Tasting Darkness

Read Tasting Darkness [Tempting Darkness] By Jessica Hall Book 2 Chapter 35 - Stumbling into the room the portal closes behind us, Darius didn’t step through but Tobias steeredtoward the bathroom and | could feel how uncomfortable he was. | could also tell he was breathing through his mouth so as to not inhale my scent.

“But Darius,” | tell him. He shakes his head and points to the shower, clearly not trusting himself not to talk. | wasn’t aware it was about shredding that made him almost rabid. | also didn’t want to know but it must be a vampiric-fae thing because | remembered the strange Vampire from the store the first time.

Shutting the door, I strip my clothes off before stopping when | feel the stone in my pocket. It kind of looked like a moon stone, shaking my head. | turned and started the shower before trying to figure out what to do with it.

Hearing the door open | panic and drop it into the bowl that sat between the basins full of bath bombs.

Kalen steps into the bathroom just as | turn back toward the shower. He holds up sclothes and sets them on the basins just as | step under the water's spray. He turns around to facebefore spotting my ruined clothes.

“Darius back?” “Lycus went to help him,” Kalen tellsbefore twisting his wrist. “Wait!” | screeched but it was too late as he incinerated my pants on the tile floor. It was so odd seeing Kalen use magic considering he was powerless when | first chere.

on them were my favoritaman.” | buff “Ah, they were my favorite jeans,” | huff. Kalen smirks. “I'll buy you snew ones,” he chuckles and I roll my eyes at him.

“So are you hopping in?” | ask him wondering if he was intending to just stand there. Kalen shakes his head turning toward the door.

“No, | will sit with Tobias since no one else is here and you're in here smelling like a sweet dessert to him,” he laughs before leavingand | reach for the soap. When I finished Darius was back with Lycus and | got changed.

Tobias, Kalen, Lycus and | moved the crates downstairs to the mess hall while Darius went to the recruits floor to tell them to meet us in the mess hall. Ryze flew aboveheading down the flights of stairs and | watched her zip into the mess hall earning a scream from one of the kitchen earning a scream from one of the kitchen hands who must have been in there as he cbarrelling out the doors with his chef hat on peering into the mess hall with a frightened expression on his face. I click my tongue and walk down the last couple of steps and past the terrified demon with a shake of my head.

Ryze squarks from the windowsill she perched on. | whistle and she flies down landing on my shoulder just as | set the first crate down on one of the long tables. Moments later the recruits start coming into the mess hall with Darius who was carrying bags of minces, spam and rice. He sets them beside the crates of baby phoenixes who chirped and bounced in their crates wanting out.

The recruits look amongst themselves, sstanding waiting for directions from Darius Rwe watches them as if they from Darius.Ryze watches them as if they were prey and by the looks on their faces they felt like it in her presents yet they didn’t run like they usually did. Though none ctoo close towith her perched on my shoulder.

“There are too many for us to look after so think of it as a parenting class,” Darius tells them and they glance amongst themselves.

“Ah - ” Darius holds up his hand cutting the man that stood closest off.

“All of you are alive because they died for you, now it’s your turn to look after them until they are old enough to do it themselves,” “They hate Demons!” Someone at the back called out.

“They can’t hate you too much, they saved you all. You will do this or you know where the doors are,” Darius tells them.

“They won't attack you,” | tell them, before shaking the thought of what my mother said about Spark turning on her.

“Easy for you to say, you're a Harmony Fae,” The man retorts and | roll my eyes when Darius whistles. Ryze wiggles, opening her talons and clenching them painfully on my shoulder before flying over to him. She climbs up Darius’ chest, opening her wings and wrapping them around Darius in sweird Phoenix hug. Murmurs break out.

“They answer to Aleera, they are her flock. Therefore you are part of their flock. Just don’t p**ss them off,” Darius says stroking Ryze’s feathers. “Ain't that right boy?” Darius says.

“Girl, Ryze is a girl,” | tell him and he givesa funny look.

“What?” Darius says. “His beak though,” | shrug. Her beak resembled a male Phoenix which must clearly be a myth.

“I read you can tell if you check in its feathers,” Another suggests, Ryze’s head twists like an owl obviously understanding what the man was suggesting. Her tongue comes out like a snake as she hisses before she turns her head daring him to check. Darius fingers stroking her feathers stop.

“I wasn’t going to,” Darius tells her when her beady eyes glare at him. She puffs out her feathers before flying over to me.” Definitely a girl,” Kalen chuckles behind Darius with a shake of his head.

Darius waves them to cover to the tes. “Sonick your chick and onbon crates. “So pick your chick and grab one of the bags of food. You will be responsible for whichever one you pick. It dies, you die,” Darius calls out.

“But if they die, they get to cback,” “But none of you will, so keep that in mind,” Darius tells them.

“But what if they attack?” Another asks.

“Then run, run really fast, you might stand a chance,” Tobias tells him. Reluctantly the men step forward looking in each crate for a chick to look after. “Ah, they are kinda cute,” one man says wiggling his finger in front of its face. The Phoenix jumps latching onto his finger and he shrieks, shaking his hand but it refuses to let go. Darius smacks the man up the back of the head.

He freezes his finger bleeding and Darius pry’s its tiny little beak open and the man sucks his finger “I don’t want that one,” he says, scooping a sleeping one out and putting it in his hoodie pocket. He sn***hed up a bag of feed and walked out while | tried not to laugh at him. By the teach one had picked a Phoenix we were left with only three which we could manage ourselves. Over a hundred was impossible.

| carry the three remaining Phoenixes up stairs back to our room. And set them inside a smaller wooden crate while Darius and Kalen set out sstraw building a makeshift nest. We ended up keeping the biter, he wasn’t friendly with any of the men so he cback with us and Kalen declared he was naming him chomp. But we still needed names for the other two. Ryze peers into the crate watching them as if they were her babies.

“How did you figure out she was a girl?” Darius asks and | look over at him. | shrug. “Just a feeling I got.” I tell him but he eyessuspiciously and | knew he could feel my deception. Glancing at Tobias he also watchedand | gulped.

“Aleera!” Tobias growls, able to read a lie effortlessly since it was one of his gifts. The room falls quiet and | feel all their eyes watchingand I sighed knowing | wouldn't be able to hide it from them.

“In town | saw my mother,” | tell them, chewing my lip. Now that seemed to surprise them.

“And you didn’t think to tell us?” Darius snaps at me.

“There was nothing to tell, she didn’t hurt me, she wanted to talk to me,” “About what?” Tobias demands.

“About what?” Tobias demands.

“She toldRyze was a girl, that she was Sparks daughter,” “Spark?” Lycus asks coming to stand beside Tobias.

“The Biggest Phoenix, the one that talks fluently, that is Spark. He used to belong to my mother, she said he went missing a while ago and she thought he was dead. But she said he was mine now,” “Anything else?” Tobias asks and my eyes go to Darius. Darius sighs and presses his lips in a line.

“It doesn’t matter, she is safe, that is all that matters. You and | will discuss this later,” Darius says looking at me. | nod once turning back to the chicks in the crate. Tobias, unhappy with that answer, tries to argue but Darius is quick to make him stop.

“What about the other two?” | ask, changing the subject.

Kalen comes over and peers inside the crate. “We have Chomp, and that one is Darius’ little buddy,” Darius leans over looking in the crate and he huffs. “It is too,” he chuckles, reaching for it.

It jumps into his hand and hobbles up his arm before burrowing beneath his shirt and | realize it was the one he was kissing the other night in his hoodie. Darius makes kissy faces at it while we all stare at him.

This man was not affectionate, yet was kissing one of the deadliest birds in the world like it was a kitten despite the fact they hate Dark-Fae.

“So what are you going to nit?” Tobias asks him, leaning over to scratch its tiny head feather as it licks Darius’s puckered lips as he smooches it. Darius seemingly shakes himself and looks around as if he forgot we were watching him. He clears his throat.

“Ah, bird?” Darius offers and the Phoenix hisses clearly not liking that name.

“What about Ember?” Lycus says the bird hisses at him. “Flame?” Lycus offers and the bird falls quiet. “Flit is, then,” Darius tells the bird as it rubs its beak in his chest hair that was showing from the top button of his shirt that was unbuttoned.

“What about the other one?” Tobias asks. We all shrug out of names and he sighs.” Ashes?” Tobias says giving the bird an option but it was fast asleep on its back dreaming of something with the way his little pudgy legs were running in the air “Sleepy?” Lycus says and Tobias shoots him a look. “Dopey?” Kalen chuckles.

“It isn't a dwarf!” Tobias says.

“Fine, Ashes it is,” | tell him not wanting to listen to them fight over names. Tobias smiles smugly like he won something.” Fine, since you named it; you feed it,” Lycus laughs.

“Wait, but you'll help?” Lycus and Kalen shake their heads. “Nope, they are all yours, so don’t ccrying to us when they pluck your eyeballs out,” Lycus says with a shudder falling onto the bed.

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