by Amy Richie
I brought my eyes up slowly to meet the eyes of the man standing way too close to me. My heart nearly melted at what I saw there. For a suspended moment only the two of us existed. Without any thought I took a step towards him and put my hand against his chest. “Eva.” He said my name without moving his lips.
Nadia screamed out and fell to her knees, effectively breaking the spell. “Nadia!” I tried to help her to her feet but she couldn’t stand up. “I’ll carry you.” I was strong, strong enough to carry a small thing like Nadia, but she was flailing her arms and legs too much.
Marcus was there though. Seemingly out of thin air he was scooping her off the floor and darting down the hall. I looked once at Dominick who stood stoically by the wall. I saw the pain in his eyes but another scream had me running towards Nadia.
By the time I entered the large bedroom, Marcus already had Nadia laid out in one of the two beds. “It has to be now,” he said tensely.
“Why?” I ran, wide-eyed, to her bed. “Is she dying?”
Claudia and Damien joined us in the room. “We knew the risks,” David spoke. “Kiera, she will die.”
“I owe you much David.” She didn’t ask for anyone’s input. “You will have to change her yourself.”
“Me?” He blanched white. “I can’t. She’d be a…it’s never been done.”
“I’m sure it has,” Damien said from the doorway.
“It doesn’t matter. No one else can do it; the bond would be too strong.”
Now that I had experienced the bond first-hand, I knew Kiera’s words rang true. David and Nadia’s love would not survive if she bonded with someone else. And since the other Letrell’s had mates, I inwardly groaned, David had to do it.
Everyone else in the room came to the same conclusion much faster than I did. By the time I finally figured everything out only David, Claudia, and I were left in the room. And Nadia of course. “Claudia will you take her out,” David asked without looking at me.
“I want to stay.”
“It would be better if you left.”
“What if you need help?”
“Eva, there is nothing you can do to help.”
“I won’t go.”
“Eva.” His voice took on a new tone, one that I recognized immediately. “You will go with Claudia and stay where you are told.” My body obeyed the command immediately; before my mind could protest.
“Good luck,” Claudia whispered before she closed the door behind us.
***
Dominick found me later, trying to appear calm and collected. If someone had known me, they would see that I was anything but calm. I clasped my hands tightly in my lap until my knuckles were white. My feet were planted firmly on the ground and my jaw was clenched. I stared hard at the painting on the wall directly in front of me.
It was a beautiful painting really, and if I hadn’t been so distracted I might have fully enjoyed it. It was a picture of a castle, but a real castle, not like Blakesly House. Green fields rolled away from its walls in all directions.
“Kiera painted that,” Dominick commented leisurely. He sat comfortably in one of the large chairs in the empty room as if he had been there all along. “It’s her first home.” His lips upturned softly.
“It’s pretty.”
He regarded me thoughtfully for a moment. “The transformation is complete.” My head snapped up in attention. “They are both ok. Even as a fourth generation, it appears Nadia is very similar to David. A little weak,” he shrugged, “but strong enough.”
“Are they still upstairs?”
“They will be for a while yet.” He leaned forward in the chair, suddenly serious. “I want to talk to you.”
“Ok.”
So quickly that my enhanced human eyes didn’t see it, he moved the chair so he could sit in front of me. I flinched back. “Do I repulse you?”
“What?” My pulse quickened.
“The fact is Eva,” he took my hand gently in his; “I love you. I have for a very long time.” I couldn’t say anything, but I kept my eyes guarded. “But,” he bit the inside of his cheek, “I like what I have become.”
“A monster?” It was out before I could take it back.
His eyes remained soft though. “I like that people are afraid of me. That they know to obey me at once and to stay out of my way. I like that I don’t have to feel guilty for what I am.” He let go of my hand, leaving me oddly empty. I didn’t dwell on the feeling.
“What I don’t like,” he continued with a slight edge in his voice, “is staying here, having Kiera know my intimate thoughts.”
“Then everyone else knows too.”
“Yes. I do not welcome the intrusion.” I could relate to that. I stopped myself before I could agree so whole heartily with Dominick Letrell. “I’m leaving Blakesly House.” A ringing started in my ears. “I want you to come with me, but I won’t force you. Will you come with me willingly?”
I felt my heart being ripped in two parts. Each jagged piece stabbed painfully. I saw Neleh in my head, which made everything worse. I realized Dominick was watching me, waiting for an answer. “No,” I choked out, “I want to stay here with David.”
His face registered the pain my words inflicted him with but he recovered faster than I could. He spoke quickly, his words running into each other but I barely heard anything he said. My own conflicting emotions swelled loudly in my ears. I hated myself for wanting him to stay.
“So I’m not sure where this leaves us,” he slowed his words so they could slice through my fog. I looked up at his face, hoping my expression was blank. “I want you. You won’t admit that you want me too. I won’t force you to come with me. I won’t change you unless you ask me to. And I won’t stay here with you.”
I sucked in my breath and nodded quickly. “So I guess this means we’re breaking up,” I swallowed audibly.
“Don’t be ridiculous my love.” If he wasn’t careful I was going to start crying. I didn’t dare to blink. “You belong to me Eva. It doesn’t matter where on the planet we are. I’ll come back to check on you and if you need anything at all…” I waited to hear what I knew he would say. “You are a Letrell now. My brothers will do anything for you.”
My tears almost spilled over then. I wasn’t a Letrell, I wasn’t. “When are you leaving?” My voice sounded normal enough, I was sure he wouldn’t notice how his words affected me.
“My plane leaves in an hour.”
“Ok.” Should I tell him to have a nice trip? Enjoy yourself?
“You’ll be ok?”
“Of course.” I didn’t need him for me to be ok.
He put his head into his hands and sighed loudly. “Oh Eva how I wish…” He stood up abruptly. Using his leg, without looking, he kicked the chair back into place. He bent low and pressed his warm lips against my forehead. “Until we meet again my love,” he whispered.
Then he was gone.
Little by little the jagged pieces of my heart shifted further, making me gasp. I bent forward until my head was resting on my knees. How could he affect me so much? Why did I want him to stay? He made me feel safe but I knew I could protect myself. He made me feel…feel…
I brought my head up slowly. That’s it. He made me feel. He made me feel angry and he irritated me, but I also felt loved and protected. I belonged to Dominick, just as much as he belonged to me.
I bolted out of my chair. I had to stop him from leaving. If I wasn’t already too late. I only made one wrong turn on my way to the front door. I nearly fell over Elizabeth, who was sitting on the front steps.
“Whoa. Watch where you’re…” She turned to see who had run into her. “Eva? What’s wrong?” She was up in an instant. “Are you crying dear?”
“Where is he? Has he already left?”
“Who? David? He’s still up…”
“No, not him. Dominick. Has he left?”
“Yes. He’s been gone.”
“Can he still hear us?” I was beginning to get desper
ate.
“No, I haven’t been able to hear him for some time now.”
I slumped forward but Elizabeth caught me. I knew she hated human emotions even more than she hated humans but I couldn’t stop the sobs that racked my body. “Elizabeth I never got to tell him.” I clung tighter to her. “And now he’s gone.”
“Tell him what? He’ll be back. In a few months I’m sure that…”
“A few months?”
“What do you need to tell him?”
“That I love him.” Months. What had I done?
Chapter Forty-Four
David and Nadia stayed locked away for two days. I was sitting on the front steps waiting for Dominick when David came out to sit next to me.
“Hey,” he nudged me playfully. I still wasn’t used to this new version of David.
“Hey. How’s Nadia?”
His eyes lit up and he grinned. “She’s great.”
I rolled my eyes. “Do I get to see her today or will you keep her locked up again?”
He clicked his tongue. “She’s in the red parlor with Claudia right now.”
“Good, I’ll go see her now.”
“Eva.”
I sighed through my nose. “I know David,” I stopped him before he could start lecturing me about the evils of Dominick Letrell. “But he’s not as bad as Neleh said he was.”
“I know Eva.” He squeezed my hand. “Nadia will be eager to see you.”
Was that David’s way of giving me permission to love Dominick Letrell? I hadn’t asked for his permission, but getting it was somehow a relief. I leaned my head on his shoulder. “Nadia is really lucky to have you.”
“I couldn’t agree more,” Nadia replied happily from the doorway. She came to sit on my other side. “Eva, it’s good to see you,” she beamed her beautiful smile my way and wrapped her good arm around my waist.
“Same at you.” I winked in an overly dramatic way that made us both laugh.
“Did I ever thank you properly?”
“For what?”
“Oh, nothing big, just saving my life.”
“I didn’t actually do much,” I shook my head.
“Yes, you did.”
I just smiled and shrugged. Achilles and Dominick rescued us both from the VC and David changed her but I would have done more. I would have done anything to save her. So I just smiled.
“David is going to make me an artificial hand.” We both looked at her neatly healed stump where her hand should be.
“I’m sure it will be…um…” I tucked my hair behind my ears.
“Yes, it will be,” she smiled. “It will also be functional and realistic in appearance. Every time I look at it I think; there are so many things that could have gone worse.”
I looked down at my own two fully intact hands. I’m sure Nadia didn’t mean to make me feel shallow. “Yeah.” We both looked away, remembering the same night through different eyes.
“Eva,” David brought me back to the present, “we’ll be leaving Blakesly House in the morning.”
“You’re leaving?”
He narrowed his eyes briefly. “I miss Lexon.”
“You’re going back to Lexon?” My eyes nearly popped out of my head.
“Where else would I go? Although I’ll always be welcome here,” he sighed, “Blakesly House is for the Letrell’s. The warriors and their mates.”
“But what if Neleh comes back? I don’t think she’ll be happy to see you there.”
“Neleh won’t come back. There is nothing to be afraid of.”
David and Nadia were leaving. I thought they would stay with me. “When are you leaving?” In the morning, I remembered before he answered.
“In the morning.”
“Won’t you come with us Eva?” Nadia implored.
“I’m not…I don’t want…” I shook my head.
David took my hand again. “Even if he comes back, Kiera will tell him you’ve gone to Lexon.”
“Paris and Marcus have already left.”
“Marcus left too?” I didn’t think he would leave Claudia.
“Claudia and Achilles will leave tonight to join them.”
Confusion wrinkled my brow. “Why are all the Letrell’s rushing to help with a werewolf problem? Isn’t Neleh there?”
“They aren’t going to help Neleh,” David explained in his calm way, “They are going to help Lexi. And Lexi went to help the sisters.”
“Besides, not all the Letrell’s are going,” Nadia contradicted me. “Rueben and Anya are coming to stay at Lexon and Damien and Kiera are staying here.”
“And Elizabeth?” David and Nadia looked at each other. “Where will she be?”
“Wherever you are,” Nadia replied.
“What do you mean?”
“Dominick asked Elizabeth to watch you, make sure you were ok,” David revealed.
“And she takes that very seriously. She isn’t going to leave your side,” Nadia finished.
“So if you go to Lexon, she will go with you.”
“But Elizabeth likes it here.” By the way her voice shone with pride when she talked about Blakesly house, I knew that Elizabeth was happy here.
“Yes,” David nodded in agreement. “She does like it here. This is Elizabeth’s home, in every sense.”
It was easy to come to a decision. “I will stay here with Elizabeth. When Dominick comes back and changes me, we’ll come to Lexon and see you. Then Elizabeth will be free to do as she pleases.”
The couple looked at each other again but this time they didn’t say anything. It wouldn’t have done them any good to argue with me, my mind was already made up.
***
The next morning I got up early to see David and Nadia off. It was the start to a new life for both of them, but for Nadia even more so. David knew Lexon and the people there. I wondered if everyone was still there, not knowing if David would ever come back.
I hugged David awkwardly. We had never been affectionate with each other, but a handshake just didn’t feel right. Nadia, on the other hand, flung her arms around me and squeezed tight. I had to remind her that she was a vampire now and I was still human.
“I’m going to miss you Eva, it feels like I have always known you.”
“Anya will be coming to see you soon,” I reminded her.
She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I know.”
Elizabeth, Kiera, and Damien came out to join us. “You’ll be back in August right?” Kiera asked.
“What is in August?”
“We all try to get together here at Blakesly House on August 23rd.”
“The day the warriors were made,” I concluded. Of course. “David isn’t a warrior.”
“But he is family.”
“I’ll see you before august,” I promised Nadia before she got in the auto and disappeared.
Elizabeth and I stood out in the driveway long after the auto disappeared from view. She put her arm over my shoulders and pulled me close. “You want to see the garden?” she asked gently. “It’s my favorite place to go when I just need to think.”
“Yes, I would like to see the garden.”
Elizabeth and I walked hand in hand through Kiera’s enormous garden. I was sure that I wasn’t the right person to appreciate all its glory but it was beautiful and the smell was intoxicating. “It’s lovely here, isn’t it?” She led me to a white stone bench in the center of a colorful scene.
“It is unlike anything I have ever seen,” I said truthfully. “No wonder you like it here.” I sat beside her on the bench.
“Blakesly House is the first home I ever had. When I am away, I long to come back.”
“It doesn’t bother you that Kiera hears all your thoughts?”
“My thoughts are usually transparent anyways. Kiera takes it in stride; she doesn’t tell all the secrets she knows.”
“Does Achilles like it here as much as you do?”
“I think Achilles feels most at home when he is fig
hting something.” She smiled. “But we are happy here together.”
“Does Damien ever leave?”
She snarled her features up. “Damien and I have always been a little at odds with each other. He is arrogant. I cannot see what Kiera sees in him.” She pursed her lips thoughtfully but then brought her attention back to me. “But to answer your question, he does leave. Kiera hardly ever leaves home but Damien will often run off to play.” She curled her lip again.
I couldn’t help but laugh. “It is so different than I thought it would be.”
“What did Neleh say about us?”
My laughter died on my lips. “Nothing.”
“Why do you do that?”
“What?”
“Try to protect Neleh.”
“I don’t.”
She smiled in an ‘I-know-you’re-lying’ kind of way and played absently with a pretty yellow flower. “Will you miss David?”
“I guess. I mean with David it’s more just familiarity rather than kinship. After my Reva was taken from me, David was all I had. No one else was even allowed to talk to me.”
“What’s a Reva?”
“Who. She was…my surrogate mother of sorts. Until I was thirteen.”
“What happened to her?”
“Neleh had her killed.”
“Wow, that’s harsh.”
“She had her moments.” I smiled without humor. “You told me you would show me the library today.”
“Yes I did. You ready to go?”
***
The sun was just coming up on the sixth morning since Dominick had left. I had woken up six times with the hope that he would be there and been disappointed each time. Since Elizabeth had shown me the little stone bench in the garden, I spent most of my mornings there.
I knew that Elizabeth slept late in the mornings and Kiera hated the sunrise so spending the mornings outside was sure to give me some time alone. I closed my eyes and tilted my face into the light breeze. It was going to be a beautiful day.
I heard footsteps on the path behind me and gritted my teeth. It was more than likely Kiera so I knew I had to not think anything too bad. I couldn’t let my thoughts of how annoying it was that she could hear my thoughts get too loud in my head. I loosened the pressure in my back teeth and sighed.
