3#Awakened by the Vampire Prince (Thorn)

by Hartnady, Charlene

  A grunt of agreement could be heard from deep in the shadows. Esral could just make out his hulking form.

  “When Gideon finally stops rutting long enough to show his face, I’ll have a word with him but I know that he will be on board as well. Together we’ll find a solution.”

  Esral let out a pent up breath. “Thank you for understanding.” She put a hand on his arm for a beat or two. “There is a female out there for you, York, of that I am certain.”

  His eyes lit up like he had already found the one for him. He nodded. “I’m sure you are right, princess. I can only hope that she looks at me in the same way as you look at Xavier. When that day comes, I will grab ahold with both hands and I won’t ever let go. That much I am certain.”

  She smiled at him. “I can’t tell you how thankful I am that you understand. The guilt was eating away at me.”

  “You need to follow your heart. Don’t ever apologize for that.” York’s eyes softened as he spoke.

  Sound grew louder as the door opened and Keto moved towards them, a smile on his face. “The happy couple. I hope I’m not interrupting. I’m sure the two of you are discussing the future. Have you decided how many babies you plan on having?”

  “One step at a time.” York said, turning to face her brother.

  “Nonsense. I can’t wait to become an uncle and look forward to many nieces and nephews to dote on.” He smiled broadly before clapping York on the back.

  Was he trying to get them to admit that she was pregnant already? Was this his way of condoning her phantom pregnancy? She wasn’t sure which it was, she only knew that she had just about enough of all of them and their false claims.

  “I’m still young. There won’t be any babies for at least a couple of years. If it’s babies you want, you should hurry up and have some of your own.”

  Something flashed across his face. It was hard to read. Could it be? It seemed that maybe Keto wasn’t as set on mating Cheri as they had both let on.

  He smiled warmly, his face an unreadable mask once again. “Let’s first get through your blossoming ceremony shall we?” Her brother touched her arm lightly. “Xavier came to see me today.” He looked at each of them pointedly.

  Esral had to work to keep from reacting.

  “He had a couple of interesting things to tell me. I want you to know”—he turned all of his attention on Esral—“although I sympathize with your predicament…” He briefly glanced at York before his cold eyes settled back on hers. “This doesn’t change anything. Not a damn thing.” His voice dropped low. “Father could not take an upset like this. Do not be selfish, Esral.”

  “The princess may be a lot of things but selfish is not one of them and as her brother you should know this.” York sounded like he was ready to beat Keto. With his eyes hardened and narrowed, he looked every bit the warrior he was as he continued. “What happened to your jaw?” It was only then that she noticed that one side of his jawbone was blue tinged and ever so slightly swollen.

  “I had a little bit of an accident. A fall.” His face was an unreadable mask.

  “That’s terrible. We wouldn’t want it to happen again would we?” York sounded like he knew what had happened to Keto and it wasn’t just a simple fall that had caused the mark.

  “It doesn’t change a damn thing.” Her brother’s eyes flashed red for a split second just before he glanced at York. “As far as I’m concerned, it’s settled. I don’t want to hear another word about it. Let’s go back inside.” He smiled at York. “My guests are dying to meet with the vampire that stole my sister’s heart.”

  York muttered something about not being that vampire but he filed in behind Keto taking ahold of her elbow as he did. Esral had to work hard not to roll her eyes. It was a terrible habit that she learned from her friend Tanya. She missed the vampire castle and her friends greatly. Life had been so simple and carefree there. Right now she felt like she was trapped in a nightmare with no hope of escape.

  “There you are.” Cheri gushed, narrowing her eyes on Esral. “You two”—she motioned to her and York—“get inside here this instant. Appetizers are about to be served.” She waved her fingers, motioning for the servers. Large silver platters and big jugs of wine were brought into the room by a whole team of servers.

  “I want you to stay until after the party.” She whispered in Esral’s ear. “We still have a lot to discuss with the blossoming ceremony just around the corner.”

  Esral shook her head. “I’m really tired. Please, can it wait till tomorrow?”

  Cheri looked at her like she was a small child who was acting out. “There is not much time.” She made a clicking noise with her mouth. “I’ve heard stories about these vampires.” She whispered. “Their prowess in bed. Is York tiring you out?”

  She had to work hard not to respond to Cheri’s words.

  When Cheri didn’t get the reaction she was after she continued. “Oh, I get it. You can’t wait to get back to your chamber to be with him.” Cheri had the audacity to wink at her.

  Esral frowned at Cheri. “It’s not like that and you know it. I would really appreciate it if you could drop the act.”

  Cheri raised her eyebrows. “Whatever do you mean?” She smiled warmly at Esral. Cheri then winked at her again. “I’ll meet you in your chambers at sun up. Make sure you are well rested.”

  Esral nodded once, glad the female had decided to drop it. She was not about to put up with her crap for a moment longer. It seemed that Cheri had picked up on that. York put his hand to her lower back and ushered her to one of the tables. They were seated next to Keto and Cheri. This was going to be the longest evening of her life.

  “I am here for you, as a friend.” York whispered into her ear. “Don’t let her get to you.”

  “Thank you and I won’t.” Her eyes threatened to fill with tears. “For everything. Out there…”

  “Don’t think of it. Your brother can’t help that he is a grade-A prick.” He smiled, looking every bit the scary vampire as one of his fangs flashed for a second. Females on the other side of the large table sighed and gushed. Then the chatter around the table died down and she noticed a few of the guests were staring at her brother. More and more turned their attention to the elven prince by the second.

  She glanced his way and saw that one of the servers was whispering into Keto’s ear. Her brother’s complexion changed before her eyes. His healthy, glowing tan turned a pasty white. She could see how his chest heaved and how his hands clenched. The very air seemed to fill with tension. His wide, fearful eyes darted to her. He whispered something back to the server who scurried off, leaving through the main entrance. The helpers normally used the side or even preferably back entrances. Keto didn’t even blink, he had obviously given the server permission. Esral could feel her heart beating in her chest. Could hear the blood rushing in her ears.

  Even York picked up on the tension because he turned to her, his eyes filled with concern. “Oh hell,” he whispered as if he knew what was going on.

  Lifting a hand, she shook her head. Her eyes firmly on Keto. Then she realized that he had most likely heard the whole conversation. “What is it? Tell me.” Even as she begged to know, she dreaded what the answer would be.

  Her brother rose to shaky legs, using a fork, he tapped one of the many crystal glasses on the table in front of him. “There has unfortunately been a turn of events.” His voice was high pitched. With a start, she realized that he sounded afraid. “Myself and Esral need to excuse ourselves. Please”—he forced a smile—“enjoy yourselves. You are in great hands.” He squeezed Cheri’s shoulder. Although Esral could not see the female’s face, she knew Cheri would be looking at him questioningly. Keto whispered something into Cheri’s ear but the female didn’t react.

  It took several long moments before Cheri nodded before turning to face the room, a fake smile across her pretty face. “Please, help yourselves to the entrees. I am sure that Prince Keto and the princess will join us as soon as they a
re able.”

  Esral was already on her feet by the time Keto arrived at her chair. As was York.

  “You can stay.” Her brother growled while only briefly glancing in York’s direction.

  “Whatever’s going on, I want York at my side,” she said. It was clearly bad. Her mind instantly went to her father but it couldn’t be that. He was healing. She’d seen him only hours earlier. It had to be something else. A wave of nausea caused her stomach to clench.

  “I’m not arguing with you right now. Follow me.” Keto turned and strode from the room. She tripped several times just trying to keep up with him. Lazarus fell in behind them. Was it just her imagination or had the temperature dropped several degrees? She hugged her arms around herself, feeling goose bumps rise on her arms. “Please tell me what’s going on.” She pleaded to Keto’s retreating back.

  “Father has taken a turn for the worse.” When he glanced back, she saw the fear redoubled in his eyes.

  “What do you mean? In what way?” She clutched her throat with her hand. Her body turned numb and she ground to a halt unable to put another foot in front of the other. “He was so much better earlier when I went to see him. This can’t be.”

  Keto must’ve realized that she’d stopped because he sighed deeply and turned to face her. “We need to go and see father, as well as the healers. We must do so right now. I’m just as shocked as you are. It seemed like he was getting better dammit.” Keto swallowed thickly. His nostrils flared for a few moments and his eyes turned to the canopy above. For a second it looked as if tears glinted in his eyes. Then he closed off his emotions once more. “We need to stay strong. For his sake. Can I count on you to do that, Esral?”

  She nodded. “Of course. Anything for father.”

  Keto nodded once. “Let’s go then, he’s asking to see us. I only hope…” Her brother scrubbed a hand over his face looking more upset than she’d ever seen him before. He took a deep breath. “I’m not sure what I’ll do if this is the end, Esral. I’m not ready to be king. I don’t want him to die.” There was no doubt this time that it was tears that shone in his eyes.

  Her whole body shook, so she clasped her hands in a tight knot in front of herself. If she fell apart now, she would not be able to pull herself back together. “Like you said, Keto, we need to stay strong. This is not necessarily the end.” She felt her lip wobble but ignored it. There was no way she was crying. “Let’s go and see him.” She sniffed. “We can talk and make the necessary decisions after. We have to stay positive.”

  His teeth were clenched when he looked back at her. Keto nodded once. She longed to go over and give him a hug but knew that it was something he probably wouldn’t want. The anguish on his face made her heart bleed. To hell with it. She crossed the small distance between them and threw her arms around him, hugging him tight. Her head reached about chest level and she buried her face into his robe, fighting to keep control of her emotions. As expected, he didn’t hug her back but neither did he push her away. She looked up as she released him noticing that he did look somewhat better.

  Keto nodded once, she was sure it was in thanks as his eyes had softened. She clasped his hand for just a second, squeezing it, and nodded back. They broke away from one another as they continued on the walkway. Within another minute they’d reached their father’s chamber.

  As they arrived, the door opened and Lord Minogue exited. His face looked gaunt and his eyes weary. He looked first Esral and then her brother in the eyes before closing the door behind him. “I need to prepare you,” he whispered. “It’s really bad. I can only let you stay for a few minutes. Please know that I’m doing everything in my power to save him. We all are.”

  A small whimpering noise escaped her and she clutched her hand to her throat. Taking a deep breath, she nodded. Blinking hard to try and stop the tears that welled.

  “Why is this happening?” She could hear the roar of emotion in Keto’s voice. “I thought he was getting better.”

  “I wish I knew. Unfortunately, he is far too ill to even consider taking blood right now. As you know, we would need to use a silver needle which could be detrimental. I will stay with him and do my best to keep him comfortable and stable. If he makes it through the night…”

  She gasped, biting down so hard on her bottom lip that she tasted blood. Keto made a choked noise.

  “If that is the case then you need to let us stay.” Esral’s voice quivered as she spoke but there was nothing she could do to stop it. “Please, we need to be with him.”

  Lord Minogue shook his head. “No, he will not want you to see him like this. It is important that he stay as relaxed as possible and that hopefully he can get some rest. I promise the both of you”—he gripped each of their wrists—“I will call you the moment anything changes. You have my word.”

  “There’s really not anything any of us can do, is there?” Esral asked feeling more helpless then she ever had in her whole life.

  “No. Like I was saying, hopefully I managed to stabilize him and once he is strong enough, I will extract blood so that we can gain some more insight. The problem is that every time we take blood his silver levels spike dangerously high. It may very well be a result of his illness. Silver seems to affect him more so than normal. Even with minimal contact with the metal. It’s a balancing act right now between gaining information and stabilizing him.”

  She licked her lips and nodded.

  Keto was breathing heavily, she could see that he was working hard to retain control. This was affecting him much worse than what she ever thought it would. Part of her, she realized, had been angry with him this whole time because he seemed to be enjoying his role as leader too much. Could it be that she had been wrong?

  Lord Minogue gestured to the door. “Let’s go inside.”

  “This is a private matter. I will be out here if you need me.” York lightly touched her arm and motioned to where Lazarus was standing. She nodded once before following the healer and her brother into her father’s chamber.

  Instantly, a terrible scent hit her. Foul yet sweet. The scent of death. She could also scent excrement and cleaning detergents. Vomit and urine also featured high on the list. Taking a deep breath through her mouth, she squeezed her eyes shut for a second while praying for calm. Her father needed her right now. She would be here for him regardless of how difficult this was.

  When she caught sight of the frail body in the overly large bed, she swallowed hard. Her brother made a sound of anguish and increased his stride until he was at his father’s side. Katar’s skin had turned ash gray. His eyes were wide and rheumy, staring at nothing. His jaw was slack, his mouth hung open. He dry heaved, his body bowing from the bed. The spell seemed to last for a very long half a minute in which her father’s muscles spasmed. His throat sounded raw and he made the most awful sounds as his body attempted to expel his stomach contents which by the scent in the room were long gone. Eventually, he fell back still heaving. Lord Minogue, used a cloth to mop her father’s mouth and brow. The tension from his shoulders eased somewhat and she noticed that he blinked and even pulled his mouth closed for a few beats at a time.

  Using every ounce of power she possessed, she forced her legs to move and took up the space on the other side of the bed. Keto held one of her father’s hands and she the other.

  “I’m here for you, father.” Keto may have been overly emotional moments before but right now he sounded steady and calm. The confident male she’d always known. “You are going to pull through this. Fight father, fight. Please.” His voice hitched slightly on the last word belying his emotion after all.

  “We love you, father.” She said, hoping that he could hear her.

  “Very much.” Keto added, locking eyes with her for a second before looking back down at their father.

  Her father didn’t seem to recognize them or even to know that they were there. Mercifully, he began to drift off to sleep. His chest rose higher, his breathing became deeper and more rhythmic. Then hi
s eyes opened and he moaned.

  Lord Minogue returned to her father’s bedside, a vile of green liquid in his hand. “I promise I’ll let you know if anything changes. I’m going to give him the sleeping tonic. Rest is what he needs right now.”

  She nodded, seeing that Keto did the same.

  They said their goodbyes knowing that this could be the last time they saw their dear father alive. Esral kissed him on the brow and then put her head lightly to his chest, remembering how he used to lift her when she was just a little girl. Much to her mother’s dismay, he would fling her high into the air. He was so strong and so handsome. In those moments it felt like she was flying. They would both laugh and laugh. Even her mother would join in eventually while giving Katar bad looks and begging him not to drop her. He never did. Her father would make it through this, he had to.

  Chapter 6

  Pulling the blankets more firmly around herself, Esral still felt cold to her very core. Her whole body felt numb. Her stomach churned with worry. This couldn’t be the end. It couldn’t be.

  Both York and Lazarus were stationed outside. York had insisted on staying. There was a light tap on the door and Xavier entered closing the door behind him.

  She made a whimpering noise as she caught sight of him. All of the emotions resurfacing in that instant.

  “I came as soon as I heard,” he growled low. “I’m so sorry this has happening.” Xavier set something down on the table beside her. Not bothering to remove his clothes or his boots, he slid into the bed and pulled her into his arms. His warm embrace made her feel safe. She buried her head into his wide chest and sobbed.

  Using one of his big hands, he stroked her hair, threading his fingers through her long strands. After a while she managed to pull herself together. The odd tear fell sporadically. She still sniffed and hiccupped. Xavier ran a hand up and down her back in firm soothing strokes.