by Dove, Raquel
Balthazar unfolded his arms with a sigh. He could tell his fun was over, and he would need to get serious. He was afforded so few opportunities to play, he would have to learn to reign his antics in so as not to offend his intended.
“Alexandra,” he said, taking her hands in his and trying to get her to look at him. She played coy, avoiding his gaze. He hooked a finger under her chin, turning her eyes to him. “You forget who I am.”
“Oh trust me,” Alex said with a sarcastic smirk, “I haven’t forgotten who you are.”
“Then you should know,” Balthazar said, “your human defenses cannot stop someone like myself.”
“He’s right, Alexandra,” AnnaBeth said, butting into the conversation. She was rather enjoying the interaction between the two, as was evident by the smirk on her face.
“Sam,” Alex said, looking at him and hoping he would back her on this.
“He’s got a point Alex,” Sam said with a shrug, immediately regretting going against his friend as she glared daggers at him.
“Look,” she said, “I want to go back as much as anyone here, but this is just ridiculous. And I’m not sure I feel comfortable stealing anyway, even if we could get our hands on it.”
“We aren’t stealing anything,” Balthazar said indignantly.
“Oh,” Alex said, “I suppose we are just going to borrow it then?”
“Of course not,” Balthazar said, “I am going to retrieve what rightfully belongs in the crown jewels of my people, and as the Lord Sultan, is my personal property.”
Alex opened her mouth to respond, but quickly shut it when she realized he made a very good point.
“Ok,” Alex said, finally finding her words and forming another argument, “even if that is the case, we still aren’t going to be able to get anywhere near the Smithsonian without causing a riot. You’re going to stick out like a sore thumb.”
“There is a rather simple cure for that,” AnnaBeth spoke up.
“Of course there is,” Alex said, tossing her hands in the air. She was beginning to feel like the only sane person in the room. “What would that be?”
“You can cement the bond between you two, and Lord Balthazar should be able to easily morph into human form,” AnnaBeth replied. That certainly got the demon lord’s attention and he sat up slightly taller in the chair.
“How?” he demanded.
“Oh,” AnnaMarie said, a peculiar smirk curling on her lips, “you don’t know.”
“How?” Alex asked her eyes narrowing on the sister that had remained silent until now.
“Sister,” AnnaBeth chastised her sister, before turning back to Alex. “You must continue the course of action that began the bond in the first place.”
Alex looked quizzically from AnnaBeth to AnnaMarie, who still had that damnable smirk plastered on her face.
“I’m not sure what that is,” Alex said, looking over at Balthazar, who was also clearly unaware of what they were talking about.
“Well,” AnnaBeth said delicately, folding her fingers together on the table. She thought for a moment, trying to pick her words carefully. “It is a rather pleasurable course of action…”
She let her words trail off with a wiggle in her eyebrows, hoping that Alex would pick up on it without her having to explicitly say so. Unfortunately the meaning was lost on Alex. The smirk that had grown on Balthazar’s face, however, told her that he had caught her meaning. He leaned over, whispering into Alexandra’s ear.
“As if,” she shrieked, her face turning the most brilliant shade of red.
“If we must,” Balthazar said, a much too pleased grin, and a shrug of his shoulders.
“Not happening,” Alex said with a huff, crossing her arms. “We are just going to have to find another way.”
Balthazar couldn’t hide his slight disappointment, as he had wanted to continue their more intimate moments for quite some time. But he could see Alex was simply not ready for such things yet, and he certainly wouldn’t push the issue. He would wait until she was ready to take that step, wanting nothing more than to give her pleasure, and realizing her anxiety would certainly hinder that.
“This would be the best way,” AnnaBeth began to argue, “and we do not have a great deal of time.”
“She is not prepared for such a thing,” Balthazar said firmly, “that is the end of the issue.”
Alex gave Balthazar a small nod of appreciation. It warmed her heart that he would be so sensitive to her needs.
“Very well,” AnnaBeth said, slightly diminished, “Then we will need to think of another way.”
Chapter Fifteen
The only thing going through Alexandra’s mind was how this was never going to work. Granted, they had made it to Washington D.C. without Balthazar causing a panic, but that didn’t mean they weren’t going to get caught. The first thing they decided was they would need to case the museum. In all Alexandra’s wildest dreams, she never would have imagined herself casing anything, much less the Smithsonian. She peered up at Balthazar as they made their way down the promenade of buildings that made up the Smithsonian museum complex. His hands were crammed firmly into the pockets of the hoodie that covered his inhuman ears, and his eyes were hidden by large black sunglasses. She could see he was clearly uncomfortable.
“Are you ok?” she asked. The concern on her face touched Balthazar. Even though he was raised as the crown prince, he had never had anyone care for him quite so much.
“I will be fine,” he said. He could see that answer wasn’t pleasing to her as the scowl formed on her face.
“The smells,” he elaborated, “and the sounds. It is hard to concentrate with the assail to my senses.”
“We’re almost there,” Alex said, hoping to bring some amount of comfort to him. “Maybe it will be better when we get inside.”
Balthazar didn’t say anything, just nodded. Alex could see the strain on his face, even though he hid it well. Luckily there was not a great deal of people inside the museum, and she could see him visibly relax once the cold, quiet of the inside of the museum washed over them.
Alex went straight to the information desk, grabbing a pamphlet that laid out the displays of the museum. Her eyes began to scan for the display they were looking for. Balthazar was busy memorizing the layout, the entrances and exits, possible areas they could breach the security. He was rather surprised at the lack of security that he saw. A couple of aged, overweight guards watched over the small crowds of people that wandered around, looking wide eyed at the exhibits.
“It’s on the second floor,” Alex said, looking up from the map.
“I thought this was one of the most secure buildings,” Balthazar said, glancing down at her. His eyes were still hidden behind dark sunglasses, but Alex could imagine the condescending look he was giving her from behind them.
“It is,” she said, fighting to roll her eyes. An elegant black eyebrow arched slightly, telling her that he didn’t believe it was.
“I know it doesn’t look like it,” Alex said with a sigh. Balthazar seemed to adapt so easily to her world, it was easy to forget that he didn’t know how things worked here. “There are hidden security measures. I’ll explain later, just get a good look at everything.”
“The second floor you said?” Balthazar said, turning from her toward the wide staircase located on the other side of a wooly mammoth display. Alex wanted to groan. She wondered if he knew how annoying he could be sometimes. She followed after him, and when they arrived on the second floor, it wasn’t hard to find the Hope Diamond exhibit. Getting close to it, however, was another matter. People jostled and crowded around the small display case that occupied the middle of a rather small room. The sight of it nearly took Alexandra’s breath away. It wasn’t particularly large, like she had thought it would be, only slightly larger than a quarter. But the color and the sparkle that emanated from it was indeed peculiar, and one of the most beautiful things Alex had ever seen. It was easy to see that it didn’t really belo
ng in her world. Things in Balthazar’s world were so beautiful. She could see this piece fitting easily into his world of gleaming white marble and colorful silk gowns.
Balthazar noticed the awe that had washed over Alex, and he reveled in her expressions. It was the same expression he had seen so many times when she was in his kingdom, the same expression that had so intrigued him, and drawn him to her.
Alex felt the warmth of his hands come to rest on her shoulders, and the comfort of his statuesque figure close behind her. She leaned slightly back into his embrace, enjoying the warmth that the closeness of his body brought. He bent his head, his lips coming to rest beside her ear. The heat of his breath ghosted over the skin of her neck and she could feel the tingle of arousal working its way through her. Balthazar’s nose instantly caught the spicy smell through the crowd of other smells that permeated the room. The corners of his lips twisted into a smile, his male pride swelling at his ability to so easily arouse her desires.
“The pendant of the Sultana,” Balthazar whispered, his voice deep and husky, causing her arousal to increase, “it belongs around your neck, my love.”
The words hit Alex like a ton of bricks. She hadn’t really given his feelings for her much thought, hadn’t really needed to. She knew he wanted her, could see that he cared for her. But she never even thought for a second that he actually loved her. Her heart was doing backflips in her throat as she tried to form words to respond. She felt hot and cold all over at the same time. Just as she was about to turn to look up at him and plant a kiss on his sinfully handsome lips, she noticed the woman standing beside her gawking at the two of them. Then she realized the woman was staring at Balthazar, more particularly the clawed hands that were resting on her shoulder. As she turned her head to look behind her, she could see the elegant point of his fanged canine poking past the smirk on his lips.
“We should probably go now,” Alex said, grabbing his hand and ushering him as quickly as she could out of the room just as the woman was turning to alert her friend of the peculiar person she had caught a glimpse of.
Chapter Sixteen
“I don’t understand,” Sam said, shaking his head at AnnaBeth. “Why can’t Alex just zap the Hope Diamond to her.”
“It doesn’t work that way,” AnnaBeth said. She was wearing her trademark pleasant smile was still on her face, but her rising irritation was evident in her chocolate eyes.
“But you said she was only limited by her will,” Sam said, not noticing the annoyance behind her eyes.
“Yes,” AnnaBeth said with a sigh, “but matters are complicated.”
“How so?” Sam asked. He knew he was irritating the woman, but he was bored waiting for Alex and Balthazar to return from their excursion to the museum and there was no good TV in the hotel room they were staying in. He was ready to return to that world and make those creatures pay for what they had done to him.
“Well,” AnnaBeth said, “since Alexandra is insistent on not finishing her bond with Lord Balthazar, she will not have full access to her powers.”
“I still don’t see that as being a problem,” Sam argued, watching AnnaBeth as she ate a candy bar on the bed in the hotel room. He had been so intrigued by this woman since she had arrived on his doorstep a couple days before. In all honesty, he was kind of glad they had some time alone. He really wanted to get to know her better. “It doesn’t seem like it would be a difficult thing to pull off. Would it really require that much power?”
AnnaBeth didn’t really want to answer. She knew the real reason Alex couldn’t perform such a mediocre task as teleporting such a small object. It hurt her pride enough just thinking about it, she really didn’t want to have to say it out loud. To make things worse, she found herself somewhat flustered around Sam, though she couldn’t quite understand why. There was a knot in her stomach every time he stared at her with his piercing black eyes, and try as she might, she couldn’t seem to untangle it.
“No,” AnnaBeth said with a sigh. Her eyes were avoiding Sam’s. “It wouldn’t take so much power. But…it’s just that…”
“What?” Sam asked, as he tried to get her to look at him and give him a straight answer.
“It’s my fault,” AnnaBeth finally blurted out, and Sam could instantly hear the hurt in her voice as it crackled when she spoke. He saw a tear form in her eye and roll down her cheek. He felt a pang of guilt at the way he had pushed her for answers. He rose from his chair and joined her on the edge of the bed. She tried to pull away from him, but he wrapped his arm around her and pulled her into a hug. He had always been helpless when it came to tears, but he found that AnnaBeth’s tears made him feel especially helpless.
“Don’t cry,” he said softly. “How could it possibly be your fault?”
The kindness in his voice had such a calming effect AnnaBeth. She had never felt this way towards anyone before. Maybe it was because her whole life had been devoted to finding Alexandra and preparing to train her. She had never made time for boys.
“It was my only duty in life to find her, and teach her how to use her powers,” she said with a little sniffle that made Sam want to smile at the cuteness of it.
“It’s not your fault that you couldn’t,” Sam said, trying to soothe her, “and besides, you are here now. So you can train her. No harm, no foul.”
“I wish it worked like that, Sam,” she said, finally looking up into his eyes. Their faces were so close. They gazed into each other’s eyes and began to lean in closer to each other, lost in the moment.
When their lips were but a breath away, the hotel room door swung open and Alex and Balthazar came barging in. They were too caught up in their own argument to notice the Sam and AnnaBeth’s compromising position.
“I’m telling you,” Alex said with a huff, “it’s not going to be that simple. You can’t just go busting in through the windows and snatch it.”
“Why not?” Balthazar asked, removing the sunglasses and hoodie. He was so ready to remove the strange articles from his person, and he had already sworn he would never wear them again. Human fashions were terribly peculiar, he decided.
Alex was about to recruit Sam to her cause when she noticed the peculiar look on his face, as well as AnnaBeth’s. She looked between the two, who were now as far apart from each other as they could manage without arousing suspicion. Balthazar’s nose picked up the very faint hint of arousal in the room, and recognizing it was not coming from Alex this time, looked at Sam with a smirking approval but said nothing.
“Is everything ok in here?” Alex said, with her brows scrunched over her eyes as she continued to shift her gaze between the two.
“Fine,” AnnaBeth said, a little too quickly to be convincing.
“Sam?” Alex said, looking at her friend with skepticism. She had known Sam for as long as she could remember, and she knew when something was amiss with him.
“Fine,” Sam said, also less than convincing.
“Ok,” Alex said slowly, not believing them at all. “Well, we should probably talk about how we are going to pull this off.”
“As I have suggested,” Balthazar said, picking the argument back up where they had left off, “it will be a simple task for me to enter at night, when no one is present, and retrieve the diamond.”
“No,” Alex said through gritted teeth, “it won’t. I know you think you are all powerful, but things don’t work like that here. There is security there that you just can’t see.”
“Alexandra is right,” AnnaBeth broke in, finally finding her composure. “I’m afraid we cannot risk your presence being known in this world. It was dangerous enough to allow you to go out in public today. I do not think it would be wise to test our luck again.”
“See,” Alex said, giving Balthazar a triumphant smirk, “we will make plans and go in stealthily.”
“Actually,” AnnaBeth said, cutting off Alexandra’s private victory party, “I’m afraid Lord Balthazar will not be going back in.”
“I most certai
nly shall,” Balthazar said, crossing his arms over his chest.
“I don’t think that is a good idea,” AnnaBeth said, not intimidated by the demon lord’s posture.
“I will not allow Alexandra to go alone,” Balthazar said with finality.
“Very well,” AnnaBeth said with a heavy sigh, throwing her hands into the air. She did not have the energy to pick a fight with an overprotective demon lord, and she was still more than a little shaken by what had happened with Sam moments before. She was looking for a reason to get out of the same room as him. “I believe it is time, then, for your first lessons Alexandra.”
Chapter Seventeen
“Tell me about your experiences with your powers, Alexandra,” AnnaBeth said as she walked beside Alex in the small park located beside their hotel. A scowl formed on her brow as she contemplated the request.
“I’ve only felt them a couple of times,” Alex said, “mostly when I was really angry or scared.”
“Yes,” AnnaBeth said, “there is a built in defense mechanism of sorts. They will often kick in naturally if you are endangered.”
“That makes sense,” Alex said, “but I also used them to heal Sam, just before you and your sisters showed up.”
“I know,” AnnaBeth said with a smile, “that is how we found you. Do you remember that feeling?”
“Sort of,” Alex said, “I mean, I remember the feeling, but when I try to do it again, I just can’t.”
“What were you doing just before you healed Sam?” AnnaBeth asked.
“I had just woke up,” Alex said. “Actually, Sam woke me up. I was having a bad dream. He heard me and came in my room.”
“Was it one of your special dreams?” AnnaBeth asked, knowing full well what the answer was.
“It was certainly a strange dream,” Alex said. “It felt strange, and when I woke up I felt sick.”
“Those are the symptom dreams I spoke of earlier,” AnnaBeth said. “Do you remember what happened in this dream?”