“Seems like they were good memories,” Lake said softly, pulling Syria from her reverie.
“How did Paloma know I was affected by the drug?”
“You giggled.”
Syria swallowed. “I giggled? That was it?”
Lake chuckled as she brought a glass to her lips. “Apparently, vampires don’t giggle. So when you did, she knew something was wrong.”
Shaking her head, Syria moved to the bar fridge and opening it, was surprised to find it empty. She glanced at the glass in Lake’s hand and went back to sit on the bed.
“So that was why they had you watch over me?”
“Yes and no.” She took a long drink from her glass. The scent of vodka wafted over to her. “They were worried you might vomit again, which you didn’t, thank heavens. As a safety precaution, I volunteered to stay.” She sat back and looked at Syria intently. “The other reason, was because I have a proposition for you.”
“A proposition? You stalked me with the intention to kill me and now you have proposition for me?” She planted her arms behind her and leaned backwards as she folded her legs. “I’m curious.”
Lake stood and to Syria’s surprise began to pace. She followed the blonde with her eyes, taking in her tight black pants and dark grey turtleneck. Had they met under different circumstances; Lake would definitely be her type. Beautiful, courageous and committed. They would’ve made a great couple. Lake suddenly stopped pacing and came to stand before Syria, causing her to look up at the woman.
“I want you to pose as my girlfriend.”
Syria slowly sat up, her eyes wide. “I’m not sure I’ve heard you correctly.”
“I said, I would like you to pose as my girlfriend.” Lake looked incredibly uncomfortable. “It means that you will…”
“I know what it means.” She ran the tip of her tongue over her lower lip. “Why?”
“I’m not entirely sure yet, but I’ll know soon enough.” She looked at Syria expectantly. “So?”
To say she was baffled, was an understatement. Syria stood and stared down at Lake. The blonde now appeared unsure as she looked up at Syria. They stared at each other for a long while.
“It’s obvious that you want to deceive someone. I can’t be part of something like this, unless I know it doesn’t pose any ill intent towards my friends.”
“It doesn’t,” Lake said quickly. “Someone approached me and I’m not sure how my rejection will affect my place in the group.”
“Someone approached you? Who?” Who would dare to do that? She raked her mind. Everyone was paired up, except for the Leo and Nimiri. And Nimiri wasn’t with them in the forest. Rage surged through her. Bloody Leonara! How dare she put Lake in such a position? What made her even angrier, was the fact that the woman was going to be the soul mate of her sister.
She turned and stomped out of the room. Lake called out to her, but Syria was beyond listening to anything except to the rage that pulsed through her.
†
The woman was petite and very beautiful, even at her age. Jemima could understand how a rich travelling merchant could fall for the older woman. Where Tahlia was dark, Grinolde was blonde with expressive dark brown eyes. Jemima looked away from the woman, who was washing a heap of uniforms, to the quiet vampire next to her. The deep yearning on her wife’s face, made Jemima curl her arms around Tahlia’s waist. She planted a soft kiss on the vampire’s chest.
“She’s beautiful.”
A soft sniff made her look up at her wife. Tahlia was crying. She tightened her hold, but allowed her to weep. It had been millennia for the vampire and seeing her mother after all this time, must be quite emotional. She continued to gently rub Tahlia’s back soothingly. When Tahlia suddenly stiffened, Jemima looked up at her with alarm to find her blinking rapidly. She turned and saw Grinolde looking around, concern openly visible on her face. No! It couldn’t be! There was no way that the woman could sense Tahlia’s distress. They were not even really here. Or was it possible that a mother’s instincts could effortlessly bridge thousands of years and dimensions?
“Oh no,” Jemima muttered when the older woman fixed her gaze on the empty stall, where they were hidden.
“We need to go,” Tahlia said urgently.
“Not yet.” For some reason, she wanted to see how far this would go? She felt Tahlia’s body tense up even further. Grinolde wiped her hands on her apron as she took a careful step towards the stall, her eyes burning with a fierce light. Jemima held her breath. She was about to witness the most profound incidence of a mother’s love ever. Grinolde crossed the dusty street from her stall to where they were, her eyes never straying from the shadows where Tahlia had found concealment. Although it was light outside, the stall was dark and the shadows were deeper the further you entered. This was probably where the merchants kept their goods stashed and brought them forward to replenish their sold off stock.
“Greetings.” The woman’ voice was strong and clear as she gave Jemima a quick once-over. “I haven’t seen you around here before. Are you lost?”
Jemima smiled brightly. Grinolde was even more beautiful up close. Her heart shaped face and big doe-like eyes made her look like a pixie. “Yes, actually. I wandered too far. Maybe you could…”
“Are you alone?” The large eyes were searching the dark interior of the stall. “I thought I saw you with someone.”
“Uhm, yes,” she looked around. “She was going to ask for directions while…” She broke off her explanation when Grinolde stepped around her and ventured deeper into the stall. Oh, man! Tahlia wasn’t going to be happy about this. She followed the woman and found her staring into the shadows. “I’m sure she’ll be back soon.” Her words seem to fall on deaf ears as the older woman took a careful step into the dark.
“Do not come any closer,” Tahlia warned darkly and Jemima saw Grinolde’s shoulders tense.
“How can you expect that of me, when I can sense your pain?” The woman’s voice was gentle.
“Please, go away.”
“I can’t do that before I’ve seen you for myself.”
Jemima was silent as she looked on. Tahlia sounded scared and she was aching to go to her, but something kept her rooted to the spot.
“Why? You don’t even know me.”
Grinolde sniffed softly. “But my heart does.”
Jemima shook herself from her frozen stance and brushed past Grinolde and walked over to where Tahlia stood pressed tightly into a corner. Seeing her wife like this, broke Jemima’s heart. She couldn’t imagine what Tahlia was going through at that moment, but what she knew for sure, was that Tahlia was aching for her mother. She gently pulled the woman into her arms.
“Don’t let this chance past you by, my love. You both yearn for each other.” She ran her fingers over the wet cheeks. “Now go out there and hug your mother. You owe this to Aria. She will ask you about her grandmother one day.”
She felt Tahlia’s reluctance as she took her hand and pulled her with her. She brought Tahlia to where Grinolde stood. The older woman looked up at Tahlia’s great height, before she took a careful step forward to peer into Tahlia’s face. Tahlia threw the hood off to reveal her face. Grinolde gasped loudly, her hands moving to cover her heart. The stall was silent as mother and daughter gazed at each other. Tahlia’s face held an expression of fear and deep longing and her eyes glowed with a deep adoration. She recalled Tahlia telling her that for a long time it had only been her and her mother. They only had each other to depend on. That kind of love and bond was not easily broken.
“I knew it was you,” Grinolde finally spoke, her voice tremulous. She reached out with shaking hands and placed them on Tahlia’s chest. “I do not understand what kind of witchery this is, but no matter how different you are, you are still my little girl.”
Little girl, indeed. If only Grinolde knew. She watched as Tahlia’s larger hands covered her mother’s rough-looking ones.
“I was hoping for only a glimpse of you before
I leave.”
“Leave? Where to?” Grinolde ran her hands over Tahlia. “Everything about you is different. You seem taller.” She cupped Tahlia’s face and her gaze roamed over the features. “Your eyes look so old. As if you’ve lived and seen too much. You’re also very cold.” The brown eyes grew sharp. “Knowing what a free-spirited jester you are, I never thought I would think of you as powerful and dangerous.” She carefully slipped her arms around Tahlia and pressed herself against the tall frame. “I want to hear everything. Please, come home with me.”
Jemima met Tahlia’s gaze over Grinolde’s head. The dark eyes were concerned. Time for her to step in.
“It’s almost time for us to leave,” she said gently, drawing the older blonde’s attention, who reluctantly disengaged from Tahlia. “We need to go home to our children.”
“Children?!” Grinolde’s head snapped around to Jemima and then back to Tahlia. “She is your mate?”
Tahlia smiled and reached for Jemima. “Yes, mother. Many, many years from now. It is possible for women to take each other as mates.”
Grinolde came closer to study Jemima. Just like her daughter, the woman had the ability to look right through a person. She finally reached out a hand and Jemima took it in hers. It felt as rough as it looked. Spending hours a day washing soldiers’ uniforms would do that. “How many children do you have?”
“Three daughters. Two are fully grown and bonded with children of their own. The youngest has not even seen ten lunar months yet.” Grinolde’s eyes were huge and Jemima was proud of her foresight to have read up on Ancient Rome in a bid to impress her wife. “We named our youngest Ariadne Grinolde, after her grandmother.”
The woman’s eyes filled with tears and Jemima gently pulled her into her arms. Grinolde was holding on to her desperately as she sobbed quietly. Tahlia folded them both into her arms, her own cheeks wet with blood tears.
†
Leo spun away from the widow just as her door burst open, admitting a seething Syria. The Outlander stormed her before she could say anything and Leo found herself dangling in the grip of Syria. Over Syria’s head she saw Nimiri surge into action.
“Nimiri! No!” She watched her friend’s mental battle and her own rage as she fixed a glowing red-eyed glare at Syria. “Put me down.”
Syria unsheathed her fangs. “You should be ashamed of yourself.”
Leo felt the familiar burning sensation behind her eyes. She had always been short-tempered, but even more so when someone manhandled her. “I will not tell you again, Syria. Put. Me. Down.”
“Not before you apologize to Lake,” the Outlander hissed in her face. That was enough for Leo. She drew her head back and hit Syria square on her nose. The unexpected pain caused the woman to stumble backwards, giving Leo ample space to maneuver her body, wrenching out of the woman’s grip. She grabbed Syria by the arm and flung her over her head into the opposite wall. Lake hissed and sped over to place herself between Syria and an approaching Leo.
“Please, stop!”
“What seems to be the problem?” The voice so calm and curt, cut through the tension like a knife. Everyone turned to find Paloma standing the doorway.
“It’s all a misunderstanding,” Lake said quickly and Leo’s head snapped to the woman. Lake seemed utterly uncomfortable as she threw a concerned glance at Syria.
Inger and the others streamed into the room with howling babies in their arms. Leo’s heart constricted at the sight of a crying Aria and she looked on helplessly as Inger pushed the baby at Viv, who entered the room at that moment. The redhead planted tiny kisses all over the crying baby’s face to subdue her. It made her wonder where Tahlia and Jemima were.
“Maybe you should ask the Prime,” Syria snapped as she climbed to her feet, fixing a withering look on Leo.
Ignoring the Outlander, Leo turned to Lake. “What is all this about?”
“It’s about you bullying her for sex.” Syria took a threatening step closer, but Leo ignored her completely as she focused all her attention on Lake. She had never met the woman before yesterday and since then, they hadn’t even had a chance to be alone.
“Is that true?” she asked Lake quietly.
The blonde shook her head, looking extremely pained. “Like I said, a misunderstanding. I approached Syria asking her to pose as my girlfriend, while I figured out something. She misinterpreted the situation and that’s why we’re all here.”
Syria gaped at Lake. “I didn’t misinterpret the situation. You were clear about Leonara approaching you.”
“I told you someone approached me and I needed to figure out what it was about. You posing as my girlfriend, would’ve bought me some time to do so.”
Syria frowned and touched her bleeding nose. “You didn’t tell me that.”
“Because you stormed out before I could finish our talk.”
Leo looked around, to find everyone looking at her. They seriously didn’t think her that desperate to coerce a woman who wasn’t interested into having sex with her. “Who approached you?” Leo asked coolly.
“It was me.”
All eyes swerved to Pierre, except for Viv’s. The man looked totally composed as he met their looks head-on. Viv, too, seemed unfazed by it all as she gently disentangled her hair from Aria grip. She looked up when she successfully rescued her locks and kissed the baby’s fist.
“Well, since you are all here now. Pierre and I were hoping to talk to Lake about joining our family.”
All the other vampires and their spouses immediately smiled, and Leo noticed that Lake looked puzzled by the whole situation. Almost as quickly as they appeared, the others began to file out of the room. In the end, only the royal pair, Lake, Nimiri, Leo and Syria were left. Viv approached Lake cautiously.
“My apologies if Pierre’s approach has been unsettling. He does not have a lot of experience with women anymore.” She grinned at her husband. “But as he said, we would love for you to consider us as your adoptive family. Take as much time as you need. And remember, it’s your decision to make. You do not need to fear any backlash if you decide not to.” She reached out and squeezed Lake’s hand. Pierre smiled at Lake and slapped Leo’s shoulder.
“Sorry about the misunderstanding.” And then they were gone.
Leo felt Syria’s gaze on her and she gave the Outlander a cold look. All she wanted was to be alone at that moment so she could meditate and expel the lingering tension in her body. She walked over to the door and held it open. After a few moments of hesitation, her guests began to file out of the room. When Nimiri stopped before her, Leo only shook her head. She closed the door with a sigh and stretched out on the bed.
She missed Athanas.
XXIII
“Do you think it’ll work?”
“It has to work.”
“That’s not what I asked you.”
The silence in the room spoke for itself. Copernicus surged to his feet. This was going nowhere. Every strategy they’d explored ended with him dead or about to die. He looked at his right-hand man. Valiant was the de facto leader of the Renegades. After the death of Mary Huntington, he was unanimously expected to step into the position. Which he did. And just like before, Copernicus had financed their operation. He loved the idea of having his own undead army at his beck and call. To date, that advantage had borne him little fruit. Tristan had been an ideal leader. Ruthless and the ultimate strategist. It was sad that his demise had come so quickly and brutally. At the hands of his own sister, no less. What he lacked were good generals. Maybe that was the best strategy for now. Using the time to build a stronger, deadlier armed force right under the nose of the Royals. He would start recruitment as soon as possible.
“I need to think about your proposal, Valiant. You should have an answer by tomorrow.” The vampire looked unconvinced, but he nodded and left the room. Copernicus walked over to his phone and dialed a number. It was nearly two a.m. but that didn’t bother him. His assistant would take his call.
&nbs
p; “Gareth, I need a list of names of the most brutal criminals in the world.” He frowned. “What do you mean where will you find them? I’m paying you to find out. Have it mailed to me no later than eight tomorrow morning.” He hung up and went to refill his drink.
†
Tahlia felt Jemima’s hand slip from hers and she had to stop herself from grabbing her wife close again. The blue eyes were gentle and reassuring as Jemima stepped away. She was giving Tahlia a moment alone with her mother. Tahlia steeled herself and turned back to her mother to find Grinolde looking at her with that all-seeing gaze of hers.
“You must love her a lot.”
Tahlia swallowed hard as she looked at where Jemima was browsing a nearby stall. “She is the love of my life, mother.” She almost jumped out of her skin when a rough hand fell on her arm.
“I can see she loves you, too. You are very lucky to have found her.” The dark eyes studied her closely. “How can you be in two places at the same time?”
Straightforward as always. Paloma used to tease Tahlia about her mother’s lack of subtlety as they were growing up. Grinolde never minced her words.
“You were not supposed to see me.” She looked down at the hand on her arm and covered it with her own. “With the birth of Aria, I missed you so much and wanted to see you one last time.” The older woman smiled tenderly and Tahlia was drawn into the warm gaze of her mother. “But to answer you, I will have to tell you things that could put your life in danger. I would not want that for you.” She brought her mother’s hand to her lips. “All I can say, is that you will find yourself faced with a big decision regarding my future and you will make a choice that will lead me down a path towards where I am right now.”
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