DARKNESS ETERNAL is novella #7.5 in the Guardians of Eternity series by Alexandra Ivy. I read it when it was originally released as part of the anthology Supernatural in 2011, but did not remember almost any of the tale when reading it again in its release as an individual novella in 2015. Fans of Ivy's Guardians of Eternity series will want to read this short story as it continues the overarching storyline.

Uriel is the vampire second in command to the clan chief of Great Britain, and is a great warrior. He is tasked by his chief with the rescue of Kata, the human mother of a female Jinn half-breed called Laylah. Laylah is important to the future of the whole world because she is the only one who can retrieve a particular infant from the mists between worlds that could be used to resurrect the Dark Lord to this dimension, and so Laylah's mother Kata must be put in a sort of protective custody. Kata, who has the mild magic of her gypsy heritage, has been held captive underground for the last 200 years by her evil vampire twin sister Marika and Marika's pet mage. Kata has a loving heart, and I enjoy her ability to appreciate the positive things around her despite all she's been through.

Uriel was fundamentally changed by battle with a Jinn previously that left him atypically scarred and gave him an unusual and dramatic increase in his power. That Jinn told Uriel that Uriel would be "the instrument of his revenge." Uriel is convinced that he will become a puppet for the Jinn to control as some point, and so the poor guy holds himself aloof from others. He has determined to never mate, because he doesn't want to put his mate in potential danger. Uriel is a very stand-up guy, and I admire his honor and his tenacity.

Kata turns out to be Uriel's fated mate, and he recognizes this quickly. This allows for the insta-lust followed by insta-love trope, which is, I suppose, a necessary evil in such a short story when the characters don't know each other ahead of time. I like both Uriel and Kata as individuals, I just have a hard time truly liking them together. There is so much action and lust crammed together in this quick novella that it feels undeveloped; I feel this would be been better served as a longer tale. Yannah appears in this short story- the same tiny demon Yannah that Ivy's readers know as the love interest of Levet, the diminutive gargoyle comic sidekick in so many of the Guardian stories. Yannah is like a bad-tempered and clumsy fairy godmother. Although she does serve as an easy plot device, she always annoys me, rather like Jar Jar Binks.

DARKNESS ETERNAL is an easy read for those looking to fully flesh out their Alexandra Ivy Guardians experience, or for those looking for a quick and fun PNR read.