Eyes closed and barely able to move from absolute bliss-overload, she asked, “For?”
“Forgiving me. You have brought me more happiness in one day than I’ve known my entire existence.”
Helena’s heart fluttered with guilt. Oh, gods. If he only knew. “Niccolo, there’s something we need to discuss.”
“What, my love?”
Could she tell him the truth about what had happened at the Demilord compound? Viktor swore that Niccolo would never forgive either of them.
“You want to know what happened to Andrus, don’t you?” he growled.
“No. I was going to…” her curiosity piqued. What had happened to Andrus? Yeah, he betrayed her, lied to her, and held her prisoner. But nonetheless, she still cared about him. She knew what it was like to do stupid, irrational things when backed into a corner. “You didn’t kill him, did you?”
Niccolo snarled. “How can you care after what he did?”
She sat up. “What he did was wrong, but he didn’t lay a finger on me.”
Niccolo looked confused. “Then who hurt you?” he demanded. “There are bruises on your shoulders, you look like you weren’t fed, and there’s a bandage on your arm. Somebody sure the hell did something to you. Which one of his men was it! Who hurt you?”
Could she tell him the truth? She had to try. She had to tell him everything. “Viktor did it, but—”
Niccolo flew from the bed and slid on his pants.
“Niccolo! Wait! Where are you going?”
“I’m going to find him and kill him,” he screamed.
“No, you don’t understand…he…”
She blinked and Niccolo was gone. Just like that.
“Holy hell. What have I done?”
***
Holy hell! How the fuck did I end up here?
Andrus stared past the scowling Reyna at the flickering candle on the stone floor, trying to calm himself. Panic was for the weak. And weakness for idiots. But…holy hell!
He’d been so blinded by his need for revenge, the thought that Niccolo might recruit the queen to help never occurred to him. Hell, it was a risky move even he wouldn’t have attempted. Reyna was crazy and unpredictable.
Guess the son of bitch got lucky. Because Andrus was now tied to a chair in the dark, dank room deep in the bowels of Barcelona.
He looked up at Reyna’s smiling face. “Don’t be so fucking pleased with yourself,” he growled. “You might kill me, but you’ll still be a crazy, useless bitch and the worst ruler the vampire world has ever seen.”
Reyna backhanded him with such force that he was sure she’d fractured his jawbone. She cackled. “Oh, shut it. I’m not going to kill you.”
Not. Good. That meant she was going to torture him. Best provoke her and pray she lost her temper.
A quick death. There was also the off chance that if she killed him—a clear violation of the Pact—it would displease the gods and they might off her themselves. Of course, he had been plotting to kill her—also a violation of the Pact. Oh, well. It was worth trying at this point. What did he have to lose? Death really was the best option.
“I’m adding stupid to that list,” he said. “You keep me alive, and I’ll find a way to get loose. Or, my men will come for me. I will find a way to take your head, Reyna.”
Reyna’s smile melted away. “Such cruel, cruel words, Andrus dear. But keep it coming. It will make your screams that much sweeter to my ears.”
With slits on either side, her long black dress didn’t impede access to her usual arsenal of weapons strapped to her thighs. What tool would she choose? The small jewel encrusted blade he’d given her as a gift when they were lovers? Or her favorite machete she was rumored to carry these days? Today, she also had on leather thigh-high boots. She could be carrying a shotgun, too. He had to keep pushing her, make her furious so she’d kill him now, or he’d end up filleted, diced, and then charred daily for an eternity. Demilords were extremely resilient.
Andrus resisted the urge to squirm in the chair even though the ropes were burning his wrists. “Let’s also add delusional to that list. Shall we? Or, how about disgusting, evil, unfit to rule, vindictive, and…” He could see his words were not having an impact. In fact, she seemed bored by his tactics.
“Are you getting fatter?” he threw out.
Reyna’s eyes bulged with anger.
He wanted to laugh. Some things never changed. She was anything but fat. In fact, Reyna’s body was sleek and muscular. The memories of what he’d done to that delicious body flashed in his mind. He flinched. He didn’t want to think of those days. The days when he worshiped her, loved her. The days when she drove him mad because she refused to love him back.
Think of the day she betrayed you, he told himself. Think of how she turned you into a vampire and then tricked you into becoming a Demilord.
He said, “It’s amazing. Really. I didn’t know vampires could put on weight, but you’ve managed to be the first. Yes. Let’s add fat pig to the list of Reyna’s marvelous traits.”
Reyna snarled. She wrapped her fingers around Andrus’ neck and gave it a squeeze. The pain rippled down his spine. “Nobody calls me fat!”
Andrus closed his eyes. He prayed she’d keep going and take his head cleanly off.
Suddenly, she let go. “But, I suppose,” she said with an optimistic, perky tone, “everyone’s entitled to their opinion.”
Dammit all to hell! There has to be something I can say to push her over the edge.
“Oh, trust me,” he said, his voice raspy and low, “everyone’s got one. You should hear what your men say behind your back. They think you’re incompetent—”
“Enough, Andrus! It’s not going to work. You will be tortured. And I will enjoy every second.”
She bent down slowly and placed her hand gently to his cheek and kissed the corner of his mouth. “But first, I thought I’d enjoy that body of yours one last time, you know, before I slice it up into luncheon meat.”
She gripped his arm and snapped her fingers. They were suddenly in her townhouse bedroom in Paris. He recognized it because it was the very same one he’d been in when she’d taken his human life. This didn’t surprise him, but what did was how she could sift such long distances. Just like Niccolo. So, what other things had he been wrong about?
With vampire speed, Reyna tossed him like a rag doll onto her plush, red velvet bed, and tied him to the wrought-iron headboard. Before he blinked she was tugging at the top of his black leather pants. With ease she slid them down.
“Just as I remember you,” she whispered, sliding her red fingernails up his thighs. “Strong and lean.” She paused, staring at his flaccid penis. “What’s the matter, Andrus honey? You used to love it when we played this game. Don’t you recall?” She ran her hand over his groin.
Andrus stared blankly at the ceiling. Oh, he remembered all right. But there was no way in hell he would allow himself to forget how she’d betrayed him. He would not think about those endless nights of marathon sex when he bent her luscious body every which way possible and took her. He would not think about how much he enjoyed pounding his cock into her. He would not give her the satisfaction of watching him grow hard for her—
“Oh, yes. Just like I remembered.” She began stroking him vigorously.
What? He looked down. Dammit! He was getting hard. This was not going well. If he kept this up, she’d keep him around for a millennium chained to her bedroom wall. “It’s only hard because I was thinking of Helena.”
The queen’s hand suddenly froze on his stiffening member. “What did you just say?”
Andrus instantly regretted his words. He should have simply said “another woman." The name Helena had just slipped out.
The queen flew into a rage. “Impossible! You could never love another woman! Never.”
Finally. He found the key to provoking her. Who knew she would be the jealous type? But it would be a risky game, this one. The queen now might go after Helena. H
e didn’t want that.
“Who said anything about love? She’s just a hot piece of ass. I find a new one every week,” he lied. “And trust me, compared to you…let’s just say age is beauty and the bloom fell off your two thousand year old rose about, well, two thousand years ago. Frankly, fucking a woman that old is pretty disgusting. I’m amazed you still get any.”
There. That ought to do the trick.
In the blink of an eye, Reyna was straddling him, her hand wrapped around his neck. “You’ll regret saying that, my love. I promise.”
She leaned down and sunk her fangs into his neck.
Chapter 21
Helena frantically paced across the living room of the lavish hotel suite. What was she going to do? She had no way of calling anyone for help or stopping Niccolo. He was hunting his best friend and would likely kill him before she’d had a chance to explain. Yes, Viktor had hurt her; however, there was more to the story.
She had to do something. She was even considering calling Andrus at this point. He might help her—oh no. Her heart suddenly sank. What happened to Andrus? Niccolo never answered her question. She should hate Andrus for everything he’d done, but couldn’t. He was just another soul caught up in this mess.
“Ha! I knew it,” a female voice blurted out behind her. Helena swiveled on her heel to find a gorgeous redheaded woman in a long black dress with side-slits and thigh high leather boots. “So predicable, my boy, Niccolo. He said he was going to San Francisco. I picked the most expensive room in the most expensive hotel.” The woman looked around the room. “I can smell him. Where is he?”
Helena wished she knew, especially now. This woman screamed danger. Was she another crazy goddess?
“He left a while ago. Didn’t say where he was going.” Helena tried to sound nonchalant.
The woman huffed. “When you see him, tell him to get his ass back to my place.”
“And, you are?” Helena asked.
The woman blinked. “Who are you?”
Helena swallowed. Why do I have a feeling this day is about to get a lot worse? “Helena.”
“You!” The woman lunged and grabbed Helena’s neck. “Little bitch!”
Helena coughed and sputtered while she clawed at the woman’s icy, steel hands. “Reyna?” Helena croaked.
The woman smiled and released her. Helena tumbled to the floor.
“I hope they told you all of the wonderful things about me?” Reyna said proudly.
Helena rubbed her neck. “Not really.”
Reyna shrugged. “Good. Because I’m a heartless shrew who doesn’t know the meaning of mercy.”
Helena couldn’t argue with that.
“Especially for you,” Reyna added.
“Why did I figure that?”
Reyna’s eyes narrowed. “I see why he’s so fascinated with you. You are a spunky one. But a puny little human like you could never compete with the love he has for me. A true mate’s bond is eternal.”
Helena suddenly forgot all about her aching neck and her fear of this woman. She stood boldly and faced Reyna. “But I thought vampires only have one mate?”
“Oh, silly girl.” Reyna flicked her finger at Helena as if she were a fly she was shooing away. “Did he say you were his mate? Did you fall for that old trick?” Reyna cackled at the ceiling.
Helena couldn’t believe it. Reyna was mated to Niccolo? No. That couldn’t be right. “But I feel the bond.”
“Silence!” Reyna screamed so loud the windows flew open. A gust of crisp afternoon air burst into the room. “I am the one who paid the price! I am the one who gave up my sanity to be mated with a human. Andrus could never love you!”
Helena’s mind clicked. “Andrus? You’re mated to Andrus?”
Holy crap! Poor guy. No wonder he was crazy. No wonder he wanted to kill her so badly—even if it cost thousands of good vampires’ lives. If Helene were in her shoes, she’d do the same damned thing. Poor, poor Andrus.
Reyna stopped and sniffed the air. “You...are…” she hissed. “ You are Niccolo’s mate! Aren’t you? You smell like him!”
Helena stepped away. She had no idea what sort of politics and plots lurked in their world. Niccolo had never told her anything other than he wanted to be free, and now he was. Wherever this conversation was landing, she didn’t think it would lead to her Happy Place—the one with a naked Niccolo in it.
“It all makes sense now!” Reyna began stalking across the room. “Niccolo wanted to be with you. That is why he asked for his freedom. And, somehow, Andrus has taken a liking to you. Oh! This is a lucky day. I will get my revenge and get Niccolo back. He’ll have no use for his freedom once you are gone.”
Helena eyed the window. Could she survive the fall? Because there was zero point zero, zero, zero chance she’d survive the queen. Maybe the door was a better option. Helena made a run for it.
A hand appeared out of thin air and slapped her on the arm. “Come.”
Before Helena could blink, she found herself transported to another room. A log crackled in the fireplace, and the darkness of night peeked through a narrow slit between the burgundy drapes. She guessed she was in another time zone since it was now nighttime.
Reyna instantly released Helena and marched to the large bed in the middle of the room. She pulled down the blankets to reveal Andrus face.
Helena covered her mouth. What had Reyna done to him? His face was pale and thin, like he’d been partially desiccated. Guess his plan to swap me for the queen didn’t go so well.
Neither had Helena’s plan to save everyone. So far, she’d managed to drive away Niccolo—who was going to kill Viktor—Andrus was about to die and so was she. Once Niccolo realized Helena had been murdered by the queen, he’d kill the queen himself, thereby ending his own life.
Apocalypse. Boom. Everyone dead. Good job, bone head! Wanna take up another cause before you die? How about global warming? Maybe she’d end up getting the planet cooked before they all died in the apocalypse.
Reyna jumped on the bed and straddled Andrus. “Wakey, wakey! I have a surprise for you, my love!” she sang out and slapped his face a few times. There was no movement. Maybe he was dead? “Oh, for the love of gods, wake up. I need to get this over with so I can go to my lambada lesson.” She bounced on his stomach like a child riding a rigid merry-go-round horse.
No response.
Reyna moved her wrist to her mouth and bit down. She opened Andrus’ mouth and let a few drops of blood dribble in. A moment passed, and he suddenly jolted up. Reyna flew to the floor.
“Finally.” She stood and dusted herself off. She then pointed to Helena. “See, I brought you a gift.”
Andrus’ face looked like he’d been run over by the Reyna-bus. He suddenly looked horrified too. Then a sour calmness washed over him.
“Oh. It’s her.” He lay back down on the bed and pulled the covers up.
Helena, standing toward the foot of the bed, glanced at Reyna. She was no longer smiling.
“You’re going to play it that way, are you?” Reyna asked. Helena instantly felt Reyna grasping her throat from behind. Helena’s arms thrashed as the air was cut from her lungs.
“Yes. Fight my dear,” Reyna snickered. “It will make it so much more enjoyable for me. Andrus doesn’t love you, but he does care for you. I can feel it. I can feel every pathetic emotion running through that thick skull of his.”
Andrus suddenly lunged from the bed and slammed into Reyna with such force that she flew across the room and hit the wall. Plaster crumbled as she slid to the floor, moaning.
“Leave her out of this, Reyna! This is between you and me!” he screamed.
Helena crumbled into a ball on the floor. She grasped her own neck, struggling to let the air back in her lungs. Andrus rushed to her side. Somewhere in the back of Helena’s mind she registered the fact that Andrus was nude.
Had Reyna forced herself on him? Poor Andrus.
Reyna began crawling in their direction. “You do care
for her! I knew it!” she hollered. “I don’t know how it’s possible, but if you value your life, you best remember that I am your mate. Me! You cannot love her! You are not destined to be with that wretched mortal.”
Andrus turned in Reyna’s direction. “What the hell are you talking about?”
***
Mingled with bloody tears, black mascara ran in thick clumpy rivers down Reyna’s pale face as she cried. If Andrus didn’t hate her so much, he could almost feel sorry for her. “What are you talking about?” he repeated.
“Mate! You idiot.” She chuckled psychotically under her breath. “Three hundred years, and the thought never occurred to you?”
Reyna slowly rose. If he didn’t know better, he’d say there was a look of remorse in her eyes.
“I didn’t want to turn you,” she said. “I fought it off as long as I could. But there was no other way. The legends were true.”
Though her words were frantic and thoughts incoherent, there was a harsh churning in his stomach as his mind began shuffling the pieces of the puzzle.
No. It just can’t be. No! “What. The. Hell. Are you talking about, Reyna?”
Her face twitched. “Did you not hear me? You are my mate, Andrus. My. Mate. And vampires mated to humans slowly go insane if their mate is not turned.”
Andrus shook his head. How could this be possible? Mates were supposed to love one another, protect the other at all costs, have a connection. He hated her with every fiber of his being. He’d dreamed of nothing but killing her for centuries. Surely, this had to be another one of her many delusions. “I don’t understand.”
Reyna’s eyes continued pouring pink tears. She began pulling at her hair. “I can’t think straight. Your emotions…are like cancer!”
Andrus grabbed her shoulders. “You’re lying! You’re fucking crazy! I can’t be your mate, you never cared for me—I saw it in your eyes.”
Her eyes darted wildly from side to side. “No! That’s not true. I did everything to shield you from the truth. And I was prepared to do anything to keep from turning you; this was not the life I wanted for you.”
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