by Hayley Todd
He grabbed my arm spinning me back to him.
I yanked my arm from his grasp. “Can I help you?” I asked, harshly.
He didn’t even flinch. “Oh dear, has Anton not told you about me?” he asked and I rolled through my memories. Anton hadn’t mentioned anyone, except…
“I am Henrick Von Murg, second only to your father and second in line to the throne. And,” he peered at me, “your future father-in-law.”
I sucked a quick breath in that hurt my chest as it went down.
Here he was, inches away from me. The man that had derailed my life. The man that had truly begun this mess that I now got to struggle through. The man condemning me to a fate I would never have asked for.
I resisted the urge to slap him.
“Pleased to meet you,” I said through gritted teeth curtsying. “I would love to stay and chat but I must go,” I hissed all in one breath. I tried to step past him but he grabbed my arm again. His touch was cold but I could feel a warmth emanating from where he touched my skin. It wasn’t pleasant.
I shook my arm from him again. “Is there something I can help you with?” I asked.
He grinned at me, enjoying keeping me here when I so obviously didn’t want to be around him. “I simply wanted to take this moment to get to know our princess and my daughter-in-law. How are you adjusting to your new life?” He made the words sound so innocent but there was a devious glint in his eyes.
“It’s going fine,” I responded, curtly. “Carson,” I said hissing his name, “is teaching me plenty.
I took a little glee in the look on his face. He jerked back as though my words had been a physical blow. Then his mouth twisted in a grimace. “Yes, that whelp. I’m sure he has plenty to teach you.” He looked me up and down.
Despite my fury at Carson, the insult stung me. “Yes, he has been doing an excellent job. He doesn’t seem to have the same need for inebriation that your son does.”
His eyes flashed angrily. Crap. Maybe I shouldn’t have used Anton as tinder in the fire.
“What do you mean?” he growled.
I cleared my throat. “Nothing,” I replied and yet again tried to walk away from him. This time he didn’t grab my arm, he snatched the back of my shirt like I were a disobedient child. I whirled on him and caught a blue glow emanating from my skin.
He let go as though I had hit him and took a step back. “I need to have a word with my son,” he muttered, turned from me, and stormed down the hall in the direction I had come from.
I hoped Anton had big shoulders because I in no way deluded myself into feeling that Henrick’s intentions were good. I momentarily felt bad for that. I hadn’t meant to get Anton in trouble; I just bristled at the implication that Carson was somehow doing me wrong. Hell, maybe he was. But that was for me to find out, not for an enemy to throw into my face like cannon fire.
I stomped back down my path, completely lost.
After another fifteen minutes of stewing, I had lost the swell of anger that had charged me and found myself just wishing I knew where I was. Just as the others had been, this hall was a mirror image. I wasn’t certain how Damien even lived in this place. Its corridors were a total maze.
I sat down between two doors, just gathering my thoughts and trying to puzzle my way toward an exit. After several moments of silence, I could hear someone approached. I grimaced. Who else had come to accost me?
Around the corner, a small woman appeared. She was looking at the ground, carrying a broom and dust pan. She was clothed in a black dress that hung to her knees and black leggings beneath. The monotony of color was divided by a white apron that hung from her waste and held a duster and various other items that I could see bulging from its pockets.
“Oh!” she squealed when she caught sight of me. “I-I’m so sorry, miss.”
I didn’t respond but laid my forehead against the backs of my hands propped on my knees. I hadn’t even realized I had been crying until I felt the droplets run across my skin.
“Are you okay, miss?” she asked, her voice quiet. Warm fingertips touched my arm and an overwhelming sense of darkness shot through my body. I leapt away from her, my eyes trained on her unassuming face.
She looked young, no older than myself, and had blonde hair and deep brown eyes. She had a dainty chin and was stunningly lovely. She wasn’t sexy or alluring but she was definitely beautiful. Her touch had been warm though, unlike that of the other Magicks I had encountered.
I dragged myself to my feet, keeping my distance from her. I suddenly didn’t feel safe. Even more so than when Henrick had cornered me, I felt like a trapped animal.
“I-I,” I cleared my throat, struggling to speak. “I got a bit turned around. Can you direct me back to the lobby?” I asked, cleaning my dress of dust that didn’t actually seem to exist.
She jerked her head in a nod, looking at me oddly, as though I had caught her doing something she shouldn’t have been. She pointed in the direction she had come from, the direction I had been going. “You were almost there, miss. Head down the hall and at the next intersection, take a right. That’ll open right onto the foyer.”
I nodded at her, whispered a quick word of thanks, and sprinted down the hall, glancing over my shoulder as I turned. She was knelt over where I had been sitting, feeling the air in the spot I had vacated. A shiver ran through my spine and I made a beeline in the direction she had sent me.
Chapter Eleven
Though she had made me feel dark and wrong, the maid had led me down the correct path. I erupted from the hall onto the foyer. I actually wasn’t far from my father’s office but I still wasn’t sure if I was ready to face him again. A glance over the balcony showed me someone I truly was eager to speak with.
Kellic had just entered the building and a man dressed in a black suit was taking her jacket. I had only been looking at her for a second or two when her eyes shot up to me. Her face split in a huge smile and she darted up the stairs, crashing into me in an all-encompassing hug.
I hugged her back, missing her so desperately. She still smelled the same, though perhaps my observation of it was a bit crisper, clearer, unaffected by other aromas. She didn’t feel warm to me anymore but she didn’t feel cold either. She locked her arms around me and I buried my face in her hair. I had missed her so much.
“You’re here,” I gasped.
She pulled away and looked up at me. Her finger flicked along my cheek, removing tears from my skin. I was sincerely sick of crying and not noticing. She smiled and her own eyes were wet with tears as well. “I’ve missed you so much,” she cried, clasping me close to her again. I went willing, enjoying this moment of normalcy.
She pulled away again, looking around. “Where’s your entourage?” she asked, looking confused and a little angry. Anger didn’t look right on her gentle face. She was normally the image of perfect calm.
I shrugged. “I shook them,” I said with a laugh. She looked like she was going to reprimand me for a moment, then took a breath and smiled in return.
“I suppose that’s okay then,” she replied. “We have so much to catch up on!” She shrieked and it reminded me of human Kellic. She was always a fountain of energy, happy and elated. I couldn’t remember the last time I had seen an angry or stoic face on her. Maybe after a relationship had gone very badly for me but that was it.
“Is there somewhere we can talk?” I asked her, hoping she had a better concept of this delusional maze than I did.
She jerked her head in a nod, taking my hand and leading me down the hall towards Damien’s office. I pulled my hand from hers. “I’m not in the mood to deal with my father right now,” I hissed.
She looked back at me, surprised but took my hand again. “Don’t worry; I’m thinking we need some one on one time.”
I let her guide me down the hall, past Damien’s door which stood open and showed the office to be empty and to a door several feet down. She swung the door open and revealed some sort of giant walk in closet lined
with chaise lounges and chairs. She sauntered in, pulling me through the door and swinging it shut behind us.
I sat on the nearest chaise lounge and she threw herself across one of the chairs. For a long moment, we just sat together, reveling in what our lives used to be. Kellic and I had frequently been inseparable and to have gone through weeks of hit and miss prior to the club opening and all of this after, you would’ve thought it would put a strain on our relationship. Just like with Will though, the silence was comforting and not awkward.
She spoke first, breaking the silence. “How are you doing?” she asked.
I looked up at her and could see her eagerness in her blue eyes. She wanted to dish. She always wanted to dish.
I sighed, honestly getting sick of this question. “I’m doing okay. I feel kind’ve clueless though.”
She nodded, immediately understanding. She knew me better than anyone else. I missed her natural refreshing understanding of me.
“I get that,” she muttered. “There’s a lot more to all of this than I would’ve thought.”
“How about you,” I asked her. She had been dealing with all of this for months now and I’d never once been able to ask her about the change.
She sighed and mulled it over for a moment before responding. “The change was…difficult,” she finally said. “I’ve never experienced pain like that.”
She glanced at me and I knew my face had fallen. I felt ashamed. She wouldn’t have had to go through all of that if not for me. She reached over and placed a reassuring hand on my knee. Her touch was cool but not cold.
“You couldn’t have stopped me from making the choice,” she urged. “I did it for you, but I did it for me too. It’s not every day that someone offers you immortality.” She spoke it with conviction, like she was trying to convince me not to push her on it.
I nodded slowly.
“And your dad!” She suddenly shrieked. “You finally met your dad!”
I chuckled. She knew how much of me was carved away living life without my dad.
“He’s definitely not what I expected,” I replied, breathlessly. An image of my father’s face floated through my mind.
She huffed a laugh. “Yeah, that’s an understatement. He’s really not a bad guy though,” she said pointedly.
I looked her over for a moment. Her skin was definitely a shade paler than it had been but her cheeks were ruddy and her eyes were alight. She was healthy and well. Someone had been taking care of her through all of this.
“He’s been helping you, hasn’t he?” I asked.
Her eyes flicked to me, surprised for a moment before she responded. “He has,” she began quietly. “After Anton told Will and I about the change, he pulled me aside and fully explained the situation. He assured me that he would take one or both of us under his wing, teaching us how to function as vampires and explaining the chaos that is this world. He taught me how to heal--well, him and his friend, Lynn did.”
The name tickled my memory vaguely. Something about Lynn and healing. I looked a Kellic. She seemed to thrive in this new life. Like it suited her.
“You like this,” I said. I didn’t ask her. I didn’t have to.
She smiled, sheepishly and nodded.
I leapt up, wrapping my arms around her small frame. “I’m happy for you, Kel. I really am.” I released her and sat back down.
“What about you?” she asked.
I looked around the room, my eyes not specifically focused on anything before responding. I considered the question. Did I like being a vampire? Well, if there weren’t an arranged marriage hanging over my then I think I might really enjoy it. Who didn’t want to be stronger, faster than their peers? I mean I was living in a literal world of magic. How much more exciting could life get? And still able to have babies and experience love--and even more so, to imprint--and live forever in bliss? What was not to like?
“I...actually love it,” I admitted.
She grinned, wide. “It’s really amazing, isn’t it?”
I nodded, absently, Carson on my mind. “It really is.”
We talked for over an hour, catching up and hashing about our favorite aspects of our new, grossly extended lives. When she mentioned blood, her nose crinkled up but her eyes were wild with desire. She seemed to know it was pleasurable but found the process distasteful. I wondered why that was.
“How have you fed?” I asked at last, images of my night with Carson replaying themselves in my mind.
“Well, Damien actually turned me. Or helped me turn? Whatever you end up calling that, anyway. But since then, I’ve been drinking from blood bags. It’s a necessary evil. The taste is alright, but there’s no pleasure in it.”
I hummed. She looked me over, scrutinizing me with her gaze.
“You?” she asked.
I felt my cheeks burn. “I...uh...well…”
“Just spit it out,” she said on a laugh.
“Well, Carson turned me. And he’s been allowing me to feed off of him,” I replied in a rush. I was surprised I didn’t see flames emitting from my red cheeks.
Her eyes widened and she smiled slightly. “That’s…yummy,” she replied, enjoying my squirming. We were an all or nothing kind of relationship. She knew when I lost my virginity, to who, and how. She even knew some of my deepest attractions. It was hard not to, as close as we had always been.
I nodded, my thoughts on him again.
“How was he?” she asked, and I knew she didn’t mean blood. My gaze shot to her. Her’s was playful, her excitement dancing near the surface.
I cleared my throat, the words tight. “I haven’t slept with him,” I replied at last.
“Hm,” she said, thoughtfully. She sounded surprised. “So, is he free game then?” she asked. I didn’t think she was serious, the look on her face was too amused, as though she were waiting for my reaction.
“I...uh...no,” I said, defeated. She could tell how I felt about him already, even if I had been trying to deny it to myself.
“You love him.” The phrase was blunt, and hung in the air like a palpable tension.
I groaned and covered my face with my hands. “I don’t know,” I exhaled. I barely knew the man. And maybe this imprint held more over our relationship than I had realized. Maybe the love I felt for him was real. Maybe it was just another result of our shared blood. But didn’t the imprint alone mean I already loved him? Ugh. My head spun. “I don’t know,” I repeated while she silently watched me. “I really, really like him,” I explained. “Can I even love him right now?” I asked more to myself than to her.
She sat back in her chair, steepling her fingertips, her elbows on her knees. “How do you feel about him?” she asked.
“I’ve imprinted on him, Kel.”
Her mouth widened into a surprised expression, her eyes dancing. Then her face slid into a small grin. “So, you do love him then?”
I looked at her, surprised that she knew what that meant. “I don’t know!” I exclaimed. “Is that a requirement?”
She nodded, outright smiling now. “Damien has told me about imprints. More as a ‘Brief History of Vampire Kind’ than as a personal thing but it’s definitely in the stipulations. An imprint forms when two individuals, their souls tied together, share blood. I guess soul mates don’t technically have to love each other, but they’re meant to. And you can love someone and not form an imprint as well. Those that share the imprint are the lucky few. It’s rare. Like super rare. Even more rare is a mutual imprint,” that phrase called out to Anton’s explanation. “Those are almost unheard of. They occur like once in a hundred years.”
“Anton said he’s imprint on me too,” I whispered.
She grimaced at Anton’s name but nodded. “Damien told me all about them too. Henrick and Anton are both empaths. It’s some sort of manifestation of their magick, like healing is of mine. They would be able to sense something like that. What did Anton say about it?”
“Basically, that I had six months to
do what I want and then I’m his,” I hissed. The possessive attitude drove me crazy.
She sneered. “Pig.”
I laughed. “Right?” I said. It felt good to laugh with Kellic. Even under these circumstances.
She glanced down at her watch and her eyes went wide.
“Shoot!” she exclaimed. “The Council meeting starts in a half an hour.”
Damn. I had almost forgotten why I had come here. Catching up with Kellic had felt so normal that the real world had seemed to move along without us. “Will you be there?” I asked her.
She nodded and rose to her feet. “I do have to go get ready though. You’ll still be here, too, right?”
I nodded in affirmation.
She suddenly took a step past me, reaching for a gown hanging along a line of hooks. It was black with a plunging neckline and a matching plunge down the back. It was long, as though it would run across the floor and was embedded with crystals around the neck, back, and sleeves.
She looked at me, holding the gown up. “You should borrow this,” she said bluntly. “It would look stunning on you.”
I grabbed the dress and she ushered me into a small changing room along the opposite wall. I got the dress on and it clung to me like it had been made for me. Even I could see what she meant. It did look stunning.
I stepped out of the fitting room and she let out a goofy wolf whistle. “Yes,” she giggled. “Absolutely, yes. Wear it.”
I looked down for a moment and decided I would. I nodded to her. She bounced, clapping her hands, eager excitement on her face.
“Oh, Kel,” I said somberly, touching her arm. Her playful expression melted into concern. “Carson and Damien are keeping something from me,” I explained, my face drawn into a grimace.
She looked up at me. “Is it bad?”
I sighed. “Anton thinks he doesn’t want to tell me that he loves me,” I replied.
She paused for a moment, just looking at me. “That’s it?” she asked.
“That’s it?” I repeated, indignant. “I’m supposed to trust the two of them and they can’t tell me something like that? I mean, I can understand why my father wouldn’t tell me, but why wouldn’t Carson.”