“Really? What do you write?”
His mouth quirked into a smirk. “Vampire romance,” he said.
Danielle choked on a green bean.
Ethan patted her back gently. “Max is also a writer,” he went on. “He’s published several history books on the Order of the Garter.”
Eyeing Max, she suspected it was true. It was Ethan she wondered about. Was her husband truly a romance writer, or was that just another one of his skilled fibs? Many times she honestly didn’t know because he was so good at it.
“I was obsessed with knights as a boy,” Max said, cutting his fish into such small pieces that she figured he meant to hide it under his pudding rather than actually eat it. “Hence, I did enough research to write about it.”
Danielle remained withdrawn for the rest of the evening as the others sipped tea, ate teacakes and conversed, telling jokes and teasing Ethan about writing romance. He took it all in stride, said he enjoyed it, and she began to wonder if perhaps he really had worked as a writer for a while. She certainly knew he’d had time for it.
“Relax, honey, you look exactly the same,” Ethan whispered into her ear.
But James and her mother were watching every move she made like a pair of owls. It was true they hadn’t seen her since she’d married, and she didn’t know exactly what they were checking for, but she was about to crawl out of her skin worrying she may give something away.
And she wanted to burst into tears when her mother pulled her aside and asked quietly if she was expecting. Mom’s pretty blue eyes danced with grandmotherly longing and hope, which Danielle had to extinguish. “Sorry, Mom, you’re not a grandmother yet.”
Patting her on the shoulder, Mom sighed and then moved to collect another one of the little cakes Ethan had made.
Danielle made for the bathroom, hoping they wouldn’t notice her hasty escape. She felt sick to her stomach. Sadly the queasiness wasn’t from pregnancy, and wasn’t from food, but from sheer nervousness, and from the deep upset over the reminder of her loss. She’d wanted so badly to spend time with her family when she’d moved back to Colorado, and now, she just wanted them all to leave. They had no idea their daughter and sister had been pregnant, had been forced into hiding because she was the center of a civil war, and then been stabbed, only to be resurrected as a cursed being.
She realized as she sank to the floor and buried her hands in her face that her departure had been noticed when a soft knock sounded at the door. “I’ll be out in a moment,” she called out not wanting whoever it was to see her tears.
“What’s wrong?” came Ethan’s voice.
For him, she rose from the floor and opened the door. “Only everything…” she said, letting him take her into his arms.
* * * * *
Danielle pressed her hand to the cool airplane window as they returned to London. This was the second time she’d looked upon this city from this view but now it seemed so different. Perhaps it was because she had a different perspective and, in truth, was a very different person from the terrified young woman who’d set out to simply attend art school.
A sense of terror still sat heavily in her stomach, but obviously for different reasons. She couldn’t help but wonder, What next? They’d had their baby ripped from them, and now even their mortality had been stolen from not just him, but both of them. Images of a mortal Ethan haunted her thoughts. She’d liked him that way. He’d been more insecure in a way that had been sort of adorable. And those glasses ... the poor guy had bad eyesight and she found it so human and so sexy when he pushed them up the bridge of his nose when they slid.
He held her hand now, his thumb gliding over the back of her knuckles and fingers, back and forth. Lifting her lashes, Danielle looked at him and was lost in those blue eyes of his as he sensed her gaze and turned to face her. She always got lost in that gaze. Mortal or immortal that part hadn’t changed, though it was different somehow now that they were both cursed. Not in a bad way really, just ... she had no idea how to explain it.
The plane landed. She dropped her free hand to her lap, the cooled flesh heating against the warmer fabric of her skirt. Ethan stood as soon as the plane came to a stop, his hand leaving hers.
Moments later, while still staring out through the glass, Danielle heard, “It’s time to leave, Mrs. Deveroux.” The prince spoke.
She ignored him with her gaze instead going to Ethan who’d been gathering their bags from the overhead compartment. Grabbing onto the back of the seat in front of her, she pulled to standing and moved toward her husband. Richard silently moved out of her way but she could sense him following close behind, just as the rest of their guards did.
* * * * *
They weren’t allowed to go home but were whisked along swiftly to Order headquarters, or rather, Beon’s bed and breakfast. The guards had remained on high alert and she wondered how much trouble could she still be in if she was cursed just like the rest of them now.
After buttoning a shirt and then tugging it down over her tank top, Danielle muttered, “Why are they still so concerned? I thought I was safe now. Or safer,” she added when Ethan raised an eyebrow at her first comment.
“I’ve been told they haven’t stopped hunting us and their numbers have grown to insane proportions. We’re incredibly outnumbered.”
She reached for the hiking boots after pulling on her socks. Wondering why the guards had informed Ethan of this and not her, she asked, “Why are we dressing for a hike? Are we going camping?”
Ethan met her gaze and then looked away as he laced up his own boots. He was apparently deep in thought, Danielle realized as she watched emotion etch lines of stress in his expression. Uncertainty and even worry were the ones she recognized first. When his eyes returned to hers, she saw something else before he said, “We’re going to see Benjamin and then Lilith if we can find her.” She recognized it now—determination.
Still she doubted. “How can this help?” she paused with laces held tightly in fisted fingers. “What if the first vampire is on their side?” He certainly could be, she thought but didn’t say. What if he liked what he was? Liked the benefits. And Lilith, it was her curse they’d broken. Could she be angry about this too? The witch could likely curse them into something even worse than vampires....
Ethan had finished off tying and was now leaning forward, his forehead resting against one palm. “We can only hope ... and try.”
“That’s all you’ve got? Hope? Ethan—”
With one swift move, Ethan had her in his lap, snatching her next set of questions with the sudden change. Warm fingers moved along the side of her face from temple to jaw. His spicy, tangy scent surrounded her, enchanting her, even if it no longer had the power to entrance her being cursed just as he was. “Yes, hope.” His palm captured her face, forcing eye contact to remain. “Where is your faith, Danielle? I have a good feeling about this. I need you to trust me.”
His thumb moved along her cheek and then over her lips. Still, the loving gesture couldn’t comfort her heart completely. “I trust you, silly. It’s them I don’t trust. Some ancient vampire and a bitter witch—”
“Sorceress. There’s a difference. Never trust a witch.”
Danielle laughed at that and kissed Ethan on the nose, snuggling closer. “How would I know if I’ve even met a witch?”
Leaning further back into the settee, Ethan pushed his legs out a bit further from the edge, giving her more lap to sit on. “They always wear black.”
She threw her head back and laughed.
Ethan’s mouth was curved with a knowing smirk and she suspected he was only teasing her now. Jerk, she wanted some serious answers. “What was that for?” he asked right after she slugged him in the shoulder.
“For mocking me!”
The smirk left his face. “I may be flirting with you, sweet, but I’m completely serious about what they wear.”
“You can’t be—”
“Oh, but I am.”
She tho
ught about this longer while toying with the shaggy bits of hair just brushing over his collar, then asked, “So, does that mean that one girl in high school who always wore black and lined her eyes with a thick line of black eyeliner was a witch?”
“I rather doubt it.”
“But you just said—”
With his mouth landing firmly on hers, Danielle couldn’t argue any longer. Suspicions that this was just another one of his very skilled distractions rolled through her mind. But as his mouth moved over hers, as his tongue searched for hers in a dance that tasted like Ethan and not food, she caved in and went with it. The rotten scoundrel....
Hooking his thumb into a loop on her jeans as Ethan captured her waist, he then led her to the drawing room, where the others were waiting.
Three of the men sat on the sofa, all leaning forward. Beon sat in the middle with Max to his right and Richard to his left. His fingers were busy tapping at the keyboard of a laptop on the coffee table. The one standing, though also bent forward so he could see, was Seth. He blocked most of her view of the computer screen. Moving closer and peering past shoulders she could see it was a satellite image of a mountainous area.
Pointing at a part of the mountain range, Seth said, “He lives here. We think.”
“We’ll search the entire area if we have to.” That was Richard.
“The odds are dismal now. Richard, you’ve been in this position, how did you win that battle—?”
Danielle knew which battle Beon was talking about, the one where he’d managed to win against fifty-thousand with only ten-thousand men. It’s why everyone had thought Richard would make such a great king, if only he hadn’t died before he had the chance. And now it was part of why they’d asked him to join their order. Or perhaps it was the main reason.
After being silent, as he likely made battle plans in his head, he finally admitted, “Truth is, part of that success was pure luck.” He straightened his spine, sitting more upright now.
“Bloody hell,” Max growled.
“We may not need to be completely dismayed,” Richard continued. “The nature of this situation is completely different. I fought with mortal men before ... there were hills ... they were fooled into thinking they fought more men than they actually did. Life isn’t fragile for us now as it was then. We have different strengths, different skills, even different ways of fighting.” His gaze returned to the computer. “We didn’t have satellite either. I can plot a course this way.” He drew his finger from the bottom left corner to the spot mentioned as being where Benjamin presumably dwelled. “If we can get Benjamin to help us, we’ll have an advantage then.”
“I thought he lived in Moldova.” At least that’s what Ethan had said when he was planning to visit Benjamin last time. The map Richard was tapping at said it was Russia.
“He did, but we believe he’s moved to Russia where there’s more unpopulated land.”
How could a vampire live in such a secluded location? Danielle wondered, only realizing when they turned to look at her that she’d actually said that aloud.
Returning his fingers to the keyboard, Beon pressed a button or two and zoomed out from where they were looking previously. Pointing at the screen, he said, “These are cities,” Beon touched the monitor at four different locations on the map, “Very old cities. Stories of vampire legend have been told here for centuries, probably even originating from these Slavic countries. That’s why we think this is where he lives.”
“Could he hunt animals like all of you?” She was hoping....
“It’s doubtful. Those woods are known to be quite full of thriving wildlife. There have been no signs of it ever diminishing over the years.”
“But—”
Seeming to know her next question, Seth said, “He does have to travel rather far for a meal. It’s quite possibly a few hundred miles from any of those cities to his possible location, but for him, for any vampire really, it would be an easy task to stay hidden for as long as he liked. He’d need only space out his time between feedings and shift from one city to the next. And with fear of vampires being so high, the people would never venture into those woods to find out for certain, hence, he could maintain his lifestyle forever if he so wished.”
Danielle stared at the map a moment longer, imagining. Imagining Benjamin running through those woods to any village he chose, at night, seeking anyone fool enough to be out after dark. She could picture it not really taking him very long, despite the distance, already knowing how fast he could travel. What did he do with the bodies? Did he drag that back with him? Did he bury the poor souls who lost their lives to become a vampire’s meal? All questions she would likely never get an answer to, so she shifted her attention away from that.
As the men continued to discuss battle plans, Ethan joined them and Danielle’s gaze wandered to everyone else in the room. Several other vampires, guards, warriors, or whatever they were, milled around behind Beon and the others. They were listening, but not adding comment. She figured they felt they didn’t need to as a few of them nodded when they heard something they apparently agreed with. They seemed very eager to fight, like well trained soldiers secretly wishing to put to use the skills they’d learned even though they may not truly like the idea of war. Her attention returned to Ethan and the others, they’d stopped talking.
She was slightly startled to see them all looking at her. “It’s time to leave,” Seth announced.
“Now? I mean we just landed.”
I’m sorry, Ethan lipped.
“We haven’t got time to waste. We have a long way to go and the opposition could show up here if we don’t get moving now,” Beon said.
Of course his words made sense even though she didn’t like it, and Danielle nodded but asked, “Could I see Sophia? Say hello, say goodbye?” She might have been stalling, slightly. This was war they were planning for and the thought of it was sort of freaking her out. She didn’t know what to expect. Certainly she was trained to defend herself, but that’s what it was—defense. This was much more offensive. This is what these men were prepared for, not her.
“Sophia and Nadia have been hidden away for their safety.”
Her chin came up, her gaze shot to Beon’s. Why? Sophia was still a vampire, so if she was in danger was Danielle also?
“We need you there for this one, darling.” Ethan was at her side now, offering comfort as his hand touched the small of her back. The heat of his touch radiated through her clothes to the skin beneath. It was comforting and she couldn’t help but be grateful to him for how well he knew and understood her.
“What can I do?”
A gentle finger caught under her chin, tipping her face up a bit more. “We believe you’re the only one who can sway her, persuade her to help us.”
He was talking about Lilith. “But I thought we were going to see Benjamin?”
Ethan smiled, the corners of his eyes crinkling up as his cheeks lifted, he kissed her and said, “We are, but only so we can find Lilith.”
Panic and fear of the unknown swelled up inside her like nausea. Swallowing, Danielle forced herself to ignore it. If Ethan was still the overprotective man he had been in the past then he wouldn’t let anything happen to her now. Locking their gazes, Ethan pled with his eyes. She understood the words, though unspoken verbally. Trust me. Have faith in me.
* * * * *
After a seven hour plane ride, they landed in Moscow, Russia. It was daytime. They’d planned it that way so they could make eye contact with immigration officers without causing a scene.
Having only seen Moscow on television, she’d thought perhaps most of the buildings would have towers topped with what looked like huge upside down tops. Pointy and colorful. But it wasn’t all like Red Square. There were more ornately styled buildings and sculptures than usual, but most of it looked just like any other big city with many tall buildings. The truth was she didn’t really get to see much before they were moving again.
They rented cars
until nightfall, abandoned the vehicles at the outskirts of the city and then went on foot, leaving civilization behind.
At the edge of the forest the others filtered off to feed on a herd of poor deer that happened to be in the area. Ethan had gone to speak with Beon just before they also left her line of vision. Danielle expelled a shuddering breath, worried she might now be asked to kill an animal when she’d never bitten anything or anyone other than Ethan so far. While playing nervously with her pocket zipper, Danielle began searching for him when he was suddenly there, carefully taking her arm and drawing her behind a large tree. “What—?”
“Why the troubled face?”
Relief swamped her emotions and she smiled up at him as he gently cupped her face. “I—well, everyone was—”
“And you thought I’d abandon you? Leave you to fend for yourself?” A hint of irritation and hurt flashed amongst shards of sapphire in his gaze. Frowning, he said, “What from our time together makes you doubt—?”
“I’m sorry,” she said before he could say any more because the fingers she’d placed against his mouth wouldn’t stop his words if he meant to keep going. It’s true, she thought looking away, she shouldn’t have doubted him. She just felt so out of her element, in a country she’d never been to, trying to complete a potentially dangerous task she never thought ... never even imagined.... On top of all of that, she was still new to this, new to being a vampire. Deep down she knew she hadn’t fully adjusted yet and doubted she ever really would.
Ethan kissed those fingers, drawing her eyes back to his just before his hand closed around her wrist and drew it to his shoulder. His lashes lowered and his head tipped down and closer as his lips lifted at the corners. He kissed her as the fingers of his other hand tunneled into her hair, curving around the back of her skull. Releasing her wrist, that hand landed on the small of her back, holding her in place. With his mouth moving over hers, she was lost in the moment. The muscle-packed length of his body pressed her more firmly against the bumpy bark behind her. Instinctively her fingers curled into the fabric of his coat and her free hand slid underneath everything to his skin, to his ribs, sliding around to his muscular back. Danielle felt the shudder that moved through his body.
Fateful 2-Fractured Page 26