Night's Darkest Embrace by Jeaniene Frost

Rafael said in a quiet, frightening voice. “That should get him to talking.”
    It no doubt would, but that presented its own set of problems. If Rafael flashed those incredible wings at Jack, then we’d have to kill him right away so Jack didn’t report what Rafael was to anyone else. No, it was better if Jack was left alive so his guilt could be shown to all the Partials in Nocturna, clearing Rafael’s name against anything Jack—or I—had said against him.
    A wild idea formed in my mind. I stood up, ignoring the flare of heat that rippled through me when Rafael’s gaze lingered over my body.
    “There are gateways back to Nocturna in this mountain, aren’t there?”
    Rafael inclined his head toward the large crystal desk in the corner. “Inside that is the gateway that opens in my castle.”
    He could travel between realms straight from one bedroom into another? Talk about convenient, and that worked out even better for what I had in mind.
    I gave Rafael a wicked smile. “I know we’re not going to have a conventional relationship, but I’m going to ask my new mother-in-law for a wedding present anyway.”

CHAPTER NINE
    I ran through the woods, close enough to the main lighted path of lanterns that I wasn’t worried about colliding with a tree, but far enough away that I shouldn’t have been easily visible to the mounted patrols. Of course, at least one guard didn’t need lanterns to see, but I wasn’t worried about Jack. He wasn’t patrolling the woods. He was up ahead by the barrier, ready to be the first to greet—and size up—any new entrants into Nocturna.
    Still, I slowed down when I was within a hundred yards of the clearing that skirted the barrier and picked my way more cautiously through the trees. No need to screw things up by being impatient. Then, once I was close to the cross section that marked the beginning of the lighted path before the clearing, I hunkered down on all fours, digging quietly.
    When I was satisfied with the shallow ditch I’d created, I crawled into it, covering myself back up with dirt and some nearby fallen leaves. Only my hands and my face were left exposed, and I’d already camouflaged my skin to blend more with the forest floor. My dark brown hair didn’t need any additional help to blend in, so with my new nest and the darkness, I should have been nearly invisible.
    Long minutes ticked by. I was glad no watches worked in this realm, or I would have been checking the time incessantly. Instead, I sought to stem my edginess by thinking back over everything that had led me to this moment. Gloria’s excited smile flashed in my mind from that afternoon so long ago at the movie theater. Mara, this is Drew and Ashton. They’re Partials, too, and guess what—they know how to get into Nocturna!
    So many things had happened as a consequence of our stupid decision to go with two strangers into a realm we’d been warned about, but now that memory didn’t bring only pain. A part of me would never get over losing my cousin, but another memory flashed in my mind, showing the good that had come out of such tragedy.
    Large hands smoothed the hair back from my face, their gentleness a welcome balm after the brutal force Drew had used when he’d bound me and thrown me over his horse. I tried to squelch my sobs, vaguely embarrassed that I’d been smearing tears and a runny nose all over the chest of my unknown savior. But he’d taken me in his arms without hesitation when I’d collapsed after the shock of watching Gloria being yanked through that barrier, and he whispered that he wouldn’t let anyone hurt me . . . and I believed him. Without even seeing his face, some part of me knew that he meant every word, and with that knowledge came a sense of peace that I shouldn’t have felt under these horrible circumstances.
    Then he let me go, standing and awing me with his height as I stared up at him. A scraping sound preceded the sudden flare of a match, making me gasp as