Shades of Red

by T L Christianson

  Anger welled up in me. “Is this why you made me seventeen?” I choked out. “So that you could control me? Make me go places? Pull me from airplanes?”

  Shaking his head, he puffed out a breath and took my hand, which I promptly pulled away.

  “No, I did that to give you a fresh start. I sent you away to protect you. But I can’t let you intervene any longer.” The car was stopped and he climbed out before offering me a hand. “Come on, let me explain.”

  Following him up the steps into the jet, my heart hurt.

  Was Chronos really involved in all this?

  Was Aurev doing illegal things? How could I have been so blind, all these years? Had I covered up for them, unknowingly? Believing I was a righteous attorney, that I upheld the law?

  Panic and disbelief made me almost laugh.

  What had Aurev done? What had the clan done?

  Settling myself into the chair where I’d last sat with Alexei, I huffed and watched out the window. Our plane began moving almost instantly, and I sighed as we lined up for take-off.

  One of the usual crew, a stewardess, brought me my usual; a glass of white wine and blood. Hungrily I gulped it down, “Bring me another.”

  My dark angel sat across from me, tapping his ring against the table.

  “This is what I was trying to help you overcome. You haven’t had blood since you left New York, have you?”

  I held my hands up in exasperation. “We’re talking lies, cover-ups, frame jobs, and you’re asking me about blood?”

  The stewardess set a new glass in front of me. I drank this one down just as fast.

  Sitting there, I watched out the window as the yellow fields around the Denver airport melted away.

  The plane leveled out, and Aurev reached over for my hand. I narrowed my eyes but allowed him to clasp my fingers in his warm grip.

  “Talk to me. Tell me what started this?” He asked gently.

  “How do I know you won’t do something to me? What I’ve learned, what I’ve been investigating could be considered treason to Chronos.”

  His eyes narrowed, and he released me. “Do something to you? For fuck’s sake Hazel. I love you. I want a life with you. I’m just trying to figure out what you think is going on!”

  I felt my face crumple.

  Of course, he wouldn’t hurt me. What had I been thinking? How could I turn on my dark angel like he was some commoner off the street?

  Tears filled my eyes. “This has been so stupid.” Biting my lip, a tear spilled over the brim of my eye, running down my cheek. “A woman gave me this thumb drive when we were in Denmark.” I pulled it out of my pocket and set the Lego man on the table. “There are three folders inside. I’ve pieced together a few things from the information there. It looks like Amy is being framed and Dr. Mary Seals either created the disease herself or knows who did. Also, Emilie was created by someone in our clan.” I shook my head. “I’m not exactly sure how she’s connected to the other stuff, but I feel like all of this has to do with Chronos.”

  Aurev cleared his throat and nodded. “Wow. Okay, that’s a pretty hefty laundry list of accusations.”

  I laughed, “Yeah. But there has to be some kind of truth behind at least some of it. That’s why I was on that plane to Italy, to go visit Dr. Seals.”

  His countenance went rigid, as his chocolate eyes gazed out the window.

  “Unfortunately, there is some truth in what you’ve discovered. Let me start at the beginning.” Aurev’s voice dipped low enough to not be overheard. “Around 500 BCE Khama’at changed me.” His eyes met my own. “Yes. Amy, the one and the same. She’s made several other moroi over the years. Frederick, Hayck from GC and a handful of others survive.”

  Oh my…Amy was Aurev’s maker?

  “It’s true,” he said with a nod. “She’s basically harmless. We all try to keep an eye on her and keep her from trouble, but this latest…the disease—it’s a mess. That’s our fault. Freddie and I agreed that she needed to be brought to justice, but it was a difficult decision to turn her over to GC. It was a difficult decision for GC to even go after her when she has many, many protectors in powerful places. But, as far as framing her for the disease—no. We had nothing to do with that or Dr. Seals.”

  I pressed my lips together. Usually, I could tell if someone lied. However, either Aurev had never lied to me, or he was particularly good at it.

  “Tell me about Emilie. What do you know about that situation?”

  “Emilie?”

  I nodded, “You know who made her?”

  “Yes, Emilie. During the Great War we—Freddie, Karsten, Nate and I all fought for the Entente or you know them as the Allies. Freddie, well he’s a fragile soul. We shouldn’t have pressured him to enlist. But he’d fought in several wars before that, what harm could come from another?”

  “I had no idea that you fought in any wars.” I looked up from my hands, “This places all four of you at the site where Emilie got turned.”

  “I see where your thoughts are going. Nate had been badly wounded, but none of us had noticed his absence until he was gone. We’d been so busy keeping an eye on Fred…” He shook his head, “I should’ve noticed.”

  “So, Nate is Emilie’s maker?”

  Sucking in a deep breath, he let it out slowly before speaking. “No. Karsten and I came upon him. He’d dragged Emilie into the trees. At first, we thought she was a child, she was so small. Karsten jumped in and pulled Nate away from her body. We knew it was probably too late for the girl.” Shaking his head, Aurev, squeezed his eyes shut. “And I probably should’ve left it, but Emilie reminded me so much of my mortal sister.” Aurev stared into the distance, looking back through centuries. “My sister…Sabina…” He shook his head. “There’s no excuse. I knew if I created her, I’d be punished. The Global Council had just been formed, and all of us…all moroi knew the decree. With the human population decreasing, we weren’t allowed to change anyone, but I couldn’t leave her.”

  “What? You--the king of self-control??”

  He nodded, his brow furrowed, “There’s an art form to creating moroi, and I knew if I were careful, the girl wouldn’t suffer from bloodlust. So, I gave her my blood, cleaned her up and put her into the ambulance.”

  “But you left her!”

  Shaking his head, “No, I left Nate to keep an eye on her. This is how his job began. He watched Emilie, and when she got sick, he put an old wise woman in her path.” Steepling his fingers, he frowned. “I know it’s not right, but she wasn’t alone. We made sure of that. She was protected, watched over…”

  “Why was she brought to New York? Why not just introduce yourself?”

  “My actions against the GC could always come back and haunt us. We couldn’t allow ourselves to be linked to her.”

  “What I don’t understand is why Karsten would sacrifice himself for you?”

  “Not just for me. For the Clan, Chronos. But, honestly, I think he felt guilty. We were all guilty. Emilie should’ve never been placed in that position. We should’ve kept an eye on Ignatius. He was our responsibility, and Karsten and I both failed him.”

  Sitting there in silence, I thought about this. What else had they done to hide their secret? “So, which one of you killed the college girl?”

  “What?” Aurev’s head popped up. “Who?”

  “Elizabeth Kepner—Emilie’s identity. Tell me what you know about her death.”

  He pursed his lips. “I know nothing of that.” Expression open, he scraped his fingernails across his 5’o’clock shadow before holding out his hand. “Show me the thumb drive.”

  He’d dismissed my questions as was his way but hadn’t outright denied playing a part in it.

  Aurev pulled out his own laptop and inserted the Lego drive into a plug-in port. After a few clicks, his eyes scanned the pages, two fingers on the touchpad moving the screen down.

  I sighed and cocked my head.

  Why hadn’t I just brought the drive to him in t
he first place?

  Reaching out for his hand across the table, I squeezed his fingers.

  “Hazel, this is interesting, but do you really believe what’s on this? This could be forged easily with the technology that’s available today.”

  I huffed out a silent laugh. “You kicked me out. What was I to think? I thought it had to do with this.” I pointed to his computer.

  Aurev pursed his lips and shook his head, “No, no, I wanted to keep you away from this type of thing. Besides, I told you why I thought you should leave… For your own good. So that you can develop the skills to live outside the clan—that is—if you want.”

  “You ignorant man! I know I could, but I don’t want to. I’ve only ever wanted to be with you. You’re more than my best friend—you know that.” Our gazes locked and a small smile formed on his face.

  “Maybe I just needed to know that I could live without you if I had to,” he said, pushing the computer aside. Leaning forward, he took my hands in his. “I told you before, I’ll tell you anything you want to know, and I’ll always be honest with you.”

  Standing, he walked around and sat beside me, pulling me into him.

  I loved that smell, rain and licorice.

  As he kissed my hair, I felt a rumble of a silent laugh.

  “Are you laughing?” I asked.

  “I am. This is just such a ridiculous situation. I’m sorry that I waited so long to express my feelings.”

  Looking up into his eyes, I ran my index finger down the side of his sculpted cheekbone. “Well, if I hadn’t made the first move, we’d still be only friends.”

  My dark angel smoldered down at me with hooded eyes. “Are you sure this is what you want? If we’re together, you’re painting a target on your back. You’ll be watched and scrutinized and talked about.”

  I knew that. Aurev was one of the most important moroi in the world. Like the President but with the power of a King. There was a reason Chronos had its own little army. To protect him and to defend his company.

  “I hadn’t known that people talked about you…about me until recently. There have been rumors…”

  He stilled me with a kiss… “There have always been rumors, there will always be rumors. But being with me is…different. That’s why I waited. To make sure you were ready.”

  I shook my head, “What do you mean?”

  “Before I met you, I’d been married before—as a moroi.”

  I made a face. “Well, sure. I was engaged. We’ve both had our flirtations…”

  My dark angel held my gaze. “I was married, and they killed her because of me.”

  “Oh my goodness. Aurev, no, that won’t happen to us.”

  His thumb ran circles on my thigh. “I can’t lose you. I can’t. I’d rather send you away than have something bad happen to you.”

  “Never. Never,” I whispered and leaned up to lightly kiss his mouth.

  When I pulled back, his dark gaze was on me, penetrating my soul. A shiver of fear ran down my spine. Aurev was intense, commanding, and by this look, possessive. I’d always had the upper hand in a relationship and this feeling, this deep connection we shared, terrified me to my core.

  Once in New York, we took a town car to the Chronos building. Aurev kept my hand clasped in his all the way through the crowded lobby. If people were talking before, their tongues would be on fire now.

  Once inside the elevator, Aurev waved his micro-chipped hand over the scanner and the doors closed to take us to the executive level apartments.

  Gazing down at me as he leaned on the railing, my angel’s eyes sparkled with flecks of gold and streaks of green I’d never noticed before.

  I wrapped my arms around his waist, and he kissed my temple, whispering into my ear, “I’m going to take the afternoon off.”

  I gazed up at him through my lashes. Warmth pooled in my belly as my anticipation swelled. When I leaned against him, my head on his shoulder, I felt content and wondered how I could ever doubt him.

  The elevator doors opened, and we were greeted by a soldier I didn’t recognize.

  Once inside Aurev’s apartment, I didn’t care. His mouth was on mine, his hands sure and solid on my back driving me mad with the innocence of his touches. Lingering touches roamed my body enough to build a fire in the pit of my stomach but not enough to satisfy.

  I pulled at his jacket, then tugged at his tie as we continued to kiss.

  Shuffling our way through the apartment, past the floor to ceiling windows in the main room and to the bedroom, my dark angel broke our kiss.

  Aurev stood there gazing at me with hooded eyes, his lips swollen and face flushed. Loosening his tie all the way, he pulled it over his head before tossing it on the dresser. Then, carefully, and with those wicked eyes on me, he removed each cufflink.

  I melted to his bed, watching him, his eyes building heat in me without a single touch.

  “I can’t help but think of the first time I saw you. I wanted you.” He stalked toward me, my insides clenched with need. When he closed the space, I undid his belt and began to pull it from around his waist, slowly, knowing he could feel it as I tugged.

  “You reminded me of a carving on the bow of a ship. Brave, strong, breathtakingly beautiful, but full of pain.” He told me reverently, pulling the sticks from my hair. My tresses immediately obeyed him, and my hair tumbled down over my shoulders.

  Then, with a feather-light touch, my angel skimmed my collar bone with his mouth. His warm breath left a trail of goosebumps.

  He continued, “Even in the darkness, I could see your eyes full of tears.”

  “You liked that I was upset?” I asked.

  “No. The opposite. I wanted to fix the world for you.”

  “Aurev,” I said as his teeth raked my skin. “I vowed to destroy anything that hurt you.”

  “Oh, Aurev,”

  Kneeling down, he slipped off my heels, one foot at a time, before tossing them behind him.

  “I love you. I’ve always loved you,” he told me worshipfully.

  My skin flushed with desire as I began unbuttoning his shirt. Sternly, I told him, “I’m warning you, if you stop before making love to me right now, then I’m going to go insane.”

  He laughed as he shook his head. “At this point, I couldn’t leave you alone even if I wanted to.”

  Pulling off my shirt, he threw it onto a nearby chair, kissing the tops of my breasts above my black lace bra.

  I’d never been so happy to be wearing sexy underwear.

  I continued to unbutton his shirt as he pulled one strap off my shoulder with his teeth, spreading fire throughout my body.

  When I’d undone the last button, I pulled the shirt from his arms and tossed it onto the chair.

  Instead of covering me up like he had last time, now he unhooked my skirt and allowed it to drop to the floor. Kneeling down, he carefully kissed a line from my sternum down to the lace top of my panties. His heated breath on my nether regions made me gasp involuntarily.

  Smoothing his hands down the garter over my stocking, he pulled my legs, one at a time out of my skirt. When he straightened, he tossed that piece of clothing to the same chair as well.

  A small smile crossed my lips. It was well known that Aurev needed things to be a specific way.

  In modern terms, he was a bit obsessive compulsive.

  It didn’t surprise me at all that all our clothes were ending up on the same chair next to the dresser.

  My angel lifted me by the waist and set me on top of the hand carved, four-poster bed. The snowy white duvet cover had a textured pattern that grazed my skin as I leisurely moved back to give him room to join me.

  When my hand went to my thigh to remove my stocking, he stilled me by planting a kiss on the exposed skin of my leg before unhooking it himself.

  “I didn’t know women wore undergarments like this anymore,” he whispered.

  I smiled down at him, “I didn’t know anyone said the word undergarments anymore…” I
laughed, and he nipped me with his teeth.

  That elicited a shriek from me. “Why, you naughty boy!” I teased.

  His devilish gaze turned me on even more, and he gently rolled down my stockings, his mouth kissing and licking my leg as he went. Finally, when he’d finished with one leg, Aurev held my bare foot, planting a kiss on the arch.

  My breath sped up again when he leaned down, his lips and breath brushing my hip bone. I reached up and laced my fingers into his short hair.

  Tugging away, with a teasing smile, Aurev slowly began to unroll my other stocking.

  I laughed, “I’ve figured it out. You’re torturing me.”

  The bed shook with his laugh. “Maybe. You wore stockings like this back on the bridge. My housekeeper kicked me out of the room to undress you.”

  I rolled my eyes and kicked what was left of my stocking from my foot. My angel watched the thing until it hit the floor on the wrong side of the bed.

  His expression was priceless, and I thought he might get up and move it. Taking his face into my hands, I purred, “I’ll pick it up later. Come here, my dark angel. I can’t believe you made me wait so long.”

  The corner of his mouth quirked up sadly, “The wait will be worth it. You and I are from a different era. One with propriety and manners.”

  Shaking my head, I laughed and encircled him with my legs.

  Reaching forward, his hands skimmed the lace of my bra making my nipples pebble beneath his fingers before he unlatched the front clasp. Freeing myself of the sheer fabric, I sat up on my elbows. Aurev didn’t hesitate before taking one peak into his mouth, his silken hair tickling the sensitive skin of my exposed chest.

  Weak with need, I let myself fall into the softness of the bed. Aurev pulled away and held himself above me, our eyes locked on one another before he sat. His mouth kissed my hip bone again and then my belly, his fingers slipping beneath the edge of my panties, pulling them away with careful ease.

  “How many times have you done this?” I asked in a laugh.

  “Too many to count, but never as important as this moment,” He told me earnestly.

  Aurev lay on his side next to me, sexy as hell, trailing a hand along my pale exposed skin.