Mariska watched her get angry with the details. It was the distraction that Mariska need. While she had been trapped in the sack on the journey to their den, Mariska had spent the time finding out more about her powers. She was able to create a protective barrier around herself. She’d tested the theory by jabbing a small stick into her hand over and over again until it was unable to break the skin. She now enacted that same protection.
“Do you really think you will be able to kill me?” Asked Mariska, “or will you have your dogs do it for you?”
The woman laughed at Mariska and rose from her throne. “Child, I could destroy you where you sit.”
“I don’t believe you,” said Mariska, raising an eyebrow to upset the taltos more.
The woman glared at her; she spoke now to her guards, “ready the battlefield.”
The guard murmured something about it not being safe above ground. To which the taltos shot him a hateful look and said, “if you can’t protect your own from a few vampires, then you are too pathetic for my needs also.”
The wolf left, looking shamed. Before Mariska could react any further, she was drug back above ground to a small clearing. The taltos stood at one side, and Mariska was dropped carelessly at the other. She hoped that she knew what she was doing. Several hours of working on different powers didn’t equal a taltos that was older than three generations of her family.
“Please god, don’t let me die,” she whispered.
She felt the protection circling her as the taltos fired a shot off. Like a wand, she pointed a finger at Mariska and expected her to fall to her knees in pain. When Mariska didn’t fall, the taltos fired off more. After some time, the taltos had exhausted most of her powers, it was the opening that Mariska needed. She gathered her own power and closed her eyes tightly. Like a light leaving her body, she felt the power creep across the ground to where the taltos stood unknowingly.
First it touched her toes, the taltos let out a surprised cry and jumped backward. It was like a disease, though, it had reached her and started to spread, and no matter how much she tried, she couldn’t get away from it. The taltos began to scream out in pain and attempted to brush off the magic, but she could not. As she looked at Mariska, she shrieked one last time and sent a final jolt through her finger, this time, the shock hit Mariska like a brick wall. She had been so focused on bringing down her enemy; she let the protection fall. She flew backward and hit a tree as she watched the taltos curl up into a ball. Like magic, the wolves began to fall one by one. They were being destroyed by Daemons guard.
Daemon ran to Mariska and lifted her up, “better late than never I suppose.” She said jokingly.
“Woman, you need to stop scaring me like this! How did you get her to come up here? We had already passed this area when we heard her screaming.” He said, checking Mariska for any injury.
“I bated her, she was so vain, she couldn’t stop herself from taking on an easy challenge.” Said Mariska, attempting to rise up from where she had fallen.
She could feel the pain in her back but it was nothing compared to what could have been, she was grateful her injuries were minor. As she looked around at the havoc, she realized somethings.
“She’s gone,” whispered Mariska.
‘What?” Said Daemon, now he too was looking at the battlefield.
It was true, the taltos was gone, she had vanished once the vampires came.
“Don’t worry, we will find her, I am just happy you are okay.” Said Daemon, his eyes filled with love.
***
Several hours later, with the day behind them, Mariska and Daemon lay in bed. Their bodies passionately wrapped around each other. They had made love in a quick and frantic manner as soon as they had been left alone. Now, with the time to enjoy each other slowly, she softly whispered his name as he entered her gently.
“I love you, Mariska,” he said passionately.
“And I love you,” she replied as they once again came together in carefree passion.
She knew they were going to face many more trials together. Their world would never be one that was calm. With Vampires and werewolves hunting and killing each other, it would never be peaceful. In that brief moment, though, the only thing that mattered was that any trials they came across, they would face together as a family.
DESTINED BY THE VAMPIRE GUARDIAN
Vampire Prince Series Book 3
By Rachel S. William
www.amazingromancebooks.com
Chapter One
The world had been silent. In fact, it had been too silent. Elso was recovering from the emotional shock of her father’s untimely return and the pain of almost losing her beloved Jamesson, but overall everyone was recovering from the terrible battle well.
Mariska was trying to enjoy the peace and quiet, but it was hard to let her guard down after everything that happened. The people who lived on the island, away from the castle seemed almost unaware of everything that had happened, though Mariska was not very surprised by that. Some had come to fight, but everything had happened so suddenly that there was very little time to actually form an army for a counterattack. The only reason the battle ended so quickly was because it was a plot to get Elso’s father into the castle. Had it been anything else, it would have been devastating.
The Taltos were angry, and for good reason. They were a peaceful race, but when they were forced to care for a traitor who stabbed them in the back once again, they could hold a grudge. Else had decided to take on the difficult role of mediator between the Taltos and Daemon and even she, with all of her infinite power and wisdom, was struggling to keep her people calm. They were clearly very unhappy, though the stuck mostly to their work in the ancient libraries.
Mariska did not like the amount of tension that was building in the castle thanks to the battle, which they perceived had been lost. How could it be considered a win when the lady of the castle was captured and nearly killer? Obviously morale in the castle was low. If things stayed like this, they wouldn’t stand a chance should they be called on to fight again.
She knew it was coming too. Mariska knew that the head Taltos would not stand defeat. The woman was out for blood and she was not going to stop until the rivers ran red with it. The battle was going to be an uphill struggle and if Mariska was being honest, she was not entirely sure it could be won. Of course she wanted to believe in her lover’s power and their armies…She wanted to believe that good would conquer evil, but it was only natural that she held some skepticism.
“Whatcha thinking about?” Jamesson asked, leaning back on the bench they sat on together.
Mariska sighed and put a hand on the back of her neck as she struggled to find the words that described her worry appropriately.
“Everything…I’m thinking about everything.” She admitted, closing her eyes for a moment.
They sat in the garden, surrounded by beautiful flowers that smelled of lavender and honey. It was a very calming place the place Mariska liked to go to think. She could let her mind wander her and come up with solutions to small problems and big problems. It felt as if some outside force was guiding her towards an answer.
Jamesson put a cigar to his lips. He’d procured it from the village at the bottom of the mountain. While Mariska was not a fan of smoking she could forgive him this once. After all, Jamesson was not really a smoker, he’d just been put under a lot of stress recently. She could not really blame him for turning to a vice for comfort.
“Yeah…A lot has happened, has not it?”
It was understood that the question was rhetorical. He was not really looking for an answer, but Mariska wanted to fill the silence somehow. She did not really want to think on things any longer than she really had to.
“That’s the understatement of the century.” She murmured, tucking some hair behind her ear.
He turned to gaze at her, smiling softly and nodding towards her belly. “At least…It’s not all bad, right?” He said softly.
Mariska
brought a hand to her belly resting it there for a moment and taking a deep breath. “I suppose…” She said after a moment, looking over at him. “It’s all very overwhelming, though. I’m happy, don’t get me wrong…But there’s going to be a lot of change in the upcoming months.”
“Mostly that you won’t be human anymore.”
Ah. Jamesson had managed to hit the nail on the head with that one. She’d been thinking over her future a lot and by far, the most daunting aspect of all this was the fact that within a matter of months she wouldn’t be human anymore.
“It’s not so bad.” He said with a smile, nudging her. “Especially when you have someone to share all that time with.”
She smiled and wrapped her arms around one of his, resting her head on his warm, thick bicep. “I have so many people to share it with, Jamesson. I have you, Elso…And I have Daemon.” The last name fell from her lips with the same type of reverence one would use when speaking of a god.
“You think highly of him.” He said after a moment.
“I love him.”
“It happened fast, did not it?”
She shrugged a little and sat up, watching a pair of humming birds flutter around a flower. “I suppose it did, but I don’t really mind. My parent’s only knew each other a couple months before they got married.” She took a deep breath, enjoying the warm, fresh air that filled her lungs. “I think love is destined…The person you’re meant to be with is going to find you one way or another, and when you find that person it seems silly to hesitate, doesn’t it?”
A blush came over his cheeks and Mariska smiled just a little, bringing a hand to her mouth as she giggled behind it.
“What are you laughing at?” He grunted.
“You feel that way about Elso, don’t you?”
“I wouldn’t go that far.” He said, turning away from her, his cheeks hot with embarrassment.
Mariska smiled and took his hand, patting it gently. “You shouldn’t hesitate…If you love her you should tell her.”
“When it gets to that point I will.”
“It just seems strange that you would risk your life to save her and her father if you did not love her.”
That comment made his face fall and he turned away. “Don’t remind me.”
Jamesson was still beating himself up over the fact that he’d saved the Taltos that turned out to be a traitor to everyone and kidnapped Mariska. She sighed and reached out, touching his hand again.
“Listen, Jamesson. You have to let this go, okay? It was not your fault. I need you to know that. You did not bring this on anyone and you sure as hell did not know what was going to happen.”
His shoulder’s slumped and she could imagine a tail tucking between his legs and his ears flattening down on his head.
“I should have listened to Elso…” He said softly, his words barely above a whisper. “I just charged in there without even considering what could go wrong…I…I assumed I knew everything and I could have died…For no reason.”
“But you didn’t.”
“Because of you.” He said, looking up at her.
Her cheeks went hot and she looked away. “I did not even know I could do that…I don’t know if I’ll ever do it again…” She said softly.
“It doesn’t matter. You saved me and I owe you…Everything for it…” He said softly.
Mariska smiled and leaned up, kissing his cheek affectionately. “Listen…We really need to stop it with the ‘I owe you’ and the ‘it’s my fault’. You saved me so many times before this…If anyone owes anyone anything…It’s me.”
“I didn’t- “
“You remember that time I was at the bar with some friends? I’d just gotten into college and got my fake ID and I thought it would be fun to go bar hopping?”
A smile tugged at his features and he laughed. “I sure do. I had to carry you out of the bar kicking and screaming. You got yourself so worked up you threw up on me." He said fondly.
She nodded and put her head on his shoulder. “If it was not for you I would have made a fool out of myself and probably gotten kidnapped.”
“I don’t think it was that serious.”
“The point it…You were always there for me and you were the one protecting me…It was my turn to finally return the favor.” She said, looking up at him. “And I’m glad I could…So I want all of this blaming and self-loathing to stop.” She said simply.
“If it will make you happy.”
“It will…I want you to focus on yourself and Elso…She clearly has a thing for you.”
“You need to quit that.”
Mariska grinned and jumped up, putting her hands on her hips defiantly. He could not help but think back to their childhood when they would play king of the mountain or some other equally childish game, and she would challenge him, knowing full well he’d let her win.
“Make me.” She teased with a grin.
He stubbed out his cigar, smiling and standing. “We’re too old for those games, my dear friend.” He said teasingly. “Let’s get inside. It looks like it might rain.”
She pouted a little but followed him inside. “Sheesh. When did you get so old and grumpy?”
“The day you puked on me.”
Chapter Two
Mariska sighed softly as she and Jamesson wandered through the halls of the castle. She reached out and ran her fingers along the cold stone walls, enjoying the coolness against her sun warmed skin. Jamesson had fallen silent and was clearly lost in thought. Mariska glanced over at him, gently putting her hand in his.
“Is everything alright?” She asked softly.
“Yeah…I’m great.” He said finally, a soft smile coming to his face. “I got to go okay? I have some business I have to take care of.”
He was being rather vague, but she did not really feel the need to call him on it. Whatever was going on…He had every right to take care of it. She let him go and offered a wave, smiling just a little.
“See you at dinner?”
“See you at dinner!” He promised, turning around and jogging down the hall.
She watched until he turned and was no longer in sight. Mariska could not help her attachment to Jamesson. He was one of the only steady things in her life right now and she was depending on him to stay focused on the task at hand. Things were calm, but there was still the itching thought in the back of her mind, telling her that things could not possibly be like this forever.
She wandered through the halls alone, unnerved by how vastly empty they were. The battle had taken a lot of lives on both sides and with so many people falling at the hands of the werewolves, the island felt empty and just a little sad. It felt lonely and that was something she just could not shake.
Finally, Mariska came to the vault that held the world’s knowledge and she pushed the doors open, wandering inside. As she passed the tall bookshelves and bustling Taltos, the creatures offered her skittish glances and guilt filled her belly. She knew that they were disappointed in her. She knew that they might even be mad. After all, she’d been the one to enforce her lover’s orders. She’d been the one to tell them they had to care for the traitor they despised so deeply. She could not really blame them for any lingering animosity they might have for her.
She made it past all the tall creatures and finally came to the great golden door and pushed it open. She was always surprised at the ease at which the doors swung on their mammoth hinges. They closed behind her as she crossed the room, her silk robe kissing the floor.
Daemon was seated at his desk, leaning over an intricate map of the lands inhabited by various supernatural creatures. Sitting on the map were little stone figures carved into the shape of vampires, werewolves and the Taltos. He was deep in thought and his brow was knitted together so tightly she could see the little worry lines starting to form on his usually perfect complexion. She knew they would dissipate within moments, but it was still so strange to see her beloved caught up in this much worry.
He
did not look up from the map until she cleared her throat. At the delicate noise his head shot up and he stared at her, his emerald eyes wide and unblinking. His pupils dilated a moment and then returned to their normal size, indicating that her lover had been in a trance before she interrupted him, though she felt no remorse about cutting his session short. He looked like he might pass out if she let it go on much longer.
“Mariska.”
She smiled and stepped forward, reaching out and touching his cheek almost tenderly. “I’m here, darling.” She said, leaning in and kissing his forehead.
His skin was a bit pale and clammy to the touch and it would be a lie to say it did not worry her. “You seemed like you were deep in thought…Is everything okay?”
He sighed and closed his eyes, almost melting into her gentle touch. He was silent for a long time but finally shook his head back and forth slowly.
“I’m trying to hold myself together…For everyone else, but I feel like I’m being ripped apart at the seams.” He admitted.
Mariska frowned, still stroking his hair back out of his face. “And why is that?”
“I have always been so sure of everything…So confident, and now I feel like I don’t have a hold of this situation…Of anything.” He admitted, closing his eyes.
Mariska just smiled a little and chuckled. “You’re starting to feel human, aren’t you?”
He looked up at her almost hopelessly and sighed. “Did you have to word it like that?”
She wrapped her arms around him a moment, pulling him close and keeping him pressed against her ample bosom. She was not going to let him escape this time.
“Is it so bad to be human? I’m human.”
“It’s not that it’s bad to be human.” He said quickly, leaning up and touching her cheek tenderly. She’d grown accustomed to how cold his skin felt on against her own and she’d even come to enjoy it over time. “I love you dearly. Every part of you, especially the parts that are human, but it’s hard to accept a loss of power and it’s even harder to admit when you’ve lost control over the situation.”
VAMPIRE:Vampire Guardian Series: Paranormal Mystery Vampire Alpha Male Romance (New Adult Contemporary Paranormal Royalty Fantasy Romance Collection)) Page 10
