Tempting Darkness

"Aleera!" he called, and my blood ran cold. I raced down the steps, quickly disappearing among the other demons.

As I got to the bottom of the steps, someone shoved me, and I hit the ground. I looked to see who it was, but there were too many men to pinpoint which one. I cried out when another stomped on my fingers. "There she is," I heard Zac's voice just before a fireball rushed toward me. I shrieked, barely managing to move, and it evaporated as it hit the ground where I was.

"Let's see how pretty she is without all that hair," Zac's voice said, making me look up the steps. Zac smiled, and his eyes burned with evil as he played with another fireball, bouncing it in his hand. I took off running down the corridor. I didn't stop running until I ended up in a hall on my own. I had no idea if he was still intending to burn my hair off when I stopped to try and catch my breath.

"I think she went this way," I heard Deacon's voice. I cursed and started trying doors, finding most of them to be rooms set up with bunks. Besides, I figured it wouldn't be a good idea to hide in one of their rooms. I could hear the screech of their shoes as they ran toward me before I burst through another door and quickly shut it.

Looking around, I found it was a classroom. I could hear them opening and closing doors in the corridor and looked around for somewhere to hide before spotting a jar of pens and noticing some scissors. I grabbed them before darting under the desk.

If I get out of this, the hair is going. I was going to chop it off. My heart stopped when I heard the door open. I clutched the scissors in my hand as I heard footsteps walk toward the desk. The chair got dragged out, and my eyes met with Tobias's. He went to no doubt curse me out when Zac's voice reached my ears, and I jumped, bumping my head on the top of the desk.

Tobias growled and sat down just as the door burst open. I froze, holding my breath.

"What?" Tobias snapped, pushing his chair in and caging me in with his legs.

"Shit... Sorry, sir," I heard the door creak, like Zac was about to leave before it stopped. "Have you seen the traitor bitch?"

My heart skipped a beat at Zac's words.

"No, now get out of my f*****g classroom."

"Sorry, sir," Zac said before I heard the door shut. I let out a breath, but Tobias didn't move. Glancing at the scissors, I quickly pocketed them before tapping his leg. Still, he didn't move. "Tobias?"

"You never answered me this morning," he said, pushing the chair out a little to look at me but not enough for me to get out.

"You would know if I lied, so I didn't think it was worth answering." He growled.

"Um, can I get out?"

"You missed my class."

"I couldn't find it."

"You know Darius won't be happy when he finds out." He pushed his chair back further, and I scrambled out before being trapped between him and his desk.

"Unless..." Tobias said. I swallowed, and my thoughts went to Darius last night and his cruelty playing with the bond. All night I was restless from the pain of being rejected and humiliated for falling for it. "Unless what?"

"I won't tell him, but I want something in return."

"I am not doing anything s****l with you," I snapped at him, trying to push past his leg blocking my way. Tobias stood towering over me. His eyes flickered and turned blood red. He pinned me against the desk by placing his hands on either side of me, and I leaned away from him.

Tobias growled, and I watched as his fangs slipped out. "What if I want something else, like your blood?" he asked, and my heart rate quickened. "You want to feed on me?"

He nodded, sniffing me before grabbing me and burying his face in my neck. "You smell f*****g divine," he growled.

I felt his tongue run over the pulse in my neck, and I tried to shove him off and failed miserably when he let me go.

He grabbed my wrist, bringing it to his nose. "You smell sweet like Lycus," he whispered.

I felt his magic rush over me as he paralyzed me. My body froze as my thoughts ran rampant, and my heart thudded painfully.

"Lycus knows," I blurted out, petrified of him feeding on me. Would it hurt? What if he killed me? Vampires weren't the best with control.

"I will take care of Lycus. So, what will it be, Aleera? I tell Darius, or you let me feed on you? I promise to be gentle," he said, running his teeth against the inside of my wrist. My eyes widened before thinking of what Darius would do if he found out, but what was stopping Tobias from still telling him? Then again, what was preventing him from feeding on me if he really wanted to anyway?

"Tick-tock, Aleera. Darius will be back soon. Your next class is with him, so make your mind up, or you will be late."

"And you won't tell him?"

"I won't tell him. Besides, he would be pissed off if he knew I fed off you, so it will be our little secret."

My heart thudded so hard I could hear it, but I found myself nodding anyway, more frightened of what Darius would do if he found out. Apparently, my nodding must have been enough consent because I hissed as his fangs sank into my wrist in the next second, breaking my delicate skin. Initially, it hurt before my wrist and hand tingled. Warmth spread through me, making me realize he was using his magic so it wouldn't hurt. He didn't feed off me long.

Tobias then pulled his fangs from my wrist when the siren sounded, signaling the next class. I glanced at the clock behind him to find it wasn't a clock, but some strange moon wheel, with different phases of the moon.

Tobias wiped his mouth with his thumb before sucking my blood off it. His eyes glistened, and I watched as he pricked his thumb with one of his fangs before running it over the two punctures on my wrist. They closed instantly, and he brought my wrist to his mouth. I thought he would bite me again when he ran his tongue over it, licking up the blood that spilled down my wrist. His eyes flickered before going to mine, and he smirked.

"You taste sweeter than Lycus, though."

"Is that a bad thing?" I asked.

"Not for me it isn't, but for you, it may be..." He chuckled darkly. "Let's just say I have a sweet tooth."

I took a step back when his eyes glowed redder, and he laughed before flicking his wrist, and a portal opened up beside him.

"Get to class," he said, shoving me through it.

I gasped, feeling his magic swallow me along with the portal before I found myself spat outside on the fields. I landed on my hands and knees. I looked around the vast area to get to my feet and saw all the men and Darius walking in my direction. He stopped, cocking his head to the side.

"You decided to show up on time. Thought you would have run when you found out your next class was with me." He laughed as he stopped in front of me. The men moved out onto the field, and I was thankful it was all grass. However, that was short-lived when I realized they were using their elements, and this was a magic class.

F**k!l cursed, knowing I had no magic. All fae had an element, and I knew I was about to come out of here battered because I wasn't dealing with fae but demons, who only had one and the most lethal element-f*****g fire. Whereas I was an elemental harmony fae, which was not only rare but extinct, holding not only one but all elements, plus some other odd gifts I couldn't explain or have dabbled much in. Still, being an elemental harmony fae was no good to me now with no magic.

"Partner up!" Darius called out. I looked around at all the men, and one smiled at me. The man was a giant, tall with dreadlocks to his waist and mocha-colored skin. His demonic eyes ran the length of me, and I took a step back as he stalked toward me. "I will take the traitor," the man said. Traitor... why does everyone keep calling me that? Darius nodded to him, and I looked at Darius. Surely, he didn't expect me to fight without magic? I would get destroyed in seconds. "Let's see how pretty you are without your hair," the man sneered. What was it with everyone trying to ruin my hair?

"Her hair is off-limits. Burn her hair off, and I will take f*****g your head," Darius told him, which shocked me.

"But she is a traitor..."

"I don't care; her hair is off-limits," Darius said. Maybe he liked long hair because I knew he didn't like me. Well, he will be in for a rude shock when I cut it off later tonight with the scissors I stole.

I spent most of the class dodging his fireballs, which I was glad was all he used. He could have turned me into a raging inferno but seemed more amused with just tossing them at me. Yet, I noticed Darius stayed close for some reason.

My clothes were singed, my arm was burned, and one hand took a nasty blow. I was exhausted, having spent all my time dodging while the men laughed and watched. Some even sat on the grass, watching my torment as I tried to avoid the flames. Dodging another, my lungs were burning as I ducked, falling to my knees when suddenly flames erupted around me, boxing me in with fiery walls. I jumped to my feet, looking for an escape, panic gnawing at me as they drew nearer. I hated fire, hated it, and nothing scared me more. "That's enough!" Darius growled.

"Don't worry, I will only burn her a little," the man taunted as the flames grew closer. My heart rate skyrocketed as the flames grew closer and closer. I coughed on the smoke and could feel the heat blistering my skin.

"I said, enough!" Darius growled before the flames were blasted with water. I looked through the smoke to see Darius turn and attack the man I was partnered with, drenching him, too. Wait, how could he use a water element? I saw him use fire last night? "My word is law. Defy me again, and you will find yourself in the dungeons," he snarled as I choked on the smoke from the extinguished flames.

Images flickered in my vision, the smoke ridiculously thick, and my eyes burned from the smoke. I remembered this feeling, the choking, as each breath burned my lungs. I tried to s**k in a breath, my vision tunneling as I was brought back to the night my parents were killed. I stumbled, cursing under my breath, realizing I was having a panic attack.

Gusts of air suddenly blasted me as I became dizzy. The smoke was pushed away, and I blinked, my brain trying to register where the air magic had come from. Then all I saw was black, and I heard the snickering laughter of the men surrounding me as I fainted and collapsed to the ground.