Dragos gave his sister a quick embrace and whispered something in her ear. She nodded and responded with a peck on his cheek. He turned and winked at me as he walked toward the ship.
I marched over to her. “What did he say to you?”
She sighed. “He just promised that he would look after you. Try to trust Dragos. He really does want to help this time.”
She always did see the best in her brother. I wished I could too, but my wounds were deep. I nodded to placate her because I didn’t want her worrying about me. She needed to focus on her own battles without distractions, but trusting Dragos was the last thing I could ever imagine doing.
I took a deep breath and joined him on the ship. Once again, I was making a deal with the devil and it terrified me. How could I control this darkness inside my heart when the monster standing beside me was the only one who knew how to feed it? And he enjoyed doing so.
As if reading my mind, Dragos’s eyes lit up when they met mine. The ship pulled away from the docks, cloaking us in magic and sealing us in together. There was no turning back now. My mind was torn. Dragos had been my greatest threat. A sharp thorn in my side. Yet when it came to Aldric, he was also my only hope.
Dragos’s eyes followed me like a hawk as I paced back and forth. The air between us was thick with tension and uneasiness. I took comfort in the salty sea air, cool and refreshing against my skin. I sucked in a deep breath, letting it fill my lungs and permeate deep into my chest.
The silence was welcoming. I was grateful for it. Though the voice in my head was louder. My thoughts were on a constant state of repeat. Flashes of moments past, mixed with feelings of guilt and fears of what was to come. I needed to get out of my own head.
I turned to look at Dragos for the first time since we had set sail. “What’s the plan?”
He remained silent, averting his eyes toward the sea.
I chuckled. “What, you’re not gonna tell me? Afraid I might jump ship?”
Dragos sneered. “I wouldn’t put it past you.”
I snorted. “Relax. I gave you my word. Unlike yours, mine is actually worth something.” I couldn’t keep the bitterness out of my voice. His betrayal still pained me. It burned into me like a metal brand. I wasn’t sure if I would ever get past it.
Dragos reached over and plucked a crow feather out of my hair. His eyes trailed down to my lips and back up again to meet my gaze. He cocked his head to the side and raised an eyebrow.
“The plan is to pay a visit to Nadia in Bucharest. But first, I need to grab some supplies at the cabin.”
Nadia was the leader of the Romanian Dhampir coven, the Striga. She was pleasant, but unpredictable. The Striga were wild and reckless. We almost didn’t recover the last time we stayed with them.
I swallowed hard. “The cabin.”
Dragos smirked and licked his lips. “Yes, Gray. I haven’t changed a thing about it, not even the sheets.” He winked and chuckled.
My stomach dropped and exploded into a sea of butterflies. The cabin was the only place that had felt like home for a while. It was our place. Not even Valentina knew about it. It was a time when the days were short and the nights were longer, with nothing but flesh and bones between us.
I shrugged it off and turned my face away from his, willing the blood back into my veins. “I hated those sheets.”
Dragos chuckled again. “That’s not what I remember. I seem to remember you—”
My cheeks flushed. “Just stop. Those days are long gone. You can just put those thoughts out of your head because I’m not going down that road again with you.”
He smiled in amusement, satisfied that he was still able to get under my skin. I closed my eyes and pictured Aldric’s face. In an instant, it brought me back to the present. The guilt clawed at the back of my throat and I bit my lip to keep the tears from spilling out. If only I had gone with him that morning to get breakfast. If only I had listened to him. My heart was breaking from all the paths I could have chosen but didn’t take.
Dragos studied me intensely. His brown eyes were curious but also hinted at sadness. His expressions cycled through a range of emotions that I couldn’t grasp. He was unreadable.
“We’re almost there.” His voice was deep and smoky.
The wind whipped faster through my hair. “I know.”
We rode the Black Sea straight into the Danube delta, nestled just below the Carpathian Mountains. Nadia’s compound was in Bucharest, about a thirty-minute drive from where we docked.
We would have to hike to the cabin from here, since it was hidden well, deep in the mountains. Back then, it was discreet and ideal for two Dhampirs who were looking to hide out in the sixteenth century. Nowadays it was more populated, with farmers and fishermen. I was amazed that he had still kept it.
With the poplar and elm trees, the surroundings reminded me somewhat of New Orleans, except the air here lacked the same humidity that caused my clothes to cling to my skin in the bayou.
Without a word, I followed Dragos up the path to the cabin. The silence was unnerving and soothing at the same time. I hadn’t been here since before the coma. I struggled to keep my thoughts on the foliage and scenery rather than on the images of what we used to be.
It was easier to breathe here. The air was light and fresh. Maybe it was the familiarity, or maybe it was the spirit of the land. Either way, the hole in my heart ached a little less.
I caught Dragos watching me. “I forgot how much I loved it up here.”
He smiled. “We always had good times in Romania, no?”
I avoided his gaze. “What do you need to get from the cabin?” There was no point in getting wrapped up in nostalgia.
Dragos chuckled. “A present for Nadia. She is much more agreeable after she’s had gifts bestowed upon her.”
I snickered. “Most women are.”
He smirked. “And that’s why they were always bestowed upon you, my love.”
I shivered and folded my arms to my chest. “There are some things you can’t buy, love.”
He shook his head. “Why are you so resistant? You can’t expect me to believe that you just turned off your feelings for me like a switch.”
I stopped walking to face him. “You took three years of my life away. What part of that don’t you understand? That was the switch, Dragos.”
His eyes flashed red. “Oh, you think you have it all figured out, do you? I didn’t enjoy putting you in that coma. You have no idea what that did to me. How long are you going to keep punishing me for it?”
My heart raced. “I don’t know. Maybe forever.”
He snarled and mumbled to himself as he sped off in front of me. It was so typical of him to sulk when he didn’t get the reaction he wanted.
Night had fallen by the time we reached the cabin. I stopped just outside of the yard, puzzled. The lights were already on and there was smoke coming out the chimney. My pulse raced with panic.
Dragos kept walking toward the door, unfazed. “I called ahead and had my groundskeeper prepare for our arrival.”
Of course he did. I took a deep breath as I stepped inside. A chill traveled up my spine. He wasn’t kidding. Everything was exactly as we left it. From the half-drunk bottle of wine on the table, to the crumpled sheets at the foot of the bed. It was like stepping back in time. It didn’t make any sense. He worked with the Consilium against me, yet he kept every trace of my memory alive.
Dragos stared straight ahead. “I told you. I didn’t change a thing.” He stood in the middle of the room, soaking everything in. Like he was lost in a dream.
“Okay, grab what you need and let’s go.” I stood as far away from the bed as I could without standing outside.
Every second we were here was another second Aldric was in jeopardy. I didn’t want to be in this room any longer than I had to.
Dragos went over to a large ornate chest in the corner of the room and pulled out a bottle of Dom Pérignon. Grinning from ear to ear, he wiped the dust off it, satisfied with its
condition.
I groaned. “Champagne? That’s what’s going to make her talk? We could have just gone to the store.”
He rolled his eyes. “I took this from a Benedictine abbey four hundred years ago from Dom Pérignon himself.” He shook his head at me, annoyed. “Go to the store, she says.”
I had to stifle a laugh. I had forgotten how worldly Dragos thought of himself. I remembered a time when he dragged Valentina and me all over France, looking for black truffles because he refused to eat the garden variety. It was the seventeenth century, so we had to dig for them. It took me all night to clean the dirt out of my fingernails.
“If you have everything you need, we should get going. The sooner the better. Aldric’s depending on me.”
Dragos snickered. “Right. I doubt he’d approve of you wasting your time with me.”
I rolled my eyes at his dramatics and stomped off toward the car he had parked out front. It was a black Land Rover. Luxury at its finest, with gray leather seats and tinted windows. I hopped in the passenger seat and blared on the horn. I was growing impatient and the Narcissus magic was scratching at my throat again. I also knew it would annoy him.
Dragos got in, snarling at me. “You know, that was always your problem, Gray. You never stop to enjoy the finer things in life.”
I rolled my eyes. “Yes, and you enjoy them too much. We can’t all afford to be as self-indulgent as you are.”
We drove the rest of the way in silence, with the bottle of Dom resting between us. As we got closer to Bucharest, my thoughts were unsettled. Nadia’s coven was wild and unpredictable. In the old days, I found it exciting. Now, the thought of it agitated me. I didn’t know what I was capable of anymore. Anything could’ve set me off. The night sky seemed to echo my heart, dark and stormy, and on the verge of rage.
Striga Castle was as monstrous as I remembered, with its pointy columns and barred windows. My stomach turned as the iron gates swung open to let us in. They squeaked and clanked as they closed again behind us, locking us in. Uneasiness came over me as that feeling of dread returned. The notion of it being a trap also crossed my mind.
We were met at the car by two guards who instructed us to follow. Dragos and I exchanged a hesitant look, and I couldn’t help but reach for my daggers. I didn’t pull them out, but just wrapping my hands around them brought me comfort.
The front door opened, revealing a packed house. Techno music blared into my ears and my eyes were hit with an array of colorful costumes. They were having a party. Shocking.
I groaned. I was not in the mood for this. “I guess some things never change.”
Dragos chuckled and gave me a wink. “That’s what I keep trying to tell you.”
Did he have to read so much into everything I said? His incessant innuendos were starting to wear on my nerves.
He placed a hand too comfortably on my shoulder. “Relax. I’m only joking. Let’s get a drink while we wait for Nadia.”
I shrugged it off. “After you.”
The way he moved through the crowd with such ease was astounding. Nodding and smiling at various women as he passed, he oozed a charm that was both toxic and alluring. I, on the other hand, glared at every face I met. These were not my friends, and I wanted to get in and out of here as quickly as possible.
We made our way into the parlor room. The air was thick with the stench of oleander and clove. A group of Witches heated up sugar cubes over absinthe in one corner while they chatted with a couple of Lupi, smoking opium out of obsidian pipes. Scantily clad servants scurried around with trays of oyster pearls and liquid wolfsbane—powerful aphrodisiacs. In another corner, a voluptuous Dhampir woman was savoring every drop of blood out of her champagne flute.
Blood. My stomach dropped.
I grabbed Dragos’s arm and wrenched him back. “Why haven’t you had any blood? You haven’t had a drop since we left the Hall. Come to think of it, I can’t remember the last time I saw you drink.”
His eyes darted around, avoiding my gaze. “I was going to tell you. It just…wasn’t the right time. I didn’t think you’d notice.”
My heart beat fast. “Tell me what?”
He swallowed hard. “I…I’m linked. A gift from Tobias.”
My eyes shifted to black and the dark rage pulsed through my veins. “A gift? Or a reward for putting me in that coma?” I clenched my fists.
Drago’s eyes flashed red. He moved so close, I could feel his breath on my face. “It wasn’t like that. Besides, it’s not like I could link to you. Why do you care anyway?” His tone was sharp and bitter.
My breath heaved in my chest. Why did I care? I should’ve been grateful that he was tied to someone else, but I wasn’t. It only made his betrayal worse and it angered me more.
“I don’t care. What bothers me is that you kept it a secret. For someone who wants me to trust him so badly, you sure have a funny way of showing it.”
His eyes shifted back to gray, but he wasn’t looking at me as I ranted. “Gray—”
“No, you don’t get to speak anymore. I don’t even know why I came here with you to begin with, and—”
“Gray.” His voice rose as he gripped my arm.
I was about ready to slap him. “What?”
Dragos spun me around and nudged me forward. All the blood rushed to my feet. I couldn’t breathe. There he was. On the other side of the room, laughing and sipping a martini. Aldric.
Five
There had been hundreds of scenarios playing in my head since Aldric went missing. I pictured him in chains. Tortured. Dead even. I imagined him alone in the dark, shivering. I had imagined the worst. It never occurred to me that he might have just…left.
My whole body shook as I watched Aldric smile and flirt with a group of young Witches. My knees trembled. Dragos held me by my elbows to steady me. I could almost feel him grinning with satisfaction behind me.
Dragos snickered in my ear. “Looks like he’s not Mister Perfect after all.”
My head was spinning. I wanted to scream, cry, break something. I felt like the wind had been knocked out of me. My head was light and dizzy.
I shook my head. “No. Aldric wouldn’t do this to me.” I charged toward him with Dragos only a step behind me.
Aldric’s eyes lit up with amusement when he saw me. He looked different. His hair was slicked back and his face was clean shaven. He swirled the olives in his martini in a casual manner as I approached.
I planted my feet in front of him and cleared my throat. “Oh hello. Sorry to interrupt, but can you please tell me what the hell is going on?” I shot the Witches a glare and they scurried off.
Aldric smirked. “Gray, what a surprise. I didn’t think you were ever going to leave my apartment. Now that you have, I’ll be needing my key back.”
Dragos stifled a laugh and nearly choked on his drink. I shot him a glare. Nothing about this was funny. I was seething. What had gotten into Aldric? His eyes were muddied—still blue but with flecks of white. He looked at me like a stranger. I tried to draw on our link, but it was blocked. His feelings were cloaked from me.
I felt my eyes brimming with tears. “Who did this to you?”
He gave me a blank stare. “I don’t know what you mean? Do what to me? I’m fine. You’re acting strange.”
It was getting harder to breathe. “Aldric, come with me to the Hall. We can fix this. Please.” I was desperate.
Aldric’s eyes darkened. “I don’t need to be fixed. I need you to leave me alone. I worship Lamia now.”
My heart was breaking. The pain was suffocating. It clawed at my skin. He wasn’t making any sense. I wanted to knock him unconscious and drag him out of there, but I couldn’t move. Tears fell down my cheeks.
I pleaded with him. “You don’t know anything about Lamia. Her followers are corrupting you. They are dangerous.”
Dragos touched my arm. “Gray, let him be. C’mon, let’s go.” I shrugged him off.
Aldric snickered. “Some things n
ever change. Listen to Dragos, darlin’. He’s the one you really want to be with, isn’t he?” Aldric winked and took a slow sip of his martini, swirling it around on his tongue and savoring every drop.
A cold chill passed through me. With fists clenched, I drew one up and slammed it into the side of his face. He barely flinched as his drink went flying, drenching his black silk shirt in vodka. Gasps and chuckles poured out from the group of Dhampirs nearby.
Aldric whipped his head back around and glared daggers at me—his eyes shifting to a milky white. He spat a chunk of flesh out of his mouth and wiped the blood away with the back of his hand.
He moved toward me, stopping only inches away from my face. “You should leave before you get hurt.”
Dragos stepped in between us and narrowed his blood red eyes at him. “You’re the only one who is going to get hurt here.”
I wanted to die. This thing standing before me looked like a copy of Aldric, his voice sounded like an echo of Aldric, but it wasn’t him. It was as if he had no soul—no heart. He was just an empty shell, covered in flesh and bone.
I swallowed hard to keep the bile down and pushed Dragos to the side. “I’m not giving up. I know you are still in there somewhere. I will find a way to fix you.”
Aldric laughed as he slid his arm around some barely clad Dhampir walking by. She giggled and cuddled up next to him. He gave me a wink as he nuzzled her neck.
In a fit of rage, I started forward. Dragos caught me in mid-step. “Not here. We need to go, Gray. We’re probably being watched. It’s too dangerous.”
I pulled away from him. “I don’t care. I’m not leaving here without him.”
Dragos sighed. “Should I knock him out? I’m sure nobody here will mind.” He glanced around the room at all the suspicious eyes noticeably on us.
He was right. We couldn’t knock him out, and he wasn’t going to leave willingly with us. The Serpent Bearers could be lurking anywhere in this room. We had no idea what we were up against.
Aldric chuckled as I ushered Dragos over to a dark corner. “What about Nadia?”
Flesh and Bone (Blood and Darkness Book 2) Page 3