by Shania Tyler
The front door began to rattle, and she jumped.
“Come on!” the stranger shouted.
Kelly pressed her fingers to her temples. “Wake up, wake up, wake up.”
He grabbed her arms.
She looked up into the stranger’s eyes and the intricate shades of green began to dance.
“Ote-oun’a.”
Kelly blinked as a heaviness settled in her head and over her eyes. She grew tired instantly and the stranger wrapped his arms around her.
“Ote-oun’a,” he whispered again. His eyes held a touch of tenderness and then darkness claimed her. “Sleep,” she heard him whisper, before there was nothing.
* * *
3
CHAPTER
THREE
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* * *
“If I don’t take your vein, I will
simply take someone else’s”
* * *
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Kelly rolled over, slowly opened her eyes, and saw the flickering light of a candle on her nightstand.
Only . . . she didn’t own candles.
She sat up and looked around the bedroom and knew it wasn’t hers.
The low light from the fireplace allowed her to make out the room’s dark-beige walls with various pictures of landscapes encased in gold picture frames. Two dark wood nightstands sat on either side of the bed with a candle on each. A small table and chair were in the corner of the room.
And the bed. It was huge, larger than anything she’d ever seen and the sheets felt great against her skin.
She looked at her hands and saw the frilly white cuffs around her wrists and her eyes traveled up the sleeves attached to them. She was in a nightgown of some sort, nothing like she’d ever worn before. The material was as soft as the sheets, but apprehension didn’t let her mind linger on that thought.
This was not her room. This was not a room she’d ever been in.
How did she get here?
She remembered going to the event at the administration building that night and remembered being surprised when Ethan had shown up. She then remembered the stranger with the beautiful green eyes. She remembered seeing those eyes again when she was at The Square. She also remembered President Smith’s house.
Was she at the president’s house?
She remembered being chased by a big, foggy shadow thing as well and decided she had to have been dreaming.
She smiled at the memory of the beautiful stranger. He’d seemed so real and his touch had been like nothing she’d experienced before.
And now, like her dream, he was gone.
But that still didn’t answer where she was.
The door opened, and a woman and child came in. The woman, who had long, white hair and dark eyes, held a tray in her hands. The child, who had the same white hair, had blue eyes and clung to the older woman’s wrist.
The woman moved toward Kelly. “Mo-oun’a.”
Kelly frowned, but watched as the woman approached with the tray.
“Mo-oun’a.” She placed the tray on the edge of the bed and backed away.
Kelly looked down at the plate of food, finding rice, something that looked like meat in a green sauce, and a slice of bread. She looked at the woman. “Where am I?”
The woman folded her hands in front of her and said, “Mo-oun’a.”
Kelly got up from the bed and walked toward the door. If the woman would not answer her, she would look for someone who did have the answers. She opened the door and was surprised to recognize the man on the other side. It was the stranger from her dream.
Or maybe she was still dreaming.
“What’s your name?” she asked him softly.
His gaze swept over her before he said, “Mason.”
“Mason.” She tried the name on her lips before smiling.
He smiled, too. Holding her eyes gently, he said, “Mo-oun’a.” He pointed into the room and Kelly turned to watch the woman and child place her food on the table in the corner.
Kelly frowned at him. “I’m not hungry.”
His finger touched her chin, lifting her face toward his. Kelly’s heart raced at the contact and a slight dizziness set in.
“Kelly.” His own breathing was hard and his eyes turned serious. “Mo-oun’a.”
“Okay, okay.” She parted from his touch and went over to the food, wondering why all the cute guys she knew were bossy. She sat down, picked up the bread, and took a bite, only to find him gone from the door.
She turned back to her food and, using the fork she’d been given, tipped it into the green sauce and tried it. “Barbeque?” She tried it again and nodded her head. That was exactly the flavor. She dug in, loving the smoky, savory, and spicy bar—
Her utensil fell out of her hand, and she grabbed for the table to keep herself upright, but the floor slid away before she could plant her feet. Disoriented, she realized she’d been drugged. She felt hands grab her, but her eyes had already lost focus and the heaviness returned to her mind right before she fell back asleep.
* * *
Mason of the House of Seocan stared down at Kelly’s sleeping form and couldn’t stop his hand from touching her drawn brows and soothing them. His task done, her face returned to serenity. He’d lied to her tonight, but if anything he’d said was true, it was that she was beautiful. More beautiful than he’d been prepared for or warned about.
He also hadn’t been warned about their tie to one another, but their first touch had awakened their bond and he was loath to let it go.
His eyes moved over her short nose and the long lashes that rested over her cheeks to her dainty chin and back up. Her hair looked like a bouquet of wild golden flowers and he didn’t stop himself from touching one of her curls and pulling it between his fingers. It felt like Urcarian silk and when he it let go, it bounced back into place.
He frowned and stood up, reminding himself to see her not as a woman, but as currency. She was a vital part of the war and nothing more.
He left the room and headed down the hall, his movement silent against the dark, carpeted flooring. When he reached the vestibule, he sailed down the stairs and into the dining room.
Theo already sat at the head of the table, a woman’s wrist placed under his fangs. When his black eyes caught Mason, he smiled. “Welcome back to Asea, brother. How goes your mission?” His mouth was as red as the walls that surrounded him and his eyes as black as the table he sat at. He dipped his dark head and went back to the offered wrist and pulled heavily.
The woman by his side grinned at Mason pleasantly, but said nothing as she turned back to Theo. Her pointed ears marked her as elf . . . along with the scars of former bondage around her neck and wrist. But she was free now and giving her blood to Theo willingly.
Mason took the chair farthest from Theo on the other end.
A servant appeared. “Blood?”
Without looking at her, he said, “Beer,” and heard her leave the room.
Theo smirked. “You got the girl, didn’t you?” Theo of the House of Heron was the colester, or leader, of their city. His dark-blue suit was finely cut and the white shirt he wore underneath was spotless. A small gold chain peeked from under it, and Mason knew his diamond rested on its end.
Mason checked to make sure that the blood key that hung from his neck underneath his shirt was still there. It was his only way of going and coming between Earth and Asea and a very rare find. He began to play with the stone ring that sat around his finger. “I have her.”
Theo broke from the elf woman and thanked her for the blood.
“It is my honor, Colester,” she said before bowing and leaving the room.
Theo’s eyes followed her and didn’t return to Mason until she was gone. “I hear the half human is something to look at.”
Mason tightened his jaw. As far as he knew, the only people who’d been in Kelly’s room were Vivi and her daughter Aymee, and they’d never say anything that woul
d imply she was attractive. He’d given both strict instruction to not let anyone besides himself through that door. “Who told you this?” His drink arrived then, and he sipped as he waited for an answer.
“Maurice. He saw you when you came through the door.”
Mason’s expression didn’t change. “I don’t recall seeing or sensing Maurice around.”
“Yes,” Theo said, leaning back and using a black napkin to wipe at his mouth. “He’s getting very good at that, sneaking around and hiding in plain sight, all lessons under Noel’s tutelage, though I did tell Maurice he should start working on his gods-given talent. He is the only one of us, besides Davor, who has been blessed with a family gift.”
“Well, once Davor returns with the ‘all clear’ from his meeting with the elves in Ember’s Woods, I’ll go to Talon Island, trade Kelly in, and receive my gift. That will be one more on our side.”
Theo nodded, but his expression was guarded. “Yes, but it will not be enough. This secret war we are raging against the Evaness will not be so secret when they find out what we are up to here.” The Evaness were the wealthiest vampires of the empire and all its members were from gifted lines, meaning that aside from strength and speed, they also had the genes for magic.
Mason, too, had the gene, but without a blessing from the god of his family’s house, he could not unlock it. “Were there any visions while I was gone?” After what he’d discovered about Kelly, he needed answers.
Theo shook his head. “None were reported to me, but you were only gone for a few hours.” Theo grinned again. “Everyone thought it would take you days to convince the girl to come with you, at least a week.”
Mason leaned back in his chair as he thought of the moment Kelly had lifted her eyes to him and the smile that had touched her lips. He’d had her from the beginning, though he’d sensed her reluctance because of the boyfriend. He remembered the blush that had touched her cheeks and took another sip from his cup, emptying it.
The glass was refilled by the servant the moment it touched the table.
The plan had been for her to come willingly, but the situation had grown into a mess pretty quickly, starting with their first touch. He feared saying it aloud, but if anyone had to know, it was Theo. “She’s my pava.”
Theo’s mouth dropped slightly. “Congratulations . . .” Then after a moment, he added, “Are you sure?”
Mason leaned over the table and spoke firmly. “I know what I felt. When I touched her . . .” He turned away and said, “It was like what the old ones speak of. I felt . . . my body . . .” He shook his head, knowing he couldn’t explain it in any language he knew. He turned back to Theo and said, “I awoke.”
Theo didn’t blink. “Impossible. She is not from our world.”
And that’s what was bothering Mason, because a man’s pava was hard enough to find. Many men lived, married, and died without ever meeting the one who had the ability to connect with him on a plane that could not be named. The connection was not merely physical, spiritual, or mental. A pava could heighten a man’s power, but also bring him to his knees. If the connection was nurtured, he would worship her all the same.
However, Mason had loved once and now only darkness lived where his heart had once been. He, like most people, lived his life under the assumption that he’d never meet his pava. He only knew of one other man who had, but in all of Mason’s 323 years, he’d never guessed his soul mate would be on another world.
A world he’d visited on occasion in the past.
He wondered what his life would have been like had he known of her existence, but then quickly stopped himself from thinking that way. It didn’t matter that Kelly’s smile made his heartbeat race or that her laugh caused his stomach to flutter.
It mattered not that she was his destined one. Destiny had come too late, and he was no longer the man he’d been.
“I know what I felt, brother,” Mason said. “And it was powerful.” And he had to find a way to stay away from it, but already he was drawn to her like a drug addict. Even now, he couldn’t stop himself from thinking of her sleeping upstairs in that bed.
“Are you going to keep her?”
“No,” Mason said, feeling the need to speak his thoughts aloud. “She is only a means to an end. I need her for my blessing and nothing else.” Then Mason added, “I loved your sister. Still love your sister—”
Theo waved him off. “Cecina has been dead for fifty years, Mason. You don’t need my permission to move on, though I have encouraged it. I will support you no matter what you do . . . if it is not already obvious.” And Theo threw his hands up in a way that pointed to everything around him.
And it was true. Theo had his own reasons for fighting, revenge being the main one, but it was their friendship that truly brought Theo around to supporting the Rebellion. While Mason was the general for their growing army, Theo oversaw all their financial needs. Since Theo’s land sat on the largest diamond mine in their world, Theo had all the money they needed.
The war was being raged against their own people. Vampire against vampire. The Evaness against the Rebels. As leader of the Rebels, Mason’s goal was to free the elves who were currently being used as blood slaves for the wealthy. It was a cause that his wife and his daughter had died for fifty years ago; it was a cause he was willing to die for himself . . . and he’d make any sacrifice needed.
Theo’s next words brought him back. “If you’re so willing to give up your pava then it must not be as great as the poets make it out to be.”
But it was, and though he’d never written any poetry, Kelly’s touch inspired more than mere words. He’d need an entire library of poetry books to express what it was like, and he hadn’t even lain with her yet.
His felt as though he’d missed a step.
Yet?
Theo laughed. “Oh, if it’s put that look on your face, then I reaffirm my previous statement. I dearly hope my pava stays far, far away from me. Worlds apart even.” He grinned. “This girl has already sunk her teeth into you.”
Mason frowned. “Yes, it is strong, but I can’t let that stop me.”
He couldn’t have her. He couldn’t allow himself to keep her. He’d do what he had to do to keep her compliant, but nothing more.
A woman sat down in the chair next to him. It was Jenna, a young elf with kind, gray eyes and a warm smile. She was who Mason usually fed from, because she understood that he only needed her for food, nothing else.
“You must eat to stay strong,” she whispered and held out her wrist.
Mason agreed, but when he looked at her wrist, the thought of taking her vein did not seem appealing . . . especially when there was another vein he wished to try. And she was asleep upstairs.
The sound of Theo chuckling caused Mason to lift his eyes.
Theo said to Jenna. “Mason has found his pava.”
Jenna’s eyes widened along with her smile. “Congratulations.” She took back her wrist. “Then you will not need me anymore—”
“No.” Mason shook his head. “I will drink from you.”
Jenna frowned at him. “But what will your pava think?”
“She does not matter.” He held out his hand for her.
She didn’t move. “Pavas are very rare to find. I do not wish to offend her—”
“If I don’t take your vein, I will simply take someone else’s, but I will not force you to give up your blood to anyone.” It was the Rebel law. Over the last century, they’d managed to free hundreds of elf slaves and had vowed to never hold any captive for themselves. Any blood offered had to be freely given.
Jenna thrust her wrist in his face. “It would be my honor, Colester Mason.” Her expression said otherwise. Mason did own a small town close to his family’s homeland, but he’d told the elves they didn’t have to address him formally. They didn’t listen, but especially not Jenna and especially not when she was upset. For elves, things like pavas and destiny were taken very seriously.
Maso
n wrapped his hands around her. His fangs grew heavy as they stretched and broke into her flesh. She flinched and pushed air through her nose, but nothing else.
Once he was done he said, “Thank you.”
“Colester,” she said as she stood and left the room in a flury of skirts.
Mason stood. “I’m going to visit Vivi.”
Theo stood as well, finished the rest of his port, and placed it back on the table. “I’ll come, too.” Then he grinned. “I’m very intrigued and wish to know more about your pava.”
* * *
4
CHAPTER
FOUR
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* * *
“When you’re done with her, can I have some?”
* * *
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“Come in,” Vivi called came from the other side of the door before Mason had even raised his hand to knock.
He pushed the door open and said, “You know when I’m at your door, but you couldn’t tell me that Kelly was my pava?”
Vivi and Aymee both turned from where they were sitting by the fire reading. Vivi’s eyes flickered, but she said nothing as she turned to look at Aymee.
The room was smaller than most of the bedrooms in the house with two small beds on one side and a fireplace with a table and chairs on the other.
Vivi and Aymee were both sitting on the floor when Mason and Theo arrived, so the men joined them there, crossing their legs.
Aymee smiled when the men had settled in. The girl, still in her first phase of life, was very young—no more than forty. “I did not know, Colester Mason. When I receive visions, I see somethings and not others.”
“But perhaps,” Vivi said, cutting in. “There was a reason for this. Perhaps you should rethink your plan to trick the girl. Prophecy already said one will become the Lord of Shadows and take the darkness from the sky. I understand that you believe this lord will be you, but I can’t imagine one having to sacrifice their pava for their destiny. It is not done.“
