Mark of Blood

by Jody Morse

  “They wouldn’t be without a ruler. Kade is next in line to the throne,” I replied.

  Zoe snorted. “My point exactly. Sebastian, whether you like it or not, you need to marry Alessandra.” She darted her eyes away from mine. “Now, I need to get to work on this ring so that I can get back to the higher priority items on my to-do list.”

  “What’s on your to-do list?” I asked with raised brows.

  “I need to figure out a way to get that protection spell in effect again. I haven’t found anything in any of my spell books yet,” she explained. “I might need to pay a visit to the mermaids soon and beg them for their tears. Not that it’s likely that they’ll offer any.”

  “Thanks for trying, at least,” I told her.

  “No need to thank me.” Zoe paused. “You need to go into your father’s vault, Sebastian.”

  My eyebrows rose. “For what?”

  “You’ll find seven rings there. A witch designed them to protect you from the sun. You must wear one of them, but don’t tell anyone else that they’re there.”

  I shot her a puzzled look. “How do you know about these rings, Zoe? How do you know they’re in his vault?”

  “He mentioned it to me once.”

  “Why didn’t you ever mention them until now?” I asked.

  “There was never a reason to mention them until now. Up until now, the barrier was there to keep you protected,” she pointed out.

  Even though I knew she was right, I couldn’t help but feel like she had been keeping secrets from me, something I’d never known her to do. I thought about it for a moment before deciding that I was probably overanalyzing. She was right. There had never been a reason for it to come up until now.

  “Thanks,” I told her.

  “Yeah. So, anyway, I’ll have the engagement ring to you by tomorrow morning, at the very latest.”

  “Okay,” I agreed, still a little shaken by everything she’d just told me. As I rose to my feet, I headed for the door. Once I reached it, I glanced over my shoulder at her. “Hey, Zo?”

  She glanced up at me. “Yeah?”

  “Thank you. For doing this.”

  Zoe nodded and flashed an obviously forced smile.

  As I slipped out the front door, I closed it behind me and leaned against it.

  So much had happened over the past few days—so much that I could barely handle all of the stress—but one thing was certain.

  Zoe Blackwood was one of the only people in the entire world who I could truly rely on.

  Chapter 28

  Lila

  THE HOURS PASSED BY slowly after Ty left me, promising he would return at some point.

  The sun went down, but the moon casted a perfect glow over the shore. It could have been the perfect moment in time, if only I wasn’t alone.

  My stomach began to growl, and I realized there was no food on the Shore of Tranquility.

  What did Sebastian expect me to do in terms of food? Fish? Like I would have actually known how to start a fire to cook a fish. It made me wish I actually paid attention when Sean had lit our campfires.

  There were trees with fruit I didn’t even recognize growing from them. I didn’t know if the fruit was edible, and the last thing I wanted to do was play fruit roulette.

  Instead, I tried to ignore the hunger pangs and focused on other things. My family was the first thought that came to mind.

  I wondered if it was possible to get mail through the portal. I would have felt better if I could have at least written a letter to my mom and dad so that they didn’t worry about me. I hated to think about everything they had gone through since I’d been gone.

  “You look like you’re deep in thought,” a familiar voice said from behind me.

  I glanced over my shoulder to find Sebastian standing there. The only thing he was wearing was a pair of jeans. It was the first time I had actually seen his bare chest, and holy hell was he muscular.

  “Yeah, I guess you can say that,” I agreed. “What are you doing here?”

  “I thought you could use the company.” He motioned to the picnic basket he was carrying. “I thought we could eat dinner together. Are you hungry?”

  “Starving,” I admitted.

  As he sat down on the blanket next to me, he set the basket beside him and opened it. “I packed some chicken nuggets, macaroni and cheese, and tater tots for you.”

  “Tater tots?” My eyebrows lifted in question.

  “Do you not like tater tots?”

  “Oh, no, believe me. I like them. I’m just surprised you have them here... in Deadwood, I mean.”

  He chuckled. “We have pretty much everything that there is in the human world, Lila. And if there’s anything we don’t have that you want or need, I can get it for you. I’ll do everything in my power to accommodate your needs.”

  “Thanks.” I shot him a smile as I removed the lid from the macaroni and cheese container and dug in. “This is delicious.” After I’d taken a few bites, I glanced over at him. “Do vampires eat food?”

  “We can eat food, but we usually choose not to. There’s really no need for it.”

  “So, if you don’t eat food, then what did you pack for yourself?” I pointed at the picnic basket questioningly, even though I was pretty sure I already knew the answer.

  He pulled out a jug and glanced over at me. “I don’t know if you really want to know.”

  I wrinkled my nose.

  He chuckled at my reaction. “I’m not even thirsty right now. I’ll save that for later,” he said, placing the jug back inside the basket.

  “Who did it come from? Actually, you know what? Don’t tell me.”

  “Some things are probably better left unsaid.” Sebastian’s blue eyes darted over to meet mine. “So, what were you thinking about?” He paused. “Wait, let me guess. You were thinking about me.”

  “Actually, I wasn’t.” I shot a half-apologetic glance in his direction.

  “Oh.” He sounded a little disappointed. “Do you ever think about me?”

  “Almost every waking moment since I’ve been in Deadwood,” I admitted quietly.

  “Only good thoughts, I hope.”

  “Mostly good thoughts,” I replied honestly. Once I had gotten past the initial shock of being held captive, my thoughts hadn’t been bad.

  “Good.” He looked over at me. “I think about you a lot, too... in case you were wondering.”

  I smiled tugged at my lips. “Good to know.”

  A comfortable silence settled upon us as I pulled a chicken nugget out of a plastic bag. “Sebastian... do you know anything about my biological parents?”

  He shook his head. “No. What makes you ask?”

  I told him about my parents, recounting every detail from Ty’s story. Once I was finished, he just stared back at me.

  “Wow. I’ve heard this story before, Lila. I’ve heard myths about it, I mean. I never knew if it was true or that the baby was you.”

  “Do you know who the vampire who owned Christopher was?” I asked.

  “No. I have no idea.” He shook his head.

  “Ty told me the name of the witch who casted the spell. Her name was Zenora Blackwood.”

  His jaw hardened. “You’re serious?”

  “What reason would I have to lie?” I asked.

  Sebastian frowned. “But that doesn’t even make sense.”

  My eyebrows rose. “Why?”

  “Zenora Blackwood was Zoe’s mother,” he explained. “She died long before you were born, Lila. She died a hundred years ago.”

  “Maybe Ty got the name wrong, then. Maybe he meant to say Zoe Blackwood.”

  He shook his head. “No. Zoe would have never performed a spell like that.”

  “You don’t know what the vampire may have threatened her with,” I insisted.

  “Trust me. I know Zoe better than anyone. It wasn’t her,” he said firmly. “Either Ty had the name wrong or...” He trailed off.

  I glanced over at h
im. “Or what?”

  “Or it was some sort of imposter.”

  “Hmm.” I stared out at the ocean that lay ahead of us. “I guess anything is possible.”

  “None of it really matters now, does it?” Sebastian asked. “I understand your curiosity, of course, but it doesn’t change the fact that you’re Lila DeHaven and you’re here with me.”

  “That’s true,” I agreed.

  He inched closer to me and wrapped his arm around my shoulders, pulling me close to him. “I don’t know about you, but there’s no place I would rather be.”

  “Me either.”

  “That’s good to hear,” he whispered. As he turned to me, he brought his lips to mine.

  The hunger, the passion, the desperation of his lips had me moaning against them.

  My moans only seemed to make him even more hungry for me. Before I knew it, he was climbing on top of me.

  I fell back onto the blanket, my body trembling beneath him. Wrapping my hands around his neck, I pulled him in closer to me.

  As his hands drifted beneath my shirt and his tongue swirled around in my mouth, I completely lost myself in him.

  The beach, the ocean beyond us, the palm trees... it all seemed to fade away into the distance. It was just me and him.

  And then, suddenly, Sebastian pulled away from me.

  He stared down into my eyes. “I hate keeping you here, you know. The idea of holding you as a captive, of keeping you away from your home... it makes me feel sick.” He paused for a moment and then added, “But there’s only one thing that sounds worse to me than keeping you here.”

  “And what’s that?” I managed to make out through ragged breaths.

  His blue eyes locked on mine. “Letting you go.”

  “Even if you let me go, I would come back here.”

  Confusion filled his eyes. “But why? What would make you want to come back to Deadwood?”

  “You. No matter how long it took or what I had to do, I would return to you,” I whispered.

  A look that I couldn’t quite identify crossed his face. “In the unlikely event that I should ever let you go, it would be foolish of you to return to me. You have yet to see the worst of me.”

  “I’ve seen enough of you to know you would never hurt me.,” I said with certainty.

  “I wouldn’t be so sure about that.” Sebastian shook his head. He leaned in closer to me, close enough that I could feel his cool breath against my neck. “The truth is that I don’t even trust myself with you.” His lips glided against my neck, like icicles against the warmth of my skin. “Do you even realize how dangerous I am or how easy it would be for me to kill you right now?”

  I swallowed hard. “Yes. And it’s a risk that I’m willing to take.”

  “You’re a foolish girl. You know that, right?”

  “That’s a matter of opinion,” I whispered.

  He drew back from me, allowing me to see his face again. And then he opened his mouth.

  Two long, white fangs glowed brightly under the light of the moon.

  My heart pounded against my chest. Was he about to do what I thought he was going to do?

  “Your heart is racing,” Sebastian noted. “Are you afraid?”

  “Yes,” I admitted.

  “Good. You should be afraid,” he replied.

  I tried to make sense of all the emotions that swarmed through me. There was fear, but it was mixed with surprise, confusion, and... excitement.

  As much as it scared me for him to drink from me and for me to know that he very well could have ended my life right then and there, I still wanted him to drink from me.

  I met his eyes. “I am afraid, but I want you to drink from me.”

  He held my gaze. “Why? Why would you want me to do that?”

  “Because I love you,” I told him.

  He slammed his hand down on the blanket next to me and then climbed off of me. He turned away from me and walked toward the ocean.

  As he stared out at it, tears began to stream down my cheeks.

  I didn’t understand what was going on. What had made him change so suddenly toward me?

  After a few long moments, Sebastian finally turned to face me. “You shouldn’t love me, Lila.”

  “But I do love you,” I insisted.

  “Well, you shouldn’t.” There was an icy look in his blue eyes. “I can’t be trusted.”

  As he began to walk away from me and back to the castle, the tears I choked back clogged my throat, making it difficult to breathe. But I still managed to choke out, “Wait!”

  Sebastian turned to face me. “What is it?”

  “Do you love me?” I asked quietly.

  “More than anything.”

  As he met my gaze, the iciness behind his eyes melted, just a little bit, just long enough for me to believe him.

  Chapter 29

  Alessandra

  THE SOUND OF THE CLOCK ticked loudly in my ear with every second that passed by. I’d been sitting on a chair, watching Vernelle as he lay on the examination table where I had turned him, waiting—hoping—for him to wake up.

  Hours had passed by, and so far, there had been no change in his condition. I was starting to get nervous that I had make a mistake.

  And then his eyes flew open. He groaned loudly and then, sitting up on the table, he looked straight at me.

  “Princess Alessandra. So... thirsty...,” he murmured weakly.

  Rising to my feet, I grabbed a bottle of blood from the countertop next to him. As I handed it to him, I said, “You must drink.”

  He didn’t hesitate as he brought the bottle to his lips. He tilted his head back and began to chug the blood, like a camel who hadn’t seen water in days.

  He’d downed all 69 ounces within seconds and then glanced back over at me. “More,” he demanded.

  I handed him the next bottle of blood and then one more before he wiped his mouth, appearing satisfied.

  My lips curved into a smile. “Congratulations, Vernelle. You’ve survived the transition.”

  He narrowed his gray eyes at me. “What are you saying, exactly? That there was a chance I wouldn’t survive it?”

  I nodded. “Unfortunately, humans aren’t always strong enough to survive the change. It’s usually about one in five who don’t survive. Fortunately, you weren’t one of them. You’re just fine.”

  “Don’t you think you should have warned me of the risks before you turned me?” Vernelle asked, an almost accusing tone in his voice.

  “Perhaps,” I agreed. “But then you might have resisted becoming a vampire, and the decision wasn’t yours to make.”

  His eyes lingered on mine. “Are you saying that even if I told you I didn’t want to become a vampire, you would have turned me, anyway?”

  “That’s exactly what I’m saying,” I replied with a smile. “You were my slave, after all. It was up to me to do what I wish with you. I wanted you to be a vampire, and now you are one.” I paused for a moment and then added, “Really, you should be thanking me. I could have just let you stay human. As you aged, I likely would have gotten bored of you and killed you or you would have died the way all humans do. Now, thanks to me, you have the opportunity to live, the way you look right now, forever.”

  He stayed silent for a long moment. “Why did you want me to be a vampire so badly?”

  “Because I have a connection with you, Vernelle. It’s a connection that I’ve never had with anyone—vampire or human—during my three-hundred and fifty years of life. I was unwilling to just let that connection pass me by.” I moved so I was standing in front of him and wrapped my arms around his neck. “We have chemistry, Vernelle—an undeniable chemistry.”

  “I know we do, Princess. But didn’t I have more to offer you as your human slave than I do as a vampire?” Vernelle asked, meeting my eyes. “I thought you loved drinking from me.”

  “As much as I loved drinking from you, there will be other humans to drink from. I already acquired a human wh
o I believe may fill your void as my slave,” I replied.

  “That Sean kid?” Vernelle snorted. “He is no comparison for me.”

  “You’d be surprised.” I was growing excited just by the idea of drinking from Sean’s neck. “I sampled his blood while I was waiting for you to wake up, and it was extraordinary.” I paused and then added, “Besides, I think you have more to offer me in vampire form than you did as my slave.”

  “Oh? And what would that be?” His curious gray eyes stared into mine.

  “I’m looking for a vampire who can help me conquer the world, beginning with Sebastian Stark,” I informed him. “I think we have already proven that you could be my other half, but now I’m asking you to fulfill an even bigger position. Will you be my partner in crime?”

  He didn’t even seem to think twice as he nodded. “Anything for you, Princess.”

  “Splendid.” I smiled. “I’m going to be placing you inside a room by yourself. There will be plenty of blood for you to drink. Your body will crave gallons of blood during the first few days.”

  “You actually went through the change yourself? I thought you were born a vampire.”

  “The process is slightly different for those of us who were already born with vampire blood in our systems,” I explained. “But I went through exactly what you’re going through right now. It isn’t fun. Your bloodlust will be hard to control. You might even have the urge to kill early on. That’s why I’ll be locking you inside of that room, at least until the wedding is over tomorrow.”

  “The wedding? Are you marrying Sebastian Stark tomorrow?”

  I nodded. “Yes, I am.”

  He smirked, but he didn’t say anything.

  “What is it? What’s so funny?” I asked.

  Vernelle shrugged as he smiled into my face. “Oh, I don’t know. I just find it a little amusing that you just asked me to help you kill the guy who you’re planning to marry. You’re more sinister than I ever gave you credit for.”

  “If you think that’s bad, darling, you still have a lot to learn about me,” I replied with a laugh.

  Except the reality of the situation was that Vernelle would never learn all there was to know about me.

  No one would ever know all there was to know about Alessandra Allegro.