by Julia Mills
Viktor immediately stopped what he was doing and demanded her absolute attention with his stare. “We are not vampire, amica mea, we are not out of a storybook or a tale you tell your children to make them eat their vegetables. We are the Kings of the Blood. Revered by the gods and feared by our enemies.”
He spoke with a resolution that left Kat only able to nod her understanding. “I’m sorry. I meant no offense.”
Smiling as he made his way to her, Viktor shooed away her fingers and finished buttoning her blouse while explaining, “I am not angry or offended. I simply want you to understand and it is I who is sorry for my abrupt comment. Vampire is all you know to explain our sustenance but as soon as we return to our castle, my comrades and I will make sure you understand the difference.”
Kissing the tip of her nose, Viktor slid his fingers through hers and began to lead them out of the garden. All at once, Kat stopped and gasped, “No way! You really live in a castle?”
Viktor’s chuckle filled the night air, “As will you, mea amica, as will you.”
Chapter Eight
The next month was filled with preparations, for not only Katarina’s transformation and their mating, but also the hundredth or maybe it was the thousandth ‘reincarnation’ of Viktor Katsaros. He had laughed as his mate explained how she’d tried everything possible to find information and pictures of him prior to their meeting. It had been the perfect preamble to their discussion about her transformation. Viktor was shocked at the logical, almost detached way Katarina approached his explanation but wondered how much of it was her simply putting up a good front for his benefit. His suspicions were quickly confirmed.
“I’m going to die? There’s no other way?”
“No, amica mea, there is no other way.”
“And you’ll be with me the entire time?”
“I will not leave your side for even a moment.”
“But thirty days is a long time to lay beside your dead wife, or mate, or whatever I’m going to be, in a hole in the ground.” She was talking quickly and wringing her hands but Viktor could feel she needed her space, so he simply rubbed her leg and let her talk. “Will I feel anything while...while you’re...”
Viktor finished her sentence and answered the question Katarina was trying to ask. “You will feel absolutely nothing. It will be like falling asleep in my arms and then you will awake, transformed and ready to begin forever as my bride.”
Katarina stood and slowly walked toward the window that overlooked the gardens behind his home. He’d kept them as close to the original as he could. His mate had loved the history of the castle where Anne Boleyn had lived and laughed aloud when she got the irony of the former queen being beheaded and that being the only way for a King to lose his immortality. He’d found her by the fountain several times over the last few weeks after intense conversations about his life over the years or their future together. Sharing one another’s thoughts and emotions was wonderful, but during this discussion, like many others, Viktor had blocked her thoughts.
It was important that she come to terms with all that was going to happen and their eternity together on her own. He didn’t want her to look back later and decide she’d made a mistake. This was forever, the kind of forever a person only escaped by being decapitated and burnt to ashes. That was not the life Viktor wanted for Katarina. If she chose to live out her human life then he was fully prepared to enjoy every moment by her side for whatever time he had left. Every second with Katarina was a breath of fresh air. Never in all his years could he have imagined what it would be like to have her in his life instead of simply in his heart and mind.
Gazing at her profile, Viktor was blown away by her beauty. He smiled thinking of the way she wrinkled her nose and blushed just slightly every time he told her how stunning he thought she was. If someone had ever told him he would be using the word “cute”, Viktor would’ve drawn his broadsword and slayed them where they stood, but now, with Katarina in his life, everything had changed.
He watched her turn, saw the slight furrow in her brow and waited for what was to come. It took a few seconds and she kept the distance between them, but Katarina finally spoke. “I know we’ve talked about it a hundred times but I just have to ask again. I’m not going to be some mindless crazy bloodsucker running around the countryside killing the villagers when I wake up, right? I mean I know Bjorn was a son of a bitch and not to be trusted, but I can’t forget what I saw after some of your guys had risen when he showed me that stupid apple. How can you be sure I won’t be like them?”
Feeling how much his answer meant to his custos animae, Viktor responded, “Because I will be right there with you. You will feed from me and no one else, ever. As I explained, as long as I walk the earth it’s my blood and only my blood that you can consume. If you try to, as you say, “kill all the villagers”, one drop of their blood will cause you to become violently ill. My comrades did not drink the blood of Bjorn’s men, they ripped out their throats and only because those men stood over their graves ready to decapitate the King as he emerged. Remember, each one of us has a saietas, a member of a loyal family who has been chosen to feed us until we are mated to the keeper of our heart.”
Unable to stand the chaotic and faraway look in her eyes any longer, Viktor stood and walked toward his mate, opening his arms as he went. Katarina willingly walked the last few steps separating them, wrapped her arms around him, and held on as if he was her lifeline. She spoke into his chest, making Viktor thankful for his God-given preternatural hearing.
“I know I’m being silly. It’s all right there in your mind. I can see it as plain as day. It’s just that I’ve never died before and,” she stopped speaking and looked up through her thick, dark lashes, “I’ve watched too damned many vampire movies in my life.”
The twinkle in her eyes and the grin on her face said Katarina was doing her best to be strong but needed his support, support he was ready, willing, and able to give her. Kissing her forehead then looking back into her expressive grey eyes, Viktor spoke to her concerns. “I understand your reticence. Three thousand years ago, when Zeus and the other gods were more active, more visible, we believed in their miraculous acts. They spoke directly to us. We didn’t need faith like is needed today. Believing in something you can’t see is difficult under the best of circumstances. Placing your very life in my hands based on the memories you can pick from my brain and the stories my comrades have shared with you is inconceivable, and yet here we are.”
Katarina hung onto his every word. Even with his mental blocks in place he could feel her inner turmoil and wanted nothing more than to ease her struggle. “Amica mea, take all the time you need. Make sure this is truly want you want. I will be here no matter what. There is nothing in heaven or hell that could tear me from your side.”
“Oh Viktor, I love you. There is absolutely no question of that. Standing in your arms, feeling the truth of your words. Knowing that you would gladly give up your own life so that I may keep my humanity is...well, I’m not sure there are words to describe it. I have heard people say “I love you more than life itself” but I never understood what that statement meant until now. Nothing is perfect but whatever it is between us, whether Zeus’ doing, God’s doing, or just simply destiny stepping in and putting us together, I know in the very depth of my soul that this is meant to be.”
Viktor held his breath. He knew she wasn’t finished. Her next words would seal his fate. Katarina leaned back, took her hands from around his waist, and placed them on his chest. Taking a deep breath, she smiled the one smile he knew was just for him and moved forward until their lips were so close, Viktor could feel her breath on his face.
Touching her lips to his, Katarina shocked him by speaking directly into his mind as only mates can do and in his native tongue, “Hodie ipse et in specula, tutus sum.”
Viktor answered her in kind. Their kiss a promise as well as their words, “And I am yours, amica mea, forever and always.”
&n
bsp; They arrived in Greece the day before the new moon. Staying at Roman’s villa, the one closest to the mountain where Viktor had become a King of the Blood, the couple relaxed and waited for the most important thirty days of their life. The King knew his comrades were preparing the place where he would take Katarina’s original life. Unlike the traitor’s grave he had been buried in, his comrades were making sure theirs was large enough for both of them and deep enough that they would not be discovered.
The other Kings would stand guard as Viktor would be in a healing sleep. It was the way of their kind, a part of their mating. While Katarina became immortal, Viktor’s body would be preparing for her first feeding. She would need to replenish all that he took and he was the only one who could give it to her.
The next morning, they walked to the helicopter pad hand-in-hand. He helped Katarina in and chuckled when she said, “Someday, you’re going to teach me to fly one of these. You know Roman let it slip that all of you know how to fly just about anything with wings.”
“Your wish is my command, pretty lady.”
They arrived at the site within the hour. The other Kings sat waiting, a huge hole in the ground behind them. They stood in unison as Viktor and Katarina approached. Stopping just short of where his comrades stood, Viktor nodded. One by one the Kings approached, knelt before his mate, and spoke the ancient blessing.
“May the gods smile upon you and yours. May your days be filled with sunshine and your nights with love. May you and your beloved enter the Elysian Fields hand-in-hand, always together, always in love.”
Roman was the last to give his dedication and when he finished, he stood and handed them both a perfectly polished moonstone. He explained, “I was taught when I was very young that moonstones given to a couple on their wedding day ensured that they would always be faithful, always be true, and always be together. I have no doubt in my mind the two of you have all this and more covered in spades. I can only hope that my custos animae and I are as perfectly matched as you.” To Viktor he said, “Bain and I will be back before daybreak.” He smiled and hugged them both before joining the others at the helicopter.
It wasn’t long before they were alone and Viktor was escorting his mate to their hole in the ground. He jumped down in the pit and spread out the blanket he’d brought for them before removing his sweater. Helping Katarina down into the space beside him, he watched her as she looked at the dirt walls and the blanket on the ground before taking a seat. Turning, he grabbed the blanket he would cover them with and sat beside her.
“You know I keep forgetting to ask you about the tattoo on your back. Well, if I’m being honest, I usually lose my train of thought when you take your clothes off but anyway, I noticed all of you have it. What does it mean?”
Viktor chuckled as he explained, “It’s not a tattoo, or at least not like you think of one. We each received this mark on our back after emerging from our graves as a King. The sword that begins at the base of my neck and runs down my spine signifies my willingness to fight against evil. The eagle wings on either side of the blade just under the handle that span across my shoulder blades are in honor of Zeus and signify the sky he has dominion over. Finally, the letters running down the blade are my name in ancient Greek so that I never forget where I came from or who I truly am.”
“That is amazing,” Katarina whispered, her eyes opened wide in awe.
“You also will receive a marking, but much smaller and more befitting the keeper of a King’s heart.” He turned her hand in his until it was palm up. Gently stroking the inside of her wrist with his thumb, he looked into her eyes and described what she would see when she awakened. “You will have a very small representation of the Tree of Life in full bloom, right here, under your palm. It will have vines intertwining around it’s trunk and up into its branches, one with your name and one with mine, representing our long life together blessed by the Father of the Gods.”
“I never imagined...”
“Neither did I, amica mea, neither did I.”
A flash of light from above signaled the beginning of their mating rites.
Meeting Katarina’s eyes, he held her gaze with his heart, mind, and soul wide open to her and asked, “Are you sure, Katarina? Is this truly what you want?”
Smiling that smile that outshined all other, Katarina answered, “Yes, I am sure. I want to be with you more than I want anything else.” Then winking and giving him a cheeky grin, she added, “Let’s get this show on the road, old man.”
“As you wish, my love. Let us say the words that will bind us together, forever.”
While he spoke the words Zeus had placed on his heart, Viktor listened intently, moved by the depth of emotion in Katarina’s voice as she recited her own vows. “On this day I give my life to the King of my Heart. I pledge my love, body, and soul to the one Destiny has created for me. Together, we will uphold the law of the Father of the Gods. I will be faithful and true to the one whose heart I hold dear and forsake all others for him. It is with all that I am, all that I will be, and all that we are together that I commit myself to you, my semper amare.”
Gazing into her eyes, Viktor closed the distance between them and laid his lips to hers. He kissed the keeper of his heart for the last time of her original life. It was an enraptured kiss born of the ages and blessed by the Pantheon of the Gods. It was the last step toward bringing Katarina completely into his world...into his soul.
Kissing along her jaw to her ear, he whispered how much he would always love her in the old language. Moving down her neck, he smiled against her skin as she let her head fall back, giving him full access. Paying special attention to her pulse, he slowly let his canines extend and gently scratched against her tender skin.
Katarina moaned low in her throat and clung to his shoulders as Viktor let his canines sink into her vein. Filling him as nothing had before, her life’s essence flowed freely into him. Her grip on his shoulders loosened and she leaned more heavily against him as her blood flow slowed to mere drops on his tongue.
Before he was completely prepared, Katarina lie lifeless in his arms. For the first time in as long as he could remember, a single tear slid down his cheek. Lightning bolts streaked through the sky as the voice of Zeus rang loud in his mind. “Fear not, Viktoras, your custos animae is within my grasp. She will return to you during the next new moon. Rest now, great warrior, and remember...to have the one you love, you must be willing to lose the one you love.”
Viktor gently laid Katarina on her side then laid behind her, holding her as close as possible. As he pulled the cover over them, Zeus filled the air above them with the earth his comrades had earlier removed.
With his last breath before entering his healing sleep, Viktor uttered, “Te amo, amica mea, te amo saecula.”
Chapter Nine
There was no bright light. Her parents weren’t beckoning her home. She didn’t see the pearly gates or God forbid, the fiery pit. All Kat saw was disconcerting...nothing at all, not even sure her eyes were open...pitch black.
So this is what it feels like to be dead. Pretty uneventful.
As if that wasn’t bad enough, she couldn’t feel her hands and feet, or for that matter, any part of her body. She had no idea if she even had hands and feet wherever she was. All Kat knew for sure was that she felt floaty and wondered how long she’d been this way.
It darn sure feels like forever.
A flash of light and the rumble of thunder preceded a voice so commanding it actually made waves in the nothingness around her. “Katarina, custos animae of Viktoras, I come to ease your transition into immortality. You were created by the gods themselves to stand beside one of our fiercest warriors. Your destiny is one of greatness, for no man can battle all the evils of the world alone. He needs more than his sword, more than his army, more than the depth of his conviction...he needs a mate. The one person in all the world who sees him for what he is and what he’s had to do and accepts him, unconditionally.
“
You see, Katarina, you are the one person who can restore his humanity with a single kiss. You are his anchor, the light that guides him home after the battle, and the love that nurses him back to health. Viktoras will forsake all others for you and protect you with his very life. You must do the same.
“Your title, custos animae, is not in name only, for without you our great Supreme Commander would succumb to the darkness he has vowed to conquer. He would be hunted by his comrades and dispatched to the lowest level of hell. You hold his heart in your hands and keep his intentions pure.
“Heart to heart, soul to soul, you and your King shall live out your days, the perfect pair. The Fates smile upon your union. Clotho has spun the thread of your life with Viktoras’ since the beginning of time. It is so long it may last forever and never know the cut of Atropos’ shears. Your names were removed from the lots Lachesis draws and Athena herself has blessed your love. Know that Destiny is on your side. Now go, my child, and begin immortality with your King.”
The voice of Zeus echoed in her mind as the darkness receded. Gradually, she felt Viktor’s arms around her. Felt his breath on her neck. He had wrapped her in a cocoon of his warmth and affection and had done as he promised...protected her while she transformed. Even made sure the dirt was removed from above them so they awakened to the beauty of the night sky.
Rolling over in his arms, she gasped as his lips took hers in their first kiss as true mates. It was overwhelming. Her newly formed senses enhanced every touch, every breath, every nuance of what she and Viktor were together. Her body responded to her mate’s attention as never before. Kat was on fire from the inside out. She needed her King more than she needed her next breath. Sex and hunger and love grew within her until she was forced to take control of their kiss.
He felt her need and she felt his. Viktor used his amazing speed to remove all their clothing in the blink of an eye. Blessedly naked in the arms of the man she loved, Kat wrapped her legs around Viktor’s waist and rolled them over until she was sitting atop her mate, the proof of his excitement rubbing the inside of her thigh, so close to the ache inside her that only he could soothe.
