by Kara Jaynes
Her eyes narrow, and a few tears track down her face, but she isn't crying anymore. She places her hands against my chest, palms flat. “Step into the light, Wilder.” She tries to nudge me backward.
I comply and step into the moonlight, still looking down at her, hoping to convey the hope and urgency I feel.
Her eyes widen, and she gasps. “Your eyes. What’s wrong?”
I tilt my head. “What do you mean?” At least she isn't crying. That’s something.
“They’re red!” She's looking at me like I'm spitting spiders, a thin crease of concern across her forehead, her gaze incredulous. “Blood-red. They used to be such a beautiful blue.”
“Oh.” I look away. I'm not ready to tell her what happened. I don't even know how or what to say to her, as I’m not sure of it myself.
She pushes my curls up from around my ears to expose the pointed tips. A quiet hiss of breath escapes her. “Show me your teeth, Wilder.”
A tremor of alarm shudders through me. “Stella—”
“Show me.”
I slowly peel my lips back in a mirthless grin and expose my fangs. My heart pounds, and I almost laugh. All the horrors I’m capable of, and my heart still beats.
Wonder mixes with fear on her face. “Wilder. What happened?”
I’m about to respond, but I can hear footsteps approaching. Is someone coming, or are they merely passing by? “Come with me,” I urge, my voice breathless. “I’ve heard rumors. You’re a prisoner, Stella. I can help you escape. Tonight. Right now. Things can go back to the way they were. Just you and me.” Then I remember. “And Quinn.”
I can see the longing in her eyes. I’ve almost convinced her. I take her hand and raise it to my lips, kissing her knuckles. “Please, Stella,” I breathe. I almost have her. “Let me right the wrong. I can fix this. Please.”
The footsteps pause and my head snaps up as I register the scent. There’s an elf outside the door. Male.
“You must come with me now,” I say in a low whisper. “Right now, Stella.”
I’m about to scoop her up in my arms when the door slams open. A man stands in the opening. His pale gray gaze lands on me and narrows as he identifies me as a target. I recognize him on sight, taking in the medals and embroidered insignia on his jacket. This is the elven prince.
Time to go. As much as it hurts, I release Stella and leap onto the sill. “I’ll be back,” I promise, with a flourishing bow and a wink.
“Wilder,” she whispers, and it’s all I can do to keep a triumphant grin off my face. I may have been addicted to the star-blood, but Stella has her own addiction.
Me.
The prince hears my name and the grief in Stella’s voice. I can’t hold back a sneer when I see the hurt and jealousy that twists his face before he leaps at me with a snarl, eyes flashing with rage.
I leap out of the window in a backflip, letting myself free fall before I grip the side of the wall, coming to a shuddering halt. It’s then an easy thing to leap the remaining twenty feet to the ground.
I look up. I only have time to feel a flicker of surprise before the elf crashes into me, and we both fall to the earth. The ground is swathed in shadow here, so even if Stella looked out, I doubt she could see us.
The prince recovers first and delivers a resounding blow to my head. “Wilder,” he hisses. “Wilder. Vampire-scum.” He hits me again, and my vision blurs. I try to push him off, but he’s as strong as I am. Stronger. “You were in the experiment group of dream vagrants that went wrong. It’s a pity for you, but it’ll be for the best. Stella can’t afford to have any distractions.”
He has a grip like iron, his pale fingers tight around my throat, pinning me to the pavement. He pulls a dagger from his belt, the cold steel glinting as it catches the moonlight. “I’m sorry for what happened. There was a corruption in the spell that was supposed to cure you. We’re still looking into what happened and who’s responsible, but for those of you who are already turned—”
The steel plunges down too late. I give a tremendous heave and throw the prince. He swears what sounds like a startled oath in Elvish, but I’m already scrambling to my feet. I take off running.
“Stay away from Stella!” His voice is a sharp command, and rage skitters across my vision as I run. I hate myself for my cowardice, but I’d be a fool to fight him. I will need to outwit him. The elven imposter thinks he can claim Stella for his own.
I spin around, knowing he hasn’t given chase. “You think she is yours,” I say hotly, my fists clenching at my sides, “but regardless of what you've done to her, know that she’s thinking of me. Always, prince.” I grin. “No matter what you do, know that she loves me like she’ll never love you.”
The elf lunges after me with a howl, and I take off at a full sprint, laughing my fool head off.
I know I’m right. Despite the fact that I’d abandoned her, Stella hasn’t forgotten me.
She will never forget me.
32
Eldaren
I can’t catch him. The vampire moves with diabolical speed, blending into the shadows like a fiend in the night, the darkness claiming him as her child.
I run after him, holding nothing back, knowing it is foolish to do so. What if he is trying to lure me into a trap? I don’t care. His words sting worse than the lash of a whip.
What hurts most is that I know he spoke the truth.
I saw the ache in Stella’s eyes, the longing, the desire.
The vampire holds a piece of her heart.
Rage boils through me, but when the vampire reaches the fence, he scrambles up it like it’s pitted stone and leaps lightly to the other side. I can’t pursue him now. I need to get back to Stella.
I am so glad I checked on her when I did, though now I wish I had gone sooner. I knew something was wrong as I approached her door. I caught the scent of the intruder and then heard his voice, whispering as he tried to convince Stella to leave.
I inhale and exhale shakily. What if I had come too late? Would she have gone with him? Does she want to go with him?
As the female in our relationship, she has the power to break the Kenelky, if she so desires. By choosing another. Him.
She hasn’t, yet. I can feel the threads of it still connecting us.
I climb up the fortress wall the way I’d jumped, hope quickening my movements. Maybe she will choose me.
Hope flees the moment I enter her room through the window, my feet hitting the floor with a quiet thump.
My better-half is curled up on the floor, head between her knees, fragile arms wrapped around her legs. Her body shakes with silent sobs.
I don’t know what to do. Stella is the only woman I have experience with, which basically means I have no experience with women. Talking to my father didn’t help.
I know what he’d do in this situation. He’d snap at Stella and tell her to find some backbone.
But somehow, looking at her now, my instincts warn me not to snap at her.
I know all too well that Stella is capable of biting back, and this is not the time to quarrel. Not with him lurking out there, threatening the already tenuous connection of the Kenelky.
I sit down beside her, feeling stupidly useless.
I think she’s aware that I’m here, but she doesn’t look up, continuing to sniffle into her knees.
How do humans show affection? I know how elves show affection, and the thought warms my face.
Stella wouldn’t want that right now.
What should I do? Maybe a pat on the head, or rub her back? A bead of sweat trickles down my back, and I gnaw my lower lip. Maybe I should leave. Perhaps humans are similar to elves in that they don’t want consolation?
I don’t want to leave. I want to be close.
Perhaps I can touch her shoulder. Yes, yes, that’s it—physical touch, but nothing threatening.
I swallow hard, and silently curse myself for my cowardice, as I reach out with shaking fingers.
The moment my fi
ngertips graze her shoulder Stella jerks up with a startled yelp. I snatch my hand back as if I burned her. I smile tentatively, knowing it looks terribly awkward. “Sorry. It was not my intention to frighten you.”
“Oh.” Stella laughs through her tears, which makes me want her more. She shows so much strength. “I didn’t know you were here.”
I shrug, pretending I’m not disappointed to release my hold on her. “I wanted to make sure you were all right.”
Stella begins to nod, but then sighs, glowering at the ground in front of her. “No, I’m not all right. I’m . . . I’m so confused right now.” She places her chin in her palm. “I don’t know who I should love.”
Me, you fool, I think, but I don’t say that aloud. I know enough about women to know they don’t take kindly to that word, even if they are acting foolishly.
“Wilder,” I say. Curse the man to death and eternal darkness. “He was trying to get you to leave.”
Stella nods and wipes her eyes. “Yeah. I don’t think he understands you guys. The elves, I mean. He thinks you’re bad, from what I gathered. A lot of humans think that.” Panic flashes in her features. She clutches my arm, staring up at me. “You didn’t hurt him, did you? Please tell me you didn’t kill him.”
Stars, I hadn’t considered what killing the man might have done to Stella, and I’m suddenly glad he escaped. I shake my head. “I did not kill him.”
“Thank you.” She beams at me, and the knot in my stomach doesn’t loosen. She cares entirely too much for this man, and I’m not sure how to break her affection for him. I tilt my head, watching her closely. “I don’t suppose you’d be pleased if I challenged him to a duel to the death. The winner gets you. I am confident I would win.”
She shakes her head, and I scowl. Humans make things more complicated than they need to be.
Her gaze becomes unfocused. “Something is wrong with him,” she says. She doesn’t look at me. “He looks . . . elven. But not quite elven, either.”
“Elves don’t drink blood or have red eyes,” I say, unable to keep the dryness out of my tone. “But you’re right. He does have some elven similarities, now.”
She pins me with a stern expression. “Explain.”
“As you probably know, we’ve taken many of the dream vagrants off the streets,” I say. “We planned to heal them of the addiction they have to star-blood.”
Surprise flickers across her features. “You were trying to help them?”
“Of course. Why wouldn’t I? I’m their leader, after all. I preside over this entire planet.”
Stella snorts. “You know, they don’t see you as their leader.”
I smirk. “Dream vagrants don’t see much of anything.”
She shakes her head. “No. I mean, the people of Liberty. They hate you. No one trusts the elves.”
“Ah.” This is a problem I am well aware of. “Humans are surprisingly stubborn and averse to change, even when change is what will save their lives.”
“We were doing just fine before you guys came along.” Stella juts her chin out, and I laugh.
“You and a handful of others, perhaps.” I reach out and tuck a loose strand of dark blonde hair behind her ear. The action startles both of us, and we lock gazes for a moment. I should let my hand fall, but my fingers trail down to cup her cheek. “Do you really believe that, Stella? That life was better before we came?”
Stella flushes and looks away. “I don’t know,” she mutters.
Her reaction is good. Very good. I want to shout and pump my fist in the air like a sports-crazed human, but I carefully lock my emotion away. Showing emotion is weakness.
“You kidnap humans,” she says, and my feeling of victory is quickly replaced with anxiety.
“Yes, but it’s all for your own good,” I counter. “We only contain lawbreakers and dream vagrants. And magic users,” I add as an afterthought. “You humans are terrible at coexisting. You squabble amongst each other like chickens over a handful of corn. You obviously need someone there to make sure everyone gets corn.”
“And you’re the corn, I take it?” She arches an eyebrow.
“I suppose it makes me the farmer,” I say, tilting my chin to peer down my nose at her. “You don’t know how to govern yourselves, or your resources, and now the earth is dying because of it.”
“Hmph.” She crosses her arms in an expression of stubbornness. I’m beginning to notice she often does that when she’s tired of arguing but doesn’t want anyone to know. “We’re getting off topic,” she says. “We were talking about the dream vagrants. I want to know what happened to Wilder.”
Wilder again. I inhale deeply and force my wrath to stillness. I will deal with the man later. “We were trying to cure them of their addiction,” I explain. “We tried the usual route of abstinence from the drug, but reports are that some died from the effects of withdrawal.
“We tried to draw it out of them with minuscule doses of the herb as well, but that didn’t help either. In fact, it made it worse.” I frown down at my hands. “You shouldn’t even have star-blood here. As far as I know, it’s native to our planet. So that complicates matters. I don't know how it made its way here.”
Stella’s eyes grow wide, and I mentally berate myself for telling her. She isn’t ready to know about the star-blood’s origins. I want to tell her everything, so much, but she isn’t ready. Just because we’re connected with the Kenelky doesn’t mean we’ll agree on everything, though it did seem to work that way with my father and mother. On most matters. Well, some issues, anyway.
Anger flares on her face, and she points an accusing finger at me. “Then the state of Earth is just as much your fault as ours! If the star-blood wasn’t a plant native to Earth, then we can’t be blamed for the state of things.”
“Are you going to let me finish?” I ask, coldly.
Stella’s mouth works, as if she can’t decide. I want to kiss that mouth. The Kenelky connection draws me to her, even when we’re arguing.
“Fine,” she mutters, her shoulders slumping.
“We decided we would draw out the addiction using a Spell of Restoration,” I say, still pinning her with a stern look. Stars, she argues a lot. “Well, actually, it was Gawynn, an elf that oversees the dream vagrants who decided to try the spell. It’s what we use for the few elves that fall under addiction, or for various reasons, become very sick.” I arch an eyebrow. “For every one hundred humans that use drugs, we have maybe one elf who uses them as well. It's quite rare. They just don't affect us the same way, and we have to take a great deal more to get the same effect.”
Stella places her chin on her drawn-up knees, breaking eye contact, but she says nothing, so I continue. “Something went wrong with the spell.” I pause, not sure if I should continue. I don't want to frighten her.
“Wilder was one of the dream vagrants who was there when things went sideways,” Stella says quietly, looking at her knees. “That's why his eyes are red, and his ears are pointy. And he has fangs.” She looks at me sideways.
I watch for the reaction I know will come. “Wilder is a vampire.”
Nothing. Stella continues to watch me. The silence between us stretches.
“Did you not hear me, Stella, love?” I ask.
“I heard you,” she says, “but I don't believe you. Or rather, you're putting the wrong name to what he really is.” A small smile blooms suddenly across her face. “Now that I think about it, he was fully conscious. Wilder is back, Eldaren. He can think and reason again.”
“Humans don't have elven ears or teeth,” I say, somewhat acidly. I'm irritated that she isn't showing signs of disgust or horror. “But I can assure you, your once-friend is no elf. He can only step outside at night, and he feeds on blood.”
Stella's brows furrow and her lower lip sticks out. “I get that you don't like him, but if he were really that bad, he would have bitten me already.”
I stare at her, her words taking root. She's right. Wilder should have bitten
her. Vampires can think and reason as well as any elf, but their craving for blood typically wins over logic.
Why hadn’t he?
It doesn’t matter. Even if by some divine miracle he’d managed to restrain himself, it was only a matter of time before he snapped. He couldn’t be trusted. Not with her, the most important being on the planet.
“Does this change things between us?” I ask. Stars, there never was anything between us. Not on her side. The bond rages through me, and even now, my mask of calm indifference is hanging by a thread. Maybe I’m the danger. My need for Stella drowns out all rational thought. I would kill for this girl.
My fingers dig into my palms, almost breaking skin. I will kill for her, if this vampire doesn’t stay away.
Stella sighs heavily and shrugs her shoulders. “I need some time to think.” She casts me a small smile, one I hold close to my heart. “I made a promise, Eldaren. One year.”
I beam back, some of the tension easing from my shoulders. “I won’t let you down, Stella. I swear to you. We are meant to be mates for life.”
This doesn’t get any sort of reaction at all, and with a pang of sadness, I leave shortly thereafter, reassuring Stella I’ll post an extra guard to make sure the vampire doesn’t find her again. The disappointment that flashes across her face hurts worse than a kick to the stomach.
Closing her door, I stride down halls until I reach Sol’s chambers. I open the door and go in.
The blond elf is sprawled on his bed, stripped to his undershorts, his face lit by the dim glow of a handheld device.
“Quinn might be onto something,” Sol says. “Games are a wonderfully addictive time waster.”
I walk over and smack it out of his hands. “We don’t have time for such frivolity,” I growl. “We have a planet to save, Sol. You spend every minute of every day devoted to the cause.”
Sol arches a pale brow. “Some might say reading fairy tales and visiting markets would be considered frivolities.”
That’s as close to questioning me as Sol will get. He wants to know what happened between Stella and me.
