“You dare deny me!” Archduke Pendragon growled the words and the whole room tensed.
Kearn felt his parents’ eyes on him and the strength of their anger in his blood was overwhelming.
He wiped the back of his hand across his lip to clear the blood away and breathed hard. Another one of those and he would probably pass out. It was madness to stand against such a powerful vampire, but he had promised to protect Amber.
He faced the archduke again, standing tall and proud, showing no weakness in the face of his enemy.
“I will not allow her to be touched,” he said, even and measured, and resisted his desire to change and release his true nature. Threatening the archduke would only lead to death at either his hands or those of the Pendragon guards.
Archduke Pendragon smiled.
It was thin-lipped and knowing. A smile that set Kearn’s nerves on edge.
“Spoken like a man in love,” he said and Kearn’s heart lodged in his throat. He had thought or felt nothing of the sort but his actions had given away his feelings. “In love with her or her blood?”
The archduke stepped down to the floor and whispers rushed through the room. It was unknown for someone of his rank to lower themselves to be level with a man of Kearn’s.
“How many times have you tasted her?” Archduke Pendragon glanced at Amber. Kearn kept the path to her blocked. He could sense her awareness coming back but the connection between them remained closed. Archduke Pendragon’s voice dropped to an accusing whisper. “How many times have you wanted to bite her?”
Kearn raised his chin. He would not answer that. It was not for anyone here to know.
“Stand aside, young Savernake.” The archduke stood toe to toe with him. He could kill Kearn with a single blow at such a distance but he wouldn’t comply. He couldn’t.
“I cannot do that, my most honourable lord and master.”
“I will not have you stand in my way!” Archduke Pendragon’s eyes changed to red and Kearn felt the threat in every cell in his body.
Power shot up Kearn’s right arm and he backed off a step and raised it, pointing his palm at the archduke.
“I will not let you pass!” He struggled to calm his desire to unleash Hell on the archduke. It was bad enough threatening him, doing so with a weapon that he could only use in the line of duty was shameful, but he needed to protect Amber, and it was the most powerful weapon in his arsenal.
The air in the room darkened and tensions rose, filling the space with a sense of danger that set him on edge. His senses scattered, monitoring anyone who would be a threat to either him or Amber, including his family.
“Stand aside and lower your weapon,” Kearn’s father said but he didn’t move.
“No.” He reached around behind him and caught Amber’s arm, pulling her close to his back. His right hand shook with the power surging through it, whispering dark desires to his heart, encouraging him to let go and use it. “Doing so would go against my duty to protect her.”
Was he answering his father or the power?
“I mean her no harm.” Archduke Pendragon’s eyes returned to black and the aura of anger around him faded. “If you are so concerned, bring her to me yourself.”
Kearn glanced over his shoulder at Amber. She touched his back. Her eyes said to let it happen and her blood backed them up, telling him it was the only way of stopping things from becoming dangerous to them both. She didn’t want to see him hurt. Being able to feel her again soothed his ragged nerves and he relented.
He moved aside, took her arm with his left hand, and then lowered his right. The blue light still shone from it, illuminating his feet. He wouldn’t deactivate it until Amber was safely away from the house.
The archduke moved back to the grand gold seat on the platform and sat down. He swept the greying strands of his long dark hair from his face, and motioned for Kearn to approach.
Kearn did so, bringing Amber with him, wary of the archduke and the vampires around him. When he reached the archduke, he bowed his head, feeling lucky that he still had one. If they had been alone, the archduke would have killed him for his insolence. It was only the presence of his family that had saved him.
He looked out of the corner of his eye at his mother. She was staring at Amber with a strange look in her eyes. He couldn’t read her at all. She had closed her heart to him.
His father’s heart spoke of disappointment but also pride. Why? Because he had defended Amber? He hadn’t really done it out of duty. It had been done out of love.
He released Amber’s arm and stepped to one side.
Archduke Pendragon leaned back in the chair, his dark gaze appraising Amber from head to toe and back again.
“She is very pure,” he said in a thoughtful tone, his eyes not leaving her. “She must tempt you since you have tasted her, young Savernake.”
“There is no temptation, my honourable master.” Kearn bowed his head again but didn’t miss the look the archduke gave him. He wasn’t convinced.
Kearn frowned when Archduke Pendragon held his hand out to Amber and she moved towards him. He stepped forwards with her, unwilling to let her out of his reach. She placed her hand into the archduke’s and several of the Pendragon vampires rushed forwards. Archduke Pendragon raised his other hand and dismissed them with an impatient wave. They moved back into position but didn’t take their red eyes off Amber.
It was not acceptable to have a vampire, let alone a human, touch a vampire of the archduke’s standing.
It was not acceptable to Kearn to have any man touch Amber.
Archduke Pendragon raised her hand to his face. He breathed in her scent and his eyes closed. Amber didn’t seem frightened but Kearn had lost his connection to her again the moment she had touched the archduke. Was he hiding something? Kearn should have been able to sense him vicariously through Amber’s blood in his veins when they had touched. The archduke had blocked it.
“I can see why she needs protection,” Archduke Pendragon whispered against her hand and then released it.
Amber stepped back, visibly trembling, her skin drained of colour and hazel eyes wide. Kearn wanted to go to her but it was too obvious. He had already upset everyone. He couldn’t do anything else to jeopardise her safety.
Archduke Pendragon stood and regarded him.
“I believe you should take your leave now, young Savernake, and never dare to show me such disrespect again. Next time I will not allow you to live.”
Kearn bowed low and pressed his right hand against his chest. It still glowed. He tried to deactivate it but it wouldn’t. His desire to protect Amber was so fierce that it remained active, even though he knew he could never bring himself to use it without the blessing of the Sovereignty.
“My sincerest apologies, my most honourable lord and master.” Kearn closed his eyes and bowed lower, and then rose and bowed to his family.
His mother looked away, her long tresses of black hair covering her face. She had remained seated again, deeming him unworthy of her respect. He held the hurt inside and turned to Amber, caught her arm and was striding down the corridor between the vampires before another heartbeat had passed.
The tense atmosphere didn’t leave when he exited the room. There were vampires from his household in the first reception room too now and in the gallery. They watched him, their intent clear. If he made a wrong move, they would fight him.
He kept Amber close, feeling her shaking and slowly regaining the connection to her. She wrapped her hands around his arm and hurried along beside him. He shouldn’t have come. He shouldn’t have brought her here. And he shouldn’t have dared to threaten Archduke Pendragon. He had only made more enemies tonight and solidified his family’s hatred of him. He cursed himself and stepped out of the house and into the waiting night. The scent of it filled his lungs and eased his heart, soothing it and reassuring him that they were safe now in her embrace.
They were halfway between the house and the lodge when Amber finally re
leased his arm. He looked at her. She was pale in the slender light of the moon and her eyes still held fear. She had been afraid to go to the archduke but she had done it anyway, just as she had feared Duke Montagu but had danced with him, all for Kearn’s sake. She faced the most terrible vampires for him.
He was surprised she wasn’t scared of him too. He had chased her, threatened her, told her that he would turn her against her will, and she still held him close. She had embraced his darkness. Could she embrace his world as easily?
What world was he bringing her into? He would keep her safe though and protect her. He wouldn’t allow anyone to touch her, not without his retribution, not even if he regained his standing in society. He would slaughter any who dared.
“He knows something,” Amber whispered and he stopped dead, wondering if he had heard her right. She looked at him with large eyes and then back at the house. “That man knows something.”
“Archduke Pendragon?” he said and she nodded slowly. “Are you sure?”
She touched her hand. “I felt it.”
Kearn had wanted to know why the archduke desired to meet them but had known that he wouldn’t be able to sense it without touching him. Amber must have picked up his desire during their brief connection in the reception room. She had sensed it for him when she had touched the archduke.
Archduke Pendragon couldn’t have realised that his hold over Amber had slipped for a moment, giving her a chance to feel Kearn’s need to know his intent.
Or had he?
It was possible that the archduke had done it on purpose. His father and mother were old enough to sense the connection between him and Amber. Perhaps Archduke Pendragon had severed it to keep them unaware of something.
The something that Amber had mentioned.
Kearn hurried with her to the house, aware of how easily the sound of their conversation would travel to any vampires patrolling the estate grounds. He closed the door behind them and joined her in the living room. The fire was low. Amber placed some more of the split logs onto it and sat in the red armchair she had occupied before.
He sat opposite her and waited.
“I need to know what he knows, Amber,” he said when she didn’t speak.
She curled up on the armchair and stared into the flames. Their connection relayed her confusion and struggle. It would be difficult for her to discern the archduke’s feelings from touch alone. Kearn tried to help her, searching for the man’s intent in her blood, but it wouldn’t come to him either.
“He said I had very pure blood.”
“You do.” He had told her this before. Her docile expression worried him. Were the thoughts the archduke had placed in her mind confusing her? It was possible. Someone inexperienced would have difficulty with anything relayed through touch rather than a blood connection.
She blinked slowly.
Kearn leaned forwards and took hold of her hand. “Your blood is precious. It would make whoever drank it incredibly strong and dangerous.”
“Like you were?”
“More so.” He had only taken traces of her blood and he had felt amazing, indestructible. If he took enough to feel the true effects, he would be powerful enough to defeat even Archduke Pendragon with ease. “That is why I brought you here, remember? So you would be safe while I hunted the man who wants to hurt you.”
Her eyes gradually widened. “I can go with you… like bait… partners… remember?”
There was such a distant note in her voice and her eyes. What had the archduke done to her?
“No… not now.” He stroked her hand and she looked confused. “I cannot use you like that.”
“Why?”
He didn’t answer. He stared at the fire, trying to think of a different reason to the one in his heart. Archduke Pendragon had been right. He loved Amber. He loved her so much that he couldn’t risk her anymore.
“I’ve got it!” she said and his head snapped around to face her, a jolt running through his veins at the thought that she had figured him out. She grinned, more like her normal self. “He wants to meet you.”
“Sorry?” he said and then realised she was talking about what the archduke had planted in her mind. “When?”
“Tomorrow. He has something.” She frowned, pensive and focused, and then her hazel eyes met his. “He has your blood.”
Kearn stood and stared towards the door.
Archduke Pendragon had his blood? How had he come across it? Had the man after Amber given it to him? He wanted to go to him right now and ask but couldn’t. He had to wait and do as the archduke ordered if he was going to get the vial back and discover what was happening.
Amber came to stand in front of him. Her eyes held his, intent and focused, as though she was trying to read something in them.
The answer to her earlier question?
He would give her it.
He lowered his head to kiss her.
A knock sounded.
CHAPTER 23
It was Kyran at the door. He stepped past Kearn before he could say anything and walked into the lounge, casting his gaze around it in disgust. It was nothing compared with the quarters Kyran had at the main house or even Kearn’s apartment, but it was safe and warm, and that was all that mattered to Kearn now. He didn’t need modern comforts or even the luxury of furniture. He just needed somewhere safe for Amber.
“They will blacklist you for being here.” Kearn closed the front door.
Kyran shrugged and undid the top set of buttons on his stiff formal black jacket. “The old man has always liked me. I’ll live.”
Kyran smiled at Amber and then settled himself in one of the armchairs. The warm firelight did nothing to brighten Kyran’s appearance. It only made his hair and eyes look darker.
“I ordered some food.” Kyran ran a hand over the messy threads of his black hair and sighed as he slouched into the armchair.
“You can order that?” Amber’s voice was a high squeak. “Like we’re just meat?”
Kyran laughed. “No. Food for you.”
He reached into his jacket pocket and tossed a blood pack across the room to Kearn. Kearn caught it. His brother was up to something.
“And that’s food for him.”
“Thank you.” Kearn lowered his hand to his side.
“Not hungry? Have you taken that much from her?” Kyran smiled at him but Kearn could see through it. He was bored and had come here to stir trouble.
Kearn stared at him, unflustered. “This isn’t a good place for it.”
Amber looked at the blood pack.
“She won’t mind.” Kyran waved a hand her way.
She snapped herself out of whatever trance she had been in and looked at the fire instead.
Kearn dropped the blood pack onto the coffee table. “Later.”
He could sense Amber hesitating. She wanted to say something.
Heavy silence filled the room.
“I thought… you really can’t bite people?”
Kyran grinned, his fangs slightly extended. “Not anymore. Back in the old days, we could get away with murder. It’s harder to cover up now. Besides… Kearn isn’t even allowed that freedom. If he kills a human, the Sovereignty would revoke his licence. They would probably toss him into the dark beyond.”
Amber gasped. Kearn frowned at his brother, unimpressed by his attempt to frighten her.
“Consensual biting only for our boy.” Kyran slumped further down the armchair with a long sigh. “Of course, there are vampires who still kill people, and those bloody Commoners can bite all they fancy.”
“Because they can’t turn people without giving them blood too,” Amber said.
His brother raised a single dark eyebrow at her. “Kearn has been telling you all about our sordid little world, hasn’t he?”
Kyran seemed disappointed. Had he wanted to upset Amber and cause a rift between them? Kearn had told her enough that she would be prepared in his world and would know what awaited her when he brought he
r over.
Amber looked at him. “Have you ever drunk from someone?”
Each of those words fell like lead on his chest and before he could even look at Kyran to tell him not to say a word, he was on his feet and speaking.
“Only another vampire, eh, brother?”
Kearn scowled.
“She was a feisty little thing too… went after you with a vengeance. A real firecracker and one hell of an introduction to the pleasures of mating. What a fiancée to have!”
Amber’s face dropped.
A moment later, her expression was flat but she couldn’t hide the hurt from Kearn. She smiled, shrugged, and looked as though she might laugh. It didn’t lessen her pain. It radiated through him, her blood cursing him, and then the connection between them severed, leaving him cold and alone.
Had she done it?
He tried to speak to her blood again but felt nothing.
Kyran’s eyebrows rose. “Have I said something wrong?”
“I need to sleep.” Amber hurried past both him and his brother, heading for the kitchen door, her fingertips grazing the bandage around her throat.
Kearn punched Kyran as hard as he could manage, knocking his head to one side and toppling him. He wanted to knock it off.
Kyran rubbed his jaw, picked himself up and glared at him. “What was that for?”
“You know damn well what it was for.” Kearn looked up at the ceiling. He could only sense Amber as a human in the building. He could feel nothing from her. He growled at Kyran.
Kyran smiled, dark and vicious. Victorious. “Oops.”
There was another knock at the door.
Kyran passed him and went through the entranceway to the front door. He opened it and pushed past the man standing there. The man looked at Kearn.
His brother really had ordered food for Amber.
Forbidden Blood (Vampire Venators Romance Series) Page 26