29. Novak
Chapter 29
Novak
E ven after Amy left, I had to be careful. I had to make sure she got far enough away that Baros would forget about her. Out of sight, out of mind. If he saw her, he might get curious again and see if he could use her to torment me.
She was safest far away, even though it killed me to speak to her like that. And watching her go, with the heartbreak plain on her face, killed me all over again.
Baros turned to his daughter and me at the base of the stairs, seemingly having already forgotten all about Amy.
“Now,” he made ushering motions with his hands, “get on with it, will you? You’ll probably have to fuck a few times before dawn.”
Inessa’s expression barely changed, but I saw the slight clench in her jaw. She hated being used in her father’s schemes, she had to. If only I could have a real conversation with her without Baros hovering.
She wrapped her arms around my neck, leaning in to brush her mouth against my ear. “That was your blood mate?” The question was so soft to avoid Baros’s detection, she made barely any noise besides breath.
I leaned my head back as if in pleasure. “Yes… ”
Her nose drifted along the side of my neck. “You’re no longer affected by my scent?”
Her blood that I’d tasted from her finger still sat inside my cheek. It tasted so damn foul, so much unlike Amy, that I couldn’t bring myself to swallow. My erection was gone and my head was clear. Tasting the blood of someone who was not my mate made me stone-cold sober, as I’d hoped it would.
I just hated that Amy had to see me do it.
“Yes,” I confirmed.
Inessa gave a tiny, imperceptible nod. “Fine. You owe me, Rathka’s Son.”
My hand went to her shoulder in what looked like a possessive grip, but it was truly a show of gratitude. “My word is my bond. I will help you.”
“Push me away,” she whispered against my neck. “Kick us out and make a scene.”
“Have your butler contact my maid,” I answered before shoving at her shoulder, just hard enough to make her stumble back. “Enough of this.” I glared at Baros. “You won’t seduce me into a deal I no longer want. Both of you need to leave.”
Baros looked stunned. Maybe I should have acted like I was still affected by the fertility ritual, but I was fucking sick of pretending. I needed them gone and Amy back.
“It’s too late to back out, Novak,” he warned.
“I disagree.” I bent to pick up Inessa’s cloak and shoved the bundle of fabric at her chest. “Leave now before I remove you.”
“Don’t be stupid. You’re the last of your line with no heir. Our clans are the only two worth a damn in Sanguine. You have no other options, Novak.”
“No.” I pointed an index finger at him. “ You don’t.”
“I beg your fucking pardon?” Baros blustered. He had tried to hide his desperation, but it was crystal clear to me now.
“You need me far more than I need you,” I said, crossing my arms. “And I’m not interested in what you have to offer.”
He was grinding his jaw, still trying to gain the upper hand. “Your father would be so disappointed in you.”
“Fuck him.”
Baros didn’t know how to respond to that. His mouth gaped open like a fish.
“He was disappointed in me my whole life. What do I care?” My shoulder lifted and lowered in the laziest of shrugs. “Fuck my whole damn bloodline while I’m at it. Might as well let it die with me.”
“You… you’re bluffing,” Baros spat. “You can’t possibly give up thousands of years of such a proud legacy.”
I cocked my head. “Or can I?”
He forced out a laugh. “This is out of… what, spite? Jealousy? You always were jealous of Evin, I could see it since you were a juvenile. Well this is the chance to prove yourself, son. Rathka’s Order will be glorious again because of you! No one will remember your father’s name once we get rid of Blood ‘til Dawn. The streets will hail Novak of Rathka’s Order; just imagine it! You’ll finally have the glory that was always out of your reach.”
My mouth hardened. “I’m done listening to your pathetic attempt at a power grab. Get the fuck out of my house.”
“Be reasonable, Novak?—”
A snarl erupted from my chest and I saw my hands curl around the lapels of Baros’s jacket before I’d even realized I moved toward him. The fear in his eyes was satisfying. His clan had raised him to be soft, spoiled and pampered. Rathka’s Order was a warrior clan and, despite being bookish and studious, I was confident I could tear him limb from limb.
The only thing that stopped me was a hand on my forearm. I still had Inessa’s foul-tasting blood in my mouth and her touch made me recoil.
“Put him down,” she said.
It turned out that I had lifted Baros a foot off the floor by his lapels and pressed him against a wall. I opened my hands, not caring about his abrupt drop and stumble.
“The next time I see your face,” I gritted out, “it’ll be you coming at my call. Not the other way around.”
“You’re a disgrace,” he sputtered. “You’re nothing, just like your father always said you were. Tell yourself whatever excuse you want but the truth is, you’re too fucking weak to lead a clan.”
“Best not waste your precious time in my presence, then.”
I held my arm out toward the door and after a long, lingering glare, he finally left. Inessa followed him out, and when the door closed, it felt like I could finally breathe for the first time.
I went to the kitchen and spat out Inessa’s blood, gagging when it hit my tongue. After quickly rinsing my mouth with water, I raced up the stairs to my office and grabbed my phone. My heart pounded a furious beat as I hit Amy’s number and brought the phone to my ear.
“Pick up, akra. Come on.” I paced around the office, nearly tearing my hair out as I listened to it ring. She had to be a safe distance away by now.
The call went to voicemail, so I dialed again. This time, I got her voicemail after two rings. So I called a third time, and then a fourth.
On the fifth attempt, she picked up.
“Amy.” I breathed out her name on a huge sigh of relief. “Listen, I?—”
“Stop fucking calling, asshole,” Tavia growled into the phone and hung up.
When I tried to call again, it went straight to voicemail.
I thought back to the entire exchange between me, Amy, and Baros. There was no time to come up with a plan, no way to give her a signal that she needed to get away for her own safety. I just needed her gone before Baros figured out she meant something to me.
I knew it looked bad, that my actions would hurt her, but once I got the chance to explain, she’d understand. There was just no time.
But thinking from her perspective, she saw a naked woman standing in front of me, touching me, and I had dismissed her so callously. I drank another woman’s blood, right in front of her.
I did more than just hurt her.
I confirmed her worst fears and all her deepest insecurities.
“Oh, fuck.” I brought my fists to my temples, the full weight of what I’d done hitting me like a brick building. “Oh no, no, no. Oh… fuck! What have I done?”
Dawn was approaching but this couldn’t wait. I raced back down the stairs, shoved my feet into the first pair of shoes I found and popped the door to my garage. Within another minute, I was on my motorcycle and speeding toward the Blood ‘til Dawn compound.
The building was closed up when I arrived, all doors shut and security lights on. I parked in front of their warehouse door and left my bike running as I walked up and pounded on the metal door with my fist.
“Yeah, I know you can see me,” I said, making eye contact with the camera lens fixed to the corner of the building. “Come on out.”
Nothing happened for several minutes, but I refused to be ignored. I circled the large square building, pounding on every outside door that I passed. The eastern sky was lightening and I felt the first prickle of warning instincts on my skin. Were they waiting to see if I’d stay out past dawn? I wouldn’t put it past them.
“I just want to talk to Amy,” I said to yet another camera lens. “Please.”
A side door opened after another long minute and two vampires emerged, one that could have been from my bloodline with pale blond hair, and another with the typical darker complexion of Blood ‘til Dawn. They stood in front of the door, arms crossed and looking pissed off. Not a great sign for me.
“Learn to take a hint, for Temkra’s sake,” the blond said.
“I only need a few minutes to talk to Amy, please.” Neither of their expressions changed, so I elaborated. “The brusang, Tavia’s friend.”
“We know who Amy is, Rathka’s Bastard,” spat the other one, revealing one blunt fang when he snarled. “She’s one of ours, and she doesn’t want to talk to you.”
Fuck, I’d misstepped badly and assumed Blood ‘til Dawn, like my clan and Carpe Noctem, did not see brusang as full-on clan members.
“I just want to apologize.” Desperation crept into my voice, just like the creeping heat on my skin as the sky lightened with dawn’s approach. “Please. I only wanted to protect her. I didn’t mean to hurt her.”
“Yeah, yeah, we’ve heard it all from you.” The blond stared at me coldly. “Every word from a Rathka’s Order mouth is bullshit. It’s too bad Amy had to learn the hard way.”
“I’m fucking serious!” My composure was slipping, desperation taking over in full force. “This isn’t clan shit, this is just between me and her. Please, I only need a few minutes to talk to her.”
“You’re not getting it, fancy pants.” The blunt-fanged vampire looked seconds away from swinging at me. “ She wants zero minutes with you . If she’s really that important to you, you’d respect her wishes.”
“But it wasn’t like what she saw! I didn’t mean what I said… ”
My hope dwindled. There was no chance they’d let me see her, no chance for me to explain. That was my whole justification for sending her away like I did. I’d assumed I’d be able to set things right once Baros had left. Now I was robbed of that opportunity and Amy truly believed she meant nothing to me, when it was the exact opposite.
“Go home and cry into your silk sheets about it,” the blond sneered. “You’ve done enough already.”
“Or you could stay here and wait for the sun to take you,” the other suggested. “That would do us a huge favor.”
Giving up on being with Amy was not an option. But there was nothing I could do here, so close to dawn and with these two in my way. Even if I managed to get past them, fight and claw my way into enemy territory as my instincts urged me, I’d never reach her. And if I harmed anyone from Blood ‘til Dawn, that would not bode well for my future plans.
A future that included Amy at my side, and this clan as our ally.
So I straightened, took calming breaths, and fell back on the lessons of courtesy and decorum that had been beaten into me since birth.
“I don’t take your insults personally,” I began.
The blunt-fanged vampire snorted. “Well, you should.”
I ignored him. “My clan has indeed done terrible things to yours, and I sympathize with your anger toward my bloodline. I apologize for my behavior and the disruption.”
The two vampires exchanged an eye roll and the blond stuck a darakt cigarette between his lips. “Yeah, whatever.”
“Before I go, I want to thank you for your steadfast protection of Amy.” That got a surprised look from both of them, as I’d hoped. “Especially now, while I, for the moment, cannot protect her myself. You’re good vampires and I’m sure your entire clan is proud to have your loyalty. Good day to you both.”
I turned and headed for my idling motorcycle without waiting for a reply. A muttered, “What the fuck?” was all I heard before my engine drowned out all other noise.
A huge, painful breath left my chest as I sat motionless on my bike. It killed me that I was leaving without Amy. It hurt beyond anything that she wouldn’t even hear me, but I had only myself to blame.
And only I could fix it.