Antares

by Yvonne Nicolas

  “Ready to have that talk now?”

  Chapter Eight

  Slay Me, Queen

  Alexis blinked rapidly as she tried to regain focus.

  Even with a blade pressed to his neck, Tristan sat there unmoved, relaxed, with his arm propped on the armrest of that garish ass lounge-chair! His casualness of it all pissed her off.

  Her breathing was erratic. Each exhale came out in labored pants. The desire to release him from this demonic life drove her to draw his own sword against him. But that’s not what had her heart rapping so feverously. Another craving slithered along her body. He was so fuckin’ sexy, even covered in the proof of his monstrous deeds.

  A couple droplets of his dark blood dripped from the slight cut made by the blade. She felt the sting in the same place on her neck. She even felt the blood trickling down her collarbone, even though she knew she wasn’t bleeding.

  “Playing possum isn’t your style. You shook off that spell several minutes ago.” A devilish smirk curved his lips. “Were you waiting to get me alone?”

  “I can only chase one running asshole at a time,” she bit out on a hoarse whisper. “I’ll catch up with the cat-girl later.”

  “You mean your sister.”

  “She’s not my sister!”

  His eyes shifted to the right, toward his sword. “Feels better, doesn’t it? Holding my blade? It should. It was crafted by your kind.”

  Before he mentioned anything, she felt something different. Yet, familiar. It was similar to the sensation she got while battling him. But it was stronger, more intense. It rushed through her veins and flowed over her body like bursts of energy. It made everything quiver, even her most sensitive parts.

  Why does it feel like I’ve held this sword before?

  “Because you have in another lifetime. It was custom made by a very powerful priestess, older than time itself. A spiritus ferrum, the only weapon that can kill me.”

  Hieroglyphs came alive along the length of the steel, shining in bright gold. Those symbols…She knew them! That same language resided on the double-edged Claymore back at her place. Electricity exploded from her chest and spiraled down her arm into the weapon.

  “Put your weight behind the stroke and make it swift.” He lifted his chin, further exposing his neck. His demon blood continued to trickle. “Take my head completely off with one strike and you won’t feel a thing.”

  “Why’re you telling me this?”

  “‘Cause it’s the only way to stop me. That’s the goal, isn’t it? Stop me from killing? To do so, you have to kill me.”

  “Da hell, Tristan? You’d rather die than to stop? The Legion got you all kinds of brainwashed.”

  “I’m not the one who’s brainwashed.”

  “And I’m not the one leaving bodies in my fuckin’ wake either!” she growled, doing her best to hold the sword steady. But she was a trembling mess.

  “Now is the time, Lexi. You won’t get another chance like this one. You’re the only one who can do it. Slay me, Queen.”

  “This ain’t a joke, Tristan!”

  “You see me laughing?”

  My God, he’s serious. He wouldn’t stop. He wouldn’t even try. She could see it in his demonic eyes and feel it in her heart. The pain in her chest returned. The tears she’d been suppressing burst through. She’d hoped and prayed that when she opened her eyes, he’d be her old Tristan again, her best friend, her secret lover. So much for prayers. “If—if I take you out, this won’t end, will it?”

  “No. The Legion will send someone in my stead. Someone more determined, someone deadlier, someone…not in love with you.”

  An image flashed behind her eyes. Once again, she saw Tristan chained to that bed, blood tears in his eyes. He screamed as pain wrecked his very soul. The name of the devil who clipped her angel’s wings shot across her mind. Camrath!

  Crying out, she ripped the blade back, slicing deeper into his flesh.

  He didn’t wince, nor touch the fresh wound that healed within a millisecond.

  But she did, even as the slight sting faded. “Ugh—shit!” With her heart jumbled in anger, lust and confusion, she thrust the powerful weapon into the smooth marble flooring. “Muthafuckin’ Camrath!”

  A growling boom thundered and a flash of light shot through the room. A crevice tore across the floor, making the room quake and rumble.

  She stumbled, then thrust her arms out to keep her balance. “Holy shit.”

  All the furniture, except for the lounge-chair Tristan sat on, slid across the room and slammed into the wall. Pictures fell, glass shattered.

  The flames roared from the hearth and reached for her. She skipped back to evade, but the fire moved with her. It enveloped her like a fiery blanket and sunk into her skin. It soared through her body, filling her blood vessels and heart with lava-like life fluid. In seconds, the heat dispersed. Darkness swarmed in then quickly scattered when the lights flickered back on.

  “What in the hell?” A puff of smoke carried her voice. “What—what just happened?”

  The glow of crimson rested in Tristan’s glare. His irises beamed like lasers as black veins branched out around his menacing gaze. “Lexi…”

  The sultry threat in his voice stilled her heart briefly.

  He closed his eyes and raked his fingers through his hair. The dark veins vanished. When his eyelids slid open again, his silvery-blue gaze was back in place. “It’s a part of your spiritual defense. You absorb the energy around you. All forms of it, including electricity.”

  “Well damn, that’s just fantastic,” she muttered, more terrified than amazed. “So uhm, we gonna talk about the scary eye thing you just did, or move along?”

  “It would mean discussing someone I’m not ready to discuss yet.” What started as a whisper rose into a deep monstrous growl. “Never, ever speak his name in my presence again. Please.”

  For a long moment, neither one of them spoke.

  She eyed him across the rift, unsure how to feel, unsure what to do. “Sorry for saying his name. I should’ve known—”

  “No. I’m the one who’s sorry.” Leaning forward, he shook his head. “I’m so very sorry.”

  All confidence drained from his face. Sadness and abashment claimed his expression. Wait. He wasn’t apologizing for the massacre. No. He was apologizing for what she saw while unconscious. God, the things that monster did to him. She’d only caught bits and pieces of his daily torment, but the pain of it all crushed her spirit as if it had happened to her.

  “I tried to stop it, but by the time I realized you were picking up on my memories, it was too late.” He scooted to the edge of the lounge and rested his elbows on his thighs. Looking away from her, he lowered his head. His hair draped along the sides of his face. “I’m sorry,” he uttered again.

  “The girl that suppressed your bond in the vision—is she the same girl that—”

  “Yes.” He perked up.

  “Earlier, you said she was a vampire because of you. But judging by what I saw, she was a vampire when you met her.”

  “It’ll all make sense once everything is revealed. Tell me something. After my Noble attacked you, do you remember what happened next?”

  She rubbed at her neck, recounting the pain she suffered when that fucka tried to rip her throat out. Heat rose behind her eyes. “All I remember is being fuckin’ livid. Then there was a white light and a bunch of nothingness. That’s all I can recall.”

  He simply nodded, though a hint of disappointment claimed his expression.

  She glanced down at her hands. Tiny sparks of energy-infused serpents spiraled around her fingers, hands, and arms. She felt it coursing through her veins like lightning. “This just keeps getting weirder.” This strange power building inside of her, the slaughtering that took place earlier, the agony he suffered at the hands of that Noble…It was too much, too much to digest all at once. If only she could close her eyes and make it all go away. “Soo, the Ice Queen was your savior. Guess
I can’t kill her now. That sucks donkey balls ‘cause I had it worked out in my head exactly how I would destroy her.”

  Shaking his head, he released a soft chuckle.

  “And that other guy with the Christmas eyes…what in the hell is he? ‘Cause he ain’t a vampire. He’s something else entirely. So many questions…”

  Tristan watched her quietly.

  “This is…all of this…” She took a deep breath and tried to steady the tremors darting through her limbs. “It’s clearly not your doing. He did this to you. That Noble. He’s making you do this!” Unable to remain still, she wrung her shaky hands together and paced back and forth in front of him. “It’s not too late. You can stop all this, Tristan.”

  Silence drifted between them.

  Alexis paused and threw her hands out. “You can stop all of this! Yeah?!”

  “Stop, and do what? Walk away? Pretend none of this ever happened? Even you don’t believe that’s possible.”

  “Mm-kay, I get it. It’s not that you can’t. It’s that you won’t. You’re content with this. You’ve made the choice to be a jerk-ass General vampire.”

  “In case you haven’t been paying attention, this life was forced upon me.”

  “Don’t give me that bullshit, Tristan! Just ‘cause you’re a demon doesn’t mean you have to run around slaughtering folks!”

  “Look, I’m tired of you calling me a demon.”

  She rolled her eyes. “That’s what the fuck you are!”

  He groaned. “Lexi, please understand, I’m doing all of this for you.”

  “That’s the second time you’ve said that bullshit!” she snapped, jabbing her finger at him. “How? Blood, death, and bodies everywhere! How is any of this for me?”

  He tilted his head and briefly closed his eyes. “You’ll see.”

  “I don’t wanna see! I don’t wanna see any more people die.”

  “Neither do I.” Letting his legs fall further apart, he settled back and spread his arms out on the backrest. “But unfortunately, it’s unavoidable.”

  Another bout of silence drifted between them.

  Everything she wanted to say raced through her mind, but the desperate need in her body muted it all. A strangled shriek lunged out of her. “Ughhh!” It was all she could do. “I can’t hate you, I can’t kill you, I can’t stop thinking about climbing on top of you…” She folded her lips in and rattled her head. Shit! That last part wasn’t supposed to come out. “Retract.”

  He chuckled. “Too late for that. And ditto.”

  Her gaze traveled down to his crotch. Wasn’t like she wanted to look there, but damn, he was strong and ready. The uniform’s pants fit snug over his thighs, so the imprint of his long, beefy schlong was well-fuckin’-defined! Her mouth watered as her tongue stirred behind her lips.

  Dammit, why does he always trip me up like this?

  “Don’t you ever put your mouth on me after killing someone! Freakin’ gross!” Sneering at him, she clenched her teeth. “And why’re you sitting up there, all chill and shit, with that blood-stained knight uniform on? Are you trying to rub your demon nature in my face? Asshole!”

  Smile growing wider, he burst out in laughter.

  “Stop laughing! And stop flexin’ in front of me like that! Shit!” She helplessly glanced at his erection again. Damn you, satan! “Da hell is wrong with you? Sporting all that big dick energy. You don’t get to flex at me after what you’ve done! Cut it out!”

  Tristan gazed at her with dark, lustfulness beaming from his unnatural eyes. “Sorry, sweetheart. Nothing I can do about that. Only you can tame that beast.”

  Focus, Alexis! You love him, but he’s the enemy, and he’s carrying a vampire-killing blade.

  “Wait—I don’t get it. Why’re you, a vampire, carrying a sword around that’s specifically crafted to kill vampires? That’s crazy.”

  “Not if that vampire is a vampire hunter.” Slowly standing, he curled his long fingers around the handle of the sword and snatched it out of the floor. “This weapon rejected all others who have tried to wield it. I watched them shatter to dust simply by touching it. I took the chance of wielding it, knowing that there was a possibility it would kill me.” He studied the blade with a spark of appreciation in his eyes before returning it to its scabbard. He then placed it on the chaise, next to his holster and other weapons. “I was both shocked and disappointed when it didn’t. Instead, it chose me. And now I hunt Nobles.”

  Alexis damn near choked on her next breath. “Hold the hell on! I thought vampires couldn’t kill Nobles ‘cause of the—whadda they call it—universal vampire link or whateva.”

  “Under normal circumstances, they can’t.” He shook his leg, then tugged at his slacks, trying to adjusted the position of his erection. That badboy just clung to his thigh like a fuckin’ anaconda. “But for some unknown reason, I can.” He strolled over to her, his gait smooth, despite his third leg issue. “Except, of course, the one who made me.”

  She stumbled a little while trying to back away from him. “Why would you hunt Nobles?”

  In the flash, he eliminated the space between them. “That’s an odd question for a Cross Knight to ask.”

  She reared back and slapped him in the face. It was a reflex move, driven by her anger…and lust. She hated and loved the way he made her feel when he was this close to her.

  Gawd, I wanna fuck him so bad, even with blood stains down his chin. What’s wrong with me?!

  “Did you notice? It no longer hurts your hand to strike me.” He reached for her hand. “You’re strong. Stronger than you know.”

  “Not stronger than you, though.” She jerked back, but her feet wouldn’t move her further away. His heated gaze kept her planted where she stood. “You made that painfully obvious earlier. If I was stronger, you’d be dead.”

  “Dead?” Leaning in, he brushed his nose over hers. “I gave you your chance to deliver the killing blow,” he whispered. “You missed your opportunity.”

  “Killing you would be letting you off too easy,” she groaned, aggravated by how helpless she was in his presence. “Figured you should taste a little more of this hell on earth.”

  “Is that all you want me to taste?”

  Alexis smacked him again. This time, harder.

  His head snapped to the side. As he turned his face back to hers, a devilish smirk slipped across his lips. “Mm, baby, you’re making me crazy.”

  I’m making HIM crazy?! Ignoring the sting on her own cheek, she glared at him so hard, her vision blurred. “We’re not on that level anymore, so you best mind my personal space.”

  “I do mind it. That’s why I can’t help but get close to you.” He nuzzled her temple as he gently brushed his fingertips over the curve of her hip. “Old habits die hard.”

  She gritted her teeth and shoved away from him.

  Grinning, he winked at her and strutted away.

  He’s playing games with me, throwing me way off-kilter. But what’s new. He always had her at a disadvantage, even when he was human. “Where are you going?”

  “To the bathroom,” he tossed over his shoulder. “That okay with you?”

  “To do what? Drop a deuce? Didn’t know vampires could shit.”

  His low laughter rumbled throughout the room. He swept his hand to the side and the furniture slid out of his way. “Too shower. I may be a vampire. Doesn’t mean I have to be a dirty one.”

  “You said you would explain this twisted shit to me. It’s time you start talking.”

  “Ohh, now you wanna talk. Alright then. You ask. I answer.”

  “Why do I have to ask anything? We’re linked, aren’t we? Let’s just bypass all the verbal nonsense. Show me what I need to see.”

  “That’s not how we’re gonna do this.”

  “Why?”

  “Once everything is unveiled to you, you’ll see why this was the better option.” Glancing back at her, he nodded for her to follow. “Ask away, sweetheart.”

  S
he walked behind him, keeping a bit of distance. “Why so much bloodshed? I’ve seen how you and your crew operate. You could’ve just grabbed the councilman and got his blood memories without killing so many knights. Why?”

  “Those knights were doping, Lexi. They could not be persuaded, compelled, or otherwise convinced to lay down their arms for the sake of their own lives. The Federation has full control over them in every sense. They had to die. The ones who weren’t drugged were spared and led out of harm’s way. I tried not to kill so many. I really did, but everything happened so fast—”

  “Uh-huh, sure ya did,” she muttered incredulously, her lips pursed. “That big guy back there—the dude you chop-sueyed. I’m sure you tried to spare him as well.”

  “Not true. I would’ve killed him sooner or later.”

  “I was being sarcastic.”

  “I know you were,” he replied with a smile in his voice.

  “I noticed he didn’t melt away or bust into dust. He wasn’t a vampire, but given how fast he was, I think it’s safe to assume ole’ boy was a shifter, which is odd ‘cause I thought the White Dragon Legion were all vampires. That’s the rumor anyway.”

  “Wrong.” He unclasped the purple cape from the shoulder guards and let it fall to the floor. “Only about thirty percent of the Legion forces are vampires. Twenty percent are shifters.”

  Her steps slowed. “What are the other fifty percent?”

  He unbuttoned the blood-soiled tunic and slipped it from over his shoulders, exposing the snug cotton undershirt. It too dropped to the floor. “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”

  “Try me.”

  Lifting his arms, he pulled the shirt over his head and flung it across the room. “Next question.”

  Alexis stumbled to a stop, staring wide-eyed at his naked, muscled back. A series of marks marred his pale skin, right down his taunt backside—whip strikes and claw scores. The image of Tristan bound to that bed punched her in the head again. Oh God, Tristan. His torturous past was hard as hell to witness, even harder to feel, but seeing the proof of what that sick fuck did to him tore her heart into pieces.