Free Dark Warriors: A Dark Lands Anthology (Darklands) by Autumn Dawn Page B

can be what you shape it to be, if you’ve the courage not to run away.”
    “If you were me, is that what you’d call it? Running away?” she demanded.
    “I’ll never be you. I face my battles, and I know my options. If you had the courage, you’d seize the prize instead of running down the path of least resistance.”
    “So it’s going to be easy to go home?” she challenged him, unable to let him just stand there and tell her what she thought, what she felt.
    He leaned in close, ignoring her question. “Will you ever forget him if you leave? Do you not think he would be inside you, a ghost in your heart?”
    Vana couldn’t answer.
    He nodded and walked away, leaving her alone in the echoing gym.
     
    Vana took a fast shower under the multiple showerheads in her private bathroom and donned the bright yellow and black patterned square that served as alien nightwear. It had a fringe and was knotted at the shoulder, leaving one shoulder bare. The abbreviated sari remained open at one side, revealing flashes of skin as she moved, yet covering the essentials. Soft and thin enough to feel weightless under the covers, it did not bunch or drag at her as she tossed in her bed, and was more secure that sleeping naked.
    As she stared at the ceiling, willing sleep to come, Ser’s words played in her mind. Now that he’d rubbed her nose in it, she realized that yes, the woman who married Dagon would become queen. One plus one equals royalty. If anything, it only made him seem more forbidding in her mind. Who wanted to be a queen? And in spite of her unique position, she neither wanted the job nor considered herself in the running for it. If Dagon was losing sleep over her, it was because of the problems she caused him. Had she been the type to indulge in wishful thinking, she’d have hoped that he’d be inspired to send her troublesome self home. The realist in her knew better. If she got home, it would be because she was smart enough to get the job done.
    It might involve using people. She hated that part. She would do her best to avoid it, but if it came down to a choice between staying here and getting home…
    She rolled over and pounded her pillow, trying not to think about the luxuries of not paying rent or doing her own laundry. Chores were good. They meant she was making her own choices, living her own life. Maybe that life had been a bit empty, but…
    Groaning in frustration, she buried her head under the pillow and tried to sleep.
     
    The Beast was big, black and crawling up her bed. Vana stared in horror as the scene played out in slow motion. He wanted her. Though he had yet to touch her, he pinned her in place with the force of his will alone. He was all about claiming. Possession. Passion. And he terrified her like nothing she’d felt in her life.
    She woke with a muffled scream, flailing about in the tangled covers. It took long moments to clear her head, but when it did…
    Rolling over, she pulled the covers over her head. She had to get out of here!
     
    The boys were in the kitchens, doing their pagely duties. She’d been surprised that morning when she’d learned that even young princes were expected to work their way up the ranks like everybody else. When she spotted Devin doing his hour of vegetable scrubbing, though, she had to wonder at the wisdom of starting so young. The kid was soaked with water and seemed to be doing his best to annoy the older lad in charge of watching him.
    Easily six foot, the white haired boy scowled at Devin as he rewashed the occasional vegetable and chopped it with the skill of a television chef. He was handsome, in a grumpy sort of way. Too bad he was too young to be allowed to choose a wife. Some of the younger girls would have drooled over him for sure.
    “Hey!” Devin shouted as the older boy tossed a still-dirty tuber back in his sink, splashing him. “You didn’t have to do that, Roac!”
    “Clean it and I won’t,” Roac retorted, then went back hacking