by Eve Newton
“I am a Vampire,” I say as I take off.
“Ah, but you can’t use your Vampirey skills out here in public,” he says as he runs next to me.
“Not speed, no, but I can run the entire length of the Florida coastline without breaking a sweat. Can you?”
“Well, no, I suppose not,” he grudgingly admits. “And before you say it, no, I don’t want you to turn me so that I can,” he adds with a sidelong glance.
I laugh because I was indeed about to say that. It is great being outside. I spend far too much time indoors. I should make more of an effort to get out in the world. Especially now that I am no longer working. Well, at my day job anyway.
We run for an hour and then after some stretches, he takes me to Tai Chi in the park and yoga back at the beach, both of which I have to run to. Followed by another hour’s jog. Geez. I haven’t worked this hard in a long time. And yes, the man has stamina. Christ. I thought he would have dropped ages ago.
“How do you feel?” he says as we finally stop.
“Actually, pretty damn good,” I say with a smile. “Thank you. It was a good idea. And I am impressed. You can keep up.”
A proper smile appears that reaches his eyes and crosses his face. Those are few and far between. “Well, it would be kind of pointless to do this job if I couldn’t.”
“Yes, that is true.” I nod.
We head back to the hotel for showers and, for me, a nap.
“Do you want me to sit with you?” he asks. “You aren’t supposed to be alone.”
“No, I will be fine. I will call you if I need you.”
He hesitates but accepts it and I close the door to the suite and go for my shower, which I stand under for too long and then crawl into bed. This is a nice bed, but I miss my own. I sigh as I snuggle further into the pillows, dreaming of my sumptuous custom-made bed back in L.A.
Sometime later, I stir. I wiggle a little as I am in a strange bed. No, not a strange bed. My bed. I can feel the silk of the sheets and I open my eyes. Huh? That’s weird. I turn to look at the person next to me and stare into the beautiful face of my sleeping sire.
“Too early,” he mumbles to me in Italian as he pulls me towards him. “Wait until they come for you.”
Come for me? Who is coming for me? I take in my surroundings and although I am in my bed, I am not in L.A. I am at Ponte in CK’s bedroom. Well, our bedroom, I suppose it is now. I look at the clock and it says 5:45 AM. How the hell did I get here and why am I with CK? I sit up, pulling the sheet up with me and notice two odd things. First, my rings. The blue diamond and Faerie Silver wedding ring are on my left hand. I don’t have a Faerie Silver ring on my thumb and secondly my arms and hands are covered with markings. Swirls connected to more swirls connecting hundreds of tiny, I squint at them, thorns? What the hell is this? Wherever I am, I must get back. Pronto. I close my eyes and concentrate. I wish myself back to the bed in Miami and open my eyes only to find I am still in Italy. Crap. I try again and again.
And then I try again and again.
I can’t get back. I am stuck. Fuck.
“CK,” I shake him. “Wake up.”
“Who is CK?” he asks me, opening his eyes. “And why are you speaking English?”
Last year, I could have understood why he would ask me that. Most of our conversations were conducted in Italian but as we spent more and more time together and then when Cole and I got married we mostly speak now in English, even when we are alone together, so I find his question odd. Well, actually, everything about this is odd. I think I have somehow come to the future again as, clearly, I am married to my sire. Blast. That is just a pain in the arse that I can now do this in my sleep.
“Aefre?” he asks me, sitting up now with a worried look on his face as I just stare at him. “What’s wrong?”
I shake my head. “No. I don’t belong here.”
“What?” he says. “What do you mean you don’t belong here? This is our home.”
“No, it’s not mine. I am not supposed to be here.” I get up and pull on the robe that is draped over the end of the bed.
“Aefre. Where are you going?” he calls after me as I run from the room. Oh, this is weird, I think, as I slow down. A variety of different species stop speaking in the hallway and turn to stare at me as I walk past. Vampires, Shifters, Demons, Dragons, some I don’t even recognize. They all bow their heads, making space for me to walk. My whole demeanor feels different. I feel far more graceful and poised than I usually do as I make my way down the stairs silently. Future me has it good. I like this show of respect. About bloody time. I descend the stairs in a steady Queen-like manner, quite enjoying this for a moment and almost crash into Ramon, who is hurtling up the staircase like a bat out of hell. Ramon? Is he a Vampire now? I sniff but no, he is still human. I frown at him as he apologizes profusely for not being on time. On time for what? I push past him, something far beyond weird is going on around here. Am I in the future? I spot a newspaper folded neatly on the massive table in the Entrance Hall and cross quickly over to it. A newspaper a hundred years in the future? This doesn’t bode well. I pick it up carefully and see the date: February 11th, 2013.
Come again. That is indeed today’s date.
“Ma’am,” Marguerite rushes up behind me. “I am so sorry for not being on time.” She holds out a cup of coffee with a slight curtsey. What was she late for? I wonder.
“Marguerite,” I say, ignoring the coffee. “What is the date?” I ask, needing confirmation as I start to glean where I am.
“Ma’am?” she asks me.
“The date,” I snap at her.
“The date?” she repeats in English to me, “It is 11th February, Your Majesty.”
“The year?” I press. That’s what I need to know, silly woman.
“2013,” she says, peering curiously at me, before she averts her eyes.
Oh, crap. I have time travelled to a different universe, not a different time, only this one is not the same as the other one. Definitely not. This is…shit. This is what Corinne wondered about there being others.
“Aefre,” CK says as he sweeps majestically down the stairs in his dressing gown. Looking stunning, I might add, as he hasn’t tied the belt and is wearing only a pair of black pajama bottoms. He is followed by two…handmaidens? “Are you unwell, my love?” he asks me, still with the Italian.
“I am fine,” I say firmly in English and all eyes go to me. The two girls bow quickly and drop to their knees lifting my bare feet to place them in slippers. “CK, we need to talk,” I say.
“Who is this ‘CK’ you keep calling me?” he asks, gesturing expansively, as only the Italians can.
Okay, clearly this timeline me doesn’t call him CK either. “Constantine. We need to talk. Can you please tell me where I can find Cole and Devon?”
“Who?” he asks with a frown.
“Cole and Devon,” I say, rounding on him with my own frown and the gathering people step back, lowering their eyes. Oh, yeah, this is more like it. There’s the fear. Apparently having had my sire give me my Queen status a thousand years ago has worked nicely in my favor.
“I don’t know who you mean, my love,” he says and shakes his head. “Marguerite,” he snaps, “do we have anyone on the service called Cole or Devon?”
She shakes her head quickly, the growing look of panic on her face is matching my own growing panic. “Cole and Devon!” I yell at him, grabbing the front of his dressing gown. “Don’t fuck with me, Constantine. Where are they?”
“My sweet. Calm yourself. You are making a scene.” He tries to placate me with that soothing tone of his. “There is no one here by that name.” I let go of him and step back. Everyone steps back even further as I turn, my hand on my mouth, the other on my stomach. I am going to be sick. I try again to get back to my 2013 but it doesn’t work. I am stuck here in her body, as this definitely isn’t my own, without my two beloved boys. And what about everyone else? Do I not have them either? Is Lincoln here? X
ane? Cade, even?
“Aefre?” Constantine says again, putting a hand on my shoulder.
I open my mouth to ask about the others but get interrupted.
“Is everything all right here?” A small rush of relief goes through me, as despite the Italian, I recognize the voice.
I spin towards him and smile, “You’re here.”
Epilogue
Miami, USA, 2013 - Aefre
I wake up in an unfamiliar bed with cotton sheets. White cotton sheets. Ergh. Is this a hotel? I peer around in distaste. How on earth did I get here? And where is here?
“Aefre. You’re awake,” Constantine says to me in English, which is odd, as he strides towards me in an unfamiliar suit and sits next to me on the bed. He drops his mouth to mine with a quick kiss. I blink at him and kiss him back with a deeper kiss, which he responds to after a slight hesitation. At least he is here. He peers at me before he says, “Your husband called, he is running late, but everyone else is here. They want to see you. Can’t even go a day without your company.” He chortles and stands up.
I frown at him. “My husband? Everyone?” I say in English as he talking to me in the language.
He tilts his head and frowns. “Are you well, my sweet? Did you have another dream?”
Dream? “No, I am fine,” I say. “Give me a minute?”
“Of course. I like your accent. Decided to go with a change after a thousand years?” he says with his perfect smile.
What does he mean a change in accent? I have had a perfectly cultured Italian accent, which I find quite charming, especially when talking in this language, for as long as I can remember. Whatever is going on, I seem to be somewhere that is not my world. I smile at Constantine who doesn’t appear to be my husband, but someone else’s, as I notice the ring he wears, but it is not the ring I gave him. I say again, “A minute, please.”
He is looking at me curiously and says, “We will be in the sitting room.”
I nod as he closes the door. The first thing I notice then, is that my own rings are all different. And I have no markings on my arms. I peer over my shoulder and see that I have the Dragon on my back. I look again at my hands. Well, not my hands. Long black nails that go with the, I squint at it, five-carat black diamond engagement ring and black diamond wedding ring. I have a ring on my thumb which on closer inspection appears to be the one made of Faerie Silver and the blue diamond is on my right ring finger. Wherever I am, it seems I am not married to Constantine but to some other man who is running late. I wonder why Constantine has given me this ring, what I think of as my centuries-late engagement ring, to wear on my right hand. I quickly get out of the bed and get dressed. Pulling on a smart black pantsuit and white shirt from, well, that’s a good question. I look at myself in the mirror. I look like me. The only difference is my posture. I pull myself up to my full height as I slip on the shoes left by the dresser. Hm, Louboutins.
I pick up the phone on the bedside cabinet and see that the date and year is the same. The time says 7:45 PM. The damn thing is locked with a passcode, but I am pleased to see that the lock screen is a photo of myself and Constantine. Well, what I can only imagine is another me and her Constantine. Somehow, it appears, I have switched bodies and lives and time with another me.
I always wondered if alternate universes exist and apparently, they do. Seems she has the power to move through the space-time continuum. I certainly don’t but I try to get back to Italy and my time anyway and failing as I expected. I will just have to sit this out until she finds a way to switch us back. I look out of the window and I don’t know where I am. Well, I suppose I should go and face this 'everyone' he spoke of. Whoever they might be. Should I mention that I am not theirs? One doesn’t know the proper protocol for something like this. I decide to wait and see.
I exit the bedroom, and ‘everyone’ turns to stare at me. Hm, quite the crowd. I take them all in one at a time, starting with Constantine.
The End
Read on with Switch: The Forever Series, Book 7 & The Other Switch: The Forever Series, Book 7.5
Switch
The Forever Series, Book 7
By Eve Newton
Copyright © Eve Newton, 2013
Copyright © Eve Newton, 2017
Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), without the prior written permission of the copyright owner.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or
dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Prologue
Buckinghamshire, England, 1966 – Jacqui
“Devon?” I called to him. “Devon?”
He came sauntering into the library with his usual swagger. “What is it, Jacqus?” he complained. “I’m busy.”
“I need your help with something,” I said and pointed to the rolling library ladders. “This needs to go back up there.” I held out the book to him.
He looked at me in disbelief. “You called me away from the World Cup Final to ask me to replace a book on the top shelf?”
“Yes,” I said to him, as I swung my long red hair out of my bright green eyes. “Your book, you replace it. If you think I am going up that rickety ladder to the ceiling, you have another thing coming.”
“Jacqui, my dear. I do love you, but I am going back to watching the football. The ladder is fine. Go up yourself, or I will do it later,” he said to me as he turned to leave.
I huffed at him. “Fine then. CK is due any minute. I am sure he will have no problem in helping me,” I yelled at his retreating back, hearing him mutter something about staying well out of the way.
“Jacqui,” my sire crooned from behind me, where he had Teleported in, making me jump. Damn man, he needed a cowbell. He leaned over to kiss me and frowned at my Shift. “Beautiful as always, my sweet, but you really should keep your natural look.”
“It’s boring,” I said to him, returning his kiss with a passionate one of my own. “It has been far too long since I have seen you.”
“Your natural look is not boring,” he admonished. “But yes, indeed it has been. I don’t mind coming to see you here. Are you returning to Seattle soon?” he inquired.
“Yes, we are leaving tomorrow. Devon just had to be here for the World Cup,” I said. “I did tell you we were here a couple of weeks ago,” I reminded him.
He shrugged. “I had business to attend to. Will you be staying over there much longer? I want you to return to the Continent and me.”
Oh, I wanted to return to him, but he didn’t want me in that way, so I shrugged myself and said, “A few more years, then Chicago and then I have plans to go to Boston.”
“Boston?” he asked in surprise.
“Yes, I want to go to Harvard.”
“We have perfectly fine universities in Italy,” he frowned at me.
“I know, I have attended them all,” I reminded him with my own frown. “I want to go to Harvard.”
“You won’t find it as easy as all that to get in nowadays, my dear.”
“I know. We have to go to school first.”
“You are going to high school?” he asked me in utter disdain.
“Well, not right now,” I snapped, getting irritated. “A couple of decades from now. We have other plans first.”
“We, humph,” he said rudely under his breath. “So, you required help from someone called CK?” His beautiful dark eyes found mine and I looked down in horror.
“Err, I just needed this going back up there,” I said, stammering slightly because he heard me call him by a nickname. He was going to have my head for it, I thought with a gulp. “It’s no problem, I can do it,” I said an
d hastily pulled the shaky ladder to me, which was in desperate need of replacing after years of neglect. Devon and I hadn’t been back here since the war and the old place needed a good renovation. I ascended gracefully, despite the ridiculously short skirt and long boots, just to get away from his knowing look. I replaced the book and hesitated as he came to stand underneath the ladder looking up at me. I climbed slowly back down and felt his hand run up my bare leg as I got within touching range.
“I can’t say that I am all that pleased about you showing off your legs to the world in this skirt,” he murmured to me and I swallowed loudly, but was glad that he’d dropped the nickname thing. His hand inched further up under the skirt and my breathing all but stopped. I let go of the ladder and fell back into his waiting arms, tilting my head up for a kiss, but I got a shock when he placed me back on my feet.
“You call me ‘CK’ when you speak of me?” he asked casually and again I looked down, contrite.
“Sorry, sir,” I mumbled. “It is your initials; it is just shorter. I won’t do it again.”
A silence grew and I waited for the speech to come on respect and being brash and presumptuous, but it didn’t come. I dared to look up into his eyes and all I saw was amusement.
“You are the only person I have ever come across that would dare to be that overly familiar with me.”
“Sorry, sir,” I mumbled again.
He stepped closer and tilted my chin up. “Shift so I can tell this to my real charge, if you please.”
Surprised, I took a step back and Shifted back to my natural form. My clothes now hung a bit looser on my tiny frame. Devon always grumbled that I was too skinny in this form. He was right, so I did try to make my Shifted persona’s curvier. He smiled his heart-stopping smile at me. “That’s better. I do prefer it when you look like Aefre,” he said to me. “You are a special girl, my sweet. I do love you so.”
I simpered under his words, but I wished that he meant them in the way that I wanted him to. “I love you too,” I said back.
