by Tia Wylder
Looking upon her, my hollow and cold heart felt something for the first time in hundreds of years. She looked just like her. I could barely remember her face after all this time, but before these mail-order wives I once had a true love. One that I left behind to fight in someone else’s war. This woman laying before me was a spitting image of her. Her beauty cut through the immortal curse that separated me from her all this time.
“She’s perfect, Richard, utterly perfect,” I whispered.
“I’m glad you agree, sir. She looked exactly how you described your true wife. I thought, after the last one, you needed someone you could talk to, perhaps even love.”
I shook my head. “I’m incapable of love, Richard.”
“With all due respect, sir, one does not require a beating heart to feel love.”
I felt a tear welling up behind my freshly formed eyes. I turned away from her and looked to the open door.
“You’re a good friend, Richard. What is her name?” I asked.
“It’s Natalia, sir.”
“Have a meal prepared for her. I will need to feed again soon and she needs her strength.”
“Right away, sir.”
“Oh, and Richard?”
He turned and looked at me and I at him.
“While I appreciate what you did, we will not speak of her again. Are we clear?”
Richard nodded. “Yes, sir, I understand.”
I made my way to the banquet hall and sat at the end of the long, intricately crafted table. This place was the definition of luxury, of success and wealth, and yet I could enjoy none of it. I only used it as a place to my make my wives feel comfortable and safe. It was nothing more than an illusion.
Richard’s gesture stirred up old emotions and memories that I had long thought forgotten. Seeing my new wife, Natalia, reminded me of her. Her name was Reyna, and she looked just like her. My mind wandered back, hundreds of years, to the last night I saw my true wife, the night before our expedition into the forbidden tombs.
I was a prized soldier back then. I fought and died beside warriors for a place that no longer exists. It cannot be found in history books, our enemies made certain of that when they crushed us beneath their heel. We knew we were losing, but our military leaders insisted that we push forward and die with honor if we must.
Reyna didn’t want me to go. She begged me to stay. I recalled the night we sat in our bedroom, surrounded by luxuries which only that time could afford. We argued by candlelight as electricity was a far-flung fantasy from that time period.
“It is madness! The king has gone mad, can’t you see that, Constantin?”
“Mad or no, Reyna, he is my king and I must follow him!”
Reyna threw her hands up and stepped back into the darkness. The candlelight briefly illuminated the silk dress she wore. Made from the finest of materials our dwindling empire could offer. We had both returned that night from a somber celebration of tomorrow’s final push into the enemy’s land. Reyna looked indescribably beautiful. She was the most beautiful thing I had ever laid eyes on. I would say that again even now hundreds of years into the future, even after countless wives that came and went, she was perfection.
“Where must you follow him, Constantin? Into death? Because that is where he marches his armies when the sun rises!”
I crossed the gap between us and took her hands into mine. She wouldn’t look directly at me, but I saw the candlelight flickering in her endless blue eyes.
“I will come back to you, my love. I always do.”
Reyna pulled back and wiped tears from her eyes. “I can’t believe you, Constantin, not this time.”
I wrapped my arm around her back and pulled her into me. We locked eyes and I gazed deeply into hers.
“Very well, then believe this: I love you, and no matter how far apart the winds of time may carry us, I will always find my way back to you,” I whispered.
The tears welled up in her eyes as her soft hands grazed my face.
“I love you too. Please, don’t go.”
“Very well, tomorrow when the king’s army marches to the east, we shall go to the west, together.”
“Truly?” she asked.
“I swear it.”
She smiled through the tears and pressed her lips to mine. Even after hundreds of years, I could still feel her passionate kiss against my lips. I felt the heat that emanated from the fires of our love. Her hands desperately tried to undo her clothing. I reached down and gripped the frilled centerpiece of her dress.
“Here, like this,” I said, as I tore open the front of her dress. One of her soft white breasts spilled out from within. I cupped it with one hand as I furiously tore off the rest of her dress. She laughed and grinned. Her hands gripped the waistband of my leggings and wrenched them downward. My thin shirt tore like parchment when faced with her passion. We were both naked within seconds. Our tongues danced as our lips never left each other’s embrace. I lifted her up and sat her upon the intricately crafted dresser where we stored our clothing. As her hands slid down my back, I softly kissed her neck, tracing a line down to her thick and curvaceous breasts.
I lifted one with my hand and it slid it into my mouth. I gently suckled on her as my hand slid up her thigh. My fingers slid into her with ease as she begged me to take her. I pushed her legs apart and stepped forward. She wrapped her arms around my neck and I gripped her waist as I thrusted forward into her.
She cried out in ecstasy and bit into the flesh on my shoulder playfully. I roared like a beast and thrusted into her again and again. With each thrust I heard the sounds of pleasure erupted from her. I picked her up and took her to the bed. As I laid her down I hovered over her, taking in the depths of her beauty as she laid there with her breasts falling to the side and her legs tucked together.
There was nothing so beautiful in this world, of that I was certain. I leaned down and kissed her as I spread her legs apart and gently slid inside. We made slow, deep, and passionate love. With a steady rhythm I pulled out and then slowly slid back inside of her. I wanted her to feel every part of me and the way I felt her. We stared deeply into each other’s eyes as she climaxed. Her head shot back, her back arched, and her entire body quaked as she screamed to the stars.
She wrapped her hands around the back of my head and pulled me down. I returned to a thundering rhythm. The entire bed shook with each thrust as I felt myself reaching a climax. One final thrust into her and a wave of pleasure crashed over my entire body. It was a feeling that I still desperately clung to after hundreds of years, but one that faded with time.
Our story did not have a happy ending. Our plans to leave before the final push were foiled before we could exit the borders of the city. As punishment for abandoning my post, I was forced to march at the front lines, along with the rest of the prisoners and fodder for the enemy. When it came to desecrate the enemy’s holy ground by entering the forbidden tombs, I was first to cross that line and attract the ire of their gods.
Had we simply made it out of the city, none of this would have happened. I would have spent my life with Reyna as I always intended. We would have been happy. We would have grown old together and I would have long been gone from this world. Fate, it seemed, did not have a happy ending in store for me. My story was one without end, only endless torture.
Natalia and Richard entered the hall. I retreated further into my hood so she wouldn’t seem me. She moved with a purpose, as if each step meant something to her. She approached the table without fear and sat in one of the ornate chairs beside me.
“I know what you are,” she said.
“Do you?” I asked.
“Yes, Richard told me on our way here.”
I leaned back into my chair, pulling myself deeper into the robe to hide from her gaze.
“Then you must think I am a monster. Are you afraid of me?” I asked.
Natalia shook her head. “No, I don’t think you’re a monster, and I’m not afraid of you. The men you rescue
d me from, those are monsters. You, you’re unique.”
I scoffed. “Unique? I am cursed with an eternal burden. Do you know how many have come before you? I must feed until you have nothing left, and then I will move on to the next one.”
Why was I being so crass? Normally I did everything in my power to make them feel comfortable and welcome. Was it because she reminded me of Rayna? Was it because my memory of her filled me with rage at the curse that has corrupted my soul? I could see Richard’s disapproving gaze.
“I am sorry. It’s just, you remind me of someone that I once knew. I haven’t seen her in hundreds of years,” I said.
“Was she your wife? I mean, your real wife?” Natalia asked.
“Yes, she was.”
“What was she like?”
My eyes shot up and I looked at her through the darkness of the hood. She had Rayna’s eyes. Calm, calculated, but also caring and soothing. Could this be her? Did her immortal soul, if such a thing did exist, find its way through the winds of time to be with me once more?
“She looked identical to you. She was calm and collected. When she wanted something, she took it, no matter the cost. I tried to flee with her, tried to escape this fate, but it found me nonetheless. I, I—”
I ducked my head down to stifle a sob. I waved to Richard who departed with haste to fetch Natalia’s food. She found her way into my past faster and more efficiently than any who came before her.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you,” Natalia said.
“It’s fine. You should eat, I will need to feed again soon.”
Natalia nodded as her eyes wandered around the hall.
“Can I ask you something personal?” Natalia said.
“Have you not done so already? Speak.”
“Do you, you know, sleep with your wives?” she asked.
I looked back up to her and for a moment I felt Rayna’s hands on my face once again. I longer for her touch. Rayna, Natalia, they were one and the same in that moment.
“Only if they wish to, and only when my body is fully formed.”
“Is that why you’re hiding your face and your body? Richard told me it had something to do with a cycle.”
He never tells them this much. Was he trying to soften the blow? Was it for my sake, so I wouldn’t have to watch her suffer in confusion, or was it for hers?
Richard emerged once again with a plate of food. He set the piping hot dish down in front of her.
“Wine?” he asked.
I grunted and Richard turned to look at me.
“No wine tonight Richard.”
“What if I want some?” Natalia asked.
“Out of the question. It taints the blood.”
Natalia smiled playfully. “Taints it? Or makes it better?”
She was smart. If she drank too much wine, her blood would have an equal effect on me. My mind would become dulled. In that state I wouldn’t be able to control my thirst. I could drain her completely and not even realize it.
“One glass, but that’s it,” I said.
Richard poured a glass of red wine for Natalia and she began eating. While she nourished her body, I allowed myself a moment to admire her. She had a perfect physique. Her jet black hair fell across her shoulders, which descended to thick breasts that filled out the shape of her gown. She was exactly as I remembered Rayna. The resemblance was uncanny to say the least.
“When you’re finished eating, I’ll take you to your room and feed,” I said.
“Will you stay with me tonight? I mean, if your skin grows back.”
“Why do you wish to lay with me?”
“You make me feel something I’ve never felt before,” she said.
Could it be something as cliché as love? No, we barely knew one another. Even if she did look like Rayna, it couldn’t be that. Not yet.
“What is it? What do I make you feel?”
Natalia’s cheeks blushed as she set down her fork. She looked over at me with piercing blue eyes.
“You make me feel safe, Constantin. No one has ever been able to do that since I was a child.”
She knew my name? Richard must have told her that as well.
“How could you feel safe with me? I drink your blood.”
“I know, but somehow I know you won’t hurt me. Honestly, it’s kind of a rush. So, what do you say? Will you stay?”
“Only until dawn, then I must leave.”
Chapter Four
After dinner, Constantin lead me to my room. I wondered what he could possibly look like beneath the robe. I wanted to see his face, but I knew he wouldn’t show it until his skin grew back. He seemed kind, gentle even, despite his “condition.” When Richard told me my new husband was a vampire, I didn’t believe him, but after everything that’s happened, I had no choice but to believe.
We walked into the bedroom and he gestured to the bed beneath his robe.
“Take off your clothes, lay on the bed, and close your eyes. Do not open them until I tell you,” he said.
I was nervous, but also excited. The first time he fed on me, it was terrifying, but there was this rush of adrenaline. It was euphoric, and the entire time I somehow knew that he was in control, that he wouldn’t drain too much. That was when I knew, I knew he would keep me safe.
I laid back onto the soft silk sheets and closed my eyes. I felt something land on my stomach. It was a strip of cloth.
“Put this on,” he said.
“A blindfold? You don’t trust me?”
“I don’t want you to see me until it’s time. Put it on, please.”
I tied the blindfold around my head and laid back on the bed. The room was cold as ice. I felt Constantin’s hot breath on my thigh. He hovered just above my skin.
“Are you ready?” he asked.
“Yes.”
“Do not worry, you will have pleasure to balance the pain.”
His fangs dug into the flesh of my thigh. My entire body flooded with adrenaline as blood was pulled from it. My heart raced and I felt the room spinning around me. It lasted for what seemed like an eternity before he stopped. I struggled to catch my breath, but barely could before I felt soft and supple hands gently wrap around my legs.
“Can I see you?” I asked.
“Not yet,” he whispered.
He kissed the skin on my inner thigh and moved upward until I felt his breath between my legs. My body quaked with anticipation. His tongue emerged and gently parted the folds. He wandered upward and started gently licking at me, moving in perfect circles. The pleasure was beyond words. Wave after wave of chills ran down my body. My muscles spasmed, I didn’t know what to do with myself.
He was incredible, so precise and consistent. The pleasure was overwhelming, I felt a new and exciting feeling pouring through me. I lost control of my body and screamed out as a powerful climax crashed into me. Constantin’s hands came up and gently pulled the blindfold off of my eyes. I saw his face for the first time. Chiseled jaw, warm brown eyes, and short silvery hair. He was an incredible looking man. My head was spinning from blood loss. He looked down at me and smiled.
“How do you feel?” he asked.
“Incredible,” I whispered.
I sat up as he laid down on the bed. He had a perfectly toned body, perfect from top to bottom. I climbed onto him and looked down at his deep and mysterious eyes. I positioned myself and let him slide into me. He lacked warmth, like a living person. I didn’t mind, though, I still felt his passion. I leaned forward and grinded myself against him. I pressed my hands on his chest and braced myself as his hands reached up and cupped my breasts. He gently massaged them as I rocked back and forth.
“It’s been so long,” he said.
“Since you’ve made love?” I asked.
He shook his head. “Since I’ve felt something.”
I leaned down and kissed him softly on the lips. His hands traveled down my back until he gripped my backside and thrusted upward into me. My whole body shook as
a wave of pleasure shot through me like lightning. Our hips found a common rhythm. I threw my head back and let him flow through me as he came inside me. I collapsed onto the bed beside him.
I couldn’t move. I felt myself fading, but I didn’t want this moment to end.
“It’s alright, Natalia, rest. I’ll be here to protect you.”
He made me feel safe. That was perhaps the best gift he could give me.
Chapter Five
That night, I had a different dream. I wasn’t in the mansion, nor was I in the time I knew. I was in the past, lying on the ground amidst rubble and dust. Around me, several prisoners laid crushed by rubble or impaled on spikes that were spread out across the floor. I had managed to avoid the trap, but only by a few inches. I had been hit with an arrow while the other prisoners and myself tried to flee into the depths of the enemy tombs.
The floor gave way and we fell. I still lived, but just barely. The arrow pierced my side. I was bleeding profusely. I didn’t have much time. My thoughts were only on Rayna and what had happened to her. Surely they would have killed her for conspiring with me, but if I made it out, I would find her.
Death was coming, though, and there was nothing I could do to stop it. I knew this memory all too well, but for some strange reason or twist of fate, that night as I slept by Natalia’s side, the missing pieces revealed themselves.
A gaunt and emaciated man emerged from the darkness in the back of the chamber.
“You’re dying by the looks of it,” he whispered.
He sounded like he was in pain himself. He hid his mouth from me with his hand as he spoke.
“Please, help me,” I whispered.
“Aye, I can help you, but it is not a fate I would wish upon any man, even my enemies.”
“I must find her, I must save her,” I said.
“You would do this, at any cost?”
I coughed. Blood splattered across the sand covered ground in front of me.
“At any cost.”
“Very well, I will take you to her.”
The man dragged me across the ground by my arm. The pain was overwhelming. My screams echoed through the chamber, but no one responded, not even him.