by Kailin Gow
“I thought…” Justin’s mouth was gaping open. “I thought…”
“It didn’t work,” said Jaegar shortly. He didn’t want to have this conversation right now, especially now that his food source was getting away.
Had Justin not intervened, would he have stopped in time? Jaegar didn’t want to think about that either.
“Mal? Did Mal..?”
“No, Mal didn’t turn me,” said Jaegar with annoyance. “I’m not evil – I’m just hungry.”
“And that’s why you’re cheating on my sister?”
“Would you rather I ate your sister?” Jaegar shot back. Seeing Justin’s dumbstruck face, he felt a bit guilty, and adopted a softer tone. “Listen, I need to eat. That’s just how it works. I wasn’t going to hurt her – she wasn’t going to lose any more blood than she would at a blood donation…”
“You want me to believe that?” Justin’s eyes narrowed.
“I didn’t want to risk Kalina’s life by feeding on her. Her blood is different, we both know that. I’m trying to protect her.”
“You’d better be,” said Justin. “Because if you break her heart, I’ll put a stake through yours.”
“More likely she’ll break mine,” said Jaegar, giving a sad hollow laugh. It was true, after all. The only thing that could save Stuart was Kalina unlocking her pent-up love for him – and if he knew Kalina at all, she’d stop at nothing in order to turn him back. Even if it meant reawakening that love.
“Where is she?” said Justin. “I thought she was with you.”
“I…had an emergency,” said Jaegar, deciding to leave the issue of Max for later. “We’re meeting back at the hotel.”
“Let’s go,” said Justin, coldly. “Only, listen up – if you so much as think of trying to bite me…”
“I won’t bite you,” said Jaegar. “I’ve fed already. Besides, you’re not really my type.”
“Oh, that’s heartening.” They walked faster in the evening cold. “And my sister is?”
“Your sister can take care of herself,” said Jaegar. “And I’m here to protect her too.”
“She may be eighteen,” said Justin, “but that doesn’t make her any less my kid sister, do you understand me? She says she trusts you, but as far as I’m concerned, you’re a vampire. You’ve been turned evil before…”
“I would die,” said Jaegar slowly, “efore letting anything happen to your sister.”
His voice was serious; he could tell that Justin believed him. With a reluctant nod, Justin turned away. “Fine,” he said.
They reached the hotel room, and Justin fumbled for his keys. He turned the handle and opened the door.
“What the…”
“Where is she?” Justin cried.
Jaegar could only look back at Justin with incredulity and fear.
Kalina wasn’t there.
Chapter 7
Kalina thought hard. What could she do? That cold, cruel monster sitting so pleasantly in his armchair, smiling at her – that wasn’t the Stuart she knew and loved. Even as he sipped from his wine glass – whose blood it was that filled the cup Kalina didn’t want to know – and whistled old operatic arias, Stuart was – Kalina knew – planning the myriad of ways in which he could torture her, keep her under his spell. Once, he wanted her blood, and he wanted her, loving her for his chance for humanity. At least she knew that. But now he wanted nothing but to play with her, as a cat plays with a mouse, and she found this desire more terrible still.
How could Stuart, who had once wanted to be human so badly that his desire had almost destroyed him, now turn his back completely not only on Life’s Blood, but on any chance of returning to his former self?
“What is it, my sweet?” asked Stuart airily.
“Nothing,” Kalina said quickly. “On reflection, Stuart, I think I’ll take you up on that cup of tea.”
He stopped for a moment, confused, before smiling broadly. “Of course, my darling. Sugar or milk?” he asked as though they were at high tea.
Kalina smiled right back, grimacing inwardly. “Both, please.”
The false pleasantries bought her some time to think. She had saved Jaegar, after all – there had to be some way for her to save Stuart! But it was only once Jaegar had drunk her blood – blood willingly given – that he was set free, that he was made human. Kalina wondered if she could turn Stuart back the sam way! If she truly loved him, as deep down she knew she did, then surely him drinking her blood would save him?
But now she was in a situation entirely new to her. She was with a vampire who had no interest in Life’s Blood. How could she get him to taste her, to drink down the blood she hoped against hope would cure him, when he no longer had any interest in being cured? The Life’s Blood Mal had fed him against his will had destroyed his craving for it forevermore – and with it his craving for her.
She would have to seduce him.
“So, Stuart,” said Kalina, as brightly as she could, as he set down the cup of tea before her. “If you don’t love me, it does seem terribly silly to keep me here, all locked up.”
“I didn’t say quite that,” said Stuart, sighing lightly. “A part of me will always love you, I think. But it is only my obsession for you that has gone, clearing my head, leaving me to feel free at last. I no longer feel mad, consumed by madness nor by desire; no longer do I feel that any moment without your blood on my teeth is torture.” He smiled, showing his row of glimmering fangs. “But I’m still fond of you, my dear. I still want to keep you around. Like a pet, perhaps! Something to keep me company. Not to mention,” Stuart gave a little laugh, “how much it would irk my poor dear brother to be separated from you. He’s not used to not getting what he wants, you see. He’s not used to being refused. When we were boys, why, it was always he who had the upper hand. He was the eldest, you see. The one with all the power. But not anymore. Now I have the one thing that my older brother really wants, the one thing that matters to him! You’re the first woman to ever change Jaegar –and change him you did, quite literally.”
He took another gulpful of blood from the cup; Kalina sipped her tea, feeling the cup tremble on the saucer.
“Of course, that doesn’t mean he really loves you. When Life’s Blood filled his veins, when it took away all his inhibitions, then it became clear what my brother truly wanted. And it wasn’t your pretty soul, or your personality he cared about then,” he spat.
Kalina flinched, but recovered. She had to stay calm, to stay on-mission. If she wanted to save Stuart, she had to convince him to drink her blood. “And when Life’s Blood took away your inhibitions,” she said softly, edging closer to him on her seat. “What did you want then?”
Stuart’s eyes flickered downwards, breaking her gaze.
“After all,” she said, her voice as smooth as milk, “for so long, you wanted nothing more than to turn human. You were even willing to fall in love with me – so desperately in love with the Carrier – in order to get it…”
She saw Stuart’s jaw twitch involuntarily, and knew that she had hit a nerve. She felt her heart tremble faster within her chest; felt fear knock her breathess. Every word she spoke, every step she took, could be the key to saving Stuart – or the cause of the destruction of them both.
“I liked the idea of being human,” said Stuart. “Or at least I liked it once. Now, I find the whole affair ridiculous! Why turn human – when it would deprive me of all my abilities, all my powers? When you can do all the things a vampire can do – why ever even dream of giving it up?”
Kalina gritted her teeth. She had to get through to him, had to convince Stuart that his love for her, his humanity, were not yet dead. She concentrated on her own feelings, listening to the beating of her own heart, trying to bring back the memory of her own love for him, unlock her own desire. She remembered him kissing her on the porch that first night after their date, remembered how dashing he had looked waiting for her at prom night, feeling the pang strike her heart. She had to feel
it, too, if this was ever going to work.
“I don’t think that’s true,” she said. She reached for Stuart’s hands and placed them underneath her sweater, right above her breasts, letting him feel the heartbeat racing through her body. She shivered at the touch of his cold hands, warmed by her heat. “You wanted a pulse, didn’t you? A heartbeat running through you – your heart to beat like mine.”
She studied his face closely for any signs of desire. At last she found what she had been looking for – a slight tremble in his lips, betraying his longing.
“You have to admit it,” she moved even closer, letting the smell of her Life’s Blood fill his nostrils, sensing his response, “that there’s nothing more intoxicating to a vampire than Life’s Blood, even now.”
She could see the burning of desire in his eyes – a flicker, like a candle, at first, that grew into a roaring fire as she leaned into him, his hands still cool on her breasts. She saw his fangs begin to lengthen; she saw him close his eyes. It was now or never, she knew. She had power; she had the upper hand, and she needed to use it – or lose Stuart forever.
She placed her lips to his neck and began kissing him, feeling him recoil – at first – in shock, before giving in to her touch, her desire for him. She reached his lips and felt his mouth open beneath her. “I want you to kiss me, Stuart,” she whispered. “Kiss me like you’ve always wanted to, like you’ve always dreamed of doing…”
Her heartbeat was growing faster, too; if this seduction was working on Stuart, then it was also working on her. “Like that night, after the prom, when you came back to my room. Remember that?”
Stuart looked up at her, his eyes upon her – almost transfixed – frozen with desire.
Her patience wore thin.
She grabbed him, kissing him with all the passion she could sumon up, warming his icy lips with the force of her desire. And at last he was kissing her back, responding to her touch, ripping the buttons from his shirt and slipping her blouse off again. The New England cold froze through her, at first, but then she was hot, hot with desire and longing, hot with her sensation of Stuart’s desire for her.
She had to do this, had to convince him.
And deep down, where she wouldn’t admit it, not even to herself, she knew she wanted to.
She could feel him groan softly beneath her. “I’m yours,” she cooed, arching her neck back so that he could see the full creamy whiteness of her throat. “All yours.”
She could feel his kisses trail up from her breasts towards her neck, towards the pulsing vein throbbing with her every movement. And then he stopped, his fangs perched over the spot.
Clever – she could hear his voice in her head, although he remained silent. You certainly are bold.
Had he realized her plan?
Sorry, Kalina – I’m afraid I’ll have to pass – as tempting as you are…
She froze.
Chapter 8
Stuart did not stop kissing her. Instead, he trailed his lips up and down the length of Kalina’s body. She felt her heart beating faster and faster, her fear so palpable in her throat that she could taste it, bitter and strong, upon her tongue. She could feel her heartbeat shaking her to her core, so overwhelmed was she with a combination of terror on desire. What would happen if this didn’t work? Kalina hadn’t thought so far ahead. She thought of Maeve, of Justin, of what they would look like with their blood drained from their bodies. No, whatever happened, Kalina could not let this happen to them. But what was the alternative? Spending eternity trapped as Stuart’s pet, his housekeeper, his pretend wife? She knew that any hope of normalcy was gone forever. How stupid she had been – to imagine that coming to Yale would mean the start of a new life! There would never be a new life for her; she knew that now. As long as she had Life’s Blood in her veins, vampires would come looking for her. Stuart, Mal, and Octavius – it didn’t matter.
She let Stuart take ove, letting herself be seduced by his kisses once more as she felt him unzipping her jeans, sliding her trousers down to her ankles. Was this it? Was this the moment? She felt him kissing her inner thighs – felt the prickle of his lips, the sharp iterations of his fangs. Had her telepathy been mistaken? Kalina closed her eyes and waited for the bite, trying to hide her desperation as Stuart’s fangs loomed above her sensitive, pale skin.
The bite never came.
“That’s enough for now,” said Stuart affably, withdrawing. “You should put your clothes back on.”
Kalina stopped, shocked. She could have kicked herself. Of course Stuart wouldn’t be easy to seduce. Even as a good vampire, Stuart had the strongest willpower of any vampire she knew. She’d experienced it firsthand. It was what had made him weak as a vampire. But now, with his evil awakened by Life’s Blood, Stuart’s willpower had become his strength, and he could use it to torment her. She’d offered herself up to him, let herself become vulnerable, let herself love him – and now she was even more under his power than before! What would it take for Stuart to bite her?
She would have to redouble her efforts. In a flash she had grabbed hold of Stuart’s shoulders and sat him down upon the couch, sitting on top of him, straddling his lap. “Really, Stuart!” She tried to sound seductive, to mask the desperation in her voice. “What happened? Did Life’s Blood wipe out your virility?” She gave a little laugh, hollow with fear. She knew Stuart was especially sensitive to these kinds of insults; she had seen Jaegar lob them at his brother often enough. “I remember you being a bigger, badder vampire before the Life’s Blood?”
She saw that her words had struck home.
“What happened to the vampire I used to know, Stuart? The one that came home with me after Prom Night? And now, it’s like you have no passion at all, no release. It’s like dating a human!” She gave him a sultry stare. At once she began to feel the power of Life’s Blood – primal, passionate – coursing through her. She had vampire blood in her veins, after all! Why shouldn’t she be as good at compulsion, at mind games, as her vampire companions? For so long, they had used their seductive vampire natures against her, confusing her, making her blood boil with desire?
This time, it was her turn.
“I wouldn’t push me if I were you,” said Stuart in a chilly tone, with enough anger hidden beneath his smooth veneer for Kalina to be sure that she’d gotten to him. “My dear girl, one push too many, and you may unleash something you’ll regret. Have you ever wished you were never born, Kalina? Bese I could make you wish that, very – very easily.”
In his eyes there was a glimmer of danger, of passion so dark that it made even Octavius, even Jaegar, pale beside it. So, this was the Dark Knight that Jaegar had spoken of. But why hadn’t the Life’s Blood released him? Or was the real Stuart in there somewhere – keeping the Dark Knight in check…at the cost of his own desire for Life’s Blood?
Kalina tried to find some trace of the Stuart she used to know in those eyes. “I missed you, Stuart,” she whispered, keeping her voice soft and lilting. “My good friend. My champion. My good knight. I missed you so much…” She could feel the truth in her words sear a hole in her heart. When Jaegar had turned bad, it had been Stuart who was so faithfully at her side, taking care of her. And now he had sacrificed his own humanity, his own self, to save her.
Overcome with compassion, Kalina reached out her hand, smoothing her palm against Stuart’s cheek. She saw him – instinctively – lean into her hand and close his eyes, his face a picture of anguish. There was something there – there had to be!
“Please,” she whispered. “Stuart – I missed you so much.” She felt tears, hot with desperation, trickling down her cheeks, stinging her eyes. “Please come back.”
She could see it when she looked at him: Stuart’s three personalities battling with each other inside his eyes. There was the cold, calculating Stuart who was tormenting her, the empty, emotionless shell. But deeper still there were two forces battling for control, resulting in this strange coolness – the Dark Knight, prima
l and passionate, and the good Stuart, the human Stuart, the man she’d once loved and still loved. Stuart’s mask and self-control were stronger than ever, but she had to risk it – had to risk unleashing the Dark Knight in order to get Stuart back.
“Feel something for me again,” she said. “Listen to my heart. It’s what I feel for you.”
His face was filled with pain.
“It’s okay, Stuart,” said Kalina. She looked into his eyes, surprised as ever by his beauty, although she had seen it so many times before. She tried to use compulsion on Stuart, concentrating on making him listen to her, making him hers. “Drink from me. I want you to drink from me.”
Stuart closed his eyes tighter; his jaw was tense, firm, under such tight control…
“I want you to, Stuart, really!” The compulsion grew stronger, prickling her blood; she could see him shaking with temptation. “Drink from me.”