"We will be alerted as soon as you find the body, correct?" my mother asked.
"Of course," Darek said. "You will be first, right before we call our servants who are with the witch. We'll meet them and she'll cast the spell."
"Will her spell awaken him from the dead?" I asked. I had a sick feeling in my stomach. Anxiety coursed its way through me.
"It depends on how we find him," Darek said. "It may take another spell, or he may need your blood. He will undoubtedly have a stake in his heart; removing it will be all that's needed to awaken him, hopefully."
I panicked at the thought of them using my blood. Not only did I want nothing to do with marrying my dead ancestor, now they might need my blood to awaken him! It was such a cruel twist of fate. "Oh," was all that I could say.
"Do you have a time frame?" my mother asked. "We know that we're very close, and we very much appreciate all of your work."
"And that's why you've brought the Sonnast. We are hoping that it will be within the week."
My eyes widened. Less than a week? What would this mean for me? Would they force me to marry him as soon as he has awoken?
I wanted to get away and find Cliff. I wondered if I would be able to use mind control to get on a plane, as my parents had. I doubted it; I had such little experience with it. I had to find a way out of this country and to find Cliff in a castle in a location that I didn't even know. While running from the mightiest vampires in the world at the moment. Right.
I thought of various scenarios in which I could get away and hide forever. Each idea evolved into a roadblock, especially when it came to my telling Cliff about the real meaning of my mark. The curse would ruin me if I spoke of it to anyone outside of our line.
"What do you think of that, Alexis?" Raine asked.
I looked up. I had no idea what they had been talking about while I was unsuccessfully plotting my escape. "I'm sorry. I missed that. I'm trying to take all of this in. It's so much for a single day."
"I understand, dear," she said. "Why don't we have our driver take you home so that you can get some rest? We can reconvene in the morning. Your parents can stay here and continue discussing the details."
I looked at my parents. I wasn't sure if they would allow it or not.
"Whatever you feel like," my father said. "You can go home and rest or you can stay here with us. I know that it's been challenging for you. You've left the only home that you're familiar with, traveled halfway across the world and are in a country where you don't speak the language."
"Don't forget: I just discovered that I'm destined to marry someone other than who I've been told I would marry." It took all of my effort not to scowl.
"We haven't, child. Would you like our driver to take you back home?"
I nodded. "I'd like to rest."
They sent a servant to get our driver. It seemed surreal to have all of these people waiting on our every need. I climbed into the back of our limo and enjoyed the scenery on the way back to our mansion. When we arrived, the driver opened the door for me. Before I reached the house, a servant had already opened the front door of the mansion for me too.
I went directly to my room and changed into comfortable clothes. I did enjoy wearing the pretty ones, but I preferred wearing a cute hoodie even more.
After getting dressed, I grabbed my laptop and opened up Skype to see who was logged on. Clara was logged in so I called her and was relieved when she answered.
"Alexis! How are you? Are you having fun with your parents?"
I rolled my eyes. "Don't ask. How are you? How's everyone else doing?"
She frowned. "You'll have to fill me in later. Everyone is good, the king and queen did a great job of controlling everyone's minds. If I didn't know better, I'd think that I'd actually attended your going away party."
"So my parents aren't going crazy?"
"No, they think it was their idea to send you. They can't wait to hear from you and see pictures, so you'll want to get in contact with them before too long."
I sighed. "I'll have to get some pictures. I haven't exactly been sightseeing. Have you seen William again?"
Her face clouded over and she got a giddy smile on her face. "We've been getting together every night. I can't believe how well we're hitting it off!"
"I'm so happy for you!"
"Thanks! Hey, can you call back later? I have to get going. I'm so glad you called. I want to hear what's going on."
"Okay, I have a lot to fill you in on." I wondered if she knew the true meaning of the Sonnast. We said our goodbyes and I looked out the window and decided to explore outside.
As I approached the front door, the same girl who had been in my room earlier came to me. She said, "You have full reign to walk around the entire house and all of the grounds, however, I'm to remind you not to leave the grounds. The boundaries of this property are far and wide, but clearly marked. Would you like company while you are outside?" She curtsied.
I was taken aback by her bowing to me while I was alone. It hadn't seemed so weird when I was with my parents, but by when I was myself, it was. "Maybe you can come with me later. I'm sure that I'd enjoy the company. Right now, I need to be alone with my thoughts."
She bowed again, and then opened the door for me.
I thanked her as I went through the door and she closed it behind me. Would I ever adjust to this lifestyle? It was so different from anything that I'd ever experienced. I stepped out into the grounds and looked around. Everything I could see, in every direction, was our land. I could see a pond not too far away, so I decided to go in that direction.
Letting the silence relax me, I walked along slowly. I ran my hands across the plant life along the way and breathed the smells deeply. The air in this countryside was so much purer than even the suburbs that I was accustomed to.
When I reached the pond, I saw ducks floating there peacefully. There was a little bench and I sat on it, allowing nature to ease all of my senses. Being there at the pond reminded me of the lake back home. It was my favorite place to go when I wanted to get away from everything.
Tears began to stream down my face as I thought about Cliff. He was my one true love—not some dead guy. I couldn't even pick up the phone and talk to him about what was going on without inflicting a deadly curse upon myself. I closed my eyes and grabbed a hold of the memories that I had desperately tried to keep of when I'd last seen him. His loving eyes, the feel of his skin, the scent of his love.
I opened my eyes and almost expected him to be there, sitting next to me. I was still alone, in this foreign country, awaiting my new destiny, who was dead as a doornail at the moment. My tears fell again, hot against my cool skin. I let them come as long as they wanted to. I wanted to get up to yell and scream, but I figured that that would cause the servants to send for my parents. I preferred to be alone, so I threw a silent fit with my tears.
The ducks could sense my distress and they all turned to look at me. The brown ones, the females, began to make their way towards me. I watched as a water path formed behind them. Out of nowhere, a gray and black cat jumped onto the bench and climbed onto my lap, purring and rubbing its nose against me.
I couldn't help but smile. It reminded me of the cartoon story of Snow White, the princess who had a magic touch with animals. The cat continued to purr as she settled herself in my lap. Three more ducks were also sitting at the edge of the pond, staring at me.
I started to pet the cat as I thought more about my life and the direction that it was heading. Would I give Alrekur a chance? It seemed that I had no other choice. I hoped that I wouldn't be forced to marry him, but that I would be given a say in the matter. I had free will when it came to the choice between Tanner and Cliff, surely I'd be given the same respect again. I wished that I'd learned more about the Fyrsturae. I had no idea what to expect.
Would Alrekur be a kind person or a tyrant? I hoped that he would understand the fact that I was in love with Cliff. I didn't want him thinking that he owned
me because I had a mark that he'd waited two thousand years for when he was alive. A mark that I'd never seen.
I hoped that my parents would still accept me if I didn't want to be romantic with my ancestor. I tried to look at the whole thing from their perspective. They had probably been thrilled that their baby was born with a mark that the vampires had been looking for so long. They had probably been scared for my safety, knowing that a lot of vampires would be threatened by my existence. They couldn't even tell their best friends, Cliff's parents, about the real meaning of the mark. They must have wanted to.
I wished that they would've found a way to tell me before I fell in love with Cliff. That way, I could have made decisions based on all of the facts. Had I only been drawn to Cliff because I grew up with him? I had thought that it was because he was my destiny, but now it appeared that he was merely my childhood best friend. However, he'd spent his entire life waiting for me.
Continuing to stroke the cat, I found myself more confused than ever. Trying to make sense of everything seemed futile. I wanted nothing to do with rejecting Cliff, but at the same time I decided to at least see what happened when they raised the Fyrsturae from their graves. I had no choice in the matter, so I may as well have a good attitude about it or I was sure to be miserable. If nothing else, it would be a wild story to tell Cliff, Clara and Brooke when I got back to my human home.
I sat with my thoughts and the cat until I couldn't sit still any longer. I set the cat on the bench and stood up. The ducks swam back to the middle of the pond and the cat stretched. When I walked back to the house, I could hear the pitter patter of the cat's steps. I looked back and sure enough, it was following me.
When I got to the door, the servant girl opened it. She smiled when she saw the cat. "I see Gracie has taken to you. She doesn't like anyone else. When your parents brought her here, she immediately ran outside and has taken care of herself ever since. She must have been waiting for you."
"Really?" I asked and looked down to see the cat sitting at my feet. "Can she come in with me? If she wants to, that is."
"Of course. Your parents got her to be a house cat."
I walked in and Gracie followed me. The girl closed the door and asked me if I needed anything.
"Actually, I would like something to eat."
She bowed. "I will let the kitchen staff know to make you something. Anything else, my lady?"
"Yes. I'd like to know your name." It was odd that I kept seeing her and I didn't even know what to call her.
"My name is Karlie, miss."
"Thank you, Karlie. I'd love to have you join me while I eat."
"Miss?"
"Is it improper for you to eat with me because you're a servant? I'd really like your company."
"I…no, it's not improper if you request it. Let me tell the kitchen staff that we'll be dining after you get cleaned up. Would you like any help?"
"No, I'm used to taking care of myself."
The meal was some kind of fowl dish. I was afraid to ask what it was because I thought that it might have been one of the ducks from the pond. It tasted different from chicken and turkey, the only poultry that I was used to eating.
"How long have you lived here?" I asked Karlie.
"I've been serving your parents here for a couple hundred years, Miss."
So much for thinking that she was around my age. But, then again, Clara was over 200 years old. So maybe Karlie and I could be friends.
"You don't need to call me Miss. You can save that for when my parents are around."
She nodded, and seemed perplexed by my treating her like a friend.
"Are you from the first line of vampires? I was told that servants are different in the vampire world, that they're high ranking and very much trusted. Is that true?"
"Yes, most of your parents' servants are from the first line. It's an honor to be able to serve them in any way. Sometimes we stay here, and other times some of us travel with them. We're prepared to drop everything to fight to protect them if we need to. When we aren't running the estate, we are usually training."
"Do you get time off? Do you get to have your own lives?"
"We serve your family exclusively. When we're done, we can either start a new term or we can take leave and start a life of our own. While we are in service, that is our life."
I raised my eyebrows. "That is so different from what I'm used to."
"It's not too different from the way the military is run by humans."
I nodded. "Do you have a family?" I asked her.
"Of course. My parents are honored to have me in the service of the king and queen. I get to see them for about a week each year. They hope that I will find a love interest someday, but for now, I'm very happy being in service."
"That's not very much, just one week! You have friends that you can talk to, I hope."
"I do," Karlie said. "In many ways, all of the servants here are like a second family. Why are you so interested in the lives of the servants?"
"I grew up with humans," I reminded her. I was sure that she had to have known that already. "I only recently found out that I was turning into a vampire. I've only learned a little bit about the history, and almost nothing about the customs of society."
"I'd be happy to teach you as much as you would like to know. I've always loved our history, and I am very familiar with the customs." She smiled.
I smiled, happy to be able to learn more about the culture that I had missed out on growing up. Even better than that was finding a friend.
TWENTY TWO
I spent the next week learning as much as I could about vampire history, customs and culture from Karlie. She appeared to enjoy teaching me as much as I loved learning. We walked around the grounds each day, Gracie following closely behind. That cat was almost surgically attached to me; she was my constant companion. She even crawled under the covers and slept curled up against me.
My parents said that Gracie's attachment to me was a good omen. They were happy that I'd continued my vampire studies on my own with Karlie. She was one of their favorites, and they assured me that I was in good hands with her. They spent a lot of time visiting with Darek and Raine. I went with them some of the time, but preferred to stay at the mansion with Karlie and Gracie for the most part.
I was settling into a routine and actually appreciated the slower pace of life. I didn't miss the drama that I'd left behind. Tanner, Hailey and Emma could stay in their petty, little world. I was much happier, and felt like I was finally where I belonged.
Even though I knew belonged there, I hadn't forgotten about my human family and friends. I talked with my human parents, Natalie and Clara several times on Skype and I emailed my parents as many pictures as I could take. They were thrilled to talk to me each time and I felt a stab of guilt for leaving them so close to my abduction, but I was glad to be with my vampire parents even though I was still angry about them not telling me about Alrekur earlier.
Amanda told me that she had told Tanner that I'd been eaten by wolves like I'd asked her to, and he had really freaked out. We both laughed so hard about it that we had tears running down our faces. He definitely had it coming after the way he'd treated me. She and Mark were going on regular double dates with Clara and William; both couples were very much in love. I hoped that Cliff and I would be able to join them on some dates when I returned.
With each passing day, I noticed that my parents were becoming more anxious. I knew that they wanted to find Alrekur's resting place as soon as possible. I knew it was selfish, but I was glad that it was taking longer than expected.
One day, when Karlie, Gracie and I were sitting by the pond, I asked Karlie what she knew about my mark. "When will I come into my full power? I keep hearing about how I'm going to be the most powerful vampire alive, after the Fyrsturae. I know that everything that I've gone through has occurred faster than any other vampire, but at the same time, it seems like everyone else has so much more strength than I do."
/> "When you're united with Alrekur, your powers and gifts should reach their full potential. For now, you're still growing into who you'll become. It's almost like a second transition, one that only you will go through. Not much is known about how things will progress. There's never been another like you."
"Then tell me about Alrekur. What do you know about him?"
"He's said to have been the most handsome creature to ever walk the earth, with nobody surpassing his looks or strength before or after. Women have been known to fall in love with him merely upon setting eyes on him. He's never been able to fall in love, however, because his one true love hadn't yet been discovered. The prophets told him that he would find true love when he found the one born with your mark."
"You speak of him as if he weren't dead. Why is that?"
"The Fyrsturae are only temporarily dead. They will awaken, arise and be even more powerful than they were before. They'll be even more difficult to kill as well, but even if they do manage to die, it will never be permanent."
"Never?"
"No, a Fyrsturae's death is never permanent."
"Do you know when my mark will become visible? I really want to see it."
"I believe that the spell will be broken when you're in Alrekur's presence."
"I hope he has a nickname, because Alrekur is a mouthful."
"All of the Fyrsturae have those Icelandic names, but once you get used to them, they aren't any more difficult than your name or mine."
I shrugged my shoulders. "I suppose you're right. Do you know when—?"
We both turned towards the driveway and Gracie ran off when we heard a loud noise. The limo was racing down the driveway, much faster than I had thought a limo ever could.
As soon as it screeched to a stop, my parents jumped out without even waiting for the driver to open the door for them. They looked at Karlie and me, and then appeared in front of us in an instant.
The Transformed Box Set: Books 1, 2, 3, 3.5 Page 58
