Darlings of Paranormal Romance (Anthology) (30 page)

“
Those shape-shifters were!
They sure didn’t want to piss him off, and I’m sure they must have
good reasons. Even if we escape from here, maybe Victor can follow
us through the portal. He has the key to open it up.” She threw her
hands in the air. “This crap might follow us right back home and
bite us in the butt!”

“
He only married you
because he wants to make Princess Gloria’s dad pay. When he finds
out you’re not the king’s daughter, he’ll realize his plan’s been
foiled. His revenge game plan of tainting the pure bloodline won’t
work, because you’re not Princess Gloria. He will have no reason to
waste his time and risk his men’s health coming after us through
the portal.”

She glanced down and wiggled her
finger. “I have his mark glued on my finger for all of
eternity.”

Frank rolled his eyes. “You’re getting
a little extreme, babe.”

The soft glow of morning light cast a
brilliant shimmer on the blossoming trees. A strong scent of manure
wafted past as the wagon raced through the meadow. One good bump,
and she’d go flying over the pane, but she didn’t care. All Sarah
wanted at that moment was answers. She sat up, her back straight,
as she hung on to the haystacks for dear life. “Hey, Jules, what do
you know about this ring?”

He steered the reins and glanced over
his shoulder. “Not much—just that the Immortals are only allowed to
marry once in their lifetime, and when they do, they’re given the
ancient ruby ring.”

“
Why would Victor waste his
only shot at marriage on a stranger he doesn’t love, one he thinks
is the daughter of his archenemy?” Frank asked, pulling himself on
top of a haystack next to her.

“
I told you earlier,” Sarah
said. “It’s about revenge. He wanted me to have a whole herd of his
babies—to mess up the pure bloodline in their family. Bloodline’s a
big deal with these royal types.”

Frank nodded. “I know, but it seems
like there’s more to it than that. If this Victor’s an Immortal,
how can he have kids?”

“
They can,” Jules said
through the pounding hooves.

“
That’s hard to wrap my
mind around,” Frank said.

“
Does this ruby hold any
sort of power?” Sarah asked. She twisted her finger to catch the
sunlight at just the right angles, watching the gemstone reflect
the bright rays.

“
I don’t know,” Jules said,
“but the wearers have some kind of psychic connection.”

She knew how ridiculous it was to
believe in psychic powers captured in a ring, but she had also
never seen a ring that just wouldn’t come off, no matter how hard
she tugged or tortured her finger. She’d also never heard of
shape-shifting wolves before. She was beginning to think anything
and everything was possible in this strange new—or old—world.
Leaning forward, interested, Sarah cocked a brow. “What does that
connection do?”

Jules shook his head.

Boy,
he’s not much help, is he?
They can
manufacture magic rings around here but can’t invent Google so I
can look all this up? Hmm.
“You said all
the Immortals receive a ring like this,” Sarah continued. “Can a
human even wear one?”

Jules hesitated. “I’m not sure how it
works. The Immortals are very private. They live in a secretive
world, following their own set of rules. I do know that every
country in our world is under the rule of King Taggert, who resides
over the Cardashian Court. I also know that King Victor is rumored
to be next in line to rule when King Taggert dies. The king is
dying, so it won’t be long before Victor takes the mightiest
throne.”

Sarah blew out a breath. “Yeah, that
was what those shape-shifters said.”

“
Well, it’s no surprise
King Taggert chose King Victor.”

“
Why not? Isn’t there
anyone else?”

“
Victor is one of the
oldest and strongest men in our world. He’s very powerful, rules
with an iron fist, and is feared by all.”

“
Yet you risk your life and
face his wrath for us?” Frank asked.

“
I’ll do anything for Mia,”
Jules said, his gaze focused on the road ahead. “I love
her.”

“
Wait…did you just say
Victor’s one of the oldest? How old is the guy?”

“
I’ve no idea,” Jules said.
“Maybe centuries.”

Just my
luck again,
Sarah thought.
Not only am I married to a psycho, stuck with his
weird magic ring, but he’s an old man with one foot inside the
grave, and he just won’t ever die.
Victor
had captured and kidnapped Sarah in broad daylight, but still, she
had to ask, “Are the Immortals like vampires or something? I need
to know if Victor plans on biting me. Am I gonna start sparkling in
the sun, sport some new fangs, and making blood my new choice of
drink?”

Jules laughed, looking a bit confused.
“Fangs? No, no, nothing like that—at least not that I’ve
heard.”

Sarah pressed a hand against her
chest. “Thank goodness!”

“
In most regards, the
Immortals are just like us,” continued Jules. “They eat, sleep,
laugh, and cry. The only difference is that thousands of years ago,
they somehow tapped into the power of immortality. According to
legend, they took over every country in our world and have ruled
with an iron fist ever since.”

“
Do the Immortals have any,
uh…superpowers?” Frank asked.

“
Yeah, and they can do
weird things with their minds, like make somebody see visions
or—”

“
I had one of those! I saw
the king’s knights and horses before they got near us,” Sarah said,
her voice rising an octave. “I very vividly saw them coming, and I
even heard Victor’s voice. I think this is…for real.”

Frank shook his head. “I know you’ve
mentioned it a million times, but I find the notion of an Immortal
king chasing us a little hard to swallow.”

“
Think about it, Frank.
We’re not in our world anymore. Things are different here. We have
to open up our minds to the unexplainable, which I know is a big
leap for you.” Glancing down, she whispered, “I’m just wondering
how a human like me managed to put on their magic ruby ring in the
first place without bursting into flames or something.”

“
You know what that proves,
right?” Frank said, always the skeptic.

“
No. What?”

“
That any ordinary person
can put one on, which means those people are about as Immortal as
me.”

“
Can you two please go back
into hiding?” Jules asked. “We’re still in Tastia. I will take you
as far as Dornia, but then you will be on your own.”

Sarah shrugged. “Sure. I need to
forget about all this strange stuff anyway and focus on finding my
sister.”

Chapter 9

From the other side of the narrow
wooden door, worn with time, Sarah had no idea what would await her
inside the local pub. She stepped into the large hall, dirt
crunching beneath her booted feet, and stopped to take in the
vaulted ceilings and crowded space. Countless tables faced the
tarnished wooden bar. Roars of laughter and conversation echoed
through the air. Flames flickered from candles in iron
chandelier-like wall sconces on the stone walls. Sarah had always
thought of candlelight dinners as romantic occasions, but watching
a large man with greasy hair bite into a giant drumstick changed
her opinion in a hurry. The delicious aroma of freshly baked bread
and roast beef wafted into her nostrils, making her stomach growl
in spite of the crude and unsanitary atmosphere.

Jules went to place the order for
their feast, and Sarah and Frank walked past long banquet tables
filled with customers she could swear were wearing outfits straight
out of Hollywood. They weren’t dressed fancy like the people in
Victor’s ballroom. The women wore long, simple dresses, while the
men were garbed in itchy-looking wool breeches with a tunic or
doublet and cloaks with a simple belt.

A tall woman seated them at a dark
wooden table, on long benches draped in animal furs. It looked as
though the woman wore two braids, one on each side, and then
wrapped them around her head like a headband and tucked them into
place, like some kind of milk maid. Sarah smiled at the lady
sitting next to her on the bench, taking in the deep wrinkles
running across her forehead and face.

The woman returned the smile,
revealing crooked yellow teeth. “Don’t order the peacock, milady.
It’s tough as leather and tasty as one’s sandals.”

Wait…these people eat peacocks? I thought they were only for
showing off their pretty feathers in the zoo! I’d rather eat
sandals!
Sarah smirked. “Thank you. I’ll
keep that in mind.”

The old woman inched closer and patted
Sarah’s hand as she mumbled, “I hope you’re not into dark meat
either, love. The pigeon’s too salty here.”

“
I’ll take that into
consideration as well,” Sarah said, cringing at the thought of
eating such a dirty, messy bird that leaves feathers and feces
everywhere it goes.

Frank glanced over at the woman.
“How’s the dragon-tail soup?”

“
Stop it.” Sarah nudged
Frank playfully as she peered around. “Look how crowded this place
is. This tavern must be the happening place.”

“
Yeah, it’s definitely the
medieval hotspot. The only thing missing is the flamethrower…and
maybe the jester.” Frank slid in next to Jules and smiled. “I hope
these furs don’t have fleas.”

“
Thanks, Frank,” Sarah
said. “Now I’m going to start itching.”

“
Don’t worry, honey,” the
old lady said. “The furs have been treated with wormwood. Fleas and
moths are not keen on it.”

“
Worm
wood?” Sarah stood and waved her
hand, trying to get the woman’s attention. “Waitress…um, I mean,
wench, we don’t need luxury seating. We’d prefer a nice hard
bench.”

“
Relax,” Frank said. “It’s
some kind of plant or herb.”

Sarah sat down. “I knew that.” She
chuckled.

Minutes later, a lady in a red velvet
dress with a black lace-up waistcoat brought drinks in wooden mugs,
along with a generous platter of raw vegetables, fruit, a loaf of
bread, and some kind of braised meat on a bed of prunes and cedar
nuts.

Jules ripped off a golden-brown leg
and bit into it like a starving homeless man. “I hope you will
enjoy the duck. Eat, drink, and be merry.”

Sarah laughed and looked around for a
plate, napkins, or silverware. “Um, are there utensils we can use,
or are we supposed to go at it caveman style?”

“
Utensils, miss? Why do you
think God gave us hands?” Jules asked between mouthfuls of
food.

Frank reached for a piece of meat.
“The fork’s still centuries away from sitting in a silverware
drawer, Sarah. Just dig in like he said. We’re sitting on animal
skins, for God’s sake. I don’t think manners are all that important
here.”

“
If you don’t mind, then I
don’t. Just don’t wipe your greasy hands on my cloak.” She bit into
a drumstick and smirked as the food stuck between her teeth.
Eventually, she managed to swallow and put the meat
aside.

“
Don’t like it?” Frank
asked.

“
Well, for starters, it’s
cold.”

“
Maybe they could pop it in
the microwave for a few seconds.” Frank tore off a piece of bread
and dunked it into the meat grease.

“
I guess beggars can’t be
choosers.” Sarah laughed as she popped a plum into her
mouth.

“
Better get used to it.
You’re not gonna survive on celery and plums, Your
Highness.”

“
What is this microwave you
speak of?” Jules asked.

Sarah met Frank’s gaze. “You do the
talking.”

“
Well, it’s a kind of box,
you see, and…well, I suppose you’d probably think it’s magic or
something, but you put food in it, and it zaps it hot.” Frank bit
into his pear, signaling the end of the conversation, but Jules
didn’t seem keen on letting him off the hook.

“
So this box carries a
magic fire?”

“
Maybe it’s best we don’t
talk about our world,” Sarah said. “It might blow our cover or at
least get us locked up in the medieval cuckoo’s nest.”

“
Right. When we’re done
eating, maybe we’ll start asking around about Liz,” Frank said.
“I’m sure someone knows her or has heard of her.” His investigation
skills were kicking in. No matter where—or when—the man went, he
was destined to always be 100 percent reporter.

Sarah took a sip of her ale. “Just
keep a low profile, okay?”

He grinned. “Yeah, right, like you fit
right in here. Okay, I’ll see what I can dig up.”

“
Yeah, me too.”

“
We should be safe here in
Dornia,” Jules said. “Finish your lunch, and then I’ll take you to
somebody who might be able to help. After that, you’re on your
own.”

“
So this is where we part
ways?” Frank asked.

Jules nodded. “As I said before, I
must head back to my own land. I must find out where my Mia is and
be sure she is well.”