Page 1 of You Only Love Twice
Chapter 1
"We need to send the Duke of Malloryn a message...."
The word's echoed in Obsidian's ears as he slipped along the edge of a roof, stalking his quarry. Fog swirled around his boots, tendrils curling away from his cloak like the tentacles of an octopus. Ahead of him, a pale figure vanished over the next gable, completely unaware of the danger that stalked him.
This was Langley's first mission.
Too bad it would also be his last.
The youngdhampiroperative had been newly transformed only a year ago, theelixir vitaechanging him from a blue blood afflicted with the craving virus into a more evolved creature. Faster than a blue blood, stronger, and practically invincible, thedhampirwere what blue bloods were always meant to become.
Langley paused at the edge of the gutter, sinking to his haunches to survey the street below. He flexed his right fingers, as if nervous. Probably was. This assassination had been requested by the Master himself; the man who ruled Obsidian and his fellowdhampir. The others worshipped the master, though Obsidian felt nothing.
Emotions sucked like a black hole within him, bleeding him dry. He remembered nothing.
He felt nothing.
He was nothing.
"I am a weapon," he whispered to himself by rote. "Forged out of the flames themselves."
Obsidian melted into the shadows, pressing his back to a chimney. Below him on the street, he could make out Langley's quarry.
The young woman wore a becoming dress of lavender that set off the pale cream of her skin, despite her dirty apron. She'd dyed her hair black since the last time he'd seen her five years ago, and swayed through the crowd with an innate sense of grace that drew the male gaze, no matter what role she played. One of the Duke of Malloryn's spies, she'd worn many names and faces over the years. She called herself Gemma now, though he'd known her as Hollis Beechworth.
Obsidian's hand slid to the knife at his side.
There. There was the hot press of emotion, flaming like a supernova through his veins. He didn't understand it. He knew her face. Could recall the night she tried to kill him all those years ago.
But nothing else.
Only this curious surge of hunger within him as the darkness in his soul suddenly reared its head the second he saw her.
He needed to know why Gemma—he refused to think of her as Hollis—pulled at him like this.
And he needed her alive if he was going to decipher what it all meant—just why he was so drawn to her.
"Have her killed,"his master had commanded,"Put her in a white gown, like something a debutante—or a thrall—would wear. Then shoot her straight through the heart. And leave her on Malloryn's doorstep."
A message for the duke—their nemesis.
A mission for Langley, to prove his allegiance to the cause.
A pity Langley was never going to pass his test.
Obsidian let the fog mask his movements as he set out in search of his prey. The otherdhampirhad vanished, stepping off the rooftop and landing in the alley below. Obsidian stalked along the edge like a cat on the prowl, watching the young disciple slip along the alley.
Gemma made her way through the streets, tucking a strand of black hair behind her ear and flashing a wicked smile at a man who tripped over his feet when he saw her. In the murky London afternoon, that smile brightened the day. She would never be the most beautiful woman in the room, her chin a little too pointed to be classically handsome, and her pillow-shaped mouth too full for the current fashion, but she was eye-catching in a way no other woman could compete with. Vibrancy flowed through every inch of her body, and she made a man feel alive just looking at her. Every glance from those hot-lashed eyes seemed like she'd just thrown down a gauntlet;try and take me.
If you dare....
For a second Obsidian paused, his gaze drawn to her smile. Color vanished from his vision, the world bleeding into shades of black and white as the hunger roused within him, and his heart gave a shuddering pulse. He wanted to dare. He wanted his hands on her, his lips and teeth skating over that creamy skin. He wanted to slam her back against a wall and capture that lying little mouth and make a ruin of her prim gown. He'd never felt like this before—at least, as far as he could recall—and the reckless desire chafed at him.
Why her?
Why did his inner darkness stir whenever he thought of her?
Because she's mine,whispered the darkness within him.
