“I don’t know what to do about Carver,” I tell her. “I can’t stop feeling like it’s my fault, or like I’ve betrayed him by leaving him behind. Morana could be torturing him right now, and it’s my fault.”
“It’s not,” Reina insists. “You know it’s not. You didn’t plant that bomb.”
“That doesn’t stop me from feeling like I did,” I reply, squeezing her hand where it lays on my stomach. “All those people- Sure they were Morana’s vampires, but so was Carver. Not all of them were evil. There were kind people there, and people she’d used and broken. There was this man- I barely spoke to him, I just helped him dry off after someone dumped a drink on him, but I keep thinking about him. He was nice. He told me that place didn’t suit me. He wanted me to leave. I think he might have known what was going to happen. Maybe he’s the one who set the bomb and he was trying to get me to leave to save me. Or maybe he was just a nice guy and he’s dead now and I didn’t do anything to stop it.”
“Have you told Lucian about that?” Reina asks, sounding concerned. “That could be important.”
I shake my head.
“There’s been too much going on,” I say. “I haven’t really thought about it till right now. I saw him coming out of the Pride room right before Morana brought us back there for her sick little presentation. I didn’t realize it, but he didn’t have a smell. I was too freaked out by Morana to notice. But I think he was wearing a scent suppressant.”
“Shit,” Reina says, leaning over me to look me in the eye. “You totally met the bomber.”
“I guess so,” I say, shivering a little. “He seemed so nice. He had these beautiful green eyes.”
“Nice people don’t blow up parties,” Reina reminds me. “Not even parties held by that monster Morana. You don’t get to blow up and kill a bunch of people and still be a nice person, no matter what those people have done to you. Whoever that guy was, he’s not nice.”
She’s right, but I don’t want to argue about it.
“I don’t know what to do about it anyway,” I tell her with a shrug. “It’s not like a got his name. He’s just one vampire among thousands. And even if we could track him down, what would we do with him? Besides like, buy him a drink and say ‘thanks for seriously wounding our biggest enemy.’ And what do we do after that? I have no idea what to do now, besides just… stay in hiding for the rest of my presumably eternal life. We’ve got no leads on Abe, the Dakvahar have been all but wiped out thanks to Morana and Jolie, and Carver…”
I shake, feeling tears in my eyes again, and Reina pulls away.
“You need to eat,” she says, leaning over me again, this time with a blood pack… and a cookie. “You’ll never finish healing if you starve yourself.”
I take both somewhat reluctantly and nibble the cookie as Reina strokes my hair.
“This is really good,” I admit, and Reina grins.
“Made it myself. Row’s completely addicted. Now he can’t leave me or he’ll never get his cookie fix.” She fakes a dramatic evil laugh and I can’t help smiling, but it doesn’t last.
I stare at the wall as I sip my blood, my thoughts still on Carver.
“I don’t know what to do without him,” I tell her. “He’s always been here to guide me. Without him I’m… lost. What am I going to do if he never comes back?”
Reina looks at me for a moment, her hand on my shoulder. “You’ll pull up your big girl panties and handle it,” she says firmly. “We will handle it, together. You’re a god damn immortal ass vampire. And you know I’ve got you babe. Forever and ever. If we can’t get through this no one can.”
“But Carver-“ I start to say.
“Fuck Carver,” Reina interrupts. “I love you, and I know you love him and I hope to hell that he’s alive and finds his way back to you. I know Lucian believes he will. But fuck him. He’s not the one Abe sent visions to. He’s not the one who’s going to stop Morana and save us. It’s you. And you can do it with or without him, hear me?”
Her words are harsh, but I can hear the truth in them, even if I don’t want to. “I’m not sure I want to save us without him,” I admit, my voice small. “Without him, it’s hard to feel like there’s a point.”
“There’s a million points,” Reina counters. “Chief among them: ME. Your best friend, who doesn’t want to die or be enslaved to a crazy ass vampire queen! Not to mention your other boyfriend. And cookies. And sunsets. And New Orleans jazz. And the pyramids! We’ve never seen the pyramids, Aura! And a million other things. And you have a literal eternity to travel the world, seeing and experiencing all of that! Or at least, we will if you get your shit together and stop that crazy bitch from killing us. Is that enough of a point, Aura? Or are you going to lay here moping about it until Morana kills us?”
I stare at her, processing, trying to think of an answer. She’s right, and I feel even worse for being selfish and stupid. I just don’t know what to do.
There’s a knock at the door before I can answer her.
“Yeah?” she calls, and Row opens the door.
“You need to come downstairs,” he says his expression serious and concerned.
“Is it Carver?” I ask, sitting up immediately, fear and hope warring within me. But Row shakes his head.
“No. Just… come downstairs.”
Chapter 20
One shared glance with Reina was all I needed to see she had as much of a clue as I did about what we were heading downstairs for.
Worry wracked my nerves as we hurried down at Row’s behest. The moment we reached the living room, she hurriedly took her leave, and instantly, I could see why. Sitting across the way sat a woman I hadn’t seen in some time, and hadn’t expected to see, either.
“Mama Lissette?” I gawked, “what are you doing here?” The last time I’d seen her she’d told me she couldn’t help me, and had filled me with immense fear in telling me I could never outrun the darkness, that I’d been marked for death. I wanted to believe her presence now meant there was some kind of hope, but I knew better than that.
“Come in, sit,” she told us with a swing of her hand, motioning to the couch across from her. Obediently, Reina and I went and sat so close to one another, our thighs touched. Her presence was calming, and I welcomed it.
“Please tell me you’ve got good news,” Reina murmured quietly. We all needed some.
“I’m afraid I’ve come to tell you both things are far more complicated than they had ever seemed,” the voodoo queen told us, leaving my stomach to sink.
“Great,” I grumbled, before realizing I’d said it aloud at all. “In what way?”
“In regards to Morana.”
“Oh, even better,” I groaned.
“Discovering her weakness alone won’t be enough. She holds an object of great power, and it must be destroyed before thoughts of killing her can ever be entertained.”
“Which is… what?” Reina asked.
“A ring. The destruction of which may, in the end, be just as complicated as killing her. However, it must be done, or you’ll never succeed.”
Just great. All we needed were more complications to add to the heaps we already had. “Okay,” I drawled in a slow crawl of concern, “and I take it you don’t know how we’re supposed to do that?”
“No. Not as of yet, but I knew you needed to know.”
I heaved out a sigh, and noticed the tense muscles along Reina’s leg at my side. I wondered if my own felt quite so nervous as hers. “Well, thanks,” I guess.
The woman stood, and started in her exit when I jumped hurriedly to my feet. “What about Carver?”
Back toward me she spun. “What about him?”
“I need to know where he is. I need to find him.”
For a moment she remained rigid and tall, uncertain in the twitch of her jaw. “You’ve fed from him, and him from you, correct?”
Slowly, I nodded. “Yes.”
Toward me she stepped, and gathered up my hands in a tight hold
. It was too reminiscent of the first time we’d met, of the vision I’d slipped into that had knocked me out cold. Yet, this time I was standing, and could only hope I wouldn’t fall and hit my head. The last thing I was going to do though was interrupt her as her eyes slid closed in what looked to be a moment of intense concentration.
It was all for Carver. I’d do whatever I had to to find him. It didn’t mean I’d need to give up on all else.
Around silent words Mama Lissette’s lips curled, chanting a song I couldn’t hear. The only difference this time was I knew her actions weren’t bullshit. In an instant, I was swept away, caught in a storm just as violent as the last.
Forward and back I plunge, cast into snippets of the recent past that leave my head reeling in utter confusion. Nausea weighs me down, but I can’t move, I can’t counteract it with anything at all. All I can do is wait to ride out the tumultuous pull that leaves me scattered beyond belief.
Suddenly the world comes into focus, and though I can see all, I’m not there. I’ve never been there, and as much as I want to reach out, I can’t. I’ve no more power than a mere apparition.
Carver. I can see Carver, but I can’t reach him. I can do nothing at all to help him as I watch his face contort in agony. It takes a moment for my senses to focus, to really drink in the sight of all around him.
He’s captured, a prisoner in a dark and dingy room. Behind him his arms are bound, and at the base of the chair he’s slumped in his ankles are lashed up tight.
His lips move in what looks like an agonizing scream, but I can hear nothing at all. The silence is all engulfing, like standing in the whipping wind of a storm. My heart aches and cries out for him, until finally I see the object causing him his pain.
Morana. The bitch Morana has Carver and she’s torturing him, driving the tip of a blade into his flesh. Part of me wants to look away, but I can’t. I stare and part my own lips but there’s no sound from me, either. I’m not really here, and I can’t save him.
I’m useless to him.
“Aura,” Reina’s voice cracked through the fog, dragging my lashes upward in a slow crawl.
Confusion still weighed upon me like a thick fog as I glanced confusedly around the room. Right at my front Mama Lissette still stood, our hands folded together in a mesh of heated, slick skin. Sweat poured from both of our foreheads, and with a loose of my hand, I found in a sweep of my hair the sweat hadn’t relegated itself just to my forehead.
Both women stared at me, waiting for me to tell them what I’d seen.
“She has Carver,” I spat with a slow glance from my best friend to the woman who seemed to hold so many truths but never enough answers. “Look, I don’t care what it’s going to cost. I don’t care what it’s going to take. Consorts or not, Drias or not, I am going to end that bitch, and you’re gonna tell me how to do it.”
Also By Graceley Knox & D.D. Miers
The Kresova Vampire Harems: Aurora
1.Thirst
2.Tempt
3.Turn (4.12.18)
The Kresova Vampire Harems: Lyra
4. Favor (Coming Soon!)
Alana Creed: Time Jumper
1.Fae Kissed
By Graceley Knox
The Wicked Kingdoms Series:
1. Mark of Truth
2. Crown of Betrayal
3. Throne of Secrets
4. Castle of Illusions (coming Spring 2018)
The Dragon Stone Saga:
1.Kiss of Frost – Exclusively in the Sirens & Scales Boxed Set
2.Up in Smoke (Coming Soon)
3.Shake the Ground (Coming Soon)
By D.D. Miers
The Relic Keeper Series
1.Dark Summoner
2.Dark Illusions (January 25, 2018)
3.Dark Secrets (Coming Spring 2018)
4.Dark Destiny (Coming Spring 2018)
Standalones:
City of Shadows: The Dark Fae Hollows
Wicked: The Isa Fae
Dear Reader,
Thank you so much for taking the time to read Tempt. We hope you enjoyed reading about Aurora, Carver and Lucian!
Currently we have nine total books planned in the Kresova Vampire Harems.
If you enjoyed Tempt, please consider leaving a review on Amazon or Goodreads. We love any and all feedback and every review counts!
Stay Wicked,
Graceley & Dee
About the Authors
USA Today bestselling authors, Graceley Knox and D.D. Miers may be long-lost sisters, but their moms continue to deny it. They are most definitely the co-writers of the Kresova Vampire Harem series, as well as a multitude of other upcoming projects they can't wait to share with readers.
Together they tend to share the same brain, finish each other's thoughts, laugh way too hard at inappropriate comments, drink enough coffee to qualify for an intervention, and talk about their fur babies. When they're not chatting, which is always, they can be found all over social media hanging out with their author friends and readers!
Tempt (The Kresova Vampire Harems: Aurora Book 2) Page 16