The Two Kings (Afterlife Saga)

by Hudson, Stephanie

  He was now walking in front of me with our bodies linked by entwined fingers. I was led upstairs but when faced with the two doors I knew which one I wanted to take and he knew it too. One led into the VIP area and the other onto a long outside corridor which bypassed the VIP to get into the home part of the nightclub.

  “You don’t want to go in there do you?” Vincent stopped before opening door number one.

  “Not yet, no!” I answered simply.

  “I can feel that. Come with me.” He turned around me brushing against my body and I followed his movements because he still had my hand tightly encased in his. I don’t know why but it was only at this moment that I realized that my sleeves were still pushed up my arms and my gloves weren’t concealing them like they usually were. That’s when my shame actually hit me. I knew the numbness wouldn’t last long and when it finally came, it would slam into me like the sea does a body from falling from the cliff top. How could I face anyone again?

  “Are you in pain?” Vincent’s soft voice broke through my personal desolation and when I looked up from the scars I only just focused on, I realized we were outside of sorts. I was stood on the open hallway and the winter air hit me making me shiver. I was sure Vincent asked me something about pain and I looked up to find him stood very close, looking down at me with an odd expression.

  “Yes...No, I..” Was that even an answer I had given, I wasn’t sure.

  “I can feel your pain Keira, but I don’t know that it’s physical.” I thought about that for a moment. He could feel me? I also took this moment to assess myself. I flexed my hands and my right one hurt when doing so. A sharp pain across my knuckles but I didn’t need any guessing as to why that was.

  I must have sucked in air because Vincent noted my movements and the sound of pain I had expressed. He took my right hand in his and examined it with a great deal of care. He frowned and before I could ask, the hallway illuminated from the moonlit glow to a warm, flaming orange. The wrought iron lamps on the walls were aflame from just a nod of his head. I almost gasped at how beautiful he was. Like a living statue of the Archangel Michael.

  He reminded me of a fountain I had seen once in Paris as a child. The statue stood at the top of the fountain in the Place Saint-Michel, the Boulevard Saint-Michel is one of the two major streets in the Latin Quarter of Paris, as far as I remembered from one of my many educational trips my parents took us on. Our family vacations always had some historical learning factor to play, not that I minded of course but Libby did tend to get a bit bored.

  “Keira what are you staring at?” He asked me softly and yep, I was staring at him like he was some ancient oil painting created by the masters of his time. I looked down quickly and muttered a barely audible,

  “Nothing.”

  “I think you have cracked a knuckle but I can’t be sure, bend it this way.” He was holding my hand like a breakable antique and he moved my fingers individually, when I felt the pain in my middle finger I yelped and he groaned.

  “Dom is not going to be happy about this, what were you thinking?” He accused me and I yanked my hand from his despite the pain in doing so.

  “I have pride Vincent, just like any other!” I snapped at him without daring to meet his crystal blue eyes.

  “Was it worth it?” He asked me, keeping his voice so neutral it was close to being without feeling.

  “Without a doubt!” I answered honestly. Damn right it had been worth it!

  “It still affects you greatly doesn’t it?” It wasn’t really a question, more of a statement that I wanted to play dumb too.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said moving away from him but as I started to walk the other way I was blocked by a pale arm coated in solid ripples of muscle. They tensed under the flames that cast shadows along the stone wall his palm was pressed against.

  “I think you do and I think you’re afraid when you no longer need to be.” This time I did face him, as if to prove him wrong about that fear. In his face I found my lies. I was afraid.

  “Your brother can’t protect me from everything.”

  “I...We can and we will.” He looked like he had wanted to say something else but stopped himself. I started to shake my head and without thinking, rub my arms that were still on show.

  “You can’t protect me from myself... no one can.” At this a single tear rolled down my cheek and stung my skin as it touched on the scratch my cousin had given me. Vincent took a deep breath and took hold of my hands that had started to scratch away at my scars. He moved them away and replaced them with long pale fingers that touched each scarred line as gentle as a butterfly.

  “You have to let go of your past Keira. These scars you hold are only skin deep, they do not connect to your heart or your soul. These scars do not define you, you define them. They do not represent death and destruction like you think, they represent life, the life you chose to want to live...So...make it worth it.” His voice was like someone wrapping a warm blanket around me when I was standing in the snow. I was still looking down at my feet and when I saw my hair blowing around my waist I realized Hilary must have pulled it down earlier.

  I felt Vincent’s finger curl under my chin and raise my face up to his. He was stood so close now that he was mere inches away. Our chests rose and fell in sync with each other as our eyes met. When his hands came up to hold my face my breath hitched. My God, he made me nervous.

  “No tears,” he whispered and he smoothed his thumbs under my eyes and down my cheeks to take the tears away.

  “What are we going to do with you my girl?” He said smiling down at me. Vincent wasn’t as tall as his brother but he was still a head above me. Actually there wasn’t anything about the two brothers that was remotely similar. Vincent looked like the Angel he was. Pale luminous skin that was framed with a halo of golden blonde short curls that looked almost childlike. His features were strong like a white knight, with high cheek bones and a long straight nose. His chin wasn’t as square as his brother’s which gave him more of an oval face. And the most striking aspect were those lips, being a dark contrast to his face with a natural red pigment, tinting them, reminding me of an apple you just wanted to bite.

  “I guess I’m a mess,” I admitted.

  “Don’t worry, it takes more than a bruised eye and a few scratches to keep the beauty from you but I can’t account for my brother’s reactions at seeing you less than perfect, he is...very possessive when it comes to what belongs to him.” He said this last part in a confusingly sad way which I didn’t understand. Of course I blushed at the compliment.

  “Blushing won’t help my dear.” He said in a very sultry way that made me shudder.

  “Are you cold?” Before I could even answer he pulled me into his arms and started rubbing my back that quickly created warmth from his actions.

  “I’m ok.” I said timidly at being so close.

  “I’m going to have to heal you...is that alright?” He pulled me back a little to judge my expression but still kept me held to him.

  “I thought that was against the rules?” I asked.

  “Deep wounds need our essence, sometimes our blood to heal them but superficial wounds can be healed by just the right touch.” He had moved me so my back was flush against the wall and speaking while examining the damage. His fingers stroked the column of my neck before his other hand joined it by holding the whole of my neck steady. He could feel me gulp down my anxiety at being held by the throat so he cocked his head and winked at me.

  “Relax, I won’t hurt you.” His words invaded my mind like a black cloud coating all my fears in the darkness so that I couldn’t see them, couldn’t feel them. I decided to close my eyes to add to the effect.

  “Just breathe, beautiful.” I could hear the smile in his comfort. So I did as I was told. I took a deep breath and relaxed as I exhaled it. That’s when I felt it. The tingling cool air that began to caress the skin on my neck. I could feel his fingers grip my top and pull it t
o one side to reveal more of the mark Hilary had left there. His head leaned in so close until his lips hung over the mark, almost like he was about to take a bite out of me. I felt the cool air come from him and enter my pores. It reminded me of the time that Ragnar had healed the cut on my knee from my fall on the stairs. If anyone were to walk in on us now it would look like Vincent was trying to give me a love bite.

  It didn’t take long until my neck went a little numb and Vincent let go of his hold. I opened my eyes to find him now casually brushing off the dried blood from my skin. It felt like someone had just sprayed me with liquid nitrogen.

  “Was it good for you?” He laughed at himself making me follow suit. I couldn’t help but smile at his kindness and warmth.

  “Behave!” I said, as one of the most unserious warnings possible but it made him laugh harder.

  “Around you, that will be difficult.” I couldn’t believe how openly he was flirting with me.

  “I thought there was only one bad boy in the family,” I teased.

  “You thought wrong.” He winked again and his eyes flashed a bright blue that was startling to witness. It was like I was watching the waves of the ocean through his eyes.

  “Let’s see what we can do about this lip of yours.” I couldn’t help but take a step back but I quickly found I had nowhere to go. I couldn’t help my reaction. I mean, having Vincent so close to my neck was one thing, but my lips! My mind kept going back to that night when we had kissed and my heart thundered in my chest.

  “I think it will be fine.” I said quickly causing a bad boy grin to invade his lips...ok so I take it back, they obviously did have a few things in common.

  “Normally, I would agree with you, but considering how much you bite your lip when nervous I don’t think it would last the night. And from what I have gathered for myself, I do believe my brother is fond of those lips of yours.” Ok, so now I was beetroot red.

  “You shouldn’t be flirting with me.” I bravely said and he raised one blonde, amused eyebrow at me.

  “Me flirting? I am shocked you think this, I was merely stating facts that’s all. Besides....Angels don’t flirt.” He was now teasing me and I tried not to smile at his playfulness.

  “Oh no? I guess they don’t bullshit either.” I was now sporting a full on smirk after that come back and he was trying very hard not to do the same.

  “But of course not, that wouldn’t be very angelic of me now, would it? Of course my father is a Demon so I am bound to have a streak or two.” He winked again and took a deciding step closer.

  “Now stop stalling and let’s fix you up before Dom gets anxious about your whereabouts.” He sounded both seriously demanding and vivacious at the same time. Whichever he meant, I did as I was told.

  “Close your eyes,” he ordered gently and as soon as I did so, his palm covered my left eye which I gathered was the bruised one. He didn’t apply much pressure but I could feel the heat building, making little beads of sweat form on my forehead. It was stranger than the sensation had been on my neck, like some deep heated therapy was being used. Then I noticed his head had moved very close to mine as I could feel his breath on my cheek. This time we weren’t inches away but millimeters. One small action from either of us and we would be touching.

  I started to see red spots behind my eyes and as if I had told him so, the feeling of heat stopped and his hand moved away allowing my skin to breathe in the cool night air again. He might have moved his hand away but his lips were now directly over my own and I was terrified if I moved, even one tiny muscle, there would be contact. The tension of our situation was building like a tightly wound mechanical toy and any second one of us would let go and allow it’s in built reaction to be released.

  “Don’t move. Hold very still for a moment as this might feel strange.” Strange! This whole night couldn’t get any stranger! Here I was, after just beating the crap out of my cousin, outside on a magically lit hallway with my boyfriend’s brother who is so close to kissing me, it felt strangely right amongst a night full of so wrong.

  NO! I couldn’t think like that, what was I thinking? It was just from the effect of all this craziness in the air, that’s all, nothing to it!

  I was still mentally scolding myself when I felt the same cold air hit my lips with the force that felt like the pressure of his lips. I flinched when it happened and Vincent’s hands whipped out faster than my action and grabbed the tops of my arms to hold me still. His lips hung over mine like a tempting well to a dying man that just wanted to drown in its cool liquid. I could smell them and almost taste the air that passed over them. It was sweet like honey and cold like an ice cube had just been held to my mouth to suck. I even had to resist the urge to do so. Minutes seemed frozen and it felt like I was lost in a labyrinth of time.

  “There, all better... although a little flustered.” I opened my eyes to find a safer distance between us and Vincent’s features could only be described as cocky.

  “Umm...thanks,” I said reverting back to shy, safe Keira.”

  “Oh you’re welcome, it was an honor to almost kiss you, one I doubt I will forget as soon as I should do.” He looked away to the sky when he spoke and just before I could say anything that might comfort the regret in his voice he turned to me suddenly and took my hand.

  “Come, I need to get you back to my brother. I can feel him waiting and his impatience is growing.” I didn’t doubt that for a second knowing Draven but I still wanted to say something to Vincent but I didn’t know how, so instead I showed him.

  I pulled back on his arm, making him stop and look at me. I didn’t give him chance to protest. I threw myself into him and wrapped my arms around his body which made his every muscle tense. I didn’t care, I just wanted to explain, but this was the only way that felt right. I then lifted myself up on my tiptoes and put my lips to his cheek to kiss him lightly. Once there I whispered in his ear....

  “Thank you Vincent, it was great for me!”

  Chapter 53

  All for the Healing.

  Vincent and I didn’t say another word to each other as he escorted me back into the VIP. The first thing I noticed was Draven pacing like a wild cat, back and forth by the balcony. We walked round to meet him and I started to see all the unfamiliar faces that made up Draven’s guests. I don’t know why, maybe because I wasn’t yet used to them, but they all seemed a lot scarier than the last lot. One table we passed looked like they want to first play with me and then devour me. A girl with bright orange hair even licked her cherry lips as I went by.

  Draven spotted us immediately and the harsh eyes and tensed jaw told me he had been waiting. He stormed towards us now wearing a very power inducing black suit. Everything on him was black apart from a very deep purple tie that brought out the purple now in his eyes. He wasn’t happy.

  “Where have you been?” At first I thought he was asking me, but he was looking over my head, which wasn’t hard giving my lack in height. His gaze burned into his brother’s, who stood behind me.

  “Calm yourself Dom, she is fine. She just got herself into some trouble.” Vincent said in the most lucid way possible. I wanted to shout back ‘Traitor’ to him but I doubt the timing would have been right.

  “Tell me!” Was all he said but his words sounded like they had been skimmed through acid.

  “It was nothing,” I spoke up feeling as this was about me I might as well have some say on the matter! He glowered down at me but he didn’t reply, instead he raised a finger to my lips and shook his head. This was all the warning I needed. When Draven was this far gone it was sometimes best to let the beast calm down before pulling on its tail.

  “She got in an altercation with her cousin.” He was choosing his words very decidedly, which I appreciated.

  “I will kill the bitch!” He said shocking me enough to make my mouth form an “O”. He turned as if he was about to do it right now when Vincent’s hand shot out and restrained him back.

  “Keira attacked her!
” Vincent said, as though he was trying hard not to smile. I’m glad to report he achieved it because I don’t think I could have stopped myself sticking my tongue out at him. Draven stopped dead and Vincent’s hand dropped now he knew his brother wasn’t about to run off to kill a ‘not so’ innocent human girl.

  “She what?” Draven sounded as though the wind had been knocked out of him.

  “I went down to get Keira as you asked and found her on top of her cousin, pounding her fists into her head and trying to rip out her hair.” Vincent said this like reciting poetry. Personally, I don’t think it was as bad as he made out, for starters I had only been trying to rip out a handful not the whole lot. But I guess tomato, tomatoe!

  “Was she hurt?” He asked seriously as he now started scanning my face and body for injury.

  “Excuse me...I’m right here!” I said getting inpatient. Draven growled down at me and I rolled my eyes once and shut up.

  “She received a scratch down her neck, a bruised eye and a cut lip.” Ok, so now it was like he was reading off an inventory. Draven made me jump by placing his hands on my neck and turning me this way and that to see for himself. He traced where every mark had been as though it was still visible, which I knew it wasn’t.

  “You healed her yourself?” Draven’s cold question frightened me. Would he be angry?

  “Yes, she was in pain and I didn’t think you would want her walking in here like that.” This was one hell of an interrogation.

  “Your actions were right. Although I would want to heal her myself, that would not have been practical at this time. You did well brother, I would not have been pleased if anyone else had touched her.” Draven was speaking like the reason for this conversation wasn’t stood next to him. I felt like slipping out from them both and making my escape.