Immortal Beloved - Kith & Kynn Book 2

by Jeya Jenson

Eyes filled with gentle compassion, Rachel held out her hand. “You’re the man who wrote these horrible letters,” she said, voice trembling.

  Adrien’s face was grim. The silence was so thick a knife could slice it. Finally, he said, “Yes.”

  “Is it true,” she asked, “the things you wrote about that woman and my husband?”

  “Yes.” Adrien looked uncomfortable. “I was sired against my will into this damnation.” He held up his bloodstained fingers. “I fall to their hungers even as I despise myself.”

  Rachel let the letters drop from her hand, a scattering of pages around her feet. “If these things are true, then it is my husband who should be down on his knees—asking your forgiveness.”

  “Rubbish,” Devon started to say, but a look from his wife stopped the word from leaving his mouth. He looked at her in blank dismay, searching for the right thing to say. Finally, he blurted, “Rachel, please—it is not your place to do this.” His voice struggled with the rage and pain he was feeling. But there was something more. Her grief and worry was with him, inside him, and he was wrung and wrenched by it. Only now did he realize the incredible burden he’d placed on his wife and heirs. His sin was not his own to bear. It was also theirs.

  Rachel shook her head stubbornly. Her face was drawn with anguish. “It is my place,” she said with compassion. “What you did was wrong—that can’t be denied.” She looked down at Adrien, placing one hand on her belly, the other on his head as if she were attempting to make a connection with the man who’d threatened her.

  “I understand your need for vengeance, but my children are innocents, unknowing of what they will yet be born into,” she said slowly. “With every fiber of my being, I believe that they’ve been conceived for a reason and that I was chosen to give birth to them. If murder is to be done to protect their lives—” she paused, drawing in a deep breath, “then the order will come from the lips of their mother.”

  Devon rushed to his wife, pressing a quick kiss into her hair. “You didn’t let me down,” he whispered in her ear. Exhausted, Rachel’s head dropped heavily for a moment against him, and she sighed then, fighting to corral her strength, raised her head. “I want this nightmare over,” she said quite clearly.

  Adrien closed his eyes and crossed his body. “May God have mercy on all your souls,” he breathed. “And may he grant mercy on mine.”

  The execution was interrupted by a plaintive female voice.

  Chapter Seventeen

  With a small fragmentary thought, Cassie wondered if she weren’t in the midst of some strange dream. Without really willing it, the thought tangled through her mind that the cancer had somehow overtaken her; that she was really lying comatose in some hospital room with an IV in her arm, her brain the victim of some twisted, wishful nightmare.

  Vampires… Assassins… A lover who walked on the wind… Could any mind, however invaded by illness, dream up such a strange brew? For an instant, she would have believed herself utterly and completely unconscious, except that she felt the soft silk of her spare gown against her skin, felt the chill of goose-bumps rising. On another level, even clearer, she was aware that she was awake and what was happening was all too real. Something profound had come into her life. She felt a strange prickle go up and down her spine. She’d be a fool not to grab at it with both hands.

  I have nothing to lose, she thought.

  Breaking past Devon and Rachel, Cassie joined her lover. “If you’re going to kill him,” she blurted out. “Then kill me, too.” When only shocked stares met her announcement, she cleared her voice and stated, “It’s not like I have anything to live for.”

  Still on his knees, Adrien looked up her. “Don’t be foolish,” he protested violently. “This isn’t a game.” He sent a glare over his shoulder. “This wasn’t anything you should have been involved in.”

  Cassie wet her lips. Her mouth was bone dry, nerves all atremble. She forced herself to appear calm when she addressed Devon and Rachel. “My life is nothing—soon to end.” She clenched her hands into fists, gathering her courage. “I’ll trade my life for his.”

  Devon Carnavorn gathered his scattered composure. “Why would you wish to give your life for that of this man?”

  She made a faint gesture of negation. “I’m dying,” she announced.

  Rachel broke free of her husband’s hold. Taking Cassie’s hands, Rachel led her to sit down on the chaise. The inquiry in Rachel’s gaze made her feel wholly exposed. Cassie, in turn, noticed that Devon’s wife looked wearied and haggard. Her pregnancy had taken its toll. The woman had no business being up and about. She should be in bed resting.

  “Is what you say true?”

  Cassie felt a curious inward trembling, a shaking she could never quite control when she thought about her cancer. She’d never spoken about it to anyone other than her physicians. Even her own mother did not know the truth about her health. She bit her lip, struggling to force the answer through the barrier of self-denial. Her eyes were level and tearless, but inside her heart was breaking.

  “Yes,” she said, keeping her voice even with effort. The tears did fall then. She did not let them fall, blinking and flicking them away with the tips of her fingers.

  Devon’s smooth brow was wrinkled with a frown. He turned to the assassin. “You can read certain—things—about people, can’t you?”

  After a moment of hesitation, Morgan nodded, saying, “I can.”

  “Then is she telling the truth?”

  Adrien rose swiftly to his feet. “It’s just a trick,” he said, cutting Morgan’s passage short. “She’s just trying to save my life.” He hurried to Cassie’s side, pulling her to her feet, away from Rachel. Behind his eyes, she could see that his mind was working, racing for an answer that would offer them both a shot at freedom. She knew he could depart with ease—she’d witnessed his entrance. A flash of insight told her that he could not so easily spirit her away—he was not as practiced and powerful as the other two beings. As she had wanted to deny her cancer, so had Adrien denied his vampirism.

  “Good try, honey, but there’s no use in offering your life for mine.”

  Cassie countered, very simply and honestly, “I’m not lying. I have a couple of years at the most, if that much time.”

  Before Adrien could stop her, she stepped toward the assassin. He was the most intimidating of the three, and not simply because he held the most weapons. There was something even more otherworldly about him than Devon, Adrien and Rachel combined. She remembered what he’d said to Adrien before they’d departed her bedroom: you have everything to gain if you play your cards right.

  Well, Adrien was deliberately tossing away all the good cards. She wasn’t willing to let him throw away his life, or hers. Something wonderful was in her grasp. She wanted it with all her might. This was her only chance and it was now or never.

  A look passed between them. He had the twinkle of a rogue in those dark eyes and the slightest of smiles turned up one corner of his fine mouth. She had the odd feeling that he was carefully putting each of them into place like a chess master. He knew exactly how the strings should be pulled and he was doing just that. She didn’t know why she trusted him. She just did.

  “Tell them,” she rasped. She forced herself to relax, deliberately quieting her breathing. This was not going to be easy.

  Tossing the crossbow to Devon, he lifted his left hand toward her body, palm out, all five fingers splayed. He briefly passed his hand at the level of her chest. A look of puzzlement crossed his face. He shook his head as though searching for his concentration. His hand rose, toward her head, passing in front of her face. His eyes burned with a fierce intensity. Then, very lightly, his hand came to rest, his middle finger pressing at her temple, thumb at her jaw. He pressed harder.

  Staring into his dark eyes, Cassie felt a jolt go through her mind, passing from the physical into the molecular level. She tried to focus on the beat and rhythm his touch introduced. For an instant her vision dimmed
and in a second of psi-awareness she merged with the pulsing of blood cells in her veins, the beat of her heart. And then her third eye moved into her skull and she saw the hungry gray beast feasting on the tender pink cells of her brain.

  In an instant the link was broken. Cassie trembled, knees going weak. For a second she felt herself struggle at the edge of a great abyss, heard herself gasp, near to retching. A nausea that wasn’t even definite enough to be relieved by vomiting attacked her, accompanied by a strange sensation crawling through her bowels. The physical side effects of being psychically invaded were like the effects of a strong poison. Lights flashed behind her eyes, as if emitted from inside her own skull. She stayed still, eyes closed, until the swaying sickness in her stomach retreated a little. Her own hands pressed against her forehead.

  Morgan announced to the waiting people, “She has a cancer in her mind.” He turned away, giving a slight shake of his head. “I need a cigarette,” Flinging himself back into the chair he’d earlier occupied, he lit up, then drank down the remainder of his sherry. Lowering his empty glass, he said, “This is getting tedious and boring. If you have the nerve, kill Adrien now or let him go.”

  Devon slowly shook his head and laid the crossbow aside. Rachel smiled softly and nodded, reaching for her husband’s hand. “No one will die this night,” he said.

  Cassie felt Adrien wrap his arms around her slender waist, drawing her close. “Why didn’t you tell me?” he asked softly.

  She swallowed, choking a little, then said, “How could I? Would you want to be held to a dying woman? What’s happened tonight has opened my eyes to so many things—wonderful things.”

  “How can you call vampirism a wonderful thing?” Adrien asked, incredulous.

  “I’m not blind. I know everything I’ve seen tonight and it’s incredible. You people have been granted an amazing gift, a lifetime free of old age, pain—or sickness,” she paused, struggling with the lump at the back of her throat.

  “You’re looking through rose-colored glasses,” Adrien said softly. “Eternity is not what you believe it to be.”

  She motioned for him to be quiet by putting a single finger across his lips. “Eternity is everything when you have no future,” she said plaintively. “You have one, Adrien, yet you’d willingly throw it away. You may not have chosen such an existence, but it chose you.” She searched his eyes with her own. “If you love me as you say, then choose me. Please, share your gift with me.”

  Adrien gave a bitter grimace. “You don’t know what you’re asking, Cassie.”

  Seeing faint surprise and hesitation in his gaze, she insisted, “I do know what I’m reaching for. I don’t want to die. What’s waiting for me is more brutal than anything that could happen to me now.”

  Adrien raised his eyebrows. “It’s not that easy…” he started to say. “Are you—certain—it’s what you would want?”

  Once the thought came into her mind, it would not be dispelled. “Spending more time with you,” she said with a sigh, “would be heaven.”

  By the look on his face, she could see that he was warring with his emotions. His doubts and prejudices were holding fast, not so easily chased away. She said nothing more, afraid that he would resent her if she tried to sway him to accept something he did not want against his will.

  After the longest moment had passed, Adrien slowly bent and gathered the letters he’d written, letters that Rachel had cast back at him. “All my hate is here, in these pages,” he said. Sorrow gnawed at him, etching its many hurts across his visage. But even sorrow gave way to the knowledge of what he had done, and what he had become. “I wore my need for revenge like blinders, never seeing anything else in this world, for I always felt my world had been taken from me. I—I never realized it was not stolen away. Lilith may have taken my mortal life, but I am the one who refused to accept my own as one of the Kynn.”

  He walked over and cast the pages into the fireplace. A hearty fire cracked in the hearth to chase away the chill of midnight’s frigid breath. The pages immediately burst into flames. In an instant, only ashes remained.

  He looked to Devon. “Can my threats toward your family ever be forgiven?”

  Devon looked to his wife, sliding an arm around her and drawing her close.

  “I can forgive Ariel’s death,” he said. “That past must be lain aside. With my wife, I treasure the new chances I have myself been given. It is only fair that I give you that second chance.”

  A shy, tentative manner seemed to overtake Adrien. “Would the making of a new Kynn woman be permissible?”

  Devon inclined his head. “A new member is always welcome.” He looked troubled as he continued, “It is to my eternal regret that I left you in Lilith’s hands. She twisted the joy you could have experienced.” In a bold move, he stepped up and held out his hand. “Many blessings to your new she-shaey, Adrien. May your days together be happy ones.”

  A suspicious look crossed Adrien’s face, which he quickly squelched. He tentatively took Devon’s hand. “Many blessings upon your wife and children to be.”

  Relieved and delighted that peace had been attained, Cassie placed her hands atop those of the men. She couldn’t help smiling. “Thank you both,” she whispered.

  She glanced back at Rachel, who nodded and patted her bulging belly—a gesture of hope that Cassie dare not dream of just yet.

  Whatever turns lie in the road ahead, she thought, we will face them together.

  The animosity and trouble had been cleared. There was nothing further to be said or done. There was only the future, perhaps even a bright one, for the Kynn people. For the rest of her life, she would remember and cherish this moment.

  Devon stepped back, clearing his throat. “You are both free to go.”

  Rachel tugged gently at her husband’s sleeve. “That lady is hardly dressed to go out into the night,” she hinted. “Shouldn’t we offer the hospitality of our home? I am sure she and Adrien would like to be alone. It will take time while she, ah, adjusts.”

  Her husband quickly caught the gist behind her words. “Of course,” he said, sharing a knowing glance with his wife. “You two must do us the honor of staying the night. I have just the perfect rooms available.”

  Cassie looked at Adrien. Though he looked as nervous as a schoolboy before the headmaster, he tentatively nodded.

  “Thank you,” she answered for both of them, sliding her hand into her lover’s. We’d be delighted to stay.”

  Chapter Eighteen

  The suite of rooms Devon Carnavorn led them to was luxuriously appointed; even more lavish than her own at home.

  Cassie sat down on the king-sized bed. She gave the comforter a light stroke, enjoying the feel of the material under her hand. It will be luxurious to lie on, she thought. A small smile crossed her lips. Even nicer to make love on. She watched Adrien close the door, lock it. Instead of turning on the overhead lights and filling the room with illumination, he turned only one small lamp beside the table. He seemed to need the darkness.

  He immediately turned to her. His features were strangely taut. “I don’t know if I can do this,” he blurted.

  She felt her stomach clench. “What do you mean?”

  Adrien sat down on the bed beside her, his face half in shadow, half in light. He looked very mysterious, very otherworldly. “I mean, I don’t know if I can make you like me, one of the Kynn.”

  She inclined her head. “Is that you’re called?” She mulled the word. “Kynn. I like it.” She wanted him to come to her, crush her in his strong embrace and cover her with kisses, but something in him—a faint sense of hesitation—kept him away. She felt his tension, his discomfort. He did not have to say a word. His body was tense, hands clenched, jaw rigid.

  Cassie slid off the bed. She went to the window, pushing aside the heavy drapes and sliding up the glass to let in the night air. She leaned against the sill, looking out onto the gardens. Under the wisps of moonlight, the gardens had a surreal, frozen cast. It wa
s as though all breath but her own had ceased in this world.

  “This isn’t something you want,” she murmured. “I can feel it in you.”

  Behind her, Adrien left the bed. She heard the light fall of his step as he walked up behind her. His hands slid around her waist. She laid her head back on his shoulder. Together their bodies swayed gently. Neither said a word. They simply enjoyed each other’s touch.

  “If only you knew how much I wanted to tell you,” he finally said, breaking the silence. “Every time I pulled you into my arms, the words were on my lips.” He nuzzled the nape of her neck, nipping gently. “The need to take you—” He licked her skin, leaving a moist trail, “to taste you, almost drove me insane.”

  She closed here eyes for a moment, trying to collect her thoughts, which scattered at each touch from this man. “I wanted you to,” she whispered. “Why didn’t you?”

  “All my life, I was taught to hate and fear these things—and to hunt them. I destroyed without knowing the truth.” He drew a deep breath. “My hate of Lilith kept me alone, locked in my own shell. I thought myself unworthy, tainted by their evil kiss. I never believed I’d find a woman who could so willingly accept me.” He hugged her tighter. “I want to be with you, Cassie. Now and forever.”

  Before she sank into sweet oblivion, she said, “Do you really want forever? I can feel hesitation in you.” Her gut was telling her that if he didn’t take her tonight, this very hour, that he’d walk out of her life forever. She hadn’t wait this long to find her soul mate, only to discover that the barriers between their worlds couldn’t be bridged. She realized with sudden clarity that it was his own fear holding him back from taking her completely.

  Adrien drew back, turning her around to face him. With a hand that wasn’t quite steady, he drew off his shirt, baring his chest. A strange charm she’d never before seen hung around his neck from a sturdy silver chain; a triangle of three sharp eyelets. The edges looked razor-sharp. Dried blood clung to his skin, flaking off in patches around the injury he’d earlier suffered. Amazingly it’d healed; a puckered white scar in the place of what should be a fresh ugly wound. “The Kynn are predators,” he said simply. “These scars are the marks of Lilith’s feeding off me before she made me.”