“You know why. It is not proper for a male to initiate courtship with a female vampire royal. Are you saying… I thought she just viewed me as a friend? Surely, she would have asked me to court her otherwise?”
His answer seemed to catch Apeo by surprise, though it shouldn’t have. “You are right. I am not certain why she hasn’t asked you. I will speak to her of this.”
“No, Issa, don’t. I don’t want her to feel pressured to ask me. She’s already courting two princes after all. What’s one donor? I wouldn’t be worthy.”
“That is for Essa to decide. Do not sell yourself short, Mike. Donors are highly honored; you know this. Assa herself is married to one.”
That much was true. Mike wondered if Apeo could possibly be right about Melanie having feelings for him. She did spend quite a lot of time with the princes. They had to know her relatively well by now.
He couldn’t help feeling nervous and struggled to settle to anything. Finally, later that evening, he gave in and went to Apeo’s chambers, knocking on the door. Apeo let him in, smiling. “I suppose you’ve come to hear how my conversation with Essa went.”
“I have. What did she say?”
“I’ll let her explain to you in person. She will speak to you tomorrow, after her feeding.”
The night went slowly, and when Melanie called him for a feeding the next morning, she looked almost as nervous as Mike felt. Once she’d finished, helping him clean off the last of the blood, Melanie clasped her hands in front of her.
“Apeo came to speak to me yesterday. Apparently, there has been some kind of misunderstanding. I… I don’t know much about how vampire society works yet, but I do know that I’m an Essa and everyone follows my orders without question. If I’m going to be with someone, I want them to be with me because they want to, not because they think I ordered it.”
Mike thought he could see where this was going, but he kept quiet, letting Melanie explain at her own pace.
“For a while now, I’ve wished that you could court me, but I’ve been waiting for you to make the first move. I didn’t want you to feel like you have to say yes because I’m part of the royal family you work for.”
“In royal vampire society, the woman makes the first move,” Mike explained. “It wouldn’t be proper for me to ask you.”
“I know, Apeo explained it to me. I didn’t know that before, now. I guess what I’m saying is… I’d like to court you, Mike, but I don’t want you to feel like it’s an order. If you’d prefer to stay friends, I won’t hold it against you.”
In answer, Mike threw caution to the winds and kissed her. Melanie made this little moan in the back of her throat and leaned into the kiss. She tasted sweet and Mike lost himself in her as their tongues slipped together.
When she finally broke away, they were both breathless. “I thought it was proper to let the woman make the first move.”
“I had an idea that the woman in question would be open to my advances. Call it inside information.”
Melanie chuckled and pulled him in for another kiss.
The next few days were a dream. Jake, Apeo and Aris readily accepted Mike into a fast-growing brotherhood. By vampire law, when a woman married several men, they became brothers. Mike had never had siblings, and he had to say, he liked the idea.
A week later found them leaving the palace for the first time since Melanie had been brought in. Tirin and Avlo weren’t happy, but they’d eventually acceded to her demands for an outing, though they insisted on bringing half of the royal guard with them. The guard also brought multiple umbrellas to shield the vampires from the sun.
Melanie wanted to go to an amusement park. Mike despised amusement parks – the rides made him sick – but the others were all so excited about it, he couldn’t bring himself to let them down.
It was only when they were standing in line for a rollercoaster so huge that Mike was sure the air up at the top would be too thin to breathe, did he lose his nerve. Unwilling to confess his fear to Melanie, he took Jake aside.
“Hey, you ok, Mike? You look kind of pale.”
“I – I don’t like rollercoasters,” he mumbled. “I think I’ll be sick.”
“Why didn’t you say something? Melanie would have chosen something else if she’d known.”
“Exactly. She told me about how she grew up in a series of horrible foster homes. None of her guardians ever took her to an amusement park. I want her to be able to have the experience.”
Jake rolled his eyes. “Well, I suppose I can understand. It’s sweet, if a bit misguided. Don’t worry, I’ve got you.”
Mike watched as Jake caught Melanie’s attention. “Mel, do you mind if Mike and I go get some food? I’m starving, and the lines were long when I last checked. We can get something for the three of you too.”
“Oh – but we’re almost at the front of the line! Don’t you want to ride?”
“I’ll catch the next one. Right now, the only thing I want is a large plate of fries.”
“If you’re sure. The cars only fit three anyway. Grab me a pizza, won’t you?”
“Sure.”
Mike could have laughed in relief as he and Jake headed toward the food court. “I don’t want you to miss out on all the fun. You were also looking forward to this.”
“Don’t worry about it, I’ll switch out with Apeo or Aris later. Melanie won’t notice a thing.”
Yes, they would indeed be good brothers to him. Already feeling better, Mike glanced up in time to see the rollercoaster reaching its apex. “Well, I hope it helps her loosen up,” he said doubtfully, envisioning himself puking his guts out.
“Loosen up? I don’t know about that; she hasn’t been nearly as tense lately as she was in the beginning.” Jake handed him a slice of pizza, which Mike ate slowly as he wondered how to phrase his thoughts.
“That’s not exactly what I mean. I feel like Melanie is… holding something of herself back from us, or at least from me. It’s like she’s invested in our relationship, but she doesn’t expect it to last. The way she pulls away sometimes, I can see it in her eyes, she’s not willing to give everything she has to it.”
“I know,” Jake said sadly. “She’s been like that all the time I’ve known her, with everything, not just relationships. Friendships, jobs, even acquaintances. She has a lot of trust issues from her upbringing. Being shunted from one foster home to another is enough to give anyone the idea that people always leave.”
“She knows not to tell Apeo and Aris about her time in foster home, right?”
“Um, why shouldn’t she?”
“Because they will hunt down anyone who hurt her and kill them. No, I’m not joking, vampires are seriously protective of their mates.”
“Well, Aris already knows a lot of it.”
“Yes, but he witnessed it before he started courting Melanie. Now that he is, she’d better not mention anything he doesn’t already know about, or heads will roll.”
Jake laughed, but Mike didn’t so much as smile. He knew that Melanie would be unhappy to hear about people dying on her behalf. Jake’s mirth faded. “I’ll tell her. You should too, probably.”
“I will. Now, it looks like their ride is done. Shall we bring some of this food over? I can’t see how anyone would want to eat after that, but then, I can’t imagine getting on it in the first place.”
Jake gave his arm a sympathetic squeeze. “Don’t worry, you won’t have to. I hear there’s a section with stores. I bet you and Apeo can get away with going shopping for something for Melanie while Aris and I go on the next ride with her.”
“Sounds good to me!” Mike picked up several boxes of pizzas and fries and started carrying them toward the rollercoaster. He truly hoped that Melanie did stay with Jake, who was someone he’d be honored to have as a brother.
Chapter 7
Apeo
Salin delivered the message, which was unusual, considering that the palace had several couriers. Still, Apeo understood. As the only Issa in the palace
not currently courting or mated to one of the Cherki royals, he must be getting bored here.
“Issa, come in.” Apeo had never really warmed to the guy, but he felt sorry for him all the same. “How are you doing?”
“Good, thank you,” Salin replied courteously. “I’ve been taking advantage of the Cherki library. They have some versions of the wars that even my own house doesn’t.”
“Glad you’re using the time to good advantage. The message is from home, you say?”
“From the Eldan palace, yes. A courier was going to deliver it, but I was coming this way anyway, so I though I’d save them a trip.”
“Thanks.” Apeo took the letter and started reading, his frown becoming more pronounced the further he read.
“Is something wrong?”
“Yes.” Apeo worked to compose his expression as he folded the letter and put it in his pock. “I will have to return home, at once.”
“Return? But you are courting Essa!”
“I know, but this is urgent. She will understand.”
Salin shrugged. “Well, you would know better than I. Is there anything I can do?”
“No, but thank you,” Apeo said distractedly, already thinking ahead. He would leave at once, but how long would he need to be gone for? He didn’t want to miss too much time with Essa. She was in the process of choosing her mates, and Apeo was still determined to be one of them.
He hurried directly over to her rooms to find her in her underwear, kissing Aris, who had his shirt off. They broke apart when he burst in.
“Apeo!” Essa smiled wickedly at him. “Come and join us.”
At any other time, it would be a near irresistible command, but now, Apeo’s mind was on other things. “I cannot, Essa. I’ve just received a message from home. I am needed back there.”
“What happened?” Aris pulled his shirt on and tossed Essa her clothes, which she quickly donned.
“I just got a letter from home. No one is sure how, but several members of the Eldan staff have been found dead. No one has been able to find the culprit, and the circumstances are all very suspicious. I have to go.”
“Someone is killing them?” Essa looked horrified, and Apeo wished he could reassure her, but he wouldn’t lie to her. “It must be. Vampires don’t die of natural causes.”
“But if you go there, you’ll be in danger too!”
“I know, Essa, but I have to. My whole family is there. We need everyone we can to come home, both for mutual protection, and to work on figuring out what’s going on.”
“We’ll help, too. The Cherki line, I mean. Anything you need, you have only to ask.”
The worry left her voice as Essa spoke with an air of authority Apeo hadn’t heard her use before. She truly was becoming a Cherki royal.
“Thank you. I don’t know what kind of support we’ll need, but I will contact you once I’m there. I’ll have to send you any sensitive communications in physical letters, like the one I received today. There is too much risk of an electronic transaction being intercepted. I should go.”
“I will go with you.” Aris was already collecting what possessions he had strewn about Essa’s rooms.
“No, Issa, you don’t need to –”
“I want to. You will have my support in this, whether you want it or not.”
Such a declaration might once have made Apeo bristle, but he’d gotten to know Aris a bit better now.
“Then I would be honored to have you, if you can pack quickly.”
“I can.”
The two of them gave Essa swift kisses before heading out, speaking hurriedly about the details of the situation.
Essa, Jake and Mike were waiting to see them off. Essa looked worried, but she didn’t protest. She knew Apeo was doing what he had to do. She kissed him before he left and stared deeply into his eyes. “Be careful. I want you back here in one piece.”
“By your command, Essa.” He gave her one more kiss before wrenching himself away, knowing that if he didn’t leave now, he never would.
The Eldan palace was a plane ride and five hours away. They could have taken either the Eldan or the Vexin private jet, but Apeo didn’t want to draw undue attention to them, so they used the human transport line. He ended up wishing he’d taken the jets. Half of the humans stared at him and Aris like they were monsters, and the other half ignored them completely, pretending that their seats were empty.
“I’ve never been to the Eldan palace before.” Aris took out a notebook. “Tell me the protocols.”
Each royal family had specific protocols. Apeo had learned them all as part of his schooling, but it had been at least a couple of centuries since then, and he would probably also have needed a refresher were he going to the Vexin palace.
He spent the next couple of hours going over everything from important to trivial details with Aris. Soon, five pages of the notebook were filled with writing. Only the first page was things that were truly necessary, but it felt good to have something to do, so he kept detailing things that make it easier for the visiting Issa to fit in.
When they landed, Delri was waiting for him, surrounded by her four husbands.
“Mother. Fathers.” Apeo embraced them one by one before introducing Aris.
“This is Issa Aris Vexin. He is courting Essa Cherki alongside me and has offered to come and give us what assistance he can.”
“Assa.” Aris bowed low to Delri and kissed her hand. “It is an honor.”
“Thank you, Issa. I’m afraid we’ll have to skip the customary formal dinner. Everything is a bit crazy at the palace right now.”
“Issa Eldan warned me as much. Do not worry for me as a guest. I’m here to help.”
The formal introductions over, Apeo took his mother’s arm as the group made their way to the waiting car. “What is it, mother? Tell me what has been happening.”
Delri sighed, looking more tired than Apeo had seen her in years. “It started several weeks ago. When we found one of our donors dead, we thought it was a random killing by some unfortunate who had gone mad and somehow snuck into the palace. Then a vampire died – a guard – then a human servant, another donor and two more vampires. We’ve had no success in finding who is responsible. Whoever they are, they’re clever and sneaky; no mere madman.”
“How have they been killed? Who has been killed?” Apeo’s stomach twisted uncomfortably, wondering which of his friends or family were no longer with them.
“Alexander, Frelia, Vivian, Ablok and Severa.”
Apeo closed his eyes, hating that he was relieved. He’d known all the victims, but he wasn’t close with any of them. “Where have the investigations led you?”
“I have entire teams devoted to this. Come, I will show you their work.”
For all the boards and theories, the teams had managed to come up with a grand total of nothing. It was like these people had been killed by a ghost, leaving no physical sign behind. It was impossible, but it was happening.
For several hours, Apeo and Aris listened and asked only few questions, getting caught up on everything. Finally, it was time for their assignments.
Delri shot an apologetic look at Aris. “We’re short of guards. Each room is being guarded by at least two now, but many people are having to share and they’re not happy about it. I was going to put Apeo on guard rotation, he spent some time with them as part of his training, but it’s hardly the work for an Issa…”
“These are hardly normal times, Assa. I also did a rotation with my palace guard, and I would be happy to help wherever I’m needed.”
She nodded, giving Aris a small, rare smile of approval. “I’ll get you on the rotation at once. The teams make rounds in the palace regularly. We have no idea who might see something or come up with an idea, so the people devoted to finding answers regularly share information. Tell them anything you see or think of that might be helpful. This is a group effort.”
Apeo spoke up the one bit of good news he’d brought with him. “Es
sa Cherki promised us the help of her bloodline. Before we left, Assa Cherki confirmed this. Anything we need, we will have from them.”
It was clear that Delri hadn’t expected this. Such acts of loyalty toward another royal house were typical only after marriage, not mere courtship. Essa didn’t know that, of course, having been raised by humans.
“That is very generous of them. I will consider the offer.”
Apeo hoped his mother wouldn’t be too proud to accept the help. It would be a big debt they’d owe to the Cherki bloodline, but there were no debts between families bonded by marriage, and Apeo fully intended to marry Essa, not for an Alliance, but because he wanted to be with her for who she was.
The next few days were a whirl of activity. Guard duty was long and boring, interspersed with moments of terror. These invariably ended in relief that it was simply a small disturbance.
Despite their efforts, people continued to die. One donor was killed while in the room with his two guards. They had turned their backs on him for a second, and when they turned back, he was dead. There was no visible mark on his body; it was as though he’d just dropped dead of a heart attack, but donors were just as immune to heart attacks as vampires were.
A week after they’d come, Essa arrived.
Apeo was summoned at once, as were his mother and fathers. Essa didn’t come alone, but with a squadron of Cherki guards. Apparently, Delri had shelved her pride and asked for the help.
“Essa!” Apeo swept her into a hug, moving slightly to give Aris room to do the same, enfolding her from both sides. “I’m so glad to see you, but what are you doing here?”
“I’m not leaving you to stew in this mess. I’m here to help.”
Aris was rapidly shaking his head, worry clear on his face. People were still dying. He wasn’t any more willing to risk Essa than Apeo was.
“It’s too dangerous,” Apeo said at once.
Essa narrowed her eyes. “Are you saying the Eldan court does not welcome me here?”
Oh, she was good. Assa Cherki had been giving her lessons.
Delri swiftly stepped in front of him. “Forgive my son, Essa, these are stressful times for all of us. You are of course welcome among us, as is any help you might bring. I will see to it that you are put in our best rooms and brought anything you desire.”
Secret Blood Ties Page 5