by Eve Newton
“Yes, it will, Aefre,” She says, reverting to my birth name now that She has got to the purpose of Her visit. “You cannot stop this, but you will not be safe here. You must come back with me where I can protect you.”
“What do you mean, I won’t be safe?” I will be safer here than with Her trying to pimp me out.
“You will give off pheromones that your men, no, all men, will find irresistible. It will set off their primal instincts and you won’t be able to fight them off.”
Yikes, She makes it sound…well, actually, She makes it sound kind of fun, I think wickedly. A mass orgy with all of my lovers would be just the ticket.
“You will be highly fertile, and this is the time to conceive, Aefre,” She adds and my face falls. Doesn’t sound so fun now.
“But…” I falter.
“It cannot happen this time,” She says. “You need to be strong to bear this child and you are weak.”
She might as well have just said pathetic, because it is written all over Her face that is what She thinks of me at the moment.
“Who?” I ask. She clearly has someone in mind for this job and I want to know who.
“The Chosen One, of course,” She says.
Cole then, I think with relief. At least it is my husband and not some Dragon stranger. But still, I said it once and I will say it until I am blue in the face. Not. Happening. Not now, not ever.
“When?” I ask.
“Tomorrow or the next day,” She replies. “You must come with me. I will keep you sequestered in the Underworld to ensure that it doesn’t happen this time.”
Well, She seems quite adamant that it doesn’t happen, so I decide to trust Her and nod. “Okay, come back for me when it happens. I have, unfortunately, some issues I need to deal with here before I can leave.”
“Sort it out fast,” She says. “Once it hits, I will have to remove you from male presence.”
I nod again, and She disappears. “Why me?” I grumble and get to my feet. I start to pace, forgetting about that whole embarrassing situation and focusing on Cade. I hope they find him, and do as I ask.
Chapter 11
The Underworld, September 2013 – Xane
“You will get me into that room,” he yells at his mother who just stands there glaring at him.
“You know that I cannot,” Xanthe says back to her son. “It is not what She wishes.”
“I don’t give a damn,” he says, and his mother draws in her breath at his boldness. “You said you would do anything to ensure this child ends up mine. You will get me into that room during her stay.”
Xanthe shakes her head again and Xane howls in frustration.
“Even if I could, Aida will never allow you past her. Tiamat is completely set on Her course. I was unable to sway Her. Besides,” she pauses, “the Queen will not be allowed access to anyone while She is here.”
That catches Xane’s interest. “Why?” he asks. “I thought Tiamat wanted Her daughter with child at the earliest convenience.”
“She does,” Xanthe says. “Unfortunately, the Queen is not at her best after her ordeal. She needs to be strong and right now she isn’t.”
“Because she isn’t with me,” Xane growls and Xanthe makes a noise of agreement. “I have had enough of this. The Trial isn’t going to go on much longer. Without her here, showing her loyalty to us, we are going to lose everything.” He turns on his heel, his cape swishing out behind him. He paces across the stone floor of his bedroom at the Castle. It is the only place he can go to have absolute privacy. There are spies everywhere at the moment and he has only two people he can trust. He looks back at one of them and narrows his eyes at her. Can he even trust his own mother now? She said she would make this happen and now she is going against their plan.
“Don’t you dare,” she hisses at him. “Turn against me and you will lose her for good. There is nothing I can do about the Queen’s stay. She will be heavily guarded, but there may be another way to force her to do her duty to us. We will not lose everything we have worked for over some silly child’s poor decision-making. That Vampire in her needs to be squashed!” she exclaims loudly, and he steps back. He senses a Shift on the horizon and doesn’t want to be caught by her wings.
“And how, pray tell, do we do that?” he asks sarcastically.
“I’m working on it,” she says cryptically. “What has been done, can be undone. There will be a way.”
“Are you saying there is a way to reverse her being a Vampire?” he asks interestedly. “You do know that when she isn’t a Vampire, she loses most of her abilities?” he adds, worried.
“If there is a way, Tiamat will know it,” Xanthe says breezily. “All She needs is an incentive to get on it. Besides, the Queen’s accelerated Powers will have taken care of any weakness.” She dismisses it with a wave of her hand.
His mother is definitely in the loop on something when it comes to Tiamat’s plans. She is one of Her most trusted advisors. He just wishes he could get her to spill the beans so that he gains the upper hand. Xerxei has too many people vying for her attention. There must be a way to get himself pushed further up the list.
“We have to accept that The Chosen One is going to father a child with the Queen,” Xanthe says after a long pause. “However, that does not mean that firstly, it will be the only child the Queen will bear, and secondly that it will be the child that Tiamat hopes it will be.” She smiles mysteriously at him and he relaxes. She does have a plan. He just has to be patient and see this through. Patience, though, has never been his strong suit. He needs action on the spot, and this situation has been going on for far longer than it should have. Xerxei’s unexpected coma has thrown everything off course. It has been kept very quiet. Only a handful of people know about it and the circumstances. It would have been a disaster if the news had broken of such powerlessness.
“Fine,” he says. “You stick with your little secretive plan, but speed things along as much as you can.”
Xanthe bobs her head and leaves him alone. There is a knock at the door that draws his attention away from his brooding. Aster sticks his head around and Xane beckons him in. “Sir, we do need to decide what to do about the Dark Fae that the Vampires are using.”
“I know,” Xane says and sighs. He has been sitting on the information of the whereabouts of the Vampires’ blood whores for months. The possibilities are endless, and he cannot decide on what to do about them. He really should tell Liv about them. He knows she is curious and slightly appalled since her own Dark nature came about that they are used to create the spell that allows them to walk in the sun, but she hasn’t exactly been in much of a position to do anything about it for a while. In fact, knowing her as he does, she has probably forgotten about it as something to think about later. Truly intelligent, but a completely self-absorbed, vain, wayward, arrogant creature. All things that are usually a turn-off for him in a woman, except the smart part. He likes that. But with her he overlooks it all; he is completely in love with her. He wishes that he wasn’t, it would make everything so much easier. If he didn’t care about her, he would force her down here and make her do things his way. That is his way. He doesn’t pander to anyone, especially little blonde women that can bewitch him with a single glance in his direction. Damn her. He should just drag her here and do it anyway.
“Sir?” Aster interrupts his thoughts.
“I’ll go to the Queen about it later,” he decides. Perhaps if he gives her something she wants, she will be grateful and show him some appreciation. Right now, he has other plans. He will trust his mother to come up with the goods when the time is right, but he needs a contingency plan and it has finally occurred to him. He is going to stop being a jackass when it comes to her and he is going to do this his way whether she likes it or not. He will stay in power and she will help him do it, whether she is a willing accomplice or not is up to her. He tells Aster of his plans and he goes off to set them in motion. It will take some time, but he can wait. Now that he has action, it se
ttles him.
He leaves the Castle and Astraports to the house that was built for Liv for when she finally moves here. She was supposed to be here already. Yet another delay due to Remiel and his obsession for being alive again. If he could get into the Dragon Realms on his own, he would go there and kick his ass for ruining everything. He shouldn’t have listened to him all those months ago. He had shown Xane what was going to happen to Liv in the Fae Kingdoms and the consequences of that. He hated to let it happen. He doesn’t want any pain to come to her, another weakness that he loathes, but he let it happen. He let her get assaulted by the Light King and waited for her Power boost, which came as expected. Remiel had told him if he did this then she would become the true Queen, the Dragon ruler and the Vampire would rest.
And it did.
Only it rested with Cole as she still chose him. He went to her in Paris, he bided his time. He knew she would reject him if made a move on her too soon after the ‘assault.’ He uses this word to ease his guilt. If he called it “rape” he would hang himself for allowing that to happen to her. Assault, he can live with that. He had watched her as he waited. He did her bidding, was attentive and loving—all actions that are unnatural to him, but he waited and watched. He knew she was ready about a month after her attack.
He saw the change go over her. She was no longer clinging to Cole like a vine. She let go slightly and he pounced. He seduced her on a warm Paris night with wine, candles, and the Eiffel Tower as a backdrop. It couldn’t have been more perfect if he tried. He had made love to her like they had never done before. They usually end up in a quick fuck, unable to stop themselves, but this was different.
She knew it and he knew it.
He told her he loved her and needed her. That he wanted to be with her always and couldn’t live without her. She said it all back. He saw it all in her eyes, she meant every word, she was going to come to him, to be his. The Dragon chose him in that moment, just like Remiel said She would and then bam, just like that the Vampire came out of her slumber and shot everything to Hell and back.
She kissed him and told him she meant what she said, but they had to keep their relationship a secret. She would come to him when she could and told him of her decision to move to the Underworld. “It’ll be easier then,” she’d said. And then she had got up, got dressed, and headed out of the door, making a date with Lincoln as she did so. He had torn that hotel room apart with his bare hands.
Never had he felt the rage he had that night as he had everything he needed and then it had been ripped out of his hands so quickly by that fucking Vampire in her. He hopes his mother can find a way to get rid of it. If she is no longer a Vampire, she will be his. There is no doubt about it in his mind now as he stands in what will be her bedroom and looks around.
No Vampire means no sire and no charges. No Vampire means Demon and Dragon. It begs the question of what to do about Lincoln. He can accept him, if he must. It is a tie tricky to get rid of, as is the Fae one. But after he shared his concerns with his mother about Sebastian, she reassured him that over Her dead body would Tiamat allow Liv to be anywhere near him. He is quite confident of that. He does an inspection of the whole house. It is very similar to the house she has in England. She said she wanted to keep the design. This poolroom is fireproof and shatterproof, though. He insisted before she told him to stop being such a control freak. He must admit that he was very impressed with her display of temper and Power that day. A true Queen indeed. How Cade managed not to be barbecued is a mystery and a damn shame. He is a nuisance he could do without. Especially with him being so stubborn about it. It just makes Liv want to help him even more.
His senses suddenly go on alert and he feels her wanting him.
She wonders how he turns up when she says his name, but it is so much more than him knowing when anybody says his name. It is like a tug on his veins whenever she thinks of him. It isn’t reciprocated and for that he is grateful. If she knew every time he thought or spoke of her she would be appalled by his obsession. He knows it is an obsession. It bothers him because it is a weakness. One that he hopes will go away once she is where she belongs, with him once and for all. He knows he should resist going to her, he is like a little lap dog, but a horde of rampaging Demons couldn’t stop him and he Astraports straight to her.
She jumps a mile as she sees him, placing her hand over her racing heart. He smiles at her and she smiles back and steps into his arms. They are alone in her library. He hopes it stays that way. He feels her tense self relax as he embraces her and it both pleases and enrages him. If he has such an effect on her, why does she continue to deny him? Stubborn little… argh! He can’t even think of a word for her.
“Hi,” she says and tilts her head up for a kiss.
“Hi,” he replies and drops his mouth to hers. He takes full advantage as they are alone and gives her a deep and passionate kiss that she responds to with vigor. He pulls back and peers down at her. Something has changed. “You feel better?” he asks.
“Yes,” she says. “Thank the gods.” She takes his hand and looks up at him in a silent request.
He mentally smirks as she wants to suck on his energy, and he won’t say no. He will never say no to that request. It’s like nothing he has ever felt before. Complete and utter eroticism mixed with a sensuality that makes it hers. He has done energy sucking with other beings before and it never, ever felt like this. She holds his hands up, but he shakes his head. “If we do this, we do this properly,” he says.
She grins at him and pulls his head down to hers. She places her lips against his and he wants to drag her to the floor and spend the rest of the afternoon down there with her. Now, part of him hopes that they get interrupted. He would love it if one of her husband’s came in and saw them doing this. She pulls on his energy, sucking it straight from his very essence into her mouth as they share this kiss.
“Better?” he asks as she finally pulls away but doesn’t let go of him.
She nods but doesn’t say anything.
“So, is that all you wanted me for?” he asks with a raised eyebrow at her. He kind of resents being used just for that but pushes it away because it is her.
“No,” she says, aghast. “Xane, I would never…”
“I know,” he rushes to reassure her that he meant no harm. God, grow a pair, man, he yells at himself. She is a grown woman, older than him for chrissakes and she can take care of her own feelings.
“I just wanted to see you, that’s all,” she says. “I’ve missed you and I am set to go away again for a couple of days.”
“Oh?” he asks, feigning ignorance.
“Uh, yeah. I’m going to stay with my mother for a couple of days, for something,” she replies vaguely.
“Oh,” he says flatly. He is a bit miffed that she feels she can’t share what is about to happen to her with him. “When you get back, the Trial will end,” he says suddenly. This is pushing everything forward by weeks, months even, but enough is enough.
“What?” she asks, startled, and takes her hand back as she spins and starts to pace. “Already?”
He nods briskly, ignoring the stab of guilt at the lie. “Yes, the Houses need to resolve this, and the date has been set for the end of the week.”
“The end of the week?” she repeats. “Wow, that’s in five days. I didn’t expect this.”
“You will be required to attend and, Xerxei,” he says, “you have to do what you can to prove your loyalty to me and to Dracul.”
“I will,” she says, still taken aback by the suddenness of this news. “Just tell me what I have to do.”
Oh, yeah, sure, he thinks. If he tells her now what she must do, she will probably run a mile. Especially if she has time to think about. No, surprise is key here, so he shrugs and says, “We’ll come up with something.”
She nods and accepts that and then turns to the door as Cole bursts in. “Lincoln just called, he found…” Cole stops abruptly as he sees him standing close to Liv, and he
sidles just that bit closer. It is petty of him, but he loves to upset this Vampire. He wants Cole to ask questions to his wife about their relationship. He wants that doubt lurking there and if he could do it himself, he would tell all, but that would leave him without Liv as she would never forgive him. So, he subtly sows the seeds and hopes that the Vampire’s natural paranoia nourishes them into a forest of evergreens.
As expected, Cole strides forward and gently pulls Liv back a few feet. Xane smiles at him condescendingly and asks, “Lincoln found?”
Cole glares at him and turns to Liv. “He found Devon, who found Cade. We need to go now. Constantine said he would take you if you are still, uh…” Cole glances at him and Xane frowns. What does Cole not want him to know?
Liv flushes and he gets that she still doesn’t have any Powers. He also gets now why Tiamat thinks she is too weak to be impregnated. He is relieved to say the least. He is sure now that she will be left alone. This time.
“CK will have to take me,” she says quietly, and Cole touches her arm softly. She steps into his embrace and Xane knows he has been dismissed. Even their Blood Magick bond is no match for this maddening Vampire tie. It has to go, that’s all there is to it. His wicked side rears its Demonic head and he leans into her and pulls her mouth to his with a hand on the back of her neck. He kisses her, with tongue just to shit stir, and then releases her. She stumbles forward having lost herself in the kiss and it pleases him as she flusters and clears her throat. He winks at her and Astraports out, determined to find Sven and make sure this Trial ends on Friday.
With a bang.
Chapter 12
Stevenage, England, September 2013 – Liv
Ignoring Cole’s look, I grip CK’s arm and he Teleports Cole and me to wherever Devon, Lincoln, and Cade are. When we land, it turns out we are in a filthy apartment that looks like it needs burning down. Devon is straddling Cade on the floor with his hand at his throat. Cade is doing nothing to fight him and I must wonder if he even can.