Talon

by Alice Wade

  “What would you like me to say, Dace? I think this is a huge choice and one that you should take some time to think about.”

  Dace’s head flew up, “You didn’t give Kailani time to think. You both knew and you took action immediately. I know Talon. I want to do this. I’ve been thinking about it for months and my mind is made up. I want to stay with Lainey and with you and Kai. I want to be converted.”

  “Lainey?” Talon pleaded to his ward, “How do you feel about this?”

  She shifted her head so she was partially facing him, “I don’t agree. I think he should wait, get his shop open and decide next year.”

  “I would agree—” Dace cut Talon off while he was speaking,

  “I’m done with you controlling all my decisions, Talon. I’m asking your help because Kailani is too weak, otherwise I would ask her, because I know she’d support me. I want this Talon. Did you stop and think about it when you met Kai? Did you?”

  Talon knew he couldn’t lie, “No, I didn’t.”

  “Why should I wait? Why? Give me a compelling reason and maybe I’ll think about it, but I really can’t find one. I see no reason to wait.”

  “I guess it would be to make absolutely sure, Dace. It’s a choice that is irrevocable.”

  “Don’t you think I know that?” he growled and hung his head again before he continued, taking a few deep breaths. “Talon listen. I love Lainey more than anything; took me losing her to feel just how much. Now I can’t even begin to think of us being parted for even one moment. If I don’t do this, she’ll be alone for eternity.”

  “Not alone, but yes, she’ll be without you,” Talon corrected with a half smile for the bright green eyes that were now staring straight at him. Lainey was silently pleading with him to make Dace see reason.

  “Please, for me, do this,” Dace begged then pinned Talon with a look so hopeful, so desperate that Talon felt his resolve falter. Should he do this?

  He needed Kai to help him get Dace to see reason, jerking his head frantically in her direction and froze. What he saw nearly had him slump to the ground in shock for Kailani’s gorgeous mouth was eagerly attached to Daerwen’s wrist as she drank deeply from his pure elven blood. His father was sitting there in rapt attention, head thrown back and eyes held closed as he rode the waves of pleasure as her venom rolled through his veins.

  Talon could not believe what he was witnessing; this intimate act being performed out in the open before the watchful eyes of the elves in attendance. What were they thinking?

  As he watched, he reached out to Kailani to connect emotionally with her and felt her pleasure at tasting such pure blood. Then he shook himself. His father, the one who had accused him of being tainted, twisted and warped was allowing this? The one who had cast him out for being impure and ruined? He was allowing his mate to drink his blood?

  Dace registered the disruption and found Talon in a state of shock staring blankly ahead, so his eyes traveled the same line of sight and he too froze, “No,” he whispered.

  “Kailani!” Talon desperately called, “What are you doing?”

  She mentally hugged him. “He offered, love.”

  “My father?” he choked, still unable to comprehend.

  Kailani sealed the wound on Daerwen’s wrist and met Talon’s eyes sheepishly across the distance. “What, did you think I attacked him?”

  “Well, no, but…all right, yes.”

  She laughed. “Well, I should be offended at that, Talon. I have more manners than a beast.”

  Talon cleared his throat. “Forgive me.” He was still in shock and couldn’t move away from the startling sight before him.

  On the bench, the king looked at his wrist in wonder while this silent exchange took place. There wasn’t so much as a mark where she’d bitten him. “That’s all that is involved?” he whispered in an awed tone.

  “That’s all. Thank you, Daerwen, I’m eternally grateful.” She dipped her head.

  “Enough. You’re family now,” his hugged her tight and he whispered in her ear. “A woman of your stunning beauty should never thank anyone for anything. I see why Talon cherishes you so.” While he leaned back, his hand came up to cup her cheek in a fatherly act. “Welcome to my home, Kailani. I’ve been waiting months to say that.”

  He watched as her eyes filled with moisture. The silver color seemed to melt into a liquid appearance. “Um,” she stammered, “I’m not sure what to expect in all this, Daerwen. I’m frankly, overwhelmed at your generosity and not really sure if I’m worthy. I’m sorry if I…”

  He stopped her by touching one finger to her lips halting her words. “Stop Kailani. Since the moment Talon was born, I looked forward to the day he completed his bond. It was something I felt lost to me when I banished him. True my expectations were that he bonded with Cuilwen, but you my dear, you are utterly charming and incredibly bewitching. You have nothing to fear.”

  Kailani wilted under his intense scrutiny, but he wasn’t through speaking, “You see, when I abandoned my son to a life of solitude, I never once thought he’d find you. I thought I’d thrown away my dream of seeing my son experience the same joy I felt with his mother before she died. So you can imagine how it burned a hole in my heart the day he announced his attachment. I realized I had missed years of watching him in love—one of the goals a parent has for their child,” his voice lowered an octave, “I accept that pain as my own doing because I did abandon him. As you can see, it is nothing for you to be ashamed of, Kailani. You will learn and accept your status as my daughter, and I plan on making up for lost time, dear.” He cupped her warm cheek with his palm affectionately, “You are more than worthy.”

  Daerwen could not help but compare this woman to his own dear wife. She, too, was dark-haired and fair-skinned of elven kind, but that is where the similarities stopped. His wife had the same cold blue eyes that Talon was born with, not these steely grey orbs which now watched him with admiration.

  At this point, Talon had recovered from his fright. Moving quickly he raced across the lawn to now stand before Daerwen and Kailani with a slightly frantic appearance on his face. “What is the meaning of this?” he demanded urgently.

  Daerwen chuckled, “Peace son,” he gently said without taking his eyes off his new daughter. “All is well. I wanted everyone to know that I openly support you completely and without question.” He finally raised his face to meet Talon, “I thought this was the easiest and most effective way to send that message.”

  “Kailani?” Talon pleaded after first looking at his father and again was dumbfounded by what he was hearing.

  She ducked her head at the same time she laughed, “I’m well. I feel wonderful actually, so you really should calm down.”

  “Calm down? Calm down? Kai you just fed from my father in broad daylight before,” he turned around and counted, “five sets of eyes!” He could not believe she was arguing with him on this.

  Daerwen laughed deeply and stood up, “Talon that was my intent. Now, if you are done having your fit, I would like to take my leave.” He then faced Kailani and captured her hand and planting a kiss on her palm again, “Until later. I would dearly love you and Talon to join me for dinner if you are feeling strong enough. If you need it, you may repeat what you just did.”

  She dipped her head again, completely taken aback by Talon’s handsome father. He had all the charm of her mate, but he still didn’t cause the fire in her soul to light. “I would be honored.”

  “Until then,” he whispered as he touched Talon’s arm, “She’s lovely.”

  He choked and sputtered as he stared at his father’s face, finally finding his ability to speak, “Thank you.” Then a playful look crossed his face, “I think I’ll keep her,” which earned a swat from Kai against his thigh.

  That got a chuckling response from Daerwen as he passed by and d
own the path towards the sea, for his evening ritual, which had changed from remembering Talon to dreaming of his future. He had something to look forward to rather than looking back, and that made Daerwen smile.

  Kai watched him leave, and then looked thoughtfully at Talon, “He’s amazing. I see now why you were so upset at losing him.”

  “I know.” His head shook rapidly to shake the image of what she just did from his mind. “Listen, I need your help. Can you please come with me now? I need your sound logic to argue against what Dace just asked of me and I can’t persuade him otherwise. I’m hoping you can.” She took Talon’s extended hand and together they slowly walked back to the pond where Lainey and Dace were engaged in a heated argument.

  “You won’t listen to me!” she hollered at him, pointing a finger in an accusing fashion.

  Dace vibrated with anger but didn’t fight back; he stared her down then sighed, “Baby, why can’t you see why I want to do this? Why can’t you understand?”

  “Because this is crazy!” she screeched at him, clearly well beyond any emotional control at the moment.

  Kailani watched this with a growing concern. “What is going on?” she suddenly demanded when she was within range.

  Lainey whirled around. “He wants Talon to convert him!” she yelled while at the same time waving her hands in frustration. “He won’t listen to us and wait. Make him understand, Kai, please help me.” Lainey’s voice went from a howl to a desperate plea as she walked towards Kailani, “Please, Kai, tell him he should wait.”

  Dace was doing his own pleading and begged her with his eyes; begged her to remember her own choice and that she didn’t wait.

  She sided with Dace without pause, “I can’t do that Lainey; it would make me a hypocrite. I knew the moment I saw Talon that I would let him convert me and when he claimed me that night, I didn’t hesitate. I haven’t regretted that decision for one moment, so why should I deny Dace that same intense bond of being mated to a vampire? I can’t,” she turned to Talon, “If he wants this, what’s the problem?”

  Talon groaned loudly and whirled away, “Because it wasn’t that long ago he was discarding her for being a monster, Kai.”

  “Love, that was months ago to them, weeks to us because we were sick. I think you are being cruel. Convert him. If you don’t, I will,” she announced with confidence.

  That had Talon glowering in a cold and dangerous anger, “You will do no such thing. The process takes too much out of you and I won’t have you compromised.”

  “Then I see no other option,” Kailani challenged and followed it with, “You’ll have to do it,” she added with fiery sass.

  Growling with animosity, he prowled away to stalk the shoreline of the pond then came right back to stand before his ward. Talon did nothing at first but after taking a deep breath, he said, “Lainey?”

  She was crying so didn’t immediately reply, “I can’t argue with Kai and I can’t let her try this. Where I think he should wait as you do, a part of me agrees with her—a small part. I’ll do this but ask your forgiveness first, before I do.”

  Her only response was to hug him while she buried her face in his chest. Dace was jubilant and standing with his arm around Kailani’s shoulder. He was ecstatic that he’d won his argument and he’d finally get the chance to remain with her until the end of time. No more fear of her being alone, and no more worries about endless nights of sorrow. He would now be there to enjoy each and every moment Lainey experienced.

  Lainey finally mumbled from Talon’s chest, “When are you going to do it?”

  Dace answered quickly from over Talon’s shoulder receiving a frown from the elven vampire, “As soon as possible. I want this.” He received a loud groan from the woman in Talon’s arms.

  Lainey finally pulled away and scowled at Dace, “You have no idea what you are asking for.” She watched him carefully, but seeing absolute conviction shaping his handsome face, she became enraged. He had no idea was he was asking for and she could not stomach the thought of him going through with this. “Conversion is painful. It is not going to be gentle and it won’t be through sex, so that means you’ll be tormented; suffering in agony while the conversion takes place. I just can’t believe you’d willingly do this, Dace!”

  “I want this, Lainey,” he said calmly without falter. Dace reached for her just as she pulled away, “Honey, please.”

  Lainey turned on her heel and stormed off in a fit. She was angry and Kailani halted Dace’s move to follow with a gentle hand on his arm, “Just let her go.”

  Talon next cleared his throat, “Dace, there are a thousand ways to convert. I’ve only done it once,” motioning to Kailani with his head, “But there are other ways that don’t involve pain. The simplest and most under used is a single bite flooded with the toxins in one burst. It’s so simple and with as little pain as possible that most vampires that are in the art of converting prefer to use other more wicked means because they would be robbed of their sport otherwise. I won’t do that.”

  Dace’s attention remained on the retreating back of Lainey and he didn’t shift focus until she was out of sight. Only then did he face Talon with a remorseful sigh, “I hope she’ll understand.”

  “Oh, she will. I have no doubt,” Talon said with a smirk, “I still don’t understand your haste, though. One year won’t make a difference.”

  “Look what happened in a week, Talon. I can’t take that chance, no, I want this,” the desire in his eyes was irrefutable.

  Talon just hung his head in defeat, “Meet me in half hour at your place. You will need to sleep for a day before this form takes effect. You should at least be someplace comfortable.”

  Dace lit up with a huge smile in gratitude then quickly followed Lainey’s path, leaving Talon and Kailani alone. “You could have supported Lainey,” Talon quietly challenged as he watched Dace leave.

  “No, I really couldn’t. Talon, Dace knows my history and knows we waited the span of minutes not years. I would have lied,” she said with resignation. She felt his disappointment, but it still didn’t change her mind on this matter.

  “You could have recognized that Lainey was distressed and tried to explain a few things,” he threw at her, “She thinks I’m going to torture Dace, which was Kaen’s way.”

  Remorse did filter across her features, but she shook it off. “You could too, but if you felt so passionately about the topic, Talon, you too could have explained that fact. You are equally as guilty.” Kailani watched after the retreating couple and hoped her next words were true, “Lainey will be fine. She’s stronger than you give her credit and all it will take is a conversation. Right now, Dace needed to hear that you’d do this for him, Talon. Dace needed to know we’d support him,” her voice was soft and her conviction half hearted, but she stood her ground.

  “Lainey is part of this coven, Kai. Her feelings must come first,” he said with a bite of anger.

  Kailani’s whole demeanor sagged, “True, but you are failing to see one fact; Dace is also part of this coven and deserves the same respect,” she ran her eyes over his face as this information settled, “Respect him Talon. Do what you know is right.”

  Realizing she was right and he couldn’t argue with her, Talon eyed the long path back to their room and smirked, “Come on, we have half an hour. We could take the walk slowly or I could carry you—your choice.”

  “Oh, you would want to carry me. We walk, wicked elven prince. We walk,” with that, Kailani started to hobble down the path at a snail’s pace while Talon watched with such humor that he finally cracked out with a bubbling laugh.

  “Kai, you’re pathetic.”With that, he gently scooped her into his arms and carried her the rest of the way home.

  He barely paused at the threshold of their quarters, stopping long enough to remove his shoes at the door, before continuing straight
to their bedroom where he placed her delicately on the bed, “Now, did you have any ideas for our time or could I be creative?”

  Kai raised one brow. “Hmm, be creative,” she replied.

  “I’m so glad you said that!” The happiness in his voice was contagious and Kai could not help but giggle in response as he quickly had them both naked before she could catch her breath.

  She watched him hungrily, while he in turn watched her. She was still self-conscious of her scars which some still marked her brilliantly. The longer he stared at her, the more uncomfortable she became with his evaluation of her scars. So much so that she shifted to the side of the bed, thus breaking his view. “Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea after all,” she said.

  With a fluid motion, Kailani stepped up from the bed and moved towards the closet where she quickly searched for a robe to dress in. He read her hesitation; her fear. He knew she was avoiding accepting her injuries and he wasn’t going to allow it. His strong hands suddenly gripped her around her narrow waist, halting her escape. In the next motion he pulled her to his body, holding her close.

  “Where do you think you’re going?” he growled softly in her ear, sending a shiver down her spine when his breath caressed her ear lobe. They had not made love since she’d emerged, so this was technically their first intimate encounter.

  “Now is not such a good idea after all. I changed my mind.” Kailani tried in vain to wiggle out of his grasp, but his grip was too firm. One arm wrapped all the way around her body and spun her around which ensured she was securely entrenched his embrace against his smooth but firm chest. Their naked flesh pressed closely together. He stifled a moan because there wasn’t anything more desirable than this exact moment when their bodies collided sending an explosion of sensation as their skin touched.

  “What was it you were saying?” The half smile on his face lifted just one corner of his mouth.

  Kailani gave up. She’d seen that look before and knew there was no escaping his amorous attentions once he became this determined. “You are not going to let me get away with my weakness are you?” she finally sighed against his body.