by L B Keen
She grew hazy, the iron blood taste in her mouth not preventing her enjoyment. Instead, it brought a heady sense of desire. Her blood grew thick as she became a willing victim to his savage handling of her.
“Princess!”
Someone grabbed her and pulled her from him with a hard jerk. Crying out in pain, she found herself thrust behind Dua. He held his sword drawn and pointed at the prince whose eyes didn’t leave hers.
Seeing what was happening, Bird attempted to move forward, but she was held back by the soldiers. “Don’t! Don’t hurt him, Dua! He does not know what he has done!”
“It is my duty to punish any who would abuse you, princess!” was Dua’s immediate response. His tone broke no argument. “Even the Prince of the North would find himself killed for touching our royalty.”
“Dua!” Bird shouted. She turned her panicked gaze to Talon, who hadn’t moved away from the sword, despite the obvious danger. “Prince! Talon, you must snap out of it! Talon!”
Talon’s body reacted to his name, relaxing as she called out to him. The red in his eyes dimmed slowly as awareness returned. He then noticed the sword pointed at his chest, and the teary eyes of Bird, who was staring at him. Blinking, he observed his surroundings before he released a weary sigh. “I expect I have done something I shouldn’t have.” It wasn’t a question, but a statement.
Bird, who was relieved that he’d managed to return to himself, released a sigh of relief and stopped struggling against the hold of the palace guards.
Dua’s eyes narrowed. “You’ve assaulted the princess. It is a crime punishable by death.” His voice held no emotion, only fact.
Talon jerked his eyes towards Bird, and now saw the red residue that covered her mouth. His eyes widened at the sight. Bird attempted to brush the residue from her lips, her eyes avoided his. He released a curse and took a step forward. “I…Princess, I shou—”
His pathway was immediately blocked by Dua. The tall warrior shook his head. “You will not approach her, nor will you speak to her.”
He motioned with his head to two of his men, who moved forward, his sword still held high. “They will escort you back to your lodgings, prince. I suggest you no longer approach the princess from here on out.”
With that, he sheathed his sword, and turning on his heel, walked over to the princess and bowed. “I will escort you home, Mistress.”
Looking down at Dua’s head, and glancing at the quiet Prince Talon, Bird knew she had no choice in the matter. Slowly, she nodded. “Yes, Dua. We…will return.”
Dua straightened and called out a command and their small party started to make their way back towards R’or. Talon slowly followed behind. Bird couldn’t help but continue to shoot him looks. Each one searching, searching for why her body had reacted to his savagery, as if a longing she’d held deep within her had craved it, had needed it.
She faced forward and allowed Dua to help her back onto her mount. She took up the reigns, her mind distracted and lost amongst the mist. She only knew of secret darkness she held tightly to her chest, one thing that she hadn’t forgotten. A desire that would have sent her mother into fits, and made her feel guilt for the long years she’d served the Wellings.
Her desire had grown from the observance of the passionate and hungry way the vampires had loved one another. The way their bodies had thrummed with a dark energy when they’d made love after feeding on her. She knew her desire stemmed from those days of serving. Her need to be taken, her longing for such cruelty. It was odd. She didn’t wish to be a servant or return to those days of being lashed and drained like a pig on a hook. Still, in that cold and dark world, there had been a heat, a need that she’d fantasized about.
Today she’d experienced a taste of it. Her tongue unconsciously brushed her lips, tasting the iron of the blood Talon had shared with her. She should have shuddered in disgust. Instead, her body thrummed with a low rhythm of need. The ride continued, and she could feel his gaze piercing her back.
Her desire to learn more of this darkness she craved lifted its head, but she couldn’t, wouldn’t reveal why she desired to meet the prince again. But…she knew as her hands were on her reigns that she would do so again.
Chapter Eight
Upon their return, Talon was immediately forced toward his lodgings. No words were spoken between Bird and him, as he was led away. Bird watched him leave. She didn’t understand the sensation of loss she was experiencing. It didn’t feel normal for such a bond to have formed between she and him, yet here she stood at the gate, watching his retreat.
A hand landed on her arm. “Princess, you must go inside. It is cold.”
Turning away from the sight of the retreating Prince, Bird met Fi’s worried gaze and gave her a reassuring smile. “You are right.” As they moved towards her own chambers, she asked, “Did Father hear of this?”
“No,” Fi said, escorting Bird along the entrance towards the stairs that led to the upper levels. The lamps of light flickered. “Your mother interceded. She took the message.”
Stopping in her steps, Bird sent her a surprised look. “Mother is here?”
Fi gave a short nod. “Yes, mistress, she is.”
“I thought she wasn’t returning for another fortnight.” Bird’s steps picked up. As she lifted her skirts, she raced up the steps. “Mother!”
Running along the open-air hallway, she rushed to her room. Opening the door, she halted her skirts, whipping forward and swaying as she met the gaze of her mother. Osis stood tall, her gaze on the garden below.
“Mother?”
Turning around, Osis hadn’t aged a bit on her trip. Bird observed her appearance. She was covered in travel dust. Their matching smiles were dimmed. Bird rushed forward and her mother eagerly met her, wrapping her arms around her precious daughter in greeting. “You’ve come home.”
“Yes, I am here,” Osis said, breathing in her daughter’s scent before pulling back. She brushed a loving hand over her daughter’s face. “I’ve missed you sorely. The Egyptians were their usual long winded selves. I never thought I’d leave.”
Laughing, Bird grinned. “Did you give them their water then?”
She nodded. “Yes, I did. Magic has grown weak where they are, but it was doable.”
Drawing back, she took Bird’s hands. “But I come home to my daughter’s cries of thieves and Gahiji murders.” Worry dulled the deep brownish purple of her mother’s eyes. “What trouble have you gotten yourself into, child?”
Bird shook her head. “It wasn’t me. I was simply trying to help a visiting prince. A cold one. A group of thieves attempted to assault us as we were returning to R’or.” She led her mother over to the sitting area where the two sat, still holding each other’s hands. “But it turned out we weren’t required.”
“A cold one?” her mother repeated. Osis stiffened the hand holding her daughter’s. Her lashes fluttered as she leaned forward. “A prince, you say, and his name is?”
Silently, Osis prayed that her worry didn’t show, but as her mind raced, she could only think of one prince, though the English soil boasted two. Either one would be dangerous to have here.
“His name is Talon,” her daughter admitted so innocently, and Osis felt her heart harden and her palms become salty as she watched her daughter speak of the man she’d managed to rescue her from three months ago. “He is somewhat cold, but unlike many of his kind, I feel as though he is kinder than them.”
Catching the softness in her daughter’s voice, Osis felt her worry increase. Bird’s eyes had grown soft, and her voice wistful. “I know he is a vampire, and they do not know of love and, well, kindness. Still, I feel he is different. I feel he has known a great loss.”
She met her mother’s gaze and smiled. “I cannot lie, I grow more and more curious about him as the day’s drift on. I hope I may be able to learn about him before he must return.”
“Kahlia!” her mother snapped, taking her by surprise. She took her other hand in her own. “Y
ou mustn’t get close to him.”
Bird, taken aback by her mother’s sudden intensity, shook her head. “He has not harmed me. It was the Gahiji who brought trouble, mother.” She frowned. “Why should I stay away from him?”
Her mother’s jaw hardened. “It doesn’t matter. Heed my words, Kahlia. You must not become close with the prince. He is not to be trusted.”
Feeling frozen, Bird couldn’t bring herself to say it. Her mother, seeing her wavering thoughts, released her hand and pressed the palm of her hand against her cheek. “Please, my love. I simply wish to protect you. Do you trust me?”
Bird slowly nodded.
“Then heed my words. The vampire prince is someone you must stay away from. Promise me you will.”
Faced with her mother’s adamant stare, Bird had no choice but to give her assent. Her mother had searched her gaze before she relaxed, giving a short nod.
“I know you yearn for your old home and friend, my love, but…Kahlia, you must move forward and live as you are now. The daughter of a king, and the daughter of Katari.”
“Yes, mother.”
Osis pulled Bird into her arms, brushing a hand over her daughter’s hand. She was panicked, unsure of what to do. She’d broken the connection between her daughter and the prince. It was only possible because no love lay between them. If her love developed between the two of them, she would not be able to do anything as her daughter’s memories would return and their bond would come back into existence.
Staring into space, holding her daughter against her, Osis frantically searched her mind for a way to prevent it. She had no choice but to meet with the prince and make clear he was not to approach her daughter.
***
Talon hadn’t entered his lodgings when they returned him. Instead, he preferred to sit out on the terrace, his body leaning against the wall, staring out into the darkness that his people knew so well. How had he come to be so out of control? He rarely lost his consciousness when he fed.
He lifted a hand and brushed a hand across his lower lip, his eyes closing slowly at the memory of her softer ones beneath his. His heat rose at the memory, her body pressed flushed against his.
She’d not cringed away from the taste of Gahiji blood on his tongue. She’d pressed closer, her lips moving along with his in a dance he’d led. As he fed on her, that which his soul craved, he’d known only that moment. If it hadn’t been for her loyal guard, he’d have stripped there and taken her there upon the sand.
He released a slow exhale as he felt his body grow taut. All his life he’d been in control of every decision, scheme and movement. Yet, with Bird…he knew nothing of control. He only knew this growing need to see her, to feel her.
He could go to a local brothel and spend himself between some willing whore’s thighs, but when he envisioned Bird’s long body, and her somber gaze glazed with passion, he could only cringe at the thought.
Was this what it meant to hunger? To never be satiated, even when one gorged himself in the fresh blood of ten men. He still felt the needy ache in his fangs.
He wondered if he would ever know fulfillment again. He was pathetic. His need for revenge the only ember of ambition still alight within him.
Opening his eyes, he thought of the place where she’d taken him. He now imagined that when he’d met her gaze, and heard her teasing words, he’d captured her lips then. He wished he’d maneuvered against the cold stone wall, and lifted her skirt, tearing away the loose pantaloons she wore underneath, revealing her woman’s heat beneath.
He would have knelt and feasted, drinking in not only her aroma, but her sweet taste. He would have scraped his teeth along her inner thigh deep enough so that a scar remained. He wished to blind her with the desire he created in her, and slowly wound her tighter to him so that if she did wish to fly away, she would never fly far and always return to his side.
His Bird, his damphir… His never to own.
***
“Yadil had already brought this to your attention?”
The next morning, Osis sat in the chamber she was currently sharing with Alam. He stood before the large mirror, being prepared for his first meeting of the morning. She straightened in their bed, her cover slipping low and giving view of her nude chest. “Why does Yadil wish for the list?”
Alam half-turned, giving an appreciative gaze to his consort’s body. Though they had been long apart, the passion and longing in the lovemaking had not dimmed. Her dark skin was smooth, and she still appeared young and tight to his eyes. “Yadil and Fadi believe she is ready. After her performance of the maidens bow, they now wish to move her forward. She is twenty suns now, my love.”
Osis knew this, but she wished for her daughter to first become her heiress. Kahlia held a strong magic within her; she would do better as a priestess. Though a priestess could marry, she held more power than a mere woman of royal blood. Still, her worry of the vampire prince prevented her from fully arguing her point. She instead said, “I do not mind if the queen wished her to choose a suitor, but I would perform her ritual before this is decreed to all.”
Alam waved the servant back who sought to finish wrapping his hair up, his eyes meeting Osis’. “Love, if she goes through with the ritual, she must not mate for two weeks’ time or it would be of no use. Yadil, my queen, wishes for her to attend the ball in a weeks’ time. How will we explain the delay?”
Osis scoffed. “You know why she wishes for such a rushed affair? She believes her son’s throne is threatened by my daughter’s presence.” She shook her head. “Were it not for those who took me, she would not be sitting on the seat she covets so much.”
“Osis,” he said in a chiding tone.
She waved off his chiding. “It is of no matter. I seek more than a simple throne made of stone and mortar.”
Alam walked over to her, taking a seat beside her on the bed. “What is it you seek then, my love.”
He extended his hand towards her, and Osis rested her hand in his. “That is simple, my king, so very simple. I desire my daughter’s happiness. Nothing more and nothing less.”
Alam feigned mock hurt. “And what of me, consort, do you not wish anything from me?”
“No,” she said, leaning forward as his other hand lifted, brushing through her hair. She closed her eyes in contentment. “The love I sought, I have found in your hands, my king. There is nothing else you could provide.”
***
Talon followed the servant who escorted him to his meeting with the king. Alam had made it clear he had no wish of forging an alliance with Talon’s country. Talon felt the man truly enjoyed their conversations, though it was more of witty sparring about the benefits of forming said alliance and trade.
Alam had started asking him questions about the trading routes the English held in their power, and how they’d managed to create such routes and trust with other countries. Talon believed the king held a growing interest in trade and wished for his city to be used for far more than a hub for docking ships.
He noticed another party of people walking towards him and didn’t recognize the woman who approached him, but he recognized the two men with her. One was tall and held himself erect. In his hand, there was a short walking stick. While the other male was shorter and wore the traditional garb of those in Katari, he’d forgone the turban, and when he was close enough, he found himself stopping. Not so much because he remembered the woman, but because of the sheer aura she exuded. Her gowned body was held tightly and her turban was wrapped around her head and the leftover was drawn across her shoulders. She lifted a hand in greeting, her dark eyes meeting his.
“It has not been long, Vampire.”
Her voice was thick, but musical. Her eyes seemed to see far more than what one would be comfortable with. She observed his form. “I am surprised to see you’ve remained dressed in the traditional English manner. Our heat would make such heavy cloth uncomfortable.”
The taller man stepped forward, his eyes narrowed on Ta
lon. “Insolent, you will bow in the royal consort’s presence!”
“It is fine,” the royal consort assured him, giving Talon a small smile. “Last night, my daughter could have been harmed, but due to your actions, she managed to return unharmed.”
Catching himself, Talon gave a short nod and made a noise of agreement.
The royal consort approached him. “It is good that you were there, but I believe it is best if you remain within your lodgings so that such meetings will no longer occur. It would be best if your business is concluded swiftly, and you return to your land.”
Talon knew a warning when he heard one. Bird’s mother desired him to quickly leave this country. Her expression held nothing but a kind interest, but he could feel the simmering violence beneath its veneer. “Kahlia has grown accustomed to our way of life here, and I desire her to continue to do so without obstacle. Do you understand me, Prince Talon?”
Talon’s mouth worked. He had no intention of ruining what Bird had found here, but the woman before him had cursed him to a half existence. Stiffly, he gave his agreement. “I simply wish to gain the king’s approval and once done, I’ve every intention of returning to my land.”
“I am pleased to hear this.” Drawing back, she rested a delicate hand over her heart. “Then I wish you luck in your pursuits.” Without another word, she passed him. Her entourage of two men sent him suspicious looks before they continued on their way.
Pressing a hand against his chest, he tried to lighten the pressure against his heart. Coughing, he turned and continued on his way towards the king’s private chambers.
A growing pressure in his chest turned into a barely manageable stabbing sensation. Everything, everyone urged him to stay away from Bird…and it was drawing him enviably closer to losing his mind.
