by K. A. Poe
“There is something of utmost importance that you must know. I have foreseen your death.”
“The Vanatori have tried and failed to kill me countless times—they are my only threat here, if you could even call them that. They are a mere thorn in my side, nothing more. What could you possibly have seen?”
“A raven, my lord.”
With a silent gasp, I shut the book and my thoughts were sent racing. I was the only living raven that I was aware of, yet…as far as I knew, it was no longer a talent I possessed. Then again, I hadn’t attempted transforming since the visit to Florida. Had I been capable of it this entire time and simply was not aware of it? Salem had retained his ability to summon things after all…
“Excuse me, Malik,” I said and rose to my feet. “I’m sorry to interrupt your conversation, but I’m afraid I have to leave…at least for a little bit. My sister is visiting and I promised to show her around.”
He came to me and planted a gentle kiss on my cheek, eying Cassius the entire time. “Do return swiftly, my dear.”
17. FAST FORWARD
Five mostly uneventful months dragged by. Day after day, excluding the weekends, I would spend my time either working at Varias or cooped up inside Malik’s mansion, giving me little to no time to even consider practicing the transformation from human to raven. It was impossible to deny—I cherished the luxury the man provided. He may have had a cold, black heart that ceased to beat, but he knew just how to woo a woman. Silver chains with beautiful pendants draped across my neck—a different one every day—shimmering bracelets clung onto my wrists, and a dazzling diamond tiara declared me as Queen. I wasn’t usually one to adorn myself in jewelry, but he was insistent that I wear it, and it was no secret that I loved it.
During this time, it was revealed to me that Cassius was no doubt a vampire and Salem was correct all along to suspect that. I still did not understand how his skin remained tan and warm; maybe it was just a trick. Despite knowing what he was I continued to have my doubts that I had anything to worry about from him. He treated me with respect and helped me when I appeared weak or overburdened by the weight of the growing baby. The only thing that made me uncomfortable about him was that I had found out he was the Seer who had been providing information to Malik. The same Seer who had possibly killed Octavian. If that was truly the case, I was convinced that it was unintentional. He didn’t seem like a murderer at all to me. In fact he was often times nicer to me than Malik.
The Vanatori were deeply immersed in their plans to destroy Malik and his horde of companions, but the more they fed me the details, the more concerned I grew. There were so few of us and so many of them—but Mikael was determined that once Malik was dead, the rest of the vampires would end their feud. I wasn’t so sure. If these were corrupted vampires, there was nothing that would stop them but death. For all we knew it could be worse without Malik there to keep them all on a leash.
Hannah continued to dedicate the majority of her time mingling with other vampires at Varias, and she was well aware of my pregnancy at this point—there was no way I could conceal the expanding bump of my abdomen. Malik provided me with the finest of garments to wear, silk, satin and lace maternity gowns that made me feel beautiful despite the weight gain. I seldom saw Salem as Malik grew more and more protective of me—or the unborn child, as Salem was convinced—and judging by Hannah’s stories, he was miserable at home. Ezra attempted to keep him company, taking him out to random places and keeping his mind occupied, but nothing worked. I felt awful, but at the same time I knew that it was safest if I stayed here and obeyed Malik’s orders. I don’t know if it was due to my growing fascination with the luxury of living here or if it was his manipulative powers, but I didn’t want to leave.
“You need to get out of here and see your husband—your real husband, you know…Salem,” Hannah scolded me from across the piano. “The boy is going insane without you. Ezra tries, but he refuses to leave the house anymore. I don’t even know when the last time he showered was…he’s growing facial hair for crying out loud, Alex! Did you hear me? Salem? A beard?”
Rubbing my stomach, I frowned at my sister-in-law and stared down at the ivory keys. “I don’t want to.” I shook my head, that wasn’t what I had meant. “I can’t.”
“You damn well can and you will!” she shrieked, disturbing some of the other customers. Without another word, she grasped my hand and began pulling me away from the bench.
“Let go of me!” I yelled and held firmly onto the side of the seat but it was no use. She had me upwards and on the way out of the restaurant within seconds.
Something distracted her and she paused in place, releasing my arm. I caressed the sore, reddening spot of flesh that she had been gripping onto and scanned the room, following her gaze. Directly across the room, settled in one of the black-cushioned chairs was a slender woman with silvery eyes that reminded me of pools of mercury. Her fine, wavy brunette hair was worn in a style that was reminiscent of a flowing stream as it cascaded over her shoulders. Deep, red lipstick washed across her thin lips and matched her elegant cocktail dress perfectly.
“Who is she?” I asked, not recognizing her in the least.
“I’m not sure…” Hannah mumbled, almost appearing to be in some sort of a trance. “There’s just something about her…”
“Maybe you’ve met her someplace before,” I offered, glad that the conversation was no longer about me.
“Maybe. But, enough about this…let’s get you home.”
She grabbed my arm yet again and pulled me through the tall doors. My hopes of this mysterious woman distracting her had clearly failed.
Hannah had become my chaperone since my stomach grew too large to sit comfortably behind the steering wheel of my beloved car. I was none too happy about the circumstances, and often made that quite clear to her but there was nothing that could be done about it. I twiddled my thumbs nervously as we approached the parking lot to the apartment I had seldom seen in the last five months. My heart thumped excitedly at the idea of seeing Salem, and it was then that I knew Malik had some control over my emotions. During my stays in his mansion, I rarely thought about Salem or even Jason and Mitchell—all that mattered was the child growing in my womb and the man that was playing my king. When he was in my presence there was nothing else I wanted. He was corrupting me in a way that I couldn’t stop.
The door flew open to the apartment and I stared in awe at the man I knew to be Salem, yet he was almost unrecognizable. His hair had grown to the point that it barely touched his shoulders and dark stubble marked the sides of his face, upper lip, and chin. His eyes looked distant and they had lost their glow. He opened the door of the Sion and helped me out.
“Salem…” I mouthed, tears trickling down my cheek as I ran my hand across his rough face. “I’m so sorry.”
He didn’t appear to hear me at all, yet wrapped his arms around me and held me tight against his chest. He reminded me of an abandoned, confused puppy. I was immediately sickened with myself, despite it being out of my control—in one way or another, I had been the one doing this to him. His figure had already been thin, but now he was appearing gaunt and sickly.
When we entered the apartment, he remained just as quiet, just as zoned out…it was as though he didn’t even realize he was awake.
“I’m really here, Salem,” I said when we sat on the couch together.
Hannah shot us a worried look and I didn’t blame her.
“I know,” he said faintly. “But you are just going to leave again…”
“No, no,” I whispered and held him against me. “I’m going to stay here, I promise. You’re more important to me than this stupid mission, and I would have been here every day if it wasn’t for Malik’s control over me.”
“Are you sure it is really his control over you?” he asked and glanced away.
I looked astonished, my mouth agape and unable to speak. Was he seriously accusing me of being infatuated with Malik?! “Do
you even hear what you’re saying, Salem? I love you, only you—this situation with Malik doesn’t even extend as far as friendship! There is nothing between us, we are both using the other for one cause or another…you should know better than to even think that! I hate him!”
“You have put yourself in too much danger…you and the baby,” he said, finally looking up at me again. It was uncommon for me to see Salem cry, and my heart felt like it was breaking when I watched the drops gently trickle down his face.
I shook my head and kissed him on the brow. “Forget about all of that; just be with me…focus on right now. Let’s get you cleaned up, shaven and spend some time together, okay?”
He nodded slowly and a reluctant smile eased across his lips. I sat idly on the sofa while he slowly walked off to the restroom to prepare himself. Some sense of life had eased its way back into him, but it wasn’t enough to please me. I needed to bring out the Salem I knew and loved, not the hull of the man he used to be.
Hannah stared at me intently, pondering some unknown detail that she wasn’t letting on. There had been something strange about the encounter with the woman at Varias, but I knew good and well that I wasn’t going to get an answer—at least not now. All that mattered right now to either of us was getting her brother back to his usual self. I prepared myself to ask her a dozen questions on the subject of this woman and set them aside for a later time when I watched the bathroom door fly open. Black slacks, a dark gray button up shirt and a clean shaven face welcomed me with bright eyes and a brilliant smile. I was on my feet and in his arms in seconds.
“It’s you,” I whispered and laughed to myself a little.
“I was here all along, waiting,” he insisted. “It has been nearly impossible without you, Alexis…you cannot begin to even fathom the torture this has put me through.”
The words felt like a dagger to the heart and I hugged him with more force. This was something I would never forgive myself for. “It doesn’t matter anymore,” I insisted. “Let’s go.”
18. NORMAL
When it came to relaxation and comfort to ease a stressed or depressed mind, one thing always came to Salem’s mind—ice cream, therefore it was the first thing that came to mine when we left the apartment. Fortunately, there was a small ice cream shop not too far from home, otherwise we would have to have brought Hannah along, which was something I was avoiding—we needed time alone. Since becoming mortal, he had never given the frozen dairy treat a chance—now he was in for a delicious surprise!
We were in luck that this shop seemed to be set up with tourists in mind. The menus displayed the choices in several languages and the worker spoke English well enough. He was a friendly gentleman who appeared to be in a good mood, despite the droopiness to his eyes telling me he hadn’t slept well. It was nice to be surrounded by lively people that were indulging in something normal—something human. This was without a doubt a human establishment, without a single vampire in sight—unless of course they served blood ice cream in the back to their secret customers. I wouldn’t have been very surprised had this been the case.
Salem appeared overwhelmed as he scanned the menu. There were many options he was unfamiliar with—waffle cones, milkshakes, sprinkles, sundaes, syrups, and all of the different ice cream varieties.
“Take time,” the man behind the counter said and I offered our spot in line to the couple behind us.
“They have blackberry ice cream,” I suggested, pointing it out on the menu board.
“Do you have to get all of the…extra things?” he asked, “Blackberry ice cream and chocolate syrup sounds disgusting.”
“You can get it however you want—with toppings or without, like…I’m going to get a vanilla sundae with caramel syrup.”
He nodded, collecting the information and finally making a decision. Once the couple ahead of us was finished, we approached the counter and I made my order.
“Without peanuts. Oh! And be sure to put a cherry on top please!” I said with a smile.
“Yes, cherry on top! You, sir?”
“I will have a normal cone of blackberry ice cream and some…whipped cream on top.”
“Yes. One minute, okay?”
“Sure thing!”
While the worker prepared the ice cream, I gathered a handful of napkins and two spoons. Salem paid the man with some cash I had given him—that was the one thing I actually liked about having a job, I always had cash, especially with Cassius paying for the rent and bills at the apartment. It would have been easier to have stayed home and had Salem summon us whatever our hearts’ desired, but I knew that he needed time outdoors, and a new and fun experience was always welcome!
When we finally got our ice cream, we cozied up together at an empty booth. I studied Salem closely when he licked the whipped cream on top of his cone and giggled at the dot that stuck to his nose. I gently kissed the tip of his nose and licked my lips, erasing all evidence that the cream ever existed. Next, he dug into his ice cream and smiled appreciatively.
“This is splendid,” he commented and poked at my shoulder. “Eat yours and quit watching me.”
With a chuckle, I plucked the cherry from my sundae and bit it off of the stem. It was delicious and sweet with a subtle hint of caramel from the surrounding sauce. While a part of me did miss the luxury of living in Malik’s mansion, nothing compared to the time spent with Salem. Regardless of how simple the moment seemed, it was more than just an outing for ice cream.
“This is really good,” Salem commented and reached for my spoon and took a mouthful of my ice cream. “Mine is definitely better.”
“Oh, is that so?” I leaned over and licked his ice cream and had to agree—the sweet blackberry flavor was delectable. “Mm, it is really good!”
“Too bad, I’m not trading,” he grinned.
“Fine, I didn’t want your germs, anyway,” I teased and returned to my sundae. “What do you want to do next?”
“I just want to spend time with you, Alex…we can sit and stare at the walls and I would be happy.”
“Well…although that sounds thrilling, I think we’d have more fun doing something else.”
“I have an idea, come on,” he took my hand and led me off the seat.
“Where are we going?” I asked as we walked quickly down the sidewalk, avoiding bumping into the occasional passersby.
“Someplace peaceful that Ezra introduced me to during…your absence.”
I was overwhelmed by the rippling lake surrounded by white and gray flat stones, set within a field of bright green grass. Trees sprouted up from the ground here and there, providing a comfortable place for the people huddled up underneath some of them. Birds flocked at the picnic tables beneath the shelter of a simple ramada, pecking at any food particles that hit the cement from a group of children sitting there celebrating a birthday party.
We settled down in a shady spot under a group of trees, and I missed how easily it used to be to get up and down. Salem helped me into position then I snuggled up against his chest and we grasped each other’s hands. There was a couple toward the park play area watching their young daughter attempt to climb onto the slide steps on her own. The man I assumed to be her father ran over and helped her up.
“Be careful, Emily,” her mother called from the bench she sat on.
I admired them for a few moments more before turning my attention to Salem, only to find his stare was locked on the same scene.
“That will be us before we know it,” he said thoughtfully and dragged his fingers gingerly through my hair.
“Yeah…” I whispered and shut my eyes, imagining us living out the same scene; only with the little boy Hannah had prophesized. I gasped and sat up when my daydream turned on me and the infant boy stared at me with those haunting crimson eyes.
“What’s wrong?” Salem asked as I lay back down against him.
“Nothing…I…I was just thinking about Hannah’s vision.”
“Oh…”
he sighed, “try to ignore it. It could have been false, after all. Do you have any…names in mind?”
I thought for a moment and smiled. Ever since I had fallen in love with the poem The Raven, I had also fallen in love with the name Lenore and hoped to one day have a daughter to bestow the name upon—be it a first name or middle name. But Hannah had seen a son in my future, and I had no names chosen for a boy. “We could name him after your father,” I suggested with a shrug.
“Maybe…but that is, assuming we have a son,” Salem pointed out. “Again, Hannah’s vision may not have been accurate. What of a girl’s name?”
“Lenore,” I said fondly.
“I like it,” Salem replied and ran his hand through my hair again. “I have missed you an unfathomable amount.”
I watched a bird swoop down from the sky and land gingerly on a limb of one of the trees above us. It led me again to wonder if I still possessed my ability to transform, but part of me was afraid to find out. I would never be able to forgive myself if the transformation somehow hurt the baby. Then again, I was preparing myself for a massive fight against a very powerful vampire and that would potentially put the child at harm. Hopefully the Vanatori would delay their conquest until after I gave birth.
“Stop thinking negatively,” Salem whispered and rested a hand on my belly. “Too much stress isn’t good for the baby…or you.”
“I know,” I replied quietly and relaxed underneath the shade of the trees. “I’m not going back.”
Salem resituated his position so that he could look at me. “What do you mean?” he sounded hopeful.
“I’m staying with you…away from Varias and Malik. It’s not good, what it is doing to my mind…and us.”
“Nothing is happening to us.”
“You’re miserable, I’m miserable whether I realize it or not…we need each other, especially now. This is such a huge, unexpected change in both of our lives.”
