by C. D. Gorri
Dorian was a vampire.
She allowed a creature of this species to share her bed, make love to her.
But he did not bite you.
Yet he is a vampire.
She continued with her self-mutilating thoughts as the yells of the men grew louder around her. The ship rocked to and fro as the men boarded for the sail home. Her fingers tightened around the stern wall. She opened her eyes and stared out over the water and the land she would be sailing to soon.
“Sophia,” Dorian called to her in a whispered tone.
She closed her eyes once more and shook her head. “No, leave me be.”
“How did I lie? I never denied who I am.”
She turned on him and slapped his face. He gasped with shock. “Purposely not telling me is as bad as lying about it!”
He rubbed his cheek and stepped closer to her. “Please, allow me--”
She cut him off. “No!” She turned from him and stared back out toward the water. Her emotions boiled inside her and a part of her wanted to run her sword through his heart, while the other part, the part of herself she detested, wanted to leap into his arms and scream for joy that she was free, and with him.
In any case, this was a problem she would deal with on her own, boat ride home or later. She sure as hell would not be staying on this island any longer than she had to.
“As you wish,” Dorian said and turned away from her. She glanced over her shoulder and watched him as he descended stairs to a cabin in the shadows.
*.*.*.*
The sun had set and Sophia shivered. Her fancy clothes she could never afford were now soaked, and ruined. The frigid temperature of winter bit her to her bone. She longed for the fire and the warm bed she made love to Dorian in. And she hated reminding herself of him and his untold lies.
Warmth suddenly enveloped her and Sophia gasped and turned around. Dorian stood behind her and wrapped her body in his cloak.
“Do not be alarmed. I have been watching you for a while and could no longer stand the sight of you shivering.”
She lowered her gaze and pulled the cloak further around her body. “Thank you,” she whispered.
“You’re welcome.” He stepped closer and leaned against the stern. “Will you please hear me out now?”
“I’d rather not,” she mumbled through cold lips and her voice broke. “But I’m n-n-no fool. Can we go s-somewhere warmer?” He reached for her then hesitated. She did not and leaned into his embrace. “I am af-fraid I will d-die f-frozen.”
He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. She nestled into his body and felt him shiver. “Sophia,” he whispered, “come, let’s get you warm.” Dorian escorted her down the same stairs he took earlier. The darkness of the corridor took her vision for a moment, until they walked into his cabin. In the corner laid a fireplace and it cracked with wood.
She gasped and ran to it, falling to her knees. She shivered as she held her hands out, the heat causing her skin to tingle.
“Please, let’s get you out of those close and into something warm.”
She turned and looked up to where he stood, and stared at him a long moment. Dorian did not move as he held still like a statue. She then nodded.
Moments later, she laid on her side in front of the fire in a long night shift and blankets on her body. Silence fell between them for what felt like an eternity. She closed her eyes and felt herself begin to drift between consciousness and sleep.
“Please believe me, it was not at my hand, the deaths on the streets.” Sophia opened her eyes and listened to Dorian. “I am not the killer, nor my coven.”
She pushed herself to a sitting position, pulling her legs underneath her. Dorian crossed the room and took a knee next to her, crossing his arms. “Please, understand, when the bodies turned up, it was not I.”
She looked to him and studied his face. “But you did feed.”
He nodded. “I did, but I would never do what happened in Venice. Please, this is the truth.”
She thought back to Mila, and the fact her instincts were wrong about her. Were they wrong now? Every part of her screamed that Dorian was as innocent as he had claimed to be, yet he withheld information of him being a vampire. The night she was chased by the creature with the red eyes; was it Dorian or someone else? Then there were her visions of him in a bloody mess with the fire in background.
Part of what he said was the truth, however. Before the death of her landlady, bodies had turned up then and she knew it could not have been Dorian.
She sighed and nodded. “I believe you.”
His brows rose. “You do? I mean, thank you. I would never lie to you, Sophia.”
She sat up on her knees and took his hands. “I am still hurt you did not tell me in the beginning, that after all we did together, I did not know. However, with that being said, you had me many times and had ample opportunity to kill me, yet you didn’t. In fact,” she moved in closer to him, “you saved my life. You came for me.”
The fire cracked in the silence. He leaned in closer to her and touched her chin, his thumb gently gliding over her lower lip. “I love you, my anima gemella.”
She lowered her gaze. The ship came to a stop and Sophia looked up to Dorian. “I forgive you. And I love you too, my amante.”
Dorian leaned in and kissed her. She cupped his face and her tongue sought his. She flinched as she touched his fang.
“Sophia,” he whispered to her. “Be mine, be with me, forever. Allow me to make you like me, allow me to give you an eternity by my side. There will be no rules, no pain, only bliss. Allow me to give you death so you may for once, live.”
She wanted to immediately leap into his arms and scream yes to the top of her lungs, but she also thought of Gavin and everything he and the hunters stood for. She would be giving up her life and entering into a sanctum she knew nothing of, except death.
But there was also love, an eternity of love with a man who took her heart. A man who saved her from death. A man who laid everything out in this most vulnerable moment. “I’ll accept your proposal on one condition.”
He smiled and she had to hold herself from giggling for he appeared to look like of a school boy. “And what is the condition?”
“Marry me first.”
“Without a doubt, you will be my wife, Sophia. Are there any other conditions?”
She stared at him for a moment, smiled, then shook her head.
“I am happy to hear it and you, my love, have made me the happiest man on this earth!” He stood and pulled her to her feet and hugged her. He pulled back enough to kiss her.
After the ship docked, Dorian escorted Sophia back to land. They stepped inside what could only be described as a palace. It was similar to the room she stayed in where they made love.
“Welcome to Palazzo Fanti,” he announced.
She smiled. “It is beautiful.” The white walls almost glowed with the gold trim. Low hanging chandeliers created an ambience that whispered seduction. Servants crossed the room and offered their hands for service.
“Signora, if we may, we would be happy to clean and dress you?”
She looked down to her night shift, then back to the servants with a smile. “That would be nice, thank you.”
“Everything will be well,” Dorian told her. “My oldest friend, Signor Fanti, lives here. He will join us soon. We know who the traitor is and who caused the devastation.”
She turned as she walked with the servant and raised her brows. “Mila?”
He nodded. “Yes, Mila.”
*.*.*.*
As the female servant tightened the last cords to the corset, she assisted Sophia in pulling on a shrug. A knock sounded on the door and Sophia looked to herself in the mirror and smiled at the dark gray with lighter gray stripes on her corset, skirts, and shrug. Her hair, pulled to her neck, set with curls, draped over her right shoulder perfectly.
She turned to face the door as the maid slipped boots onto Sophia’s feet. “Enter.
”
The door opened and Dorian slipped through. He paused in the entry and smiled. “You are a vision.”
She blushed and lowered her gaze. “Thank you.” She leaned down and touched the maid on her shoulder. “And thank you. Please, leave us?”
The woman stood with a smile and curtseyed. She made her way to the door, curtseyed Dorian, then closed the door behind her.
Dorian grinned a little wider and she noticed he no longer hid behind his lips, for he now showed off his fangs without fear. He crossed the room, scooped her in his arms and spun her in the room. She giggled and he laughed. He sat her down and he kissed her.
“My love,” Dorian began and rain the back of his fingers across her cheek, to her jaw, and neck. “I will give you the gift of immortality tonight. Will you accept?”
She closed her eyes to his touch, his seduction, the whisper of his breath upon her skin. She nodded and her heart slammed in her chest. Fear threatened her, but as Dorian gently guided a hand around her waist, he held her close, and hugged her against him.
“Thank you,” he whispered.
“Will it hurt?” she heard herself ask.
“When I first bite, there will be a sting, then it will settle into bliss and you will begin to fall into a deep sleep.”
“What happens then?”
“I will feed you my blood and as it pumps into your heart, your body will die.”
She gasped and he held her close.
“It is alright. Your body will then change and accept what has been given. You will then wake as vampire.”
She swallowed and let out a shallow breath. “Okay.”
“Come,” he whispered and slipped his hands into hers. He pulled her toward the bed. He guided her down to her back and laid next to her. Gentleness poured from him as he touched her face.
“I love you,” he whispered.
“I love you,” she replied.
Dorian sat up on one arm and leaned into her. Sophia closed her eyes and held her breath. Her body tensed and Dorian gently lifted her chin up.
“Darling,” he whispered, “relax, please.” He tilted her head up a little more and kissed her on the lips. She nodded and kissed him back. He pulled himself closer and his hand moved around to the back of her neck.
Sophia felt the tension leave her body as she relaxed. She allowed this man, this vampire, to have control over her. He kissed her with his velvet soft lips and she wanted more. Her hand moved to his back and pulled him closer. Dorian pushed her to her back and moved his body on top of hers. He moved her skirts up her legs and pushed his knee between hers. She moved her legs apart for him and he settled down, grinding his erection against her.
She sighed against his mouth and moved her body with his. Dorian growled against her lips and kissed to her jaw, then nibbled on her ear. Sophia gasped and her fingers pulled at the shirt on his back. He licked the vein in her neck and she moaned softly.
Then it happened. She hissed as his fangs broke through her skin. His lips locked onto her throat and she felt the pull of her blood. Dorian moved his hips against her and she moved her hands over his derrière. She squeezed him, wanting him inside her, claiming her.
Dorian snarled as he drank, but the sound did not frighten her. Instead, it heightened the sensation of his body, the longing, the need of him and his cock to be buried deep inside her. Her breathing softened and she felt weak from the blood drain. She opened her eyes and watched Dorian atop her, and saw his head, shoulders, and body. She looked to the ceiling of the bed and the drapes over the sides. She blinked and her eyelids moved lazily.
Her gazed moved to his neck and shoulders. She watched the muscles move as he sucked on her. It was almost beautiful, yet sad with so much love, longing, and hope for their future together.
She felt herself drifting to the unknown when a loud bang sounded in the room. Dorian lifted off of her and snarled into the air as he turned around and blocked her body with his. She slowly turned her head and could feel her blood pumping from her neck as it pooled on the pillow.
A well-dressed man walked into the room, the Doge’s clerk next to him. If she’d had the strength and energy, she would feel alarmed, but unfortunately, she did not feel much of anything.
“Fanti!” Dorian cried out. “What is this?”
Twenty other vampires filled the room behind the two newcomers. Sophia closed her eyes. Calmness settled over her, considering the storming of the room by the clerk should have set her on high alert.
How is he not dead, she asked herself?
Instead, she smiled in bliss. Soon this would be over and soon, she would wake as vampire and she would fight by Dorian’s side.
She opened her eyes once more. Silence filled the room, but the men appeared to be screaming. She blinked, her lids moving too slow as she took in the men swinging their arms and spitting words. She blinked once more and the outer sides of her vision began to blur and darken. The darkness filled in more of the picture before her, further in, and even more so until, nothing was left. Darkness claimed her sight, hearing, and sense of touch.
She let out a soft sigh as her final breath left her body.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Mila had not fed, and the weakness was telling on her.
It took two whole tries for her to rip the bars out of the dungeon windows.
The other option she considered was tearing the door from its hinges, but she did not know if Fanti had set a guard on her, and if she struggled with the door, she would be vulnerable to attack.
No, it was best to employ the old trick of crawling out a window. Only, this time, she did not have to worry about pretending mortal movements. It was risky, to be sure. If she put one foot wrong on the slippery stones, she would fall into the canal, and the running water would set ancient curses aflame in her vampiric blood. Fanti must have been counting on her aversion to such a fate when he placed her in this cell.
He should not have relied on her fear for herself to be a deterrent. The only thing that could ever truly push or pull her was the need to protect those she loved. They were what mattered. She was only Mila.
She jumped up and grabbed the stone sill, hoisting herself up and wriggling through the narrow window opening. She dug her fingers into the mortar, uncaring that she gouged out chunks of it as she crawled around the canal-facing side of the palazzo until she reached the steps that led up from the water and could hop down onto solid ground.
Racing around to the small servant’s door she had noticed during her earlier misadventure with windows, she found herself knocked off her feet and shoved face-first into the cobblestones with the weight of a man kneeling on her back.
Leather. Steel. Cloves.
The touch of a blade to her throat.
“What have you done?” Gavin’s voice was raw and harsh in her ear. “The city is rioting. People are calling for the Doge’s head. Witch Island is burning…and, I cannot help but think that it all has to do with you.”
Mila knew she could throw him off, and she knew that he understood this as well. That would be why he held a knife to her throat. His skill as a Hunter meant that if she tried to buck him off, he would slice her head from her neck before he ever lost his balance. She had to fight him with words, not force.
“What of Sophia?” she rasped.
“All I know is that rumor is rife on the docks that the witch escaped from the island with a dark, avenging angel and returned to the city. I think we can both agree that it was no angel that took her.”
Yes, Mila thought. Dorian was no angel. He never had been. It was a pity it had taken her so long to see that stark truth.
“From there, it wasn’t much of a feat to figure out that her angel would bring her back to the one place he thought was safe, and thanks to our delightful little encounter this morning, I happened to know exactly where that place would be.”
“Then why are you here interrogating me when you should be inside, trying to save your true love?” Mila
didn’t particularly care to examine why the words ‘true love’ held such a bitter flavor for her.
“Because I would be a fool to enter a vampire’s lair without knowing more of it.”
“Well, I can tell you, Gavin Girard, that your plan to win my cooperation by tackling me to the ground, shouting at me, and holding a knife to my throat is simply brilliant. As you can see, I am at your disposal and ready to cater to your every whim.” She felt that strange sliding away of reticence and caution that always seemed to plague her in his presence. “Shall I knock on the door for us? Or, would you prefer if I went in myself, cut down my Maker, and carried your silly mortal girl back out to you? Perhaps, if you had the time to spare, I could find one of the mortal servants and have them make you a cup of tea.”
“Will you shut up?” he snarled.
“If I did, then how would I tell you where you might find her?” she taunted in return.
She was forced to admit that Gavin had excellent technique as a Hunter. The knife at her throat didn’t falter for a second as he stood and yanked her to her feet. It didn’t wobble even as they both startled at the muffled crash and unnatural roars of fury that came from within the palazzo. The shutters on one of the third-floor windows shook from the force of a blow on the inside, and Mila’s hearing picked up the weak sound of Sophia’s cry, followed by the angry, muffled voices of Dorian and Fanti.
“Follow me,” Mila said quickly, and to his credit, Gavin immediately understood their own fight was over and released her. She ran to the side door and yanked at the heavy iron handle until the wood splintered and the bar on the other side fell away. If she had fed and been stronger, she would have ripped the door from its hinges. It would have been faster.
No longer bothering to disguise her abilities, she sped up the stairs, with Gavin following only half-a-flight behind. More voices had joined the fray, and it was now a cacophony of tearing flesh and breaking bones.
“How many?” Gavin panted.
“Twelve? Perhaps fifteen? I do not know our host’s coven well enough to be able to tell for sure.”
“Older than you?”