by Niyah Moore
Rain immediately spoke, “She has and I’ve told her everything to keep a low profile.”
“Do you really think that’s going to work?” Mother questioned.
“I’m keeping a very close eye on her,” Rain shot back defensively.
“There’s something you should know, my son,” Mother said. “If I’m correct, Essence has broken the marriage by sleeping with another man.”
Rain tilted his head to the side. “No, she hasn’t. I keep a very close eye on my wife.”
“Your wife is no longer your wife, Rain.”
Rain’s chest heaved up and down. “Bullshit.”
“I have facts and as your mother, you will respect me. You lower your voice when you speak to me.”
“I will never disrespect you, Mother. Let me talk to her. I’m sure this is all one big misunderstanding.”
“There’s no misunderstanding. Trust what I tell you.”
Rain sat back in his chair. I never saw Rain look so defeated. He was always so poised and so confident.
“Legend,” Father said.
“Yes, Father.”
“You’re the first born and out of everyone, we expect you to know better than to accidentally change a strange woman into one of us… I question your state of mind when you committed this accident. Chantal is trying to go back to a normal human life from what I hear as well,” Father said.
“She was going through a phase, but that’s over now,” Legend said.
“Why do you think Chantal is so eager to get back to Chicago?” Father asked with a frown.
“I don’t know.”
“Did you know that Chantal has a husband already?” Mother asked.
“She’s not married.”
“You didn’t check.”
“She wasn’t wearing a wedding ring the night we met.”
“Did you ask her?”
“Of course not,” Legend replied.
“Maybe you should’ve because she’s very much married and he’s trying to locate her as we speak. He’s the reason why she wants to go back to her old life.”
“She can’t go back to him,” Legend said.
“You need to let her go,” Father asserted.
Mother looked worried. “The Préfet isn’t going to like this at all...”
“Why would the government be so upset about any of this?” Rain asked, leaning back into the chair.
“Turning the wrong humans into vampires can start a war between the humans and vampires. We stay in our own community for a reason. You want a wife, then you get a vampire. We have so many great resources. You two forced these women to do what they didn’t want to do, and now we all have to suffer the consequences of your actions,” Father bellowed.
“I didn’t force Essence,” Rain replied.
“You can be in denial all you want, Rain. The truth is the truth. She didn’t willingly let you suck her blood. You seduced her. You mesmerized her and then took what you wanted,” Mother said.
Rain didn’t respond.
“Chantal begged for me to turn her,” Legend stated.
Mother shifted in her seat. “Regardless, she didn’t mean it. I want you all to listen to me. We have to end this now and you all know what we must do.”
Silence ate up the room for a few moments. They were moving down the line, in no particular order of birth. They were addressing what needed to be addressed. I was going to be next. I had created the biggest mishap—a child.
“Onyx,” Father said.
“Yes, Father.”
“You’re challenging the Divination. You have managed to do something that hasn’t been done for centuries. You and Soleil are expecting a child that has half the DNA that you two share… For that reason, you believe your child will be a Daywalker.”
“I don’t challenge the Divination,” I replied, “But, isn’t that what happened the last time a vampire child was conceived? He was our last King. He was a Daywalker.”
“Yes, your child will automatically be viewed as royalty around here. If, in fact, your child is born a Daywalker, he or she will be the new King or Queen of Pigalle Palace without question. The Préfet will want to test this out, of course. As soon as the baby is born, we will have to take the child to them and they will expose the child to the sun. If the child burns, they will continue to let the child burn to death.”
“What?” I asked.
“That’s the way it has to be, son.”
Before I could finish my protest, Mother spoke over me, “Another thing. We have to kill Chantal and Essence.”
“No!” Rain stood up. “I won’t kill my wife!”
Father exploded, “Sit your ass down!”
Rain sat reluctantly.
“Essence is no longer your wife! She has broken the bond! She must die!” Father shouted.
“Let me talk to her, please. Essence wouldn’t do anything like that to me.”
“Fine… Do what you think is best,” Mother answered. “We’ll keep everything under control on our end and we’ll try to mask all of this by staying quiet. That means that none of your women can be in this club. Soleil can no longer work the bar. She will start showing soon. These women must stay hidden. If any of these women go against what we are ordering, I’ll rip their heart outs myself.”
“Anything you would like to address me about?” Azura asked.
“The only thing I want you to do,” Father answered, “is look after your brothers. If you see anything suspicious or feel anything suspicious, you tell us.”
“Of course.”
“Are we done here?” Rain asked in an irritated tone.
“That’s it,” Father replied.
We all stood. Legend, Rain, and I filed out of the room, leaving our parents and Azura to themselves. Rain was quiet as we walked down the corridor. Essence was a very sensitive subject for him and anything regarding the Divination as well. He had been too wound up and was becoming too unpredictable.
The government was growing tired of ruling Pigalle Palace. We were in need of a King.
I broke the silence. “What was that about, Rain? You accused our parents of being wrong. When have they ever been wrong?”
“They are controlled by the Préfet.”
“The Préfet has done nothing but protect us since the King was murdered.”
“Who gives a flying fuck about the Préfet? I’m so sick of living by their fucked-up rules,” Rain exploded. “This is our family. The government is stupid. If the women we choose decide to leave us, who cares?”
“Everything has an order, brother,” Legend spoke up. “You do understand that the Préfet can kill us, right?”
“Do you really think they’ll do that? When was the last time you heard about them executing a vampire?” Rain questioned.
“It’s been hundreds of years; yet, they do have the power to do whatever they want to do. We would stand trial. I have to be honest; this whole ordeal that we’ve created can start a war,” I said.
Rain was silent and Legend ran his hand through his dreads as we proceeded to the elevator.
I said, “I’m going to have to break the news to Soleil. This is going to be tough for us. She may want to have an abortion now.”
“Don’t let her do that. She can’t have an abortion,” Rain replied. “She could possibly be carrying our next King.”
I didn’t think I would hear Rain admit that. If she were carrying our next King, then Rain wouldn’t be the chosen one after all.
We walked out of the elevator to the front of the club.
“Soleil and I are going out for a little bit. You want to go?”
“Nah, I’m going to stock the bar,” Rain responded.
“What about you, Legend?”
“I have to go see about Chantal.”
“Understood,” I replied.
Soleil’s eyes were bright and she wore an incredible smile on her face as soon as our eyes met. An elegant goddess was standing before me and I felt like I was in he
aven.
“You ready to go, baby?” I asked her.
“Let’s go.”
* * *
Soleil lay in my lap as we watched some sappy love movie she had been dying to see. I was more of an action kind of person, so the movie wasn’t holding my attention whatsoever.
I bent down so I could give her an upside-down kiss while my hands traveled from her stomach to her breasts.
“Baby, watch the movie,” she said, pushing my hands away.
“I’d rather watch your sexy ass in the bedroom than this horrible movie right now.”
I maneuvered around so I could be on top of her. She giggled as I covered her face with more wet kisses.
“Cut it out, Onyx. Let’s watch this movie for once.”
The phone rang. I let her go saying, “Saved by the phone.”
“You want me to get it?”
“Sure.”
She answered, “Hello…” She frowned while she listened to whoever it was on the other end.
“Who is it?” I asked, reading her dazed expression.
“Your mother.”
I took the phone from her. “Mother?”
“Onyx?”
“Yes.”
“Have you seen Rain?”
The panic in her voice startled me. “I haven’t seen him since I left the club. What’s wrong?”
“I can’t find him. Legend thinks he may have gone to the university to look for Essence.”
“What? I thought you told him to stay away from the campus right now.”
“Rain hasn’t been himself lately. This is the second time he’s been to her dorm since I gave him direct orders.”
“I’ll go find him.”
“Good. Let me know what happens when you return.”
I hung up the phone and rushed to the door.
“Onyx,” Soleil called after me.
“I’ll be right back.”
“Where are you going?” A worried look covered her face.
I kissed her forehead. “I have to go find Rain.”
* * *
I waited in the shadows on the rooftop of the dorm where Essence and Colette stayed. It was close to 9 p.m. and I spotted Rain following Essence. Why was he stalking this woman?
As soon as Essence disappeared inside of the building, I jumped down from the roof and crept up behind Rain. He felt my presence and turned around.
“How’d you know I was here?” he asked.
“Mother called me. What are you doing here, Rain?”
“I’m here to make sure Essence is safe and I need to make sure that she’s not seeing anyone else...”
“You’ve got to be kidding me. What are you going to do if she is seeing another man? Then what?”
“I will rip him to pieces.”
“That’s not in your character, Rain. You might as well let her go.”
Rain stepped close to me and got in my face. “I won’t ever let her go. I love her too much.”
“There’s nothing you can do about this. Rain, you might as well let Mother kill her.”
“I won’t let Mother kill her, Onyx. Are you not my brother? I need you to have my back on this. What if this were Soleil, we were standing here talking about? I don’t see you killing your child and I don’t see you killing her.”
I understood once Rain put it that way. I would pay for it later to go against our parents, but I had to trust him and have his back. “Let me know if you need my help.”
CHAPTER 20
RAIN
I knocked on Essence’s dorm room right after Onyx went back home. He needed to trust me to handle my situation. I didn’t need any one of them holding my hand through my own mess. I’d created it, so I was going to fix it. If Essence didn’t want to be with me, then I was going to have to deal with letting her go.
Essence opened the door for me with a look of surprise. “Rain… What are you doing here?”
“I can’t go another day without seeing you. Can I come in?”
She opened the door wider, so I could walk in. “You see me, so what do you want?”
Her beautiful face wore a frown as her thick, poignant voice was like music to my ears.
A soulful slow beat from her iPod greeted me as soon as the door was closed.
“How long are you going to stay away from me?” I asked.
“Not too much longer.”
“I need an exact time frame. We are married and we have to make our bond stronger. You have to stay by your husband’s side. Do you understand that?” I sat on a chair that was in the corner of the room.
“I love the way that sounds, Rain… However, you didn’t give me much of a choice that night when you bit me. I never asked or agreed to become…this…”
I leaned back in the chair and rubbed my chin. “I understand, but I really wish you’d get over it. I don’t want you to keep holding that over my head forever. I want you to love me the way that I love you. Right now, you’re not connecting with me the way you should. That makes me believe that you’ve broken our bond. Have you slept with anyone else, Essence?”
She didn’t blink or stutter. In fact, it was as if she had been dying to tell me the truth all along. “Yes...”
I took a deep breath and exhaled. “Why?”
She shrugged. “I just did.”
“Who is he?”
“I can’t tell you that.”
“Is he human?”
“No.”
With a deep frown, I badgered, “Another vampire?”
“Yes.”
“Does he know that you’re married?”
“Yes, he knows everything.”
I didn’t need to hear any more. There was no need to find out who this other vampire was. Instead of cutting her head off or ripping her heart out, which I could’ve done at that very moment, I fled from her dorm.
CHAPTER 21
AZURA
As soon as I got home from closing the club, Onyx called. I rarely came home alone. My male companion had his hands all over my ass. All I was trying to do was get him into my room so I could fuck him. With my annoying phone ringing from my pocket nonstop, I had to answer it. Only someone in my family would be trying to get to me so desperately.
“Hold on, baby,” I said. “My cell is ringing.”
I reached in my pocket to retrieve my phone. It was Onyx. “Bonsoir, mon frère.”
“Have you heard from Legend or any news about Chantal?”
“No. Why? What’s up?”
“He’s not answering his phone. I just met Chantal’s husband in the alley while leaving Vaisseau.”
“Uh-oh. What did you tell him?”
“I told him I never heard of Chantal. He proceeded to tell me that he was going to find her with or without my help.”
I walked over to my couch and sat down, signaling my lover for the night to hold on. “Holy shit. Do you think he knows anything about us? He came right to the club. How did he know where to start searching for her?”
“She came to Paris with her best friend, Jade. From what Legend told me, Jade had to return to Chicago without Chantal. I’m sure Jade told Chantal’s husband everything she knew. She came to the club with Chantal, and she saw Chantal go home with Legend.”
“I was afraid this would happen.”
“We have to warn Legend.”
“Did you try to go over to his place?” I asked.
“Not yet, but I need to.”
“We can’t let Mother and Father know anything about this.”
“Exactly. Get some rest,” Onyx said.
“All right. I’ll talk to you later.”
He hung up and I asked my male lover for the night, “You ready?”
He nodded.
“Bring your sexy ass over here.”
CHAPTER 22
RAIN
At times, I wondered if my family set the standards too high since I couldn’t completely live up to the standard that was set for me. I planned to test the theory abo
ut my day-walking powers one day, but not until I felt like it. Other things were on my mind—like Essence breaking our bond.
I spent days upset, pacing, and confusion had my mind warped. I didn’t answer my phone. I didn’t go to work. I didn’t want to be bothered.
I walked slowly to the bathroom to run hot water for a shower. The doorbell rang. I walked down the hallway to see who was at the door. When I looked through the peephole, I couldn’t believe she was standing there with sunglasses on. I whisked the door opened to face her.
“What the fuck do you want?” I roared.
“Can we talk for a minute?” Essence asked.
“We have nothing to talk about. You slept with another man. That means you are free to do what you please. Leave me the fuck alone.”
“At least let me tell you how it happened.”
“I don’t care about how it happened.”
“Please…”
I leaned against the side of wall. “Why aren’t you with him?”
She removed her shades revealing her red puffy eyes. “I don’t want to be with him. I never wanted to be with him. I made a mistake… Look, Rain, I’m so sorry.”
I opened the door wider and let her in, though I shouldn’t have. “I’m listening.”
She looked behind me as she could hear the water running from the bathroom. “Am I disturbing your shower?” she asked.
“I’m going to get in the shower as soon as you leave.”
“…Let me take a shower with you.”
She took the liberty to walk down the hallway as if I said it were okay. I followed her to the steamy bathroom anyway.
Without saying another word to one another, I undressed her slowly. Silent tears fell from her eyes. She undressed me next. We got in the hot shower kissing, washing, and massaging one another. It was as if the hot water was washing away her sin. I had a forging heart. That was my nature. I didn’t care about any mistakes she made because I loved her unconditionally.
She didn’t have to ask me to make love to her. Her body had been begging to be touched by me the moment she walked into my door. As soon as I entered into her pillow-like moist center, I felt as if I never wanted to get out of her. We were resolidifying.