Dimitri pulled two glasses from the cupboard and poured the juice.
“I hope you do not mind, but I took the liberty of calling Gabriel. I let him know you are going to be a little late.” Kerstyn set her coffee down on the counter. “Why?” Clearing his throat, he moved over to the breadbox and, pulling out a loaf of whole grain wheat, he set about making the toast. “Would you like eggs?” he asked as he headed back to the fridge.
“I hope you didn’t call because you thought I needed the extra sleep. I can function just fine with little to no sleep.”
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“No. Though I do think you should have slept some more.” He pulled the eggs out and set them on the counter beside the juice and butter.
“So, what is it?”
“Last night, there was more I needed to tell you.” Kerstyn straightened her spine and cleared her mind, preparing for more out-of-this-world information. She had yet to fully process everything that he had shared with her last night and here was some more.
“Okay, shoot,” she said.
“Ven will be here at the end of the week.”
She felt her jaw drop as confusion, worry, and terror combined to elevate her blood pressure.
“The end of the week? Today is Wednesday, the week is already half over.”
“He will be arriving Saturday.”
“When did this all happen? I thought we had until the end of the month before your battle. What changed?”
“I spoke with him,” he answered, taking out a frying pan and setting it on the stove, which he had lit with his mind.
“Hold up. When did you speak to him?”
“He called while Dorian, Gabriel, and I were having a meeting.
As I listened to his vile, irritating voice, something inside me snapped.
I had planned on the rumors of my return and the attack Gabriel delivered to draw him here, but my demon had other plans. Before I knew it, I was consumed with hate and rage and I invited him to come to Las Vegas.”
Kerstyn placed her elbows on the counter, resting her forehead in her palms, her hair falling over her face, hiding her expression from him. Dimitri was tempted to peek into her thoughts, but restrained himself and focused on cooking. The toast was done and the eggs would be finished in a few moments. He needed plates.
“So fast,” she whispered, “Everything is happening so fast. I can’t keep up. I seriously feel like my brain has switched to autopilot.”
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“I know how you must feel,” he said as he arranged the food on the plates. Turning, he set hers before her, but Kerstyn did not lift her head. “I truly wish things were different, that we had more time.” She nodded. “As do I.”
Dimitri took in a hard breath and forced the words past his lips,
“You can leave whenever you like.”
Kerstyn’s eyes turned upward, giving him a close, studied stare and Dimitri forced himself to remain still.
Shaking her head, she let out a heavy, tired sigh. “The thought has never once crossed my mind. I know that staying is dangerous. I know that being a part of your world can be a death sentence to a mortal like me.” She slowly brought her coffee back up to her lips. “I have faith in you, Dimitri. You will kick that Ven guy’s ass and we will get on with our lives. I do have one question, once you have,” she paused to search for a non-gruesome word for what she knew was going to be bloody and settled on, “defeated him, what then?” Dimitri’s perfect brow furrowed when he asked, “What do you mean?”
“Once you take care of business,” she said, again trying to skirt around the gory details, “what will you do? What will happen with us?”
“As you said, we will get on with our lives.”
“Together?” she pressed, her heart pounding.
She had tried to not think about the moment his “business” was done for surely he would leave. He was doing all of this to regain his throne, wasn’t he? So, it was only natural to assume that once he defeated Ven, he would go back to his Clan, back to Russia. And where would that leave them? She was human, after all. It wasn’t as if they could live happily ever after. She would age and she would die, while he remained perfect and beautiful. Besides, her life was here, her friends, her parents, though leaving latter behind would not be a trying task.
It sure has been a great ride,
she thought taking a sip of her cooling coffee,
but all roller coasters loops back around and you have
to step off.
“I would remain in the U.S. for some time. I would need to straighten out Ven’s affairs, close down all of his businesses, and work on helping my people move back to our ancestral home.”
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Her heart jumped with excitement and filled with happiness, they would have a little more time together. A couple months maybe, and she would take it. She would take as much time with Dimitri as she could and she would ignore her brain, which was telling her the longer she held on, the harder it would be to see him go. But she didn’t care.
She needed him, even if, at the end, all she was left with was memories, she would cherish them for the rest of her life.
“And,” he said, his voice low, his eyes downcast, “I would like for you to come back with me.”
Kerstyn would have fallen off the barstool if Dimitri hadn’t caught her. Shock made every nerve in her body tingle.
“You would want me to go back with you?” she asked, the words sounding strange as they circled through her brain.
“Yes. Kerstyn, I…would like that very much.”
“But, I’m human, Dimitri. Unlike you, I’m not going to live forever. Where exactly do you see this going between us?” Her question stung his ears. After his meeting with Falcon, he had materialized in his library not wanting to disturb Kerstyn in her sleep. He had sat at his desk for hours trying to find the right words.
How was he to tell her she was his mate? That they would need to perform the ritual of binding and share blood? That she would be bound to his life force? She would never age and never die until they decided together to move on to the great beyond. How would she react?
The questions were a never-ending cycle that played like a broken record over and over in his mind.
Unable to form the words, he said, “I would like us to be together forever.”
He felt Kerstyn stiffen in his arms and he ruthlessly fought the urge to read her thoughts. He so desperately wanted to know what she was thinking, how she was feeling, but he refused to strip her of her privacy.
“You would?” she asked, her voice low and soft. Her lips began to tremble as tears gathered in her eyes.
“Yes,” he said, cupping her face. He captured her sapphire gaze. “Would you like that?”
“I would.” The words were out of her mouth before she even had a chance to think.
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His eyes roamed over her face, memorizing every line, every curve. She was lovely, pure beauty. His mate.
Her lips were soft, warm, and inviting as he kissed her. He could hear her heart begin to pound and felt her flesh heat with desire beneath his hands.
Dimitri pulled away before their passion could rise to the point of no return.
“Please, my angel, eat. You need the energy after last night, the caffeine boost won’t last long.”
He reluctantly dropped his hands from her face. He craved the contact, but needed to focus.
“I have set out a suitcase for you. With Ven’s coming, I think it would be wise to move to Vamped for the next few days.” He watched the desire slowly fade from Kerstyn’s eyes as his words cut through her lust.
“Yes,” she agreed with a nod, “that makes sense. It's probably safer if we all stayed together.”
“Gabriel has set up extra security and, if you do not mind, I would like for Gannon to escort you about the casino and the museum.”
“A bodyguard? Do you think that's necessary?”
He nodded. There was no way he was about to let her out of his sight unprotected.
“Fine,” she sighed, slipping back on to the barstool, “but won’t he get tired? I thought vampires grew drowsy when the sun is out.”
“Gannon is a special case. Gabriel and another friend of mine you have yet to meet, Falcon, are also unique. They were born with witch blood.”
“So, they are half witch, half vampire?”
Dimitri chuckled at her how-the-hell-is-that-possible facial expression.
“Not exactly. Full-blood witches cannot be turned into vampires. Vampire blood is lethal to their system.”
“But their blood isn’t deadly to yours?”
“There is no blood lethal to a vampire, but there is blood that is forbidden by law, such as that of the Red Order. The hunters often lace
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their blood with a toxin that is extremely deadly for vampires,” waving his hand, he said, “we have gotten off topic. Gannon will be like your shadow, you will hardly notice him.”
“You know me and my curiosity. I can’t help it. Do you, by any chance, have a book with all of this vampire and witch information?”
“Unfortunately, no. I will consider working on one.”
“So, you wouldn’t have one about shape-shifters either.”
“Shape-shifters remain a great mystery. They are a violent race that loves war. Most of their historical documentation has been destroyed or lost. Though if anyone were to know of their origins and history, it would be the Shaw.”
“Did they curse them, too?”
Dimitri shrugged. “I honestly could not say. Though, I do know Shifters have existed for much longer than vampires. The king of the Validus Clan, Hadrian Lucretius, had made a pact with one Shifter tribe in South America before he exiled himself. I know that he had done extensive research before agreeing to align his Clan with the Shifters. If he had not―” Dimitri refused to say the words mad or insane for he truly believed Hadrian was neither, “One day he may share his findings,” he finished.
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Falcon took the cool air of the mountains deep into his lungs.
Snow had just begun to fall and white flakes floated about his head, settling on his shoulders, and dusting his boots as he went up the steps to the large, imposing doors of the ancient fortress.
Raising his hand, he prepared to knock as he did every time, but tonight was not like the nights in the past. Tonight he had to convince Hadrian to leave this depressing fortress. Tonight the world had to change.
Shoving the massive doors open, he stepped into the dark, empty hall. The high ceilings were covered with cobwebs and the sumptuous tapestries that covered the gray stone walls wore a thick coat of dust.
Glancing over to the wide hearth, he noted one crude-looking wooden chair; gone were the vibrant colors of fine, upholstered furniture.
Crossing the great hall, Falcon’s heart ached. This castle had once been a happy place, filled with warmth and joy. The world was a bright, simple, and kind place then. His Clan had never been more at peace than when Hadrian reigned as king; they hadn’t a care or a worry and Falcon longed for past days.
Coming to a halt at the bottom of the grand staircase, he closed his eyes and searched the fortress with his senses. He knew Hadrian must be masking his power or he would have been able to locate him the instant he had stepped from his car. Stilling his breath, his heart, his blood, he strained his senses.
Hadrian’s aura was faint, but unmistakable. He was in the west wing…Falcon’s eyes snapped open and he took the stairs two at time until he came to the third level. Making a hard left, he continued down the wide corridor. The moon’s rays shimmered through the floor-to-ceiling windows, which lined both walls. His footsteps echoed through
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the corridor as he rushed to the one room in this castle he never wished to see again.
The doors to the ballroom were open.
Falcon’s steps stuttered for a breath as he reluctantly entered the room.
Clean, clear mirrors covered three of the four walls. The fourth was made up entirely of windows and one French door that let onto the wide balcony. The ceiling too was made up of reflective glass save for the enormous crystal chandelier that glittered in the moonlight, which was streaming in through the windows.
Falcon came further into the ballroom. He carefully studied the shadows. Hadrian was here, in this godforsaken room.
The blood in Falcon’s veins turned to ice. Dimitri’s vision had taken place here. He had seen Hadrian standing on the railing of the balcony preparing to jump to his death.
Falcon’s gaze shot to the wide-open balcony doors. The biting mountain air billowed into the room filling it with a death-like chill.
Three hundred years, that was how long it had been since he had entered the Hall of Mirrors. He had stood in this very spot on that fateful night, the night that his world had come crashing down around him.
The memories slammed into him like a freight train, stealing his breath and stopping his heart. His limbs were numb, his mouth dry as the images of the past flickered before his eyes.
“Hadrian!” Dorian shouted, “Answer me, Goddamn it.”
Nothing.
“What happened?” Dorian repeated for the fifth time.
Nothing.
With a violent growl, Dorian grabbed Hadrian by the
shoulders and hauled him up to his feet. “What happened?” he asked
again and, again. Hadrian did not respond. Dorian shook the vampire,
his head snapping back and forth, but it was no use, Hadrian had gone
completely catatonic.
After a string of curses, Dorian gave up and allowed Hadrian
to sink back to the cold, hard stone of the balcony floor.