He held her close as Natalya and Thalia went about their work, replacing the mattress with one of clean straw, and changing the bedding so it was clean and fresh. Mikhal then sat as Natalya brought him a fresh nightdress for Alliana.
As it was pulled down over her head, Alliana stirred, and then looked up at him with sleepy eyes that registered just a hint of shock to see him there. He kissed her face, her forehead, her nose, and cheeks, loving her, whispering words of gratitude over and over.
"They are beautiful, Alliana. You have given me a precious gift. Lord Mikhalen Arcos the fourth and, shall we name her Isabella? Lady Isabella Arcos."
Alliana raised her eyebrows weakly and shook her head. It wasn’t that she objected to the names he had chosen, it was just that her children would carry Gypsy names as well, whether her husband approved or not; of that she was certain.
There were customs she was willing to forgo in deference to his wishes that the practices of her past life not be carried on in the castle, but that was not one of them. Her children had been giving their secret names, and they would be given their Gypsy names too.
She could accept the fact that they wouldn’t have a bathing ceremony, and the fact that she and Mikhal wouldn’t wait the normally required two weeks to give them their English or Gypsy names, but she wouldn’t refrain from blessing them with names that would remind them of the Gypsy part of their heritage.
Mikhal looked down at her, frowning. Why was she so troubled by his choice? He lifted her to put her back in bed and froze when she winced in pain.
"Tis all right, husband, the pain will fade, but our babes, they must carry other names as well. They are to be Mikhalen Nicolae Arcos and Ecaterina Isabella Arcos. Nico and Katia."
That said, knowing in her heart that it didn't matter what he thought, and too tired to say another word, Alliana closed her eyes and fell back into the sleep of pure exhaustion as her husband once more shook his head and wondered about the head strong woman he had made his life's mate.
“Mikhalen and Katia perhaps, wife. My son shall bear my name. He may carry the one you wish, but we shall use his proper title, but Katia is a beautiful name for a beautiful girl.”
Alliana gave a small smile and Mikhal gave a small laugh, and then went to the cradle once more, gently lifting Katia and taking her to the grand bed. He laid her down next to her mother, and then brought Mikhalen as well. Turning to Natalya and Thalia, he made a small motion of his head to indicate he wished to be left alone with his new family.
“Spread the joyous news and sound the tower bells so that all may know the babes have been born.”
Natalya smiled at his exuberance and obvious fatherly pride. “At once M’Lord. I shall return to check on Alliana soon. The bleeding...”
“Did you not say she would be fine?”
“Yes, but in some cases... Also, the babes will demand to be fed soon.”
“I will know at once if the bleeding resumes, as for the other, they are content now. Should she receive a tonic?”
“In a few hours, I have one to help bring on her milk as well. She shall need more now with the two of them.”
“Is she strong enough?” This new idea filled him with concern. Alliana looked so pale, so tired.
“She shouldn’t have any trouble. As I said, I have a tonic that will aid her.”
“I wish for a wet nurse to be seen to as well. Just in case.”
“Tis not the best option, my Lord. Magickal babes need sustenance from their mother.”
“As I am very aware, Natalya, but we cannot strain her body, nor can we allow my children to starve if there is a problem. Please do as I ask. Hopefully everything will be fine.”
“Very well. As you wish.” Natalya gave him a smile then, a true one that came from her heart. This man before her indeed did love her friend, even without the Empathy curse. That much was very clear. He wasn’t only interested in his children, or more specifically his son. He truly appeared to love them all.
Turning quietly she left the chamber as Mikhal laid tiny Mikhalen on the bed. He took off his boots then went and stoked the fire in the hearth, before lying down beside his sleeping wife with their precious babes between them. Looking at them, his son and his daughter, his dead heart swelled with love. They were perfect, so beautiful, and at that moment he felt like the luckiest man in the world.
Unfortunately, that luck was about to change, for what Mikhal didn’t know was that a little bit of a vampire boy was in the kitchen below, listening to the news that twins had been born to the Master of the castle. The child was waiting until it was dark, so he could run to Marishka and bring her the news.
It wasn’t that he cared for the woman who had turned him and hurt him so badly, oh no, he hated her. But it was a deeper hatred for the Gypsy who had just given birth and the Master that had a hand in the death of his dear Andor that made him want to return to the cave with one or both babies in arms.
To be continued…
Turn the page for an exciting sneak peek at the third and final book in the Beneath the Shadows of Evil Series.
Treasured
Coming July 1st, 2013
Treasured… Beneath The shadows of Evil Book Three
Chapter One
Mikhal awoke, lying on his side, arm curled protectively about his new family on the massive bed. Little Mikhalen was awake and staring about, tiny fists waving, but no cry came from his mouth. He was content for now just to be warm in his mother’s arms. Mikhal knew that the babes would demand to be fed very soon, but for now, he preferred to allow Alliana the sleep she so obviously needed.
A bit of the color had returned to her cheeks, and she appeared to be resting peacefully and not to be in a great amount of pain, but there was still an unwelcome pallor to her skin, and dark circles under her lids that couldn’t be hidden by her long lashes.
He rose silently and Mikhalen gurgled, making Mikhal freeze. He didn’t wish for the boy to wake his mother. Not yet. After but a moment, the child thankfully went back to waving his fists, and then fell asleep once more. Watching, smiling, Mikhal finally rose. He went to the door and sent the servant down to the kitchen. Alliana would need food when she awoke and there was something else he needed. Something special that he’d never dreamed of needing in the last one hundred years.
Thalia arrived at once, her footsteps as quiet as she possible could make them, and paused a moment to look at her Mistress and the new babes before raising her eyebrows in a silent question to the Master.
Mikhal told the woman what he wished, and then went to sit in a chair near the bed so he could gaze at his family once more. This was bliss, pure and utter bliss, and he couldn’t be happier. While it was true Marishka was still out there, and true there may be other evil afoot, and he hadn’t fully gained his wife’s heart, he had been given such a precious gift in the family who lay before him, and it was almost overwhelming.
As Mikhal looked at them, he vowed then and there that he would continue to do what it took to become a better man, not just for Alliana, not simply to win her love, but because it was the right thing to do. He had to be an example to his children, for he wanted them to become loving souls, not tyrannical spoiled brats who had no idea how to treat people. They were a mix of vampire and human, and Mikhal had every intention of honing their human qualities.
These thoughts and feelings were very unique to him, and the beast in him rolled in his belly, discontent that it was being shoved aside and forgotten yet again, but Mikhal ignored it and focused instead on tiny Katia’s cherub face.
How could he allow her to be spoilt and selfish? How could he let her become what Marishka had been? How could he allow her to instill terror and feed off the misery of others? The answer was simple. He couldn’t. It was clear she was quite human in body, he had felt the heat radiating off her when he held her, but her spirit was yet to be known. As for his son, he’d felt that the boy was of his loins more than his mother’s and because of that, Mikhal
knew he would have to take a careful hand in raising his son.
When he had captured Alliana, it had been with the intent to create a child who would grow up and stand by his side. One that would help him conquer the world, but that was no longer the case. If his son was mostly a creature of the night, then Mikhal knew he was going to do all he could to instill the human morals of the child’s mother inside him.
Thalia returned with the registry book as Mikhal had requested, pulling him from his musings, and he took it to the writing desk, opening it up to the page where his and Marishka’s names had been recorded. He then took the quill and did something he never thought he would be able to do. He recorded the names of his children.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Natalya stood nude, feet bare on the cold stone floor in the corner bathing area of her chambers, soaking a rough sponge in a bucket and running it across her skin over and over. She’d scrubbed the blood from her hands from the deliveries of the night, erased all traces of her toil, the sweat, the dirt, but still, she couldn’t rid herself of the feeling of Andor’s hands and mouth. The filthy, revolting presence of him, the scent, the taste... the memory.
She scoured at her breasts, her thighs, wincing as she bathed the deep gouges on the tender skin there, then soaked the sponge once more and squeezed it over her head, soaking herself again, but it wasn’t enough.
The water was turning cold, the puddle beneath her feet even colder, but still she didn’t stop. Once again she picked up the bar of scented soap and lathered her skin, covering every inch, then went to scrubbing once more. He was on her. She was tainted, dirty, and she had to become clean. Silent tears fell as she went about her work. Tears she’d held in for the long hours of Alliana’s labor, but now, now that she was alone, Natalya was free at last to let out her terror and pain.
As she bathed, the silent tears flowing down her cheeks, Lucian strode down the hallway, heading for her chamber. He wanted to check on her before he retired. Something inside him urged him to go to her, to see if she was well. Perhaps the terror of Elena had disturbed him; perhaps it had left him afraid that Natalya would be as deeply affected even though she presented herself as always being strong. He didn’t know and wouldn’t examine it further.
He told himself it was purely an act of protection. The woman had been targeted not once, but twice in the past few days, and he wanted to make certain she was well. He did not believe that the explosion in her potions room was an accident, and the attack by Andor, well that of course was quite intentional. Marishka wanted Natalya dead, and Lucian wanted her very much alive.
He told himself once more that it had nothing to do with desire or the fact that he found her lovely and charming and had delighted in their kiss. It was simply because they now shared blood, and therefore she was his to protect. Nothing more.
Arriving, he didn’t knock before entering. It had been an hour since the tower bells had proclaimed the birth of the new babe and he thought perhaps she might already be asleep. If that were the case, he would simply pull back the protective drape and look to make sure all was well, then be on his way. It wasn’t a question of manners; it was simply a courtesy he was extending. He didn’t wish to wake her. She’d been through so much that night.
Entering silently he spied the open drapes around the bed and immediately deduced that she was not asleep. Looking around he didn’t see her, and began to worry about the reason she would be gone from her chambers when it was obvious she should have been abed. Then the sound of splashing water and stifled sobs coming from the tiny bathing chamber off to the left clued him in on her whereabouts.
What now? The sound of her tears moved him, stirred something inside. A mixture of animalistic fury and a man’s caring. His beast also reacted to the thought of her wet and naked behind the bathing screen. She was vulnerable now, oh so vulnerable, just as his demon liked, but Lucian knew he couldn’t take advantage of the fact. It wasn’t right and it certainly wasn’t an act of protection.
There was his Master’s decree and his own honor to prevent him, and there was something more. A feeling that he would harm her inside, steal away some of her fire if he exploited her now. The feelings of needing to protect her rose up again and he narrowed his eyes. It was unfamiliar. He lived for himself and to serve his Master. True he had protected the Mistress and this one as well in the past, but that had been on orders. This was different. This time he wanted to see to her. To make her tears cease. So now he had a decision to make.
He stood, watching, listening, mulling over his options, starring at the screen and the outline of Natalya’s body as she raised her arms above her head and squeezed the sponge. He could see every curve through the screen, every lovely inch, rounded and soft, and much to his dismay he felt himself harden at the sight.
She had taken a lamp behind the screen and her shadow left nothing to the imagination. He became mesmerized, as he watched her running the sponge over her breasts, her thighs, her womanhood, rubbing furiously at her body, her wet hair streaming down her back like a water nymph.
His nostrils flared as he caught her scent. Lavender and an earthy woman smell, so rich, so warm. His manhood began to respond even more, growing large in his breeches, but then the pressure of it, the intense fire and yearning brought him back to reality. She wasn’t his, now wasn’t the time. He couldn’t have her, couldn’t seduce her, and if she knew he had been watching her, if she knew he had heard her sobs, she would be furious.
He backed away and went to the chamber door, opening it softly, backing out then knocking as he reentered. He still intended to see her, just not like that, not when she was so enticing and vulnerable.
Natalya cried out at the sound of the knock and the opening of the door. She knew it wasn’t a maid come to help her, she’d deliberately told her new servant that she wished to be alone, so that left only Mikhal the Merciless or Lucian.
“Whomever it is, I am in the midst of bathing and wish to be alone.”
“Finish woman and dress. I shall turn my back so you may maintain your modesty, but I insist on speaking to you.”
Lucian heard the sponge drop into the bucket and Natalya take in an indignant hiss of air, signaling the tirade he’d known would come.
“How dare you? I... Lucian this can wait until after I have rested. Is it possible you are not aware that I just spent nearly a day and night day delivering babes? My arms ache as does my back.”
“I am quite aware, Natalya. I am also aware that you were attacked and preyed upon by one of my kind. You were bitten and fed from and though I gave you sustenance, you must still be weak from the experience. I simply wish to ascertain your health and to make certain your chamber is secure before I retire.”
She came around the bathing screen then, a worried look upon her face, wrapped in a dressing robe that had plastered itself to her wet body, leaving nothing to Lucian’s imagination. His eyes quickly looked her over, he couldn’t help himself, but then they settled back on her face, the look of fear in her eyes stilling a bit of the stirring in his loins.
“Do you think Marishka will come? Would she dare?”
“No, not Marishka, but there could be others such as Hannah. I do not think the fire was an accident, and Andor proved just how very ruthless and insane he and Marishka were or are. She is still out there, and we know not who is on her side. You are a strong force of protection for the Mistress and the babe.”
“Babes”
“What?”
“I said babes? You didn’t know?”
“I’ve been in my chambers. I heard the tower bells but nothing else. Lord Arcos has not come to see me since before the birth.”
“The Mistress gave birth to twins. A boy and a girl.”
“Then we shall have to be extra careful to guard them. What of the Mistress, is she well?” Lucian was thinking how small Alliana was and how quickly her pregnancy had progressed.
“Twas not an easy birth, but all are well.”
“A
nd you, Natalya? How are you?”
“I told you. I am weary.”
“Twas not that of which I speak.” His eyes held a new softness as they bored into her soul, making Natalya want to go to him, to lay her head on his shoulder and feel the comfort of his arms, but that was not to be. He hadn’t offered and she knew they couldn’t cross that line. There were rules, boundaries, some of which she had created herself, and she didn’t want to be taken care of by any man.
She turned away suddenly as tears filled her eyes. “I do not wish to speak of it.”
In two strides Lucian was behind her, holding her by the shoulders, turning her, gazing down into her tortured eyes. They were red rimmed from her tears only a while before and full of pain. Lucian griped her shoulders tightly and Natalya winced, making his fingers instantly loosen, but he did not release her as he forced back the anger he felt by both her tears and the audacity of the vampire who had done this to her.
“Natalya, simply look at me and tell me you are all right and I shall leave you be.”
She shook her head. What was this? Was he finding a sick thrill in her pain as Alliana said Lord Arcos had when he’d first brought her friend here? He was a vampire, and a very unemotional and detached one at that, never letting on how he felt, but that wasn’t how he was acting now. Was it the sharing of blood? Hadn’t he told the truth about the true meaning of the act?
“I need not look at you nor follow your orders, Lucian. You have no control over me, nor can you dictate my actions. I told you I am fine, leave me alone.” Her tone was bitter, caustic, meant to send him packing, but inside she was melting, ready to give in to the need to be comforted. She was trembling from his nearness and from the emotional strain of the day, and she knew her hard exterior was about to crack.
Beneath The Shadows of Evil... Torn Page 38
