Elizabeth spins to face me, tears welling up in her eyes. “I knew the second I told you to run and hide in the tree so many years ago that I needed to protect you with my life. If Orm, Will, and Jacob support this, so can I.”
“Thank you.” I stand and hug each of them.
I turn to Will. “Can you drive me?”
“Now?” He follows behind me.
“Yes. It’s almost midnight, I promised him I would come today.” I stuff a bite of raw tuna into my mouth and hand him the remains of my meal. “Have Elizabeth put this in a box.”
Swiping my phone from the kitchen, I dial Lucas’s number. It does not complete a ring before he answers. “Anne?”
“Yes, it’s me.”
“I’ve been waiting all day. Will you come tonight?”
“Yes, meet me on the beach in an hour.”
It’s not half an hour before Will and I find Lucas waiting on the beach. He strides towards me and kisses my cheek.
“Will, thank you for bringing her.” He offers his hand to Will.
Will locks his hand around Lucas’s forearm in our traditional manner of greeting. “She should not be without protection. You understand, correct?”
“I understand.” Lucas takes my hand.
“I will meet you here at five. No later.” Will points a finger at me.
“Okay, thank you.”
Lucas wraps his arm around me, and I snuggle into his chest as we walk towards his home.
“What did you do all day?” I ask.
“Slept half the day. I believe that I must adapt to your vampire nature if we’re going to go on like this.”
“Perhaps.” I smile up at him. “What else?”
“It’s a surprise.”
He leads me into the house, to the dining room. “Are you hungry? Will gave me some pointers on vampire diets.” Lifting a cover off a dish, he reveals a plate of sushi.
“Perhaps in a bit.” I push up on my toes and kiss him.
His lips press into mine, sending a tingling feeling throughout my whole body. He traces kisses from my mouth down my neck to my shoulder.
“I have something for you,” he whispers.
Leading me to the balcony, he pops open a bottle of champagne. Then, he produces a square box from his pocket. “Anne Scott”—he opens the box—“will you do me the honor of being my wife?”
Atop white velvet, a large round sparkling stone ringed by smaller ones shines as if it makes light of its own. The band is fitted with two rows of diamonds that cross over each other, intertwining and forming one.
“This is what you did today?”
“Yes. Do you like it?”
“It’s beautiful.”
“But you won’t say yes?”
“I’ve just wrapped my brain around you being here.”
“So, perhaps you’ll say yes tomorrow?”
“Perhaps.” I smile at him.
As the days pass, it’s harder and harder to resist being around him every minute.
“Don’t go.” He tugs on my arm as I rise from his bed just before sunrise.
“I don’t want to, but I have to work. Not all of us can take a year’s vacation.” I kiss him on the lips. “Come to my condo. You can spend the day there.”
“Marry me and I will.”
“That’s the same thing you said last time.”
“Well, marry me.” He reclines to his pillow as if he doesn’t care what my answer will be.
“Okay.” I smile.
“Really?” He jumps up.
I beam at him. “Yes.”
We’re married on his private beach on the spring equinox just as the sun sets. Elizabeth is my maid-of-honor, Jacob officiates, Will stands in for my father, and Orm serves as the best man.
“What say you?” Jacob asks Lucas.
“I take you, Anne Scott.” He stares into my eyes and recites a vow to love, protect, and cherish me for the rest of our days.
I smile from ear to ear as I recite my pledge back to him. “Forsaking all others, I take you Lucas, as my husband, to have and to hold, until death do us part.”
He slides a band of white gold on my finger. It shines so bright, I fear it may blind me. I inch the ring I designed for him, etched with alpha and omega, AS on the interior, onto his finger.
“You may kiss the bride.” Jacob looks to me and winks.
Clutching my hands, he leans down and kisses me. The now familiar tingle of his touch spreads through my body.
“I love you,” I whisper as we end the kiss.
“And I you, love.”
We turn to my friends to receive congratulations and hugs. On his deck, we feast on meat and wine and dance until sunup. As my friends drive away, Lucas sweeps me off my feet and carries me inside and up to the bedroom.
The next nine months pass as if it were a dream. He sleeps during the day as I manage the vampire council and my responsibilities as Chancellor. We swim, hike, dance, or read together most nights. On weekends we fly to Iceland, China, Africa, India, Australia, Antarctica, to see all the most picturesque spots in the world.
“Isn’t there a spell? Someone you can beg to for mercy?” I ask as we approach the winter solstice.
“When you feel a warm breeze, you’ll know it’s me watching over you and planting kisses on every inch of your body.” Lucas squeezes me and kisses my lips. “And in one hundred years, we shall do this all again.”
“Am I greedy to want more? To never want to be without you?” I snuggle into his chest.
“No, it doesn’t make you selfish. I love hearing that. I want you always. I’d love for us to have a family, be together forever. I hope that is possible someday.”
“A family? Together forever?” I sit up and spin to face him. “You never told me that before.”
“I saw my children grow into adults but was never able to reunite with them in this form.”
“That must’ve been very hard. Why would you want to go through that again?”
“To see an offspring a year every hundred would be better than none at all.”
“I’m sorry that I can’t give you this.”
“You can’t now. But maybe someday. It’s such an earthly desire, anyway.” He reclines back on his arm. “What would you name them?”
“Why are we doing this?”
“Humor me.”
“Griffin for a boy.” I cut my eyes to his face. “What do you like?”
“Isn’t Griffin a bit old-fashioned?”
“I’m a bit old-fashioned, or really, just old.”
“Only four hundred forty-four, not even middle-aged yet.” He wraps his arms around my belly.
“Is it odd to live so long and never change?”
“You learn, you adapt, you love. Alena for a girl. Alena or Griffin, or both. I like it. But we should stop and make love again.”
“Yes.” I laugh as he flips me over so that his masculine form hovers above me.
“Thank God for modern pharmaceuticals.” He kisses my neck and traces his lips down my shoulder.
The week leading up to his last day as a human, I do not leave his side.
“I don’t want you to be sad for one hundred years.” He hugs me to him as we dance.
“I will not be.” I smile up at him. “I’m grateful to have you as a husband, and I will look forward to our next year together.”
“Good. Then I shall take you to bed one last time.” He hoists me up over his shoulder.
“You’re such a brute.” I kiss his temple as we climb the stairs.
As midnight nears, we walk down to the beach hand in hand. At eleven fifty-nine, he grasps my shoulders and kisses my lips. “I love you. Remember, always and forever.”
“And I you.” I force a smile.
Shuddering, he steps back, and his brilliant white wings expand from his shoulder blades. Taking my hands, he kisses me, looks to the sky, and blasts into the air.
“Until we meet again,” I whisper into the night as
a warm gale encircles me.
Two days, I give myself two days to cry and be sad, and then I pack up the beach house and drive back to my condo.
“There you are, love.” Elizabeth wraps her arms around me as I enter the foyer. “It’s good to have you back. How are you?”
“None of that, Elizabeth. I have a job to do.”
“Anne.” Will and Jacob greet me with hugs.
“There you are, love.” Orm wraps his hands around mine. “As beautiful as ever.”
“Shh, what’s that sound?” Elizabeth tucks her hair behind her ears. “Please tell me you did not get a pet.”
“Are you daft? Of course not. What are you talking about?” I take my suitcase from her.
“Listen,” she insists.
I focus on the sounds around me. The whir of the electronics, air rushing through the vents, my heartbeat, and then I hear it. Ba-bump, ba-bump, ba-bump come the thumps in fast succession.
My hands go to my belly.
THE END
I so appreciate thoughts and feedback from my readers. Please consider leaving a review where you purchased this book. Kingdom of the Damned, Kingdom Journals, Provocation, is a prelude to the Kingdom Journals series, which includes Alena’s story, Kingdom of Embers, Camille’s Story, Kingdom of Darkness, and Jude’s Story, Kingdom of Honor. See the following page for a preview of Kingdom of Embers and look for the next installment, Kingdom of War, Hunter’s story, in 2019. The series can be found my website at http://triciacopeland.com/kingdom-journals.html.
Wishing you magic,
Tricia
KINGDOM OF EMBERS
“He wouldn’t understand. He didn’t live in a pretend world. In truth, he did. Most beings, pure humans, walked around thinking they were the only type of people that existed.” –Alena
As a creature forbidden by both vampire and witch cultures, Alena traverses the country with her Vampire Chancellor mother in search of an unknown entity. When Alena finds Hunter, everything changes. Their bond may be the key to answers Alena seeks. As she investigates the connection, the equally handsome, but mysterious Jude appears. Will the truth of his intentions be uncovered before it is too late? Or will her mother’s kingdom be reduced to embers?
Praise for Kingdom of Embers
“HEARTSTOPPING!”
“A much-needed twist to an old genre.”
“Fantastic twist on the paranormal!”
More about Tricia and her books…
Tricia Copeland grew up in Georgia and now lives in Colorado with her family. Her other books include the new adult romance Being Me series, Is This Me?, If I Could Fly, Thinking You Know Me, and the final installment, Being Me, as well as a YA paranormal novella, Drops of Sunshine, and Lovelock Ones, a post-apocalyptic science fiction novel. If she’s not on a trail, you can find Tricia at www.triciacopeland.com or on your favorite social media.
Kingdom of the Damned: Provocation (KIngdom Journals) Page 32