She stared at the room, realizing she was in Dmitri’s room, but her perspective was wrong. She glanced to either side at the vertical hewed rock. A cold chill slithered through her. She was lying in Dmitri’s crypt. How in the hell had she gotten there? She tried to sit up and realized she still couldn’t move, though the piercing pain had faded. Her lips and throat were frozen, unable to give voice to the scream inside her head.
A heavy arm crossed over her side, a warm hand covered hers and the dark sweetness of chocolate stirred the air. Instantly her panic subsided. Dmitri. He was with her and she wasn’t alone. She wasn’t dead.
“Try not to move just yet. You are too weak still,” he rumbled, his voice heavy and tired.
Kristin found her mouth still wouldn’t cooperate. She focused hard with her thoughts. Now that they were bonded, surely he could read them.
What happened to me?
Dmitri looked down at her, his eyes twin fathomless pools that swirled with remorse and anguish. The air feathered against her mouth, making her lips tingle for an instant before the smooth firmness of his mouth reverently touched hers. But her damn mouth wouldn’t move to return his kiss. Her body still refused to obey her. All she could do was stare at him.
What’s wrong with me?
You were dying. I had no choice. He closed his eyes, anxiety creasing his brow and forming tight lines around the corners of his eyes and mouth.
What? Do you mean—Wait. You mean I’m a vampire?
He nodded slowly, opening his eyes. They swam with regret and agony, as if he’d committed the gravest of sins against her. I’m sorry. There was no other way to save you.
It took a moment for the reality of it to sink in. The nightmare had been real. Vane had attacked her, the pain blinding and fierce as he’d torn out her throat and left her to die.
Kristin’s eyes pricked with heat. Hot tears welled up and spilled past the edge of her lashes to trickle down her temples into her hair. Dmitri wiped them away with an infinitely tender sweep of his fingertips.
I’m sorry I failed you. I’m sorry I’ve pulled you into this existence without your permission.
“Don’t,” she croaked, her throat incredibly dry, the word a thick paste in her mouth. “You saved me.”
He shook his head. “I’ve condemned you. And I can’t forgive myself.”
It was too hard to speak. With tremendous effort she focused all her will on lifting her arm. It seemed to weigh fifty pounds as it inched up slowly so she could place her hand against his cheek. There’s nothing to forgive. You did everything you could. You saved me when no one else could.
“It was selfish as much as anything else. I couldn’t let you go. I didn’t want to lose you.” You don’t hate me for doing this to you, do you?
Understanding dawned clear and bright. She brushed her fingers into the thick strands of his dark hair, reading the fear in his eyes, hearing his thoughts. Strength returned in a rush, flowing into her limbs, flooding every cell so that each hair became a nerve ending sensitive to the slightest movement.
The dancing flame of the single candle seemed to light up the entire room like midday sunshine. His unique scent of chocolate had changed, mixed with musk and bergamot, the faint smell of salt water, the scent of blood and battle cloaking his skin. And she could hear the grinding painful sound of Dmitri’s heart breaking in two. All her senses were even more acute than when she’d woken from the ichor treatment. So this was what waking up vampire felt like.
As much as Dmitri reviled his own maker, she couldn’t have chosen a better one. She couldn’t think of another vampire she’d want to be tied to for however long this lasted. She put both hands on his face so close to her own, and looked deeply in his eyes, seeing for the first time the flecks of gold that sparked in the dark brown. “How could I hate you? I love you.”
He pulled her fiercely into his arms, holding her tight like a lifeline.
Dmitri! You are summoned before the council. Now, Trejan. Roman was furious. Too damn bad. The moment he’d known Kristin was coming through her transition and awakening, he didn’t dare leave her side.
“I must answer the council’s summons.”
“No. We’ll go together.” She reached out her hand, her fingers intertwining with his in a perfect balance of light and dark. Hand in hand they transported to the clan council’s chamber.
Candles flickered in the ornately scrolled golden candelabra high on the walls, casting shadows on the crimson velvet that hung along the rock walls. Nine chairs sat in a semicircle around a black stone dais with the clan’s interlinked three-circle mark etched in a contrasting red against the smooth black stone.
Roman occupied the center in a slightly larger intricately carved cherrywood chair upholstered in crimson. With a motion of his hand he indicated Dmitri should step up to the dais.
Dmitri took his place facing them, hands fisted behind his back, feet braced apart and chin held high.
Roman stood, his cloak pooling around his feet. “Trejan Dionotte, you are called before this tribunal council to discuss your recent conduct. The charges are conduct unbecoming to a trejan, resulting in the loss of seven members of our clan. You have not protected your kind before mortals, as is your solemn oath. How do you answer these charges?”
“I accept them as stated.” Dmitri took a deep breath. “I was occupied saving the mortal reporter’s life. Her death would have ruined our peaceful efforts at reintroducing our presence.”
Roman’s eyes flickered with distaste and pain. In accepting the charges, Dmitri had accepted his own death sentence.
A heavy silence filled the chamber, pulsating and growing larger. Dmitri waited for their verdict even as he could hear them mentally debate with one another.
In turn, each council member turned to look at Roman. Roman bowed his head. “The council has reached a decision. In failing to protect the clan and the vampires within this clan in your duty as trejan, you are to be executed at sunset.”
Dmitri resisted the terrible urge to glance at Kristin. If he showed so much as a flicker of emotion before this group, they would know his true feelings for her. Any chance of survival she had rested squarely on him and that mattered far more than anything that might happen to him. “And what of the reporter?”
Nine sets of eyes bored into him, piercing him. “She has become vampire herself, and is therefore under protection of our clan and shall be spared.”
Dmitri’s heart crumbled to dust. In saving Kristin, he’d lost his chance to be with her and now condemned her to an eternity as a vampire.
“How dare you!” Kristin shouted. Dmitri couldn’t stop himself from glancing at her. Her eyes flamed an electric blue as she levitated off the ground six inches.
Every one of the council members stared at her as if she had just transported into their midst. In the buzz and hum of their thoughts he could tell they were unsure what to make of her.
“This man has done more to save this clan and advance it in the past few weeks than any one of you. How dare you condemn him!” A hit of pepper stung the air strong enough to make eyes water.
“You speak out of turn, young one.” Roman crossed his arms, causing his silk cloak to rustle ominously, his eyes blazing a dark vicious red.
Undaunted, Kristin took a step forward in midair, her hands fisted tightly at her sides, no longer afraid of anyone or anything. “I don’t give a crap! If you’re stupid enough to kill him, then you deserve whatever happens. The only reason you’re still around is because he and I have managed to convince mortals that you aren’t a threat.”
She was every inch an avenging angel. Dmitri’s heart swelled with pride for the amazing woman beside him and stung with terror for her survival.
From the far side a council member with streaming white hair to his waist and pale blue eyes stood up to speak. “But there have been executions—”
She turned, matching his icy stare. “Yes. That’s because just like the reivers, there are mort
als who have no objection to destroying what they don’t understand. But I’d been led to believe that this clan was better than that. But you’re just as bloodthirsty as the reivers. The only difference is you hide behind a veneer of civility and legitimacy.”
She raised her chin a notch and stared them all down. “If you choose to take this man’s life in exchange for all that he has accomplished for your clan, despite the setbacks, then you may as well kiss your clan goodbye. There won’t be enough of it left to salvage once your enemies and mortals are done with it.”
The council members glowered at her. The buzz of their overlapping conversation filled Dmitri’s mind, but he only had eyes for the extraordinary woman beside him. His mate. His love. Kristin.
Roman glanced at the council members, but Dmitri was certain Kristin had heard them as clearly as he himself had. She was vampire now and her powers were already extraordinary.
The council put the matter to a vote.
Roman squared his shoulders. “Your protest has been duly noted, young one—”
“Kristin Reed.”
Roman raised a brow. “The council has decided to spare Trejan Dionotte. In return, and because of your knowledge of the mortals and their media, we would ask that you and he become official ambassadors of our clan to the mortals.”
Kristin sucked in a startled breath, even though she knew she didn’t need the air to fill her lungs any longer. She couldn’t stop herself.
Dmitri reached over to her. His hand covered hers, big and warm and solid. The very air seemed to sparkle as she looked into his eyes, and she suddenly felt the hysterical need to laugh and cry at the same time out of sheer happiness.
Does this mean I can still write about the clan? Be an inside reporter?
That and much more.
What do you think? Should we do it? she asked him.
He winked. Only if we do it together.
She smiled at him, letting everything she felt in her heart show plainly on her face. Turning, she straightened her shoulders and schooled her features into a more professional appearance. “We accept.”
“My laird,” Roman added.
Dmitri leaned over, whispering in her ear, the words sending a shiver down her skin. “It’s his official title. It’s considered proper for you to address him as such.”
“We accept, my laird.” She gave a brief bow of her head.
Roman nodded in approval. “And when will you two be mated?”
“Mated?” Had she still been mortal she knew she would have been in a full-out blush. It was one more reason to be grateful she was now a vampire.
“It is obvious you have bonded. And if I am not mistaken, Dmitri has already claimed you as his own.”
Dmitri pulled her in close, his arm around her shoulder, and she felt the strength of him flow through her all the way to her toes. “She is mine.”
In a twinkling, the rest of the council vanished, leaving Roman standing there alone in front of the two of them. “And may I say, you’ve chosen well, brother. She has the heart of a trejan.”
“Yes, mine.”
Dmitri had eyes for her alone. The force of his full power directed at her sent a delicious rush of desire coursing through her. A cloud of white surrounded them and Kristin felt the familiar tugging sensation in her belly as they transported. She wrapped her arms tightly around his neck, kissing him for all she was worth.
When the mist cleared, she realized he’d returned them to the bedchamber of his ancestral home, away from the clan, away from the tumult of Seattle. Candles blazed, bathing the room’s arched stone walls and intricately carved headboard in golden light. She found herself encircled by Dmitri’s arms. Gently, by infinite degrees, he lowered his head to hers, his lips nearly touching. “You don’t have my heart. You are my heart. My reason to exist.”
Outside, Kristin heard a nightingale sing. She could feel the moonlight pouring into the air, the very roots of the plants extending into the earth. And she could feel the depth of the love this man possessed for her. “Are you trying to tell me you love me?”
His eyes darkened with passion, with devotion, and blatant desire. “Yes.”
“Good. Because I love you too.”
Stretching out with her mind, Kristin focused on Dmitri being completely naked. She gasped with delight as his clothes disappeared like smoke. Gliding her fingers over his bare skin and taut muscle, she grinned. “I think I’m going to like being a vampire very much.” An unfamiliar sensation pressed against the upper edge of her gums and with a flick her fangs extended for the first time.
“That’s very impressive. Most young ones take several months to learn to phase material objects into and out of existence.”
She phased away her own clothing as well, pressing herself against him, hunger sluicing through her. “I’m a quick study.”
Hunger flared in his eyes in response. “Good. We have a lot of catching up to do.” He crushed his mouth to hers in a kiss that seared away all rational thought.
She pulled back, trying to breathe. “Not so fast.”
Relax. You don’t need to breathe, you only think you do. I’ve waited an eternity for this, for you.
“We have forever, don’t we?”
He brushed the tip of his tongue down the length of her fang in a slow, circular motion. A chain reaction ignited, melting her body to the core and leaving her craving him in a thousand different ways. He hadn’t been kidding when he’d said they were sensitive.
“My darling vampire, when it comes to you, forever is not nearly enough.”
All the characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author, and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all the incidents are pure invention.
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First published in Great Britain 2011
by Mills & Boon, an imprint of Harlequin (UK) Limited,
Eton House, 18-24 Paradise Road, Richmond, Surrey TW9 1SR
© Theresa Meyers 2011
ISBN: 978-1-408-92890-5
The Truth about Vampires Page 21