Twisted (13 page)

The man in front tilted his head to the side. There was no deference to the action, of course, just an I-am-the-scientist-and-you-are-the-lab-rat surety. “At last.
You arrive.” He didn't sneer, but the insult was there, an implication that Aden was a coward for having made him wait.

The old Aden might have ignored the implication. The new Aden raised his chin and said, “At last, I honor you with my presence.”

A fierce scowl. “We are not your subjects, and we are not honored by you.”

“Of course you are.”

“No.”

“Yes.”

“Why, you little—”

The warrior to the speaker's right placed a firm hand on his shoulder, and he pressed his lips together in an obvious bid for calm. The second man said, “We are not the ones who wish to speak with you, Aden the Beast Tamer.”

At least they acknowledged his power. Names were important to her kind, identifiers of personality, skill and conquest. Vlad the Impaler. Lauren the Bloodthirsty—which was saying something among a horde of vampires. Stephanie the Exuberant. Victoria the Mediator.

“Who, then?” Aden demanded.

A pause, the eye of the storm, before another male teleported to the head of the V, and every person in
the room, save for the newcomers and Aden, gasped in astonishment.

“Me.”

“Sorin,” she breathed. She'd known he would come, yet seeing him live and in person still managed to astonish and amaze her. Her brother was here.
Her brother was actually here!

The little girl she used to be wanted to run to him, to throw herself in his arms. They'd never before touched, never spoken, and they'd only met gazes a total of six times. Yet still, the forgotten part of her wanted to do those things and more.

“You know him?” Aden asked her, but didn't wait for her answer. “I think I know him, too.” His eyes darkened, then lit back up, going from violet to black, black to violet, as he looked through her. “Is there a way to stop him?”

“Stop…Sorin?”

He frowned, shook his head. “I don't believe you, Elijah.”

Of course. The souls were bothering him, but sadly, they were not helping him.

Victoria reached out and twined their fingers, offering what comfort she could while trying to bring him back to the here and now. He blinked, the black gobbling
up his eyes and remaining. He gave her a reassuring squeeze, comforting
her
.

Sorin snorted. “I heard you were insane, human. I am glad to see the gossips can get things right every now and then.”

Aden's grip tightened, but he did not reply.

“Has Elijah…has he predicted something terrible?” she whispered.

A muscle ticked under his eye. Again he remained silent.

Was he lost to a prediction even now? Trembling, she returned her attention to her brother. “He is not insane,” she said. Maybe she could convince these boys to get along. “Underestimating him will get you killed.”

Sorin met her gaze. Seven, she thought, keeping score in her head, just as before. His hard expression did not change or soften. Did he even remember her? He'd been gone so very long.

Vampires aged much more slowly than humans. While Victoria was eighty-one years old, she was the equivalent of an eighteen-year-old human. Sorin was just over four hundred years old, yet he looked to be in his mid-twenties, with pale hair and eyes as blue as hers. He was taller than Aden by almost a foot and packed with more muscle than any football star.

“Sister,” he said, bowing his head in tribute. “I also heard you were dating the insane human king, but I did not believe it until this moment. And do you really think he could harm me?”

Her first thought:
He remembers.
Her second:
Have I ever been so happy?
Her third:
There is going to be trouble.
Her last:
He remembers!

“Do not anger him,” she said, pleased by the evenness of her voice. No matter what happened, no matter what was said, she had to remain emotionally distanced. If there was one thing Riley had taught her during their many self-defense training sessions, it was that emotions ruined perspective and rationality. “Your beast will not like it and will punish you for it.”

A muscle began to tick under
Sorin's
eye. Interesting. He must have experienced his beast's displeasure already.

Sorin's gaze left her to rake Aden up and down. “You do not look like a vampire king.”

“Thank you,” Aden replied with a nod of his head. Good. He was back in the throne room and out of his head.

“That wasn't a compliment.”

A pause. A sigh from Aden. “I'm to tell you that what you're planning will not end well.”

Victoria's stomach rolled.

“And exactly what am I planning?” Sorin asked, unconcerned.

“Why spoil the surprise for everyone?”

“Very well. Let's not. Let's just get started.” With that, Sorin advanced, reaching up and clutching the hilts of the blades peeking above his shoulders. Metal whistled against leather, then the silver tips were gleaming in the light of the chandelier.

Aden stood as still as a statue until the wolves erupted in a chorus of growls and snarls. He held up his hand for silence. They obeyed, but their bodies remained taut, the hair on their backs standing on end. And though he didn't order any of the vampires to fight, though he shouted for them to return to their formation, several of them rushed forward, closing in on her brother.

She knew why they did so. Their beasts. Chompers was going crazy inside her head, banging against her temples with enough force to hurt, wanting out, wanting to stand guard over Aden. Every bit of her strength was required to keep him inside, to keep her own feet in place as his failure to escape drove him to try and control her body.

She watched, shaking, as Sorin spun—and there went someone's internal organs. He spun again—and there
went a head. He went low, and a leg separated at the knee, each piece falling in a different direction. Gruesome, but all Victoria could think was how good the spurting blood looked. Not just to Chompers, who finally stopped fighting her as he focused on the substance he so craved, but to her. And if it looked good to her…

She glanced over at Aden. He was licking his lips, and his eyes were electric, crackling with lightning. Was he entranced? If so, there would be no saving him.

Sorin stopped just in front of Aden, who continued to watch the blood. He was. He was entranced.

I should have forced him to eat before coming here.
Now he might dive for one of those puddles. Might lie there and lap up every drop, leaving his body vulnerable to attack.

“Get the bodies out of here,” she shouted, fearing Aden's ability to raise the dead would kick in, and the walking corpses would attack.

Vampire soldiers rushed to obey her.

“Aren't you frightened?” her brother demanded. The tips of his swords were pointed toward the floor, blood dripping down, down, down, sliding so perfectly. She had only to crouch and stick out her tongue, and the flavor would explode through her mouth.

What are you doing?
Trembling, she directed her
attention to the boys. They were still nose to nose. She must have squeezed Aden's hand with every bit of her strength because she'd cut off circulation in her own fingers. They were tingling.
Relax, just relax.

Aden cleared his throat, somehow pulled himself out of the entrancement as only an older, practiced vampire could, and straightened. “Frightened? Of you?”

Sorin grinned slowly. “Of death.”

“Why would I be? I'm already dead.”

That gave her brother pause, wiping away his amusement. “You were told wrong, were you not? So far, this has been very good for me.”

“I never said this wouldn't end well
for you.
”

A confused shake of that pale head. “You, then?”

“No.”

“Then why—never mind.” Sorin met Victoria's gaze. Eight. “Is he always this cryptic?”

The fact that her brother was speaking directly to her again thrilled her, and she couldn't deny it. In fact, she was so thrilled she couldn't think up an intelligent reply. She could only stand there, staring at him, open-mouthed and sputtering like a fool.

“Just say what you have to say,” Aden commanded, “so that we can get started.”

Get started? With what? Fear replaced her pleasure.

Sorin sucked in a breath. “Very well, then. I came to tell you that your allies are dead. I killed them.”

“Killed them? When Aden only just took the throne?” she gasped out. Finally. Words.

An impish shrug. “I've been knocking them off for the past decade, striking at Vlad every chance I could.”

Father had never told her Sorin had turned on their clan.
You're shocked by that?
He'd never told her anything. “I don't understand,” Victoria said. “Why would you do such a thing?”

She was ignored.

“I know your secret,” her brother said to Aden.

“I know you do,” he replied evenly.

So frustrating. What secret?

“His strength grows daily, you know. He will return one day soon. He will attack.”

His.
Sorin knew Vlad still lived. No one else knew, but if they found out… They won't connect the dots, she assured herself before she could work up a good panic. For all they knew, Aden and Sorin were discussing Dmitri. Or someone else, someone they didn't know. Yes, that worked.
Please, yes.

“I know that, too,” Aden said. “I also know you want to be king. You want to be the one to destroy him when
he reappears. You're willing to challenge me to get what you want. Even to the detriment of the clan.”

“Insane yet clever. You are correct, Aden the Beast Tamer.”

“No.” Victoria shook her head violently. “Maybe we can talk this out. Maybe we can compromise.” Vampire battles of this magnitude were bloody and sadistic, and she couldn't bear the thought of either of them hurt…or worse. And after witnessing Sorin's skill, she wasn't sure even Aden's ability could save him.

Aden knew it, too. Hadn't he predicted this wouldn't end well? And yet still he said, “I accept your challenge, Sorin the Vicious. We fight for the crown at sunset tomorrow.”

“W
HY DID YOU GIVE HIM
so long to prepare?”

Aden sat on the lid of the toilet in Victoria's private bathroom, hungry,
so
hungry, tired and unsure. Had he done the right thing?

He'd soon find out.

He held clippers in one hand and a small trash bin in the other. He passed the first to Victoria and set the second on the floor between his feet before he replied. “I gave
myself
so long to prepare.”

“Oh.”

She was paler than usual and shaky rather than sturdy. Agitated, even. He understood. He did. Aden had threatened her brother. Was going to
fight
her brother. She was probably confused, upset and unsure.

An hour ago, that might not have bothered him. But as they'd stood in the throne room, danger torpedoing
toward him, she'd taken his hand and offered comfort. Somehow, some way, that contact had tugged him out of the cold, emotionless wasteland he'd been living in. He was feeling. Hope, admiration, affection, each like the warm rays from the sun.

Now he rested his elbows on his knees. “I'm going to ask you a question, Victoria, and I don't mean anything by it, okay? So don't get the wrong idea. I'm just curious.”

She stiffened, and he could feel the worry pouring off her already. “All right.”

“You're helping me, but you obviously love your brother.” He'd felt her desire to run to the homicidal maniac. Only, instead of attacking him, she would have hugged him. Would Sorin have murdered her, too? “So,
why
are you here, helping me?”

Some of the worry faded. “Fishing for compliments? Or an
I love you
confession?” Before he could respond, not that he knew what to say, she added, “I don't want the two of you to fight, that's all.”

Did she expect him to walk away from this? “We will fight. That, I can promise you.” Blunt of him, perhaps, but he didn't want any misunderstandings.

Her shoulders slumped a little. “I know you will.
Believe me, if I thought I could talk sense into either one of you…”

He watched her, trying to gauge her reaction to his next words without looking like he was trying to gauge her reaction. “Do you
want
me to walk away?”

A moment passed. She sighed. “No. You can't. He would come after you. Others would come after you. The challenge has been issued and accepted, and if it's not followed through, everyone will think you are weak, that they can have what's yours. You'll never have peace. I just…”

Wanted them both to be okay. Understandable.

“And before you ask, I want you to win.”

That,
he hadn't anticipated. “Why?”

“Because there's a possibility you will spare him. He will not extend you the same courtesy. Do—do you know what's going to happen?”

“I don't know about the outcome of the fight, no.” Truth. Through Elijah, he'd seen it, but he'd seen several different versions of it. “I do know your brother won't cause any trouble while he waits for the challenge. Meaning, no one else will try and attack him. Or me. If that helps. Elijah told me.”

She shuddered. “It doesn't help. And I…I don't think we should talk about this anymore. My body is reacting
negatively to your every word. Any more, and I might throw up on your feet.”

Great. He'd meant to reassure her, not sicken her. “Is an upset stomach your only symptom?”

“My blood is chilled and thick, and my heart is drumming too forcefully against my ribs.”

Not as terrible as he'd feared. She'd just described a mild panic attack. “And you've never experienced this type of reaction before?”

“Not to this degree.” She frowned down at the clippers. “So what do you want me to do with these?”

If she wanted to topic switch, they'd topic switch. He wasn't sure how else to calm her. “I'd like you to shave my head.”

“Shave your—
what?
”

“Shave my head.”

Horror blanketed her beautiful face. “But you'll be bald.”

He felt a small wave of amusement rush through him. “There are worse things.”

No, there are not! That will seriously affect our lady action,
Caleb said. He'd been fuming since Aden had made the decision to say goodbye to his dye job.

“Anyway, I won't be bald. I'll be blond. There's a
guard on the clippers that'll leave a couple inches of hair.”

“Oh,” she repeated, then fumbled around for a moment as she tried to turn them on. Finally the little motor revved to life. “And you're sure about this? There's no going back if you don't like the results.”

“I'm sure.”

“Then tell me why you want a cut.”

Yeah,
Julian said.
This is dumb. We'll look like an idiot.

Elijah had no comment.

After everything that had happened, Aden felt like a new person. He
was
a new person. Yet every time he passed a mirror—and as a lot of the walls here were, in fact, mirrors, he saw more of himself than he wanted—he looked the same. That had to change, too.

“I just do,” was all he said.

“Very well, then.” Resigned, tentative, Victoria got to work, and he watched black lock after black lock fall to the floor.

Stop her,
Caleb practically cried.
Grab her hand and stop her.

For a moment, Aden felt something—a rope, maybe—pulling at his arm, lifting it, his fingers twitching, ready to close around Victoria's wrist, and he frowned. A conscious effort was required to keep his arm at his side.

What the hell?

Come on, man,
Caleb continued.
All you have to do is lift your arm and grab her wrist.

Lift his arm. Grab her wrist. The answer popped into place. “You trying to take over the body, Caleb?”

Maybe,
was the grumbled reply.

None of the souls had tried anything like that in years. Probably because they couldn't take over without his permission. Or hadn't been able to. But that tug…it was stronger than anything they'd done before. He wasn't exactly sure what that meant.

“Don't do that again,” he snapped.

Fine!

Victoria had moved between his spread knees, and at his words, she stiffened. “I didn't…I'm just…you told me to do this!”

Immediately repentant, he said, “Sorry. I wasn't talking to you.”

“Oh. Good. You had me worried.” She returned her attention to the trim job.

Her scent hit him with the force of a swinging baseball bat. Aden forgot the souls as his mouth watered, and his stomach curled into itself. He'd been on the verge of starvation ever since her brother had maimed and killed those vampires, and he'd barely made it out of the throne
room without falling to his face and licking the oh, so delicious-looking blood off the floor.

Only two things had stopped him. The desire for Victoria's blood, and only Victoria's blood, which fortified itself by the minute, and the knowledge that showing weakness of any kind would be used against him during the big battle. And the battle
would
happen, just as he'd promised Victoria.

Elijah might have seen several different outcomes, but circumventing the battle altogether hadn't been one of them.

A few times, Aden had seen himself die, his head removed by a sword covered in
je la nune.
Victoria wouldn't be able to save him from that. But then he'd thought,
I won't go low, I'll dart to the side.
And the visions had instantly changed. So, when the new outcome played through his mind, he'd seen Sorin swing, encountering air as Aden ducked and went in for his own attack.

He'd realized then that his future was uncertain. Completely changeable. And he could win—maybe—but at a price. His victory would mark the beginning of a downward spiral for Victoria. Maybe because she would see him standing over her brother's body, vampires cheering his success while she cried.

He didn't want that for her. Didn't want her depressed
or angry, or worse, hating him with every fiber of her being. Therefore, he had to figure out a solution.

“Did you know you have small black dots on your scalp?” she asked. “Freckles?”

“Most likely. They're cute.”

Cute
kicked the butt of
hideous,
but just barely. “Thanks.”

“Welcome.” A soft hum drifted from her as she finished up. “There,” she finally announced. “Done.” She cupped his cheeks in her less than warm hands and looked him over. “You are—” She gasped.

“What?” Was it
that
bad?

I don't like to say I told you so,
Caleb announced.
But I freaking TOLD YOU SO.

While Victoria's mouth opened and closed, Aden unfolded to a stand. His reflection in the mirror above the sink slowly came into view. He'd expected a real ugh-o to stare back at him, but that wasn't the case. He had two inches of hair left, the strands spiked. They were a dirty blond, his natural color, and they made his skin appear a deeper bronze. And his eyes, which had once been black and had recently converted to violet, were now a golden brown.

Oh,
Caleb breathed.
Well, okay then. Will wonders never cease?

“You don't like it?” he asked Victoria.

“Like it?” With a trembling hand, she reached up to run her fingers along his newly shorn scalp. “I love it. And I finally see the appeal of the bad boy.”

He looked like a bad boy, he wondered, leaning into her touch, hoping it would deepen.

Kiss her,
Caleb prompted.
Now, now, now! Before the mood is tainted.

For once, I gotta agree with the pervert,
Julian said.
French that girl within an inch of her life.

Yes.

Before Aden realized he'd moved, his hands were on her waist, drawing her closer to him. Automatically his gaze dropped to her neck, to her hammering pulse. A high-pitched roar, similar to what he'd heard outside, only a bit louder now, suddenly echoed inside his head.

Victoria noticed the direction of his gaze. “You need to feed or you'll be too weak to survive tomorrow.”

I'll do more than survive.
He hoped. “You offering?”

“N-no.” She gulped, sending a shiver down the rest of her body. “Aden, you have to stop this.”

“Stop what? Holding you?”

Nooo!
Caleb cried, and Aden's fingers clenched on Victoria, making her wince.
I've missed her.

“That's enough,” Aden snapped at him. “Loosen your hold, and give me a minute.”

“The souls?” she asked sympathetically.

His nod was clipped, scattering Caleb's mutterings. Then the pressure eased and Aden was able to gentle his grip on his own. Caleb kept that up, and something would have to be done. What, though, Aden didn't know. Other than finding the soul's way out.

“And no,” Victoria said, picking their conversation up where it had ended, “I didn't mean I wanted you to stop holding me. Or maybe I did. You want me one minute, you don't the next, then you want me again, like now, and I can't keep up. I just—
sweet heavens above!
”

The innocent curse didn't surprise him, but the panicked shock bubbling from it did. “What's wrong?” No one had stepped into the bathroom. No threat had jumped out at them.

She pulled from his hold and withdrew her phone, her hand trembling, her breathing ragged. “Riley just texted, and the vibration freaks me out every time.”

He wanted her back in his arms. “Easy fix. Turn it off vibrate.”

“Sure thing. As soon as I figure out how to do that.”
She read the screen, her pale skin tinting with gray. “Will you, uh, excuse me?” She didn't wait for his reply but raced from the bathroom, throwing over her shoulder, “I'll send a blood-slave to see to your hunger, maybe the same one from before,” before slamming the door shut behind her.

“Don't do that,” he called. If she heard him, he didn't know. Even then, he wanted only Victoria. He strode into the bedroom, but she was already gone.

I can't believe you let her get away without a goodbye kiss,
Caleb whined.

Elijah made a noise that sounded like a cross between a wheeze and a cough.
First the hair, and now the kiss. Will you stop already? You're driving
me
crazy.

No! This is
important.

I shut you down once, Caleb. Don't make me do it again.

Shut me down? What do you mean? How and when did this alleged shutdown happen? Because Aden can tell you that, of the three of us, I'm the most powerful, and if any shutting down needs to occur, I'll be the one doing it.

Elijah's annoyance bled into unease.
Never mind. Just—

Wait! Hold on a sec. I'm not gonna let this drop. You're talking about the cave, right? Because the end of our stay is
like the same black hole Mary Ann sends us to whenever Aden nears her. Did you do that to us, E? Huh, huh, did you?

A, uh, black hole, you say?

What did you do, E?
Julian demanded.

For the love of God! “I need Elijah to help me during the battle with Sorin, but if you guys don't shut up, I'll find the meds Victoria gave us and send you to a black hole right here and now.”

Sorry, Ad,
Julian said.

Fine, be that way,
Caleb said.

Thank you,
Elijah said.

“Good.” They understood each other.

From the corner of his eye, Aden spotted the dancing woman from this morning gliding toward Victoria's bed, leaning over. A little girl with long black hair lay there, sleeping. He frowned in confusion. Neither female had been there a moment ago.