It fell below her knees, and engulfed her small body, but it would have to do.
“I’ll have to carry you. Your feet can’t take this terrain.”
There was no point in arguing.
“We have to do this right, otherwise the king will skin me alive for embarrassing him in front of the Bast.”
“Bast?” Lily asked. “Oh, a new group of Others.”
“Just listen, you can ask questions later. No matter what you see, comport yourself with dignity. Keep your head up and do not avert your eyes. I’m going to carry you in on my shoulder. It’s the most dignified way I can think of right now.”
Lucien knelt down, placed his right arm out from his body. “Sit here.” He indicated the space between his elbow and shoulder. It was like sitting on a tree limb while the tree walked. With the advantage of height she could make out a circular area cleared of trees and brush. She saw Krieger standing in the middle, surrounded by a group of people. Fire torches burned along the fringe between the woods and the clearing.
Lucien stopped just inside the fire ring and waited for Krieger to acknowledge them. About twenty men and women encircled Krieger, the rest, numbering around fifteen, sat on primitive benches.
No going back now, she thought, as everyone turned to stare at them. Lucien knelt, enabling her to walk gracefully off her perch.
“My Sanguis Ancilla,” the king said to explain their presence.
Lily held on to Lucien’s arm as she watched Krieger indicate an empty bench. She remembered Lucien’s earlier admonishment and made eye contact with each person.
The Others standing around Krieger segregated themselves into two groups, one female and one male. All the Bast were dressed in fur pelts wrapped around their lower body. Each fur had different markings, some striped, others mostly solid. They were a slightly built, beautiful people whose movements were fluid. One of the seated Bast, an old man who used a wooden cane, slowly walked up to the king. After they’d spoken for a time, the king and the old man bowed to one another.
Krieger took two steps back and stood beside a small fire burnt down until the embers glowed orange. His steel gray eyes glared at her.
In a language she’d not heard before, the old man addressed his people. She noticed all the seated Bast were older. Whatever the old man was saying, they agreed with it, nodding their heads occasionally. The younger ones, who were standing, had an anxious look. Lily couldn’t tell if they were excited or scared. The old man waved his arms about, and then slapped his right hand onto his left shoulder. The seated group stood, some more slowly than others, and repeated the gesture.
Krieger stepped forward. “I am honored,” he said.
To Lily it was like watching a National Geographic show without the expert commentary. The old leader pointed in front of him and the young group lined up and knelt. He walked over to the small fire and pulled out what looked like a poker. When he lifted it up to the night sky, she saw that it was a branding iron.
She hadn’t let go of Lucien’s arm, and now squeezed with all her strength. His black eyes looked down into hers. He spoke to her through his mind; she didn’t hear a sound or see his lips move. “The king does this at their request. He does not require the marking of his subjects.”
Krieger stared at her, and nodded at Lucien, then went back to the ceremony. One after the other, male and female, the old man branded the younger members. The smell of burning flesh hung thick in the air. Lily tried breathing through her mouth, but whether imagined or real she felt like she could taste their burnt flesh on her tongue. She had to breathe through her nose and it made her feel hot and queasy. She couldn’t tear her eyes away from the branding. They would kneel in front of their leader and their bodies tensed and twitched waiting for the hot iron to sear their body. Not a sound passed their lips under it was over and then they would sigh out on a long breath. She remembered Lucien’s warning and kept her face as impassive as possible, hiding her desire to run from them into the woods until she could breathe in clean air.
She let out her own audible sigh when the last one was branded. It’s over, she thought.
It wasn’t.
Now on hands and knees they crawled towards the king, each one brushing their fresh brand against his pant leg, leaving a bloody stain, as they crawled by him.
Please God let it be over now, her mind screamed. Krieger walked towards her. His fangs extended.
Through clenched teeth, he asked Lucien, “Why are you here?”
“I made him.” Lily reached out for Krieger’s arm. “I have to tell you something.”
“Get her out of here.” His anger boiled over at Lucien.
“No, you have to listen.” Lily tried to stand but Krieger pushed her back down. Why was he acting so distant, so hostile?
The old man started speaking again, and whatever he said made the king’s mood even more volatile.
“Oh, fuck,” Lucien said.
“What?” Why wouldn’t anyone listen to her?
“Would they be offended if we left now?” Lucien said the question like he already knew the answer.
Krieger’s face softened as he looked into her eyes. “Tell me what has brought you here.”
“Aren’t you coming with us?” She was speaking below a whisper, knowing that only the two vampires would hear her. “Tell me this is over.”
His large hand cupped her face. “If only I could. Now tell me and be gone from here, for it is no place for you this night.”
“I could shield her with my body.” Lucien spoke without speaking. Krieger glared at Lucien and then back at her.
“You can hear him?”
She nodded.
Krieger addressed Lucien. “The Bast see her glow as we do. They are honored she witnessed their marking. I will make an excuse for her to leave.”
“They will take it as an affront. You would risk that, for her sake?” Lucien sounded surprised.
“What are you talking about? Seriously, you just branded them. What could be worse?” Lily wanted to scream. She could see the Bast staring at them, clearly wanting to continue.
“I will make them understand that no disrespect is intended.” Krieger studied her, his gray eyes reflecting back the full moon. “Tell me. I felt your fear earlier.” He gently kissed the side of her face, whispering into her ear, “I have only a few moments. Tell me now, or it will have to wait.”
“But you’re the king. You can do anything you want.”
Krieger just looked at her, waiting.
“Okay, well, I was swimming and Lucien was watching over me.” She took a deep breath, and regretted it. “I went to the bottom of the pool; remember how I told you that?”
He nodded.
Lucien took up the narrative. “Henry came out asking about your whereabouts. He didn’t sense her under the water.”
“Yes, and at first I thought it was you,” Lily continued. “It wasn’t you I saw with Walter, it was Henry. I’m sure of it. It was Henry with Walter all those years ago.”
Krieger’s gaze drifted into the woods. “Are you sure my brother had no idea she was there?”
“I’m sure,” Lucien answered. “He was out of range before I let her surface.”
“Take her to my underground rooms. Don’t let her out of your reach. I’ll be there as soon I can.”
“Aren’t you going to do something?” Lily asked.
His large hand stroked the side of her face. “Henry has always hurt himself more than anyone.” He ran his thumb over her lower lip. “I will deal with Henry. Now go, listen to Lucien.”
“Sire, are you sure?” Lucien asked. Krieger turned back to look at the Bast.
“I don’t mind staying,” Lily said.
“But I would,” Krieger replied, lifting her up, and placing her in Lucien’s arms. “Be gone.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
“She’s asleep,” Lucien said.
Lily had been, but now she was in that twilight world. Betwixt and b
etween, that’s what Martha called it. Her limbs felt lazy and warm snuggled under the heavy comforter. She lay there with her eyes closed, listening to the two men talk about her.
“Did she pester you with many questions?” Krieger asked.
“Like a badger,” Lucien replied. “There was no need to sacrifice your body to the day. She is well tended with me. I expected you’d go to ground, not burn yourself in the morning sun to get to her.”
“Gorged as I am, evening will see me healed.”
“Henry has gone. He told Cherie he was going hunting.”
“Not surprising. I’ll deal with him.” She could hear Krieger moving around the room. “Did you bring it?”
Bring what, she thought.
“Are you sure? With no training, one of us could end up on the wrong end of it.”
Krieger laughed. “Let me worry about that. Now go, get some rest, we’ll both need it for tonight.”
Lily heard the massive door shut.
“And you, Apryini, yes, I know you’re awake. Go back to sleep.”
“I can’t now.” She lifted up, resting on one elbow. “That smell is–” she gasped. “Oh God!”
Krieger was standing next to the fire, his clothes covered in blood and scorched like he’d been on fire. Lucien’s words made sense to her now. He’d moved through the daylight to get back here.
“You’re hurt.” She was halfway to him before he stopped her.
“I’m fine. I just need a bath and some time to heal.” He backed up.
“Your hair.” She tried to keep her face impassive, but the longer she looked at him the worse it was. His hair was almost gone, his scalp raw and bloody. Patches of his clothes burnt through, revealing scorched skin.
“Do I look hideous to you?”
“You’re bleeding.” She moved a step closer.
“It’s not my blood.” He turned his back to her. “I don’t need a nursemaid. Go back to bed. When you wake, this will all seem a dream.”
“But it won’t be.” She moved closer to him and reached out her hand. It was inches from his back when he turned around. The whites of his eyes were red. He looked completely foreign to her and she could sense the danger in him.
She softened her tone, avoided direct eye contract, and made no sudden movements. The same way she’d dealt with stallions. “Let me help you.”
“I try to shield you from the darker aspects of my nature.”
“I know.”
“I’m going to take a very long shower.”
This time she didn’t argue when he turned and walked to the bathroom. She sat down next to the fire and waited, drifting off to sleep.
She opened her eyes to find him looking down at her. She yawned and stretched. “You look almost perfect again.”
“I tried to tell you it wasn’t permanent damage.”
“Maybe if you didn’t treat me like a child all the time I would listen more.”
Krieger’s flesh looked new, like after healing from a cut. Now that he was clean, he looked almost like his old self, just with very short hair. He ran his hand over his head. “I had to shave it all down.”
“Why didn’t you stay, or go under?”
“Go to ground,” he corrected her. “I knew you would be full of questions.” He gave her a wolfish grin. “On second thought, maybe I should have gone to ground.”
“You weren’t surprised about Henry. Which means you knew all along I hadn’t seen you with Walter. You lied to me.”
“No, I omitted information. There is a difference.”
“Is there? Walter omitted information my whole life. I won’t live like that ever again.”
“I won’t argue with you. I did what I thought was best.”
“I’m sure Walter thought the same thing.”
Krieger wrapped his large hands around her arms and shook her gently. “I’m not Walter.”
“I know that.” She stepped out of his grasp. “It’s just I trusted you.”
“As you should.”
“And what about tonight?”
Krieger ran his hand over what was left of his hair. “You didn’t need to see that.”
“Are you going to brand me? Is that why you didn’t want me there?”
“You can’t seriously believe that.”
“I saw how you looked at me. I could–”
“You could what?” The sharpness of his tone stunned her. “Now, Miss Ayres, it is you omitting information.”
She looked at the floor.
“It’s not so simple is it? For this very reason vampires rarely bond. It creates a bridge spanning our two beings. Tonight you felt my pride, in you, in my kingdom, in the Bast who traveled to my realm.”
“And what happened after I left?”
“The ceremony is sacred to the Bast. To refuse would have been a grave insult. The branded ones were given drink to dull the pain and heighten their experience.”
“Oh.” Lily sat.
“I drank from each. It was their offering to me. I don’t think I need to elaborate on their activity.”
“I see.”
“No, you don’t.” Krieger knelt down in front of her, wrapping his hands around hers. “I didn’t want you to see me like that. If you had been near, I could not have controlled myself, not with their drugged blood in my veins.” He abruptly released her. “Go back to bed, you need your rest.”
“No.” Lily ran her fingers over his jawline. “I can deal with the truth. What I can’t deal with is being told half-truths.” She slid her hand along his neck, over his shoulders, and down to his chest. She thought about sliding her hand underneath his shirt to feel his muscles, the texture of his skin. With a sad smile she pulled her hand back to lie in her lap. “You were staring hard at my neck. Tell me.”
“The night of Walter’s funeral, I marked you.” He traced over the area with his index finger. “Here.”
Her hand instantly went to her neck, and she remembered how the spot had ached.
“You can’t see it, or feel it. My mark is only visible to another vampire. It is like your fingerprints. I tried to talk with you about this at the cabin. Remember?”
She did remember. “You should have told me.”
“You wouldn’t listen.” Krieger turned his head slightly, staring at the mark of his fangs on her ivory skin. “What you sensed at the ceremony was my pride in you.”
“How could you?”
“How could I not?” Krieger voice was harsh, but his gesture was soft. He twined the pink ribbon of her nightgown around his finger. “I knew you wouldn’t understand, wouldn’t see this for what it is. To leave you unmarked would be dangerous to both of us.” He kept his eyes on the ribbon, moving it back and forth between his fingers. “You bear my mark, the king’s mark. Is it so unthinkable to you that I wish to protect what is mine?”
“I had no choice in it. Is this my slave collar? I’m your property. That’s how you see it, just another one of your conquests. What do you call them here, concubines? Is that what Cherie is?”
“Cherie is a valued member of my court, whose esteem I hold in high regard.”
“She loves you. You know that, right? I hear it in her voice, the way she speaks of you. Does that mean nothing to you?”
Finally, he met her eyes. His were fierce, what she imagined they looked like in battle. He’d sealed off the bond between them. For an instant, she had a vision of him slashing and hacking his way through an invading army, his body covered in their blood and gore, the smell of fear, and agony, and death thick in the air. Lily grabbed the chair arms, steadying herself.
“I care for all my subjects.”
“You don’t deny that I’m your slave. That’s how everyone sees it in your world.”
“It is our world.” Krieger stood and stared down at her. He pulled the shirt over his head, letting it fall down to the floor. “You speak of slaves without any knowledge of what it means.” He pointed to the scars on his torso. “I told you I was c
aptured.”
She nodded.
“I was a slave for eight months until I escaped. I had no rights, no voice, no choices. There were no limits to what could be done to me. When I ate, when I slept, who I slept with, these were all choices removed from me. These marks were from being lashed to a post and speared. They expected me to die, but I did not, and eventually they took me down. I healed and was deemed of value.”
Krieger sat down in the chair opposite her. “I vowed never to do that to another person.”
“That’s what you have done to me. You marked me as yours without my consent. You could have explained it to me, but you didn’t because you knew what would happen. You tell me I am free, but make it clear what you expect from me. If I am truly free then I can fall in love with whoever I choose.”
“Whom do you wish to give your body to?” He said the words slowly, each one distinct and clipped.
“I don’t know.”
“My form does not please you?”
“You’re one of the most handsome men I’ve ever seen. It pleases me greatly.” She shook her head. It was hard not to start speaking like him. “I want to be with someone because I love them, and they love me, not because I’m told to.”
“You do not love me?”
She was on her knees, arms around his leg, before she realized she’d moved. It was like her body moved itself on autopilot. “I can’t know what I feel with this bond. It confuses me. Another thing I had no say in. Please, if you care for me, erase the mark. At least give me that.”
“You are my Sanguis Ancilla.”
“Yes, and you are a great king, a compassionate king, who can surely understand why I ask for this.”
Krieger let out a sigh. Quickly, he lifted her into his lap and took her face between his hands. “You need my blood.”
She tried to free herself but he held her tight.
“Tell me,” he ordered.
“Yes, I–” she looked away.
“Look at me.”
Lily closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “Yes.” She opened them. “Yes, I crave your blood.”
“As do I yours.” Krieger’s hands slid down to her waist. “What of your mark on me? I feel it, a searing presence you’ve placed upon my soul. Will you give me no peace? Leave me in want and misery? Provide not the salve to my suffering?”
The Last Keeper's Daughter Page 24
