You should be resting,” he growled, tugging me toward him while I gaped at the roof. I was stunned.

I had never seen so many in one place at one time. ”How? I … why are they here?” I ask, shaking my head. ”Why do you think?” Darius says, nudging me. I shake my head, and Ryze fly’s down from the roof, perching on my shoulder. Darius ruffles his feathers, and I arch an eyebrow at him watching as he pet him.

”What, he is growing on me,” Darius says while Ryze rubs his beak against my face before nipping at my hair. ”What do they want?” I asked Ryze. He looks at me. ”Alira,” he tries to speak before looking at the rooftop. I turn my gaze back to the roof. Some were positively lethal, giants, and I was seriously worried about the roof caving in from the weight of them.

The recruits freak out when a huge one takes flight, moving high in the air, and Darius growls. ”Get a f*cking grip of yourselves,” He booms at them. I laugh as he shakes his head, waving them off the field. I watch the huge pheonix fly around, circling the field. The Phoenix lands on the grass about a hundred meters away when I realize he has caught something.

The shriek of whatever he caught makes my heart flutter in my chest, and I swallow as the phoenix rips it apart before tossing his head back and swallowing it down. ”Marvelous creatures, but f*ck they’re savages,“ Darius mutters.

He tosses his arm across my shoulders when the siren blares, signaling the end of class. ”Come on, you should eat,” he says, steering me toward the castle doors. Ryze walks along my shoulder and onto Darius‘. He tenses briefly before Ryze starts smacking his beak on Darius’s head like he was trying to crack open a coconut. Darius grabs his beak. ”Don’t push your luck, Ryze. I will stuff you like a damn turkey,” Darius warns him, and he caws but stops, instead playing with his hair.

”Where are Kalen and Lycus?” ”Classes,” Darius says, and I nod. ”Kalen is doing classes now?” I asked. ”No, he is just with Lycus. He doesn’t teach, not anymore,” ”Why?” ”Because” Is all Darius answers. I head for the mess hall when Darius grabs my shoulder, steering me back toward the stairs.

”Where are you going?” he asks, looking at me confused, and I shake it off. I didn’t think I just headed where I usually went. “I don’t want you alone with them. You stay with one of us from now on, no exceptions,” Darius says, nudging me toward the stairs.

That was fine by me I hated being around them. We see Tobias in the corridor as we head back upstairs. He glances at us before turning back to whoever he was talking to. As we approach, his eyes go to Darius, some silent message passing between them, and whatever was going on between them had Tobias angry.

”Is everything alright?” I asked them. They look at each other before Darius walks off. I look at Tobias, but he shrugs, and I know I wasn’t going to get any answers.

Days passed, and one thing became clear as I hopped in the shower to get ready for class. Something was going on between Darius and Tobias. They were hiding something. Even Kalen and Lycus seemed suspicious about whatever it was. They barely spoke, or when they did, the tone was never friendly.

I rinse my hair out, listening to them argue. Lycus opens the shower door stepping into the shower behind me before turning me around. His fingers replace mine as he starts massaging my scalp rinsing the shampoo out of my hair. Kalen shakes his head, washing himself as he glares at the bathroom door where Darius and Tobias were again at each other’s throats. ”Man, I seriously can’t take much more of their fighting,” Kalen mutters.

I had noticed the darkness seeping back into Kalen over the last couple days, I knew he was picking up on their energy, and it worried me seeing his mind taking him back to some dark places. ”Leave it, Kalen. They will sort out whatever is going on,” Lycus tells him. I purse my lips hoping he was right.

Darius had been sleeping in my old room the last two days, and I hated how my bond called out to him, Tobias was miserable. And we were hardly getting any sleep with Kalen constantly getting up in the night searching for him. Yet, they remained tight–lipped whenever Lycus, Kalen, or myself were around, speaking in riddles and having digs at each other. Well, it was more Tobias who kept provoking Darius.

I sigh, pushing past Lycus and grabbing a towel when I hear something shatter. ”Aleera, stay here,” Lycus growls, reaching for my hand, but I pull back. ”No, I am bloody sick of it,” ”Aleera, Lycus is right. Let them deal with it. You don’t want to get between whatever is going on out there,” Kalen says.

I sigh, chewing my l*p before hearing the door slam. Kalen gets out, wraps a towel around his waist, and comes over to me. He grips my h!ps tugging me against him, and presses his lips to my forehead. I sigh before waiting a few minutes to ensure the fighting in the room had indeed stopped.

When I hear nothing, I open the door to replace Darius glaring at the burning wood in the fireplace. He looks over at us as we walk out but says nothing. Kalen moves toward the closet while I make my way over to Darius, stopping in front of him. He reaches for me tugging me down on his lap.

My towel pushes up my thighs as I straddle him and he runs his hands up my legs to my as*s. His hand grips my as*s hard, making me squirm, and his eyes flicker. I could see Kalen watching us from the closet’s doorway as he got changed.