Romancing the Darkness

Romancing the DarknessPart Two of The Equinox ChildrenBy Mara the SorrowfulStep into a world built on lies, where the shadows have teeth and a single night can shatter innocence.Welcome to the City of Lies, where "e;beautiful"e; implies ugly and "e;miracles"e; are just animal waste. Here, we meet Amy, a young woman who has vowed never to trust again. Desperate to escape her claustrophobic existence, she pinions her hopes on the enigmatic "e;Equinox Children"e;—twins Ivor (known as Bleach) and Ebon (who has named himself Raven's Feather). Born at the exact same instant to the Harvest Goddess, they represent opposing forces: Bleach seeks the light, while Raven is a vampiric stalker of the night who claims to hate everything that breathes.Amy, however, possesses a reckless heart. In a midnight gamble, she attempts to seduce the dangerous Raven, earning only his cold scorn and a blood-soaked cape. This act is a minor rebellion compared to her stance during the sacred public cleansing rite, a ritual the town's puritanical elders demand. Conflicted by her hidden love for the gentle Bleach and her need to rebel against her pious mother, Amy challenges the very traditions that define her people.But the truly ancient darkness waits for a moonless night. While Amy seeks solitary cleansing in the pools of the bathhouse, Raven claims his target. Not for love, but from raw hunger, he puts her to sleep and tastes her blood, leaving her bleeding into the crimson water.When morning breaks, the village is in a panic about a "e;Darkling,"e; and Bleach makes a horrifying discovery in the dark bathhouse. As the town turns its suspicion on the innocent twin, their powerful, skirt-wearing mentor, Grampah, must step in to unleash elemental fury. The stakes rise to terrifying levels when Bleach is forced to use powerful sun-magic to save Amy's life, leading to a cataclysmic, bone-shattering transformation within himself.Will Amy find her freedom in the arms of the light, or is she destined to be forever ensnared by the darkness that first claimed her?