Dark Love [18+]

Chapter 2

Diana's POV

I have to play their game.

I figure at the very least, my only two hunters right now are Mars and Alpha Centauri.

They had developed a new friendship, and I had a feeling it was to gang up against Entary for when he comes to try and mate me again. So far, he was staying distant. Probably because Mars already got me pregnant.

Dark Vious, hey?

I look around.

What an interesting Elion planet, it's got one moon, not three.

Everything is two times darker than Dark Ninth. I can't make out the horizon, the sky is black and lit by stars, and the only light on the ground come from the flowers. All silver and gold.

I strip from my suit and I move. My two ravenous Kors let me explore before they pounce.

I'm guessing they want me to absorb and study the meaning of this planet.

And well, well, well... it's not long for me to realise Dark Vious is an active killing ground.

The kind where active Kors who live outside the Hives, are bringing their mates here. For what purpose is simply a final one, for their mates to give birth in the dark. Then they get devoured and turn to dust, fertilising the Light Garden.

How do I know it's active?

The scent in the air.

Mothers. Dead mothers.

And strong, vibrant patches of light, showing where they lay before they were taken to the Dark.

I tip toe between the pretty patches of the graveyard.

Unlike Dark Ninth, which was scattered with the violent Fey genocide – this place was the final destination for subspecies who fell victim to a Kor's charm, one by one.

It makes me all the more guilty. Perhaps it was survivor's guilt. There could only be one Empress, one Light Creature who was bestowed gifts and kisses and wishes forever.

It was me, but I could have easily been one of these Light mates who found their beautiful romance came to a devastating end within 4 weeks of letting a Kor impregnate them.

I stop walking by a fresh patch of growing flowers, the soles of my feet feeling the familiar warmth, the grass is still warm.

No.

Someone died right here. Perhaps minutes prior to our arrival.

I hiccup on a breath and choke back tears as I drop to my knee. I've found a bracelet made from OurTcno, my Earth... a human died here.

The bracelet has the words 'beloved sister, you'll be a great mommy'.

"Fuck," I clutch the bracelet to my chest, "Why," I feel my whole soul burning with the pain of this stranger's last moments. I can only imagine the realisation of betrayal before the Kor never lifted their fangs and kept drinking. Then they'd be taken from this universe into the next.

To the Dark.

But the Dark wasn't our home – this universe was where we belonged.

The Kors appreciation of love might be strong enough to invoke Nemortica in times of extreme stress and feelings of loss and abandonment – but what about human suffering, and the suffering of subspecies who fell prey to such a horrible Elion tradition?

"This was done quick. Carnal Kors never spend a month without a fresh meal, and they breed like rabbits," Mars murmurs over the top of me, stopping at my shoulder and dropping to his knees behind me. He curls over me and rests his cheek against mine, checking on me.