by L.H. Cosway
“Do you want to shower first?” I asked her, straightening up.
“Oh,” she replied, the offer seeming to take her off guard. “Yes, actually, a shower would be great. My feet are filthy from running on the road.”
“I’ll go set everything up for you.”
Just as I was about to disappear into the bathroom, she asked, “Is there a bath?”
I nodded and then reminded myself that she was blind. “Yeah. You want a bath instead?”
“Please. I haven’t had one since I was taken. I was always showered by Ridley’s maids.”
The idea of some paid help actually assisting in keeping a woman captive made me grit my teeth. I took a deep breath and tried to relax. “A bath it is then.”
I filled the tub and set out some towels and a bathrobe for her. Once it was all ready, I went to fetch Alora, who was still wearing my work shirt over her dress. I guided her into the bathroom.
“Okay, so the tub’s here,” I said, placing her hands on the edge of it. “You can just climb in, and the towels are here.” I placed her other hand on the rail by the tub before letting go. “Call me if you need anything.”
She nodded her head, and I left quickly. I flopped down onto the bed in exhaustion and closed my eyes. I didn’t realise I’d fallen asleep until I felt someone nudging my shoulder.
“Finn. Finn,” called a soft, feminine voice.
I was flat on my stomach, so I rolled over onto my back, rubbing my eyes and opening them. “What is it?”
Alora stood over me, her hair wet and her body wrapped up in a white towel robe.
“I thought you might want to shower,” she whispered.
“Oh, yeah, right. Thanks.”
She moved past me and crawled into the bed, pulling back the covers and climbing under them. She rested her head on the pillow and closed her eyes. I made quick work of showering and returned to bed in my boxers and T-shirt. Alora was sleeping soundly now, her chest rising and falling gently.
The last woman I shared a bed with was Tegan, and we all knew how disappointingly that ended. Instead of getting under the covers with Alora, I lay on top of them. Maybe I wasn’t prepared to sleep on the floor, but I was still a complete stranger to her. Also, I tended to gravitate towards spooning whoever was in bed with me, so best to stay on the safe side.
The events of the last twenty-four hours ran through my mind before I eventually fell fast asleep.
3.
Tegan
Ethan insisted I sit with him in his living room while he met with the vampires lined up outside. Apparently, he was going to talk to them in their family groups, which was how it worked in the vampire world.
I asked him why I had to be there, since it wasn’t exactly something I was over the moon about.
“Because,” he replied, “I need to show them that you are mine.”
“I’m not a possession. I’m a person,” I argued.
“I apologise. That was the wrong choice of words. They have to know that they cannot touch you. They all saw how I transformed on that roof, and they know that the only way a vampire can become what I have become is to drink from a human with your blood. Since you were the only human present, it doesn’t take too much deducing to come to the right conclusion. I’ll show them that any attempts to steal you will be severely punished.”
“Oh,” I breathed, my anxiety building. I hadn’t even thought of that.
“I want you there to see how they react. After I have observed them, I’ll know who wishes to take your blood for themselves and who is truly loyal to me.”
“But how will you be able to tell?”
He came and knelt in front of me, taking my hands into his and rubbing the insides of my wrists with his thumbs.
“I’ll switch on my sensory overload, as you put it,” he grinned. “With your blood in me, my senses are now far superior. I’ll be able to read every thought that goes through their heads simply from the expressions on their faces, including whether or not they are loyal.”
My eyebrows shot up. “You can do that?”
“It’s one of my new abilities, yes.”
The first person Lucas ushered into the house was an older vampire, one of the oldest I’d ever seen. Ethan introduced him to me as Nicu Arcos, an old friend of his father’s. I shook hands with the dark-eyed man as he took me in with interest.
Two females and one male vampire, Nicu’s daughters and son, followed Nicu into the room. They took seats on the couch, while Ethan stood by the mantelpiece.
“I asked you in before anyone else because you’re the only person I know I can really trust, Nicu,” Ethan said. “So, I’ll cut to the chase. If I’m to lead our people I want you in a prominent position by my side. I know you don’t usually partake in politics, but this new era isn’t going to be like any that have come before it. I want to rule differently. I want to end the wars.”
Nicu waved him off. “I’m a businessman, Ethan. You know I don’t involve myself in these things. I came here to ensure that none of my dealings would be affected by the change in leadership.” His accent was a thicker version of Ethan’s, and I wondered if they knew each other back in Romania.
“Of course, you may continue your dealings as you have been doing,” Ethan replied. “But I would like you to work with me, too. I’ve never met anyone with a better head for numbers, and I want you to be my treasurer. Whitfield left behind a lot of wealth, which goes to me if I’m to lead. You would have the top job in deciding how it should be spent.”
Hearing this, Nicu’s eyes lit up a fraction. He rubbed his chin, considering it, and then laughed. “You’re being sly, Ethan. You know that is an offer I can’t refuse.”
“I need you with me in this,” Ethan said.
Nicu looked to his son, who had an eager expression on his face, as though urging his father to say yes. None of this made any sense to me. The vampires had a treasury? I mean, it wasn’t like they were a country. What exactly did they spend it on?
Seeing as they were constantly being attacked by the DOH, they probably used it to buy weapons. Though with Pamphrock’s death, the DOH was now basically defunct in Tribane. I didn’t see how they’d need any more weapons. I’d witnessed with my own two eyes that guns didn’t work against magic, so it would be useless when facing Theodore.
There was a long stretch of silence as Nicu thought through his options. Ethan seemed to consider him a friend, so it wasn’t like he couldn’t say no.
Finally, the old vampire spoke, “I will take the position provisionally and see how things progress. As I said before, business is my area. I’m not certain I’ll be cut out for this job, but I’ll give it my best shot.”
Ethan strode toward him, his hand outstretched. “Excellent, Nicu. I assure you, you won’t regret this.”
“Hmm, I hope not,” Nicu said, shaking Ethan’s hand and gesturing for his son and daughters to follow him out.
For the next few hours, Ethan met with the vampires he felt he could trust the most, vampires he’d been friends with for a long time. Most of the meetings went similarly to the one with Nicu, except that these vamps seemed far more enthusiastic about taking political positions with Ethan. Half the time, I had to stifle the urge to yawn. It was all just so boring.
It was only when Lucas brought a brother and sister into the room that my Spidey senses woke up. There was something off-putting about the two of them, but I couldn’t seem to put my finger on it. They both had sleek, jet black hair and green serpentine eyes. The way they regarded me far longer than any of the other vampires raised my hackles. I looked to Ethan as he watched them, and I wanted to know what he gleaned from their reactions to me.
Pulling my legs up under me on the cushioned armchair, I stared at them dead-on, not allowing myself to be eye shy. Eventually, they turned to greet Ethan and took seats on the sofa in the middle of the room. I remained in my corner, anxious that something bad was going to happen. My magical blood bubbled under my skin in
warning.
“Angelica, Raul, it’s a pleasure to see you both again.”
“Likewise,” Angelica said, folding her slim, pale arms across her chest. “You’re wearing your years well, Ethan.”
He inclined his head, acknowledging the compliment. “As are you. Now, I’d like to get straight down to business. We are all aware that you were both in Whitfield’s inner circle, as I once had been. I need to know if you hold any grudges about how he died.”
“None at all,” Raul spoke up. “In fact, I’m eager to see how you fare as ruler. I always thought you had a good head for leadership.”
Raul continued to lavish Ethan with compliments, while my attention was drawn to Angelica, who was very slowly rising from her seat. Quick as a flash she whipped out a stake and advanced on Ethan. Raul stopped talking and strode toward me with feral determination. I didn’t hesitate for a moment before holding my hand out in front of me and releasing warning sparks. Angelica drove the stake at Ethan’s heart, but it didn’t even break the skin.
My mind flicked back to earlier in the day when he’d shown me the sharp nail of his thumb and told me it was the only thing that could successfully cut him now. Angelica seized with panic as Ethan stood before her, not even bothering to fight back. Her attempt on his life was futile.
“Not another step,” I warned Raul, whose eyes flickered from side to side trying to figure out a way to get by my sparks. Ethan turned his attention to me, and if I wasn’t mistaken, he looked proud. The vampires might know what I was, but I wasn’t defenceless anymore. They could try to get to me all they wanted, but I had my magic to fight them off.
Angelica tried one more time to plunge the stake into Ethan. He grabbed her wrist and turned her body, clutching her to him. Her back was pressed to his front, one of his arms wrapped around her middle. It was a position that almost looked like a lover’s embrace if you were to ignore the way his hand gripped her neck and smoothly wrenched it to the side. I heard the dull snap of bone just before he let her body drop to the floor.
Milliseconds later he was on Raul, incapacitating him with the same snapping of his neck. He picked up the stake that Angelica had tried to kill him with from the carpet and then dragged both bodies from the room as though they were weightless rag dolls.
I hurried out after him as he went down the hallway to his front door, opened it, and heaved both bodies out. The vampires waiting in the dark gasped audibly as Ethan stood stoically before them and announced, “This is what happens to those who try to cross me.”
Lightning-fast, he plunged the stake into Raul and then Angelica before tossing their bodies out onto the road.
Dead silence filled the street as the assembled vampires looked on in terror, whispering hushed exclamations of shock and fear. Ethan turned and re-entered the house, bringing his attention to Lucas who was standing by me with a pleased expression. He was glad that Ethan had shown the vampires a display of power. And to be perfectly honest, I was, too. It would make any of them planning a similar assassination think twice about it.
Several hours later, Ethan had met with most of the vampires who had been waiting. He told those remaining to return the next night, and they left, quickly obeying his orders. Something about drinking Ethan’s blood this morning kept my hunger at bay for a while, but now I was starving. I found a frozen pizza in the freezer that must’ve belonged to Delilah and put it in the oven.
Note to self: go grocery shopping as soon as possible.
When Lucas sat beside me on the sofa, I took the opportunity to ask him about the others. “Where is everyone? You were with them on that roof, weren’t you?”
“I was. They were frightened when they saw what had become of Ethan, and they fled. I haven’t located them yet. I searched the slayer’s house, but it was empty. They can’t have gotten too far since we’re all trapped in the city.”
I sighed. “We have to find them, make sure they’re okay.”
“Delilah will return when the time is right.”
“Speaking of my sister,” Ethan said as he entered the room. “I would like her found now, Lucas. I don’t like her out there alone.”
“She’s not alone. She’s with Finn and the others,” I pointed out.
Ethan let out a low sound of derision at the mention of Finn’s name, and I rolled my eyes. Before I knew it, I was being flipped over his back and hauled upstairs to his room. Seconds later, he threw me down on his bed.
“Do that one more time and see what happens,” he warned playfully, leaning over me and nipping at my shoulder with his teeth, no fangs—not yet.
I smirked at him and took my time doing one big leisurely eye roll. In response, he turned me over abruptly and spanked my bottom hard. I yelped.
“Ow, ow, okay, I’m sorry. Please forgive me, oh great one.” I couldn’t help giggling as I said it. “That good enough for you?”
Ethan growled and licked a line from the curve of my neck up to my ear, where he sucked my earlobe into his mouth. His hand slipped over my belly and down into my pants, his fingers sliding over the fabric of my underwear. I moaned in response, and he massaged lightly before pulling away.
I turned my head to stare at him in frustration.
“Glad to see you’ve learned your lesson,” he smiled just as the timer went off downstairs, informing me my pizza was ready.
“Oh, come on. It’s not polite to leave a girl with blue balls,” I protested, and Ethan lifted an eyebrow.
“You have a curious way with words.”
“So, do you,” I replied, rising from the bed and walking past him to go remove my pizza from the oven.
Ethan rejoined me as I sat by his kitchen counter and pulled off a slice. He didn’t say anything, just sat and watched me eat as though it was the most fascinating thing in the world.
“Want some?” I asked, shoving the cheesy slice in his face just to annoy him.
Ethan scrunched up his nose in distaste. “No, thank you.”
I chuckled, eyeing him now. A lot had changed for him in a very short space of time, and I wanted to make sure he was okay with it. I mean, him drinking my blood had been the last resort of the desperate, and now here he was with an entire city of vampires looking to him to guide them.
“You do want this, don’t you? Leading the vampires and all? I’m a little worried that you think you don’t have a choice.”
“I don’t,” Ethan said placidly.
“Of course you do. I’m sure there are a whole bunch of vamps who genuinely want the job. Just give it to one of them.”
“I could do that, but then I’d have to leave. They couldn’t rule comfortably knowing a far stronger candidate is still residing in the city. And I don’t want to leave, Tegan.”
I studied him a moment. “Well, maybe it’s a good thing. They always say that reluctant rulers are the best kind. You aren’t in it for the benefits or the lavish lifestyle. It means you might actually focus on what’s important instead of your own selfish interests.”
“That’s a good theory. But it could also go the opposite way. The fact that I’m reluctant might mean I’ll intentionally fuck up the job.”
I smiled at him. “I don’t think you’d do that. You’re too much of a perfectionist. It would just irritate you to do a half-assed job.”
He grinned at me. “Is that a compliment?”
“A roundabout one. That’s the best you’re going to get from me.”
He kissed me tenderly on the cheek, and I finished eating my pizza. There was plenty left, but I decided it would do for breakfast in the morning. If I was going to be staying here with Ethan, I’d really have to see about stocking his fridge and pantry. Human food wasn’t very plentiful in vampire houses.
I squealed when his arm reached under my knees, and he lifted me into his arms.
“Come on, Sunshine,” he whispered in my ear. “Let’s see what we can do about those blue balls of yours.”
I laughed as he carried me to his bedroom.
Finn
I woke up in the early hours of the morning because the bed was shaking. Glancing to my left, I saw Alora convulsing beneath the covers, and a surge of panic gripped me.
Rising onto my elbow, I put my hand to her forehead. She was hot and clammy with sweat. Alora mentioned this might happen while she slept, but that didn’t make it any easier to watch her. The convulsions that wracked her body looked painful. I wondered what premonition she was seeing. Would she be able to see the future of the city and what was going to become of us?
Would Theodore keep us trapped in his bubble forever? Or would we all be dead before the week was through?
One thing I knew for certain was that I had to make contact with Tegan. I had to know the choices Cristescu was going to make for his vampires. Would he spur them to kill or encourage them to live peacefully?
After a couple of minutes, Alora stilled and her breathing returned to normal. I lay awake on top of the covers, my hands clasped above my head and my mind on high alert. Too many ‘what ifs’ filled my head, making it impossible to get back to sleep.
Once seven o’clock hit, I got up, took another shower, and got dressed. Alora woke up just as I was sitting at the foot of the bed lacing my boots.
“Morning, Goldy. Did you sleep well?” I asked.
She sat up and rubbed at her head as though it ached. The robe she slept in was hanging open a little, showing me the round curve of her cleavage. I quickly averted my gaze and she must’ve realised she wasn’t decent because she surreptitiously covered herself, wrapping the robe tighter around her body. Great, now I felt like a pervert for looking at all.
“I slept okay, but my skull is pounding,” she replied as she rubbed her head again. She paused and glanced at me. “Did I … did anything happen while I was asleep?”
I nodded. “You had a vision. At least I think you did. It was just like you said it would be. Your body shook with convulsions. Do you remember anything?”
She grimaced. “I always do, unfortunately.”
