Drakkar ran a hand through his blond hair and looked down at his feet. “About that, I wasn’t . . . that wasn’t-” He glanced back up at her face. “Can we just go somewhere and talk?”
“Nettie, I found the Ass-“ Britt was nearly bouncing as she stopped short a few feet away. “Oh, sorry, didn’t know you already found him.”
Drake didn’t even look in her direction. He only halfheartedly smiled. ”Can we?”
“Sure, I guess so.” She nodded to Britt. “Would you hang here for a while? I’ll be back soon.”
“Um, you leaving the keys to Precious?” Her friend’s face lit up.
Doubt played behind Nettie’s eyes, but before she responded Nick came up behind Britt. “Don’t worry, I’ll keep an eye on both of them for you.”
Britt spun on him. “You think so? I thought you were too busy with the panther to care about anything else. After they leave, are you just going back over there to get in her pants?”
“Whoa! Calm down. What and who I do is none of your business. You gave up any claim you held on me months ago.”
Serenity and Drakkar listened to the barbs being thrown, around glancing at each other, helpless to stop them.
“Maybe we should just go and I’ll keep the keys. Yeah, that’s a good idea,” Serenity said just loud enough for Drake to hear her.
He nodded, taking her hand in his, leading her toward where he and Nick were parked. “We can take a ride. They’ll never know we were gone. Besides, this has been coming for a long time. He whines about it constantly. It’s one of the reasons I kill him constantly.”
Serenity pulled up short. “You what?”
Drakkar laughed. “A game. He and I are teammates in a game, but I always find him not watching his back and-
“That’s not right.” She hid her laughter behind a hand.
“I know, but you don’t hear him constantly complain about her. I do.”
“Not true. Britt has her moments. Between you and me, I think she misses him.”
They fell into a comfortable silence and continued walking to where his motorcycle stood. As they approached Nick’s van, Serenity slowed her steps. Leaving his side, she made a beeline for the exquisite piece of machinery peeking out from behind the van. Smiling, she marveled in the absolute perfection. It’s black paint practically glowed in the moonlight.
“Is this yours,” she murmured, running her fingertips over her reflection on the gas tank.
“You like it?” Drakkar leaned against the van, folding his arms across his chest, watching her completely amused.
“Absolutely. It’s a Harley Night Rod Special. A 2007, I believe?” She glanced over her shoulder in his direction. When he nodded in agreement, she let out an excited, “I knew it!”
“How’d you know that?”
“My uncle has been dying to get his hands on one of these.”
“Really? I thought he was only interested in getting them around my throat to strangle it.”
Serenity’s gaze shot up from admiring the bike. She was seconds away from defending Jake when she saw Drakkar hide a smile behind his hand, pretending to cough.
“Very funny. Seriously, though, who wouldn’t be impressed by a V-Rod Special? It’s a V-twin four-stroke five-speed.” She circled to the other side of it. “Electronic ignition and starting system with an 1130cc revolution engine. This baby must roar when you start her up.”
Drake’s brows shot up. He’d never encountered anyone who knew as much as he did about his ride other than the salesman who sold it to him. “It’s more of a deep throated howl. Want to take it for a ride?”
Nettie launched herself into his arms, nearly suffocating him with a hug. “Are you kidding me? You better not be. It wouldn’t be right, you know. Getting a girl’s hopes up and then crushing them like a bug under your boot. You wouldn’t do that to me, would you? I mean, we’ve known each other for a little while now. I’m not easily impressed. But this . . .” She let him go to once again admire the motorcycle. “This right here hits it right out of the park with me.”
When she finally stopped to take a breath, Drakkar placed a finger over her lips. “I’m not kidding.” He handed her his helmet. “Your car is in good hands; consider it a peace offering between us. Maybe we can just start over from the beginning with no crazy uncles trying to kill me. Deal?”
She took the motorcycle helmet. Her fingers brushed his. A little spark passed between them and she smiled brightly up at him. The darkness she sensed in him previously diminished. “I’d like that.” She placed the helmet on her head and tightened the chin strap.
“Great.” He extended his hand to her. “Hi, my name’s Drakkar Dragoni. I’m not very big on friends, but I’d like it if we could try it out for a while.”
Serenity placed her hand in his. “Pleased to meet you, Drakkar.” She rolled the r at the end of his name, making his stomach drop. He loved the way she said it. “I’m Serenity Avery. I recently transferred here, so I’m still finding my way around. I would love for us to try out being friends.”
He reluctantly let go of her hand to grab the handlebars, swung his leg over the bike, and tapped the stand back up into place. Balancing the bike, Drakkar held out his hand for her to climb on behind him, which she did readily. Settling in, she wrapped her arms around his waist, resting her cheek on his back. He flinched with a hiss between his teeth when she made contact.
Serenity immediately pulled away. “Are you alright? Did I do something wrong?”
He patted her hands clasped around him. “I’m fine. Just have some road rash on my back from wiping out on my dirt bike the other night. I’ll live.” He flashed a smile over his shoulder. “Hold on tight.”
There was just enough time to regain her hold and lean into him before he hit the gas, speeding off down the abandoned air strip into the darkness.
“Where is he?”
The door to her room slammed open, the door knob cutting a hole in the drywall behind it. Giovanna watched the white powder and chalky chunks which used to be her wall crumble to the floor. She should be used to the destruction her personal warden wrought, all over the place but every time it happened with in her own four-walled existence, it chipped away at whatever small happiness she found there.
And boy was that becoming harder and harder to find these days.
“I was talking to you, mouse. Where did he go?” Absinthe sneered from across the room.
Giovanna raised her bloodshot blue eyes from the page she read over a hundred times that day. She still didn’t know what it said. “Who?” The only person she could even fathom Absinthe was speaking about must be Jared. But how in the world would she know where he went? She’d been locked away in this suite of rooms for almost a year since the last time she saw him.
“You know very well who I’m speaking of.” She crossed the room swiftly and grabbed a handful of Giovanna’s blonde curls, forcing her to read the crumpled paper shoved under her nose.
Giovanna winced as she reached for the note, holding it gingerly between her fingers. “Who wrote this? I don’t think I’ve ever seen this writing before.” She looked more closely at the curved lines stretching along the lined page of loose leaf. It looked so familiar, yet there was a difference in it. Someone obviously left it for Absinthe, yet there was no one she knew who would even dare to write something like it.
Absinthe snarled, yanking on the blonde tresses before shoving her away, knocking her to the floor. “My son left this down stairs. What I want you to tell me is where he went and with whom.”
Giovanna stared up at her from the floor. A bubble of laughter escaped her lips, making her appear a bit mad. Well, maybe after all this time, she really was going mad. Absinthe had a son and she never knew about him. The secrets just kept coming.
“How would I know where he went or who else was even here with him? Wouldn’t one of your staff actually know that information, not your prisoner who can’t even move freely around the house?”
Glaring at her, Absinthe roared in frustration. “You are not my prisoner. You are able to go where ever you want as long as it’s within the house. How many times do I have to make myself clear on that?”
This was a new development. Giovanna pushed her hair out of her face. Absinthe never told her any of this. She only assumed the door to her room was locked. It never occurred to her that it wasn’t. Why would she let that slip? Maybe she should see just how much freedom she had after all.
She pushed herself up from the floor, dusting off her pajama bottoms and fixing her tank top. Walking over to the window, Giovanna looked out over the driveway. From her bedroom window she could see the front steps, but not much else. The roof over the front door concealed faces from her field of vision.
“Earlier a van pulled up and honked its horn. A boy got out and went to the door a few minutes later. I heard the door downstairs open. A few mumbled voices, male voices, and then the door slammed. The two climbed into the van and left. That’s all I know.”
Absinthe narrowed her eyes. “What color was the van?”
She thought for a moment. “I believe it was a navy blue. But I can’t be sure. It was dark out and the light above the door didn’t make it clear enough.”
“Anything else you remember?”
“Only that the person driving the van loaded a motorcycle in the back. I thought that was a little strange. Why not ride it, instead?” Giovanna leaned her forehead on the cool glass. The conversation gave her a headache. All she wanted to do was lie in bed and make it all go away.
“Hmm, you have proven yourself useful for at least another night, Pet. I believe I will let you have freedom to roam, this wing of the house, for now. You are not to be seen by Drakkar or his human. Is that understood?”
Giovanna sighed. “Yes, Mistress.” She closed her eyes.
Absinthe’s heels clicked across the hardwood floor toward the carpeted hallway. She kept waiting to hear her door close and the latch click, but it never happened. Taking a chance, she opened her eyes and turned toward her bedroom door.
True to her word, Absinthe left it open.
Giovanna could hardly contain the joy bubbling up in her chest. She obtained her freedom, or at least the beginning of freedom. It was a start.
Now to just keep herself in the Mistress’ good graces. If that meant being Absinthe’s eyes and ears while spying on Drakkar, that was what she was going to do. Giovanna felt a little twinge of guilt. The position she was in just wasn’t fair. She didn’t know what this Drakkar did to deserve Absinthe’s wrath, but she wasn’t about to question it.
“Sorry kid, it’s my freedom or yours. Guess which one wins with me.”
~ ~ ~ ~
They drove out all the way to the end of the runway. The lights and blaring music from the other end were more like a faded memory than a distraction in the present. Serenity placed the helmet on the seat of the Harley. She drifted over to one of the large boulders at the edge of the cracked pavement and climbed on top, staring at the stars above. He must wonder why I’m giving him another chance.
The easy answer, it was for the mission. But that wasn’t the whole truth.
The truth was she wanted to be his friend. She wanted to help him stay out of the darkness. The only question was, would she be enough to make that happen.
Drakkar sat down beside her. She sensed he was just as uneasy as she was. There was so much to clear up between them, but if they did just start from the beginning again, would any of what happened before get in the way in the long run? That was a chance they both were going to take.
He leaned toward her and pointed over head at one of the constellations. “You know, ever since I was a vampling, I would sit on the lawn in complete darkness and search out that constellation.”
Serenity followed his finger. “Orion.”
“Yup.” He placed his hands behind him and leaned back on them. “I used to make up all sorts of stories and adventures about him. The biggest being he was actually my father killed in some epic battle and immortalized in the stars so that I could see him for the rest of my life.”
“Wow, really?”
Drakkar chuckled. “It was just a kid’s dream. I know it’s not true. Honestly, I have no idea who my father really is.”
Serenity turned toward him, a veil of sadness falling over her. “You have no idea? Your mother never told you about him?”
He shrugged. “Any time I would ask, she got mad, so I stopped asking. That’s when I found Orion. He became whatever I wanted him to be.”
“But what if your father is out there and he doesn’t know you exist,” she asked.
“Or, what if he’s out there, knows I exist, and doesn’t give a shit?” His face hardened.
She reached out and touched his cheek. “I don’t believe that. I know how you feel. I hated my father for so long, knowing he chose to run into a collapsing building rather than come home to us. Selfish, I know, but it doesn’t change how I felt.”
“Nothing of what happened to him was your fault, though. I know my mother blames me for something. Probably for him leaving her with me. If I weren’t tied to her, she would have been able to do anything she wanted. Instead, I was a burden she just needs to get rid of.”
Serenity gasped. “How can you say something like that? My mom would never want to get rid of me. I’m sure you’re reading it all wrong.”
Drakkar shifted uncomfortably next to her. He clearly said something he hadn’t meant to say and she wasn’t making it any better.
“Serenity, vampires and humans are different. I’m not going to defend my mother to you. It’s just the way of things. The way I was raised. I didn’t have a loving family. I only knew pain and disgust from the woman who is my mother. I have to believe that was how her parents and their parents raised their own vamplings.” The light in his blue eyes dimmed.
“That’s so horrible. Now I understand why you didn’t fight back against Jake. I’m so sorry.” She wrapped her arms around him and hugged him. “If I knew . . .”
He rested his chin on her shoulder. “What would you have done? Nettie, I don’t need your sympathy. This is my life. I live it and survive. In fact, I’ll probably have hell to pay just for being here tonight instead of doing what she commanded me to do.” He sighed. “I’m just too tired to fight anymore. I take the punishment. I even take punishments she would give others to save them from her wrath.”
“How very noble of you. Your mother beats and tortures you and you take it. Why? Because she’s your mother and that’s how things have been done with your family for countless ages? If you ask me, that’s justifying child abuse.”
“Serenity- ”
“No, Drakkar. You deserve better than that.”
“Oh really? What does he deserve, little cattle?”
Drakkar stilled in her arms hearing the woman’s voice behind her. She didn’t need to look to know who had joined them.
Absinthe Dragoni. The Poison Princess of the Dark Order.
He removed her arms from around his neck and slid off the boulder, positioning himself between her and his mother. He stood taller than his six-foot-two height towering over the blonde with yellow glowing eyes.
“Leave her alone, Mother. She’s just a friend of mine.”
“I thought you had no friends other than that cattle. What’s his name? Nick. You really need to find new friends, Drakkar.” She clicked her tongue. “Constantly hanging around with humans will make you feel things. They love to feel things. A waste of time, really.”
He folded his arms across his chest, still staying between Serenity and Absinthe. “Why are you here?”
She walked toward him with all the grace of a lioness stalking its prey. “I’m here because you haven’t gotten me what you were told to get me.”
“That’s because complications have come up.”
“Is one of those complications sitting behind you now? I can take care of it for you, you know.”
She raised her hand, but Drakkar wrapped his around it. “No, Serenity is not a complication. I already told you, she’s a friend. She is not to be harmed.”
Absinthe actually looked disappointed about not being able to hurt her. Serenity saw a slight pout on her lips.
His mother’s eyes flashed as she tore her hand out of his grasp. “Fine. Your clock is ticking. Fix your complication, or the next time I will be taking your little human until you do. She curled her lip looking in Serenity’s direction, turned on her heel, and walked off into the darkness.
Nettie sat there blinking. This was the first time in her life she thought she might actually die. Her burning lungs deflated like a couple of balloons.
She blinked slowly. Drakkar was still standing with his back to her, staring off into the direction his mother went.
Swallowing, Nettie finally found her voice. “Was that who I think it was?”
Drakkar sighed and hung his head. “Yes. That was her royal highness, the dishonorable Princess Absinthe Dragoni.”
“Then that makes you- ”
He turned back toward her, a sad look on his face. “Her biggest mistake and next in line after Bonatelli for the throne.”
“Drakkar, wait.” Serenity caught up with him as he stalked off into the direction Absinthe disappeared.
“Serenity, it’s better if you went back to the others.” He tossed her the keys to his bike. “You’ll be safer there.”
She caught the key ring, but refused to leave. Before he could run from her again, Serenity grabbed his arm. Drakkar froze and turned slowly.
“I told you to leave,” he snarled.
She gulped down her fear, squaring off her shoulders to stand up to him; with the little magic she could wield, she may give him a run for his money. But there was no way she could best him. Not even on a good day.
“I’m not going anywhere. Not until you tell me what she was talking about. What does she want you to get for her?” Serenity lifted her chin defiantly.
Drakkar ~ Beyond the Lie (A Dark Order of the Dragon Novel Book 3) Page 9
