by Lexi C. Foss
I stared at him, narrowing my eyes before I went back to arranging his arsenal as his knights helped me. It took more than four hours before I’d finished and stepped back, scanning over every box of ammo and every arrow that now was precisely where it belonged. Turning on my heel, I asked one of the knights where I could find Rhys’s office, and then was escorted there, which had become a new normal.
I knocked on the door, stepping inside when he called out for me to enter. His eyes slipped over my shoulder, and the guard exited, closing the door behind him. Rhys’s office was huge and masculine. He had large filing drawers, with weird writing on the front next to a large wooden hutch that had dragons and the Van Helsing insignia carved into the front. On the other wall was an extensive display of books. Placed in the middle of the largest, widest shelf was the sword I’d crafted for him, prominently on display.
“Sit, Remington,” Rhys exhaled tiredly. I moved forward in the jeans and corset top I wore, sitting in the chair, crossing my legs while I lifted my glare on him. “Tomorrow is the celebration of Beltane, and with it, we observe certain traditions.”
“I understand,” I said dismissively.
I hadn’t spoken more than a few curt words to him since he’d left me in bed. Last night, he’d finally agreed to let me move into the other room on the condition that the knights stood guard. They stood there all night long, and to top it all off, Rhys demanded the door connecting mine to his remain open. No amount of arguing had changed Rhys having an open door into my room.
“Is that it then?” I asked, standing up.
“Sit down,” he said, studying me as I looked anywhere but at him. “It’s going to be rather stimulating and sexual compared to what you are used to.”
“I’m a witch. It will be fine.”
“Everyone will expect you to pick a partner for the night,” he announced, and I paused, turning to look at him.
“Okay,” I said, holding his stare without blinking. “I’ll find someone.”
The pen he held snapped into several pieces. His eyes narrowed as the sound of his back teeth grinding together almost brought a smile to my lips, but I hadn’t found anything to smile about lately. I had felt somewhat normal after being able to be inside an armory again. It wasn’t mine, though, and I wasn’t the weapon’s master of his armory. I dropped my eyes as he cleaned the ink off his hand, continuing to watch me silently.
“A partner to sleep with, Remington.”
“I didn’t assume you meant a dance partner, Van Helsing.” I swallowed past the tightening in my throat, turning to gaze at the sword that had sealed my fate.
He had it on display like a trophy. Go figure. He probably wanted everyone who entered to see and notice it. Rhys cleared his throat, drawing my attention back to him. I studied his face, noting the tight corners of his mouth and eyes as he decided on what to say.
“It’s not a trophy. It’s a display of honor, Remi. Before I placed your blade there, my father’s prized sword occupied that space. It, too, was a work of craftsmanship and held a special place in my heart. I replaced it with yours to remind me that changes are happening, and we’re evolving. The changes in how we will deal with one another are going to be a process, and sometimes we need a reminder close at hand to make them happen. I’m not used to dealing with young people. Cole normally has that responsibility. As alpha, I make the hard choices that protect my people at all costs. Having a full-blooded Silversmith appear from thin air, well, it isn’t easy for any of us. Your family wasn’t loved, mostly because they came from nothing and then ruled everything without a care who they hurt in the process.”
“Is this where you tell me how low we were? How unworthy of being in your prestige graces I am?” I asked, hoping to skip over the holier-than-thou speech.
“No, this is a tale from rags to riches, and how power corrupted what was once a decent family of strong women. Your family enjoyed coming into power, but that wasn’t enough for some. Some wanted to sit on the throne and to control every alpha house. That is how the Silversmith started to become hated by every alpha. The code is simple: take care of those who count on you and remain in the shadows. Roslyn wanted more power, and so she simply took it, and I helped her accomplish that goal, blinded by her beauty. When I was with her, everything seemed right. All my troubles faded away, and I could be me, the knight who swooped in to protect her and keep her safe. It wasn’t enough for her, nor was I. She reached for entire houses, which forced me to step back. I began to see her lust-filled stares at anyone she wanted because no one was ever enough,” he said, swallowing hard against the words.
“When Roslyn asked to speak to my mother, I was blind to what she truly wanted. I allowed it to happen, Remington. I walked my sweet mother into that viper’s house, where Roslyn handed her off to her father to rape and murder with Silversmith silver. My mother was the first alpha to be murdered by your family, but she wasn’t the last. I spent my time serving Roslyn, pretending to be her knight, which made my family hate me more than they hated her. I did anything she asked, and then I took her down. You think I want the immortal throne, but I don’t need it. I have it already. You think I need your silver, and again, I don’t, not really. I need a Silversmith to show the others that when your family returns, they cannot slaughter us. Your presence guarantees peace among a race that is lethal, and I will do whatever it takes to win against your bloodline.”
“If you’re trying to turn me against my family, save your breath,” I snorted, holding his intense stare. “Over three hundred years have passed, and you don’t know if they intend even to return. Here’s the thing, you all made horrible mistakes. I didn’t. I’m just a girl who wanted to make weapons and hunt down the bad guys. I didn’t want to spend my life hiding, so I ran away. I came back because something was wrong, and ended up as your silver, and I don’t even fully understand what it means. It must be something huge if none of my family has ever gifted it before. I get that I’m basically your medieval wife, or whatever, but that’s where my knowledge ends. You’re no better than my mother. She kept so many secrets, and by the time I was old enough to be told the truth, it was too late.”
“Had I taken your silver, and not given my vow, our arrangement would have been one-sided, Remington.”
“That means nothing to me, even though I know it means something to you.”
“Your soul belongs to me and mine to you. Whether we’re going to end up lovers, friends, or enemies, well, that will depend on us. What we choose to be to one another will determine our path when we’re reborn.” Rhys stood to grab the whiskey from the hutch, setting a glass in front of me. I fought the panic threatening to consume me. “Our arrangement isn’t just for this lifetime. It’s something souls do when they’re given. In this case, between our bloodlines, it is silver weapons, or a promise of a knightly duty that, once given, cannot be taken back. If I hadn’t taken your silver, Cole would have, even with my name on it. You’re innocent. Cole would have asked, and you’d have handed it to him. I accepted your offer, so that you wouldn’t become his because the thought of you belonging to anyone, well, I couldn’t allow it to happen.”
“You could have told me what it meant and allowed me the choice to melt it back down. You could have told me that I was sealing not only the rest of my life but every lifetime after this one too, Rhys. You don’t even like me, so why would you do this?”
“To ensure peace remains, and that your family doesn’t rise up to start World War III, slaughtering humans in the process, as they did last time. It wasn’t just my family who stood outside your family’s house, watching them burn, Remi. We all did. Every alpha in every branch helped us trap the Silversmiths into that mansion and set it ablaze. Do you think your sweet mother is going to forgive us? Or do you think she will want to avenge the children we slaughtered? Her children and her mate were within that home, and I assure you, they weren’t immortal. I know, because I buried them.
“My family returned the next da
y and gave yours eternal rest because we did owe them that much because not all of them were evil. It was more than they had done for my mother. Knowing what I do now, that some survived, I’m willing to guess it wasn’t any of the good ones because they’d never have left those children behind to die by fire. Fire isn’t a good death, not when the flames moved faster than the smoke, offering them no relief from the pain. So no, Remington,” he stated, handing me the glass of whiskey, “I couldn’t let you walk away because you are going to mean the difference between winning this war and losing it.” His eyes held mine, and I lowered them, peering anywhere but into the cunning stare that was smug as shit.
“You are not evil. Not yet, anyway. I could have done this differently and told you the truth, but had I done that, you’d never have believed me, let alone trusted me. At the end of the day, I’m a Van Helsing, and you’re Remington Silversmith. You were born my enemy, and I chose to become yours. Don’t choose an alpha tomorrow, because then I’ll have to kill them to claim their child should you produce one during the festival of fertility. I respect most of the alphas because we’ve worked very hard to bring order to our world since it crumbled at the hands of your family. As an alpha, I can take the child of a beta as my own and raise it. I’d never wish to remove a child from its father, but in this case, because of the nature of the blood you carry, I would. You can go.” Rhys stared at me as I sat there, numb from what he’d dropped in my lap.
As I processed his words, my heart thundered against my chest, and I wanted to slap him, scream at him, or do something to release the pain his words had caused. I was stuck with him for eternity, and any child I had, he would take. Was I supposed to just accept that? Fuck that and him.
“That dark look of absolute rejection burning within your stare, Remi,” he mumbled softly. “The pain you’re feeling? That’s why I didn’t tell you. I’m a sadistic bastard who enjoys my role, but your pain doesn’t bring me joy. I sort of hate you for it because it tells me you’re a weakness I cannot afford.”
I downed the drink, holding the glass back out for more, watching him hesitate. “You just told me that I’m stuck with you one way or another until the world blows up, and even then, I can’t escape you in our next life. I don’t see it happening soon enough for it to be relevant, so pour me a damn drink, Van Helsing. Tell me about the festival. Or tell me something not horrible about this world in which I was born.”
“Your dress is finished. I allowed it to be silver to symbolize your house. You’ll wear the only silver ribbon as well. When you choose a partner, you tie it around his wrist, and at the end of the night, if he chooses you, you will be his for twenty-four hours to procreate. Most can’t create life anymore or have lost the ability because of what they’ve become. As you know, Beltane is the only time of the year that immortals are fertile. Therefore, any children born to immortals are off-limits in feuds, since breeding is such a rare occasion.”
“Unless they’re Silversmith children? In which case, you’d take them from me,” I countered harshly, watching his throat bob at my reply. “That was an asshole thing to say.”
“But true,” he admitted without removing his heated stare from mine. “They’re off-limits again, though. That shouldn’t have happened. Rage, grief, and fear create monsters. They don’t think before they act, and when they do, it’s done harshly and without care to those they harm. We didn’t start out as monsters, Remi. We became the monsters to prevent a war, unlike anything the mortals would have ever seen. Us giving into our demons allowed us to prevent the humans from perishing to a greedy bitch who wanted too much. Had Roslyn gotten her way, she’d be the immortal queen of all the houses. But her greed wouldn’t have ended there. She’d want the entire world. Roslyn was tired of hiding who and what she was. She wanted it all. She’d do something so horrid and then cry for forgiveness afterward, and everyone always forgave her.”
“Almost everyone,” I whispered, sipping the cup. “Someone needed to stop her,” I admitted, sipping the whiskey while lifting my eyes to hold his stare. “Evil is evil, and sometimes it is blood. Roslyn sounds like a psychotic, murderous bitch. I’ll pick a beta, because if I have a child, no one is taking it from me, Rhys. Not even you. As I said, I take pride in the things I create, and if I create life, I will assure it is perfect, and I will raise my children myself because that’s important to me.”
“I figured you would want your child, Remington. You’re the kind of woman that men look for as a mate. You’re smart, beautiful, and there’s a loyalty within you that not many people can even begin to understand. I went through your files from E.V.I.E. last night. You entered under an alias, Remi Cordova, and earned the entire division’s highest marksmanship scores. You marked higher than pure born witches in magic skills, and yet you chose to make weapons. You could have done anything you wanted within E.V.I.E. and gone straight to the highest-ranking level of hunter, but you chose not to do so. Why?”
“Because your bloodline cursed mine, and that limits me. I’d have put others in danger, and that wasn’t something I could allow. Sometimes we have to accept our faults, see our limitations, and understand what they mean for others and ourselves. I know mine, and I know what they mean for others. I can’t expect others to save me all the time. So, I stayed where I could help E.V.I.E. the most. I am a good shot, powerfully blessed with magic, and I can hunt down my enemies. The thing is, to do so, I’d have had to lie about being cursed, and I am many things, Rhys, but a liar isn’t one of them. Sleep well, Van Helsing,” I whispered, setting the glass on the table and leaving him to ponder my words.
23
I stared into the mirror, amazed and blown away by what the women working for Rhys had been able to do with my appearance. The dress he had commissioned for me was a work of art. Silver beadwork covered the corset, with a flowing bell skirt creating layers of fine silk that flowed to the floor beautifully. The only jewelry I wore was a simple silver necklace containing an infinity symbol dangling from a thin chain. It was delicate, simple, and beautiful. Rhys had dropped the necklace off earlier, and I wasn’t sure if it was for my protection or a gift. Either way, I was thankful to feel some resemblance of defense tonight.
My hair was curled and placed into an updo with a few strands left down to frame my face. Makeup was applied, but only to enhance my eyes and lips with light color since tonight wasn’t about transforming into something we weren’t. It was about freeing yourself from the constraint of the modern world.
Beltane was all about new life. It was the celebration of a man and woman coming together to create life. It was also the celebration announcing summer to the world. They lit fires to fill the world with new light while heating it with renewed warmth.
“I look like a goddess!” Nyx bounced from foot to foot in her red dress that had a deep V-line neck exposing the curves of her ample breasts. “I cannot wait for them to undress us, because I’m literally wearing nothing but panties beneath this dress!”
I swallowed, lifting my narrowing eyes to glare at her, shock filtering through my expression. “Excuse me?”
“Oh, he didn’t tell you, did he?” she winced overdramatically, even though her smile was firmly still in place.
“What didn’t he tell me?” I asked, assuming she was referring to Rhys. When she cocked her head to the side, slowly frowning, her mouth puckered into a tight line, and I groaned. “Spill it, Nyx!”
“Halfway through the night, they bare the maidens to the men. They strip us down to our undies before parading us through the courtyard. They do it so men who haven’t chosen a consort for the night can make their final choice on who to take into the forest until dawn.”
“Do they actually go into the forest?” I questioned, turning as a knock sounded at the door to my room.
“Well, no. Everyone has a room to sleep in, of course. Some will choose to go into the forest as is tradition, but pinecones in the vagina is a hard limit for some of us. Pine needles hurt in certain places, and
they poke your ass as well.” She dabbed her finger against her ruby-red lips, fixing her lipstick before moving to the door, peering out into the hallway. “Your jailers are ready to escort us down,” Nyx called over her shoulder, and I exhaled a soft sigh.
I had knights escorting me everywhere since Rhys had started allowing me to move freely throughout his home. I was unable to escape them, even during mealtime. It was unnerving, but it made me feel safer while his family was here.
Moving to the door, I paused. Nyx grabbed me, turning me to face her as if she had something important to say. “You’re wearing something sexy beneath the dress, right? Like something that will knock Rhys’s dick right up to punch him in the nose?”
“It wasn’t that big of a dick, Nyx.” Swallowing, I listened as the knights choked or smothered their laughter with coughs. “Besides, he isn’t interested in me. He told me to choose a beta for tonight. That way, if I created a child tonight, he could take it. He isn’t choosing me tonight.”
“He named you the May Queen, and himself the Forest King. He basically wrote his name on your vagina, woman.” Coughing exploded outside of the room, and I stepped into the hall as my knight, Luis, smothered a laugh as he reached behind us to close the door.
“You look beautiful tonight, My Lady,” Luis said, bowing his head, which made me smile at the chivalry he was displaying.
“Thank you,” I replied, moving further down the hall. The knights surrounded us as other guests filtered from their rooms and into the hallway, making their way to the courtyard.
“Rhys wants you, Remi. It’s as simple and complicated as that. The issue is, he’s the alpha.”
“He doesn’t want me like that anymore. If he did, he’d have finished one of the times he started, but he’d rather answer the door or whatever, and leave me needlessly hanging.”