Blood Solace (Blood Grace Book 2)

by Vela Roth

  Lady in Crimson

  Her blood beat within reach.

  And the power of his need to reach for her was frightening. A room full of people, including his own mother, was not a sufficient deterrent. Sir Benedict’s white knuckles and the mages’ wary gazes did not temper the Hunger. A healing session with Javed right before his arrival had barely made his Craving bearable. Only Mak and Lyros’s ward kept Lio from touching her.

  Goddess, she is so beautiful. Goddess, I need her. Goddess, give me strength.

  Every last inch of his body did battle with him. His fangs throbbed with eagerness in his gums. The pain in his mouth was rivaled only by the discomfort below his waist. It was a mercy his people favored loose attire. It would have been a greater mercy if the months of blood deprivation had somehow reduced the circulation in that direction. He needn’t fear he would be ready for her, only how long he would last. His body thought he was starving and, with every primal urge he possessed, demanded he take what would save him.

  Here she was, she who was more important to him than any other, and he could not maintain the most basic rudiments of self-control.

  Precisely because she was so important. She was his Cassia.

  He had so carefully planned all the things he would say to her when this moment came, but now he couldn’t speak for the effort of mastering himself. He dare not open his mouth, for all he could think of was opening it on her throat.

  The raw tension in his body made their leisurely pace around the room agonizing. He gripped his hands behind his back and stopped breathing so he could not smell her. He wanted to drink her scent until the moment he could taste her blood. He wanted the Blood Union to fill him up with her until she felt so close the space they must keep between their bodies did not matter.

  But he had to hold his Gift in check at all costs. Else he would be truly lost. He must make do with drinking in the sight of her.

  A challenge to his self-control all on its own. Her hair had never appeared so lustrous, gleaming with autumn shades he had not known were there. With each step she took, the beaded toes of her slippers peeked at him from under the undulating hem of her gown.

  And what a gown. Even in his imaginings, he had never beheld her in such a dress. This was nothing like the shapeless scraps in her father’s house colors she had worn at Solorum. This was a fabric war cry, a seduction dyed the rich crimson shade of blood. The narrow sleeves ended in points that drew his gaze to her dainty hands. He only regretted that her white gloves hid her freckles from him.

  He dare not let his gaze roam elsewhere. The gown’s deceptively simple cut and fine velvet texture worshiped her lissome shape, without revealing anything. Except her throat.

  And the fact that she was even thinner than she had been before. Why did she appear as if she had been starving with him all this time? The condition of her hair was a good sign—her health did not yet suffer. But she would certainly become ill if she kept on like this.

  The thought that she had gone without roused an unbearable sense of wrongness in him. Regardless of the cause of her fast, starting tonight, he would see to it she was well fed.

  He halted that thought in its tracks. Tonight he could do no more than look upon her and listen to the sound of her footfalls next to his. And now her voice.

  “Ambassador Deukalion.”

  So good to hear her say his name. So good to say hers. “Yes, Lady Cassia.”

  She eyed his neck. Her gaze proceeded downward to linger on his chest. Warmth raced through him.

  “I recall it was ‘Initiate Ambassador’ last time we met,” she said. “Did your Queens reward your deeds in Tenebra with advancement?”

  Oh. She was looking at his cords and medallion of office.

  He must draw breath, if he was to speak further. Her fragrance washed over him and went straight to his groin. Roses! She never wore scent, but tonight she had perfumed herself with roses. Their roses, the ones whose scattered petals he had licked off her bare thighs after the first time they had made love.

  “It was somewhat a matter of debate whether I should be credited with deeds or misdeeds. My Queens did me the honor of elevating me to full ambassador. They also restricted my duties to Orthros.”

  Cassia’s face was as impassive as ever, but he had no trouble recognizing the subtle signs of her surprise. “I am uncertain whether to offer my congratulations or sympathies.”

  “I shall gladly accept anything you have to give.” He was not above begging. He made an effort to unclench his hands. “I understand I am to offer you my congratulations on your upcoming betrothal, my lady.” Not the first subject he had intended to address. Not at all.

  “I thank you, but you would be premature.”

  If words could quench thirst, those were the first that had allayed his tonight. He could only rejoice Flavian’s claim on her remained tenuous. “The news we hear of King Lucis’s court is not always accurate. It was my impression your understanding with your suitor was final. I hope I have not spoken out of turn.”

  “Not at all, Ambassador. My father the king does indeed intend to give me in marriage to my Lord Flavian, although His Majesty and Lord Titus are still in the process of settling their agreement. His Majesty excels at ensuring a bright future for all his offspring, and I am no exception.”

  Lio sent up a silent prayer of thanks. Cassia had made it safely back to him. They were no longer talking about the marriage he had believed to be the greatest threat to her, but the revelation that her father had not intended for her to survive to her wedding. “I can appreciate what such a union means to you, arranged by the king himself.”

  “I’m certain you can.”

  “Have you been well?” Such insufficient words to convey how he had feared for her and dreaded what she had suffered in Flavian’s company. A meaningless question, after what had happened last night.

  “I have been well enough.”

  Unable to bear true Union, Lio tried to read her face, her body, and her voice for any sign of hidden hurts. “This has been a time of great uncertainty at Solorum. I hope you have not had cause to fear.”

  Her aura softened. Moved by his concern, perhaps. “I have faced my share of difficulties in the palace, but I am well accustomed to that.”

  “Your devoted suitor must surely go out of his way to ensure your protection in these troubled times.”

  For just a moment, Cassia met Lio’s gaze. “He has behaved entirely honorably toward me.”

  The relief that overtook Lio made him weak in the knees. “I should hope he has.”

  “It sounds as if you have a great many questions about what has transpired in Tenebra since you left.” She cast Lio a brief but searching glance. “Did not your assignments at home still relate to your people’s dealings with mine?”

  “Everything but, I regret to say.”

  “You have not been at all involved in relations between Tenebra and Orthros, then?”

  Now. Now was the time to find the words he had longed to say to her. Or at least to make a start. “It has not been within my power to remain involved in Tenebran affairs, but I can assure you, Lady Cassia, I have remained entirely invested in your situation.”

  “You have been following the events in my kingdom, then.”

  “Not closely enough to satisfy me.”

  She really looked at him now, tilting her head up so she could look at him eye-to-eye. Did she even realize how she treated him to a stunning display of her throat?

  “If you are interested in word from Tenebra, Ambassador Deukalion, perhaps I could sate your hunger for news.”

  Cassia always knew what she was doing, every move she made and every word she chose. Of course she knew that one little motion and that handful of words were, to him, utterly erotic. Hespera’s Mercy, let that be the invitation he thought it was.

  He drew breath to speak again, and the deeper notes in her scent reached him. An exciting, bitter smell he did not recognize, sweetened by roses. The
n the snap of cassia.

  She had used the soap. That was undoubtedly an invitation. It had always been her secret sign to him she wanted a tryst.

  “I would hope to make our time here mutually beneficial.” She looked ahead again, back straight, hands clasped lightly before her. “Given that affairs between Orthros and Tenebra are no longer your responsibility, I would not wish it to be an imposition on you that you are called upon to be my guide for the duration of the embassy.”

  Hespera’s Mercy. Invitation? Nay, her words were closer akin to evaluation.

  It was the king’s daughter who spoke. Perhaps he should have expected it, but he hadn’t, and it galled him. This strategic approach. These probing words that said one thing and meant another. None of that had any place between them. “How can you imagine the opportunity to spend time with a lady such as yourself would ever be an imposition?”

  Her smile stunned him. That smile was all Cassia. No calculation. Only her and the sadness she carried as if it were her second skin. “Orthros is your home. You have much to occupy you here. It would be understandable if your duty to attend me has pulled you away from your preferred pursuits.”

  She was not sure of him. She sought some sign that he desired to be near her, reassurance that his presence here was not merely a fulfillment of obligation or his response to a crisis. He had been right to fear. His message to her on the Equinox had not been enough. Goddess, what he had done to Cassia’s attackers last night had not been enough. What in that violence had said anything to her about love?

  Mak and Lyros were also right. Lio had wasted enough effort agonizing over his failure to tell Cassia how important she was to him.

  He would put her uncertainties to rest. Now and for good.

  As they walked, he let the distance between them shrink. He would endure it. She needed him closer. “You imagine I am not impatient to resume the pursuits that occupied me during the Summit? On the contrary, I remain deeply committed to ensuring the best possible relations between Hesperine and human.” He looked down at her and waited until her gaze darted up to meet his. “It is my greatest vice. I am single-minded, once I find a challenge to sink my teeth into.” He gave her a hint of a smile. Just enough for a glimpse of his canines.

  Her melancholy fled, routed by a lovely flush that made her blood hum beneath her skin. What a reward for his comment. What torture.

  Her gaze lingered on his mouth an instant longer than proper, then darted away. “I should think your firmness of purpose would be considered a virtue.”

  Lio swallowed. “Alas, my passion has not met with universal approval. Since the night I left Solorum, my constant requests to the Queens for reassignment to Tenebra have met with adamant refusal. With so much at stake, it was not deemed an appropriate task for someone of my tender years, despite my insistence that my role in the Summit prepared me well.”

  “With heartfelt respect for your Queens, I must agree with you. It seems to me your contributions to the cause of peace have been sorely missed.”

  “I am here tonight in the hopes of discovering whether that is true. I finally succeeded in convincing the Queens that my place is here, involved with Tenebra.”

  “How generous of them to grant such an escort to me. I count myself fortunate to be the subject of your personal attention, Ambassador.”

  “I can promise you an unforgettable stay. We shall see to it your time is filled with all that interests and delights you. I seem to recall you and your hound often take your exercise on the palace grounds.” He looked across the room at Knight, wondering if he could still rely on Cassia’s protector to take a bite out of him if he tried anything inappropriate. The dog’s repose, complete with lolling, drooling tongue, suggested not. “Tell me, Lady Cassia, do you still enjoy a walk in the woods?”

  That simmering warmth in her gaze, the little secret smile at the corners of her mouth. That was what he had been waiting for. “I love nothing better. I am very sorry to say I have had little opportunity in the last six months. I miss it dearly.”

  “Really? I was sure you were surrounded by young warriors eager to take you hunting.” There was nothing like a token display of jealousy to assure a lover of one’s interest. Token jealousy. Nothing more. “I hear one lord in particular is renowned for his horsemanship and very fond of the chase.”

  “I have no interest in sport.” She glided beside him like a swan, chin high. “Only those who do not play can win my attention.”

  “Of that I have no doubt.”

  “The affairs that engross me are not games.”

  “I know,” he said with all seriousness. “This time has been fruitful for you.”

  She glanced at him, and he caught a glimpse of her surprise again. “It has.”

  “I only hope you do not feel your duty to the embassy is an imposition on you.” Now at last they came to the first, most important question he had intended to ask her.

  Her eyes widened ever so slightly. “An imposition on me?”

  That she let such candid words slip through her composure gave Lio his answer.

  “I am most honored to be welcomed among your people, Ambassador Deukalion,” she hastened to add, her guise of calm in place again. “My inclusion in the embassy came as a surprise, to be sure, but an imposition? Certainly not.”

  “Why should it surprise you, when you received a similar invitation to the council table during the Equinox Summit?”

  “I had hoped to see this request for my presence in the same light, but I did not wish to presume. I take nothing for granted.”

  “Nor do I.” He lowered his voice. “But whatever you see in this request, it could not possibly be a presumption. The invitation is yours. Make of it all that you will.”

  She drifted to a halt, rotating to face him, and the candles behind her cast a glow around the edges of her hair. “Then I shall consider it the opportunity I have long awaited and hoped for.”

  Hope. Lio did not know when he had felt so much of it. “I would be very interested to discuss all that you’ve achieved since we last met. Would you care to walk the grounds here?” He could not resist giving her a suggestive smile, although it surely appeared less seductive with his lips shut. “My grounds look their best after dark. Nights in Orthros are unlike anywhere else.”

  “What a lovely invitation, Ambassador. But I’m afraid a walk is not what I have in mind. All I wish to do is go to bed. After last night—”

  “—you endured a horrific ordeal. Of course you need your rest.” Lio quashed his hopes. How could he? He must not make such demands on her. It was too soon.

  “Indeed, after the great difficulties I had to overcome to finally reach my goal, I can think of nothing else but bed.” She covered her mouth and feigned quite a believable yawn, using it to disguise the way her gaze swept over him.

  Shameless. Divine. Lio’s blood sang in his veins. She did want a tryst. Tonight. Now. Merciful Goddess, the wait was at an end.

  “You appear quite exhausted, Lady Cassia. I apologize for keeping you, when you must want nothing more than to get off your feet.” He leaned down, as if to speak to her in confidence. The scent of her hair filled his nose, and he saw her shiver as his own breath touched her skin. “You needn’t linger at our little gathering any longer. You have fulfilled your duty to my honored mother, I assure you. It will ease the minds of all those who are concerned for you if you retire early.”

  “How kind of you to reassure me, Ambassador. I think I shall do as you suggest.”

  Lio felt the air behind him shift and heard the tread of boots on the stone floor. A male, medium height and broad-shouldered, who smelled of ripe wheat and the tanned hide of goats long since sacrificed for his attire. It was the man who had been breathing down Cassia’s neck earlier. The relentless Tenebran was apparently bent on reclaiming her and had broken free of Lio’s mother.

  As Cassia’s keeper closed in, Lio’s frustration gripped him, a physical force. How dare this man come betwe
en him and his Grace?

  Lio could not subdue his animosity. But he forced himself not to take another step closer to Cassia. Instead, he straightened and turned to face the intruder.

  “Benedict.” Cassia at least succeeded in delivering a friendly greeting. “Have you met Ambassador Deukalion?”

  The man gave Lio a brief, rigid bow. “Ambassador.”

  “Ambassador,” Cassia echoed. It sounded like a completely different word to Lio when she said it. Not formal at all. “Allow me to present Sir Benedict, First Knight of Segetia, my Lord Flavian’s dearest friend.”

  Sir Benedict’s granite expression did not change. “You flatter me, Your Ladyship.”

  “Not in the least, Benedict.” Cassia smiled.

  She called him by his first name? The benevolent expression on her face was genuine. She did not regard this man as a threat. So, he was an inconvenience, but an innocent bystander. Lio must endeavor to remember that each time he felt the urge to subject the man to a Moon Warrior, then finish him off with a Mortal Vice.

  “Benedict.” Cassia took his arm. “I have a confession. I believe I may have overtaxed myself. I think I need more rest than I thought, after last night.”

  The man’s aura filled with worry. “Allow me to escort you to your room right away, Your Ladyship.”

  Cassia gave Lio a courtesy that presented him with a lovely glimpse of her neck and her neckline. The view could not have had a greater effect on him, had she worn half as much clothing. His body might be deprived, but his imagination was much too well fed.

  Sir Benedict would see Cassia delivered, supposedly untarnished, to her rooms, never knowing what awaited her once she was abed. That gave Lio enough satisfaction that he could let her go. For the moment.

  Just one more touch before he was forced to surrender. He caught her hand. As his lips touched her gloved fingers, the scent of the blood under the fabric and her skin brought moisture to his mouth. “Sweet dreams, Lady Cassia.”

  Rescue