He was proving the text hadn't lied. No smile. No light behind his eyes, just emptiness.
"You really are a pretty one, aren't you?" another voice chimed in, this one deep, smooth, soothing… like a stream where the water trickled over the rocks.
Giving my head a shake, I turned to the man next to the werewolf and barely managed to hold in a gasp.
He was gorgeous.
Light green eyes glowed in my direction, beamed and twinkled with each blink, almost like I was staring at stars. His skin was smooth and light. Dark brown hair was pulled back into a low ponytail, and he had a leather bomber jacket on.
He was the epitome of every girl's fantasy come to life.
I quickly averted my eyes, aware I was blatantly staring at him.
"What?" His warm chuckle made my body tingle. "Are you afraid to look at me, human?"
"No." I found my voice, "Not at all." Slowly I lifted my gaze to his and waited.
His smile was blinding. "Good, that's good, as we'll be spending many hours together in the near future." His smile suddenly dropped as if the idea saddened him, or maybe just made him want to kill me and get it over with.
Yeah, that was what I was afraid of.
Maybe I was better off with the werewolf.
Or the siren.
"Enough." A booming voice sounded throughout the room, shaking me out of my stare-down with the man. Only vampires had green eyes, so I imagined that was what he was, though he looked nothing like I imagined a vampire would look.
I glanced around for the location of the voice but saw nothing.
The smile froze on the vampire's face. He shared a look with the others and leaned back in his chair, while the other three seemed to stiffen in theirs, as if they were afraid. What could they possibly have to fear? They were immortal.
I looked around the room again. The lights flickered.
That couldn't be a good sign.
Up until now, I'd had no idea what immortals I'd be meeting with, and I wracked my brain trying to think of who else would be there — who else I should be afraid of… when suddenly the room went black.
It was only three seconds.
But it was enough for my brain and survival instincts to kick in.
I had to force my feet to stay planted.
I had to force the scream to stay in my throat.
And when I felt a hand reach out and touch my shoulder, the pain I felt at that touch was so life-altering that I fell to my knees, my body giving out.
"That's better," the voice said. "Don't you know you are to kneel in front of those you serve?"
"S-sorry," I said through clenched teeth. "It won't happen again."
"No," he said, "it won't. Because if it does, you'll be dead. Understand?"
"Yes."
The ice from his touch wouldn't let up; it continued to flow through my body like he was trying to freeze every vein I had.
The lights flickered again, and then he was standing in front of me.
All seven feet of him.
It hurt to stare.
But not as much as it would have if I hadn't — I, at least, had paid attention to that part of my studies. To look away was like experiencing the greatest pain imaginable because, as a human, I was drawn to his beauty, drawn to his essence in a way that had been programmed since the beginning of time.
He was a Dark One.
A fallen.
Half angel. Half human.
And he was the leader of the immortals. His punishment, along with the others of his kind had been to watch over both races, keeping them as separate as possible while still making sure both thrived. Requiring him to live with humans and play police with the immortals was a punishment.
They were called Dark Ones because both light and dark fought for them, making it impossible for lights to stay on or the dark to stay dark for too long a time span.
They commanded the dark.
But were forced to live in the light.
They were equal parts good and bad, which made them the most dangerous as they had no moral compass.
"Interesting…" His head tilted in a cat-like stance. "…that you know so much about me. Pray tell, are you going to give us a history lesson? You may stand."
Crap. I stood on shaky feet.
They could also read thoughts if they wanted to.
Though most weren't powerful enough to do so.
"I am."
Those two words devastated me. If he was that powerful, he wasn't just any Dark One. He was—
"Cassius." He finished my thought, his lips tilting up in a seductive smile. White teeth flashed, and then he turned on his heel, slowly walking up the stairs to where everyone else was seated. "But to you…" He turned slightly, his eyes flashing white before going back to a normal blue. "…I am Master."
CHAPTER THREE
Genesis
CASSIUS. THE NAME BURNED ON MY lips though I hadn't spoken it out loud — was too afraid to. I knew the power behind his name, behind who he was.
He was like a god to the immortals.
And to me?
Well, he was more than that. He could kill me with a simple snap of his fingers. He could make me see my worst nightmares by simply willing it to happen. But worst of all? He could own me. It was said that Dark Ones treated humans as pets, playthings — an amusement. But because Dark Ones had such heightened emotions, when they abandoned a human out of boredom or something else trivial, it killed the human.
Instantly shattering their hearts in their chests.
Once the Dark Ones were finished with you — you didn't survive it. No one could survive the emotional break that came when someone like Cassius left.