Silenced (2 page)

"Hello, Willa," he said, his charming smile instantly disarming her. "Mind if I come in?"

Willa swallowed. At least, he was polite and asked to enter her home. She almost considered denying his request. What was the harm in letting in a handsome stranger? She figured he was probably one of her parent’s associates from London.

"I suppose," she said, looking past him at the carriage in her courtyard. “Is there something I can do for you?”

Once he was inside, she watched him examine the paintings hung over the console beside the staircase. He sniffed the freshly cut flowers.

"There is.” He turned back to her, his smile widening. “Come here.”

Warnings screamed at her, but she couldn’t keep her feet from moving toward him.

His bright green gaze soaked her in, making her cheeks flush. She looked away when his eyes rested on her mouth.

“How old are you?”

What an odd question
, she thought. “Twenty-one.”

He rubbed his chin. “Really? Very nice. But you are a Grand Elite Caster, correct? You will live for all eternity if you choose?”

Her heart stopped. “How did you know?” Only Grand Elite Casters had the choice for immortality once they reached maturity. Willa, like her sisters sworn to protect their race would remain twenty-one forever.

Shaking his head, he hooked his thumbs in his belt loop. “Never mind that. Just answer my question. Now.”

“Yes,” she blurted. She frowned. “What magic are you using on me? Please. Stop it.”

Willa folded her arms across her chest.

“I’m sorry, Willa. But, I am the one giving the commands from now on. Understand?”

The grin that came to his lips made Willa's brows rise. Her cheeks flushed as he rubbed his bottom lip with his knuckles. “Who are you?”

He leaned close to her ear, making her stumble backward until her back was pressed against the wall. He placed a hand beside her other ear, boxing her in. "Your worst nightmare," he whispered, the warmth of his breath intoxicating her. “And that was another question. No more.”

He flashed his fangs, licking the sharp point with his tongue.

Her heart pounded in her chest. Until then she’d only heard of vampires.

“I’ve been watching you for some time now,” he admitted. “And I think you've put me under a spell, you delicious little witch,” he purred, his mouth a sliver of an inch from her lips.

Willa held her breath, desperate to be free from his allure and seduction.

She swirled out from under his body and took several steps away.

“Please leave, sir,” she said, her cheeks red. "My fiancé will be here any minute.”

“Call me Lord Lukas,” he said, standing tall before her.

“Please leave, Lord Lukas.” Willa was on the verge of shouting out, calling for anyone within ear’s reach.

“I’m sorry. I can’t do that. And I hate to tell you, but that boy you’re engaged to can’t save you.” He reached for her. “Not from me.”

Willa turned to walk away, not wanting to hear any more about the vampire she loved.

When Lukas appeared before her, she let out a screech that morphed his face from amusement to rage.

Lukas wrapped a hand around her neck, and Silenced her, muting her powers with a single touch. One gaze into her eyes and she was lost. She could feel the emptiness within, and it frightened her more than the cold look in his eyes.

“You see, Willa. Sometimes you have to take what you want. I want you.”

No, no, no,
she thought.
Be strong, Willa. Resist.

It was too late, the vampire before her knocked down her walls and entered her mind.

"Good girl," he said.

Willa woke to the crackling of fire. Groggily, she turned her head and yawned. The bed was comfortable, like her own, but smelled different.

“Isabelle?” She called for her lady’s maid, her mind fuzzy on everything that happened that day.

“Sweetheart,” Lukas’ voice called from a chair in the corner of the room.

Willa's mind raced when she realized that her hands and ankles were chained to the bed. In the corner of the room, Lukas watched her, a book in his hand.

Panic filled her veins. “What is happening? Why am I chained?”

“No need to fret. The chains are for your protection,” Lukas said. "I'm a bit different from that boy. I like to train my women to fit my tastes. You know? To make them perfect.”

Willa felt her throat tighten with fear.

Train? You can’t train people.

“Do not worry. You’re already the closest to perfect I've ever encountered. You'll be free from your chains before you know it.”

“Please, sir. Don't do this.”

When he came to his feet, Willa coiled back as far as she could. Where was the charming act he'd put on for her before? She knew she now looked at the real Lukas, and it terrified the hell out of her.

“Lord Lukas. Or master.”

Willa’s lips trembled.

“Say it.”

“Lord Lukas,” she stated in a soft voice.

“Good,” he said with a sigh. “I do have to do this, Willa. If I am to keep you, you must be perfect. I can't let you go.”

Heat filled Willa's cheeks as she summoned the fuel of power within her belly.

She squeezed her eyes closed as it built and built, ready to explode out of her pores. Her mind raced when she realized that something blocked its release.

You may want to conserve your energy,” Lukas said, standing over her. “You won't be able to use your power on me,” he said.

Willa's eyes popped open.

The Silence power was real.

Dread brought tears to her eyes.

Lukas knelt to her side, alarm filling his eyes. “No.” He cupped her face with one hand and stroking her hair with the other. “No tears. Smile for me.”

Willa! Fight him!

A forced smile came to her lips.

“Good girl.”

He stroked her cheek and kissed her. His voice lowered to a whisper. “Now tell me you love me.”

Willa's stomach churned.
No!

“I love you.”

The words were empty and hollow, but Lukas didn't care. He kissed her again and all Willa wanted was to rip out his tongue. She feared what he would command next.

She looked down at her body. She wore a sheer white gown and nothing else. She felt as if she'd be sick. The thought of how she ended up out of her clothes and into the sultry new ones worried her. Lukas's eyes watched her.

She prayed he hadn't touched her without her consent. No one was that cruel.

Willa bit her lip, fearing that she was naïve.

“You know I won't make love to you until you beg me for it, right my love?”

Willa nodded quickly, anything to convince him not to force himself on her. She couldn't afford to lose all of her free will or privacy.

“Thank you,” she murmured.

“Anything for my lady. Now, let's get you some food. You slept much longer than I'd anticipated.” Lukas stood. His face was as excited as a boy before Christmas. “I can't have you losing too much weight. You’re already too thin.”

Willa squeezed her eyes shut against the images she fought to bury deep inside her mind.

For a moment, the memories took her from the present.

“Are you okay?”

They sat in Zoe’s kitchen at her bar with the lights low.

“Yes,” Willa said, forcing a smile.

She wondered if things would ever be the same. She drank a shot of tequila and nodded at Zoe, who sat across from her with concern in her almond-shaped hazel eyes.

“What were you saying?”

“I said that you don’t have to do this.”

“I know I don't have to. But I want to," Willa said. "I have to do this if I want to heal. You have no idea how hard this has been. I want my old life back."

Even though the fear festered in her soul, she knew that this was the only way she’d be free. Something told her that this was the time to come out of hiding.

Sighing, Zoe nodded. “Of course, I understand. You think you’re the only one who suffered? You disappeared, and I thought you were dead. Did you know that people suspected that
I
did something to you? I had to leave Cambridge for a long time.”

“I know,” Willa said. The rumors about Zoe had been preposterous, but people needed someone to blame. “I’m sorry for all of that.”

“You don’t have to apologize. I just want you to know that everyone who loved you suffered. One day you were planning your wedding celebration, the next you’re gone without a single word.”

That was the worst. Her hopes for a happy marriage had been destroyed.

“Do it, Willa. I support your decision.”

Willa put her empty shot glass on the nightstand and kissed Zoe on the cheek, her face brightening at having her approval. If her plan were to work, she’d need all of the help and support that she could get.

“Thank you,” Willa said as she pulled away. “You are the best friend in the entire universe.”

“I know. But, not so fast," Zoe said, handing her the shot glass back. “We both need another shot.”

Willa grinned, her eyes brightening with the promise of hope and a future that she could be happy to look forward to. "Top me off.”

Zoe poured the chilled tequila into her glass, and together they drank it down.

“You’re going to get me drunk,” Willa said as the cold liquid trailed down her throat.

“That’s the point.” When Zoe took her empty glass, she stroked Willa’s hair.

"I'll be there with you, every step of the way." She pulled away and held Willa out at arm's length so that their eyes were locked. "I'll protect you. You know that, yeah?"

Fresh tears stung Willa's eyes. “What would I do without you?”

Zoe wiped her tears from her cheeks, her own eyes glistening. “You'd be just fine. You're stronger than you think.”

Willa smiled. “Right,” she said, staring down at the email she was prepared to send to a vampire halfway across the world. “Here goes.”

She pressed send and looked up at Zoe with a weak smile.

Clapping her hands, Zoe stood from her barstool and did a twirl. “Good girl. Now, let's watch old Cary Grant movies until we pass out.”

Willa chuckled and stepped off the bar stool in her pink pajamas and black slippers. “Sounds like my kind of wild night.”

"Good," Zoe said. "I’m glad you decided to do movie night at my place. I fear what I'd do if I had to hear Gemma's nasally voice chastising you for some foolishness."

"She'd keep her mouth shut if she knew what you could do."

Zoe grinned, pride shining in her eyes. "
Exactly
. She'd never sleep peacefully again."

Willa followed Zoe to the living room. Picturing Kristoff Dargaard’s handsome face made her eyes brighten as she prayed that somehow they could be together again.

Z
OE PUT HER dark curly brown hair into a top knot as the wind picked up. “Have you heard anything from Kristoff yet?”

Willa shook her head, yet she knew Zoe was right. “Not yet. I understand that he’s busy. With the Sun Serum 99 on the market, he must be making loads of appearances to talk about it.”

“The world loves him,” Zoe said, her hazel eyes fixed on her reflection in her pocket mirror as she primped. “They couldn’t have chosen a better spokesman. Kristoff always was such a charmer. Even as a human. I remember when he used to throw the best parties.”

Willa sighed as they stood in front of the tube. “Me too.”

“And he never treated me different because of the color of my skin,” Zoe added. She put her gloves on and stuck her hands in the pockets of her black coat. “I always loved him for that. Even when all of his friends poked fun at me for being the daughter of a white man and a black slave,
he
stood up for me.”

“Kristoff was always remarkable like that.”

God. She missed him more than she let on. She almost wished Zoe hadn’t brought up those wonderful times when life was easy—when they were young and innocent. They put a sour feeling in the pit of her stomach as she thought about them.

Her first kiss had occurred at one of Kristoff’s parties. He’d led her away from the dance hall of his Cambridge estate to one of his father’s studies. The memory made her cheeks flush a bright pink. She could still smell him, feel the touch of his warm hands on her soft skin.

Before that night, Willa and Kristoff had been the best of friends. They’d grown up as neighbors, attended the same boarding school, and spent their summers fishing and riding horses. She’d never thought of him as more than a close companion, loyal, kind, intelligent, and protective.

Like a brother.

When he pulled her into the study and pressed her back against the wooden wall, it
all
changed. The kiss that followed had left her breathless and opened her mind to there being more between them. Memories of his tongue against her own, and on her neck had her closing her eyes. He’d touched her tenderly, and held onto her as if she was the most precious thing in the world to him.

Willa bit her bottom lip, tasting her pineapple chap stick. She tried to hold onto that beautiful memory. It was one of the few that conquered all of the painful ones that haunted her sleep. That memory got her through a lot of cold nights when she feared she’d never make it home to him.

If Willa hadn’t known better, she’d have thought Kristoff had put a spell on her at that party, because her infatuation with him grew with each passing day.

And then Lukas arrived and ruined it all.

Zoe kissed Willa on the cheek, embracing her. When she pulled away, her eyes turned serious. “Either way, you have me. I will protect you.”

A smile came to Willa’s lips. “I know.” She wrapped her arms around Zoe’s neck. “I love you.”

“Love you too,” Zoe said and stepped away. “Phone me later. I’ll be free if you want a pint.”

Willa nodded, smiling as Zoe started down the steps to the tube. “I will. Take care.”

Zoe winked at her. “Always.”

Glancing at the gray sky, Willa was thankful for her friend. Zoe had the ability to make Willa feel better. It was only one of her many...talents.

She wasn't sure where she wanted to go next. Her flat in Kensington wasn't exactly warm and welcoming with her roommate's boyfriend in town.