Though something inside her still wanted to go to him.
Quinn seemed to sense her thoughts, for he set his wine gently aside on a table. Leaning forward in his tall chair, he clasped his long white fingers as he regarded her sincerely by the fire’s light. “As I have said this entire time, I want to protect you, Ariana. I want to see you flourish in our world, and take control of your own sovereignty in it. The only way I can see to make that happen, for now, is to mark you with my Master’s Kiss. But as your Dark Fae power grows… it may not be that way forever. We may find you become the Master before long, over Vampires and Fae both. But you need a chance first, to get there. A chance I hope I will be able to give you.”
Taking a deep breath, Ariana considered his words. “But you still want something from my power. Concerning your Vampire Council.”
“I do.” Quinn sighed now, though he was still honest as he held her gaze. “You are a woman of much motivation and intelligence, Ariana. You are accomplished and highly educated in both human ways and Fae. And you are passionate about the truth – a passion I also share. As you have understood, lies run rampant in the Twilight Realm concerning Vampires. Many Lineages believe us little better than animals, unable to control our killing rage and bloodlust. They ban us from establishments, they bar us from their territories and trade. They don’t see the truth, because lies have been perpetuated fromwithinVampire society to spread fear. It is an outmoded way of managing our Lineage that has driven a deep wedge between us and others in the Twilight Realm. I seek to undo that wedge, Ariana. I fight for equality for my people. And for the truth about us to be known.”
“And your Vampire Council drive that wedge deeper, don’t they?” Ariana understood, seeing the entire pattern. “They’re elder Vampires who don’t believe in modernity, equality, or peace… and they think you’re young and rash to champion such things.”
“Precisely.” Quinn spoke now as approval for Ariana glowed in his dark eyes, though there was also wrath in them now for his Council as his black nimbus boiled slowly around him in the solar. “They don’t believe I can succeed with my modern ways, or that our Lineage would benefit from a kinder, more egalitarian approach. They push me back at every turn, Ariana. And I believeyouto be the key that allows the wheels of progress to finally turn among my people. So I hope you will listen tonight, and hear me… as I finally delve into it all and explain.”
Taking a deep breath, Ariana regraded Quinn as she finally saw the depth of his ambitions. As she watched his dark eyes shine, she understood he had plots within plans to make his aims happen; and though they seemed noble, what she still didn’t understand was how her opening power could truly benefit him. Though the thought of being bound to anyone was odious, Quinn’s honest words had had an effect on her. Deep within, Ariana valued the truth, and she felt that part of herself feel for Quinn now as she listened.
“Explain.” Ariana spoke at last, feeling something resonate between herself and Quinn in the midnight hour. “And I will listen.”
Inclining his head, Quinn lifted his wine glass. And then sipped – holding her gaze with black suns flaring in his eyes as Ariana shivered from his dark draw.
CHAPTER 13 – PASSION
Upon seeing that both his and Ariana’s wineglasses were now empty, Quinn rose from his high-backed chair in the underground solar. Leaving Ariana before the blazing fire, he went to the built-in ebony bar and opened a panel, displaying a lovely collection of red wines. Ariana didn’t know much about wine, but the filigreed label of what he brought back looked more than a little expensive. Opening it, he poured her and himself a fresh glass, twisting the bottle to prevent drips before setting it aside. Taking up his wine, he clinked glasses with her as he gave a pleasant smile, then reclaimed his seat.
“Enjoy.”
“Is it costly?” Ariana asked as she swirled it, smelling the bouquet and finding it tremendously complex.
“Very. Though I’m surprised that a woman who knows so very much about art knows so very little about wine.” He chuckled as amusement flashed in his eyes.
“Hey. I have my passions and you have yours.” Ariana lifted an eyebrow at him as she swirled.
“Touché.” Swirling his wine also, Quinn scented it briefly before sipping. Ariana did the same, though she found herself transfixed by Quinn tonight as he closed his eyes, enjoying the wine. As he opened his eyes, he found her staring at him, and the smallest smile quirked his perfect lips.
“So.” He spoke decisively as he set his wine aside. “I suppose we must begin the deepest part of our conversation with what it means to be a Dark Fae, and then move into what it means for my aims, personally.”
As Ariana made a gesture with her wine, indicating for him to continue, Quinn nodded, then spoke on. “Dark Fae, as you now know, are where the Light and the Night collide. But unlike a creature like me, who is Vampire-Fae and only retains an echo of my former Fae power, you have a perfect balance of your original Fae magic within you in addition to your Vampire assailant’s. Two complete sets of magic that combine seamlessly to produce something new – or old, depending on how you look at it.”
“New or old. What do you mean?” Ariana asked, cradling her wineglass and feeling lightly inebriated now by the fire’s light, absorbed in their conversation.
“I mean that a Dark Fae is where the powers of the ancient Ascendant Archangels that Fell to earth long ago and the wretched Descendants that came out of that Fall come together in perfect harmony.” Quinn continued, pinning her with his alluring dark gaze as he impressed his point. “A Dark Fae is where that collision of magics come into a perfect union, if you will. Some consider Dark Fae a hybrid Lineage, but there are others who think of your kind as…originalin their power. The power of the Light and Night together before those magics split apart.”
“I recall my family’s stories about Ascendant Archangels.” Ariana mused now, having heard the original stories about ancient Fae magic but not how it connected to Vampires. “Once upon a time when our Realms were young, the sublime beings called Ascendants created everything we see around us. But they were not satisfied simply observing these new Realms they had created, they wanted to experience them – and so theyprecipitated downfrom their sublime energetic state into our coarser physical state, to engage in this world they had manifested.”
“But when these ancient Ascendants manifested as flesh,” Quinn nodded, “they suddenly experienced all the pleasures and pains, addictions and stresses that the flesh has to offer. It made some wise, and they returned to the sublime state enlightened about the mortal condition. But others became stuck in the sensations of the flesh, and these are the ones we callfallen angelics, because they never returned to their sublime state.”
“Some of those retained a good portion of their sublime characteristics,” Ariana spoke with deep intrigue now as she curled up on her chaise with her wineglass nearly forgotten in her hands, “such as a Twilight Lineage we call Fallen Ephilohim – Fallen Archangels. But others only maintained a small bit of their sublime energies – the power of the Light – and those lesser Lineages are the Fae. Winter, Spring, Summer, Autumn, Crimson, White, Luminous, and a few other smaller branches.”
“Indeed.” Quinn spoke now with a dire glance as he continued the tale by the fire’s light. “But some Ascendants Fell and kept falling, immersing themselves in the pleasures and pains of the flesh, unable to escape them. Those becameDescendants, angelics with tremendous power, but which had twisted utterly dark – immersing themselves in the power of the Night. The darkest and most wrathful of those are known as Dark Angels, or Crimson Angels, and are not something you’d ever want to meet. Original Vampires are descended from Dark Angels. And us more modern Vampires are descended from the Original Vampires.”
“The power of the Night.” Ariana spoke, intrigued. “So why do Vampires drink blood and energy from others to sustain their life when Fae don’t need to?”
“Because the magic of the Light is sustained byenjoying and reveling in life, while the magic of the Night is constantly in a death state.” Quinn answered frankly as he watched her. “The mortal body dies when its vital energy and blood are drained by a Vampire and given Vampiric blood and magic to awaken to the Night. And Vampiric power dies immediately if it has no fuel, though its life can be sustained indefinitely so long as it is fed. And so Vampires consume… feeding our bodies and power to sustain our immortality, when the Ascendants we originally came from can generate all the energy they need to be immortal. And Fae can also.”
“Even though Fae are not entirely immortal,” Ariana chimed in, fascinated. “We create energy within ourselves from reveling in life, but if we become disheartened at the world, we can die quickly. Even faster than humans.”
“Death by heartache; I know the phenomenon well from my early Fae days.” Quinn nodded, taking another sip of his wine before setting the glass on a table. “But Vampires do not die if their heart breaks. They lose their stability and become an insatiable maw of desire… always feeding, never satisfied, insane. Ahungry ghost, some religions would call it. We call it a Revenant. Like the thing you met at the Pitti Palace.”
“Always feeding. Always wrathful.” Ariana shivered now as she recalled those red eyes boring into her from the black smoke creature at the Pitti, creatures of horror she had been warned about as a child. “So what does the magic of the Light and Night combined in a Dark Fae look like?”
“A Dark Fae’s power,” Quinn continued with a nod, his gaze penetrating, “combines the most luminous and heinous elements of both Fae and Vampire powers. It is a combination that is irresistible to both species, but controlling one’s Dark Fae power as it matures is wickedly difficult.”
