“Of course, but Michaela? You should know that the entire security staff for this hotel has been alerted to the situation. Your sister, cousins, you—all are safe here, but you cannot leave. You are free to explore the hotel as you wish, but you cannot leave the building. Except for the inner garden, which you’ve already explored some.”
“A gilded cage, I understand. At least until my brother and uncle find us. And they will. My brother will not stop until he finds us.”
The man’s expression tightened, turned contemplative. Odd for the longest moment. Then he smiled. “Your brother will find more here among the Dardaptoans than he would ever have expected.”
“What do you mean?”
“I will introduce you to the woman your older brother will marry. I think you will like her. You have much in common.”
“You really are crazy, aren’t you?”
“Maybe just a bit. I am 643 years old, after all.”
“Uh-huh. Sure you are.”
Mickey walked away, toward the room where she could see a large, antique bed dominating the space. It was a beautiful bed, hand carved with gold inlay. The design on the headboard was the same as that on the cover of the book she still held. Why was she so reluctant to let go of the book? She didn’t know, but she was. This book was hers, now.
A change of clothing was laid out on the bed right where he had said it would be. Mickey placed the book on the nightstand reluctantly and grabbed the clothes, before slipping into the bathroom. Would he make good on his vow? Or would he wait until she was asleep and slip into the bed with her? She shivered at that thought. How would she stop him if he did?
She knew she wouldn’t be getting much sleep. She hurried through a shower, not really knowing what to do next. What did most hostages do? Other than try to escape, that is?
She slipped into the white pajamas and brushed out her hair with the comb she’d found in the first drawer by the bathroom mirror. The rubies were still around her neck. She fingered the first stone. It was beautiful. Old. Warm against her skin.
It looked strange around her neck, clashed with her hair a little. She leaned closer to the mirror. Slipped the jewelry aside. Two small puncture wounds, not nearly as large as those she’d seen on her sister or cousins earlier, were all that remained of the night he’d made her a vampire. A Dardaptoan. The marks were so small she could almost believe the whole thing hadn’t even happened. Could believe that this was all a dream.
But it wasn’t. She knew it wasn’t. This man had taken her from her home with every intention of keeping her prisoner here forever. What if Rand and Uncle Jason never found them? What if her family thought she and the others were all dead? These men obviously had the means to ensure that she and Josey, Mal, and Emily were never found. What would they do then?
That thought kept reverberating through Mickey’s head. What would she do if help never came? How long would he be content to keep his promise not to touch her? Or would she truly develop a case of Stockholm Syndrome?
What if she just wasn’t strong enough to resist him after so much time had passed?
She wiped a tear away as she pulled back the wine-colored silk that covered his bed.
What was she going to do?
Chapter Fourteen
Mickey pulled the blankets over herself but knew she wouldn’t be sleeping anytime soon. The book beckoned, and she grabbed it. Ran, her fingers over the gold etched in the cover.
She opened it to the first page of writing, surprised to see it was hand written. A journal. Was it his? Who else’s would it be in his private office? The first line immediately caught her attention. It was in English. Just like she’d known it would be. How old was it?
My dearest little love,
How I have longed for you. More so today than any other...A good friend was lost to me this day when he lost his own mate. They had been together only six short years. She and the babe both gone, and my friend chose not to continue his existence. I cannot blame him. Were it you, I would not wish to live another day, either...
Mickey continued reading, wondering again if it was his. The book went on to chronicle the author’s life, starting at around what she estimated the mid-1600s. The author was an intelligent man, she could easily see that. She couldn’t pinpoint his age, but if what the vampire Theo had told her, the author could be hundreds of years old. How long did a Dardaptoan live?
Mickey paused her reading as she finally admitted to herself that she was extremely curious about this species that she’d never even imagined existed. Was it because she was starting to believe him when he’d said she was now like him?
What did that mean for her? How could she go home to her own life, knowing she’d need to drink blood in order to live? What if she became like one of the vampires she’d seen in movies or in the books she’d read? Was there some truth to those myths? Myth began in fact, in many cases.
She closed her eyes and forced herself to take deep breaths, to push the sense of panic away again. Her hands tightened on the book and she forced herself to keep reading. Several pages in she found another reference to the author’s Rajni.
My dearest little love,
The Goddess spoke to me again last night in dreams. Told me to stay strong, that one day I would find you. Told me that you had yet to be born, and wouldn’t be until well after the time man steps foot on the moon...but She has yet to tell me just when that will be. The humans that live near me are so primitive at times. Their science is only now just beginning. Travel to the moon is far from now. You are so far from now. How am I to stay resolute? How can the Goddess ask such of me?
His longing for the woman he wrote to was so deeply embedded in the words. Mickey almost hurt for him.
What would it be like to know that you had one person, just one special being on the earth, who was meant for only you?
She’d never dated anyone past a first date or two. Not since she was sixteen and barely beginning to date. Not since the day Mallory had been attacked. She’d been too afraid to. Too untrusting. After her sister’s attack, she’d done research into rape, and how to help her sister heal. The statistics of women attacked by men they knew had terrified her.
What she’d read had scared her to the point that she’d struggled to trust men at all. Instead, she’d focused on her education. Focused on trying to understand why people did the things they did to each other. She’d kept that focus primary in her goals, and once her internship with the legal department at Taniss Industries was completed in a few months, she’d planned on finding a position with a law firm nearby.
Mickey had always dreamed of finding a man who would love her, a man she could trust. A man she could make a life with. Someone she could be happy with. What would it have been like if she’d known someone like that would be out there someday, just for her?
She probably would have been even more selective in who she spent her time with. As it was, she’d spent most of her free time with her cousin Josey. Less than six months separated them, and they’d lived next door to each other their entire lives. Gone to school together, played together every day, everything.
For a moment Mickey wanted to do nothing but run to her cousin and best friend and just cling to her. But Josey was somewhere in this damned hotel, with that monster who’d hurt her. And he had hurt her; Mickey had easily seen the bruises on her cousin’s wrists and neck. They’d hurt all of them—Mal, Josey, and Emily. They’d all had bruises.
Except for Mickey. He had hurt her only when he’d changed her to be like him. Why was he so much gentler than the others?
She read a bit more until exhaustion overtook her. Her dreams were filled with strange images of vampires and the one who’d taken her. The next time she woke, she had the book clutched to her chest and could just see the outline of him where he slept on the couch. Her heart rate settled back into an even rhythm as she stared at him. She placed the book on the nightstand as one thought occurred to her.
The vampir
e had kept his word.
Chapter Fifteen
He was just as courteous to her the next morning when she woke as he’d been the day before. It had her disconcerted. Was he always like that?
He’d even offered her a choice—accompany him while he sat in court all day or spend the day with her cousins.
She’d chosen her cousins, but admitted to herself the idea of watching the law proceedings did intrigue her. If she hadn’t been with him unwillingly...
The sitting room he’d led her to was one she’d seen the day before. He told her it was for her and her cousins’ exclusive use. Mal and Em were already in the room.
Theo kissed her forehead, the gesture startling her at how quick it happened. “Enjoy your time with your family, my dearest little love. I will probably be tied up for most of the day. We have several different cases on the docket for today. I’ll return to you around five-ish. If you need anything, push that button right there. It will bring Haneam. She will help you with whatever you need.”
Mickey didn’t know what else do or say, so she nodded and thanked him.
When he was gone, she dropped to the couch. Her sister hugged her. “Oh, Mal...”
“I know. Pretty mucked up, isn’t it?” Mal’s arms were tight around her, and Mickey returned the embrace for a moment. She’d always gone to her sister for comfort.
“So what are we going to do?” Emily asked. “I can’t just see us staying here for the rest of our lives.”
“But we can’t go home. The damned beast put it very bluntly. We can’t be around the rest of our family without presenting a serious danger,” Mal said. “At least not for a while.”
“We’ll have to figure out something.” Emily stood and paced around the room, stopping beside the window that overlooked the gardens. “They truly believe that we are supposed to be here with them. They all can’t be crazy.”
“Do you think they are right about Grandfather?” Mickey whispered the question that she’d refused to think about since the Dardaptoans had first told them why they’d been taken.
“Would it surprise me?” Mal joined Emily at the window. She looked over her shoulder at Mickey. “Not at all. We all know Grandfather is a bastard. Why would this be any different? I guess the real question is whether these creatures are bigger monsters than Grandfather. And if not, what are we going to do next?”
“Mark time until Rand and Uncle Jason find us.” Mickey knew that was what they had to do. That was really the only option. This place was locked up tighter than any fortress or prison. Until someone came to get them, or these Dardaptoans agreed to free them, they were not going to get anywhere. She understood how that would frustrate Emily and Mallory. The two were used to taking action, to leading the rest of their siblings and cousins through different situations. But they couldn’t do that now. “We need to cooperate as much as possible, not cause problems. Not make these people angry for any reason.”
“We know Rand is coming for us,” Mallory added. “I think—as much as it burns me to admit it—that Mickey is right. We have to play nice if we are to ever get off of this playground.”
Mickey was the last one to leave the sitting room. The king and Aodhan came for Emily and Mallory together. Mickey didn’t want to let them go, didn’t want to be alone again. But what could she do?
So she hugged her sister and cousin and then curled up on the couch. Her hand landed on the journal. It had slipped behind the sofa pillow sometime earlier. Now it was if it was just waiting for her to pick it up again.
She had nothing else to do but wait for Theo to come for her. She didn’t feel comfortable exploring the hotel on her own. Not with all these strange people watching her. She opened to the entry she’d finished the night before.
My dearest little love,
The days, years, without you are growing more bleak. My sight is lessening every day, as the visions the Goddess grants me come more frequently. Today I saw the deaths of more of my friends, yet I can do nothing about these visions. It is not the Goddess’s way for me to interfere. Sometimes I wonder what the purpose of these visions are.
Are they just to hurt me, to cause me pain as I am forced to do nothing for the ones that I love?
I apologize, my love; I do not wish to burden you with these things. It is my job to protect you and love you, not to sadden your heart...
What would it be like to know what was going to happen to someone, but be unable to do anything about it? What if she’d known her aunt was going to die? Or had known what was going to happen to her sister eight years ago? What if she’d known and been unable to help them at all?
That would be horrible.
Mickey continued to read until he came for her an hour later.
She hurriedly closed the book and slipped it into the deep pocket on the loose pants she wore. She watched his face for a moment, trying to gauge his mood.
He looked...sad. Defeated. He bowed to her, then wrapped his fingers around her elbow. Drew them down her arm to her hand. She’d noticed he’d done that before. Because he was blind? Did he see her at all? She studied his eyes, but couldn’t tell. “Do you see me at all?”
Surprise hit his face. “I can see your shadow, where you are standing with the light behind you. I cannot see the color of your eyes or the color of your hair. But I know how tall you are, and how you feel against me. I know you have green eyes and red gold hair. And that your body pleases me. I have had visions of you in the past and that tells me what you look like. But what you look like does not matter to me. You are the woman the Goddess chose for me and I will love and care for you always, and would even if you were not as beautiful as you are.”
Heat hit her cheeks. What was she supposed to say to that? “Have you always been blind? I need glasses, but nothing major.”
He tugged at her hand, leading her from the sitting room. “No. For ones of my family, we made a pact with the Goddess over three thousand years ago. She gave us the gift of precognition. But all know that any gift of that nature must come with a price. Everything worth value must.”
“And your vision was that price? For your entire family? That sounds pretty excessive.”
“It does. But most in my family have had great gifts. My youngest sister is a remarkable healer, though she is but fifty years. Her sight has already begun to leave. But we all are taught that that is the price of being gifted. My brother also heals, and his sight is barely enough for him to drive a vehicle under your laws—with aid from spectacles. Only our children will not have such a burden.”
Mickey’s eyes widened. Was he saying... “We won’t have children together! You’ve kidnapped me.”
“I did not mean to mention it so quickly, so soon. You and I will have children. I have seen as such.”
“How many, then? And when? Boys or girls? Tell me something that will make me believe.”
Chapter Sixteen
He hesitated. What would her response be if he told her the truth? What human woman would react positively to learning that eleven children were in her future over the next seventy years?
“Well?”
“Our first will be born within the year. She will have your hair and my eyes. And will never lose her sight, despite having great gifts. We will name her after your mother’s mother. Your grandmother’s middle name. You’ve always wanted to use it for a girl child. Calanthia. We will call her Lannie. She will have many more siblings through the years. Mostly girls, though we will have several sons to bedevil us.” Truth. There would always be truth between them. No matter how difficult it was, he would ensure honesty was the basis of their marriage.
“How did you know that? I’ve never told anyone that I like that name.”
“You are my Rajni. I can sometimes see things relevant to our future together. Not much, just small glimpses. Does the idea of children so soon please you?”
She was quiet for several long moments. “This is crazy. You’re asking me to believe in things I’ve never ima
gined. I can’t think. I can’t deal with this.”
“I understand. Did you and your family enjoy your day together? I know the circumstances are not ideal for you, Michaela. I do understand that.”
“Then why did you do it? Couldn’t you have given me the choice to be with you, even if you were so sure we were supposed to be together? Even with some sort of supposed danger to me?”
“I have lost so many through the centuries, my little love. I could not, at that moment before I converted you, bear to lose you. It may have been a mistake to take your choice from you. No, I know it was wrong of me. But I was weak in that moment. I can only hope that someday you will forgive me.
Maybe after we get to know one another.”
“And how do you suggest we do that?”
His breath caught. Dare he hope she was slightly more receptive to the idea of their being Rajnis? “We spend time together, talking, learning of each other. Like any other couple of any other Kind. Other than Lupoiux. They mate first and get to know each other last. Animals.” He dared not tell her that her own brother, the one she spoke so confidently of, was one of those animals. How had such a thing occurred? He would have to research her family even more closely than he had. Did the king of their people know? Theo hadn’t mentioned it to Rydere, nor Cormac. Perhaps he should mention it to Aodhan? As his new brother-in-law, Aodhan needed to be aware of the wolf in their new family.
“So you think we can just date like any other couple. Even though you came into my house, frightened me, turned me into a vampire, and are keeping me prisoner?” Her tone had him wincing internally. When she listed it like that, how could she ever possibly forgive him?
“I’m asking you to give it a chance. I know it is asking a lot.”
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