Age of Vampires- The Complete Series

by Caroline Peckham

  He cried out as I held on. The slayer jammed his elbow into my back and my fangs came free as he yanked his arm away from me. He caught me in a choke hold, dragging me back against him and I slammed my foot down on his. Bones crunched and he groaned, throwing me forward so I collided with the bars.

  Valentina clapped, laughing as she watched.

  Magnar caught me by the throat, yanking me upright and trying to tear my head off. I threw my weight back and we toppled to the ground as I crushed him beneath me. Rolling, I snarled down at him and his eyes locked with mine. A memory seeped into my mind of this exact thing, me and him fighting under the dark shadow of a statue. But I'd stopped. Why had I stopped?

  The gods.

  Montana!

  I rolled off of him, shaking my head as I reclaimed my own heart.

  Magnar stared at me in confusion as if he was struggling to do the same thing. He panted on the floor, pushing himself upright and backing away from me.

  “Alright,” Valentina giggled. “Play nice for a while.”

  Idun's power forced itself into me again and I blinked hard as my love shifted onto Magnar instead of her. A lump lodged in my throat as he gazed back at me and my eyes trailed eagerly down his muscular torso.

  Wait...no.

  I tried to capture the image of the dark-haired girl who held my heart, but it evaded me. Maybe it was him I loved...

  “Why is he looking at me like that?” Magnar growled, turning his attention to Valentina.

  He was so fierce...his muscles tensed and firm beneath his shirt. A shirt I had every intention of tearing off as I stepped forward.

  “Woah woah woah-” Magnar held up a hand, pressing it to my chest and lust impacted with the place he touched.

  I smiled, reaching out to skate my fingers over his jaw. Desire coursed through my blood, begging me to kiss him.

  “Stop it.” He smacked my arm away and a bitter rejection filled me.

  “Oh Magnar, don't be shy,” Valentina laughed and Magnar stilled, wincing as Idun's power grew stronger around us.

  “No- wait!” he begged then his tensed jaw fell slack and his mouth tilted into a sideways smile. His golden eyes locked with mine, starting a tremor in my chest. “Hi,” he breathed and a ripple of love fell through me, drawing me to him even more powerfully.

  I stepped forward to close the gap between us and Valentina's giggles rang in my ears.

  A small scrap of my own self wormed its way into my head and I lurched backwards as Magnar tried to plant a kiss on me.

  I rubbed a hand over my eyes, trying to rid myself of this need growing inside me.

  Is Idun fucking insane? Why is she playing Valentina's games?

  Magnar caught my arm, dragging my hand from my eyes and moving toward me until my back hit the bars. Idun's claws dug into my heart and I was her slave once more as I reached out to run a thumb across Magnar's cheek.

  He smiled dreamily and I smiled right back. Why had we ever been enemies? He was so...alluring.

  He fisted his hand in my hair, leaning closer, his breath floating over my face. I caught him by the back of his neck, desire overwhelming me as I dragged him forward. His mouth slammed against mine and my heart sung with joy. I needed to get closer. I needed to get that damn shirt off of him.

  I clawed at his shoulders and he shoved me harder against the bars, responding with equal passion as he scraped his nails down my spine.

  “Ma'am, we have Familiars in the area.” The redhead girl strode into the carriage, looking between us in surprise.

  Idun's power evaporated in a heartbeat and my thoughts slammed back into alignment.

  “Ah!” I shoved Magnar away and he stumbled, his face contorting as his own heart realigned with the truth.

  What. The. Actual. Fuck. Idun?

  The goddess’s laughter swept over me again and I clenched my jaw, practically grinding my teeth to dust. Magnar turned away from me, his eyes clamped shut. If I was tormented by this, I imagined he was feeling ten times worse considering he blamed me for his father’s death.

  Valentina whipped her hand through the air and a sharp wind forced me back into my cage. The bars bent back into place and she promptly strode from the carriage with the redhead, muttering, “I was just getting to the best bit.”

  “Sorry, your highness. We need you up top,” the redhead replied just before the doors closed and I felt Idun's presence leaving with them.

  I looked away from Magnar, dropping down onto the floor, horrified by what the goddess was capable of.

  “Don't say a word,” Magnar growled.

  “Trust me, I wasn't going to,” I replied, tucking my knees up to my chest. “That twisted bitch.”

  “If you ever look at me like that again, I'll rip your eyes out,” Magnar snarled.

  “I thought we weren't talking about it?” I snapped.

  “We're not. I'm just saying.”

  “Yeah? Well you seemed pretty keen yourself a second ago, Magnar. So if Idun wants my eyes intact, you're fucked.”

  Magnar pressed his lips together. “We have to beat them somehow,” he said eventually.

  “The goddess is using us as puppets, what are we supposed to do?”

  Magnar shook his head then he turned to me with an idea lighting his eyes. “Idun's only doing this because she's angry with us.”

  “What's your point?” I asked.

  “Maybe we can get her on our side again.”

  “Well what is it she wants?” I asked.

  Magnar fell quiet, brushing some invisible lint from his knees as he avoided my gaze. “I don't know...maybe she wants me to honour my betrothal to Valentina.”

  “Great idea, you go through with the wedding while I escape,” I taunted.

  He glowered at me. “Not happening.”

  “Then we're back to square one,” I murmured.

  “Not quite.” Magnar rose to his feet, approaching the bars separating us. “The next time she tries that bullshit on us, we'll be ready. You almost fought it off didn't you? If I focused on Callie, I could nearly manage it too.”

  I nodded, glancing over at him. “Even if we do fight it off, we're still stuck in these cages.”

  “Not if she lets us out,” Magnar said thoughtfully. “Maybe we can pretend long enough for her to think we're still under Idun's spell.”

  “There's a lot of ifs involved in that plan,” I commented.

  “We don't have another option,” Magnar bit at me. “It's our only chance.”

  “Fine,” I sighed, falling back onto the floor and cupping my hands with my head. What Idun had done to us replayed in my mind and I grimaced. It was going to take a goddamn century to rid myself of the memory of Magnar’s tongue in my mouth.

  Valentina was one fucked up woman. But I knew I'd had a hand in causing her anger. I'd screwed her on and off for years, vaguely promising things which I'd never had any intention of fulfilling. I wished I'd never met her. And I wished even more I'd never laid a hand on her. She'd been trying to earn a place at my side since we'd met. And I'd refused it for a thousand years. I had to admit, she had some serious patience. But why she hadn't figured out that I was never going to give her what she wanted was a mystery to me.

  Maybe I'd been too convincing in my lies.

  Sure we'll marry one day...when the time is right.

  I'd told her that once. Idiot. What had I been thinking? Since I'd met Montana a lot of my former bullshit had ebbed away. I'd changed for the better. No woman had ever sparked that in me. Which was why I knew with all my heart that she was the one. And no scorned Biter in a push-up bra was going to change that.

  Once we returned to our room, I made the most of the hot water and washed the gore of yet another battle from my skin. Standing beneath the shower set my skin alight with memories of that morning and I didn’t linger as the pain in my chest grew sharper. This waiting around was killing me. I needed to know that Magnar was alright. I needed him back in my arms again. And the longer I ha
d to wait for it, the worse I felt.

  It was like a weight pressing down on my soul, crushing me so that I could hardly breathe.

  Please be okay. I’m so lost without you.

  I shut off the hot water and quickly dried myself before pulling on the nightclothes Clarice had delivered to me. The black camisole and shorts were lacy and pretty revealing but it didn’t really matter. I didn’t feel the cold like I used to anyway and my body ached for rest. As soon as I’d eaten I fully intended to sleep until Fabian’s Familiars located Magnar and Erik. I had to recover so that I’d be ready to help them and if I could get my brain to shut off long enough for me to sleep then I needed to do it.

  Julius was down the corridor with Montana, giving me space to clean up while he cooed over Valentina’s sword. I had no doubt that Montana would be getting fed up of hearing him go on about it by now; I certainly was and I’d managed to escape already.

  A knock sounded at the door and I pulled it open expecting to find the slayer and my sister but Fabian stared back at me instead.

  I exhaled slowly, wondering if I should just tell him to leave already. It felt like we were building some kind of delicate understanding between us but all the time the bond was in place it was hard to be sure of his motivations.

  “Hi,” he breathed, his eyes widening as he looked me over.

  I cleared my throat and folded my arms across my chest. The pyjamas were suddenly seeming even skimpier than I’d initially thought and though I wasn’t particularly precious about my body, the look in his eye made me want to cover up again.

  “You know, leaning on my doorframe and staring at me like that is not earning you any brownie points,” I said.

  “But you look... if the stars were given souls then they could not compare to you. I have never seen a woman who sets my blood alight as you do. I could spend years staring at the curve of your lips and admiring-”

  “Stop it,” I snapped and I pushed the ring’s influence over him to banish his doe-eyed expression.

  Fabian blinked a few times but the desire didn’t leave his eyes. It just turned into something more dangerous. He took a purposeful step towards me and I backed up, snatching Tempest from behind the door and holding it between us so that the blade hovered an inch before his stomach.

  “I won’t warn you again,” I growled.

  “You know, the longer you keep up this game of teasing me and then pushing me back, the more it makes me want you. And I think you know exactly what you’re doing to me,” he murmured.

  “I am not teasing you, I’m very clearly pushing you back all the time,” I snarled.

  “If you say so.” His gaze slid over me again.

  “I am. And on that note, your brother reminded me earlier that you’ve divorced your other wives.”

  Fabian narrowed his eyes at me and I was sure he understood what I was getting at but he didn’t respond.

  “So I want you to divorce me too,” I said firmly.

  “No,” he replied casually.

  “No?” I stared at him angrily. “That’s it, just no?”

  “Well for a start, we can’t get divorced if we haven’t even consummated the wedding. Which we can do right now if you want to make this conversation relevant? Of course if we do I’m sure you’ll change your mind about wanting rid of me; you won’t be able to get enough…”

  “That’s never going to happen,” I growled.

  “Well if it doesn’t then what you’re really after is an annulment, not a divorce,” he said.

  “So annul it then. I don’t care what you call it, I just don’t want to be married to you.”

  “Well you haven’t really given it much of a chance. You’ve painted me out like this bad seed and refused to even consider it.” He stepped closer to me, shifting around Tempest as I failed to stab him with it. He knew that I couldn’t hurt him while this alliance was in place anyway and I needed to stick to my side of our agreement if I wanted their help in getting Magnar back. He dropped his voice as his spoke again. “But I promise if you do, you’ll find out that it feels very good to be bad.”

  I glared at him in response and he smiled at me for a moment before turning his attention to something behind him. He snapped his fingers in a command to someone beyond the door and I followed his gaze.

  I stepped back as a male vampire pushed a dining cart into the room. He quickly piled the food and drink from it onto a small table beneath the window and left again without a word.

  “I thought we might dine together,” Fabian said as I eyed the food hungrily. I still held Tempest and the blade was begging me to plunge it through his heart.

  Fabian had been true to his word and had delivered a feast. My stomach growled but I resisted the urge to move towards the extravagant meal.

  “Well as the only thing in this room that you might possibly want to eat is me, I think I’ll pass on that offer,” I replied.

  Fabian eyed my neck for a moment then laughed as if I’d been joking. “Luckily for you I’ve just had a drink so I have no desire for your blood tonight.”

  He seemed to have given up on closing the distance between us so I slowly lowered Tempest and moved towards the feast.

  “Do I smell dinner?” Julius called excitedly as he bounded into the room. He held Valentina’s blade in his fist and he swung it about casually, causing Fabian to step back as it came close to touching him. “Whoops, sorry about that.” He chuckled as he grabbed an apple and bit into it.

  Fabian folded his arms, failing to conceal his disgust as Julius stuffed his face.

  “Were you just leaving?” Julius asked Fabian around a mouthful of food. “Because once we’ve eaten we really need to sleep.”

  “You can’t seriously think I’m letting you spend the night in a bed with my wife while she’s dressed like that,” Fabian growled and Julius glanced at my skimpy pyjamas with a frown.

  “You don’t let me do anything.” I snapped. “I’m not your fucking property and as far as I’m concerned I’m not your wife either. Besides, Julius is like a brother to me. He doesn’t look at me like that and I certainly don’t look at him that way. That bed is huge so I really don’t see the problem.”

  “Harsh,” Julius commented. “And true, you belong with my brother so I would never lay a hand on you like that... but I’d rather not sleep in a bed with you while you’re dressed that way. It might be a bit awkward if you roll on me in the night and I don’t think Magnar would appreciate me guarding you quite that closely.”

  “Well at least the savage can admit that there’s a reason for you not to share his bed,” Fabian growled.

  “It’s not like I chose this outfit,” I said irritably. “Clarice didn’t bring me anything else.”

  “I’ll be fine on the floor,” Julius said before the argument could go any further.

  “Perfect,” I said. “Problem solved, so you can go now.” I pointed Fabian towards the door but he didn’t move. He was still scowling at Julius and I could tell he wasn’t entirely satisfied with his solution to the issue. “Look, if you’re that bothered then why don’t you just hang out in the corridor all night and listen to the sounds of two people sleeping? Because I’m famished and exhausted and my head is starting to pound again. All I want to do is eat and rest and I can’t do either while you’re standing here staring at me like a creep.”

  “Off you go,” Julius agreed, waving Fabian towards the door.

  The royal vampire bared his fangs in response before turning and stalking from the room. I followed him and shut the door firmly.

  I left Tempest by the door and quickly moved to join Julius at the table.

  “You know, I can just kill him if he’s bothering you,” Julius said as I fell on the food ravenously.

  “Tempting,” I replied with a smile. “But for now I’ll stick to trying to win him around to the idea of divorcing me.”

  Julius laughed. “Good luck with that. I imagine he’s not been very keen on the idea so far?”
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  “I don’t really care what he wants. Magnar asked me to marry him and I intend to do it just as soon as I’m free.”

  A huge crash sounded in the corridor outside our room and I flinched in surprise as Fabian started yelling obscenities. Julius got to his feet and stood before me with his new blade in hand just before the door flew open again.

  Fabian stormed in with his fangs bared and I stood too, the hairs rising along the back of my neck as fear filled me.

  “If you think I’m going to divorce you and allow you to marry that fucking barbarian then you’re insane!” Fabian snarled. “You’re mine and I refuse-”

  I withdrew the ring’s influence from Fabian and his anger suddenly switched to desperation as he dropped to his knees before me. I caught Julius’s arm to hold him back as I could see him warring with indecision.

  “Please,” Fabian breathed. “I love you, I need you. We’re married, it has to mean something to you too. I know you feel it-”

  Miles appeared in a flash of motion, clearly drawn by all of the noise. He caught Fabian’s shoulder and forced him to look away from me.

  “You’re making a fool of yourself, Brother,” Miles said in a low voice. “Come and have a drink with me, I’m sure we can figure something out...” His gaze travelled to me for a moment and I chewed my lip, not knowing what I was supposed to do.

  “I won’t divorce her,” Fabian breathed. “We belong together. I won’t watch her marry that heathen.”

  Miles arched an eyebrow at me and I could tell he didn’t think much of the fact that I’d asked his brother to release me from my vow to him. But what was I supposed to do? I didn’t want to be Fabian’s wife and I never had. After everything they’d done to me, the least I deserved was the freedom to marry the man I loved once we got him back.

  “Let’s go and discuss it in private,” Miles urged. “Remember which one of you is royalty here; you’re the one who gets to decide if you divorce her, not the other way around.”

  Fabian nodded eagerly and allowed Miles to pull him to his feet. He gazed back at me before they headed out into the hallway and the door closed between us once more. I used my gifted hearing to listen to what they were saying as they moved away.