by Sharon Page
“Which queen is it?” the second blond man asked.
“That is my husband’s brother, Mr. Sebastian de Wynter,” Lady Brookshire explained. “Now we must move quickly. You come with me, Lady Ophelia, and I will find you clothing. The men can determine which queen this is and how to carry out a rescue.”
Lady Brookshire spoke soothingly, and she put her hand on Ophelia’s back and guided her toward the stairs. But Ophelia balked. There was one logical reason they were leaving the men to discuss things—to arrange for her to be left behind.
“I must go, too,” Ophelia cried. “No one else would try to save Ravenhunt.” And Ravenhunt would be the least likely to try to save himself.
“Of course, you will go.” Lady Brookshire looked up and locked gazes with her husband.
“It’s too dangerous,” Harry insisted.
“It would be wiser for her to stay here,” Brookshire began.
“You know what women are like, my dear husband,” her ladyship said softly. “We will go, so there is no point trying to sneak away. You will all be in grave danger if you do.”
“From Jade?” Harry asked, frowning.
“No, from your sister and me. You men will need weapons, and you will need to plan. That will take several minutes. In that time, Ophelia, you can dress. Let us not waste more time.”
A few minutes. Ophelia did not know how long she had. Raven had left with the vampire queen just before her brother had found her. It had taken them less than half an hour to reach Brookshire’s house.
But what if she was already too late?
His sister was so lovely, so innocent, and she had fainted dead away the moment she saw him.
Raven paced in his cell, in the basement of the house used by Queen Jade. Rats scampered through the dark. He hissed at them, baring his fangs to scare them away.
He had let Jade lock him in here. He had followed Jade docilely down the stairs with his hands tied behind his back, though both knew he could have broken the bonds easily. With Frederica’s life in danger, he could not disobey. He could not try to escape.
Until he rid himself of the power, he couldn’t even touch Frederica.
Raven gripped the iron bars that fronted his cage. He had demanded of Jade one small favor—he had wanted to give up the power and rescue his sister, but he had not wanted his sister to see him after. Frederica was to be taken home, and he would ensure she never set eyes on him again. After all, once he turned the power over to Jade, he would be destroyed.
It was like a punch in the gut to be so close to his sister, and to know he had to turn his back on her forever. But she had been shocked so badly to discover he was alive. He could not break her heart completely to let her discover he was a vampire.
This was for her sake.
Jade was to tell his sister that she had imagined seeing him. That it had been a hallucination, brought on by fear, or by opium, or whatever lie Jade could concoct. Frederica was to be left to believe he was dead.
It would bring her peace. And he would be—finally—actually dead.
“You are troubled, my beautiful one.”
The sultry voice belonged to Jade. Deep in thought, he had not sensed her approach. The basement was pitch dark, but he saw her, of course. Jade wore a loose black gown made entirely of lace. She moved as if she heard an imaginary waltz, like a feather floating upon a breeze. When she wanted, she could make her every step sexually arousing. Using the walk Raven remembered, she approached his cell.
He wasn’t aroused. He hated this woman who had turned him.
When he’d been bleeding to death in the dirt in Ceylon, she had come to him. “You are too beautiful to die,” she’d said. As he lay there, feeling damned cold, and wondering why he’d ever thought hunting for battles was a solution, she’d drained his blood, taking him to the point of unconsciousness. Then she’d ripped a gash in her wrist and put it to his mouth.
The blood had slicked over his lips. He’d thought he wanted death. If he’d died then, he would have died honorably, and his soul would have gone to heaven.
But when Jade had told him he could live if he took her blood, he’d drunk it. He’d grasped at life. The joke was that he wasn’t alive, he was undead.
“What is wrong, Ravenhunt?” Jade demanded. “Don’t ignore me. Answer me.”
“Take this damned power now, so my sister can go free.”
“When I do that, you will die, my love.”
“I am not your love. I’m ready for destruction. I’m finally willing to do what I should have done years ago—die for someone I love.”
Jade ran her long-fingered hand suggestively up and down the bar of his cell. “It would be a shame to let you die. I could fall in love with you, but that would not spare you. Alas, it has to be her. Lady Ophelia, the frightened virgin.”
“She was anything but that,” he growled. “Ophelia has remarkable strength and courage. She was a virgin, but she is a sensual, beautiful, desirable woman.”
“You are in love with her. I spared your life and you never loved me. You were my lover, but I never touched your heart once. Yet this inexperienced girl has captivated you.”
“She is worthy of love. She’s also worthy of someone better than me.”
Jade smirked. “If she declares her love for you, you could be spared.”
“She won’t, so there’s no point in waiting.”
“Why won’t she? You have been making love to her for days now. Surely a handsome and virile gentleman such as you could capture her heart.”
“She doesn’t know the entire truth. I discovered it. You had me assassinate her older brother.”
Jade leaned closer to the bars. “Yes,” she purred. “Why do you think she has this power? The eldest brother and Ophelia were not children of the woman they believed was their mother. Their father, the earl, was in the thrall of a dangerous demon. He was obsessed with her, utterly in her power. This demon had him impregnate her, then she used her powers to transfer the babies to his wife, who bore them not knowing they were a demon’s children. Lady Ophelia’s brother was a demon who was developing the powers of a warlock. Soon, he turned to the dark arts. He had to be killed.”
“You had him killed because he was a threat to you?”
Jade inclined her head, her black hair rippling like water. “Of course. But he was also a threat to them. Had he been allowed to live, he would have destroyed his entire family. Evil was rich in his heart. He had attacked his younger brother once. Young Harold was spared only because the older brother’s powers were not strong then. He would have killed your beloved, Ophelia, but her power protected her. It was not just that he could not touch her. His magic could not work on her. Lady Ophelia should not hate you for what you had to do.”
“She will anyway,” Raven snarled. “She’s been alone for so long and has longed for love and family. I refuse to let her ever know that her eldest brother was evil. I don’t want her to know any of this. I want her to have happiness.”
“You think she will if you are dead?”
“She will,” he said. “She will fall in love with someone else. I’m ready, my queen.” Raven spat that out with sarcasm. “Take the power from me. It’s time I pay the price for my sins.”
16
The Throne Room
“How will we find Jade?” Ophelia turned to Lady Brookshire. Three maids were also in the elegant dressing room off Lady Brookshire’s bedchamber, waiting to help Ophelia hurriedly into clothing. The gown she was to borrow was simple and beautiful, but still, she protested, “Why do we not wear trousers and shirts and boots? It would make everything much easier.”
Lady Brookshire tapped her chin. “An excellent idea. Much better for an attack on a dangerous vampire queen.” Her ladyship commanded gently to the two young maids, “Raid the wardrobes of my husband and Mr. de Wynter and bring us some of their clothes.” To her lady’s maid, she said, “Robbins, you will stay and will undress me.”
Ophelia felt a spurt of panic.
“My lady, I was just joking. We shouldn’t—”
“It will not take me long.” Indeed, Lady Brookshire had her dress undone and removed in moments. The other maids bustled in with trousers and white shirts draped over their arms.
Ophelia hated every moment it took to dress, but at least it was quick to pull on a shirt and trousers. At first she tried to wear her shift for modesty, then abandoned the idea, and pulled off her muslin underclothes. Her breasts were free beneath the shirt, jiggling as she moved, and there was nothing between her trousers and her privates.
But she felt ready for adventure. Even her feminine clothes, she realized, had felt like a prison.
Lady Brookshire opened the door. “Good, you are ready. We must go.”
“Where are we going to go?” Ravenhunt told her nothing, probably to ensure she couldn’t stop him. There was so much pain in him. Did he want to be destroyed to escape that pain?
“I know where the queens reside,” Lady Brookshire said. “The places they go and the houses they use. As do my husbands—I mean, as does my husband. Sebastian knows these things, too. He is my brother by marriage.”
Lady Brookshire appeared flustered, but she took a composing breath and said more clearly, “We know about the vampire queens. There are three houses used by Queen Jade. We will find Ravenhunt and his sister at one of them.”
She hugged Ophelia. “Don’t worry. We will save him. I have gone up against the vampire queens before. There is always a way to give them what they want, while you get what you want.”
It was good to be embraced, but Ophelia couldn’t take much comfort from it. “I do not see how, my lady. Ravenhunt assured me I would despise him for what he did and that our love would never survive it. I want to believe it would. My love is the only thing that can save him. What if there truly is something so awful in his past that I can no longer love him?”
“We will cope with that when it happens.” Lady Brookshire faced her. “When the time comes, I will be able to help you.”
“How? How could you help me love Ravenhunt?”
“I have learned how love is the most precious thing. I think I could help you learn that, too.”
“I know it is precious,” Ophelia protested. “But it is not easy to love someone.”
“No.” A soft smile. “It definitely is not. But you understand that, and that is most of the battle.”
Ophelia did not argue. She had no time to dispute or debate love. What she must do was believe in it, believe in Ravenhunt, and save him.
Lady Brookshire strode to a wardrobe in the corner. “To go, we will need weapons. This could be a mission of combat, after all.” She swung open the doors.
Ophelia gaped at the contents. Crossbows. Stakes. Lethal daggers. Swords in scabbards. “These are yours?”
“For times when discussion will not work. They usually work better on gentlemen than on ladies. Men are much more enthralled by a woman carrying a weapon.”
“Enthralled? Not frightened? It sounded as if you mean men find it . . . arousing.”
“Exactly. Now, let us go.”
Ophelia was amazed at how comfortable the countess appeared in her husband’s clothing. As they walked down the stairs, Lady Brookshire explained, “Queen Jade is the queen of a smaller clan. We have learned that the very ancient vampires divided themselves into houses at one time, and a queen ran each house. As time went on, after many betrayals, murders, and slayings, the houses dissolved. Vampires became more independent in many ways. But the queens still have great power, and they wield it. Queen Jade is originally from the Himalayan Mountains, north of China. She has lived in England for hundreds of years.”
Ophelia nodded, drinking in every detail.
“She is queen of a lesser house,” Lady Brookshire continued. “If she demanded your power, it is probably because she wants to be stronger.”
“I can’t let her get it from Ravenhunt. The woman is ruthless—” She hesitated. “If vampire slayers know about the queens and their power, why do you not destroy them?”
“There is a long history of vampire slayers making deals with the queens.”
“Isn’t that wrong?”
“Not all slayers believed vampires should be completely eradicated. We can live together.”
“Is that really possible?” Ophelia stopped. “I am so sorry. I forgot that you and your husband are vampires. I did not mean any offense.”
Lady Brookshire smiled. “I am accustomed to it. Your doubt is quite understandable. But remember, any mortal can choose to be a threat to other mortals. Any human can become a murderer. In the same way, a vampire can choose not to be a predator and respect human life.”
“Ravenhunt didn’t.” She bit her lip. Did that not say he should be destroyed? Yet in her heart she didn’t want to believe that.
“I believe he has changed. Slayers watch the vampires. Ravenhunt has been changing his ways, and he has only chosen the worst of human society to feed upon. He drinks from men who prey on weaker people such as women and children. And he has ensured he left them alive. I suspect he has changed for you.”
“But why?” she asked.
“Perhaps love?”
Ophelia jerked in shock. She had thought a lot about whether she loved Ravenhunt. She had not really thought about whether he loved her. What was wrong with her? Most women in love thought of nothing else.
Did he care for her? He hadn’t wanted her to die when he took her power.
But that wasn’t quite a declaration of undying love.
“You think we can bargain with this woman, Jade, for Ravenhunt’s life,” she said to Lady Brookshire.
“You must show her all the respect you would show England’s royalty. They require it, and when they are angry there is always hell to pay. But yes, I believe we can. I also believe love can spare him. I know so many it has saved. He was the Marquis of Ravenhunt, was he not?”
Ophelia nodded. “He must have kept the name when he became a vampire, instead of his actual surname.”
“It is Rollingsworth. For his Christian name, we do have a Burke’s Peerage.”
Most young ladies knew the surnames of English peers, but once she had been cloistered away from the world, she had no longer been treated as normal. Why would she have to know it, as she would never be out in Society and would never marry?
Ravenhunt hadn’t told her his true name. He had required her love, but he had not even been willing to give her his name. Had he intended to embrace destruction all along?
As they reached a set of white double doors, one opened. Mr. Sebastian de Wynter stepped out, a crossbow held casually at his hip. His golden hair was loose, and fell to his shoulders. “Our evil queen Jade has acquired three buildings,” he drawled. “She resides in a new town house on the outskirts of Mayfair, owns a lavish estate in the country, and operates a brothel in the stews. As you know, my dear sister-by-marriage, many brothels are owned by the vampire queens.”
Lady Brookshire did not even blush. “Indeed, I do know that. Now, which one will she use? Do you have any clues, Ophelia?”
She remembered everything Ravenhunt had said about Jade. At first she kept me with her at all times, like a pet. “He lived in a house on the fringe of Mayfair with Jade. It was only blocks from his sister, but he was not allowed to go to her. If Jade is proud, would she use one of her more elaborate homes, such as the estate or the Mayfair house?”
“Very logical,” Mr. de Wynter praised.
“She would want somewhere she could quickly transport a mortal,” Lady Brookshire said.
Ophelia knew quite a lot about prisons. She had been kept prisoner in her house for years, then as one at Mrs. Darkwell’s. “I think Jade would take him back to the prison he had once lived in,” she said. “To teach him a lesson. I think she would have taken him to—”
She and Lady Brookshire said, at the exact moment, “The Mayfair house.”
“We think she will be using the Mayfair house.” Panting,
Harry ran out into the hall, from the same door as Sebastian de Wynter.
Harry had a crossbow, held in a more ready position. Lord Brookshire followed Harry.
“The ladies have already figured that out,” de Wynter said respectfully.
But Ophelia felt a pang of doubt. She had never led anyone anywhere. “I know each second counts. What if I am wrong, Lady Brookshire?”
Lady Brookshire took her hand. “Believe in yourself, my dear. I suspect that is hard for you to do. It took me time to do so, and I was trained as a vampire slayer. I had to learn where I belonged. You told me you were kept a prisoner. Unfortunately, all along, you’ve believed you deserved such treatment. You do not. Look to your heart and your soul, and you will know what to do.”
How could she know from her heart and soul? Anything would be only a guess—
No, from what Raven had told her, she was convinced it was right. She believed in herself.
Lady Brookshire’s eyes twinkled. “You must call me Althea. All my very good friends do.”
“Thank you, Althea. And you are right. I do feel certain about this,” she said firmly.
“If you believe you are correct, that is enough for me,” Lord Brookshire said.
A footman ran up to them, breathing hard, his wig askew. “My lord, your carriage is waiting.”
“Come.” Sebastian de Wynter put his arm across Ophelia’s shoulders and gently turned her in the direction of the foyer. “Let us rescue Ravenhunt and his sister.”
But Harry grasped her hand. “Ophelia, do you care for Ravenhunt? Even though he took you prisoner?”
She nodded. “I love him.” She touched her brother’s arm. “You mustn’t destroy him. He is not bad. He’s changed. You don’t have to take just my word for it. Lady Brookshire is convinced he has.”
“He was bitter and angry,” Harry said. “He assassinated vampires, preying on them as he did on mortals. For that, the Royal Society let him live. It was advantageous to them to. But Frederica—his sister—believed he had changed after his fiancée died.”
“He was engaged?”