“I lost? No, no, no, no, Elizabeta. No.” I continued to remove the needles as he spoke. “Vlad overplayed his hand.” I removed the last needle from Nikolai’s flesh and he actually pulled his knees to his chest and the bit fell out of his mouth, a half startled moan breaking from between his lips. “Isn’t that right, Daddy Dearest?”
Vlad crossed the threshold, and glanced around the room for a moment before his eyes settled on Aleksi. They stared at each other, no one else in the room seemed to matter to Vlad aside from Aleksi. He stalked over to his son with his long open black robe trailing across the floor.
“Aleksi, lets discuss this in my office.” His dark voice boomed.
“How about we don’t, and we say we did. I am taking Colette, Nikolai, Autumn and Margot out of here. We both know you have more to risk than I do if you attack me. Oh, you’ll probably kill me, but all I have to do is wound you for the sharks to smell blood in the water. And we both know they’re already circling.”
“You won’t take my little girl from me, Aleksi!” Elizabeta snapped.
“You’re more than welcome to visit her. But until I know he’s not going to siphon from her, or the rest of my family I’m getting them the fuck out of here.”
“And where will you go? You’re legally dead, Aleksi.” Vlad crossed his arms. Both he and Elizabeta looked like stern parents lecturing a rowdy teenager. It was a bizarre tableaux set around the backdrop of me lowering Nikolai’s naked bound and bloody body from the ceiling.
“I transferred everything to Autumn when I died. The businesses, the penthouses in New York, Paris and London.”
“You were dying, Aleksi. I saved you.”
“You tormented me and siphoned from me so I stayed sick. I’m not everyone else, you keep forgetting I have a very long fucking memory. I almost woke up several times, you selfish fuck. You fucking pulled me back down. Then you took piece after piece of me until I barely had the energy to do anything. Do you know how it feels to be stuck as mist for four months? It’s like lingering at that moment right before death when all you feel is pain and fatigue.”
“Aleksi.” Vlad didn’t even sound angry, he just sounded tired. “This is not the time to be divided.”
“You should have thought about that before. How does it feel to have your big plan backfire?” Aleksi beamed at the older vampire, but after a moment that smile fell. “Maybe we’ll reconcile, but not right now. Certainly not after that.” He nodded in the direction of Nikolai and I. That tattooed, bleeding form collapsed on the floor in a boneless heap at my feet as I removed the cuffs. “You could have handled that in numerous ways without Elizabeta getting involved.”
“It’s not as though Colette was any kinder to the boy. You should ask your sister what she did to your son.” Elizabeta’s eyes sparkled and Aleksi’s jaw tightened, his hand balling into a fist. For a brief moment I thought he would actually hit her.
“Zabeta!” Vlad barked, turning unhappy eyes on the titian beauty, her eyes fell to the ground. “Margot is just a baby. I believe it’s time that someone in our line has a happy childhood; don’t you agree, Aleksi? You have my word that no harm will come to the girl. I’ll even have them bring Colette up and call a car for you.” Aleksi’s head canted from side to side as he thought over Vlad’s words.
“Fine.” The utter finality of the word lingered on the air as Aleksi turned his attention to me. My heart rose in my chest as I watched his lips twitch into a small smile before he turned back to Vlad. “But I want assurances. I want you to swear an oath, I know how seriously you still take your oaths and vows. Swear that you’ll never again harm one of my direct descendants. Do what you want with whatever Colette spawns, but leave my children alone.” Vlad eyed him curiously for a handful of tense moments. In the silence of the room Nikolai pulled himself to standing, the weight of his gaze wrenched my attention from Aleksi and Vlad.
“I swear to never intentionally bring harm to your direct descendants.” Vlad didn’t miss a beat, those words flowed easily from his lips. “It was a mistake to draw energy from you. I see that now. Part of being a leader, Aleksi, is knowing when you’ve made a mistake and being willing to admit it.”
“Oh, I’ve missed these. So are you just going to pretend like you didn’t try to suck the life out of me? Are you just going to go back to grooming me to be your successor like this didn’t happen?”
“What was the first thing I taught you?”
“The only thing anyone can do is move forward, there is no going backward…” Aleksi looked around, his eyes settled on me again. “This is me moving forward. I won’t put my head in the sand”—He started walking toward me—“I’ll pretend the rules still apply, and I’ll continue the lie… I’ll crawl when ordered. I’ll be the most obedient you’ve ever seen me. But fuck with me or mine again and I’ll make it my mission to destroy everything both of you have worked for.” He stood beside me and took my hand in his before he started for the door. We paused in the threshold. “You should be ecstatic; I’m finally being assertive! Isn’t that what you have always wanted?” He called over his shoulder before we left.
After an astoundingly silent and somewhat awkward four and a half hour drive the four of us arrived at a small estate somewhere outside of Olympia, Washington. As we rode up the curving secluded drive I couldn’t help but to realize how it was exactly the opposite of what I expected. It almost didn’t look like somewhere Aleksi would call home. He liked modern things. His room at Crimson Hill was ultra-modern, and so was the apartment he once had. This was almost the exact opposite of that. It was clearly an old, renovated mansion, but there were still an astounding amount of windows for the home of a vampire.
“Welcome to my dear brother’s fortress of solitude.” Colette beamed peering out of the limo’s window; Aleksi visibly cringed when she called him dear brother, and Nikolai’s brows furrowed. They’re not entirely comfortable with things; but who can blame them? Swallowing, I pulled the black robe tighter around me as the wrought iron gate parted and the limousine continued on its way to the enormous mansion.
When the limo came to a halt the vampires all pulled up the hoods of their coats; cowering slightly from the hot noon sun as they slipped single file onto the drive. Aleksi walked right up to the front door and opened it with a key from his pocket. Half-way up the steps, Nikolai yelped as I slipped from the leather interior. I looked just in time to see the smoke rising from where the sun had caught the new vampire’s hand. From the doorway Aleksi mumbled something as he held the door open. Colette and Nikolai quickly dipped into the house, leaving me to walk up the stairs alone. I felt out of place as I climbed those stairs barefoot, wearing only a robe over my nightie. I was the only one not offered clothing before we left Crimson Hill. As I crossed the threshold into the awe-inspiring foyer a sickening thought crossed my mind and made my stomach twist. Maybe all of Aleksi didn’t wake up? He had barely said a single word to me so far.
“I’m calling Evan.” Colette exclaimed as she darted up the wide curved cream colored staircase. “I’ll be in my room.” Aleksi didn’t answer her, instead he turned his attention to Nikolai for a handful of moments.
“Let me bandage that. Come.” Aleksi ordered as he moved gracefully down the hall with its arched ceiling. Nikolai followed, and I trailed along behind him… until my eye caught something peculiar on the wall. Pictures. Neither his room at Crimson Hill, nor his old apartment had pictures on the walls aside from tasteful art; but here on the wall was a collection of pictures from Aleksi’s career as a dancer. The pictures grew more and more modern as you reached the wide open living room with its huge all-encompassing tempered glass windows. The most recent pictures were of Aleksi backstage with Leslie and Tristan, judging by the makeup in them I’d say they were from December.
Near silent whispers in Russian drew my attention; in the hallway outside of the bathroom Aleksi and Nikolai were conversing. Nikolai was fussing with the fresh white bandage around his hand as Aleksi spo
ke, neither seemed comfortable. Nikolai kept looking up in my direction and nodding to whatever Aleksi was saying. Then they walked passed me without so much as acknowledging me… I felt suddenly invisible. To make matters worse exhaustion was taking hold of my body again. All I wanted to do was sleep. At the same time I wasn’t sure of what to do. He might be angry with you. But why was he calling my name when he was mist if he was angry? Because you were in danger. With a huffed little sigh I turned from the pictures and crossed my arms. I was being an idiot. Yup, in the end that video means nothing. But did it really mean nothing?
My feet carried me into that brightly lit living room with its modern take on eighteenth century furniture. The ornate wood feet and arms of the couches and chairs were painted almost a tarnished gold, and the fabric was pale cream which matched the white and pale almond walls perfectly. Where was the red? Where was the black? The colors here are the same as the Petite Trianon. On the wall near the base of the steps was a poster for Giselle at Covent Garden, it showed Aleksi as Albrecht and Colette as Giselle embracing. The exhaustion and sadness on his face read as clear as the despair and relief on hers. My eyes slipped closed for only a moment, and when I opened them Aleksi was standing behind me; his reflection clear on the glass pane covering the poster. I wanted to lean back against him and feel him solid and warm at my back; but I didn’t. Instead, I fussed with the sleeves of my robe, that nervous tick returning with a vengeance as he watched me carefully. Say something. I swallowed and opened my mouth to speak but nothing came out. What was there to say? Compliment the house?
“Y-you have a l-lovely home.” I managed to somehow stammer out, those nervous fingers traced over the line of hair in the corner of my eye.
“Technically it’s your home.” He answered with a handsome grin falling into place. It was torture to have him so close but so far. He kept that long line of his body a good inch or two from mine—just close enough for me to feel his warmth but far enough away that we didn’t accidentally touch. Still, my jaw set and my toes curled against the cool marble. I yearned to touch him, my fingers twitched with the need but I couldn’t—could I? You shouldn’t.
“Oh.”
“Le Fleur is also yours, and the penthouses in London, New York, Paris. Everything that was mine, is now yours. Did you see the video?”
“Mhm.” A trained monkey could have given the same response. People respond with words. “Y-yes, I saw it.”
“I can barely focus with that collar of rubies at your throat.” He sighed…and I watched his reflection swallow with that Adam’s apple bobbing. “I spoke with Nikolai. I know about what you two have—the resonance…the bond.” Those burning bright eyes fixed on mine through the reflection, I looked over my shoulder at him. With that simple heated look, my whole body sprung to life from the memory of everything he could do to me. “Come with me.” He didn’t wait for my reaction, he just turned around and walked back up the stairs. Should I follow? What else are you going to do, you’re four hours from home. Almost reluctantly I climbed those stairs with stubborn, sluggish steps.
Aleksi led me through the hall and into a massive room with a vaulted ceiling. It was clearly the master suite. The bed was enormous with posts of ornate wrought iron that curved and wrapped together over the bed. You could probably tie someone to the metal canopy. I believe that is the point. The walls were covered in old parchment wallpaper, and the trim was accented in what looked to be tarnished gold. Everything about the room screamed old world. It was a sumptuous tribute to the Victorian era. The bed was covered in satin pillows in buff, antique gold and cream colored silks. There was a bookcase, dressers and a few chairs strewn about the room. Everything looked like it had been smuggled out of Queen Victoria’s bedroom in the eighteen hundreds.
“No one has been in here other than myself, the decorator and the maid.” He said closing the door behind me. The click of the lock was practically deafening. I jumped at that innocuous sound and spun around. My wide, startled eyes met his and my pulse jumped into my throat. Why so scared, little girl? Do you think he can smell all of the lovers you’ve taken since his illness? He crossed in front of me and walked over to one of the drawers and produced a simple red leather collar with an O-ring. He set it on top of the gold and French vanilla colored dresser. Then, with that elegant, graceful gait he moved to take a seat in one of those plush ecru colored chairs. Long pallid fingers curled over the little golden dragon heads on the arm rests. Just sitting in that chair made his chin tilt up, he was a king and the bedroom was his kingdom. Those searing blue eyes licked over my body drawing a shiver and a half startled gasp from my lips. “Bring me Nikolai.” What? My mouth fell opened in surprise; that was not what I was expecting him to say at all. All of the anticipation that had started boiling in me with the click of the door was quickly replaced with complete and utter mortification. I felt the blush heat my cheeks as I turned on my heel and left the room, desperately trying to hide my disappointment and embarrassment.
The order had confused me. Why did he need Nikolai? Why take the collar out at all? My fingers trailed back through my hair as I made my way down the well-lit hallway. There were only a handful of those white doors with their gold and crystal handles, so finding his room wasn’t hard.
The first door I came to was open, and it was clearly Colette’s room. Even if she hadn’t been seated on the bed reading Charlotte’s article with her white cellphone pressed to her ear, I could have guessed it was hers. The room was small, but it was still opulent. The walls weren’t covered in paper or paint, but instead, candy pink silk draped between white and gold spiraling posts. Arranged around the outside of the room were a handful of chairs and dressers. The bed was covered with a white canopy with little lavender pink roses embroidered on it. In short, the room looked like how I imagined the inside of Colette’s head to look… minus the murder and incest. She glanced up at me and smiled before returning to the article and her phone call.
I tried the next door. The white painted wood opened easily to reveal a room with white walls that was empty except for a queen sized bed without any sheets. My lips twitched into a smile as I remembered the extra room at Aleksi’s apartment. Apparently he had a thing for leaving unused rooms undecorated. I closed the door and opened the next.
The next room was clearly occupied but it was empty, the walls in the room were also white, and it was also void of furniture. But the bed actually had sheets and a comforter on it, and the lights were on. The room was so empty that the slightest sound echoed.
“Nikolai?” I called peering at the two closed doors—I was betting one was a bathroom.
“Mhm,” emanated from the closed bathroom.
“Aleksi sent me to get you.” My fingers rubbed at the slick fabric of the black robe I wore before I smoothed the panels and traced my finger along the sash. There was a moment of distinct rustling heard coming from the bathroom, and I was hit with déjà vu. I wrapped my arms around myself and let out a soft shaky sigh as the door to bathroom finally opened and Nikolai walked out in nothing but a pair of Aleksi’s tights. The tattoos were now the only thing that really set them apart; Aleksi’s body was unadorned and Nikolai’s was covered. But as Nikolai stared at me with those sad, almost Robin's egg blue eyes I couldn’t help but to feel guilty. Maybe you should apologize for abandoning him. He paused a few feet from me and gestured for me to go ahead.
“I’m sorry about—”
“No, you’re not.” He sighed. “You’re only saying it because you think it’s what’s expected of you.” I started walking; part of me wanted to be away from him and the lightheaded feeling he gave me. I had never been so drawn in and repulsed by someone before, and something told me the feeling was mutual. He does have a point. I opened the door to Aleksi’s room and was shocked to find him no longer seated in the chair, and the collar gone from the dresser.
“In here.” Aleksi’s voice sounded from behind the bookcase. It took a handful of moments for me to realize that the
bookcase was actually a door. Nikolai and I warily stepped towards it and peered into the room beyond the hidden doorway. Aleksi was sitting on the edge of a large black and red bed in a room very much the epitome of what one would expect a stereotypical vampire lair meets dungeon to be.
Every sort of cane and flogger imaginable lined the walls on specialized racks. Chains dangled from the ceiling and a big black lacquer X with cuffs at each corner dangled from the ceiling by heavy chains. There was everything imaginable in the room, it made the bondage room—I still refused to call it a playroom—at his old place seem amateur. It looked like a place to take someone to be used, or punished and part of me was delighted to be there in that room with him. “Come in.” Aleksi clipped as he sat up straighter, I couldn’t help but to notice that he had a dark wooden paddle beside him.
We hesitantly entered, it was like neither of us was sure we’d like what Aleksi had in mind. Miss Manners however could practically see me bent over Aleksi’s lap begging for the paddle, and she was delighted by it. You need a spanking. You’ve been a very naughty girl. My mouth was suddenly parched as I stood there just inside the doorway. Nikolai, however, walked past me and stopped in front of Aleksi. He dropped to his knees and placed his hands on his thighs. Aleksi rolled his eyes at the gesture of submission before his attention turned back to me.
“I’m not going to assume you’re mine still, Autumn.” Aleksi curled his fingers around the handle of the paddle and caressed the holey wooden surface with his other hand. “I will, however, offer you the opportunity, to become my servant in all ways once again. Though if you submit yourself to me completely things will be different. You’re more experienced now than you were last year.” His eyes darted to Nikolai for a moment before returning to me. “You also have more responsibilities as well. Which is why if you do accept… my very first act as your lover and Master will be to turn that lovely ass of yours bright red.”
Dark Awakenings (Danse Macabre Book 2) Page 22
