14. Aftermath
Iwaved away Julian and Lydia’s restraints while still on the ground. Though my entire body buzzed with power, multiple colors swirling over, through, and around me and the room, I couldn’t find the emotional strength to rise yet.
Julian knelt beside me, tucking me under his arm, and I laid my head against his chest as Lydia kicked Merlin’s body out of the way and sat down across from me.
“What time is it?” I asked after a while.
“I’m not certain,” Julian said, pressing a kiss to the top of my head. “But I came searching for you around three in the morning, so it must be at least six. Next time, we babysit together.”
I could feel his smile form against my scalp, and I wrapped my arms around his middle.
“All I know is, I saw a scrap of paper on the floor out in front of the lab, and then I woke up here in chains with you all.” Lydia shook her head.
Scanning the room for the tiny piece of paper, I located it on the floor beside Bres’ body. All I had to do was direct the thought, and it went up in a flash of blue flame.
“That won’t be working on anyone else,” I reported. With a sigh, I stood, Julian helping me unnecessarily to my feet where I felt like I could almost float right up to the ceiling with no effort at all. In fact, it took more effort to keep my feet planted on the ground.
“We should get you cleaned up,” Julian said, taking my hand to slip my stolen ring back on my finger where it belonged.
“I’m starting to get used to looking like a monster.” I glanced down at the mess I seemed to be more often than not lately. My dress was torn down the front, revealing my bra that barely covered what it was meant to. And a collection of multiple types of sticky blood, including my own, was drying against my skin.
The side of Lydia’s mouth curled. “I think you look like a badass, doc.”
“Thanks,” I said, injecting as much sarcasm as I could into the word. “You should go get some rest. Julian and I have to talk.”
Lydia nodded, a little too much understanding in her expression, and headed for the door.
“We can’t stay here to clean up, Julian. We have to leave before Elsa sees us.” I proceeded to explain her ultimatum.
“We should leave through the window,” Julian answered, looking around to find none. “There may be one in the bedroom.”
“Stop!” I yelled, and for a moment I was afraid I’d frozen him in place. But he slowly turned to face me, one eyebrow quirked in question. “Sorry. I…I’m not ready to go in there yet.”
The only indication of Julian’s instant rage was the scarlet that bled into his irises. But I could feel his wrath as he spit out clipped words. “What did he do to you?”
“No. It wasn’t that.” I drew a deep breath, finding breathing suddenly easier somehow. “He practiced necromancy. There are some horrible…” Tears clouded my eyes as I stopped before I could find the right word. They weren’t people. Not anymore.
Julian’s lips drew into a fine line as he spun toward the bedroom door.
“No,” I reached out, trying again, but not fast enough because he had the door thrown open by the time I’d finished uttering the word.
My heart clenched as he stormed inside. Moments later, Julian dragged something out with him. But I wouldn’t look—I couldn’t. Not that the memory of my mother’s blank expression wouldn’t be ingrained in my dreams for the rest of my life.
Silas and Carmichael’s horrid faces were already regularly featured there, though now there’d be more fodder for them as well.
I felt Julian kneel beside me, but I squeezed my eyes closed harder. His fingertips gently reached beneath my chin and tilted it back toward him.
“It’s alright, Charlotte,” he said softly. “They weren’t really what you thought. I don’t know what he showed you, but that was illusion magic. Necromancy hasn’t been successfully mastered to that extent since long before either Merlin or I were born. A natural necromancer can animate a single fresh body for a short amount of time, but that is all.”
Slowly, I relaxed the muscles on my face and blinked my eyelids open to find Julian’s breathtaking indigo gaze waiting patiently for me. He smiled just as slowly and then tipped his head to the side, telling me to look.
Biting my cheek, I followed his line of sight to the corner of the room where what looked like a six-foot-tall doll made of burlap stood. No face, no features, no definition to the musculature or indication of any gender. I squinted, and there was no aura, either.
“It’s what we call a boady,” Julian explained. “There are two more in there. They aren’t alive, just a…canvas for illusion art. A cheat if you will, so he doesn’t have to build from scratch and use as much energy.”
I swallowed, stepping past Julian and over to the boady to touch it. Nothing happened.
“What did he show you?” Julian asked carefully, but his voice still shook with barely hidden rage.
Lowering my head, I waved a hand pulling up another pink screen in the center of the room. I didn’t need to experience it again, but Julian would know exactly who and what I’d seen.
A horrible squelching sound had me whipping around and waving the picture out of existence. Julian was standing over Merl’s body, which he’d just ripped in half. He dropped his hold on both pieces and stepped over him to pull me into another hug.
“I’m so sorry I wasn’t here,” he whispered.
“What did you pay him with in the past?” I asked, afraid to look up at his face. I wanted to know what he’d done to Julian. And I didn’t want to think too hard about the present.
He tensed. “Blood and venom. He used it for healing potions, and I don’t know what else.”
“He wanted vampire blood?” I repeated. “How much?”
Julian sighed as though resigning himself to answer truthfully. “It depended on what I asked for. The car cost an entire draining of my body.”
“Julian!” I smacked his chest with both palms. “Why would you pay that for a stupid car?”
“The truth is, I was trying to impress you. Or another version of you. The appearance of the car changes with the technology of the times.”
“Well, I doubt it worked,” I huffed. “Such a pompous male move.”
“You were quite fond of machinery in that life. Perhaps an early version of your scientific mind. But alas, the car—at the time, pocket watch—did not aid in my courting as I’d hoped.”
“Silly vampire,” I teased, picturing Julian giving up his blood for a pocket watch. “Come on. I don’t want to be here another second. Where to?”
“My place. We can work on some more demolition if you like.” Julian pulled me in by the waist and waggled his eyebrows.
Gods, I loved this man. He knew exactly what to say to bring back my smile. I pointed beside us, and a pink and gold portal opened right into his bedroom. With only a momentary display of surprise, Julian took my hand to lead me through, and I closed the portal behind us.
“Zoe’s going to be jealous,” he said, pulling me against him again.
“I’m destroying your suit,” I answered, not minding the feel of his hard body against mine in the least.
“You are a dirty little vampire aren’t you?” he asked with a wicked grin.
“I can’t decide if that’s a compliment or reality check.”
Julian’s rare laugh made an appearance, and he led me to the bathroom where he started the shower.
“We need more space,” I declared and willed the tub into a massive walk-in shower with tiled walls and several showerheads spraying steaming water like a world class spa. “Better.”
“I wonder how long these gifts will last,” Julian said as he dropped his jacket to the floor in a heap and started unbuttoning his shirt.
“If Elsa and my father are right, they may be permanent.” The realization hit me as I glanced around at the shooting swirls of color and energy everywhere. I finished removing the last of my clothing, and Julian and I stepped into my new luxury space.
The moment the water pelted my chest and back, I moaned with the pleasure of it. Julian was instantly gathering me against him, and I leaned back against his chest as he cradled me.
“Make more of those sounds, and this may be a long shower,” Julian purred. The part of him that pressed against my back reinforced his meaning.
“Clean first,” I mumbled, rocking with him back and forth under the heavenly waterfall.
Julian grabbed some soap and turned me so he could kneel before me. And he began massaging the slippery stuff into every crevice of my body.
“Hold still,” he said, as I squirmed when he reached my most sensitive parts, and I tried my best. But when his finger found its way inside of me to “make sure he got everything,” I gave my weight to the wall behind me.
Ignoring my protesting whimpers, Julian finished his job, even taking care of my hair. His long fingers rubbed slow circles into my scalp as he worked in the conditioner, staring down at me with such intensity it stole my breath.
“You’re clean,” he reported.
“Your turn,” I insisted, calling the soap into my outstretched hand so I didn’t have to look away for a second. He smiled as I worked my hands over his broad shoulders and down over his pecs, tracing the ridges of his abdominals and the narrow V that led downward. All the while, he stared at me, arm braced against the wall behind me, searching my eyes.
A guttural sound escaped his throat when I passed his hips and teased his length. I sucked in my bottom lip while I lathered his shaft and all around. His eyes pressed shut as a vision of ecstasy claimed his normally schooled features. And the knowledge that I did that to him had me literally float off the floor.
Julian’s eyes snapped open as he watched me rise to his height. He reached around me and turned off the water.
“Charlotte?” he asked, half-worriedly, half in awe.
“Sorry,” I said and willed myself back to the ground. “Still getting used to this. Between Bres and Merl’s blood, I don’t know what to expect.” I hoped ingesting both so close together hadn’t been a mistake.
“Whatever happens, I’m here, love.” Julian held out a towel for me then watched me carefully as we dried off. “I suppose it would be foolish to ask what’s troubling you since there are a thousand valid answers to choose from.”
He trailed after me into the bedroom and onto the collapsed bed, where I climbed in and pulled a blanket over me, back against the hole in the wall I’d created the night I’d turned. Silently, he crawled in beside me, lifting the blanket long enough to slip beneath and pull me against him.
“The mattress is still comfy. It’s just lower to the floor,” I said as he rubbed his hand over my arm.
“I don’t mind buying new furniture every day if necessary. We just haven’t been back for a while. I fear the entire front of the house is rubble from the demon attack. But anything is fixable so long as you are safe.”
Tilting my head to gaze up at him, I smiled. “It feels strange.”
“What part?”
“Like it should all be over now, but instead, it’s like I’m suspended in this weird space where I’m waiting for something. Something I’m expecting, and yet have no idea what it is. But the demons are gone. The fae queen and king are gone too. We should be able to live our lives now, and yet?—”
“Things are different after you go through so much trauma, I’m afraid. It’s natural to fear the next terrible thing.” Julian cradled me tighter, and I knew he spoke from experience. “But you’re right. Our worst enemies have been vanquished, and it is finally time for us to be free without having to look over our shoulders.”
“Vanquished enemies, huh?” I giggled like a crazy person. “You are my knight in shining armor. Or shiny suit I suppose.”
“I was never a knight, only a peasant with dreams of courting a beautiful lady.”
“Silas is dead.” Looking deep into Julian’s eyes, I reminded him of the truth I knew was on his mind. How I knew, I wasn’t sure, maybe because I’d shown him the replay of the zombie attack.
“So are Grival, Merlin, and the queen, thanks to you,” he answered.
“It’s hard to process everything that’s happened,” I admitted, twisting the edge of the blanket in my fingers. “But all I keep thinking is how every one of these horrible people did what they did because they were so hungry to be the most powerful.”
Gently stroking a tear from my cheek, Julian leaned in close. “Vampire, fairy, or human, things have not changed much over the years. Those who don’t crave power don’t see the point in fighting for it, so it leaves those that do to manipulate, lie, steal, and kill in order to climb toward the top. I wish I could change the world for you, mon couer.”
The tears flowed freely now over his hands, but he did not relinquish my face as I smiled through them. “I’ve become what I never thought I could. I am not the innocent woman you first fell in love with. My hands are tainted with blood.”
“As are mine,” Julian answered quickly. “Charlotte, I love you no matter what you do. I will continue to fight for you—for us—and will not regret it. It hurts when you look at me as a monster for taking life because I know I am, and yet, nothing will stop me from doing what I must every time if it means being free to be with you.”
I grasped his arms. “I understand now. It’s because of you and our love that I won’t give up. You are what makes it possible to keep trying, Julian.”
I drew another deep breath then reached up to meet his mouth. Every swipe of his tongue, nip of his teeth, and press of his lips was executed in the expert way of a man with too much experience. Tracing the map of his body, this time dry, smooth, and cool, I wound my way slowly to his thigh.
Climbing over me, Julian guided me to my back on the bed and tugged the blanket over our heads, never releasing my kiss.
We made love slowly, softly this time, the passion slowly building into a pressure bomb as we tasted and touched every part of each other. And when he entered me, he did so with controlled and steady motions, filling me so completely, I felt whole for the first time in so long. I held his face between my hands, and we stared into each other’s eyes as he moved inside of me.
This was the gentleness of the man inside, not the drive of the controlling vampire. Julian was still Julian, and I knew he was still in control.
“I love you,” I breathed, as he drove me mad with the feel of him, too slow to release the pressure, but enough to bring me to the precipice.
“J’taime, mon coeur,” he whispered back. Then reached between us to circle the bundle of nerves at the apex of my thighs.
My head rolled back as Julian’s thrusts went deeper, harder, and more fervent until we both lost control. He collapsed beside me and cupped my cheek as I rolled to face him in the soft, damp grass of the forest.
We both sat up straight, staring around at the place that definitely wasn’t his room. I must’ve transported us when I…
“It’s lovely,” Julian said, standing and holding out the blanket for me so I could wrap it over my naked body.
“This isn’t funny,” I squeaked at his amused face.
“Well, it sort of is,” he said with a shrug then set his hands on his hips, which made me take a second to appreciate the vision of Julian in the nude. “At the very least, it’s quite a compliment if making love to you causes this kind of loss of control.”
I smacked his arm but not hard as I spun to try and figure out where the hell we were. We’d been intimate here before, I realized. Surrounded by birch trees with a large boulder in the center, the clearing was where we’d plotted to surprise the general what felt like a million years ago.
“Thank you,” Julian said, pulling me against him. “For loving me in spite of what I am and what I’ve forced you to be.”
“Thank you for loving me back in spite of whatever the hell I’m becoming, which is most assuredly not your fault,” I answered, then I opened a portal back to his place and tugged him through after me. But the moment I closed it again, a deep exhaustion fell over me, weighing me down like an anchor.
Supressing a yawn, my eyelids fluttered.
“Sleep, love. You’ve expended a lot of energy, and even vampires need rest on occasion.” Julian swept me up into his arms and lay me on the bed, tucking the blanket back over me properly.
There was so much to talk about still, but I was ridiculously tired. And as Julian pressed his lips to my forehead, I gave in to the losing battle and let sleep pull me under.
It felt like seconds later that I sprung up in bed with a gasp. Julian was by my side in an instant, face pale with concern despite the flush of fresh blood that colored his neck. He’d fed while I slept.
“Thank gods you’re awake.” Julian’s grip felt suffocating.
“Why? What happened?” My pulse quickened at his behavior.
Then I realized. I had a pulse. And…and I’d been breathing for a while now as though it were a normal thing. I stared at Julian’s concerned face.
“You used the cure on me?” I accused, tears forming in my eyes, yet no sign of red came away with my hand, and I realized with confusion that it hadn’t when I’d cried earlier, either.
“No. No, Charlotte I have no cure. When I returned just now from feeding, I found you sleeping like this.”
The world spun as I tried to rise from the bed, and I ended up holding on to the broken headboard for support. Now that it was back, my heart pounded with a vengeance.
“What’s happening to me?” I held a hand out before me, covered in a sparkling array of golden, blue, green, and pink energy.
“We need a doctor,” Julian said, rushing to my side. Somehow I’d still tracked his movements though.
“Hang on,” I said, forcing myself to slow my breathing. “Let me try something.”
Julian waited as I ran at super speed across the room and back again. I opened my mouth, and when I willed it, my fangs elongated.
“How is this possible?” Julian asked.
“Can you see the sparkles also? All over my body?” I grasped his arms.
“Vampires do not sparkle, Charlotte.” Julian said seriously, examining one of my hands that he pried from his side. “I see nothing unusual other than the color and rush of blood through your veins. I smell it, smell you.”
“I don’t think there’s a doctor in the world that would know what this is or what to do about it,” I said, pressing my other hand to my forehead. Somehow, the powerful blood I’d consumed was changing me. But changing me into what?
“There is one person who may be able to help us understand.”
When I glanced at him, I saw that Julian’s fangs had also extended slightly. My stomach knotted.
“Maybe we don’t need a doctor,” I amended. “Maybe it’s a good thing and will work out on its own.”
“Charlotte, avoiding your father may not be possible if you continue to show signs of changing and growing powers. We may need his and Lydia’s help.”
“Maybe just Lydia,” I snapped. “And myself. The two of us can figure this out and whether it’s something we should even be worried about.”
“We can’t go back to the estate. If Elsa sees you like this, she will want answers, and possibly other things she cannot have.”
“Then we need another lab,” I said. “And I think I know where to go. But before I call Lyds, I want to know something. What exactly is your history with Elsa?”