Court of Frost and Embers (The Pair Bond Chronicles Book 1)

by Leeann M. Shane

  There was that name again. Maxell glanced at him, probably wondering why he’d said the name in front of me at all. He left without another word, bottles of blood clutched in his fists. Cookie crumbs left in his trail. Did that mean he wanted him to know about my nightmare? Everything inside me told me not to tell him. Don’t bring up the river of lava and mountains of ash again. Do not even think about it.

  Maxell gazed at me, contemplative. “What was your dream about, Emmie?”

  “I told you. You got hurt. It was just a nightmare.” That wasn’t a lie. It was an all-out nightmare. And I didn’t know what it was. No one had told me anything. They’d simply strung together frightening words and left them in my head. What was I supposed to do with them? “Can I read The Pair Bond Chronicles today?”

  He startled me by laughing. A deep, belly kind of laugh. He clutched at his abdomen and doubled over, falling to one knee and guffawing. He took another look at my face and the laughing fit restarted, harder that time.

  Amidst my anger, his laugh was sweet to hear. It was like guitar strings plucked in that perfect way that makes you tilt your head and listen to every single note. I didn’t want him to stop. Except that I did. “What’s so funny?”

  He rose fluidly, wiping an imaginary tear from his eye.

  “Can vampires cry?”

  “Nope,” he responded, chuckling under his breath.

  “Are you breathing?”

  “Nope,” he repeated, eyes twinkling.

  “Maxell, what is so freaking funny?”

  He was on me in seconds, clutching my face in his strong, cold grip. He pressed our foreheads together, our lashes tangling. “You just lied to me, and you did it so badly, I’m pretty sure you’re the worst liar in the world, but the fact that you lied and thought it was believable, might be the funniest damn thing I’ve ever seen.” He pressed his lips to the tip of my nose. “Lie to me again, please. I haven’t laughed that hard in…” He paused, thinking about it, “ever.”

  I tried to push him off. He of course didn’t budge an inch. If anything, he held my face tighter, urging our lips close. I inhaled him, my mouth watering at the scent of fruity sweet cherries and powdered cinnamon coming off his tongue. “Your breath smells so good.”

  “Does it?” he asked. “What does it smell like?”

  “Cherries and cinnamon.”

  “Hmm. Bet that’s going to taste good.” He brought his lips back to my nose, flicking his tongue at the tip. “Do you want to know what yours smells like?”

  My eyelids fluttered; my fingertips dug into his shirt, holding on to something, or else I’d fall over. “No.”

  “Too bad. You already do. Every inch of you smells of the sun.”

  “What does the sun smell like?”

  He moved his lips to the right, pressing them to my cheek as he spoke. “I can’t explain something that doesn’t have an equal. All I can tell you is that it’s the most addictive, appetizing scent I’ve ever smelled. It’s torture holding my breath around you. I want to inhale every inch of your skin. But I can’t do so without wanting a taste.” He lowered his head down to my neck. His silky, onyx hair brushed my cheek. His lips pressed delicately over my pulse.

  The coolness of his lips made me shiver. “You can’t have a taste without—”

  “Draining you.”

  “And killing me.”

  “Which is to be avoided at all costs,” he murmured, kissing me there once more. “You have no idea how warm you are, Emmie. You’re hotter than the sun.”

  I tilted my head to the side, my brain filling with cotton. It was fuzzy. “That might be the best compliment I’ve ever received.”

  He hummed against my flushed skin. “You’re very deserving.”

  “And what about you? Are you deserving of such compliments?”

  He didn’t answer with words. He did however give his head a small shake before sliding his tongue along what I assumed to be my vein.

  His tongue was the smoothest, coldest part of his touch. It was like ice sliding down red-hot iron. It melted against my skin. Singed places that didn’t even know needed ice.

  My nails dug into his hips where I held on to him for dear life. “I think you’re deserving. I think you’re strong, and brave, and magical.”

  “Magical?” he snorted. “More like condemned.”

  I let my forehead fall upon his chest. “No, you’re magical. Before I met you, I didn’t know magic existed, let alone had it anywhere near me. Now I do. In you.”

  His body stilled. He rose enough for his left eye to meet my right. “That’s a shame. If anyone deserves magic, it’s you, Emmie.”

  I pressed my lips to his cheek, closing my eyes in sadness and gratitude. It was nice to hear him say, but it was sad to hear him say it, too. It shouldn’t be so hard to convince myself of the same words I already knew were true about him.

  “Have you looked outside yet today?” he murmured, stepping away. “There’s a horrific snowstorm expected for the next week.” He smiled. “The governor issued a state of emergency.”

  “Why does that make you so happy?”

  “Because we’ll have the entire town to ourselves. All of the humans are bunkered down with their hot cocoa and fires. We’ll have no one to hide from.”

  He was acting weird. Way too positive. I didn’t believe it. “What are you not telling me?”

  His optimism slithered away, unused to being under a spotlight. “I could ask you the same thing.”

  My stomach dipped. “Are you asking me?”

  He looked around the house, his eyes going in a wide arch before they landed back on mine. “Not here,” he mouthed.

  Oh great. He didn’t want Masters and Reowna to know he was about to grill me. I wasn’t sure what to do. My heartbeat picked up.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked.

  “Hmm?” I forced out.

  He pressed his palm flat to my chest, a few inches above my sternum. His cold skin seeped through the fabric of my shirt. “I hear your heart. When it beats slow, when it’s beating fast like right now, or when it’s steady like when you’re sleeping; I hear every single beat. If I’m hungry enough, I can even hear the blood pumping through it.”

  I blew out a nervous breath. “That’s detailed.”

  He gave me a humorous look before dropping his hand. “I’m nothing if not detailed.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Can you take me home really quick? I need to shower and…” I was going to say check in with my grandmother, but for all I knew, she didn’t even know I was gone.

  “Of course,” he said softly, giving me a look. “Let’s go.”

  I was thankful that he’d saved me from saying my thoughts out loud.

  After a quick jog upstairs to retrieve my shoes and coat from his room, I joined him in the garage. Maxell reached for a set of keys in the glass cabinet against the wall and pressed down on the touchscreen fob. The taillights and interior on a monster SUV turned on across the garage. It looked intimidating, but the moment we left the garage, I realized why he’d chosen it. The weather was atrocious.

  Snow blew from the north so roughly, I felt it push the SUV the moment we were out in the elements. The snow was already up to the sides of the car and if someone hadn’t cleared the path cut in the trees, there was no way we’d have gotten through.

  “This is as far as we can get. We’ll have to go the rest of the way on foot. Wait for me.” He flitted around to my side and opened my door for me, giving me his hand.

  I gave him mine and he pulled me against him and up, holding me in his arms as he easily traversed through the snow. If I had done so by myself, it would have taken me a week to even clear the trees. I studied the smooth mint in his eyes as he did so unabashedly. I liked to hope that he studied the fire in mine.

  Granny Londa’s house was submerged deeply in snowfall. The porch was barely visible, and her car wasn’t in the driveway. I knew I had been there recently, but it felt like weeks since I had la
st been home. And in those weeks, it had gone right back to a stranger’s house.

  Still in his arms, Maxell held onto me with one hand as he urged the front door open with the other. “No one’s home,” he revealed, setting me down on my feet in the living room.

  A shiver ran through me, knocking my teeth together. I went to the kitchen, hoping to find a note. My spirits lifted when I found one on the fridge. As I read it, however, my spirits faded. Like a flame snuffed out by a weak gust of air.

  Gone to warmer weather.

  I took Martian with me.

  Be back in spring.

  Here’s a C-note.

  Make it last.

  -Londa

  It read like a horribly drab and depressing haiku.

  Dear loser

  You’re alone

  Now

  Once and for all

  Over my shoulder, I felt Maxell step close to me. His chest pressed firmly to my back a second before the pressure in my chest became tears. “Guess I’m officially an orphan.” I tried to laugh it off, plucking the bill off the Washington State magnet it was under and waved it between us. “And hey, I got one hundred dollars. Let’s retire.”

  Maxell didn’t laugh. His face was stone. He watched me intently. “You’re not an orphan. You’re exactly who you’re supposed to be with. Me.” He touched his hand to my face. “You’re wanted every second of every day, and every second of the night, and remember, I don’t sleep, so that’s a lot of seconds. The Parkes are your new family. Masters, Reowna, and most of all, me.”

  His words were too much for me. One second I was forcing a smile, the next I was blubbering against him. He held my face to his chest, let me sob against him like I’d never done so before. The pain in my chest was so deep, it hurt coming out, like claws scraping against my heart. I felt my weight give out and my heart both shrink and swell. In the back of my mind however, a little voice grew louder the harder I fell apart. If my own parents didn’t want me, and my grandmother barely tolerated me, then… was it me? Was I unlovable?

  And if so, how could I ever be part of a pair bond, if I had such a good ability to chase love away?

  As if on cue, a different whisper spoke up. This one was stronger, and it made chills break out across my arms and heat burn in my chest.

  It transcends disappointment and expectations. It is love at its truest, selfless form.

  I knew the words better than I knew myself, even though I’d only read them once. Maybe once was all I needed. The Pair Bond Chronicles left behind an ember of hope in an otherwise frosty heart.

  “Is this hard for you?” I whispered, knowing we were so close.

  “Not right now,” he whispered back, stroking the back of my head.

  “I got your shirt all wet. I’m sorry.” Though his shirt was black, and you couldn’t really see it, I knew the tear puddles were there, and so did he.

  “Don’t be.” He followed my step away, not letting me be alone for even a breath. “And don’t push me away. You don’t have to be ashamed of your feelings. Not around me.”

  I met his eyes, wiping the tears from mine. “How can you say that? Didn’t you read that letter? That’s what I do. I push people away. I’m repellent for humans.” A new round of tears came, hotter and heavier than the last, and I didn’t know where they came from, only that they’d been waiting to come out for a long time.

  He picked me up and carried me over to the sofa, sitting down with me on his lap. He grasped my tear-soaked face between his hands and looked into my eyes. “I don’t know what happened to your parents, but I know there was nothing you did to make them go away. I don’t even have to ask, I just know it. And your grandmother is a bitter old woman who never planned on having anyone to take care of. She doesn’t even want to take care of herself; it isn’t personal. That’s her problem, not yours. And I know that sounds crazy because it feels like your problem now, but I assure you she did you a favor. This happens, Emmie. To every single pair bond one way or another. Your human life is detaching itself from you, one person at a time. If you want to blame someone, blame me. And if humans aren’t your type, it just so happens that this vampire finds you irresistible. You are not alone. You have me. Forever. How many people can say that?” He rose his brows at me, an encouraging smile lifting his lips.

  A third round of blubbering commenced. I buried my face in his neck, holding on to him with all my might. The only difference between these tears and the others were that these weren’t heavy. They were thankful. Thankful for the boy who had his arms wrapped around me as he tried to take my pain away.

  I pressed a kiss to his throat. “Thank you for finding me irresistible.”

  He held me so tightly, my ribs screamed. He touched his lips to my ear, whispering his words so softly, I felt them in my heart. “Thank you for existing.”

  Call me crazy, but my tears stopped. The ache in my chest, though painful, dulled. I realized that if I had to choose between my past and my future in that moment, I’d choose my future. I sat back on his lap, wiping my eyes with my sleeves. “I can’t stay here tonight.”

  He played with a strand of my hair, studying his fingers as he spoke. “You can’t stay here period.” His eyes lifted to meet mine, his so sincere butterflies bloomed in my stomach gazing unabashedly into them. “Your home is with me. You can have my room. I’ll buy you a bed. You can eat Reowna’s over-the-top meals and never be alone and always be there. Because that’s important to me. You always being there. You are important to me. And this way I can watch you sleep without feeling like a creep.” He shrugged.

  I found it hard to breathe. I was sure he could hear my heart pounding at record speed. His eyes held mine, letting me see things in him I hadn’t before. Things I couldn’t understand with my human mind. Things my heart already did. “You watch me sleep?”

  “Every night.”

  I pointed at the ceiling, but really my room. “Up there?”

  He nodded once. “Up there. In your little human bed, in your human room that’s far too empty for my liking, with your human pillows and your human dreams. Ever since the night you invited me in. You remember?”

  “It was the first time we touched.”

  “So, you see, you’ve been dreaming about The Immortal Society for a lot longer than last night. Last night was different because you finally remembered your dream.”

  My eyes widened. “I have? You’ve heard me?”

  “I suspect that’s why you don’t feel rested in the morning. When was the last time you’ve slept and felt rested?”

  I shook my head. In actuality, I hadn’t had a dream besides my nightmare since I’d gotten to Port Inlet… other than the night I dreamed of him. “How can I dream about stuff I don’t even know about?”

  He curled his finger around the strand of my hair, until he reached my scalp. “How can Reowna see things that haven’t happened yet? How can Masters make elixirs for a bond that transcends time? How can mermaids hold their breath for years? How can werewolves run for hours on all fours? And how can a vampire love a human? Some things are out of control. Some things are better because of that.” When he pulled his finger loose, one perfect curl fell away. We both watched his long pale fingers comb through it, leaving it as straight and dark as the rest of my hair. After a second of no answer, his eyes found mine again. “And some things are far more frightening.”

  I licked my lips, aware that for the first time I was the one holding my breath. “Who are The Immortal Society and why did they cast you into a river of fire?”

  “The Immortal Society is an ancient hierarchy of vampire monarchy. A ladder of leadership, beginning with the Pure Bloodline, the first vampires—or at least the ones that have managed to survive and are welcome on the Immortal grounds—all the way down to yours truly, just your average run of the mill vampire. Every vampire pretty much in existence exists because of those five Pures. The Immortal Society exists beneath Egypt. The only way in is swimming to the bottom of the
Nile River.”

  I pictured the five figures draped in charcoal robes in my nightmare. “They were in my dream.”

  He nodded. “They’re the only ones that can condemn a vampire to death in the Pyres. That’s the river of fire you saw. What you don’t see is that river connects to a much larger one, and it’s fed from the Underworld. The Pures are the oldest living of our kind. The word vampire didn’t even exist when they were created. They were once angels who’d disobeyed their faith and broke apart from heaven and escaped the underworld, for which they’d been exiled to for sinning. On Earth, they are indestructible, immortal, blood drinkers. They must drink from the living to exist, and they can’t die because their souls are held hostage. Half with the angels and half with the demons. When we perish, our souls will either take flight or burn. I guess it depends on how you lived your life, and since vampires have a bit of a reputation, I’d say they burn more often than they fly. Of course, I can’t be sure of any of this. For most of my research, it all sounds like stories, but I’ve been combing through Masters’ books ever since you started mumbling about the rivers of fire in your sleep. What I need to find out is which side is sending you this vision, heaven or hell, and why.”

  A deep shudder worked its way through me. I rubbed my arms, hating the sick feeling in my stomach. “They can’t hurt you. They can’t.” I flung myself at him, trying not to recall the gaping pain my nightmare had left behind. “What could you have possibly done to deserve something so horrible?”

  He rubbed my back, speaking into my neck. “I broke their only rule.”

  I froze, somehow already knowing. “Don’t say it.”

  “I kept you human.”

  He said it.

  I lurched back, glaring at him. “You knew keeping me human was against a group of original vampires’ rules and you did it anyway?” I moved my hair from my neck. “If that’s the case, just do it now. Turn me into a vampire.”