by Ciara Graves
He picked up a decanter and poured a goblet full of blood. I shook my head, not about to drink blood that could’ve come from who knew who.
“What do you want?”
Taking his goblet, he sat in one of the chairs and sipped it casually. “As I said, to speak with you.”
“About what? The weather? Or how I’m going to kill you soon enough.”
“Are you now? And how do you plan on doing so, my pet?”
I ground my teeth and stomped toward him. “Stop calling me pet, or you’re going to be missing your fangs.”
“Such anger inside you. I must say, as much as it saddens me you were stolen from my clutches, our time apart has certainly changed you into a formidable woman. Full of fire and fight. Full of such dark intent.” His last word seemed to linger in the air as he raised his brow. “Tell me that you truly believe Draven will stay with you once you realize your full potential.”
“Yes, he will.”
“Ah, I see. Love.”
I backed off since it didn’t seem he was going to try and kill me. Yet. He was inside my head, that’s all this was. I was physically in the garden, and this was inside my head. It’s the only truth I was willing to accept.
I raised my brow. “Right. Something you know nothing about.”
“Don’t I? What I feel for those I bring into my embrace, they are loved by me.”
“If that’s what you want to call it.”
“But I do. What you feel for Draven, it will bring about your end, Seneca. You cannot stand against me and win.”
“Uh huh. Then why do you look so worried?”
It was a bluff, but he readjusted his position ever so slightly. Good. He should be worried. “I merely do not wish to see you fall, not when you could stand by my side instead and fully embrace who you are.”
“I know who I am, thanks.”
“Ah, so you have learned the truth of your heritage. I wondered when the mage would give in.” He set his goblet down, the thud sounding louder than it should’ve in this room. “Then you know you are the last of your kind.”
“I was until you turned me. Now I’m an abomination.”
“Are you? Or have you become stronger because of my impact? I have gifted you with power, untapped yet, because Macron and the others hold you back.”
“No, they don’t.”
“You’re certain of this? If Macron knew the truth, then why did he give you rings that would not work? Why would he not have trained you properly in the ways of fae magic? Why keep so many secrets if he was not trying to control you?”
“As you are?” I challenged. “You want me to become your bride.”
“I can think of worse offers. Can’t you?” His brow arched.
I found myself looking at him as the vampire he was instead of the monster who ruined my life.
He appeared no older than Draven. The solid red of his eyes would’ve frightened normal people away, but not me. They didn’t scare me anymore. His cheekbones were high, and his face was handsome in a sophisticated way.
Figures.
Why couldn’t the bad guy look like shit? His blond hair was loose around his shoulders, and he was dressed in a simple white shirt and black breeches. No fancy adornments or battle armor. No rings. He was simply an attractive man sitting in a chair, waiting for me to answer his question. He rose then and came toward me.
I backed away, but there wasn’t anywhere to go, so I stopped and let him approach.
“I know you better than you think,” he whispered as he circled around me, picking up a strand of my hair and rubbing it between his fingers. “Even before I found you, I knew you felt lost. Alone in this world. They wanted you to become something you never could be. Cast you out for simply being born.”
“And your point is what?” I waited for the uneasiness to slam into me, but it never came. What was wrong with me? I should be wanting to run for the door, punch him in the groin. Something. I turned slowly to face him. He had to be doing something to me, but what?
Those red eyes held my gaze as he rested his hands on my shoulders. “My point is your anger with me is misplaced.”
I barked a laugh.
He shrugged. “Most of it. I will admit my desire to see what you could become drove me to cause you more harm than intended.”
“You tore my wings from my back and made me watch as they burned,” I commented deprecatingly.
“Alas I did, and I beg your forgiveness.”
Alright, that was it. I had to be on something. This was not the Rudarius who tortured me in his dungeon. He couldn’t be. An act, that’s all this was. An act to make me feel drawn to him. “Why?”
He closed the tiny bit of distance between us. “Because you are nothing like anyone else in this world, Seneca. You are powerful, strong, and you deserve to have someone your equal by your side. Draven is nothing but a fool, and he will die a fool. By my hand… Or yours.”
I hissed fiercely at his words. “I’ll never hurt him.”
“Won’t you? Did you not nearly stake him? He will try to stop you.”
“He should.”
“No, he should not. You never cage the wild animal, for once it breaks free, it will kill all in its path. You belong with me. Deep down, you know it’s true.”
Everything he said resonated deep within my mind. Macron had told me the history of the two fae kingdoms, of the light and the dark. What if my people were truly guided by a malevolent force? What if the So’run kingdom was justified in casting them out? Mind in tangles over what he was saying, I nearly let myself be swept away by the notion maybe I was better off with Rudarius than I was with Draven.
As his name whispered across my mind, warmth exploded inside me. Draven was the vampire I was destined to be with, not Rudarius.
“You’re going to have to try a lot harder to win me to your side.” I grinned smugly at the vampire holding me in his grip. “You’ve got some tough competition.”
He bared his fangs as his eyes glowed red. “He is nothing.”
“You sure about that?”
“I am. I merely hope you see the truth yourself before it’s too late. I would even kill him for you so his blood would not stain your hands.” He glanced around as if hearing someone calling for him. “Alas, our time is over. Until our next meeting, my pet.”
He bent down, and I braced for him to bite my neck, but instead, he kissed my cheek.
The move shocked me so badly, all I did was stand there like an idiot as he walked for the door. The room shimmered, then faded, and I was back in the garden, looking into the far-off fields.
“Seneca?”
I jumped and uttered a curse, but it was only Draven. He hurried around to cup my face in his hands. “Sorry, I was uh, lost in thought is all.”
“You’ve been out here for a while. You sure you’re okay?”
My hand covered his on my cheek, where seconds ago Rudarius had kissed. I waited for the disgust to kick in, but just like before, there was no twist to my gut. No urge to scrub my face until I bled. He’d gotten inside my head somehow, badly.
“Seneca, look at me?”
“I’m fine,” I whispered, but Draven didn’t let me go. “Said I’m fine.” The words came out harshly.
He hissed quietly under his breath. “You heard him again.”
“It’s nothing. I handled it.”
“Clearly,” he muttered sarcastically. “You’re cold as ice. And your eyes are black.”
“What?” I tore away from him and shook my head. “It’s nothing. I can’t hear him anymore. It’s over. I’m fine.”
He didn’t move for a solid minute, didn’t even shift. “You’re not going alone with Macron.”
“That is not your decision to make.” I squared off against him. ‘Don’t be an idiot.”
“I’m not. The woman I love is in danger, and though she claims she’s fine, she’s not. I am not going to send you off with Macron—alone—while Rudarius is getting inside your head. What did he s
ay this time? More threats? Did he hurt you again?”
My hand went to my cheek, and his eyes followed the movement.
“No, he didn’t.”
“Then what did he do?”
“He talked.”
Draven scoffed. “He talked to you, that’s it? Was it a nice conversation then? Did he offer you a glass of blood to go with it?”
“Actually, yeah.”
“Wait, what?” He grabbed hold of my arms so hard I winced, and he loosened his grip. Not that I blamed him. I was still trying to understand what I sat through.
“Tell me exactly what happened. What did he talk to you about?”
“Nothing important. Just more of the usual, except he was playing nice this time.”
“I don’t believe you.”
“It’s true. He threatened you again, no surprise there, but that’s pretty much it.” Yeah, that was a total lie, but if I told him word for word what Rudarius said to me, he’d tie me to a damned chair until he convinced Macron he had to tag along with us. That couldn’t happen. He needed to gather the vampires. However, this meeting with Rudarius did present an interesting opportunity. “I think he somehow brought me to him in Otherworld.”
“How? The veil’s still sealed.”
“I don’t know, but while he spoke to me, someone called for him. I didn’t hear it, but maybe if I go again, I can pay more attention. Figure out what magic he’s using. This could be our chance to get one up on him.”
His face went completely blank. That should’ve been my first hint that I’d crossed the threshold of whatever stress Draven could handle. He backed away, hands loose at his sides. “You want to talk to him again? See him again?”
“What if I have a chance to see what he’s planning? I could trick him into revealing too much.”
“He’s the most manipulative bastard I’ve ever met, and you think you can convince him to tell you his plan.” I nodded, and his face remained perfectly blank. My stomach finally twisted in knots, but it had nothing to do with Rudarius. “You’re not telling me the truth. What did he talk to you about?” The question was asked so quietly and calmly, it was like we were talking about anything aside from the murderous psychopath bent on killing us.
I took a step away this time. “Nothing I’ll ever listen to.”
“Seneca, just tell me,” he snarled so fiercely it stunned me into silence for a minute.
When I found my voice again, the words came out garbled until I took a breath and cleared my throat. “He thinks he can convince me to join him.”
Draven blurred and took me with him inside the cottage. My wrist was in his grip as he dragged me to the living room where Macron sat with Helena and Minnie. “Tell them what you just told me. Do it, so you stop looking at me like I’m the crazy one.”
“What’s gotten into you, huh?” I shouted back. “I’m telling you we have a chance to know what Rudarius is up to and you don’t want to take the risk.”
“It’s not worth it.”
“Right. You can risk your life, but I can’t risk mine?”
He threw his hands in the air as he hissed in my face. “This is different, and you know it.”
“It’s no different than anything else we’ve done. I stood against him once.”
“And barely survived,” he shot back, losing what little control he had over his anger. “You think now that I’ve finally found you, I’m just going to let you do something as reckless as this? As stupid?”
“He wants me,” I reminded him, and his lip lifted in disgust. “I don’t like it either, but it’s the truth. If he thinks he’s getting to me, then I could get close enough to end this. We might not have to march into war. We could save hundreds of lives. Thousands.”
“I will not trade your life for theirs.”
“I can do this, and you can’t tell me not to. You’re willing to throw yourself at him in a bloody war, but I’m not allowed to try and take him out without there being an actual battlefield?” I laughed bitterly as I realized the other option. “Or are you just pissed because you want to be the one to relieve Rudarius of his head?”
“That’s not it at all, and if you think so little of me, maybe he’s already started to turn you against me.”
His eyes were filled with such rage and sorrow I didn’t have to ask to know what he was thinking about. The vision I had of him killing me.
“I’m begging you, don’t do this.”
“You survived against him for years,” I pointed out, my voice quieter.
“He’s not the one who turned me. He’s not inside my head. You won’t win against him.” He yelled the last and his words hovered in the air.
It was as though he’d punched me in the stomach, knocking the air from my lungs.
Minnie and Helena looked horrified, and Macron rose to his feet, moving between us.
“Seneca, take a breath. Calm down.”
“Why are you telling me to calm down?” I said as I pointed an accusing finger at Draven. “After everything you told me, that you made me believe, in the end, you still don’t actually think I’m enough to defeat him. Admit it.”
“That’s not what I meant.”
“You sure about that? You think I what, want to end up with him?” I went for Draven, glaring at Macron to make him move out of the way. “I’m doing this for us. To give us a chance to end this with both our lives intact.”
“It’s too dangerous. You’re unstable. And these rings, we don’t even know if they’ll help.” He reached for my hands, but I drew back. “Seneca, please, I can’t lose you to him. I won’t.”
I didn’t understand. He wanted to risk the future I saw? How could he not see this was a better option? My power was unstable, I couldn’t argue with that, but we nearly killed each other in that farmhouse just so he could prove a point; that I was strong. Strong enough even to beat Rudarius.
“Promise me you won’t speak to him again, that you won’t talk to him like you just did.” Draven took my hands and this time I didn’t pull away. “Promise, Seneca.”
The doorbell rang, but Draven kept hold of my hands.
Praying this would not come back to bite me in the ass, that he’d forgive me eventually, I nodded. “I promise.”
His narrowed gaze studied my face closely, but the doorbell rang again.
“That’s probably Nathaniel.”
Draven reluctantly released my hands. “You’re sure you don’t mind him knowing everything?”
“Not if it helps us in the end.”
His eye twitched at my words, but he said he’d get the door.
I took my place in a chair, avoiding Minnie.
She was staring at me.
Helena whispered to her, but then Draven answered the door, and a vampire entered, with Shane behind him.
I hadn’t even realized Shane had been missing.
From the scowl Draven gave him, it was clear he wasn’t supposed to be.
Introductions were made briefly, and I spoke only when asked a direct question.
Draven pulled off an act that everything between us was perfectly fine.
But it wasn’t. Not by a long shot. This was going to be a long night and an even longer morning.
Chapter 6
Seneca
“You sure you want to leave like this?”
I glanced over my shoulder at the cottage where Draven slept soundly. Dawn brought cooler weather with it and bright rays of sunshine he would not be able to step into without burning himself. “Yeah, let’s get a move on. We have a lost kingdom to find, right?”
“He’s simply trying to protect you after so many of us failed.”
“Don’t,” I whispered as I checked my daggers to make sure they were firmly sheathed in my boots and my onyx blades at my hips. “I said I wouldn’t do anything stupid and I won’t. Are we going or what?”
Draven was under the impression Macron and I weren’t heading out until this evening.
But I woke up this
morning and slipped out of the bedroom. Macron hadn’t liked my moving up the timeline, but something in my eyes must have stopped him from arguing with me. The faster we found the kingdom and the forge, the faster I could return to Draven and assure him I was good to go.
Besides, it was not like I knew the first thing about reaching out to Rudarius. If he came to me, however, no telling if I could tune him out or not.
Macron finished whatever internal argument he was clearly having with himself and knelt in the grass. As he had when we escaped from Otherworld, he used his finger to trace symbols into the ground. As each one was completed, it glowed with a life of its own. The power pulsed through the ground and hummed beneath my feet.
“You sure you know how to get to this realm?” I asked when he was on the last symbol.
“Let’s hope so.”
“That’s not very encouraging.”
He shrugged. “I could be rusty.” He finished the final symbol and the ground within the symbols burst to life with a white glow. “Hurry, inside.”
I took Macron’s hand, and he pulled me into the circle. The white light pulsed brighter, swallowing us within it. The cottage disappeared, but I heard Draven’s yell all the same. Shouting for me to wait.
A sharp crack deafened me, and then my feet left the grass of my backyard to land on a slick, rocky surface. The light faded, and I was left with white spots in my vision as my eyes adjusted to the grey world we landed in.
“You should’ve told him we were leaving,” Macron commented as he snapped his fingers and a tall, onyx staff appeared in his right hand.
I drew both of my short swords as a horrible shrieking sounded behind us. “How about you not get involved,” I muttered.
The trees surrounding us were all dead and dried. Fog covered the ground, and a light mist fell cold against my face. At least I thought to wear my long coat. I could hardly see a few yards in any direction. The ground was mostly rock, no sign of living vegetation anywhere. Even breathing was hard as the air was thick. It was not a sensation I enjoyed.
“We need to move.” Macron nodded for me to follow as another shriek came through the fog, this one much closer.
