2. Rings and Revelations
The others arrived and notified Tabitha, the psychic I’d started to trust, and Daphne, the nymph I’d rescued from the queen, to join us when they were able. Julian prepared food for everyone as Zoe sat huddled in a blanket with me, head on my shoulder.
I tried to ignore the sound of her blood rushing through her veins and the way the thump of her heartbeat stoked the hunger boiling below the surface. The idea of wanting to bite my sister made me ill. But I’d signed on for this, I reminded myself.
Twenty-four hours went by too fast. The same twenty-four hours I’d been given to say goodbye before starting my servitude to the queen via our bargain.
So much happened, I had stopped counting the minutes. Truthfully, I’d quit paying attention the moment I realized Julian turned me. But just like clockwork, I felt a tug somewhere in my stomach and barely had time to say, “Oh,” before I was pulled through time and space to the queen’s throne room.
I materialized kneeling before her on her quartz throne, and her tantrum started before I’d even processed what had just happened. The floors and walls of the moss-covered cavern shook with a vehemence that would have knocked me off my feet in my human state. But now I simply rose to my feet as she railed, bringing down rocks as large as small boulders around us. One came toward my head, and I knocked it away like it was a rubber ball.
Waiting for her to calm, I planted my feet and watched as she ripped off pieces of throne and sent them flying around the space. Eventually, she calmed enough to huff a few last curses, chest still heaving.
“What did you do?” she demanded.
“I am here to fulfill my side of the bargain,” I said, each word eating out my insides.
“I don’t want a vampire,” she hissed. “I want a psychic.”
I shrugged. “You didn’t specify that when we made the deal.”
“I should take back my gift. It would serve you right.” She stomped down the steps of her dais and walked up to face me toe to toe, sharp and pointy twig creature to newly turned vampire.
“But I’m here to fulfill my bargain. You can’t,” I argued. For the first time, I felt real fear for Julian’s health being revoked as a punishment for me turning into a vampire.
“No. But don’t think you can best me at my own game. Get out of my sight for now, but,” she hesitated, tapping a long twiglike finger on her lips. “I will be calling you for various tasks. You are still mine after all.”
In a blink, I found myself back on the floor of my house. But now the room was empty save for Lydia, Zoe, and Julian, who stared out from the blanket he lifted beside the window.
Lydia met my gaze, eyes lined in charcoal black. “Where did you go? You’ve been gone almost the entire day.”
I’d forgotten time passed differently in the various realms.
“I was scared she took you in spite of it all,” Zoe said, pulling me into a hug, even as I kept my eyes locked on Julian who’d turned to stare, relief all over his face.
“She did,” I said, panic rising. “Oh gods, Julian.” I threw myself into his arms, crying and clinging to his chest. “I was so scared she’d hurt you again.”
A boom sounded somewhere outside, and Zoe rushed over to peer through the window.
“That came from the direction of Julian’s house,” she reported.
“The demons,” Lydia said. “They’re trying every house you might go to. We need to get out of here.”
“Where’s safe though?” Zoe asked, rushing back over as she texted hurriedly—likely letting the others know.
“The vampire estate,” Julian said, still holding me to him. “Even the demons dare not attack an entire sect.”
“They don’t know I’m a vampire yet either,” I agreed. “Maybe we can find a way to tell them without them wanting to kill us all because of it.”
Zoe drew a circle in the air, and a glowing blue portal blazed to life. The window Zoe had looked out of just a moment ago burst inward, sending shards of glass through the room. A bright blue flame followed, licking the interior of the window, and consuming the frame in a matter of milliseconds.
“Go!” I shouted, and we all raced through the portal.
We fell on the doorstep of the gothic mansion known as the vampire estate. Horrible memories assaulted me, but I pushed them away as I clung to Julian, hiding in the shade of the overhang even as the bright pink of the sun set surrounded us, reminding me of a raw wound after a scab had been picked off. Lydia knocked. The doors opened, and we stepped over the threshold. Zoe followed close behind, looking squeamish.
A woman stood near the bottom of the grand staircase, tall and classically beautiful in a black dress that hugged her curves. Her dark hair framed her face and fell in shiny waves down her back. Even from the door, her startling violet eyes stole my attention, breathtaking against the pale brown of her skin.
“Lydia, who have you brought to visit?” She strolled toward us, a smile gracing her lips.
“Do you, uh, do you know Julian Carver?” Lydia stammered.
“Quite well. Though I haven’t seen him in near a century.” She gazed at Julian. “Have you been well?”
“Quite,” Julian said politely, clutching me to his side.
“I’m Charlotte Devaux, Julian’s mate and a new vampire,” I cut in. “We need your help. Please.”
“Why my dear, I will be happy to help, especially since Julian is an old friend. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you. I see he’s convinced you to take the leap, at last.” She glanced at Zoe. “Is this your…pledge?” she guessed.
“Zoe is my sister,” I yelled, then bit my lip.
“Ah. I see.”
“Forgive my mate—she’s newly turned. Charlotte, this is Elizabeth.”
“I go by Elsa now. I am the new vampire sect liaison, and I happily offer you asylum from whatever trouble you are in.” She clapped her hands, and two vampires appeared at her back. “Please show Zoe here to a guest room. And you, my dear Charlotte, must come with me so I can help you. It seems you may need to feed again before it’s too late.”
I’d almost forgotten the news that Elizabeth Bathory had become the new vampire liaison. She was as old as Julian and famous for bathing in the blood of her victims, though Julian had said she’d calmed over the years. I hoped that was true as I clung to Julian, and he gripped me tighter. “We shall be happy to accompany you and debrief you on the situation,” he said.
“Very well.” Elsa put an arm around me and guided me toward the stairs with Julian close at my heels. “Lydia will stay with your sister, so you have nothing to worry about, my dear.”
I nodded and let her steer us up to the Sect Liaison’s office. The memory of Silas assaulting me forced a gasp from my lips, but when we stepped inside, I found the entire room redone so that it was nearly unrecognizable. A white sectional sat in the center along with a rectangular table with a row of glass beads along the center, at the base of a line of fire that danced invitingly. The heat and roar of Silas’ enormous fireplace was missing, the thing having been walled off. And in place of his ostentatious desk, there was a minimalist table with a fluffy white chair on one side and a set of identical ones on the other.
“You need sustenance,” she declared, tilting up my chin to search my eyes.
I was hungry again, and I knew it. I hated the thought of trying to stop myself in front of her, but Julian was there, and we all knew I needed to feed. She must have seen that in my face because she said, “Do not fear. I’ve turned many vampires myself. I know how to help you through the change. Come, feed.” She lifted her wrist, tugging back the sleeve.
“You want me to feed on you?” I asked, shocked.
“It will work faster and stay longer in your system. I’m not a young vampire, though asking a woman’s age is quite rude.”
Swallowing, I looked to Julian who nodded slightly. Then, wondering exactly how old she was, I tentatively lowered my mouth to her wrist. Her citrus scent tickled my nose, and my fangs extended immediately, piercing her skin. Don’t hurt, I thought as I pulled the first taste onto my tongue. I moaned as I clutched her arm and drew on her blood. She must have recently fed because it flowed easily into my mouth. She stroked my hair as I drank, an intimate gesture that registered as uncomfortable somewhere in my gut, but the taste and fulfillment I felt consuming her blood eclipsed that.
“You feel how it warms your fingers?” she asked softly. “That’s how you know you are satiated.”
I bit down on my tongue and licked her wound before pulling away, feeling much better.
“Thank you,” I said.
“You are welcome. Now come tell me your story.” She led us to the sectional and offered us each a glass of wine as we recounted as much as we felt we should about the remaining demon board memebers and the fae. Though I carefully avoided mentioning to either her or Julian that the queen had not released me from our bargain.
“You bring danger to our doorstep,” Elsa said, swirling her wine. “Oh, don’t look concerned—I was never one to back down from a fight. And I know a bit about demons. You seem surprised, Julian.”
Julian held my hand on his thigh as he smiled smoothly. “I shouldn’t be.”
Elsa smiled back at him, and I shifted with the unwelcome feeling that they’d just shared some sort of private memory. For the first time, I wondered exactly what their past friendship entailed.
“I would love to hear more about your dealings with these demons,” Julian said, reaching for his own glass.
“I’ll be happy to share and to help devise a way to inform them of the loss of your abilities. In return—” she sipped her wine, and my stomach dropped. She wanted to bargain as well. What would she take from us?
“In return, I’d like you to continue your work in the basement laboratory, Dr. Devaux. I have a long-time interest in genetics, as it happens.”
“How did you…”
“Know your background? I do my homework when starting a new job. You may share the facilities with the current doctor. I assume you are related.”
My shoulders slumped. “My father.”
“Whatever the state of your relationship, over the years I’ve found he is an excellent scientist, and the two of you together may prove beyond compare. While I sympathize with having to deal with someone as…zealous for a parent, I believe you’d agree that working for the greater good is of the utmost importance here.”
“Yes,” I conceded, clenching my fists. It wasn’t the worst possible thing she could ask for. I would like to continue working as a scientist in any case. But it hadn’t escaped my notice that she seemed to have known my father for some time. Exactly how involved in vampire society had he been before being turned?
“Now, I am sure you are exhausted. Why don’t you take Charlotte to your rooms to relax, Julian?”
“Rooms?” I asked, looking to him.
“I have rooms here at the estate since I’m a resident of the island and a vampire. You will share them with me, of course. As long as we are here.” Julian stood and tugged me up beside him.
A knock sounded at the door, and it swung open to reveal Lydia. “Zoe’s decided to join Hazel and the others at the Witch’s coven. She wanted me to let you know.”
That made sense. She was a witch. I was a vampire. The reality that I’d distanced myself even more from my only remaining family had yet to sink all the way in.
I nodded then followed Julian down the hall to a set of doors that opened onto a sprawling suite with a king-sized bed and balcony overlooking the ocean. He pulled me into his arms and kissed me—the long and lingering kind that stole my breath and my worries no matter how plentiful. Then he pulled back and searched my face, a smile lighting his.
“There’s something I’d like to give you, though I know the timing is awful,” he said.
“When isn’t it?” I joked as he crossed the room to a small rolltop desk and tugged open a drawer, his back to me.
I waited patiently until he turned and strode back over to me only to kneel and take my hand in his.
“I’ve given you what you asked of me. Now, Charlotte, will you do me the honor of making my dreams come true? Will you marry me?” He slipped a ring on my finger, and I raised it to the light. An enormous princess cut diamond rose above a ring of tiny emerald and ruby baguettes. It was breathtaking.
“Where did you get this?” I asked.
“I bought it about a hundred years ago, shortly after I realized you’d been incarnated again, but I never had the opportunity to use it.” He remained on his knee, patiently awaiting my reaction.
I dropped down to face him and cupped his beautiful face.
“Yes,” I said, peppering him with kisses. “Yes, I will marry you, Julian Carver. Now take off your clothes so I can show you how much I love you.”
Laughing, he rose and scooped me into his arms then tossed me on the navy duvet. He began undoing his sleeve cuffs in an excruciatingly slow dance that I had no patience for. Without a thought, I swiped a hand through the air, and his shirt ripped open, revealing the chiseled abs of his stomach and chest.
We both stopped, smiles falling from our faces as the reality of what I’d just done dawned. I stared at my hands in disbelief. I’d used my telekinesis as easily as a human could breathe.
Julian turned me into a vampire to eliminate my psychic abilities and save me.
Vampires weren’t supposed to retain such powers. My mindbending and TK should have been eliminated with my rebirth.
The evidence was undeniable. Somehow, these capabilities were still active. And that meant both the queen and the demons could still use me to their own ends.
I wasn’t safe after all.