by G. K. DeRosa
“Are you going to be okay by yourself tonight?” she asked.
Roman’s eyes shot up, meeting hers. “That depends, are you offering to stay with me if I weren’t?” he asked, his blue eyes sparkling.
Celeste could feel a surge of warmth run through her body, starting from her toes and creeping all the way up her neck. She stood up, hoping to defuse the heated moment. She tried to take a step, but Roman’s hand caught hers and the familiar electric pull toward him drew her in. She sank back down on the couch and before she could protest, his warm lips were on hers and she was melting happily into his arms.
Everything about being with Roman was so familiar and felt so incredibly right. The way she fit perfectly into the curve of his shoulder and how his hair felt as she ran her fingers through it. As she lost herself in his heated kisses, all of her worries disappeared and for a brief second all was right in the world. If only for this fleeting moment, she was completely happy. But as they eventually drew away from each other, both utterly breathless, reality slowly began to seep back in.
“We have to talk,” she whispered.
“The dreaded four little words no man ever wants to hear,” said Roman ruefully.
“It’s not bad,” she said sitting back to get a little breathing room. Being too close to Roman was going to make this even harder. “You need to hear the full story about what happened with Maks.” Roman looked back at her with a bleak expression. “When you called me in St. Petersburg, I didn’t know yet. There had been a misunderstanding. When you attacked Maks – ”
“Celeste, I’d rather not relive that moment, if it’s all the same to you,” he interrupted.
“No! You have to listen. Roman, you did bite him, but you didn’t kill him or turn him,” she blurted out urgently.
“I didn’t?”
“No. Apparently, you left him in a pretty bad state, but you didn’t completely drain him. After you left, some other vampire found him and the blonde girl and he gave them his blood before they died. He brought them back to his nest and forced them to feed on some humans when they awoke.”
Roman grunted. “So I pretty much signed his death warrant by leaving him bleeding to death on the streets,” he muttered, shaking his head. “It was still my fault that he was turned. None of that would have happened if I hadn’t attacked and nearly killed him.”
Celeste grabbed his face and turned it toward her. “What happened was in the past, and you’re not that same person anymore. And we found Maks and he’s with Aunt Maddie right now. I think there’s still hope for him.”
Roman shook his head. “You’re too good, Celeste. You really think that people are much better than what we really are.” He removed her hand from his face and held it in his. “Have I really changed so much? Didn’t you see me lose it with Stellan just yesterday? And how about those werewolves I killed a few weeks ago without a second thought? And now we know that Alek is my half-brother, but I want nothing more than to wipe him off the face of the earth.”
Celeste exhaled sharply. “How about me? I just killed one of my childhood friends. We all have darkness inside of us, Roman.”
“You didn’t do anything wrong,” he said, looking straight into her hazel eyes and seeing the guilt just under the surface. “Dani was a vampire, and all you did was give that girl chance after chance, from day one.”
Celeste snickered bitterly. “Look at us. We’re a total mess. How did we get here?”
Roman ran his hand through his hair, tossing the dark waves back. “I don’t know,” he muttered.
Celeste took both his hands in hers, but before she could open her mouth, Roman interrupted. “I love you, Celeste. I have never loved anyone more completely in my hundred years of life on this earth. I want what’s best for you, and I don’t know that I am it, but I want to be. I need to be the man that you deserve, and I will fight to be until the day I take my last breath. But today is not that day.” He leaned in and gently wiped the tear that rolled down her cheek.
She closed the remaining distance between them and kissed him, trying to commit every detail of his face to memory. She was fully aware of what he was saying. When she had walked in earlier to see the sadness in his face, she had assumed it was because he thought she was going to end things, but she had been wrong. He was doing this for her. He always thought that he knew what was best for her, better than even she did. And maybe this time he was right. As their lips unlocked, she whispered, “I love you too, Roman.”
Celeste raced out of the apartment and dove into her car before the real tears began flowing. She knew once they started, she wouldn’t be able to stop them. As her chest heaved uncontrollably, dark clouds rolled over the sun and a lightning bolt burst across the morning sky. The heavens opened up into a deluge, mirroring the heartbreak of a young woman and her first love.
***
Lilliana glided expertly around the kitchen of the drafty old mansion as she watched the fried eggs and savory ham sizzle in the buttery lard. Her long blonde curls were twirled neatly into a bun atop her head, and her white apron covered the fancy but cumbersome hunter green Victorian dress she wore. Alek stumbled into the kitchen, bleary eyed and bewildered, sniffing the air.
“Oh good, you’re up dear,” said Lilliana cheerily.
“What’s all this?” asked Alek, peering curiously at the pans on the stove.
“Well, it’s breakfast of course! I’m feeling much better today, and I simply couldn’t stand to be cooped up in my bedroom for one more minute,” she replied.
Both Alek and Lilliana had been in recovery for the past few days, neither straying far from their beds. The loss of so much power for Alek, spent fighting off the Constantins and the resurrection spell, meant he was left teetering close to death. Lilliana, after the ordeal of coming back from the dead, had been far from well herself. After a few days rest, though, both had emerged from their respective wings of the Russian manor.
“Alek, dear, when does the housekeeper come? I haven’t seen her since I arrived.”
Alek mumbled nervously, “I don’t have one, exactly. I couldn’t very well have a stranger coming into my home when I knew your sons were after me. There was no one I could trust.”
“Hm, I see,” she said crossly. “When can we acquire one? This house is in desperate need of a woman’s touch.”
“Yes, of course Mother. I will look into it right away,” he said in a voice that sounded foreign even to his own ears.
The situation with Lilliana had not turned out quite as Alek had expected. He had never envisioned having a live-in mother at this point in his life. The plan had been simple – resurrect Lilliana, kill her sons in front of her, watch her pain and finally get revenge for abandoning him, then kill her and end it all. He had not foreseen Lilliana’s complete amnesia and dependence on him nor the odd feelings of fondness he felt for her. It was a strange and unfamiliar sensation. And yet, he found he somewhat enjoyed it.
After breakfast, Lilliana got to work in tidying up the house. If the housekeeper was not coming immediately, there was no way she could live in this filth for long, she had decided. Upon entering Alek’s room, her eyes fell upon the magnificent painting over the bed. She immediately recognized the woman in the portrait as herself and the blonde toddler as Alek. Since her return to the land of the living, everything had been such a blur, but for some reason, this picture jostled something in her memory. She sat down on the mahogany loveseat by the bed, suddenly feeling lightheaded, as she stared at the painting overhead.
“It’s a boy!” cried the fairy mid-wife as she raised the screaming bright red bundle into the air.
Lilliana’s heart skipped a beat as the woman passed the child into her awaiting arms. “Hello,” she said as she marveled at the toe-headed baby nestled in her chest. She couldn’t believe how tiny he was or that she had been the one to bring this little miracle into the world. Quickly checking for ten fingers and ten toes, she happily snuggled the baby close to her bosom.
“Oh Dalla, come in please. Come meet my little prince,” she said as she rocked the baby in her arms.
Dalla tiptoed into the room, careful not to interrupt the idyllic scene before her. She took a seat next to the bed, and smiled at the cherubic face in her friend’s arms.
“I will call him Aleksander, after my grandfather,” she whispered to Dalla.
“That’s a perfect name,” she said as she caressed the baby’s chubby hand.
Suddenly, three fairies appeared in the doorway, one of which was Elsbetta, who Lilliana knew well. She was the daughter of the Queen of the fairies, the eldest princess, and had been very kind to Lilliana since her arrival in the land of the Fae nearly nine months ago.
Elsbetta smoothed back her snow-white hair and approached the bed to say, “Congratulations Lilliana, your son is very handsome. He will be a powerful man one day – I can already tell.”
There was something about Elsbetta’s words that sent a chill down Lilliana’s spine. She knew that fairies could not lie, and yet she was not comforted by the fact. She smiled graciously, but inside her heart was beating rapidly.
The other two fairies who were lingering at the door entered and took their places next to Elsbetta. “Lilliana, may I introduce you to Belinda and Melinda,” she said signaling to the twin lilac-haired fairies on either side of her. “They take care of all the babies born in my land, and they will see to the care of your son as well.”
“Thank you Elsbetta, but I can care for him myself,” answered Lilliana, trying not to be impolite.
“Come, come now. I know you must be exhausted,” she replied. “They will see to it that he is properly nourished for the next few hours while you get your rest.”
Dalla nodded at her reassuringly.
Lilliana looked down at the tiny baby in her arms and with an inexplicable sense of dread, she kissed him on the forehead and passed him to one of the twins. She couldn’t tell if it was Belinda or Melinda as they were completely identical in her eyes. She watched warily as the three fairies left the room with her newborn son.
“Get some rest my dear,” said Dalla as she took her friend’s hand. “I will be back to check on you soon.”
With a terrible feeling of unease, Lilliana settled back down against her pillow and though she tried to fight it, in seconds her eyelids closed of their own accord.
Lilliana awoke, startled. Her heart was pounding as she searched the chamber until she finally recognized the lush surroundings and remembered where she was. It felt as if she had been asleep for days. She glanced over at the clock on the wall and was horrified when she saw it was the following morning. Why had the fairies allowed her to sleep for an entire day? She hastily pushed the blankets off and slid off the side of the bed, but her head began to spin terribly. She sat back down and took a deep breath before trying to rise again more slowly.
“You’re up,” said a gruff voice from the door.
“Fabian,” she breathed. “I need to see my son. They let me sleep for too long. He must be hungry.”
Fabian took a few steps toward her, his silver hair neatly tied back. “No one woke you as there was no need,” he responded coldly.
“What do you mean ‘no need’?” she asked as a concerned expression crossed her round face.
“I’m sorry, but our son is dead.”
“What?” she cried frantically as she slumped back down on the bed. “It can’t be. I just saw him; he was fine. He was perfect.”
“He stopped breathing during the night,” he stated without an ounce of emotion.
“No!” she shouted. “I need to see him, it can’t be!”
“The body has been buried. He is gone.”
Lilliana collapsed into herself, sobbing hysterically as she watched Fabian walk out the door without so much as a second glance.
Lilliana clutched at her stomach as the far too vivid memory clung to her conscious mind. She ripped her gaze away from the painting and breathed deeply in and out until her erratic heart beats returned to a more normal rate.
“Are you sure you’re up for this?” asked Marco as Celeste locked the front door behind her.
“Absolutely. I haven’t been out on patrol since we left for Warsaw. With Nico out of town, Roman deserves a night off, so let’s go,” she said determinedly. She threw her sword over her shoulder and followed Marco down the front porch steps. Her blonde curls were up in a high ponytail and she was dressed in black from head to toe, ready to take on some bad guys.
The moon was high in the clear sky, not quite full but bright enough to illuminate the streets below. The thunderstorm from earlier had left the air feeling fresh and renewed, and Celeste hoped this outing would do the same for her.
“Where to?” asked Marco, turning to Celeste as they approached the intersection.
“We’ll head toward the center of town and then loop back around. The guys said it’s been pretty quiet lately so I don’t expect to get too much excitement tonight.”
“Good. Then that’ll leave us with plenty of time to talk,” said Marco with a grin.
Celeste didn’t think she had it in her to relive this morning’s heartbreak just yet. When she had gotten home from Roman’s, she had locked herself in her room for a few hours making it clear to both her mother and Marco that she wished to be left alone. It didn’t take much for them to draw their own conclusions after that.
Celeste continued walking, ignoring his comment and hoping that Marco would get the hint. Luckily, he seemed to get it, and the pair marched along in a comfortable silence for a few blocks, passing the library before coming upon St. Alice’s High.
“That’s my old high school,” she said pointing as they passed the familiar archway.
“You went to Catholic school?” he questioned, his left eyebrow arching.
“Yeah, what’s so weird about that?” she asked looking mildly insulted.
“Nothing,” he said shaking his head laughing. “It just explains a lot.”
Celeste shot him the evil eye and punched him playfully in the shoulder. She was about to retort with something clever when an ominous feeling took over. Stopping dead in her tracks, Celeste hushed Marco. She yanked him toward the hedges that lined the wrought iron fence encircling the school.
“What’s going on?” he whispered, crouching low.
“There’s someone here,” she murmured through clenched teeth. Ducking behind the hedge, they waited anxiously in the tense silence. Moments later, they heard a crash of glass shattering and then three werewolves appeared, dashing past them away from the school. They quickly climbed over the fence and shot out into the darkness.
“What the heck?” asked Marco rising from their hiding spot.
“I don’t know, but let’s follow them,” she said.
Celeste and Marco took off after the threesome who had morphed into their wolf counterparts and by then were racing toward the town square.
“How are they turning without a full moon?” huffed Marco as he sprinted behind Celeste.
“It must be Brazen’s old pack, the Black Devils. They’ve been running amuck for a while now. The Werewolf Alliance has severed all ties with them, and they refuse to be held accountable for any of their actions,” she explained in between labored breaths.
Finally, they reached the quiet town square, and the wolves disappeared down a small side street. Celeste and Marco slowed their pace and took caution when approaching the alley. They split up, standing on either side of the passageway, and peered around the corner. The side street was a dead end and at the far side, Celeste could just make out the three werewolves now back in human form. It appeared that they weren’t alone, as a fourth figure had joined and it seemed like they had the woman backed against the brick wall.
A shrill cry burst through the night air, confirming what Celeste had feared. She sprang into action without a moment’s hesitation. Marco to
ok off behind her as Celeste disappeared into the dim alley.
“Help me!” the woman screamed as the three men surrounded her.
Celeste grabbed the tallest one by the shoulders and, catching him completely by surprise hauled him backwards. She pounced on him and he hit the ground, stunned. The woman continued shrieking as the other two werewolves looked around bewildered. Marco’s silver tipped arrow pierced the heart of one of the guys before he could even turn around and his body crumpled to the floor. As Celeste positioned her sword above the guy’s heart, she felt a momentary pang of compassion as she looked into his face. Unlike the last werewolves she had encountered with Roman and Nico, these guys were young – too young.
“Wait!” yelled Celeste as Marco threw himself on the third one. She kept her sword trained over the werewolf’s chest as she signaled for Marco to do the same. She looked over at the dark-haired guy that Marco had pinned down and noted that he, too, seemed so young. He looked barely sixteen.
“What are you doing here?” asked Celeste as she pressed the tip of her sword into the sternum of the blonde guy underneath her.
“Just out for a run,” he answered. His voice wavered, and he didn’t have the same cocky attitude Celeste generally associated with the Black Devils. His eyes glowed yellow, matching his dyed blonde spikey hair and his claws were still extended from the recent change.
“They attacked me!” the woman who was now huddled in a corner on the ground shouted.
“We were just messing around,” retorted the blonde, retracting his nails.
“Celeste, why are you even trying to talk to these guys? They probably would have killed her if we hadn’t shown up,” said Marco.
Celeste wasn’t sure how to answer him. Perhaps the death of Dani was still too fresh in her mind, but for some reason she just couldn’t do it – at least not without finding out more. She looked into her victim’s fear-stricken eyes as the yellow began to subside and a more normal brown took its place. He looked so human.