“There,” Kira told Tristan and pointed down the river.
“The London Eye? Of course.” He nudged her. “Typical that in a city so drenched in history, you would pick the one modern attraction.”
Kira rolled her eyes and tugged on his hand. “Just come on.”
He followed her, and on the long walk over, Kira was grateful that Tristan had thought to rent a car and park it in a garage for the day. Expensive? Yes. Completely worth not having to lug their bags around for hours? Definitely!
Tristan relaxed as they neared the large structure. He slipped his fingers through hers, intertwining their hands, and softened his muscles when Kira leaned against his arm. Just a couple taking an afternoon stroll, Kira thought while glancing at all of the completely normal people around them who were doing the same thing. It was slightly overcast, but the sun peeked through the clouds every so often, casting diamonds along the choppy water. To Kira, it was perfect.
When they reached the London Eye, there was a bit of a line, but nothing too bad. After waiting for fifteen minutes, they slipped into one of the pods, which was essentially a glass globe large enough to hold ten or fifteen people. Before anyone else had the chance to follow them inside, Tristan pushed the door closed and the metal, automatically programmed to close in thirty more seconds, screeched in protest.
An employee rushed over and smacked the glass, trying to reopen the door. Tristan shrugged and shook his head in fake bewilderment, but the employee didn’t look fooled. In fact, he looked downright suspicious.
Trying to hide her smirk, Kira stared in the opposite direction and put her hands against the window, searching for buildings she might recognize as the wheel turned to lift them higher into the air.
“What’s that?” she asked Tristan, pointing through the glass at a huge white dome that stretched above the city’s low buildings.
Tristan, who had lived in London during the nineteen sixties, put an arm over her shoulder and leaned over to follow the line of her finger. “That’s St. Paul’s Cathedral. Over to the right of it,” he continued, taking Kira’s hand in his and moving her pointer finger to a big blue and gray stone bridge, “that’s the Tower of London and the Tower of London Bridge.”
“Is it falling down?” Kira joked and felt the cool air of his exhale along her neck, making the little hairs along her soft skin rise. She glanced back, meeting his eyes for a second. They crinkled into a smile, but he looked back out at the horizon, moving her hand to a new spot.
“Do you see that circular straw roof? You can only just make it out, right along the corner of the river, almost across from the Tower of London.”
Kira nodded.
“That’s the Globe Theater, where—”
“Where all of Shakespeare’s plays were performed,” Kira interrupted and glanced back at his shocked features. “Hey, I paid attention in English class…sometimes.”
“Really? I thought you spent most of English class distracting me with notes.” Kira elbowed him in the ribs, but he of course didn’t budge at all. No fun, Kira thought. She couldn’t exactly push him around.
“Whoa, selective memory man, I think you were the one who distracted me with little portraits of my profile and my eyes—and my lips a few times, when you wanted me to know exactly what was on your mind.” She raised her eyebrow at him in a challenge.
“You forgot whispering lines into your ear when our teacher wasn’t looking,” Tristan said softly, leaning closer to her body so they touched all the way from their legs to their shoulders. Kira leaned back, closing the distance, and Tristan wrapped his arms around her, holding her closer. She covered his arms with her own, hugging him back.
“So long as I can breathe or I can see,” Tristan spoke lowly, in a deep sultry rumble, and Kira closed her eyes for a moment, “so long lives your love which gives life to me.”
“What’s that from?” Kira asked, still keeping her eyes closed.
“Much Ado About Nothing,” he told her, “you’d like that one—it’s a comedy.”
“Good, because after a while Hamlet made me want to gouge my eyes out,” Kira said with a laugh.
“You might like King Lear, then,” Tristan said sarcastically. Kira looked at him quizzically, her eyes furrowed in confusion. “There’s a character who has his eyes pulled out…” Kira continued to stare at him blankly. “Never mind,” he said with a sigh, which did make Kira smirk.
“You’re too worldly for me,” she teased.
“Let me put my years of knowledge to better use.” He laughed and spun Kira around to point out London’s landmarks—Hyde Park, Buckingham Palace, and more museums than Kira could count. He explained to her that since the city was built so long ago, many of the buildings were much lower than those in some American cities, like her beloved New York. In the distance, a ring of skyscrapers poked out of the skyline, looking unnatural against the beautiful and historic stone buildings of the old city.
Finally, they reached the peak of the Ferris wheel and turned around to gaze at the other side of London. Immediately, a gorgeous gothic-inspired building with pointed spires caught her attention. Against the blue river, and with the sun momentarily freed from the clouds, it seemed made of gold rather than stone. Parliament, Kira realized, remembering the photographs from her history textbook.
“I recognize that from Peter Pan.” She pointed at Big Ben.
“You would,” he said wryly before going into the history of the architecture. The building had apparently burned down multiple times and was at one time used as a royal palace. Kira listened politely, not really interested in the history but loving how excited Tristan was to talk about it. Get him started on history or art, and there was almost no way to make him stop. But Kira knew she was the same way with food, and she loved that he was so passionate about certain things.
His eyes lit up the more he spoke and Kira zoned out, blocking out his voice to instead study his features. His lips were asymmetrically curved, causing one of his dimples to emerge while the other stayed hidden in his cheek. Against pearly skin, his dark lashes perfectly framed his eyes, currently icy with his excitement. Higher up, his black hair was messy and fell slightly over his smooth forehead. Kira ached to reach her hand out and push the stray locks from his skin, but resisted.
Instead, she let her mind wander. Leaning against him in this foreign city felt so familiar, almost like home. The first time they met, he had been doing the same thing—showing her around Charleston, pointing out the famous spots and talking about the academic history. Still though, darker thoughts stirred behind his excited expression. Just like in Charleston, none of the history he mentioned was personal. Kira had opened him up so much, had freed him from his own guilt in so many ways, but still he was somewhat guarded around her—almost as if he worried that she would push him away if he told her everything.
“Kira?”
She blinked, finally realizing that he had stopped talking and was staring at her knowingly.
“I’m sorry!”
“I did it again. You are so bored right now.” Tristan smirked, daring her to lie.
“Not bored, per se…” Kira trailed off, avoiding the question. “It’s cute!”
“You used to say I was mysterious and sexy…now I get cute,” he said with mock sadness.
“A very rugged and manly cute,” Kira said, taking hold of his hand and pulling him closer.
“You can’t distract me with a kiss. This is very serious.”
Kira nodded in agreement, but slid her arms up his chest and around his neck before lifting on her tippytoes to bring her face almost eye level to his.
“I refuse to be seduced right now,” Tristan said, looking away from her, “I’m supposed to be the one who does the seducing.”
Kira continued to play with the little hairs at the base of his neck, moving her face slowly closer to his but waiting for him to make the final move.
He turned his face back to her, and Kira could see his resista
nce fading away. The moment hung between them and a stillness rested in the air. But an instant later, Kira’s lips curved into a smile because Tristan gave in. His eyes clouded over and his face sank closer, until they were finally kissing.
A sudden whoosh of air made Kira pull away from Tristan, and she realized the pod had opened. They had reached the end of their half hour ride and the same suspicious employee from before was waving them toward the exit.
Kira ran to the bathroom, leaving Tristan alone to decide where their next stop should be. Had she been with Luke, Kira was almost certain they would be headed for Madame Tussauds, the famous wax figure museum. She could easily imagine an afternoon spent making funny faces next to celebrity figures and posing for pictures. Next, Luke would drag her to the famous Queen’s Guards and he would tell jokes, swearing he could make one of them break face and laugh.
With Tristan, something slightly more mature would probably be involved. He would want to see some paintings for sure, maybe visit the palace. But he had seen all of the city before, so Kira wasn’t totally sure what he would decide, which was why she was floored by his choice.
“You want to go to a park?” Kira asked when Tristan said he thought they should spend the rest of the slowly fading afternoon in Hyde Park, the biggest park in London and one of the biggest urban parks in the world.
“Just trust me,” he said. Kira shrugged and followed Tristan back to the rental car. He drove through the streets, taking the scenic route to show her Buckingham Palace up close, before pulling over and parking street-side next to the park.
Tristan led her past lawns of crisp green grass, bright and healthy from London’s frequent rains. Farther in the distance, Kira spotted a large, sparkling lake speckled with rowboats. For a moment, Kira thought that was their destination, but Tristan turned right instead of left, leaving the water behind them. They walked under a canopy of vines, a romantic enclave free of watching eyes, but Tristan didn’t pause to steal a kiss like he normally would.
Eventually, his steps slowed as they neared a row of emerald hedges. This is what he wanted to show me? Kira asked herself, eyeing the small wooden gate Tristan had just opened for her. But his face read of anticipation—slightly wide eyes brimming with excitement and a knowing smile ready to spread even larger at her response.
Looking at him strangely, Kira stepped through the gate and gasped.
“Gorgeous, right?” Tristan whispered into her ear, but Kira was speechless.
For a moment, Kira thought she had left reality and had instead stepped into the pages of The Secret Garden. All she could see were roses. Everywhere she looked, there were fully-bloomed roses of every color she could imagine—red roses lining the path, yellow buds extending over them, pink floral twining high into the hedges and almost hiding the sky. And the smell, the smell was unbelievable. A sweet, almost vanilla scent filled her senses, enticing Kira farther and farther into the garden toward a cascading fountain in the center of the pathway.
“Tristan, this place is beautiful.” Kira sighed, taking his hand and pulling him down to sit next to her on the edge of the stone fountain.
“I got something for you,” he said while reaching into his pocket.
“When?”
“While you were in the bathroom.” He smirked and she rolled her eyes. Kira had heard too many times before—from both Luke and Tristan—that she took forever in the bathroom.
He opened his palm to reveal a keychain with a cartoon drawing of the London Eye. Kira took it and flipped it over to reveal a photo of her and Tristan on the other side. The picture was of the two of them in the pod, heads close and eyes locked on one another, with Parliament in the background. Kira realized it must have been taken moments before they started kissing, but the timing of the photograph was perfect.
Kira shifted over on the rock so she could lie down and put her head on Tristan’s lap. He ran his fingers through her hair, splashing it over his legs, and Kira looked up at the sky enjoying his touch. She lifted the keychain up to glance at it again, taking a moment to study the image.
Peter Pan, she thought silently to herself while noting the image of Big Ben in the background, the boy who didn’t want to grow up. Was it better to not want to grow up or to not be able to grow up? For Tristan, immortality felt like a trap, keeping them apart and keeping him alone in the world. More than anything, he wanted to be human again and wanted to erase the many years he had struggled to cope with what he was.
For Kira, growing up seemed like the trap. She didn’t want the responsibilities that came with it—learning to control her powers, being thrown into the conduit world against her will, and making life or death decisions no teenager should have to make.
Regardless of Tristan and Luke, there were decisions Kira needed to make about her future, decisions that seemed to haunt her as time slipped away. Could she give up life with the conduits like her adoptive mother had? She would be able to pursue her dreams of being a chef and she could have a somewhat normal life. But how did Luke fit into that plan? Giving up the conduits would mean giving him up as well.
But if she chose the conduit lifestyle of fighting vampires and wielding her powers, any semblance of normal in her life would vanish, and Tristan would probably vanish right along with it.
Kira was at a crossroads in her life—two paths both equally enchanting and equally foreboding in nature. But right now, there was only one path and that was the road to Aldrich’s castle.
Kira sat up and Tristan nodded, thinking the same thing as her.
“Aldrich’s?” Kira asked.
“Aldrich’s,” Tristan confirmed.
Kira gulped, unable to stop the growing sense that everything in her world was about to change.
Chapter Four
Really, no street lamps? Kira thought as Tristan continued driving along the dark, winding English road. They had been driving for just under two hours and the farther they got from London, the more deserted the streets had become. Large, well-lit roads were replaced with narrow, country lanes. Occasionally Kira saw the windows of a house gleaming through the fog, but it had been well over twenty minutes since she had seen any sign of life.
“Not to sound like a bored two-year-old, but are we there yet?” Kira asked while wrapping her arms tightly around herself. These silent streets were giving her the heebie-jeebies. Even Aldrich’s castle seemed like an oasis compared to this dank landscape that lacked even the sparse light of the moon.
“About ten or fifteen minutes away I think,” Tristan told her before turning from the road to focus his eyes on her. “Do you remember what I told you?”
Kira rolled her eyes. “Yes, Aldrich is not to be trusted. He’s evil and will say or do anything to get what he wants.” It was all he had been telling her for the entire car ride. As soon as the two of them stepped out of the rose garden, Tristan had been strictly business.
“Right,” he said with a sturdy nod.
“Can I ask you a question?” Kira paused for a moment, not really waiting for his permission but waiting to gather her thoughts. “Do you think it’s possible that he really might have my mother? That in twenty minutes I might actually meet her for the first time I can remember?” She gulped, trying to swallow her nerves. Even Kira couldn’t believe the idea—it was too good to be true that her mother might just be waiting for her, living and breathing, even if she was doing it in the castle dungeon.
Tristan grabbed her hand. “I want to believe it.”
“But you don’t.” Kira finished the thought for him. “Not really.”
“I’m not trying to hurt your feelings, I just want you to be prepared. I know Aldrich—he is the cruelest man I’ve ever known. I just don’t see why he would have kept her alive.”
“For her blood?” Kira asked dubiously, thinking the answer completely obvious.
“Not for this long, not for almost eighteen years.” Tristan shook his head, trying to reason it out internally. “No one could survive being a
blood donor for that long—it drains your body way too much.”
“And if he wasn’t using her for blood…” Kira said slowly, trying to understand.
“Why would she still be around?” Tristan filled the silence with the question Kira didn’t want to think about.
“But it doesn’t make sense,” Kira said, running a hand through her messy hair in frustration. She could feel her body heating up, getting angry, losing control as always. The slight pain of breaking through the knots in her curls actually helped ground her to the car—the sting pricked her back into reality.
“What doesn’t?” Tristan asked, looking at her warily. Kira realized he probably felt the burn of her powers heating her hands and hastily slid her fingers from his grasp. He held tight, not letting her slip away.
“Making us come to England doesn’t make sense unless he has my mother. If he wanted me, he could have taken me from the ball. I was locked in a room with him—if he wanted to kill me or kidnap me, I wouldn’t have been able to stop him.” Kira thought back to that night, easily recalling the fear that struck her senses when Aldrich sidestepped her powers, using his telekinesis to swat her arms and flames away. He could have knocked her out if he had wanted to. He could have made the ceiling fall on top of her and kill her if he had wanted to.
“And if Aldrich wanted to find you,” Kira spoke up, thinking aloud so Tristan could follow her argument, “well, he did. And all he would have had to do was take me, and you would have followed him back here anyway. Why the ruse if my mother isn’t really alive? Why did we need to come here of our own free will?”
“I don’t know, but I don’t trust him. He doesn’t have an ounce of goodwill in his body.”
“I know that, but I also know there is something in this house he wants us to see, and I just hope that it’s my mother.”
At that, almost as if on cue, Tristan turned down a straight driveway leading to a small square of light on the horizon. As they drifted closer, Kira realized the small square was really a menacing stone castle, half drenched in light and half drenched in shadow. Two giant columns joined together by a flat wall of stone lined with windows formed the front of the castle. In the middle, two glass lanterns hung on either side of the main door—a massive wooden slab that opened down the center. The windows around the door glimmered with light. As they drove even closer, Kira could see shadows dance across thin curtains. Distantly, she wondered if they were human.
The Complete Midnight Fire Series Page 43