My body was frozen, but it felt as if the neurons in my brain were misfiring. I felt the rise of hysteria once more, and I was unable to take hold of it.
“He’s ruined my life!” I screamed.
My body thawing, I stood up and swiped my hand against the bowl of soup, knocking it to the ground. The porcelain shattered, sending shards and soup all over the floor. Some of the hot liquid splashed onto Thomas’s clothes, but he remained unnaturally calm, watching me with sadness in his eyes as I started to make a disaster out of the beautiful kitchen.
I was unhinged and barely aware of my actions, as if someone else were opening the cupboards and china cabinets and throwing the glass cups against the walls. Priceless plates were smashed against the counter.
And then I made the mistake of throwing the knife set against the wall. One of the knives ricocheted, grazing my arm. Pain snapped me out of the frenzy as a small line of blood welled against the white of my skin.
“Those were antiques―” Thomas began nonchalantly, and then his nostrils flared. He blurred and was suddenly in front of me, taking my arm. Before I could be afraid, he pulled a handkerchief out of a drawer and wrapped it around the cut.
“Nothing to see here, people. Just a little accident,” Thomas said over his shoulder.
I looked around him. Three angry vampires stood in the doorway, and Inola pushed through them. “What in the world happened here? And why—”
“Is she bleeding?” Gabriel finished for her, his steel voice coming from the patio door.
Unsettling sparks, mingled with fear, danced in my stomach. I refused to look at Gabriel, suddenly drained and ashamed of my actions, a tantrum equivalent to the temper of a child.
“She is ok, Gabriel. It was just an accident,” Thomas said.
“An accident?” a female vampire with honey eyes sneered. “Those plates were from France; I bought them centuries ago. Ugh, this human is nothing but a nuisance. Gabriel, just kill her already! I am ready to do it for you.”
Thomas snorted. “Aw, your pretty plates got broken! How will you go on?”
Gabriel came into the room, his eyes strange fire. “If you lay a single finger on Kara, Felicity, I will happily send you back to France inside a cremation urn.”
Felicity rolled her eyes. “I liked you better when you were a recluse. Just get her out of here before someone gives in to temptation.”
The emerald fire turned to me. “Kara, please come with me,” Gabriel said quietly.
I sucked in a breath, wondering if my heart had stopped. Go with Gabriel while I was bleeding? I looked to Inola for help, but she shook her head once. Even Thomas’s face was stone, and I knew they were powerless.
“Thomas,” I whispered. “You wouldn’t let him kill me, would you?”
Despair distorted his features.
“Thomas!” I begged.
And then awareness ran down my spine. I felt Gabriel’s presence behind me. Felt his concern. Felt his longing for my blood. Then the sensation disappeared almost as fast as it had come.
Gabriel’s hand touched my arm hesitantly. Knowing how a prisoner felt as they walked to the hangman’s noose, I swallowed hard and followed Gabriel out the door that led outside. I made myself look forward, made myself not turn around so I could look at Inola and Thomas again. I watched as my shoes trampled the too-green grass, not even looking to where we were going until I smelled the flowers.
I lifted my eyes and saw the most breathtaking garden imaginable. I glanced behind us and saw that we were far from the mansion. We were inside a greenhouse, and the woods surrounded it perfectly. A path of small, multi-colored pebbles snaked through the dream-like paradise. A single fountain was at the very center; it was of a woman with long hair sitting on her knees, her hands covering her face. Water dripped from beneath her hands and dropped into the pool surrounding her.
“This is . . . I have no words,” I breathed. “I have never seen anything so beautiful.”
Gabriel’s back was to me. “It’s Inola’s. She spends most of her time out here. Others help, but she does most of it. She has always been happiest when tending to the planet.”
I drank in the gorgeous view until I became uncomfortable with his silence, his stillness, and how he wouldn’t look at me.
“At least you brought me somewhere pretty to die,” I said rather bluntly.
His shoulders stiffened even more. “You know good and well your life is not in danger. If it were, you would not be so calm. You would either be running away, screaming at me, or poking around for a sharp piece of wood.”
I laughed. Then I froze. Had he actually just made me laugh?
Minutes went by without him even breathing.
“Are you ok?” As soon as the words left my lips, I was struck with horror that I’d spoken them.
He shuddered. “The blood.”
I looked down at the handkerchief Thomas had tied around my arm. The cut was small and didn’t even hurt anymore, but the red line of blood stood out against the white in stark contrast.
Confusion seeped through me. Why was he holding back?
“Gabriel,” I said. “Not that I’m complaining, but I’m confused. Why―”
“Say my name again.”
“Huh?” I asked, absolutely flabbergasted.
“Just . . . say my name again.”
I cracked my knuckles. “Do you really want me to?”
“Yes.”
Now I couldn’t help but smile. “Then I won’t.”
I heard him sigh and chuckle quietly. He softly laughed again, as if not used to the sound.
Unnerved by our conversation, I left him and walked down the winding path. I sat down on the edge of the fountain, dipping my fingers into the cool water. A soft breeze ruffled my hair, and he was now beside me.
“Did you leave because you were afraid?” he murmured.
“I’m always afraid of you.”
Strangely wired with his nearness, I couldn’t move when his fingers went to the handkerchief. I forced myself to look at him, and I gasped to see that his fangs were out.
“I am sorry,” he said, sounding almost ashamed. “They have been out this whole time. I cannot make them retract.”
I swallowed what tasted like sawdust. “Are you thirsty?”
He clenched a fist on top of my skin, his body shaking. His too-long hair fell into his eyes. “No, which is unsettling. But it is you.” Fiery emeralds locked onto me through the black tendrils. “It is your blood. I want it. I want it so much. I can barely . . .”
I scooted away a little. “Ok, I’ll be the first one to admit I’m an idiot for even saying this, but that is why you brought me here. So why are you fighting it?”
He stood up and paced, seemingly unable to look at me again. “Because I . . . I do not want . . . for you to hate me more than you already do.”
I brought my knees up and circled them with my arms. “Nothing will change me hating you.” The words cut through the night like glass.
He stopped pacing, his words rushed and almost desperate. “I would heal it for you if I could.”
I shrugged. “It’s just a little cut. Wait, what do you mean if you could? I thought vampire blood could heal?”
“It can. But I saw remnants of your blood on the knife. That knife is silver, and silver is strange when it comes to vampire blood. No, silver does not hurt us. But for reasons unknown, when a human is harmed by silver, vampire blood cannot heal their wounds. The human can still become a vampire if a silver injury results in their death, though.”
I looked down at the covered cut. “That is interesting. But . . . I’m fine. And I . . . um . . . I’m sorry for breaking all that stuff.” Blood rushed to my face. “That was childish of me, even though you all deserve to have the whole place burned to the ground.”
His lips twitched. “That is an empty apology, don’t you think?”
“No. I meant to say you all deserve to have the place burned to the ground when all of
you are inside. Well, except for maybe Thomas and Inola.”
He smiled briefly. “Apology accepted.”
The night grew still, but his fangs didn’t go away. His eyes frequently looked at my wounded arm. Finally, his gaze stayed there.
I sat very still. Afraid to move. Terrified to provoke. Why was he staying around me if it was so difficult? Was he testing himself?
I knew the moment his willpower ran out. His eyes glowed brighter, and his face grew paler.
“Leave, Kara,” he said through clenched teeth.
He didn’t have to tell me twice. I slid off the fountain and ran. And as I ran out of the greenhouse, I was almost certain I saw a flash of glowing silver far off in the treetops.
Chapter 10 Through His Eyes
Consumed with guilt, and feeling stupid for feeling guilty, I composed myself and caught my breath before going into the kitchen. I silently started picking up shards of glass, hoping to go unnoticed.
I didn’t.
Inola breathed a sigh of obvious relief and put her hand against Thomas’s arm. He grinned widely at me. So their confidence in Gabriel had not been one hundred percent.
That made three of us.
“Well, if it isn’t the human who acts like a toddler,” Emma scoffed, looking very out of place holding a broom in her one-shouldered dress and five-inch heels. The aqua dress had a slit that ran up her entire left leg, and I wondered if her attire was a cry for attention or for a longing to be a courtesan.
I threw some glass into the trash bag Felicity reluctantly held out to me. “Don’t think of yourself so highly,” I said cheerfully. “You’re the one who is cleaning up this toddler’s mess. You realize what that means? I haven’t even been here a week, and I already have you whipped.”
Thomas nearly fell over as he dissolved into laughter. Felicity dropped the trash bag, staring at me like I was an idiot.
And Emma. Words couldn’t describe the rage on her face. Her fangs snapped out of her gums, and I instantly regretted my words. I saw her body blur, but Inola moved in front of me just as fast, holding Emma at bay.
“Don’t do it,” Inola warned icily, her slim hand gripping Emma’s shoulder.
Thomas sobered instantly and came to his wife’s side.
“Back off,” Emma hissed. “She should be dead by now! And since she’s not, I’ll gladly tear her to pieces!” Her fangs scraped her lips, drawing bright blood that dripped down her chin.
I went cold and statue-like, a deer in the headlights.
“Gabriel will kill you if you hurt her,” Thomas warned.
Emma laughed. “You are insane if you think Gabriel is going to choose this stupid human over me! I am his lover, Thomas. If I told you about the things we have done together, you would not say such a thing to me!”
“Yes, I am sure they are equivalent to what someone does with another when they are bored and horny. Take it from someone who used to go through women like they were pieces of meat.”
Inola rolled her eyes before focusing again on the raging, beautiful vampire. “Are you so confident in him that you will risk your life? Emma, I do not wish to hurt you, but you know deep down that Gabriel has never wanted anything more from you. Has he ever confessed feelings for you or a desire to be a couple? I know he warned you he would most likely not develop feelings for you, and I know you acknowledged that before you and he did anything. Do not risk your life over something that is not there.”
Felicity crept out of the room, and I wished I could join her. I couldn’t help but feel embarrassed for Emma—many of the vampires in the nearby rooms could hear the conversation if there was no strong background noise.
Emma’s eyes grew wet. “You vampires with your Eternals! You think any other romantic relationship is nothing compared to what you have!”
“That is not what I am saying,” Inola said softly.
“Gabriel loves me!” she cried.
“Have you blood shared with him?”
I turned to Inola, shocked at her question. Even though I was human, I realized how personal that was. But I was more shocked by the butterflies in my stomach—shocked by my nervousness of what the answer would be. Then Emma’s tears spilled over, her emotions too raw to misinterpret. She had wanted to blood share with Gabriel, but he wouldn’t do it.
For reasons I couldn’t and didn’t want to even fathom, the butterflies melded into warm relief.
Inola sighed. “I am sorry, Emma.”
Emma backed away, shaking her head and looking at me as if she had never seen me before. “You are just a human. A human!”
Thomas stepped forward. “Emma, why don’t you take a little vacation? Just to get some distance. It might help.”
“And let this human run me out of my home?”
“No. Just to distract yourself. Take one of Violet Memory’s private planes and go visit the other covens. Maybe you will find someone you fancy.”
Emma kept shaking her head. She seemed so heartbroken that I opened my mouth to apologize for my earlier jab, but then she was gone as if made of vapor.
“I’m sorry,” I said to them instead. “I have made a mess of things tonight.”
“Literally,” Thomas smiled, picking up Emma’s broom.
Inola took my arm. “I’ll walk you to Gabriel’s room. Why don’t you take a shower and just . . .”
“Stay out of trouble?” I suggested sheepishly.
“Yes, please.”
I allowed Inola to lead me back to Gabriel’s room. I felt daggers on my back as we ascended the golden staircase, and I heard my name being whispered by various vampires. We entered the west wing, and one vampire went by us, his eyes a strange shade of brown, nearly crimson.
“Hello, Inola,” the man said politely.
“Hello, Christopher,” Inola replied.
And that was it. Christopher barely glanced at me. He opened a door and went up a narrow set of stairs.
“Inola, are all the covens like this? No one here seems particularly close.”
Her slender fingers traced the leaves of a fern as we walked by it. “This is a rather large coven. Fifty-six of us. Well, fifty-five now. Smaller covens tend to be more tight-knit. As Elias stated earlier, being part of a coven is a dying tradition. In times of old, there was no such thing as a vampire not belonging to one. Our numbers were smaller then, and vampires banded together out of survival instinct, and being part of a coven meant protection, companionship, and honor. The older the coven you were a part of, the more respected you were. Jasmina’s coven, Violet Memory, is well respected and very old. The entire east coast of North America is our territory, and our particular coven is very lax when it comes to other vampires hunting on our land, as long as discretion is used. Also, Jasmina is more traditional without being extreme when it comes to her laws.”
“I probably don’t want to know, do I?” I said, unable to help myself.
“Many covens have laws that protect humans. We have some as well, like not harming children or pregnant women, but Jasmina understands that many vampires cannot resist the siren call of the hunt. When it comes down to it, we join a coven out of the desire to be around those who understand us. Many join out of loneliness. I joined because Gabriel was already here. He joined to get protection from Elias, but Elias followed, and Jasmina had pity on him. It is apparent that Elias has been biding his time all these years.”
Ice shards pricked my muscles. I felt Inola’s worried eyes on me, but I couldn’t bring myself to look at her. Why did I have to be involved in Gabriel and Elias’s feud? Would it have been in my best interest for Gabriel to have killed me that first night or even the following morning? What exactly did Elias have planned for me?
Inola stopped in front of Gabriel’s door. “Here we are. Can I trust you to stay here, or do I need to lock the door?”
I frowned. “You know, it would be nice if I could at least go where I wanted, like to your garden Gabriel showed me.”
She raised her eyebrow
s. “While I am delighted you enjoyed my garden, you do realize what you just requested, right? You want free rein to go where you please inside a house full of vampires?”
“But I’m claimed!”
She gestured to the hallway. “Then by all means, if you feel comfortable enough walking around here to risk it.”
I kicked the door open and went inside. Inola smiled at me, and it was clear she was holding in laughter. “Give it a little more time. Let everyone here adjust to smelling your blood without being tempted.”
I shut the door in her face.
The first thing I did was turn on every lamp in the room even though most of the candles were lit. I showered, ignoring the reflection in the bathroom mirror, letting a few tears mingle with the water. I wondered how Grandma was doing. I wondered if Miles and Lila knew something was not right.
When I got out, fresh clothes were waiting for me. I pulled on the jeans and the purple blouse, missing my own clothes. I also carefully bandaged the cut on my arm before going to the cold fireplace. There was no kindling or wood. I couldn’t even find a pencil.
Sighing, I went to the piano and sat down on the bench, yawning as I looked at an old clock on the wall. It was only two o’clock in the morning, and I was ready to fall out. I let my fingers glide over the piano keys. I couldn’t play very well and hadn’t even touched a piano since I was ten. I painstakingly played, dragging the music from my old lessons and messing up almost every other note. It took me two hours to get it right, and I couldn’t even remember the name of the piece. Feeling slightly awed that I remembered as much as I did, I got up and went toward the easel.
There was an outline of a person on the started painting, but I couldn’t make out any details. I carefully examined the stack of paintings propped up against the wall. They were deeper and somewhat darker than all the ones I’d seen in books or museums. I was getting a feel for Gabriel’s style, and I knew the fallen angel painting in Jasmina’s room had been done by him as well.
Rapid Pulse (Violet Memory Book 1) Page 9