“You should have a wonderful view from here, my lady.” He bowed and stepped away. It dawned on her then—they’d orchestrated this for her—it was all just a ruse to give her what she wanted. To see them duel.
She laughed and clapped her hands.
Max was twisting and slicing his sword through the air. She could hear the whistle of the sharp blade as it cut through it.
Ethan pulled his sword from the sheath and brandished it ostentatiously. Danielle had no doubts that he could easily take on just about any threat. He’d removed his jacket, and his thick muscles could be seen bulging and bunching under the thin cotton. Her breath hitched at the sight.
“What’s the matter, Ethan? You can’t handle some healthy competition?” Max taunted, keeping the act going.
They circled each other trying to intimidate the other while sparring verbally.
“She’s mine, there is no competition, so you’d better keep your oversized paws off her,” Ethan countered. The look on Ethan’s face was very intimidating. If he ever looked at her like that, she was certain she’d have a nervous breakdown.
Max winked at her in his usually flirtatious manner. Ethan lunged at him. Max counter attacked. Their swords crashed together in a loud metallic ping.
They swung their blades at terrifying speeds with alarming force. It was like watching a choreographed fight scene in a movie. They conversed with their blades in an intense fencing bout, and they knew the moves instinctively. It was also apparent they enjoyed it immensely.
They slammed the steel together more aggressively and moved their foot work closer to her. She gasped, wide-eyed as the two knights clashed dangerously close to her proximity. They were only a few feet away. It was so intense and so realistic she was actually getting nervous. Not because she was frightened, but she could feel the currents of air from the blades slicing softly across her face, and couldn’t resist pressing back into the chair.
Ethan glanced her way while he blocked Max blindly. He may have sensed she was getting a little over stimulated. They both lowered their swords and walked over to her. “Why is the ninja getting nervous with the sword fighting?” Ethan asked.
“Um, I fight with my bare hands, remember? I’m not used to swords. And you were kind of too close for comfort, but … I have really enjoyed the show. Bravo!” She clapped her hands again. “Thank you, both of you.”
“A fight with her would be quite an intriguing challenge if she were a vampire,” Max said, measuring her in curiosity. “Beon might be right. She could defend herself against Lucas and Celeste—”
This comment started the muscles in Ethan’s cheek to twitch as a look of anger arose in his normally calm blue eyes. “Don’t go there, Max.”
“How can you ignore—?”
Ethan abruptly swung his sword at Max with violent force. But Max deflected it easily and ignored Ethan’s out lash. “Danielle, I’m curious, are you trained to defend against a sword?”
“Max! Stop while you’re ahead!” Ethan snarled his tone dangerous.
What happened to the teasing playacting from before? she wondered as she stood and went to him. “Ethan, relax...”
“I’ve continued to be criticized by Beon and the others for not turning you. And it needs to cease. I can’t—”
Apparently deciding not to answer that, Max bowed to her and said, “It’s been a pleasure, my lady. Perhaps we’ll dance another time?” Swinging upright he left grumbling something about trying to help a friend and all he gets is snapped at, but when he got to the doorway, he turned back and addressed Ethan. “I’m going hunting, are you coming?”
“Yes. I’ll be there in a few,” Ethan replied and slipped his sword back into its sheath.
“Are you okay?” she asked because he still seemed angry.
“The sun is sinking fast,” he said, without answering her question.
Yeah, she thought, shifting her gaze to the open windows along the front. Only a faint glow of orange from the sunset touched the formal landscaping beyond.
Chapter 18
The Vampire Ball
“Are you ready for this? No more eye contact with anyone for the rest of the night.”
“I’m ready.” She felt bemused as she looked into his eyes, but she liked it, and that wasn’t all she wanted. “May I have one more kiss before you go?” she asked, hoping to wipe the scowl from his brow.
She realized it worked when he smiled. “I was already thinking the same thing.”
Ethan’s mouth dropped down to cover hers and she didn’t know how she was going to spend the rest of the evening with him without any of this.
“I’m sorry,” he said, pulling away, “but I do need to lock you up while I’m gone.”
“What?” she asked as Ethan led her toward the staircase. “Oh, right, because of all the other vampires still here.”
“No. They should all go hunting as well.”
“Then why?”
“Well, the ladies will likely just go to the garden where the men will bring,” he paused, then said, “take away so they don’t mess up their fancy hair-dos which took hours to create and their fine gowns which need to remain unwrinkled.”
“Take away?” she asked, as they cleared the last step and made their way down the hallway.
He was silent for a moment and then said, “To you it’s known as takeout.”
“I don’t think I want to know what that means.”
“Probably not. Please stay here, just in case the ladies finish before I do,” he said firmly, stepping into his bedroom.
“But if I can trust you, why can’t I trust them?”
“I believe you can, but I’m the one who has spent the most time around you at night and I know I can handle it. I just don’t want to risk it if I’m not here. Promise me that you’ll stay put.”
“I promise,” she agreed, but his request troubled her. Could they really be dangerous to her? She couldn’t picture it. Sophia and Nadia were so friendly and kind.
Ethan told her to cover her eyes while he changed into his “hunting clothes.” He then left to find his dinner.
But he didn’t tell her how long he would be gone. She wished she’d asked that as she grew impatient with waiting. She’d already listened to music and flipped through a photo album she’d found on the bookshelf. While the album had been interesting, she was done with it, and had to move on to something else. She wasn’t in the mood to start a book, so she tried a little surfing on the internet. Again it wasn’t long before she tired of that too, and shut down his laptop.
Her thoughts wandered to the pictures they’d taken earlier. She noticed that he had a card reader for the camera next to his laptop, and considered sneaking to the drawing room to get it. But he said not to leave his room….
With a sigh, she moved to the window. It was completely dark outside meaning the vampires would be at full power. Thinking of Ethan’s complaint about the others not supporting his decision to not turn her, she decided he was right—she shouldn’t risk running into someone before he got back. Just as she made that decision, she heard Ethan enter the room behind her and realized she would have been caught if she’d attempted to get the camera. That wouldn’t have gone over well.
She turned to face him, and her eyes naturally went to his, but he was elusive as he always was at night. She couldn’t help but be a little disappointed. They’d enjoyed one of their best days yet together, but the dark magic was back, and the prince had to be careful.
Danielle hadn’t really seen him this soon after he’d been hunting, because he’d never come to her room immediately after. He was clean, but he seemed pensive and glum.
“Are you okay?” she asked softly.
“I just took more than one life … I need a shower before I can even think about touching you.” He went to his bathroom and shut the door.
She realized how emotionally affected he was by the curse. He had told her how much he hated hunting as a vampire, but she didn’t app
reciate the intensity of it until she saw him tonight.
Danielle watched his bathroom door when she heard the water shut off. He walked out shirtless while he towel dried his hair. His muscles bunched and rippled while he rubbed the towel over his head. Danielle inhaled sharply and bit her lip. Max may be slightly bigger, but Ethan was nothing to scoff at. His body was incredibly well defined. It was like seeing one of those hunky men seen on the front of romance novels, only better, he was right there, only a few feet away. At that point, she understood why he reacted the way he did when he saw her in the chemise. She found herself reacting the same way now.
He hung the towel around his neck and looked up. Her eyes met with his. Unlike before when he’d prepared her mentally to fight it off, she fell instantly under his spell like a deer caught in the headlights. When his eyes rounded and his expression changed, she realized he only then remembered his effect on her and pulled his supernatural eyes from hers. “I’m sorry. I can’t believe I forgot about that,” he said. “I guess I’m getting too accustomed to having you here.”
“Is that a bad thing?” she asked after she got her senses back and she’d covered her eyes.
“No, I think it’s a good thing.… Uh, Danielle, you can look at me. It’s my job to protect you from my eyes.”
“Okay, but only after you put a shirt on. You’re tempting me to update my principles now.” She peeked through her fingers to find him still shirtless and smiling. Dang, she thought, tonight is going to be a long night.
She was slightly disappointed, but also relieved when he finally got dressed back into his grand ball attire. Moving to his bathroom mirror, she freshened up her red lipstick so they weren’t tempted to kiss because, in truth, she was struggling with that after having seen his bare chest.
Tucking the lipstick into the little bag that matched her gown, she turned to leave the bathroom, but Ethan was there extending one arm to her. “Ready?”
Out of habit her eyes swung to his face. He was staring at his shoes raising an eyebrow at her. “I’m ready.”
He escorted her to the ballroom.
The band played random notes as they tuned their instruments. The guests began to arrive and fill the ballroom with finely dressed men and women. Vampires, she corrected in her head.
Watching the vampires mingle before the ball officially began, Danielle was a little shocked to see they didn’t hide the truth of what they were, even with a mortal in their midst. They would frequently move at supernatural speeds, going from one side of the ballroom to the other in a streaked blur of color. Of course she knew they could travel fast like that, but it was a little unnerving to watch.
Danielle also knew they were aware of the fact that she was the mortal amongst them. But aside from a few curious, though cautious, looks her way they seemed to be ignoring her. With her stomach churning at this kind of elusive attention, she tightened her grasp on Ethan’s arm unconsciously. He gave her a soft squeeze back probably to comfort her.
“How are you feeling, Danielle? Panicking yet?” Danielle recognized Nadia’s voice as well as the gently teasing tone to her words as she turned to look at her. Nadia too stared at the floor.
“Not yet, but I’m borderline,” she replied, shamelessly truthful. “Are they really okay with my being here?” As she spoke, her gaze shifted to Beon and Sophia standing next to Nadia. Sophia’s face was held with a soft compassionate smile, while Beon’s was filled with a frown. Of course she already knew how Beon felt about it. But how many more felt as he did? While Beon had said he supported it even though he didn’t agree, were there others who might try to force the issue?
She felt Ethan shrug when he replied, “They knew you’d be here and they still came.”
“Hello, Beon, thank you for putting on this lovely ball,” came the deep accented voice of someone she didn’t recognize. The step closer to Ethan she took was pure instinct. He hooked one arm around her waist.
“Hello, Seth, thank you for coming,” Beon replied.
Danielle looked at his face while his eyes were on Beon. This was the Seth she’d heard about, the Seth who invited Beon to become a vampire. The Seth who started the Order with Beon. He was tall, and he wore his long dark hair pulled back into a ponytail. His eyes, though she couldn’t see them completely, were dark, almost black. There was a pompous air about him. He frightened her because she sensed that he’d been a vampire much longer than the others. Suddenly his gaze shot her away, and she threw her eyes to the floor.
“I see you decided to have the mortal here, despite my cautions against it. I’m surprised you would risk such a thing, Beon,” Seth said reproachfully.
“Ethan wanted her here, and it seems I couldn’t deny him,” Beon said.
Surprised by his show of loyalty, Danielle’s gaze twisted his way. He still didn’t look very happy though.
“I see.” Seth then addressed Danielle directly, “And what might your name be, little one?”
Trying to look at the buttons on his coat instead of his face, she said, “Danielle Darcey.”
“It’s lovely to make your acquaintance, Miss Darcey,” he said.
“Thank you, sir.” She was trying to be polite despite the fact he alarmed her immensely. Did he have more control than Beon? Could he be the one to force the issue of her mortality?
“She must be something quite special to make Ethan want to leave all of this behind. Won’t you miss it?” he asked Ethan. She knew he was talking about Ethan’s wish to find the cure and be free of the curse that also gave immortality.
“She’s more than special to me,” Ethan said, responding to the first question but not the second.
“If you feel that way, how can you stand having such a restrained relationship with her?” Seth asked while he twisted one of the many large rings on his fingers. “You could turn her now for her safety.”
“You know I’ve already discussed this with Beon. I will not turn her.”
“You’ve got your heart set on solving the riddle to cure your problem,” Seth noted coolly with one eyebrow raised.
“Yes,” Ethan said, equally cool.
“I see. Well, if I hear of anything new that could help you with that, I will be sure to let you know.”
Was there a good side to him that wasn’t clear from first impressions? Of course that certainly could be true since he’d helped create an order of vampires where their sole purpose was to protect mortals like her.
“Thank you,” Ethan said.
She was relieved when the music changed, signaling it was time for the ball to start, and her worries shifted from Seth to remembering the steps to the dances.
The enormous room filled with an intricate rise and fall of notes surging from the classical instruments, and she loved it because it further fed her Jane Austen fantasy. As Ethan moved her forward, the sights and sounds surrounding her swept her to that time that she’d only witnessed in movies. Now drawn in to this vintage atmosphere she nearly forgot the room was filled with vampires instead of normal people. As everyone avoided eye contact with only her, she remembered the truth. This was not a regency novel.
She swallowed, trying to drown the butterflies inside her as the Pavane began.
Ethan took her hand gently and began leading her as they’d practiced. His touch soothed and quieted her nerves. She made it through the easiest dance, but knew the others that followed would be more difficult.
Knowing that, Danielle kept her eyes on Ethan most of the time. Partly because he was the perfect distraction and partly because she knew he would protect her from his hypnotic gaze. An enormous smile filled his face as they danced through the Catillion, and she took pleasure in watching his expression of rapture while he danced with his eyes closed to tiny slits.
They danced through these and the other social dances without too much trouble on her part. She did, however, get a little confused during the English Country Dance, and noticed Ethan chuckling at her silently. She tried to watch the footwor
k more closely then. This dance did mix with other partners, and their feet were the safest place for her to gaze, though she found she would subconsciously look for eye contact. It was a natural tendency for her. But Ethan had said he trusted them to not take advantage of her vulnerability.
Near the end of that dance, she found that she trusted too much. She glanced up to the face of a male vampire with long blond hair and hazel eyes. She shouldn’t have been able to see the color of his eyes. But he knew what he was doing because a twisted smile formed on his lips as he focused his magic on her. She was helplessly pulled into his trance.
She kept telling herself to look away, but her eyes wouldn’t do as they were told. She could smell his breath in her face as she began sinking to the floor.
Chapter 19
Possible Murder Scene
Ethan must have been watching closely while she was with the other vampires, because he had her in his arms before she’d fully collapsed. He removed her limp, but still conscious, body from the room at superhuman speed. She could feel the fabric of her dress fluttering in his draft, and the side of her body sink into his chest from his quick acceleration. He laid her on the sofa in the drawing room, and then knelt on the floor next to her.
“Danielle, bring yourself out of it,” he crooned encouragingly.
She didn’t have it in her to even try for a response, but she did understand she needed to fight her way free.
Gathering her hand into his, Ethan asked, “Are you having trouble, Danielle?”
Her potion-soaked brain focused in on his words. He didn’t sound very concerned. In fact, it seemed she actually heard mirth in his tone. Did she have that right? Shouldn’t he be feeling overprotective and angry instead of entertained?
“Danielle ... are you all right, darling?” he asked again, but as before, surprisingly—mirth was in his voice—like he was almost trying not to choke on a round of suppressed chuckles.
Shoving that unfathomable thought aside, she closed her eyes and worked harder at trying to clear her head. She remembered Ethan saying the victim knows what is going on, but can’t move. And that’s just how she felt, she knew where she was, she knew why she was there, and she couldn’t move, or speak, or even breathe normally.
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