by Lisa Olsen
“No, I’m afraid I didn’t have time.” Liesa smoothed her hands over the full skirt. “I thought it worked pretty well though, doesn’t it?”
“You nailed it right on the head,” I assured her. “She looks great, doesn’t she, Rob?”
“She looks every inch the movie star,” he agreed with a polite smile. “Though I admit, I prefer her in To Catch a Thief.”
Liesa, Rob, and I chatted over old movies for a few minutes, discovering the same love of some classics, until Faust touched her elbow.
“You mustn’t keep Anja all to yourself, Liesa. We must allow her to enjoy the ball. Perhaps she’d prefer to be dancing?”
Liesa fixed him with a wry twist of the lips. “Just ask her to dance already, Rein. I doubt she’ll turn you down.”
Poor guy. A flush stole up the side of Rein’s neck and the tips of his ears turned bright red in embarrassment as she hit a nerve. I tried to give him an encouraging smile to let him know it was fine, but he didn’t ask me to dance.
“I’m afraid I’ve other business to attend to. I merely wanted to stop by and pay my respects,” he added with a rigid nod.
“You’re not leaving the party already, are you?” Carys protested, all but fluttering her lashes up at the handsome man. How many did she need in her pocket at once?
“No, not at all. But I’ve other concerns at present. If you’d be so kind as to excuse me.” He still sounded rattled.
“Oh no, please stay,” she purred, and I swear, she was using her compulsion right there out in the open. How did nobody notice?
Rein’s face went slack for a moment, but then he recovered with an easy smile, whatever discomfort he’d felt gone. “I’ll stay on then, if it’s your wish.”
“Don’t do us no favors, pal,” Mac muttered, disgruntled over losing his new playmate.
“Lovely,” Carys beamed in triumph. “Oh, champagne. I declare, I’m simply parched.” She was immediately plied with four glasses from all directions, and her light peal of laughter set my teeth on edge. Time to move on.
“Well, it was nice to see you again,” I jumped in there, prepared to slip away from her spotlight. “It was great to meet you, Liesa.”
“You too,” she smiled earnestly. “I do hope you’ll come and visit us sometime.”
“I’m sure we’ll talk more later and we can make plans,” I nodded.
Faust had recovered his composure and his charming smile was back. “Until later then. And may I offer my congratulations in your efforts to reform the Order. Well done indeed.”
“Hear, hear,” Aubrey spoke up, raising a glass in my direction, swaying as he did so. Was he drunk? His glassy stare said probably so.
Carys’ brow crumpled in confusion. “I thought the Order wasn’t under our jurisdiction?”
“It’s not, technically,” Rein replied. “But Anja partnered with the Order to revise their charter. It’s worked out remarkably well in Belonoc so far, and from all other reports I’ve heard.”
“How enterprising of you,” Carys murmured, sounding less than impressed.
It was great to hear it’d been successful in other places. I only wish I could say the same of the West; we’d had more than our share of unrest since the changes, but I wasn’t about to announce that to a room of my peers. “Thanks, but I couldn’t have done it without Jakob’s support and Bishop’s help, of course.”
Bishop had been more or less quiet since we’d joined the others, but he gave me a warm smile now. “We make a good team.”
“I must offer my thanks as well for your efforts in the West,” Amunet spoke up. “I think Bakareh might finally leave Alexandria and come for a visit.”
“Lord, is he still holed up in his palace?” Carys gasped. “I can’t remember the last time he left the country.”
“He has not left since before we last met,” Amunet nodded. “But in truth, you intrigue him, Anja. He is curious to visit the West and see what wonders it holds.”
“He’s welcome at any time,” I replied, embarrassed by all the fuss.
“Let me just hop up on the old bandwagon while we’re at it,” Mac said, raising his glass, and I tried to cut him off.
“Aw, Mac, you really don’t need to…”
“Naw, this needs sayin’. Thanks for makin’ sure I got a seat at the big boy’s table, sweetcheeks,” he grinned. “I’ve been makin’ some sweet deals since you opened the doors for me.”
“It’s the least I could do for a neighbor,” I said simply, hoping that was the end of it, but he seemed hell bent on making an actual toast.
“To Anja. Tough as nails and twice as sharp.”
“To Anja,” the cheer sounded, drawing in a few people who’d been listening in, but not directly involved in our conversation. Not knowing what else to say, I drank until my cheeks cooled, but they heated right up again when I noticed Carys staring daggers at me.
“I thought you’d only been in power for less than a year,” Carys remarked and I managed a shrug.
“It’s been a busy year.”
“Speaking of singing your praises,” Bishop started to say, and I shot him a warning look to cool it. “I see you’re wearing the necklace, does that mean you intend to sing tonight?”
My hand fluttered up to my neck, realizing I’d promised him as much when he’d given it to me. It wasn’t such a big deal, and I thought about doing it until I caught the look on Rob’s face, his gaze pinned to the jeweled pendant over my heart. Uh oh… it looked like he was reading something more into the promise I’d given. “I hadn’t planned to…”
“Oh yes, you must,” Faust insisted and Liesa chimed in with an enthusiastic nod.
“I’d like to hear you sing.”
“Wouldn’t mind hearing a ditty or two myself,” Mac added his two cents, and I was about to cave in to peer pressure, when Carys spoke up.
“I sing,” she said in a small voice.
“You don’t say,” Mac grinned. “I bet you got all sorts of hidden talents, ain’t ya?” he winked. “How about you sing us a song then?”
“Oh, I couldn’t…” she protested, but I recognized that look on her face. She wanted to be the center of attention in the worst way.
“Yes, please sing for us, Carys,” I said, giving her the opportunity to jump back into the spotlight. I didn’t want it anyway.
“Since when do you sing?” Bishop frowned, and she shot him a withering glance.
“Just because my voice isn’t suited for the stage doesn’t mean I can’t carry a very pretty tune on my own.”
“Well, hell, get on up there and show us what you got, honeybunch,” Mac insisted, escorting her to the corner of the room near the small orchestra amid a polite smattering of applause. Carys bent to give the musicians a few instructions and then turned to the rest of us, waiting for the noise to die down before she addressed the crowd.
“Thank you all for coming to my ball, it’s been lovely to see so many old faces and make new friends,” she began in a ringing voice. “I realize I’ve missed a great deal in my absence, and I thank you for your kindness and patience as I reacquaint myself with the world. Now, I’ve been asked to sing something to entertain you all, and I’m certainly no songstress, but given the inspiration of the evening,” she smoothed her hands over her hips, “I thought I’d at least take care of one thing I’ve missed while I was away. Jakob, ngoleuni fy mywyd, this is for you.”
The orchestra struck up the last few bars of the song she was going to sing. “Oh, you have got to be kidding me…” I breathed, watching the performance unfold.
Carys was right, she wasn’t a proficient singer by any stretch of the word, but she delivered a compelling show. This act was straight out of the archives, and it was easy to see she’d spent some time watching old footage of Marilyn Monroe, well enough to mimic her breathy delivery and her sultry movements as she sang Happy Birthday to Jakob – ala the famous serenade to President Kennedy.
Never mind the fact that it wasn
’t his birthday (or actually, maybe it was for all I knew) Jakob ate it up, and so did the crowd. There were a fair amount of whistles and clapping when she finished and she blew kisses at the crowd, soaking up all the attention like a sponge. Was I jealous? Maybe a little. Not because she got the attention she wanted, but it pissed me off to no end that she did it by flaunting her sexuality rather than any real talent. That’s not singing, I wanted to yell, but I kept it to myself. Green was never my best color.
With Carys surrounded by a crowd of admirers, I was prepared to make my getaway when Rein caught hold of my arm, drawing me to the front of the crowd. “And now we hear from Anja.”
Frak. “Ah, shouldn’t we get back to the dancing?”
“It is only fair, you must delight us with your voice.”
“You should,” Rob nodded his encouragement, laying a possessive kiss to my shoulder with one eye on Rein. “You got this. Sing something as lovely as you are.” I smiled back at him, grateful for the love and support I saw in his face. I didn’t need anyone else’s attention and admiration but his.
“Yes, let’s hear you sing, sister dear,” Carys added, her smug smile getting on my last nerve.
“Alright, maybe just one,” I smiled, a rush of nerves setting my stomach to flutter, even though I didn’t suffer the same crippling stage fright I used to. Only what to sing? My hand fell to the necklace around my throat, fidgeting with the glass jewel and all at once, it hit me, I had the perfect song. I didn’t bother with the orchestra, they might throw me off without having practiced with them before anyway. Instead I took my place, picking a spot in the back of the room to focus on, out of habit, and began to sing Think of Me from Phantom of the Opera.
The melody was high and sweet, well suited for my soprano, and absolutely nothing like Carys’ sexy song. In my mind, I heard the music swelling with me as my voice filled the hall, and I imagined myself as Christine. I’d sung this song many times and knew the words by heart, but I’d never noticed how fitting they were. This would be my last visit to Vetis for a long time (as long as Carys ruled there, at least), and I’d be making my goodbyes to Bishop soon. Maybe I did want him to think of me sometimes. To think of the times we shared and those we’d never have.
Raoul’s part was coming up, and I wasn’t sure what I was going to do about that. Usually when I was in my shower I’d drop to a lower register and sing his part too, but that would be weird for a performance. I’d all but decided to skip it when the piano joined in and I looked over to find Bishop sitting there, playing in Raoul’s stead. He didn’t sing, but I heard the words in my head as he played the part beautifully, his gaze holding mine.
I almost missed my cue, but I took up my part again, singing to him as he accompanied me for the rest of the song until our last notes mingled in the air. I know the look of pure joy I saw on his face was mirrored on mine. We’d never shared something quite like that before, and the instant it was over I wanted to do it again.
The applause was thunderous, and the crowd of well wishers surged around us, congratulations mixing with calls for an encore. I looked to Bishop to see if he was up for it and caught sight of Carys’ face.
Uh oh. She was definitely not pleased by my performance.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Despite the fact that Bishop seemed happy to stay by the piano, I begged off singing another song. Instead, I insisted the dance music start up again, and accepted an invitation from Rein just to make the weirdness fade all that much faster.
Rein was as polite as he could be, giving no sign that he had a crush on me or whatever, despite the hints Liesa had dropped earlier. He even stopped complimenting me on my voice when he got that it made me uncomfortable. By the time the dance was over, I felt more like myself, and the crowd of Elders had completely dissipated throughout the party.
Unfortunately, that left me standing around on my own when Rein went off to do whatever pressing business he suddenly remembered. I spotted Lee chatting with Nell by the throne where Jakob sat. I suspected Jakob was still more tired than he should be, and the throne was a good excuse for him to sit. Gunnar danced cheek to cheek with a handsome young vampire I’d never met before, and I gave him the thumbs up when he smiled at me over the guy’s shoulder. Bishop still stood near the piano, talking to Mac and Amunet. But I couldn’t find Rob anywhere.
Was it possible he’d read more into the song than I’d intended? Sure, maybe I did want Bishop to think of me every now and again, but only because I’d chosen to build my future with Rob, not him. I hadn’t stopped to think how it would make Rob feel to watch me singing to Bishop though, and I owed him an apology for that.
I approached Maggie and Tucker, who stood by the row of snacks put out for the non-vampires present. “Have you guys seen Rob?”
Maggie shook her head. “No, not for a while. Why? Is something wrong?”
“No, I’m trying to find him in this crush, that’s all.”
“W-we can help you look,” Tucker offered, but I waved him off.
“No, don’t be silly. Go back to having fun, I’m sure he’s around here somewhere.”
But the longer I looked, the bigger the knot of worry in my stomach grew, until it felt like I’d swallowed a very angry armadillo. Carys was nowhere to be seen either. Would she strike out at Rob just to get back at me for showing her up on stage?
And then I spotted his broad shoulders from across the room, huddled near a potted palm that’d been spray painted gold. “Thank Joss and all things holy,” I whispered under my breath, threading my way through the crowd to get to him. Rob wasn’t facing me, and he was sort of hunched over. Was he sick or something?
That’s when I saw the flash of diamonds and the blond waves. He wasn’t sick, he was sucking face with Carys like her tonsils were made of lollipops. For long seconds, all I could do was stand there and watch as a creepy déjà vu caught hold of me. Only there was no curse eroding his self control this time, there was only Carys, and I knew exactly what she was up to.
I marched right up to them, grateful they weren’t out in the open for everyone to see my humiliation. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” I demanded in a low voice. They didn’t stop making out, or even acknowledge me, until Carys broke the kiss, a self-satisfied smirk on her face as she touched at her lipstick.
“Oh, Anja, there you are,” she said coolly. “I’d forgotten you were still here. I’m certain Rob has as well.”
“Bishop wasn’t enough for you, you had to take Rob too?” I growled, angry enough to spit nails at the blank confusion on Rob’s face.
“Ha, that’s the kettle calling the pot black,” she laughed. “I could say the same to you.”
“I didn’t compel anyone to play seven minutes in Heaven right in the middle of the ball. What if Bishop saw you right now? How do you think that would make him feel? I thought you loved him.”
“Oh, now you consider Ulrik’s feelings. And yet you had no qualms in compelling his complete attention with your song.” She spat out the last like it was a dirty word, but I was too outraged by her accusation to care. Did she honestly think I’d compelled Bishop to join me in the performance?
“I never!”
“You were right about one thing, this is no place for what I have in mind with your beau.” Her lips curved into a smile of pure malice before she turned to touch Rob’s cheek. “Come on then, Rob. Time for you and I to share more than a kiss.”
Oh, it was on like Donkey Kong! I grabbed Rob’s arm, not letting him go so easily. “Rob, you’re not seriously going with her.”
His brows twitched closer together, confused by the question. “Course I am. Why wouldn’t I?”
“Because you’re here with me, you don’t even like her.”
He gently pulled his arm free. “Don’t be a silly chit, I adore her. Carys is everything I ever wanted and more.”
That was a broken record I was tired of hearing. “Rob, please listen to me. Think about it. Who went through t
he ritual to save your life from the curse?”
“You.”
“And who did you come here with tonight?”
“You.”
“And who do you love?”
“Carys.”
“Damn it, she’s compelling you!” Couldn’t he see it?
His expression turned pitying. “I can’t be compelled, remember?”
“Yes, you can.” There was no choice, I had to tell him now. “I’ve been able to compel you ever since you were turned.”
That got his attention. “What you going on about now?”
“I’m serious. I didn’t want you freaking out about it, so I never told you before now, but you’re no longer immune to compulsion. That’s how I know she’s putting the whammy on you right now.”
Panic swept over his features as he turned to Carys. “Is that true?”
Carys shrugged a bare shoulder. “I’m afraid so, lover. But doesn’t it make you angry how she abused your trust over it?”
I could see the effect of her suggestion on him in the clench of his fists. “Stop doing that!” I hissed, but she didn’t seem the least bit concerned.
“I’ll do as I please. If you don’t like it, compel him back, we’ll see which of us is the strongest.”
I wasn’t about to engage in a game of tug of war with Rob’s brain, especially since I knew she’d be stronger and Rob would only end up hurt in the bargain. “Rob, please, listen to me,” I tried again, forcing a calming breath.
“Don’t listen to a thing she says, Rob,” Carys goaded at his ear, her compulsion easily overriding his will.
“I don’t want to hear anything you have to say,” he scowled. “I can’t believe you’d abuse my trust like that, after everything we’ve been through, and then make me feel like shit for secrets I kept from you.”
“I’m sorry.” I recoiled from the anger in his voice. I’d never thought of it like that before. “I was trying to protect you.”
“I don’t need protecting by you, I need protection from the likes of you.”
