by E. M. Moore
She came forward. From her hands dangled a tiny, silver cell phone. Not just any cell phone. Mine. She grinned. “You wouldn’t believe who’s been texting you while you’ve been down here with me. Every last Ravana prince.”
I closed my eyes. Damnit.
“This is what we’re going to do, Ariana. I’m going to call one of your princes and hold the phone up to your ear. You’re going to tell them that you’re fine, that you’ve escaped, but you need to be picked up at the bridge over Wysocki River. I believe you know the place.”
“I won’t do it,” I said, already shaking my head. “I’m not telling them that. Not ever. They don’t need to be brought into this. You want revenge on Gregor, fine. Get it. Don’t bring them into this.”
“Kay…” the man said from up above.
The woman turned scowling. “What?”
His voice was deep, rich, with a slight accent I couldn’t place.
When he didn’t say anything, she sighed, stood, and turned around to run back up the stairs. While they were there, I pulled at my restraints again. It was no use. They wouldn’t budge any further than they already had.
After a few moments of whispering, Kay turned back around and walked down the stairs. The skirts of her dress swished behind her as she walked. What a messed up picture this was. We were both wearing beautiful dresses except she was carrying around a stake and a broken heart, while I was tied up in the corner. Talk about things not computing.
She held the phone out to me. I could already see the screen clearly displaying it was calling Dark, Sexy & Badass. I sealed my lips shut as she held the phone to my ear. I pulled away, but she just moved with me. When I was almost falling over, she yanked my arm, bringing my head right back to the cell phone speaker.
“Ariana? Are you there?”
Nicolai’s beautiful tenor of a voice was broken with worry. It killed me to hear it. I shook my head, tears welling up over the sides.
“Please, Ri, are you okay?” he asked again, his voice more husky than usual.
Like all the times before, I had no willpower when it came to the Ravanas. “Yes,” I finally choked out. “I’m fine.”
His voice sounded strangled. “Where are you?”
“I don’t know,” I said, finally giving into the terror.
The woman’s eyes bore into mine. Tell him the river, she mouthed.
I shook my head again. That was the last thing I’d do. “Listen to me,” I told Nicolai, speaking as fast as I could. “Don’t come after me. Promise you won’t.”
Kay’s fist shot out and cocked me in the side of the face. I fell to my left, my shoulder just barely catching me so I didn’t smack the side of my face off the cement floor.
I tried not to cry out, but I wasn’t sure if I succeeded when I heard Nicolai screaming. Then, I heard him say her name very calmly, like we were all in the eye of the storm. I blinked, just catching her movements. She dropped her hand to her side right before she rubbed the bridge of her nose with the hand she held the stake in. Finally, she put the phone up to her own ear. “Is that you, Nicolai Ravana? You sound very upset. Did your father tell you what he did to my Royce?”
Her chin hit the phone, accidentally spilling Nicolai’s voice into the small room. My heart clenched while he spoke. “Ariana had nothing to do with this. Give her back. We’ll meet you. Wherever you want. We’ll meet you. You don’t want her anyway.”
“No, Nic!”
Kay glared at me and then moved toward the staircase to look up at her friend. She waited for a split second before nodding. “Yes, we’ll— I’ll meet you. Bridge over the Wysocki River. Half hour.”
“No!” I said, “Don’t, please.”
Realization set in that my princes were going to be brought into this after all. I didn’t want that. I couldn’t bear the thought of one of them getting hurt, or worse.
“It’s okay, Ri,” Nicolai said. His voice was so smooth, so in control. He had no idea what he was walking into. “I’ll see you soon.”
“I don’t want you to—”
The phone went dead, the screen blinked out. It was just Kay and I again in the dingy, but sparse, basement. The man up above said, “You know what to do.” Then, his feet were gone.
I was still laying on the floor from the blow to my face, but it felt as if my world had turned upside down and not just sideways. Christian had really nailed it the other day, hadn’t he? We would all be the ruin of one another.
Kay strode forward and pulled up on my arm until I was standing once more. She slid my phone into the front of her dress, then heaved me up and over her shoulder. She was abnormally strong. Every time she took a step up the stairs, my body curved around her strong frame. Shutting the door behind us, she strolled through a kitchen, a family room, and then turned right through a foyer that led to the outside. She kept me in the air as we stepped outside and up to a car in the driveway, then she heaved me into the backseat.
The air was cool and moist, not that much different from the basement. Above us, the sky was cloudy, secreting away the stars. She propped my head up against the headrest and was about to shut the door when a black shadow slammed into her from behind. She fell to the ground in a heap. The figure tried to leap on top of her, but she kicked out when he made his descent.
The shadow groaned and staggered back.
Then, they faced one another. Though the shadow’s back was to me, I’d recognize him anywhere. It was Stephan. My heart catapulted into my throat as they exchanged blows. Each of them well-trained, it was more like a chess match as they tried to feel each other out. He’d fake and she wouldn’t fall for it and vice versa. Breathless, Kay moved back into fighting stance and circled around him. “How did you find her?”
Stephan pointed to his nose.
Her head recoiled. “You fed her your blood?”
Stephan used the momentary distraction to attack her again, but she was too quick for him. She swept out with her foot, catching Stephan’s feet and sending him flying in the air. His back hit the driveway with a thud. He didn’t move.
“Stephan? Stephan?” I cried.
Kay moved closer to him. She pulled him up by the collar. He was lifeless in her arms, his hands dangling at his sides.
Terror struck me. “Leave him alone!”
She twisted toward me. “He’s just knocked out. It’s a shame they don’t teach these vampires how to defend themselves well enough. They’re faster and more powerful than we could hope to be. The thing is, they think it’s beneath them. They’ll be surprised when they have to fight one another, won’t they?”
“What do you mean?” I watched as she picked up Stephan’s body and carried him to the other side of the car. She didn’t even grunt with the exertion. If I wasn’t so furious at her for doing this, I’d think she was kind of badass. The Fort could use some female trainers—especially human guards who knew what it was like.
She put Stephan in next to me, not taking near as much care as she did with me. She practically tossed him in, his head bouncing off my shoulder before it came to rest there. She shut the door and got in the driver’s side. As she started the car, she said, “I would think even the trainees knew about all the hostility being tossed around at The Council meetings. They can all barely stand each other. More than one wants to knock your precious Ravanas off the pedestal they put themselves on.”
I cuddled in next to Stephan, placing my head on his. Just his presence calmed me. Not that I wanted either one of us where we were, least of all him, but at least we were here together. If he could just wake up, maybe he could take my ties off so we could fight back. Regardless of what she’d said, Stephan had held his own against her. All it took was one mistake and she was able to get in on him. The princes had more training than any other vampires as far as I knew. “The princes aren’t like that,” I told her. “They want to be able to fight for their own safety. They told me.”
“Vamps say lots of things to get the red stuff, especially w
hen it’s fresh.”
“Is that what Royce did to you?”
Kay slammed on the brakes. I used my knees to brace me back into the seat, but Stephan wasn’t so lucky. He tumbled off my shoulder and into my lap. I looked down, frowning, hoping he hadn’t been more hurt when Kay turned around. “Don’t you dare say anything like that about him.”
I locked gazes with her. “The princes aren’t like that either. I promise you. They would never do anything like that to me or anyone else. You’re hurting the wrong people. What are you going to do when we get there anyway? You’ll be outnumbered five to one.”
Kay smirked, then turned back around to maneuver us out of the driveway. “You think I’m going to be the only one there to take their revenge on the Ravanas. That’s a sweet thought, but no. I’m not the only one who owes them.”
“Like that guy that came to your house? Who was that?”
Her gaze flitted up, looking at me through the rearview mirror. “Like I said, not a friend to you. That’s all you need to know.”
“What’s Zeke going to think when he knows what you did?”
She raised her eyebrows, then shrugged. “Probably thank me for taking you out of commission. With you gone, he’ll get his top spot back. Not that it’ll be with the Ravanas. They’ll be dead, but it’ll be the next best thing.” She found my gaze in the mirror again. “It really is kind of sad. From what Zeke’s told me, you remind me of me. I can understand why he sees you as a threat.”
My stomach rolled over. “I’m nothing like you. For one, I take responsibility for my own actions. Royce didn’t die because of Gregor. He killed himself.”
Her hands tightened around the steering wheel, her knuckles turning white. She didn’t respond so I looked down. Stephan was still out cold. My heart lurched. Wake up, I silently pleaded. Wake up.
If he could just regain consciousness, we could take her on together. There was no way she’d be a match for the both of us.
The car slowed and I looked around. Sure enough, the street looked familiar. Off to our right was the same small, makeshift parking lot I’d been in before. Though it was dark, I knew that right in front of us would be the bridge we were meeting the Ravanas on. Would Gregor be there along with the rest of his sons?
No matter what, I needed to keep Stephan safe. He belonged here, they all did. I was the most recent transplant into their world, and really, my life meant nothing without them. The number one priority was keeping them safe.
I stared down at Stephan’s handsomely chiseled face. Though his eyes were closed, I knew there was the most perfect set of emerald green eyes behind those lids. His dark brown hair was perfectly arranged as it had been at the party. He was even still in his pants and collared shirt, though the tux jacket was off, left somewhere and forgotten.
What did he do when they found out I’d been taken? He’d obviously gone out on his own to find me. He knew he would be able to track me down because of the salve he made me that was mixed with his all-curing blood. A tear slipped down my face as I stared down. Stephan was the caretaker. To think that I might never feel his fingers on my skin, massaging his healing ointment into my body. Or that I might never feel his lips once again press into mine.
My breath shuddered out of me. A replay of all the moments I shared with my princes appeared like snapshots in my mind. There was Christian when he stopped my punch my first night at The Fort when he found me trying to escape. I thought for sure my wrist was broken. It was probably another injury Stephan’s miracle cream healed without me even knowing about it. There was Connor’s face when he couldn’t recover from laughing at me so hard. I’d accidentally called them brothers, which brought on a laughing fit of epic proportion. There was Nic and his husky voice, making my stomach flip flop. Especially that time when he asked me if all I’d wanted to do was hold him. It wasn’t, but I never got the opportunity. And dear, sweet Stephan. My first, and only, kiss.
“I’ve got an idea,” I said. “If revenge is what you want, then just kill me. Leave the Ravana Princes alone. They’ll be so distraught they’ll never forgive their dad anyway.”
She raised her eyebrows at me. “I’m guessing you don’t understand what an eye-for-an-eye means? And you looked so smart, too.”
“I get it. I even understand the sentiment, but won’t it be even sweeter when he feels so alone? The people he loves are still in this world, but they don’t want anything to do with him. That’s the perfect, twisted revenge. I promise you that if they find out he’s the reason why you killed me, they’ll never speak to him again.”
A cell phone buzzed, distracting her. Kay looked down at the passenger seat and then back up at me. “Nice try, but not happening. Backup’s on the phone.”
She pulled a black cell phone from the seat next to her and held it to her ear. “Yeah, I’m ready.”
I wasn’t. Not at all.
Of course, there never would’ve been enough moments with the Ravanas. Even if we’d had forever.
Chapter Twenty-Six
“What do you mean you’re not here yet?” Kay’s grip tightened around the cell phone. “I told you they would come. They want the girl.”
Headlights flashed from the other side of the bridge. Kay turned, the wash of lights making her face appear deathly pale.
“They’re here.” If I wasn’t mistaken, I thought I could hear a tremor in her voice. She put the phone between her shoulder and cheek and put the car in reverse. “If you’re not here, I’m getting out of here. I will not be sent on a death mission.” She checked the rearview mirror and placed her foot on the gas.
We lurched backward until even I could hear the yelling from the phone close to Kay’s ear. She pulled away, grimacing. The phone dropped to the seat. She put the car in Park again and then picked up the phone, holding it to her ear once again.
I stared at the other headlights. Could it really be my princes in there? I wanted it to be, but also didn’t want it to be at the same time. If it was just us and Kay, it would be a beatdown. She didn’t have a chance. But if others were truly coming, I didn’t want them anywhere close to here.
A figure stepped in front of the lights, blocking them out briefly before it started moving toward us. It was just one. I held my breath in my chest, wondering which one of the princes it would be.
“They’re approaching the car.” There was a pause, then, “Just get here!”
Kay threw her phone down on the seat and then both of us just watched as the figure casually strode toward us. From its blase nature, I envisioned it to be Nicolai with his cool swagger. But when the face was clear enough to see in the dark, my breath hitched in my throat.
It wasn’t a prince at all. It was Zeke.
Kay realized a moment after me. She gasped and then swung the car door open before heaving herself out and running toward her son. I stared down at Stephan. His eyes were still closed, but his chest moved up and down peacefully. “Stephan,” I said, whispering to him. “Wake up. Please.”
I nudged him with my legs, but still nothing. That sweep Kay pulled off must’ve taken it all out of him.
“Please, baby,” I pleaded. “I need you to open your eyes.”
I nudged him harder this time, cringing while I did it.
The door to my right opened, the wind twisting its way inside the car and spreading goosebumps over me. Rough hands grabbed my arm and pulled me out. I looked up to find Kay. She reached into her shoe and brought out a razor blade. “Don’t try any funny business. I’m just taking the knots off your feet.”
“Why is Zeke here?” I asked, looking toward the middle of the bridge where he waited. “Did they make him come?”
She shook her head. “No.”
I didn’t ask anymore questions. Her hand shook as she tried to cut away my ties. It was evident her son being here was not part of the plan and it wasn’t sitting well with her either.
“The princes are in the car behind him. They want you back now. They think that by bri
nging Zeke here I won’t try anything, but they’ve never met a woman scorned, I don’t think.”
I closed my eyes, but she pushed me forward. My legs buzzed from being tied up for so long. Pinpoints of pain blossomed all up and down my legs and the soles of my feet. I hobbled next to her as we made our way to Zeke. For his part, he looked properly shamed. He wouldn’t meet my eyes. He kept his gaze on the road the whole time.
When we finally stood in front of him, he looked up at his mom. “Just hand her over now, Mom.”
Kay shook her head and pulled me closer to her. She still had the razor blade in her hand. “No, they don’t get to just walk away from this, Zeke. You don’t understand.”
“I do,” he said. “Royce killed himself earlier today. That’s how they knew you’d have her. What I didn’t know was that you were the woman in the paper who was having the affair with a vamp.”
His voice turned hard the more he spoke. It didn’t affect Kay in the least. “What if I told you? It wouldn’t have made a difference.”
“Did you leave Dad for him?”
Kay shook as she brought her blade-free hand through her hair. “What does that even matter? They killed him, Zeke.” She pulled her arms away from me and approached her son. “Don’t you see? We loved one another. Royce couldn’t take their punishment. They weren’t going to let me be his guard anymore and they were going to make us kill the baby. He just couldn’t take it.”
Zeke shied away from her. “He killed himself, Mom. And if he’d been a better man, he would’ve done it before he made your life a living hell. You know we can’t be with them. You know it.”
So she had been right. Zeke was a stickler for the rules, even when it came to his own mom. Kay rubbed her hands up and down her face. “It’s important that we make them pay.”
“We? There’s no ‘we’, Mom. You’re going to give Ariana back over to the princes and then you’re going to get your mind wiped and sent back to the human world.”