by Shania Tyler
Kelly’s hand stilled in his hair. “Again?”
He went still on her lap and then said, “Yes.” He opened his eyes and Kelly wondered just how long the neon glow would last. “I’ve been married before.”
“What happened?” She realized then just how little she knew about him and just how little he’d asked about her.
He turned away from her, but his head laid firmly on her lap and one of his arms gripped her thighs tightly. “Cecina was murdered. Her and my daughter, Reena.”
“How old was your daughter?”
“Seven,” he whispered.
Her heart broke for his tragedy. “I’m so sorry.”
He turned back over and stared at her. “You really mean that.” It was a statement, not a question.
“Of course,” she whispered earnestly. “No one should lose the one they love, no parent should outlive their child. Her life was cut so short. Were their deaths recent?” She’d feel more awful if they were. Her hand began to stroke him again as though she could ease away his pain.
He frowned. “It’s been fifty years.”
Her hand stilled again. “How old are you?”
“I am 323.”
Kelly let out a breath. “And how long can you live?”
“We, both elves and vampires, used to live for a millennium, now, perhaps eight hundred years.”
“I’m sorry you didn’t get to spend it with your first wife and see your daughter grow and watch what she could have become.”
He frowned again. “How selfless of you.”
Kelly mirrored his expression. “You sound upset by this.”
He was on her in a second, her with her back on the bed, and him crouching over her. “I’m a very selfish man,” he confessed with a serious look in his eyes before he leaned over and stole her breath with a kiss. “I could not resist you,” he whispered between their lips.
She grinned and said, “You’re much more giving than you think.”
He deepened the kiss and pressed his body closer to hers. Kelly had already lost count of how many times they’d made love, but there was so much to learn about her husband. So, she put her fingers between their lips and waited for his eyes to meet hers once more.
She giggled when he tried to go around her fingers and then moaned when he took them into his mouth. “Mason,” she whispered. “We need to talk.”
“About?” His voice was muffled by her palm.
“How did your wife die?”
He was so still and silent after her words that she wondered if he would tell her. Then he said, “She was poisoned at a party. Someone dropped something into her food and my daughter sampled it.”
Kelly she sat up, forcing him to sit up at all. “Why would someone do that?”
“Because, she was a traitor to the realm and the Evaness had found out.” He stated it all as though reading an official report, not telling the story of his family. He spoke as though they were strangers.
“And you?” she asked. “Why did they let you live?”
He turned away and placed his back against the headboard, looking toward the fire. A knee went up and he rested his arm against it. “At the time, I was not part of the Rebellion. I was very much part of the Evaness and had only recently learned of my wife’s involvement.”
“Was she a vampire?”
He nodded, still not meeting her eyes. “But she had more morals than most. She was very much an abolitionist and when I found out about it, we fought for days.” Some emotion passed over his face before it was gone. “But then, I decided to turn a blind eye to her activities. We were such a high rank in the Evaness, I thought no one would ever find out.”
“But they did,” she whispered, moving closer to him and resting her head on his arm. She wanted to hug him and let him know she was there for him, but thought he might refuse.
“Yes, someone she trusted betrayed her.” Hs hand found hers, and he linked their fingers together. A warmth passed through them, and the feeling of being bound overtook her once more.
“Do you know who betrayed her?” she asked.
Mason shook his head. “But I know who is responsible for her death. Colester Isabel. She rules the Evaness. It was her idea to enslave the elves, so the vampires would follow her.”
Kelly already knew she didn’t like this Isabel person very much. “I’m so sorry, Mason.”
“It was a long time ago.” He slipped his hand from hers and moved from the bed, but even with him standing across the room, she still felt their joining. She swore that if she closed her eyes she would know exactly where he was even if she couldn’t hear his footsteps.
He picked a shirt from the wardrobe and began to put it on. “I must go instruct training. I feel . . .” He fixed his collar and paused. “Restless . . . wired. I must do something with this energy.”
Kelly slipped from the bed and went to the wardrobe. Vivi had dropped a few dresses off along with books on ancient Asea and some of Mason’s clothes. He’d all but moved into her room, which pleased her. “Your eyes are still glowing. Do you think that will bother anyone?” When she heard no reply, she turned around to find Mason staring at her, fixated on her rear. His hands were still poised by his collar as his gaze slid down her legs and up to meet her eyes.
Kelly’s cheeks stung and she held onto the doors of the closet to keep herself upright. Already her breathing was labored. She quickly turned back to her dress selection and gasped when she felt fingers around her waist and Mason’s bare chest pressed against her back.
“If you weren’t sore, I’d take you right here, right now.” He kissed her neck and his fingers slid to her chest as though he hadn’t heard his own words.
Kelly groaned at his teasing as moisture built between her thighs. She was sore. Very sore. It didn’t stop her from wanting him, though. “God, will it always be this way?”
Mason chuckled as he licked the salt from Kelly’s shoulder. Were vampire’s capable of digesting food, he could easily eat her to the bone. She was so delectable. “I hear it is always this way for a pava and her pavo.”
“Pavo?”
“Is it what I am to you.” He turned her around so he could get a full look at her front. He wanted to get down on his knees and suck from between her thighs. He wanted to watch her fall to pieces in his hands and shatter against his mouth.
What was stopping him?
“Mason, you’re growling.”
His eyes returned to her. “Am I?” He hadn’t noticed.
She asked shyly, “I don’t want to appear rude, but I’ve never been with another man before . . .”
“Ask your question.”
“Was it . . . like this for you . . . before me?”
Mason lips thinned and shook his head. “No.” It was nowhere near like this between him and Cecina. Yes, he’d loved his wife and would have died in her place had he the chance. He’d felt dead after her passing, his entire family ripped away from him all at once. Perhaps, if his daughter hadn’t died . . .he just wasn’t sure what kind of man he was anymore.
“You honor her with your fighting,” Kelly whispered. “You honor them both.”
“It has nothing to do with honor. I have none,” he told her, not understanding why he would tell her something like that. He turned away from her and finished buttoning his shirt.
He could hear Kelly going through her closet as she spoke. “Yet, you now fight for the Rebellion. You took up the banner where your wife left off.” When she was dressed, she stepped before him and said, “You help free the elves.”
He paused with his boots in his hands and said, “I seek revenge.”
He tried to move away again, but Kelly grabbed hold of his shoes and then took them from his hands. He frowned and she motioned with her head for him to take a seat at the table. He played dumb, only so he could watch her blonde curls dance again with the motion of her head. She was so beautiful.
She set her jaw and pointed to the chair. “Have a seat.”
Mason slowly complied and then frowned as Kelly knelt before him and began to put his shoes on over his socks. “You don’t have to do this.”
“I know.” She didn’t look up as he continued her task. With the first boot on, she tied the laces before moving to the next.
Mason was speechless . . . and uncomfortable. He couldn’t remember the last time someone had done such an act of kindness for him. Cecina hadn’t, but she’d been a high-ranking daughter and never would have got on her knees in such a humbling manner. “Do wives do this for their husbands on Earth?”
Kelly grinned. “Sometimes.” She tied the final lace and somehow her work made his shoes feel different. He knew it made no sense that his feet would feel better in shoes he’d put on over a hundred times himself simply because someone else had done the task, but he’d never felt more . . . appreciated in his life.
And there was nothing to appreciate about him.
Kelly stood and Mason dragged her down until she was settled on his lap. Her pale pink skirts fell around him and her scent aroused him.
He turned her so that she was staring into his eyes and asked, “And what is it that I can do for you? What gesture is there for a man from Earth to show his wife his gratitude?”
Kelly grinned, “I don’t know. You’ll have to surprise me.” A devious look came on her face.
He laughed. “My wife enjoys surprises?”
“Yes!” she shouted and threw her arms around him.
He laughed again and said, “Okay, I’ll surprise you.” Though he had no clue what he could give her. When her deviant look didn’t leave, he asked cautiously. “Are you planning to surprise me again?”
“Maybe,” she whispered.
Before he could tell her not to, she kissed him senseless and Mason knew any favors he could do for her would never amount to all that she had given him.
“You don’t have to do anything for me,” Kelly said with a look that revealed her pava mind-reading abilities. They were manifesting, and he wasn’t sure she was aware of it yet. It was something that only happened between fated couples.
For now, he’d mind his thoughts, but wouldn’t tell her what was happening until he’d figured out what was going through her mind. In order to win the war, he needed to keep her happy. He needed her . . . he just wasn’t sure in what capacity yet.
* * *
15
CHAPTER
FIFTEEN
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* * *
“I want a definite answer. I want to know who I am.”
* * *
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Kelly flinched at every blow and every time two opponents came close enough to do damage . . . but especially when there were three. She had come down to watch the men in the training field and at one point during the mock battle. Often, she’d felt the urge to tell one man or another to “watch out” or “duck,” but she kept her mouth closed, knowing that in a true battle, she would not be there to give such instructions.
So, instead, she found her body moving on its own, as though she were one of the fighters, blocking and dodging a blow. Thankfully, most of the damage was done by Mason.
He stood amongst his men, swinging his sword with a grace that was almost soothing, but at a speed that rattled her. At first, she’d thought it usual, since most of the men around Mason seemed to move much faster than she ever could, but Mason’s speed and strength were unmatched and when she’d overheard two men speaking about her, her suspicions were confirmed.
“Give me a few days holed up with the likes of her and I’d be glowing, too,” one of the men said, motioning his head in Kelly’s direction. That was when she’d known Mason’s new speed was not normal.
Her gaze trailed toward Ethan, who was also trading blows with a fighter. He’d been training with Maurice since she came outside and the two seemed to be working closely together with Maurice giving Ethan instructions on how and when to strike.
The concentrated look on Ethan’s face reminded her of times when he’d played on the football team. He had used that same focus to win many games for Morwen High.
The training arena was the size of a football field, stretching out in the distance, a mixture of stone and weeds and surrounded by thousands of torch lights.
“I wonder how long it takes to light this place?” Kelly murmured under her breath, taking a break from all the action before her.
“We’ve people whose sole purpose is to keep the lights going.”
She turned as Vivi approached, walking from the side of the field, and not from the direction of the house, her hair pulled up onto a high bun on her head. Kelly’s eyes were drawn to the slave band around her neck before she returned her eyes to Vivi’s.
“See there?” Vivi pointed in the distance, and Kelly spotted a woman who walked the perimeter with a small light glowing from her hands. Candles, she guessed.
Kelly asked, “Where are you coming from?”
Vivi grinned and came to stand next to Kelly. “There is plenty to see . . . if you and Mason ever manage to stay out of the bedchamber.”
Kelly blushed.
Vivi laughed. “I enjoy long walks out in nature. There is much to see there.”
Kelly had always enjoyed walks in nature as well. She enjoyed the outdoors, the smell and feel of earth and grass. The wind . . . Her skirts fluttered at the moment with the wind picking it up. It was good to be outside again.
But she did miss the sun.
She stared up into the sky and asked, “Do you have stars here?”
“We have not seen stars since the black fell.”
“There are stars on Earth. You should come,” Kelly told her, bringing her eyes back to Vivi’s.
Vivi smiled. “Maybe one day, but for now, my destiny is here amongst my people. The war will be soon upon us.”
Kelly shivered at the stagnant gaze of Vivi’s eyes. She was so unmoved when she spoke of blood and death, but she supposed having a daughter who could look into both the past and future would soon inure her to tragedy.
“How do I help?”
Vivi was silent as she observed Kelly and then said, “First, you must find your gift. “
“How?” Kelly asked. She’d tried most of them whenever Mason had left the room to grab something or to talk to someone about training.
“There is a place in Pria, the capital of the Western Lands. Perhaps Mason will take you there.”
“What’s there?”
“The House of Walls.”
The sound of footsteps made them both turn as Mason approached. All the exercise he’d just done hadn’t even caused him to breath heavily or sweat. He looked completely in control, and his eyes had returned to normal which pleased Kelly.
“Finished?” she asked.
“They kicked me out,” he murmured with displeasure before breaking into a leer. “There are other things I rather do anyway.” He wrapped an arm around her and pulled her close to his body.
Kelly laughed and touched his cheeks. “Well, then you can help me figure out my purpose.”
He leaned toward her ear and whispered, “I’d rather show you your purpose.” His hands slid very low on her back, and Kelly had to dodge him before his fingers ventured any farther south.
She swatted his hands away and said, “What is the House of Walls?”
Mason glanced over at Vivi before replying. “The House of Walls is just that. A house with many walls—”
“Ancient walls,” Vivi told her. “They hold the souls of the ancestors and tell the stories of those who lived long ago. You will find your purpose there.”
“I wish to go,” Kelly said instantly.
Mason stared at Kelly and then decided to turn his slightly heated look in Vivi’s direction. The woman knew full well that Pria was in the opposite direction of Ember’s Woods.
Vivi said, “It would tell her who her parents were.”
Kelly grabbed his shirt and whispere
d, “Yes, I wish to know.”
He turned toward her pleading eyes and shook his head. “Your destiny isn’t there. I will take you to Talon Island where the gods live. Perhaps one of them can tell you where you are from.”
Kelly’s mouth turned into a firm line. “Perhaps? I want a definite answer, Mason. I want to know who I am. Wouldn’t you if you were me?”
His eyes turned back to Vivi’s. He wondered if Aymee had put her up to this. He would have to ask the little girl to be sure. To Kelly, he said, “We shall see.”
She lips turned upward as though he’d said “yes” and the expression and her surety made him laugh. “I didn’t say yes.”
“I’ll convince you otherwise,” she whispered, lowering her lashes.
Damn.
She probably could if she acted on what her eyes promised.
The horn in the distance blew and everyone stilled to count how many blares would come.
One.
Two.
“Get inside,” he told Kelly, already pushing her in the direction of the house and to Vivi he said, “Get her to safety.”
Vivi went without speaking.
The third blare sent a shiver racing over Mason’s skin, and he turned to look around at his men. Their eyes searched everywhere and then a feminine scream pierced the darkness and Mason’s eyes immediately went toward Kelly.
But she was fine. Her hand was fastened with Vivi’s, but the scream had made both women stop their journey.
Everyone looked and then they heard another scream.
“Check the perimeter!” Mason shouted.
The men moved out, but then a black smoke clouded their feet and began to fill the field. The cloud crawled around men, and Mason watched as it approached his feet.
“Ashur,” he whispered. Then to the group, he said, “It’s the Scourge! Prepare for battle!”
Another scream broke from the distance and then Mason heard a chuckle coming from directly behind him.