“Well it sure sounded like it...”
Seemingly coming back into himself, James shook his head and tucked the book away within his jacket. “I thought we could have lunch.” He was very obviously changing the subject. I didn’t want to be pleasant or have lunch with him…not after he’d taken the journal from me and withheld information I so desperately needed. But he was here, and he was making an effort. So I would too.
I’d expected to take our lunch in the massive dining hall, but he led me outside. It was a beautiful day, unusually warm given the recent weather. We walked past the gardens and as we strolled through the grounds, I inhaled the scents once again that trailed on the wind, growing stronger as we drew nearer to the rose wall. James led me through the break in the hedges, and I hesitated for a moment.
I didn’t yet know his intentions. He’d attempted to bargain with my life, he’d bitten me, and he’d kept secrets. And now he was leading me away from the house with the expectation that I blindly follow him through the shrubs. It wouldn’t be the worst decision I’d ever made, but I didn’t know what awaited me inside.
Answers.
James read my uncertainty and offered me a hand. Even in the crisp afternoon, the warmth that it offered was enticing. His fingers laced through mine when I took it.
The temperature only dropped as we descended into the path lined by the tall bushes, the weak sun spilling into the corridor from far above. I was grateful to have him standing close, to be able to appreciate the warmth that rolled off him in waves, and stepped a tiny amount closer. He didn’t give any indication that he noticed.
It wasn’t until we turned at the end of that path and were met with a fork in the shrubs that I realized we were not sandwiched between simply crafted walls of shrubbery, but in the middle of something bigger…a labyrinth. My heart hammered at the idea of what this could mean, but I couldn’t bite back my surprise. “It’s a maze.”
Of course he knew that, but I couldn’t help stating the obvious.
“The whole property is built around it,” He nodded. “The moon rose serves as protection from the vampires. The maze…well, I guess you could say that’s more of a protection from humans.”
I didn’t question it, but then, I didn’t need to. Just as the vampires needed their own brand of protection against the humans, so did the werewolves. Whereas father had attained his protection through isolation and myths of curses and ghosts, the werewolves had attained theirs through a maze of shrubs, which undoubtedly obscured the house from view and offered a sort of deterrent for the general population.
“There are stories that have been passed down for centuries,” James explained. “About this maze. It has been said that once you enter it, you’ll never be seen again. It has prompted a few brazen young adults over the years to venture in here…mostly lovers seeking a thrill in the night.”
“And were they ever seen again?” Malice slipped into my voice like a knife through butter; effortlessly.
James laughed. “They all made it safely home again, after wandering endlessly through the maze and being convinced they would starve to death. Some experienced hikers have gotten hopelessly lost in here…it has certainly helped tame the desire for anyone to come explore. The moon rose…well, I wouldn’t say it’s a drug…but it has been said to produce some pretty terrifying imaginings.”
I gave one of the buds special consideration as we passed, trying to imagine how something so small, so seemingly innocuous, could serve as a poison. How could this little rose bud protect them against the likes of Xian, of my father, and how did they have so much faith in it?
Several turns later, we reached a narrowing of the corridor, at the end of which there was an archway weighed down with flowers. I followed James through it, entranced by the unimaginable beauty of the blossoms, so that I did not immediately notice the bistro table set upon the concrete, bearing a small but delightful spread of food. It looked deceptively romantic, but this was my enemy. We could barely even look at each other. Surely this wasn’t a date?
I turned suspicious eyes upon James as he pulled out one of the chairs and waited for me to sit before positioning himself opposite me. He smiled as though in response to my unspoken questions. “I hope this doesn’t seem too forward, but I thought that perhaps it was time we really get to know each other.”
“Oh?” I glanced over the courtyard, at the practically enchanted flowers and the charming table. It was deceptively sweet. And naturally, that was cause for alarm.
“I don’t mean to pry,” He explained. “But I know there are many things left unspoken between us. We can’t go on acting like nothing more than passing strangers.”
My suspicion couldn’t be explained away that easily. “Well, if its trade secrets you’re after, you’ve got the wrong girl. You saw firsthand, I mean nothing to them.” I meant it as a joke but there was hint of suspicion in my voice that stopped it from sounding too innocuous.
“I’m not after trade secrets, Lilith.” The sincerity in his voice was a reflection of what I found in his eyes. “I brought you here because this has always been my favorite place to go, whenever I was overwhelmed or angry or sad. This courtyard has seen every side of me there is, and I just figured that it was the best place for me to become vulnerable to you.”
“You want to become vulnerable to me?” It was a strange thing for him to say. I thought of how he refused to show any kind of emotion around me…how he was quiet and sparse. It was even stranger for me to try and understand, as I’d spent my entire life safeguarding against any hints of vulnerability.
“I want you to trust me,” James urged. “If that means telling you everything about me, that’s what I’ll do. I hope that you would reciprocate.”
I opened my mouth, prepared to tell him that he’d better not hold his breath, but ended up saying, “You can try.”
“Thank you.”
Busying myself with buttering my toast served as a good distraction, but after a moment of silence I had to look up and meet his eyes, which were upon me with a level look. “What?” I demanded, immediately feeling my walls rise a little.
“There are so many things I want to ask you.” The honesty of the statement was a little disarming, but I straightened.
“You first.”
James nodded. Even he knew it was only fair that he try to give me some answers about this tangled mess that was my life. “What do you want to know?”
What did I want to know? Ha. It was probably easier just to ask what I didn’t want to know. Even so, I gave voice to the first thought that crossed my mind. It was probably the one inconsequential question I had, but all the same, it had been bothering me.
“The first time I had dinner with you, there was a girl. Janna told me her name was...Delia?”
“Delilah.” He corrected. His voice was flat but patient and I suspected Delilah was not a subject he enjoyed discussing.
“Yes. Janna told me something I didn’t understand. She thinks, perhaps, that Delilah was…is… jealous of me.” Just saying that made my face heat up, and I squirmed uncomfortably in my chair as I waited for an answer.
James shrugged. “I’m sure that is probably true. Janna has always been better at discerning those sorts of things than I.”
It was the answer I’d expected, but not the one I’d wanted. “Why?”
James broke eye contact, turning to examine the flowers climbing the trellis without really seeing them. “There are several possible reasons, Lilith. I’m not an adolescent-minded girl, so I couldn’t really tell you.”
“You know something.” I prodded.
A sigh escaped him, and I watched his hands lock together. I hadn’t realized that they were quite rugged, or at least more-so than I expected from someone who claimed to be royalty. I wondered what he did in his spare time, if maybe the scratches and dirt were from gardening. Would that make him more likeable, or less? It certainly would give me something to tease him about, but I doubted that if he di
d garden he would care if I mocked him for it. “This wasn’t what I had imagined we’d be discussing. But the most obvious answer is one I suspect you could have gleaned on your own by simply looking in a mirror.”
My stomach tightened at the mention of a mirror, thoughts darting to the pale crescent-shaped marks on my neck. The ground through the glass table top suddenly seemed extraordinary, and I stared at it, my cheeks hot even though a gust of wind slapped them.
“You’re beautiful.” It wasn’t what I had expected, and my head swiveled up, my eyes accusing him of lies. He seemed sincere, but I laughed. “It’s true.” He said a little more forceful than necessary. “Delilah is desirable,” For some reason, his admission actually caused me a twinge of jealousy, and I looked away again in an effort to conceal that fact from him. I did not know the meaning of it…I didn’t need him trying to decipher that reaction. “But you have a sort of radiance, Lilith, that is all your own. You draw every eye to you, and I know you can’t see it, but it’s certainly something to be envied.”
I shook my head, unable to understand how that long-legged girl with silky hair and caramel eyes could envy me, her polar opposite of plain and pale and dull. Frankly, it wasn’t even something I wanted to discuss. I switched tack, sorry I’d even brought it up. “Ok. What did you tell your sister about me…and Xian?”
“Xian?” He blinked. “Who is that?”
Who is that? I stared at him, but he didn’t seem to be bluffing. I didn’t know how to answer that question. “The man the other day…when you took me back to the vampires.”
“Oh.” His face soured a little. “The one you kissed? I assume he’s your boyfriend.” He looked down at his tea swirling around at the bottom of his mug, but glanced back up in time to see my face absolve into disgust.
“No.” I said. I shuddered, because the thought of returning to that was truly revolting. I thought of Katie.
“I didn’t mention anything to Janna about him. I had basically forgotten about him. Why?”
He seemed to be telling the truth. And if he didn’t know, I wasn’t about to tell him. “The diary. You know who that belonged to.” I gestured towards the inside of his coat, where that book was tucked away like a secret that James didn’t want me to know about. He wanted to be vulnerable to me, and I to him, but it was clear that that wasn’t in the cards today.
James tensed an infinitesimal amount, but I noticed it all the same. He spoke with an air of finality, making it obvious that he would say nothing more on the matter. And he didn’t have the chance, because just before I could say anything more, Janna burst into the courtyard, breathless.
“It’s Julius!” She panted, and without needing to hear anything more, James tore out of the courtyard at a speed I’d have never expected possible.
I looked at Janna a moment longer, and then stood up in a daze. “There’s a vampire out there, Lilith.” There was something in her eyes that I couldn’t identify. Storm clouds seemed to move through them, pushed through by the fury of her thoughts. She was connecting the dots, recognizing the man she’d somehow heard of with the one she’d just seen. “He said he came for you.”
My mouth went dry. Speak of the devil, and he shall come. “Xian?”
“Come on,” She grabbed my hand and led me in a hurry back through the labyrinth, until we emerged in an expanse of land that seemed unfamiliar to me. The forest was across from us.
I saw him leaning against an oak tree, its branches encapsulating him in their shade so that I couldn’t see his face…until he noticed me and took a step forward. He was too far away to be certain, but he seemed to be smiling as though something were about to happen. He had a terrible poker face, if nothing else…in that snide look, he showed me his cards.
I stood paralyzed with fear, and looked for James. That’s when I noticed the giant wolves racing toward Xian, who widened his stance, braced for the attack. “Stop!” I breathed, but it was not nearly as loud as I’d intended.
I recognized James as the dark wolf gaining on the one in the lead. He pounced, throwing himself onto Julius’ back. The wolves slowed, Julius encumbered by the heavy shape of his brother trying to drag him back. Janna watched, motionless. The terror on her face spurred me to action.
I chased after them, trying to make it to Xian before they could. James was strong, I’d found out first hand, but Julius had the advantage of rage, and he used it to throw James to the ground with enough force to leave him down for a few seconds.
Those few seconds were all Xian needed to close the distance between us. He wrapped an arm around my throat, pulling me into the distantly familiar hollow of his body.
“Missed me?” Xian crooned.
I tried in vain to shake him off, but his arm just tightened around my neck…a reminder of how effortlessly he could snap it.
“Let her go!” Janna yelled.
James stalked forward but stopped when Xian jerked me back with him. “Everybody stays where they are!” He commanded.
“What do you want?” Janna seemed to be speaking on everyone’s behalf, as the men were still in wolf form and I certainly couldn’t get a word in with his heavy arm threatening to collapse my windpipe.
“I’m here to re-negotiate the terms you filthy animals brought to us last week. I’d like to speak to someone in charge. Perhaps you could fetch your daddy or something.” His voice dripped with ire. He was baiting her.
But Janna was not like most girls that Xian was used to. She was not like me. Instead of giving him the reaction he wanted, she blinked. “I am in charge. But if you want my dad, he’s right there.” She nodded at a large white wolf who stood next to James, his mouth pulled back in a snarl.
I hadn’t seen this wolf yet, but even if Janna hadn’t admitted as much, I’d have known it was the king.
He could hear everything that was being said, and I imagined he didn’t like this arrogant young man speaking that way to his daughter.
I couldn’t see Xian’s expression, but I imagine that he was amused by the exchange. “Have we met before? You look so familiar…I think it’s the eyes.”
The King did not seem to share Xian’s amusement. His steadfast gaze did not falter, trained for attack.
“There are no negotiations to take place.” Janna was infuriatingly calm. My eyes flicked to James, who stood with every muscle in his body tensed, his hair sticking up straight.
“Oh, do you think?”
“I know.” She smiled ruefully. “After your last encounter, my father and Arich have cleared the air. Lilith is a free woman, and the treatise between our kinds stands. Although, you being here…your hands on her…it’s a breach in the accords. I wonder what Arich would have to say on the matter?”
I’d never been in immediate danger…Xian made that much clear as soon as he loosened his hold on me and pushed me from him. I stumbled, grateful to be out of his reach, and righted myself next to Janna in time to see the smirk that only affected half of his face. “Something tells me you’re bluffing, little one.”
“I guess you’ll find out when you return home. You’d best hurry…” She pointed with her chin towards the sky, where the darkness was beginning to break away. “You don’t want to be caught after hours. That’s another violation, you know?”
Xian held his hands up, still amused as ever. “I concede... For now.”
I looked at Janna, short and slight, but also stolid and imposing. She was a neatly wrapped contradiction, offering kindness to all but giving looks that could have been lethal. Now I could see it clearly…much of her was like her father. She had the same warm eyes, the same charmed laugh, and also his good nature. But she was not only her father’s daughter…in the moonlight, I could see very clearly the part of her that was her mother. It was imperial and regal and it suited her.
Xian winked at me. “It’s not over ‘til it’s over, love. Which, likely, will be sooner than you think.”
“Why would he just come here like that?” Janna asked, lookin
g to her brother. She was used to him having the answers to all her questions, but this time James had nothing to offer her.
He shook his head.
“Because,” I bit my lip. “Everything he does, he does for a reason…even if it’s just because he can.”
The King looked to his wife, whose pinched face was livid. “Am I the only one who didn’t know you’ve been in contact with Arich?”
“I didn’t know.” Julius arched an eyebrow in his father’s direction, hoping to elicit an explanation. The queen turned shrewd eyes to her other son.
“I didn’t know either.” James said. Unlike his brother, he didn’t seem at all fazed that he’d been excluded. But I favored his mother on this one…why had the King of the werewolves and the Lord of Vampires been in communication?
“It was never a secret.” The king shrugged. “I’d not go to any lengths to hide the information, but I suspected it was a matter you would want no hand in.”
“But you entrusted our daughter with it?”
I squirmed in my chair, made uncomfortable by the sound of the queen’s voice echoing through the chamber. Without the dozens of people chattering away or the clinking of silverware, the hall was strangely silent and much too large for only the five of us.
“I’ve entrusted our daughter with the duties of a Queen, which she may one day be.”
“Nonsense.”
“Calista…” The King looked at his wife with soft eyes, and I with judgmental ones. She was maybe fifty, devastatingly beautiful, and yet childish in demeanor. Her face was always severe, particularly now.
“This is not the time or place for the discussion,” Her cold eyes darted towards me. If only she could understand I didn’t want to be in her presence any more than she wanted to be in mine. “But I do believe you owe it to us to explain whatever your amended terms are with the undead.”
“Allow me,” Janna stood, her dark curls falling around her face. “I actually have been the one negotiating them.”
The Celestial Kiss Page 14
