by Mandi Casey
The metal on the wrought-iron staircase clanked with each of our steps.
“Good, then tonight will be full of firsts.” Kat skipped down the rest of the stairs. When she reached the bottom, she headed toward a set of double doors. Before she opened them, she said, “Behold, my inner sanctum.” She giggled as she pushed the doors open.
Over her shoulder, I spied not a three, but a four-story tall gym, with the most elaborate equipment I’ve ever seen. The weights resting on weight trees were the Olympic type, but the plates were not one hundred pounds. They were five hundred pounds each. I knew vampires were strong, but seeing the evidence of how much they could lift was awe-inspiring.
After Kat changed into workout attire, Torque helped us put safety harnesses on while attaching the bungee cords to our harnesses. I gave Kat a questioning look. She was a vampire. Why would she need to wear such gear?
Kat motioned toward Torque. “Mr. Protective over there doesn’t want me to get hurt. I haven’t been a vampire for too long so my reflexes haven’t developed to their full potential yet. Thus, me in a safety harness.”
From the sigh of resignation she expressed, things made a bit more sense—the ridiculous security measures to get into the palace, Kat being assigned her very own personal bodyguard—all because the king cared about his family, a lot.
“Safety is a good thing,” I said as I tightened my straps one more time before grabbing the first grip-hold.
We both made our ways up the three-story wall. Kat took the more aggressive routes upward while I stuck with the straight-up path. A portion of the wall stuck outward, making her unable to use her feet. She relied solely on the strength in her arms.
Assessing my own arms, I realized I’d never be able to pull that move off.
Torque cleared his throat. “Princess, we have talked about this. You take unnecessary risks. This is exactly why the king will not allow you to leave the palace unattended.” He sounded totally pissed.
Kat groaned dramatically, letting one of her hands go. While only hanging on to the wall with one hand, she glared down at Torque with her free hand on her hip. “Torque, if you’re not careful I’ll ask Uncle Alex to assign a different Judge to watch over me, maybe one who won’t lecture me with every breath I take.”
“Judge?” My concentration blown, my foothold slipped. I went tumbling down the two stories that I’d climbed. To my dismay, I screamed in terror the entire way down.
A set of arms caught me, keeping me from smacking into the wall from the recoil of the safety strap. I’d never seen the man before who now held me cradled against his chest like a baby. My cheeks flushed with embarrassment from having him see me fall, making a fool out of myself all the while yelling, even though I knew I wouldn’t hit the ground.
“Hello, there. You must be the human Kiernan speaks so highly about,” the raven-haired, red-eyed rake said.
“Thanks for catching me. I think.”
He stood there smiling with me in his arms. “My pleasure, Sydney. You are very beautiful, much more so than Kieran described.”
Hearing my name on his lips sent an excited chill down my spine. What was wrong with me? I had enough to deal with having Blake insist we were life-mates. I didn’t need to be ogling a vampire from the royal palace.
“Um, I appreciate you breaking my fall, but I think it would be safe if you put me down.” A set of feet hit the gym mat. Kat approached us and put her hands on her hips.
My savior bowed his head. “As you wish, Sydney.” Gently, he leaned over, placing my feet on the ground. His hands lingered on my back while I got my bearings.
I wasn’t sure how I felt about that, or the fact that I didn’t step away.
Kat didn’t look happy at the newcomer’s presence. “Daire, is there something you need to discuss with Torque? Why are you here?”
Torque put his hand on Daire’s shoulder, turning him toward the doors of the gym.
I watched as the two males walked away. I had to admit Daire’s backside was just as nice to look at as Blake’s. Shaking my head to extinguish the lustful thoughts in my head, I turned back to the wall. “Do you want to try again? I feel like I should try again.”
Without waiting for Kat’s response, I started to make my way up the wall again with a renewed vigor.
Kat climbed on the panels next to mine. “Sydney, did Daire do something to you?”
“What?” My hand slipped from the holder, her question startling me. That time I was able to keep my footing to avoid another fall. “No, he didn’t do anything. Who is he, anyway?”
I didn’t want to seem interested in the man, but I was a little curious.
Kat gave me an inquiring stare. “Daire is the replacement for Kieran’s Knight that went rogue. He’s probably just being orientated to the palace before he takes his place in the coven. Why do you ask?”
Dang it, she must have seen my reaction to him when I unceremoniously dropped into his arms.
Shrugging my shoulders, I continued to climb. I made it to the second story panel. I was determined to make it to the top. “No reason, I hadn’t realized Kieran was replacing Liam so soon, that’s all.”
We climbed for a bit, focusing on getting to the next panel. “Kat, don’t get me wrong, your gym is awesome. I’d probably spend a lot of time here, too, but why does the king make the Judge stay with you every moment when you’re inside of the palace?”
Rolling her eyes, Kat hung her head backward. “My uncle’s children, Anna and Evan, have made too many successful trips outside of the palace without my uncle’s approval. They wrecked it for all of us. Now we each have a guardian tailing us at all times. Torque is tolerable, though. Since the king has my husband doing security work outside of the palace, Torque keeps me company.”
I thought for a while about what she said. It seemed everyone I had met in Kenosha had been given a life they had no control over, whether they were vampire, werewolf, demon, or even human.
Torque came back into the gym. “Princess, I’ve been called away for an hour or so. Please promise you won’t try to leave the palace, or do anything unwise until my return.”
The Judge didn’t know what hit him, because in the moment Kat grabbed a pocketknife from somewhere in her shorts, cut the safety rope that held her to the wall, and pushed off with her feet.
She moved so fast I didn’t see what had happened until she had the Judge flat on his back with her straddled on top of him. “Okay, my overly obsessive protector. I won’t do anything that will get you in trouble for not watching over me. What is it that you have to do, anyway?”
Judging by the scowl on his face, the demon was not happy being bested by his charge. “Princess, you know what I would do to you for this if we did not have company present.”
Kat swatted at Torque’s chest as she climbed off of him. “Knock off the sexual innuendos. You know I’m married. My husband wouldn’t take it well if he knew how you really spoke to me.”
Getting back onto his feet, Torque brushed some imaginary dust off his black slacks. “Princess, some day that husband of yours is going to realize a real man does not leave his wife behind to spend so much time with her guardian, especially one so attractive as myself.”
I slowly made my way back to the bottom of the wall in time to hear Kat say, “Torque, just let it rest, okay?”
The princess turned to me with a fake smile. “Sydney, if you’re ready to go I’ll walk you to the front door.” She came over to me while I undid the harness. “I’m so glad you decided to hang out. I promise next time we won’t be interrupted by uninvited guests. Unfortunately my guardian will always be at my side as he so likes to shove in my face when my husband isn’t around.”
Kat seemed like a different person. The demon Judge must have struck a nerve.
I tried
to lighten the mood. “Kat, I had a great time. Don’t worry. I understand living in a palace must come with a lot of activity. Of course there’ll be a next time. Just let me know when. Oh, and next time? Warn me if we’re going to hang out in the gym.”
Laughing, we both looked down at my white sandals, definitely not user friendly when trying to scale a three-story rock wall. The princess seemed to let go of some of the stress that had her tensed and put her arm around my shoulders while we exited the double doors of the gym.
“Kat, I do have one question for you, though. Why are your eyes brown when all the other vampires are glowy red?” There had to be a reasonable explanation. I couldn’t hold my tongue any longer.
Opening her eyes wide, she put her forehead close to mine so I could get a closer look. “I haven’t been a vampire for very long, so they haven’t turned red yet.”
That explained it, a little. I’d assumed as soon as a person became a vampire their eyes turned red in addition to their teeth growing long and pointy, all the better to suck people’s blood. I learned something new about the Others every day.
I nodded with a renewed understanding. Patting her back, I held my hand above her workout shirt. To my surprise, I felt lumpy lines running down her shoulder blades. I stopped breathing. Fear iced my lungs. Afraid I’d just learned something I wasn’t supposed to know about, I waited for her to begin the unavoidable torture, which was sure to end with my death. The blood once again drained from my face and wooziness set in.
Grabbing my arm, Kat held me steady on my feet. For as petite as she was, she was quite strong. “Sydney, are you okay? What’s the matter with you? Do you think you’re going to be sick?” Without another thought, Kat pushed me against the wall to position me so that my back leaned against the cold drywall while my head tucked between my knees.
After a few moments, the feeling like I was going to pass out faded until it resolved altogether. “I’m fine, Kat, thanks. I don’t know what came over me.”
Still nervous about the bumps I’d felt on her back, I averted my gaze from her general direction. Kat seemed so nice. I didn’t want to upset her. Her friendship was important to me.
“Uh, Sydney, did you feel my wings? Is that what has you all wound tight?” She knelt beside me, concern written over her face. It seemed that her eyes not having turned red yet wasn’t the only human quality she still held on to. Her facial expressions were more sincere than any vampire I’d met.
“Wings? You have wings?” Confused, I started to stand. Kat held on to my arm to make sure I was stable on my feet.
Nodding, Kat stepped into the middle of the hallway. “Do you want to see?”
“Do I want to see a vampire with wings? Um, yes. Hello.” I smiled.
She hopped on to the tips of her toes, holding her arms straight out to the sides of her body and closed her eyes.
After a moment of concentration on her part, wings sprouted from Kat’s back. She rotated her shoulders. Her wings did a flexing motion. They started to illuminate with an iridescent fluid running through vein-like structures throughout each wing.
“Kat, your wings are beautiful.” I was in awe. They were spectacular. If I ever had wings, those would be the ones I’d want.
“Thanks, Sydney. I’m still getting used to them. Torque promised to take me to a football field or somewhere with a lot of space so I can practice using them, but that’s kind of hard when the big guy says I can’t ever leave the palace.” She relaxed her shoulders and, with an ease only a vampire could have, she descended back to the ground.
With a roll of her shoulder blades, Kat’s wings neatly tucked back into their hiding spots. The only sign they existed were the red bumps running the length of her shoulder blades.
“Kat, how is it you’re like the only vampire in existence with wings? Doesn’t anyone else think that’s a little odd?” Embarrassed that the question left my mouth—because unfortunately the filter between my brain and my lips didn’t always work so well—I said, “I’m sorry, that came out wrong.”
She motioned for us to start up the stairs while explaining, “Don’t worry, Sydney. Everyone that sees them asks the same question. Well, my father’s mother wasn’t a full-blooded vampire, she was half fae.”
Her explanation didn’t clarify anything. “Um, what’s a fae?”
Kat stopped on the stairs with one leg lifted in the air. Laughing, she slapped her knee. “Sydney, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t laugh, but it’s so refreshing to meet someone just as new to this world as I am. I didn’t even know vampires existed until my husband tracked me down before Hunters got the chance to kill me before my change. You see, I was brought up by my aunt after being told my parents died in a car crash while they drove one snowy night on the freeway. Well, that story was only partially true.”
I waited for her to keep talking, but she turned to continue up the stairs. It didn’t pass my notice I was the only one out of breath when we reached the top landing. I put my hand out as I bent over to catch my breath. “Give me a minute, okay?”
Kat squatted a few feet in front of me. “Uncle Alex doesn’t like when people find out about my having wings. He thinks the Hunters will focus on me as their target because they’ll see me as more of an abomination than they do the vampires. So what I’m about to tell you is secret. Mum’s the word.”
I nodded, not wanting to waste precious air to speak.
“Sydney, I’m part fairy. My father’s mother was half-fae, so if you do the math, which I have a million times, well, I’m one-eighth fairy. Apparently that’s enough of my grandmother’s genes to have made me develop wings during my change. I’m not the only vampire who has them. My father has them, too. His look way different, though. They are black and feathered.” She leaned over to pat me on the back.
Finally having caught my breath, I stood straight. “Phew, I clearly need to work out more. Maybe that’s what we can do when I come to visit? I wouldn’t mind getting in better shape, not that you have to worry about that, but it could be fun.”
Kat was instantly in a better mood with our having plans for future hang-out times. “Good, then it’s settled. We should set up weekly dates, if that’s okay with you?”
I didn’t mean to be a downer, but I had a store to run, plus there was a lot going on with the vampire coven and werewolf pack. Actually make that packs, as in pleural. Now that the wolves from Mobile, Alabama, were on their way, I had a dreadful feeling I was going to be sucked into pack business more than I’d ever wanted to be.
“Kat, I really enjoyed tonight. Hanging out with you was a blast, but I can’t set times yet. My life is so hectic with everything going on right now. Maybe soon, if things start to cool down, then we’ll be able to make plans on a more regular basis.” I instantly felt horrible seeing Kat’s lips turn downward.
“Sydney, I understand. I’d love to hang out with you. I could help you with your Selected stuff. We’d do some serious butt-kicking together. But, alas”—the princess put her hands up in the air, motioning toward the ceiling of the palace’s great hall—“I’m stuck here like a prisoner in a golden cage.”
Sadness encompassed her entire being and a rock thumped to the bottom of my gut as her shoulders slumped a little lower.
I leaned forward, giving her a hug. “Don’t worry, Kat, we’ll figure something out. Thanks again so much for inviting me. Seriously, this was a lot of fun.”
She nodded. “Yeah, it was fun, wasn’t it?”
Leaving the palace wasn’t nearly as arduous as getting into it. I unceremoniously held up my middle finger to both the fish demon at the first gate, then to the vampire guard who’d jabbed my finger so hard with his dagger that it still throbbed as I drove by.
The next day, I woke up refreshed. It was time to face Aunt Judith. She was going to tell me exactly how she was feeling and why Me
redith had seen her going to the hospital. I descended the stairs wiping the sleep from my eyes, listening for Aunt Judith’s presence in the kitchen. None of the typical sounds of her kitchen activities were in the air, so I made my way through the wooden door to find the room void of human presence. There on the fridge was a note. Aunt Judith would be gone most of the day.
My heart sank.
Meredith was right to worry.
Aunt Judith had doctor’s appointments and tests to attend.
Chapter 6
Puffs of white air blew from my mouth with every breath as I walked to Mountain Bean after parking my car in front of Morning Sun. Dale, the mailman, stood at the counter when I entered. He greeted me with a smile.
“Mornin’, Sydney. You opening up that store of yours this early?” Dale straightened his back to stand taller. I noticed him sucking his beer gut in, too.
I tried not to laugh at his attempt to make himself more appealing. “Hey, Dale, yeah, customers can’t buy my goods if they can’t get into the store.” I finished ordering my coffee, complete with caramel drizzles on top, before heading toward the front door of Mountain Bean.
“Sydney, wait up, honey.” Dale approached and gently touched my arm while leaning in close. “I have some news you may find important.”
I met his gaze, searching for a clue what he was talking about. The telltale green sparkle glinted in his eyes. Dale’s family consisted of the oldest sect of witches in the city. He refused to disclose what else his blood was made up of, but I had a feeling he was part Other. My Selected senses kicked in whenever Dale was near, but he didn’t give off a distinct hot or cold vibe the werewolves and vamps did. Dale gave off more of an electric current.
“Okay. Why don’t you come on over to Morning Sun while I open up?”
Dale held the door, waiting for me to exit before him.