by Casey Lane
“You’re awake.”
Flinging herself out of the bed, she landed with a thump on the floor, in a tangle of bed linen. Grunting, she tried to right herself. A hand appeared to help her up, but she ignored it, using her ability to unravel the mess she’d gotten herself into. Then she stood, brushing down her – nightgown? – in a show of dignity.
“Did I startle you?”
That voice.
Her reply died in her mouth. The speaker was even better looking than she remembered, in a super-fine black suit with a dark gray shirt. The Duke of Ashes.
Memories flooded her: flying through the air, her neck catching on a low-hanging branch, a horrible crunching noise. Using her ability to fly her body back to the fight, breaking those men’s arms and legs…the duke threatening to Choose her.
“How am I alive?”
The duke stepped back and waved a hand for her to return to bed. Oh no, I don’t think so. She didn’t want to be lying down for this conversation. Instead, she walked over to the sofa and sat.
Taking her cue, the duke retrieved the desk chair and sat opposite her, crossing one knee over the other. He has short hair. She’d never noticed that before, and it caught her attention. Vampires usually had long hair – it just grew so fast. He would have to cut it every day to keep it that length.
You’re losing focus.
And what was that smell? Like lemon and spun sugar. It was delicious.
Naomi!
Right. Alive. Questions.
“Well?”
“It appears you were Chosen.”
“‘Appears I was Chosen’?” Naomi frowned. “How is that outcome a surprise to you?”
Hold on. She was what?
Bolting to her feet, she looked for a bathroom. Somewhere with a mirror.
“Where are you going?”
But she wasn’t listening to him. She ran to the door, wrenched it open and coming to a jolting stop. There in the corridor, opposite the door, was a full-length mirror.
“Mother fucker.”
The glass shattered.
The duke had his palms raised, as if to calm down a rabid animal. “Look, it will be okay.”
“It will be okay? How the fuck is this okay?”
“Language.”
“Oh no, you don’t get to tell me how to speak.”
“I gather this is a shock…”
“A shock? A shock? I shouldn’t have survived. I should have died. I was meant to die. And then you, you, you—” She jabbed a finger at his chest.
“You were meant to die because you are Graced?”
She stopped dead.
How does he know about us?
“Yes, a secret sub-set of humans with special abilities. Ring any bells?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
His mouth twisted. “You see, I know you’re lying.”
“Am not.”
“You are.”
“I am not a liar.” She poked him right in the chest. It was rock hard with muscle.
“Well, you just employed a falsehood with me. If that’s not the definition of a liar, please enlighten me.”
He can’t possibly know I’m lying. His eyes were dark purple – there wasn’t even a speck of Green.
“You made things levitate a lot when you were unconscious.” He folded his arms over his broad chest. “So perhaps you’d like to start over with the truth?”
Her face blanched. She picked up a shard of the mirror to check the damage. She looked almost the same, except her hair had gotten really long – which was annoying – and her eyes had changed. They now had starbursts of Gray near her pupil, fading into a dark purple around the rims.
And she still had her ability, that much was obvious.
Whispering, she asked, “How do you know about us?”
“From seeing your compatriots’ display, among other things.”
“They aren’t my partners.”
“Weren’t.”
She frowned.
“They’re dead now.” His expression was calm as the surface of a lake.
“You killed them?”
“They tried to kill my daughter. What more reason do I need?”
She glared at him, her new eyes slits. “Murder is not the answer!”
“They almost killed you.”
I was willing to die.
Actually, that wasn’t quite true. She hadn’t wanted to die, she’d just come to accept it as the only outcome. She could have fought back early on, prevented herself from getting hurt, but if she’d let loose her power properly, then there wouldn’t have been a forest left, or any people in Skarva to save. She would have killed them all.
And now she had to live with this power – her curse – for eternity.
Wonderful.
Chapter Thirty
Ari finally found Castle seated at the far end of the sunroom. It was on the third floor of the estate, its huge windows soaring from knee-height to ceiling – now, at night, it was shadowy, lit only by the gas lamps dotted decoratively throughout.
“You’re awake,” she said.
Castle just stared, her expression shuttered and face cast in darkness. Her long hair was tied back, and she was wearing loose trousers and a pale shirt.
Act calm, Ari thought.
Inside, she was scared. This wasn’t just any woman, this was the person that she’d Chosen/Bitten. Chitten? Bisen? Hrm, they were terrible. Maybe she should come up with a new term, like Metamorphosed. Too long. Changed? That was simple enough.
You’re getting distracted.
Well, duh. It was better than worrying over the woman she’d Changed and the reaction she was about to get from her. Or not get. The problem was that Castle was powerful and if she wasn’t happy with her new situation in life, she could make Ari suffer. A lot.
Could she really hurt us? Chosen and Bitten aren’t meant to be able to hurt their makers.
Her wolf had a point, but Castle was Changed. She was different.
Ari was distracted again. It had happened a lot since she’d started the blood transfers. She was jittery now, edgy. Moving forward, Ari held out a hand. “We haven’t officially met. I’m Aria Ash.”
Castle just sat there. Was she even alive? Maybe Father had lied to her, and the Graced woman had died.
“Hello?” Ari asked.
Castle surged to her feet, and the whole room did a jig. Ari ducked to avoid a flying candelabra, and dodged a metal-framed sofa.
A heartbeat later, everything had settled back in its original place, like all the moveable items hadn’t just upped and swirled through the room.
“That’s going to take some getting used to,” Ari said into the silence.
“Yes, well. Sorry about that.” Castle’s voice was low and husky. Ari imagined it was better suited a bordello than a drawing room – it was sex on a stick, and the woman wasn’t even trying. It was at odds with her country-gentlewoman demeanor. Ari liked it.
Ari waved a hand. “It’s fine.”
Castle said nothing.
“I get the feeling you’re unhappy with me.”
The newly Changed woman sighed deeply. “I saved your life and you repaid me with immortality. Most humans would be happy about that, but not me. I’m now stuck.”
Bile surged into Ari’s mouth. Great. The first – and quite possibly, the only – person she’d ever Changed and they would have preferred to die. Only she’d have luck like that.
“You don’t have to…stay alive…if you don’t want to.” Ari paced the expensive handmade carpet, its yellow and gold metallic fibers catching the gaslight. She couldn’t believe they were discussing this. Not after Xave. “I just couldn’t have you dying to save me. There’d already been so much death.”
“Let me ask you something.” Castle sat back down and motioned for Ari to do the same.
Ari took the seat in the adjacent wingback chair. “Go ahead.”
“Do you feel any different?”
“Define different.” Ari could now change into her wolf, thanks to being mind-raped by that piece of racist scum. She didn’t like thinking she had anything to thank that woman for, but breaking the chains of her mind was something. Still, it made her vision haze over to think of how many other people that woman had hurt, and none of them would have had the healing ability Ari did.
She’d recovered. Most wouldn’t.
Castle leaned forward, and Ari caught her first proper glimpse of the woman’s eyes. She whistled. The center of her irises was a pale Gray, striating out into a deep purple, the same color as Ari’s left eye. She’d never seen anything like them, and might never see their like again.
Touching a finger to the corner of her left eye, Castle let out a sad smile. “I’m a miracle. But not a good one.” She shook her head. “So, have you been noticing anything different in your habits – you’re hungrier, more tired, restless, you can hear other people’s thoughts…?”
“Hah! No on the thoughts. But I’ve been feeling like I have a lot more energy, energy I can’t burn off.” And she’d tried, but it made no difference how far or fast she ran. She even left Sebastian for dead, although he claimed it was the poisoning that was making him so slow. Excuses.
“Can you…move anything with your mind?”
Ari shook her head. Then her eyes widened. “You’re saying that I could become like you.”
“I have no idea. But if you were going to exhibit my ability, you would have already. I wonder.” She tapped her chin. “Your father says the worst that happened when I was changing was minor earthquakes and levitation?”
“Yeah.” Wasn’t that bad enough?
“Hrm.”
“That doesn’t sound good.”
“By rights, if my ability was out of my conscious control during my transformation, this city should be rubble. But it’s not.” Castle eyed Ari like she was an interesting science project.
“The city? The whole thing?”
Castle nodded. “I could level Skarva without even blinking. But now it’s like the pressure is off. It’s still there, and I could still do it, but my ability isn’t waiting to overflow like it normally does. And suddenly, you have more energy.”
“But I haven’t gained your ability.”
Castle frowned. “No, but that is a good thing, trust me. Maybe you’re acting as some kind of well, storing my power.”
Ari didn’t like the sound of that, either.
“Sounds like that could be a problem.”
Silence. For quite a long time. At last, Castle met her gaze. “No, I don’t think so. In fact, it might actually be a good thing. Time will tell. It would be easier if there had been other Graceds who were Chosen, but as far as I know, I’m the only one.”
“Why, because they keep getting killed?” Bitterness seeped into Ari’s voice.
“Pretty much. That, and purebloods like me shouldn’t be able to make the transition. Maybe your blood, because it’s unique, made the difference.” Castle rubbed the spot on her wrist where Ari had drunk.
If Ari’s freakish bloodlines were responsible for this ‘miracle’, then it was possible she was unable to Choose a normal person. And if that was the case – and she’d inherited a bunch of crazy energy from Castle – what would she get from other people with different colored eyes?
You know what, I don’t want to know.
“So why were you stalking me?” Ari asked. “You were pretty good, by the way.”
A sigh. “I had heard rumors there might have been a Graced vampire in Skarva.”
Ari blanched.
“Not you. The Duchess of Ravens’ daughter. Then I spotted you with your eye patch, and saw how you moved…I thought you might have heterochromia, but instead of a yellow eye, I thought it might be Gray. I had no idea you were half were. Not until Monique came to town.”
“If you’d known, what would you have done?”
“I’ve already spoken to your father about this.”
Ari frowned. “I am not my father.”
“A truer statement I’ve never heard.” Castle’s hand made a fist. “You want the truth? I would have done nothing. Not unless you were proving dangerous, and in the whole time I followed you, you never hurt anyone. Apart from stealing their secrets.”
Ari linked her fingers. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
A small smile danced on the corner of Castle’s mouth. “I’m sure you don’t.”
“I guess that means you’re not like other Graced,” Ari said.
“Most Graced don’t care about anything apart from living their lives and keeping their identities a secret. But I am from a family of Hunters, and they kill what they fear. I just never believed in letting blind hatred rule my emotions. So I handle ‘justice’ my own way.”
Man, Castle was still scary. At least Ari knew she was compassionate, though, and that meant a lot.
Those unique eyes flashed. “And it’s Naomi, by the way.”
“Naomi?”
Castle held out a hand. “Hi Aria, my name is Naomi. It is nice to meet you.”
Chapter Thirty-One
Sebastian shoved the last of his clothing into his backpack and sat on the edge of the bed. Time to leave the Grumpy Bear, but what should he do next? Go and say goodbye to Ari, beg her to let him stay with her, or get moving and be gone by sundown?
Tough choices, because he didn’t want to do either.
He couldn’t stay here in Skarva, pretending to not care about her. Sure, he’d only been with her a couple of weeks, but it didn’t matter.
“She doesn’t smell like your mate.”
Sebastian whirled, snarling at the intruder. Lia stood in the doorway. “I said, she doesn’t smell like your mate.”
“So? That whole thing is rubbish.”
“It isn’t.”
“You really believe that?”
She stopped in front of him; her hair had orange stripes in it today. “Your ancestry goes back over ten generations. Most weres with that kind of lineage have a Graced or two in their background. The psychic sense of smell is a real thing, but all it does is tell you that the person is a good match. You don’t magically fall in love and live happily ever after. It just makes it a bit easier, I guess.”
“So what if Aria doesn’t smell like whatever it is mates smell like. It doesn’t matter.”
“Really? So if a woman walked by with the most irresistible scent you’ve ever come across, you wouldn’t leave Aria for her?”
No.
The response was immediate and instinctual. He didn’t care about anyone else, had never reacted with his whole being toward another person the way he did with Aria. She taunted him, maddened him, aroused him, and challenged him. There’d never be another person like her.
He eyed Lia. “What generation wolf are you?”
“This isn’t about me.”
“Come on.”
A dark shadow flitted across her expression. “Third on my father’s side. Second on my mother’s.”
Wait – her mother had been first generation? His mouth dropped. “How old are you?”
“Now that one I am not going to answer.”
“Fine.” It was pretty clear he was a mere pup in comparison.
“But you never answered me.”
“No, it wouldn’t matter to me. I wouldn’t leave her for some future maybe. Why would I want to? She’s perfect.”
Well, perfect for him.
“That is the correct answer.” With that Lia retreated from the room, shutting the door behind her.
A thud and then a snarl. “If I am so perfect, then why are your bags packed?”
Sebastian glanced over his shoulder. There was Ari, just inside the window, wearing that familiar blue cloak. Her hood was thrown back, her entire body giving off a challenge.
“I didn’t think you wanted me to stay.”
She flicked her braid over her shoulder. “What kind of an idiot are you?”
He decided no response was probably the best response.
She stepped forward and poked him in the chest. It hurt. Her fingers were pointy. “I trusted you.” Poke. “I let myself believe in you.” Poke. “I saved your life.” Poke. He was going to be covered in bruises. “I cared about you. And now you’re going to leave without even saying goodbye?”
He held up both hands. “I was going to say goodbye.”
“Lia’s note says otherwise.”
Why, that meddling—
“Well, there was a fifty per cent chance I was going to say goodbye. I thought you might not want to see me again.”
“Why would you think a stupid thing like that?”
“Because you have your wolf. You can change. You avenged your brothers’ and mother’s death.”
“So?” She ripped off her eyepatch.
“So, what?”
“Yes, I have all those things. But what good are they if you’re gone, too? I can’t keep losing the people I care about. I can’t.”
His throat seized up, but his body knew what to do. He enfolded her in a hug so tight he was crushing her. Her arms wrapped around him and she squeezed him back. “I thought you wouldn’t want this anymore.”
She tilted her chin up. “Are you crazy? We have a small thing called chemistry.”
“Lia says you aren’t my mate. Because I can’t smell you.”
“No one can smell me.” Her expression grew sad. However, a smile bloomed slowly. “But I can smell you. And you smell amazing.”
“Really? What do I smell like?” It had to be something manly. Like leather. Cologne. Apples. Although he had no idea why apples were a manly fruit. Whatever.
“I’m not telling.”
“Tell me.”
“No.”
“Tell me.”
“No.” She kissed him, and he forgot what he was asking. When she pulled away it was with a small nibble. “So. Are you going to move in with me, or what?”
“What will your father say?”
“It’s a big estate, he probably won’t even notice.”
“I don’t believe that.”
“Fine. He says you’re welcome, and if you break my heart, he’ll break you. Although he did add that he believes he’d have to break what’s left of you, because I would have already taken care of business.”
