The not-so-much-of-a-corpse lifted its head and opened its eyes, pitch black eyes staring at her as he said in a voice that cracked hard from not being used, “My Pharaoh… thank you…”
“You’re most welcome, Count. Welcome back,” Vayna said as she stood up and helped him to his feet. He wobbled for a moment before finding his balance and nodding to her. She backed away from him, giving him space as she pulled her human into her arms and said, “My love, please meet the Count. Count Dracula, please let me introduce my beloved mate.”
“It is a pleasure to meet the mate of Her Majesty,” he said as he bowed deep. The clothes still hung like tatters around his body and he pulled them to cover himself up as best as he could while being in the room around them.
The book did him no justice, Sage thought as she slowly got up off the floor and dusted herself off. She stared at him with wide eyes as she said, “The Count Dracula?”
“Yes,” he said with a sheepish nod of his head. He looked nothing like what the book said he was supposed to look like. His long black hair flowed down to the middle of his back and if she looked close enough she could see that the blackness in his eyes was ringed with just the slightest green. He was thin, but not unbearably so. Put him in a suit and he would look like any other high end business man of the modern day, forget the fact that he was well over 100 years old.
He took a step toward her, conscious of his clothing as he held out a hand to her. She hesitantly reached for it and he bowed over it as he kissed the back, murmuring against her skin as he said, “I’m sorry for earlier. I didn’t mean to put you under a trance. I just really needed blood.”
“It’s okay,” she said as she blushed when he released her hand. She brought it back close to her body as Vayna approached her side and pulled her close. She half wondered why the ancient vampire didn’t get upset when Dracula touched her, but did whenever any other vampire did. She smiled sheepishly as she said, “I wasn’t hurt. Vayna stepped in on time.”
“Indeed, she did,” he said as he turned toward the ancient vampire and tilted his head. His voice was cultured and thick with a Romanian accent as he said “You being here must mean that something terrible is about to happen. Why have you awoken me?”
“The Council of Eden has split,” she replied as she turned herself and Sage around, guiding her out the door and down the hall, trusting that Dracula would follow them. She explained on the way up through the castle, “Brade has turned against me and has declared war on me.”
“Does that mean that you have become Pharaoh again, my Lady?” he asked as he fell into step beside them. He still hung onto the tattered remains of his clothing, but was able to walk easily without it interfering with their conversation.
She sighed heavily as she looked down. She stopped for a moment and gazed at him. She wore a tired look on her face as she said, “I didn’t intend to, but with the declaration of war… I have no choice now. The people will need a leader once I get rid of Brade. This time, I’m going to redo everything over again. Providing I get a chance to.”
“You know I will help you, my lady,” he replied as he bowed his head to her.
“Thank you, Count,” she said with a small smile and resumed walking. She led her way through the halls to the room they were temporarily using. Dracula looked around, a sad look on his face as he took in the ruins of what used to be his home.
“It is a sad sad thing that these walls have fallen into such disrepair during my sleep,” he said as they walked around. They stopped briefly at the room they were sharing long enough to get him a change of clothes. Jeran was up and prepared for them, a change of clothes in his hands already. Dracula smiled and nodded gratefully as he changed quickly before joining the two women in the hallway again. Jeran informed Vayna that the rest of the group was in the dining hall.
“Indeed, it has been quite a long time, Count,” she replied as they entered the dining room and approached the group of vampires chattering excitedly at one end. They all turned and gave them a curious look as they approached.
Vayna stopped mere feet away from the group, Sage and Dracula halting next to her. She smiled at the group as she said, “Everyone, thank you for being so patient and waiting here. I’d like to meet the last member of our new council, Count Dracula.”
“Count Dracula?!” Kaunan exclaimed in shock. Everyone thought that Dracula was dead. They believed the story that was told about Van Helsing killing Dracula as he was being carried up the mountain side by the gypsies. They never thought that he was still alive in his own castle!
“Yes, that is my name,” he replied without hesitation. He smiled charmingly at the group and bowed low as he said, “It is a pleasure to meet you all. Welcome to my home.”
“Count Dracula…” Bryanna whispered as she stared at him in shock. She heard stories of the things he did, both as human and vampire. It was a shock to see such a famous person standing right before her, living and breathing. Well, undead and breathing was the more accurate description. She swallowed softly as she said, “Thank you for letting us stay here…”
“Any friends of Pharaoh Vayna are friends of mine,” he said with a wide wave of his arms. He looked around the castle as he said, “I apologize that my home is in such a mess. As soon as this is all over, I plan to rebuild everything. It will be good to have the peasants come here once again and fill the rooms with their energies.”
“Energies? You mean you didn’t eat them?” Lucius asked as he stared at the mystifying figure before them all. He too was in shock that such a famous person was still undead and moving. It should’ve been impossible. The book said he turned to dust… it was a huge shock to see him up still alive, let alone welcome them to his home. But here Dracula was, smiling and moving as if not a day passed since he last was moving.
Dracula turned and looked at the vampire, looking him in the eyes and studying him. After a few moments, he said, “You are a young vampire. You do not know the enjoyment that one can get from having humans around you. It may seem like they are a nuisance and should be used only for food, but humans have so many wonderful qualities about them. You would never be able to understand the way they can make a vampire feel like he still has a purpose in this world.”
“The Count has offered us the stay of his home for another night. He filled me in on select places in the castle that have room still intact with whole beds. Each one of us should be able to have a room to themselves if we wished so,” Vayna said as she looked at each of them.
“Finally,” Bryanna said with a sigh of relief. She looked over at Kaunan and an annoyed look crossed her face as she continued, “No offense, kid, but you snore way too loud.”
“No offense taken!” Kaunan said with a shake of his head and a grin. He knew how much people hated sleeping in the same room with him. Unless they could ignore everything, he was pretty much doomed to sleeping by himself at night.
Vayna grinned and raised a hand, silencing them all. They fell silent and she lowered it as she said, “He has also graciously offered to take you all to a remote village nearby and get you all dinner. Sage and I will be staying here to watch over the castle.”
“And have a little fun time of their own, no doubt,” Bryanna said with a lewd smirk toward the two. Vayna rolled her eyes and flipped her off, shaking her head in annoyance.
“Like you will not be?” Frostflower asked, speaking his mind for the first time that night. He stood just a ways behind them all, his arms crossed over his chest as a smirk played on his lips. He chuckled at the indignant cry Bryanna gave as she turned around and started to yell at him.
Vayna and Sage watched the scene as Dracula joined the group and stared to slowly lead them out of the castle. Both women felt amused at the sight before them. The group was so full of life and enjoyment that for a moment they both forgot about Brade and everything that came with him. It almost felt as if they were doing nothing more than just hanging out and being friends. It was nice.
The moment the group left, Vayna took her human’s hand and started to guide her through the castle toward the room that Dracula said would be the best for them. It would offer the most secluded area of the castle for them to sit and talk a while. And both women had something they wanted to say to the other. It took them a few minutes to finally reach where they wanted to go, but they eventually got there and Vayna opened the door, leading them inside. She closed the door and brought Sage into her arms as she said, “I love you. Never forget that, my love.”
“I won’t,” Sage replied in a whisper as she clung to her vampire. The events of the past few days finally caught up with the both of them and they sagged into each other. She nuzzled her vampire’s neck as she murmured, “I love you too.”
“We need to talk about something,” Vayna said as she reluctantly let go of her human and guided her toward the bed. This was something she didn’t want to talk to Sage about, but she had no choice. With Brade still on the loose, she had to make sure Sage understood what was going to happen.
“Yes, we do,” Sage agreed as she sat down on the bed next to her vampire. She took the chilled hands of her lover into her own and held them tightly, giving her a loving smile as she spoke, “I’m going to assume that this conversation is about the same thing for both of us.”
“What Brade said,” Vayna replied with a nod. She knew that it was weighing heavily on both their minds. She didn’t say anything, but when they were on the train coming to Romania, she could tell Sage was preoccupied with the thought. The poor thing whimpered in her sleep and clutched at her neck as if she were having a nightmare of a vampire biting her. In those moments, Vayna tried to hold her as close as she could and chase them away, but there was only so much that one could do.
Sage took a deep breath as she nodded her head. Bringing her vampire’s hands up to her lips, she said, “I love you, Vayna, but I’m not quite ready to be turned yet. I still don’t even know who I am…”
“I know, my love,” Vayna said as she nodded her head. She was a bit surprised, since she thought she would end up explaining to the young human why she didn’t want to turn her. But with Sage stating she didn’t want to be turned… she pulled her human’s hands close to her chest as she continued, “I have no intention of turning you. Not until you want it, if you ever want it. I love you, but a decision like this will be of your own free choice.”
“I know, and I’m very grateful,” Sage whispered softly as she gave her vampire a soft, loving smile. It really did make her happy that her vampire was going to wait for her to decide what she wanted. Anyone else would’ve just turned her without a thought. That was one of the reasons why she loved the vampire, “I love you, Vayna.”
Vayna’s breath froze in her lungs at those words and she stared at Sage for several moments. All thought froze as those words echoed in her mind and she almost was afraid she misheard her, “You… You love me?”
“I do,” Sage said as she nodded her head and gazed at her. Part of her was worried about Vayna’s reaction, or rather lack thereof, but she wasn’t going to let her mind run away without her. She waited patiently for the ancient vampire to make a move before she decided if she needed to flee the castle or not.
Vayna answered the question for her as she leaped toward the young human and knocked her back onto the bed, her arms tight around her as she all but hugged the air out of the poor human. Sage gasped softly and Vayna loosened her grip enough so she could breathe as she whispered, “I love you too.”
Sage’s heart melted and she wrapped her arms around the ancient vampire laying on top of her as she hugged her back. It really was only a few days since they first met, but it felt like a lifetime and she knew they both meant what they said. She wondered if anyone else in the world fell in love with someone in a matter of days…
Vayna lifted her head and gazed down at her human with a loving smile on her lips. The happiness she felt was greater than almost any happiness she ever knew. Only her time as a human with her lover back in Egypt came close. Bending her head, she pressed a soft kiss to Sage’s lips as she murmured, “I want to make love to you again… may I?”
Sage’s blush darkened as she nodded. It wasn’t their first time being intimate, but given what she knew now about the both of them, she felt like it was. She was about to scoot up toward the top of the bed when they both heard soft hissings. The two women paused and Vayna got up to look around to the other side of the bed. Sage instinctively brought her feet up onto the bed when she saw what sat on the floor. Vayna bent down, a curious look on her face as she asked, “Well, now. How did you get here?”
The Egyptian Cobra flicked its tongue out at her, tasting the air for any danger as it gazed at the two humans closely. Vayna slowly extended her hand and stretched it out, palm up as she simply gazed at the snake. She didn’t move as she waited for the snake to decide what to do. It slithered closer hesitantly and flicked her palm with its tongue, tasting to see if there was any danger there with the larger creature.
The creature before it was deadly and it could taste that in the air, but it sensed no danger to itself. It slithered up her arm and wrapped around her neck, its head swaying in front of her face as she stood up. She slowly turned around and faced Sage, the snake weaving back and forth as it continued to flick its tongue out into the air. She stepped closer to her human, a smirk on her face as she said, “A Egyptian Cobra snake. They’re not seen in these parts very much. Usually only snake handlers have them.”
Sage wasn’t all that afraid of the snake as she was fascinated by it. She sat there, watching it sway as she said, “How did it get here?”
“Probably escaped from its owner,” she replied as she gently grabbed the snake and held it out to her human. The young woman gulped as she slid off the bed and held out her arm to let the snake test to see if she was dangerous. It slowly slid out of Vayna’s palm and onto Sage’s arm, wrapping around it as it swayed back and forth between the two. The vampire looked at her human as she smirked and said, “Ever made love with a snake in the bed?”
“No,” was the immediate answer that came from Sage. She couldn’t remember ever doing something so risky and daring. She instinctively knew she never did anything quite as dangerous as that before. She swallowed harshly as she said, “But… it could be fun…”
“It’s very erotic,” her vampire said as she took the snake off of Sage’s arm and set it on the bed. It coiled up and watched them closely as they moved around the bed. Vayna urged her human to lay back onto the bed for her, being careful to mind the snake.
She scooted up toward the top as her vampire crawled sensually up the bed, looking very much like the predator she knew her to be. She swallowed softly, not in fear, but in anticipation as Vayna hovered over her and smirked as she said, “I want to hear you scream my name.”
“Vayna…” she murmured as she raised her arms and wrapped them around her neck. The vampire lowered her head and pressed her lips against her humans. Sage moaned softly at the feel of her Pharaoh’s lips once more against hers.
The two kissed for several moments, just enjoying the feeling of being pressed together like they were. Eventually Vayna broke the kiss so she could breathe as she gazed down at her dear lover. She softly stroked her cheek for a moment before pulling back and unbuttoning her shirt. With each button that she undid, more and more of her pale skin was revealed. The shirt fell to the ground the moment she got it all undone and she dropped her hands down to Sage’s shirt and gently tugged it up.
Sage sat up as her vampire tugged on her shirt and it slid up over her head. It joined her vampire’s shirt on the floor as the two immediately began to kiss again. Vayna’s hands wandered over her human’s naked skin, groaning at the silky soft feeling against her fingertips. No matter how long she lived, this was one thing she would never forget about her human. The sweet, milky soft feeling of her skin. She broke the kiss when air became difficult and trailed her lips down Sage’s jaw and neck. She lightly scraped
her teeth against the sweet flesh, not enough to break her skin, but enough to mark the beautiful pale skin of her human. She knew that it would fade eventually, but she still wanted to mark her.
She nuzzled the spot she marked on Sage’s neck for a moment before pulling back and looking down at her lover. The young woman turned her head and looked up at her vampire through half lidded eyes. She smiled lazily as she raised her arms and wrapped them around her lover’s neck. She tilted her head up and whispered against her lips, “I love you… Vayna…”
“I love you too… Sage…” she whispered back as they kissed again. It was a brief kiss, their passion escalating. Both woman forgot about the very poisonous snake that was laying on the bottom of the bed watching them.
The snake was amused as it watched the two women make love to each other. Really, how could it not be? It knew its venom was deadly and could’ve killed both of them with merely the smallest amount. And yet, here they were, totally ignoring it and making love… It hissed softly as a foot was thrown its way and slithered up the bed. Metaphorically, it shrugged its shoulders as it realized the only way to get away from the two humans was to go over them, so that’s exactly what it did.
Both human and vampire were in the midst of almost reaching the climax of their passion when they felt the rough scales of the snake slide over their bodies. A gasp left both of them as the roughness caused them to fall over the edge and both cried out each other’s name as they reached the peak. It was right at that moment that Vayna buried her fangs into her human’s neck and proceeded to drink her blood.
The pain that filled Sage was dimmed by the pleasure that swam through her. She collapsed back onto the bed, her body trembling as she felt her blood being drawn out of her body by her vampire lover. Vayna made sure not to take too much, but they both felt much more pleasure from the act than normal. She pulled her teeth out of Sage’s neck and rolled off of her onto her side as she drew her into her arms and pressed a shaky kiss to her forehead.
Dangerous Love Page 15