The main doors were suddenly pushed open, and Claudius entered, hauling in two other people by the scruff of their necks. He took in the scene before him, and then shouldered the frozen Chesterton out of my way, breaking whatever connection I had made with him.
“What the hell is going on here?” he demanded.
“Feed Xavier now,” Armanita pleaded from the floor.
Claudius understood, and he let go of the two men he held. One was dressed in a business suit, and the other, who he pushed toward me, looked like a cab driver. “Do not take enough to kill him. That is why I have brought you two to feed on,” he said.
It should have bothered me. I mean, I should have been wracked with guilt or self-loathing as Claudius came and held the cabbie’s face between his hands and blanked the man’s mind so that he just stood there, staring at me trustingly as I bit him. He tasted of dark exotic places and warm summer nights. Of something sweet. As I drank from him, I reached up and stroked his hair, letting my thumb run against his temple as I breathed in his unique scent…as I stole years of his life.
“Enough, Xavier.”
I didn’t let go fast enough for Claudius, and he shoved at my forehead, making me back off the cabbie’s neck. I willed my fangs even and licked at the man’s wounds. He had made no sound as I’d feasted on him, and after enduring Marcus for the past year, I knew damn well that the bite hurt like hell. Claudius had to have done something to keep the snack pack calm, but I was too lost in my own blood lust to really care.
The bleeding at my back had slowed, but it still burned and pulsed hot. My vision clicked up to that final notch of clarity, and I turned my attention to the blond haired man in the three piece suit.
Come here.
He walked woodenly towards me. Claudius stared, before pulling the cabbie out of the way. I let the man walk right up to me and was then amazed as he pressed his forehead into my neck, his arms coming up around me, under my wings.
What the hell is this?
“He sees you as an angel,” Claudius stated simply.
“Take what you need from me.” I blinked at the suited man as he whispered to me. “I am honored to be chosen.”
Marcus came up behind me. “Drink, Xavier. You are not fully healed yet. Weakness pours off you in waves. I actually ache to feel that from you.”
I needed no further urging, and leaning forward, I licked at the offered neck just once before sinking my fangs straight in. The man’s blood was so warm. It was like a river of hot chocolate on my taste buds. Marcus brought a hand up and rubbed at my neck, stroking me like he would a cat. I could feel my wings shimmer with each touch.
“Too much, and you’ll Flame up,” Marcus warned, his lips tickling my ear. That stopped my drinking. I pulled my head back, leaving little rivulets of blood trailing from my bite marks. The blond man gasped as he was freed, blinking slowly as he burrowed his forehead into the crook of my shoulder.
“May he drink from you too?” I asked him gently.
“What is he to you, Red Angel?” The man’s eyes were glazed, but his question cut right to the heart of the matter.
“He is my protector and the holder of my heart.”
Marcus stopped stroking me, and I felt him come around to my side. Laying a hand on his chest, I stepped free of the suited man, pulling at Marcus until he was pressed with his back set against me.
“You made me a promise, and you kept it, Pretty,” I said to him. Then I turned to the blond. “May he drink?” I asked again.
“It would be another great honor for me,” he replied.
I gestured at Marcus, and he looked back at me for a moment and then leaned down from his massive height to bite the willing man. My extended wings wrapped around both of them like a big hug, and I relaxed as I laid my head on Marcus’s back and let my arms snake around his chest. There were blue flames dancing on my skin, and I could see each of them as plain as day. I felt…better, as if I were being healed.
I sensed I was being stared at, and I opened my eyes to find Claudius regarding me with a slightly stunned expression on his face. “Thank you, Grandfather,” I said.
“Xavier…I…”
“I’m trying to forgive you. Just accept it,” I interjected.
Armanita, who was still kneeling on the floor, had been quiet up to now. I liked the silence from her. But it didn’t last.
“Lord Emperor…”
There it was again. She called me that. Claudius called me that. Lord Emperor. What the hell did that mean?
I blinked, and the dancing blue flames faded from me, taking with it whatever it was that had stopped the sheer, soul-stealing agony I had been in. My wings pulled back from the embrace they were closed in and attempted to refold themselves back into their resting position. Their movement drove a spike of agony up my spine and into my brain. I tightened my hold on Marcus and accidentally impaled my fangs into his back. He broke off from drinking and gasped, and I willed my teeth back, fighting to keep my legs under me.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to,” I quickly said, apologizing.
Although the crystal vision was gone, and the blue flame was out, which meant I was healed, I was also still very weak, and despite me trying to retain my balance, my legs gave out. Luckily, Marcus turned and caught me under my arms before I slammed into the concrete.
“Oh, my Little One, what has happened to you?” he said musingly.
“I got wings…”
“I can see that.” He brought a hand up across the back of my neck, being extra careful not to touch my wings, and he nestled my face in the crook of his neck.
“And they fucking hurt,” I informed him, just standing there in his hold, trying not to move. Everything felt fine as long as I didn’t move, or breathe, or think.
“Chesterton!” Claudius gestured over to the, what was he, a butler? And the tall man came forward from the side hall to hear what Claudius had to say. “I’ve implanted a suggestion in the minds of both the feeders. Please take them back to the cab now. It’s at Howard and 3rd.”
“Of course, Master Claudius.”
I turned towards him as he passed by, my head still resting on Marcus’s chest. “Chesterton, I’m sorry I wanted to eat you,” I called.
“Entirely my own fault, Master Xavier,” he said graciously. “I was warned to stay out of harm’s way. Thank you for your restraint, sir.”
I didn’t say anything, but I knew that if Marcus hadn’t crushed my wrist, preventing me from pursuing him, I would have sucked Chesterton dry. The thought of how out of control I was disturbed me very much, and realizing that I would have harmed our butler when he had been nothing but helpful and kind to me made me start crying.
“Do not weep, Little One,” Marcus whispered into my hair.
Armanita’s voice spoke up. I had forgotten all about the spike-wielding wench. “My Lord Emperor, we need to examine your back.”
I pulled my head off of Marcus and felt a rush of rage. My eyes snapped back into burn mode, and my wings rustled as I snarled at her. “You won’t touch me again, bitch.”
“Xavier!”
At Marcus’s chastisement of me, she reached out to touch his shoulder, and I lifted up a hand of my own to knock hers away with, feeling a blast of energy exit my palm. Blue light hit her, and she was knocked backward across the foyer and down the hall.
Marcus stiffened in surprise, while Claudius moved to catch me as I felt every bit of energy drain out of me, and I slumped from Marcus’s hold and landed hard on my knees, pitching forward. Thankfully, Claudius caught me before my face impacted with the concrete.
“What was that?” Marcus demanded. Yeah, what the hell was that? I wanted to know too.
Claudius knelt beside me, taking hold of my forearm and turning it over, examining my hand for something.
“That was the Hand of Light,” he stated. “It was a gift that only the Line of the Emperor could use. The Royal Blue Line. This is concrete proof that the Emperor has retur
ned to us.”
I stared up stupidly at the ceiling. I was listening but not really comprehending what he was saying, because my wings were being crushed under me.
Oooowwww.
Claudius’s voice dropped to a sorrowful tone as he turned to address Marcus. “I am sorry, my son. He cannot belong to you.”
For an answer, Marcus gathered me up into his arms. He felt stronger than he had before, and as he held me with one arm under my knees and the other under my wing hinge, his voice was cool as he replied, “You see to the Councilor, Father. Xavier is in need of my attention.”
I passed out on the first step he took, when Marcus accidentally trod on my wing again and jerked my shoulder down.
It was raining. I was outside in a rain shower. Mom would be so pissed with me because I had gotten my Regency uniform pants all muddy. My wings opened wide to catch the water. My wings?
I struggled back to reality, my painful, agonizing reality, where I was kneeling fully clothed in the shower. And yes, I had wings, I realized. They were currently propped against the shower glass, diverting the falling water down the feathers, across my spine, and into my pants.
“Your blood had dried. I did not wish to tear your newly healed flesh. Once everything is fully saturated, I will cut the remains of your shirt off.” Marcus’s voice had taken on that cold master tone that I hated.
“What did I do?”
My words were barely audible above the sound of the falling spray, but Marcus heard them, and the stern expression he had been wearing softened as I wrapped my arms around myself and bowed my head toward my chest. I wanted time to absorb everything that was happening, but I wasn’t going to get what I wanted. More shit just kept getting piled on. My poor little brain was going to crack soon if I didn’t get some down time. I felt his hand stroke the back of my neck for a few seconds, and then his fingers trailed down my jaw carefully, gently, and he pulled my face up towards him.
“You did not do anything wrong, Xavier. You have been tested in the cruelest way possible, and you had the presence of mind not only to vocally and physically bind your enemy, but to heal, and to defend yourself too. You are everything and more than I had hoped you would be.”
I felt him prying at the fabric on my back to see if it had come free from my skin, being careful not to disturb my wings. He nodded, satisfied, and left to get a pair of scissors. When he came back, he cut my shirt off with the experience of a surgeon.
“You cannot stand in the shower. Lean forward with your hands on the wall. You have trails of dried blood down your back, headed into your pants. I will have to dump water into your pants to get you out of them.”
“Why are you acting like this?” I asked, confused.
“I have to adjust to the loss of my dreams. I had plans for us, Xavier, but I cannot follow up on those now. You were supposed to be mine. I was going to teach you how to use your gifts. I was going to introduce you to our vampire world,” he told me, his voice full of sadness. “When you had mastered your gifts, I wanted you to work with me. I wanted to wake up with you at my side forever.” He reached out and touched the ruby stud that was still in my ear. “I wanted this to mean something to you. But as Claudius said, what I want means nothing. You are of Royal descent, and you will be required to find a suitable female from the remaining Houses. I can only stand at your back, as your Sire.”
But I belong with you.
The words were unspoken, but still on my lips. My head was spinning with everything that had happened.
He poured a bucket of water down my back, ruining my leather pants forever, and then he urged me to my feet. Considering the tight anger in his voice, Marcus was exceedingly tender and gentle when pulling my pants off. I felt a wry smile cross my lips. That would be a first for him.
Taking hold of a sponge, he carefully cleaned away all the blood still clinging to me. He paused at my neck, and ran his hand down my flesh.
“Your neck is fully healed. There is not even a scar left from that violent attack I put on you,” he said, almost to himself. Then, more firmly, he said, “Fold up your wings, and back out. They are too big to try to turn around in the shower.”
I stepped out, feeling unbelievably tired. Thinking about it, I should have passed out a long time ago and stayed that way. Instead, I’d stayed awake and had two Flames. I’d grown wings. I’d eaten a couple of people, and I had blasted the second highest councilor of the High Council across the room.
Marcus knelt in front of me and began to towel me off with gentle strokes and pats. That wasn’t Marcus. He’s never gentle. As he finished drying me and turned to walk away, I flicked a wing out, blocking his path. I bit through my lip when the unfamiliar movement of that wing hit me, but it didn’t seem as intense as before. It wasn’t the pain that unnerved me, it was the pure sensation of simply having it attached to me. I shivered, and my feathers ruffled against me.
Marcus turned and looked at me, reaching out a thumb to my bleeding lip. “We have to work on your fang control.”
“How can we work on anything, if you’re fucking leaving me?” I spat.
“What?”
“Isn’t that what the big shower speech was all about? You’ve fucked me around for a year, and now that you’ve got me, you’re walking away?” I don’t think I was making sense. I was running on adrenaline, and my tank was almost empty. I brought a hand to my pounding forehead.
“I…got you?”
“Don’t you remember my ‘angel’ speech downstairs?”
“I wanted what you said to be true, but I simply thought you were saying something nice to appease that man.”
“It is true, asshole.”
“Language.”
My control broke, and I started sobbing uncontrollably. I could only take so much, and I was way past my limit. I just wanted to curl up in his arms and rest. After all I’d been through, I deserved a rest, didn’t I?
“Don’t walk away from me now, Marcus. I’m lost and I’m scared. You are the only solid thing in my life,” I cried.
“The Council will not allow our mating.”
“You said the Royal line was wiped out. Maybe I don’t have to worry about finding a wife, have you thought about that?”
He continued reassuring me like I was a child who’d awoken from a bad dream, trying to convince me that everything would be alright.
“No one will hurt you. I promise. You are quite safe.”
“You’re hurting me now, Marcus.”
“That was never my intent, my Little One. My Lord Emperor.”
“Don’t call me that.”
“Armanita has confirmed it. She is the only remaining one who could.”
Then kill her and no one will know.
The thought flashed into my mind, and he smiled at the childishness of it. Lowering himself to one knee, he placed his hand on the floor and bowed his head.
“I am yours to command, Lord Emperor.”
It gave me a thrill to see those sable locks bowed before me, and I wanted to see him do it again, naked. But I was so damned tired. “Get in bed,” I ordered. Marcus’s head jerked up, his eyes taking on a red sheen. “No sex, just sleep,” I told him.
Marcus was Marcus. A big horn dog. I swear I could hear, “Aaaahhhh,” as he lay down on his back and watched me approach.
While I had never enthusiastically jumped into his bed, honestly, once I got there, I was never in any hurry to leave. I crawled up beside him now and lay on my stomach. My wings unfurled of their own accord, dripping chilled shower water over my bare skin. I shivered at the coldness, and my feathers fluttered, sending the water everywhere like a dog does when shaking off the wet.
Marcus snagged my body and pulled me over to him. “Will you keep still?” he grumbled, pressing my head to his chest and wrapping an arm around my back above my wings.
I stroked my hand over his sternum and the little indentation where the spike had been. We both could have died tonight. I sighed and snuggled my
face against his skin, letting the exhaustion that was hovering come closer. The last thing I remember was my left wing spreading out to cover Marcus. That was cool.
Then I slept.
Fourteen
Blue Legacy
I awoke to find someone’s hand caressing my ass, their fingers dipping toward my portal. I lazily moved my face off my drool spot on the pillow and said yawningly, “If you’re not in Flame, you’re not getting any.”
“Good morning, Little One.” That voice was too damn cheerful. I opened my eyes and blinked, trying to focus, bringing my hand up to my face and wiping the cooling dribble marks from my mouth.
“You know, a cup of coffee would work just as well for me, if not better,” I said flippantly.
“How about a cup of blood?”
That statement in itself would be so wrong, if it had been said a few days ago. As it was, Marcus reached up, grabbed a mug off the headboard, and held it out for me, and I was eager to take it from him.
I pushed myself over onto my ass, and suddenly remembering the awkwardness of those damned wings, I braced myself, waiting for and expecting pain to hit me. Wait a minute…I touched my back. They were gone! Where the hell were they?
Marcus caught my puzzled expression. “You have two parallel scars on your back where the wings were attached,” he told me as he slowly reached out and traced each one with his finger. “I do not know where your wings have gone, Xavier. Somehow they retracted while you lay exhausted. We will have to talk to Armanita. I do not have any answers for you. I was not birthed until well after the Blue House’s demise.”
I hunched my shoulders forward, stretching all the muscles there. They ached, but it was nothing remotely like the day before. I stretched fully, making little grunting noises in my throat, and sat up, long, red hair swinging forward as I reached for the offered coffee mug of blood. Wait…long, red hair?
“Look at what else has happened while you were sleeping,” Marcus said, and I watched warily as he reached out and ran his fingers through my hair. He pulled the strands forward and just kept pulling and pulling.
Cake: A Blood Nation Novel (Volume 1) Page 16
