by Ana Calin
“It’s all right, Lazarus,” she says, “I’ll go.”
Her voice, the voice that once loved me, hearing it gives me fucking goose bumps. The security guy keeps a hand on the small of her back as he guides her over, everybody in the room staring at them as he leads her into my group, a wall of bodyguards closing behind her.
My jaw is tight until both she and the security are in my closest vicinity, insulated from the crowd.
“Take your hand off of her,” I grunt at him.
I must exude more dark power than I intended, because he takes a few steps back, eyes big as if he realizes I’m some kind of monster.
This is it. For the first time in years, Juliet and me, face to face. Her face is familiar and foreign at the same time, making my heart pound as if I’m looking at some crush up close for the first time. I don’t even know how to act around her, feeling awkward and out of place.
I expected her blue gaze to be icy, even terrible framed by that dark makeup. But Juliet isn’t looking at me with anger, reproach, grudge, or hatred. Her gaze is detached, as if she’s looking at a stranger. As if she doesn’t give a damn about me. There isn’t the slightest trace of emotion in her eyes, as if she doesn’t even find me handsome anymore.
“Hello Juliet.”
“Radek.” It’s a slap, hearing my name coming out of her mouth so devoid of emotion.
“It’s been a while.”
“Did you get me here to exchange platitudes?” At least if anger would charge her voice. But it doesn’t, her voice is clear, crystalline. Fuck, I think she’s really over me.
I better get to the point. “I want you to stay away from this business. I didn’t announce I’d come to Berlin for a reason. If I wanted you inside that auction room, I would have let you know myself.”
“I know.” She pushes her chin out, but not in the jerky scorned-woman way, but flowingly, relaxed. She also takes a relaxed step to me. “But you see, Radek, when we parted ways years ago, we made an arrangement, you and me—I would see to your public image in Europe, while you’d be on my people’s side in the fight against evil. Now I find out you’re back in Berlin, resuming the same kind of business that brought you here before we met—acquiring special historical buildings through auctions, oftentimes bribing your way to them. You must understand that I’m worried you might be back on the—” She pauses for the right word. “Wrong side.”
She really isn’t here for me, she isn’t here out of some scorned-woman spite, she’s only here because she wants to ensure the safety of ‘her people’. And who are the people closest to her?
I glance at Lazarus over her head. “You and the vampire seem to have gotten close.”
“Of course we grew close,” she says calmly. “We’ve been working and living together for years, what did you expect?”
That goes like a dagger through my heart, blood squirting out of it. “Are you lovers?”
“Prince Radek,” one of the lawyers calls, squeezing himself between the bodyguards. “Let me pass, this is important,” he grunts at them. I signal them to let him pass.
“I think you should do something.” He points me in the direction of the crowd outside our bubble.
I activate remote hearing, opening my channels to sense my surroundings through my skin. Herald Gruff is talking to people in a small group, but other groups are whispering busily everywhere, so he must have been talking to them as well.
“Juliet Jochs from the European Hellhound is, in secret, Prince Radek’s tool,” he poisons their ears. “They were lovers years ago, you know that?” Gasps. “Yes. Then he bought the European Hellhound, and practically gave it to her as a present in exchange for her loyal services. Who portrayed him as a white prince giving jobs to the poor, saving derelict buildings all over Europe from being torn down? She did. She never mentioned anything about him getting his hands on monuments of our history through illegal means, like blackmail and bribe, did she? She covered for all his dirty dealings, and dressed them up in the glamour of the savior.”
As I listen in to the discussions in other groups, Lazarus pushes his way to us through the bodyguards, an angry frown on his forehead. It doesn’t surprise me that he makes it to us so easily. As a vampire, he’s stronger than any human, he could probably take on five of my men at once.
“Let Juliet out,” he demands, however quietly. I guess he feels so powerful he even thinks himself my equal. I look him up and down, making it clear I’d squash him like a cockroach.
“This association with you could destroy her career, let her out now,” he insists.
Better to play on the safe side until I get this sorted out. I turn to Juliet, meeting her blank gaze. So detached, unfazed....
“You should have left this alone,” I say, and signal my men that we’re done here. We leave the premises, the men flanking me against the attacking press. Microphones make it through here and there, along with shouted questions and the occasional thud as reporters kick each other out of the way.
“Is it true that you’re having an affair with Juliet Jochs, CEO of the European Hellhound?”
“Was everything she’s written about you a lie?”
Even a, “When did the two of you last have sex?”
Questions fly at me from everywhere until the insulated car door thuds closed, shutting them out. Their distorted faces swim against the smoky glass, hands slapping against it and sticking like jellyfish.
The car pulls away slowly. By now, so many people have flooded the surroundings that we can only speed up when we’re out of the inner courtyard into the boulevard.
I should be making plans about my next moves, plans that usually flash as quickly as lightning through my brain, but it’s like I’ve turned dumb, my body softening, my heart sinking. Juliet doesn’t love me anymore. I’ve hurt her too badly.
White pain goes through my heart, growing. So this is what suffering for love feels like. By the time we reach the hotel the pain is so sharp that my ears zing.
I need a solution, and I need it fast. I never felt like this before, and I can’t control it. I spot a corkscrew on the liquor cabinet, grab it, yank my sleeve up and ram it into my forearm.
The pain of the stab pulls me from my dark feelings, offering relief with every drop of blood that leaves my body, as if that blood is the pain that bubbled inside of me. I slide down by the window, looking outside at the depressing Berlin evening, all rainy and hazy. I squeeze my forearm above the wound, one thought pulsing in my brain as I bleed. Juliet...
Juliet
AS SOON AS I ENTER the European Hellhound, Ellis hurries over with a tablet in her hand.
“Spiegel,” she begins, shadowing me as I head briskly to my office. “Has Juliet Jochs from the European Hellhound,” she quotes, “been sleeping with Prince Radek Basarab? Berliner. Europe fooled for years—The European Hellhound has been publishing fake stories on the Carpathian prince, creating trust for a dangerous man. Helga Says. Is Juliet Jochs as much of a snake as her dark lover, the Carpathian prince?”
“We thought this would kill our sales,” the sales guy joins in, bespectacled eyes on a tablet of his own. “But instead, sales are through the roof! People are reading everywhere.”
“A scandal is always a goldmine,” I say through my teeth as I walk into my CEO office.
“Yes, but only for the time being,” Ellis puts in, shutting the door behind her and the sales guy as I toss my bag on the desk. “People are curious, hungry for information right now, but as soon as the hype dies down, having taken your credibility along with it, our sales will surely suffer.”
The sales guy nods. “You have to regain credibility.”
“And how do you suppose I do that?” I open my arms in a look-around-you gesture. “Herald Gruff sure made a smart move getting all the relevant press to the auction yesterday, knowing I’d be there, knowing what would happen.” Which makes me feel like a failure, but I must get over that. Self-pity won’t get me anywhere.
“Is it true that you had an affair with him?” Ellis inquires with narrowed eyes.
I can’t afford to admit it to anyone and then let them live, so I blurt out a, “No, of course not.”
“I might have a solution for you,” Lazarus says, walking into the room. Ellis clutches the tablet to her chest, withdrawing, as she always does when he’s around. He intimidates her for some reason. The sales guy pushes the glasses up his nose nervously, too.
“Go out with me,” Lazarus says.
My eyes widen at him. He’s soon standing tall on the other side of my desk, irresistible locks ruffled, charming blue eyes steady, vampire-white face attractive. Can’t say I don’t understand all the crushing girls at the e-zine, and sometimes I wish I felt attracted to him as well. But Radek left me with one hell of an emotional blockage.
“And how would that help my cause?” I lean back in my chair, looking up at Lazarus.
“The papers are wailing about your supposed affair with Radek right now,” he replies. “Like you said, it won’t be easy to restore your credibility, but holding up a lover in the public’s face might help. Actually, I think it’s the only thing that can help at the moment.”
“He’s right,” Ellis puts in shyly from behind, clutching her tablet tighter as if it could shield her from some kind of attack from Lazarus. The sales guy looks at us with approval as well.
“But everybody knows you’re my right hand, Lazarus. You might not put yourself out there as much as me—” Him being sensitive to sunlight and silver, “—but still. Your face is known enough.”
“Exactly,” he says. “Which is why displaying a more intimate relationship with me will be credible. Imagine you start going out with someone else now.... People aren’t stupid, Juliet. Even a child would realize something is fishy. But if you start showing people a close relationship with me, a man who’s been there all along—that will seriously challenge the theory of you having an affair with Radek.”
I let it go through my head. “It’s worth a try.”
Juliet
THE. MOST. AWKWARD. Thing. Ever. Standing in front of a mirror in an evening dress—pastel blue, one-shoulder, flowing but fitted at the waist, wrapping your thighs elegantly—waiting for your best friend to come and pick you up for a date.
My fingers clench on the little purse with blue glitter. My hair, which I usually wear messy for the effect, is now braided in an elaborate bun, my sister Isolde’s creation. She always liked doing hair, since we were kids, and she’d never miss a chance to use her skills on me.
Lazarus’ shape in a suit appears behind me. We just look at each other in the mirror for a few moments. Neither of us needs words to know—we’re both thinking of that night in the Carpathians years ago, when Radek chained Lazarus to an iron chair, having me face him from another dimension, through a mirror. A strong feeling that Radek is watching me through this mirror right now washes over me, and I turn briskly to face Lazarus.
My heart races. Was I only imagining it, or is Radek really here, watching us?
My cheeks burn, so I must be blushing, because Lazarus acts nervously, like a boy on his prom night. I’m not wearing any make-up besides dark blue-grey eye shadow that Isolde says makes my eyes stand out like blue gems, so he can see it. The problem is, he might take it the wrong way, and think the blush has to do with him. No, damn it, it still has to do with the only man I ever loved—prince Radek Basarab.
We make quite a show as we step out of the white limo at the Opera House, where a great event is taking place.
“Best spot for a first date,” Lazarus says with a smirk as he holds the car door for me and offers me his arm. “A bunch of famous politicians are here for the Traviata premiere, along with all the relevant press in Berlin. With the story about you and Radek still fresh, they’ll forget all about the politicians, and cover you and me.”
We step inside the great reception hall, and are offered champagne from the start. People in groups stop talking and stare at Lazarus and me with glasses of champagne in their hands. Even laughter stops abruptly. Cameras turn to us, hold still for a moment, then they begin snapping pictures so quickly that it blinds me.
But our moment of glory doesn’t last long. Soon Radek walks in with the same blonde on his arm that he brought to my chambers at the Bran castle years ago.
My hand clenches around Lazarus’ arm.
“Fuck, what is he doing here,” Lazarus grunts. “Our plan is going to hell.”
“That’s her,” I whisper. “That’s the woman he brought to me for a threesome years ago.”
“That woman is a vampire from his brother’s collection,” Lazarus spits through his teeth. The information crashes through my brain.
“Say what?”
He nods, eyes still on the couple. “I remember her from that night when a dozen of them jumped on me and almost tore me apart, sticking their teeth into me all at once.” Poison fills his voice. He must hate this woman. “She was the thirstiest of them all. She almost sucked me dry. She wanted my blood so badly she sunk her fingernails into my chest like a wild cat into its prey.”
“My God....” I remember that night as vividly as I remember yesterday. I don’t think the memory of it will ever go blunt, but then it hits me.
“Wait a minute.” I straighten up as I recover my sharpness of mind. “If they’re here together, it means they’ve been a couple for the past five years. Threesome my ass.” My glare fills with poison as I measure the blonde vampiress up and down in her red dress that hugs her Victoria’s Secret body.
I make to step towards them, but Lazarus keeps me back.
“You’re not going to demand an explanation from him, are you?”
“He was about to marry me in three days when he came to me with this woman. Now, five years later, he makes it clear he has a relationship with her. Wouldn’t you want to know—”
“Do you think acting jealous in front of the cameras will do our plan any good? In your place, I’d even act civil towards them. Even though their being here together raises another question, a dangerous one.”
“What question?” Shit, my face burns so bad it certainly shows red. I should have put makeup on.
“If he is here with this woman, one of his brother’s vampires, then he must be hand in hand with Dracula. They must have made peace, and have common plans for Europe.” Lazarus looks down at me gravely. “What if they want to conquer Europe together? That would be the confirmation that Radek is no longer on our side, the side of the good, but back to evil.”
Blood rushes down from my head, making me dizzy.
“Then everything we worked for, everything we sacrificed, was for nothing. If they unite, there’s no organization in this world strong enough to stand up to them.”
Both Lazarus and I look at Radek and the woman the reporters now refer to as Irina something. I don’t care what her last name is, the first one will suffice. In truth, I don’t want to know anything about her, it hurts enough to see her on Radek’s arm.
“Smile at him,” Lazarus whispers in my ear, pulling me out of my jealous thoughts.
“You can’t possibly expect me to—”
“Half the press is watching you, half him. They’re analyzing your reactions to each other, so you better deliver what you want them to see. This is your chance to start restoring your credibility, and that red jealous glare in your eyes isn’t helping, really.”
I take a deep breath. Okay, let’s do this.
I look straight into Radek Basarab’s beautifully carved face that seems made of ivory. It took years of daily yoga training to learn how to summon my peace of mind to put up with the mere concept of him, but I succeeded. I visualize a veil falling between Radek and me, making me feel like I’m facing only a reflection of him, not the actual man that once had his addictive hands and tongue on me.
Don’t look at his lips, never his lips, I tell myself. Those lips like dark red roses, carnal and beautifully contoured were my greatest weakness.
A simple glimpse of them is enough to remember his mouth between my legs.
Having put myself in the same state of mind as a few days ago at the auction, my lips even manage to pull in a smile. I raise my glass of champagne elegantly, greeting Radek from a distance.
Press and attendees stare at us.
“You’re doing great,” Lazarus whispers, taking my hand in his and squeezing reassuringly.
I keep my gestures slow, flowing, allowing the press time to register. I fix my eyes on Radek’s chiseled cheekbones, avoiding his eyes. His eyes had been intense at the auction, he watched me continuously without even blinking, and I almost fell apart under the pressure of his gaze. I avoided it the entire time, which is what helped keep me in the right state of mind, but it wasn’t easy.
Lazarus gives a small, satisfied laugh. “Just look at the blonde—”
“No,” I spit before he can finish. “I can cope with looking at Radek, but I can’t make eye contact with that snake.”
“Trust me, you’ll like it. It’s so clear she’s dying of jealousy. She can’t even smile anymore, she glares at you like she could choke you.”
My heart jumps. If after five years she still doesn’t feel secure in this relationship then maybe he still....
“Oh yes, that’s right,” I whisper, more to myself than Lazarus.
“What?” he inquires eagerly.
“Radek didn’t want a traditional relationship anymore. Even though he preferred her, I’m pretty sure he demanded an open relationship. He surely wasn’t getting out of wedding plans with me only to tie himself to another woman.”
“And this worthless piece of ass took whatever she could get from him.”
My head snaps to Lazarus. “Wow. What’s gotten into you, Mr. I’m-too-cultivated-to-ever-swear? You must hate her guts.”
“She’s probably the only creature in the world that I hate.”
“Besides Radek.” I raise my eyebrows, making this more of a question than a statement.
“Not even him. In the end, he was... Well, doesn’t matter now. If he’s now back on the evil side....”