Chapter 18
Fantasmer
BASTIEN
Despite Shreesa’s inn marking the halfway point between my chateau and Marius’s, the second leg of our journey up the mountain roads was slower. We’d spent the past two weeks inching along. The colder it got, the more we needed to stop and allow the horses and humans in our company time to rest.
The sun’s rays were dulled by heavy clouds, but traveling during the day depleted us. Each night, we made camp at dusk. And each night, after my nightly meeting with my council, I returned to my tent to greedily feed from Claire as she lay upon a bed of furs.
Truthfully, I didn’t need to eat every day, but I couldn’t stop myself.
Not when my mate was right there, so warm and soft.
If I was feeding, I could throw her trembling legs over my shoulder.
I could kiss her thigh. I could twist our fingers together.
I could wipe clean the wound and ensure she ate.
I could keep her company and learn more about her before she drifted off to sleep.
Under the guise of feeding, I could be close to her.
But touching her and holding her and stealing laughs late into the night wasn’t the only thing I wanted.
I needed her. All of her. Needed to be inside her.
Claiming her. Pleasuring her. Fucking her.
Coaxing more than little whimpers from her lips, but screams that shook snow from the branches.
Giving myself to her over and over. I needed to hear her say my name.
Needed to feel those soft thighs around my waist as I came deep inside her.
And yet, I couldn’t. But it didn’t stop the temptation.
The scent of Claire’s desire was nothing compared to seeing it soaked through her undergarments every single night when my face was between her legs.
It was torture. If only my enemies had this information, they’d know exactly how to bring me to my knees.
I’d give up blood for a month for a taste of her sweet pussy.
The slow smile that had spread across my face shrank, and I berated myself for being so weak-minded—for being so pathetic. The need to claim her was an instinct I had to ignore, but doing so was like holding a lid over a boiling pot. The pressure building inside of me.
At times of weakness, I considered showing her my bloodstone and confessing the truth.
That we were meant to be, if only we wanted it.
But I didn’t want it. Couldn’t want it. There was too much on the line, and Tyson’s presence was a constant reminder of that fact.
If I gave in and told her the truth, I’d lose it all.
To him. And he was incapable of doing my job.
At the same time, she was all I could think about.
Even now, as I sat in this very important meeting with people I cared about and respected, I was distracted.
My vampiric senses focused on my tent—on her.
I could feel her heart beating inside my bloodstone, yes, but I wanted to know what she was doing.
If she was thinking of me. If she was touching herself.
Satisfying that ache I knew she had. The same ache I had.
I gritted my teeth imagining the scene, wanting to relieve that ache for her.
But it was impossible. I couldn’t deepen my feelings for Claire more than they already were.
No, they weren’t feelings. They were primal instincts.
Urges put in my head by the gods that got the better of me each time I tried to keep them in check.
Her blood in my veins making it all worse.
“Your Grace!” Natalia shouted, slamming her hand down on the table. “We need your thoughts on the matter.”
Every eye around the table was on me. Curious stares that portrayed confusion or disappointment. Tyson was reclining back in his chair, arms crossed, one leg kicked out like he was comfortable at my table.
I shook my head slightly, trying to bring my focus back to the meeting, and looking around for context clues. Another map had been rolled out in front of me, one that was of the south, specifically the land around Chateau Blanc. I didn’t know why the conversation had turned Nightfall.
I rubbed at my temples, realizing I hadn’t heard a word that was said for some time. I was distracted, which seemed to be my new normal.
Natalia sighed. “What do we tell the Duke of Nightfall? My father requests you attend his Sangination Ball in four months’ time. Will we be making the trip?”
I cleared my throat and turned my attention back to the map, trying to order my thoughts. My first inclination was to say no. The cold was setting in, but that didn’t mean the witches of the Lawless Lands went to ground. It was too risky.
However, Josse’s land also encompassed the Nightfall Convent, which meant I could take Claire to see her sister.
The thought of her face when she saw her sister again made my heart swell.
Besides, I’d like to inspect the convent myself.
I suspected Claire wasn’t the only one who had been mistreated.
However, it wasn’t practical.
I lifted my gaze to my council and folded my hands. “No. We will not attend. Send our regrets. I’m sure my absence won’t surprise Josse in the least.”
Chuckles went around the table. Natalia made a note before calling for a page to send a raven to Nightfall. She was trying to hide her excitement. Ever since she’d been named unfit to be her father’s heir, she preferred to stay away.
Once the task was handled, I hoped all business had been finished so I could return to Claire, but, I could tell Natalia had more to say. I could tell by the way she tapped her quill against the page.
“Well?” I prompted, rubbing at my temples.
“What of Shreesa’s plea, Your Grace? How are we to handle allegations that the Prideaux coven is doubling down on their pursuit of demonic relics? She claims another has been taken. They’re worried.”
I made a tight fist. After all we sacrificed to seal the Blood Treaty, I grew weary of these continued hostilities. “We’ll make good on our promise to bring more from the Lawless Lands on our next trip. Send word to Chastity.”
This was my only solution for keeping the balance of power. paying the Witches of the Lawless Lands—those who still made deals with demons—for relics.
Natalia’s scowl deepened. “That will only last so long if they are being targeted. Shreesa says they don’t have enough magick to bind familiars, and all the beasts have died.”
I stared at the map, thinking hard. As much as I wanted to hold the entire realm together by sheer force of will, I couldn’t.
“Angelina Prideaux doesn’t have the resources or the support to do little more than raid,” I said. “I’ll send word to the Duke of Lakeland, doubling down on my position that he strengthen his forces, and in the meantime, we’ll send a patrol to protect Shreesa’s home.”
She made another note. “Very well. We’ll treat the symptom, not the problem. Yet again.”
“I am not the High Prince,” I scolded her. “I can only do so much.”
“Uncle Marius would give you the crown if you would only take it.”
I scoffed. “Is there any other business?”
“Yes, Your Grace.”
I inclined my brows.
Natalia waved to the guards standing watch at the tent, who escorted in a human man. He was tall, well built, with dark skin and dark hair, and the sly, charming smile of someone who always got what he wanted. He bowed when he stood before my table.
“Your Grace, this is Alec. He claims to have seen things. Things that shouldn’t be possible.”
I inclined my chin, interest piqued. “Well, Alec, what have you seen?”
The man cleared his throat. “I was working at the Veraleese Inn, which is in Nightfall, Your Grace, when I saw…” he hesitated, “I saw two men who seemed strange. As a pillow whisperer at the inn, I see many people come and go, but none like these.”
My nephew chuckled behind his fist. I shot him a chilly glare.
“Tell the Duke the interesting part,” Natalia prodded.
The man wetted his lips and drew in a breath.
“I know this is going to sound mad, but I swear Your Grace, on the night of Diana’s moon, I saw these strange men with a woman, and they weren’t treating her as a woman should be treated.
So, I intervened, but before I could stop them, they attacked me and ran off into the night.
When I went to help the woman, she transformed into a werewolf, scratched my arm, and raced off after them. ”
Laughs went around the table. My advisors clearly thought this was a ludicrous story.
Tyson drank deeply from his cup of wine. “Or he’s lying to get a free ride in your court. Word of your hospitality stretches into the south, Uncle. He’s clearly pandering to your altruistic nature. Not even the strongest Witches of the Light can transform into a wolf. It is but a rumor. A legend.”
All hint of humor fled the tent. Silence fell. While I took counsel from advisors, no one in my court spoke for me. I motioned to Destinee, a hardened warrior. “Commander Gris, escort the viscount out of this meeting.”
Tyson sat up straight in his chair for the first time. “Uncle, I offer my opinion.”
His father asked me to teach him how to lead. The boy had much to learn in humility. He could thank me later for these valuable lessons. The look on my face didn’t change. “Leave, or let Commander Gris toss you out.”
With a huff and a flourish of his royal blue cloak, Tyson stood and stalked out of the meeting. Natalia was beaming with glee. “This was the same inn a certain someone was followed into.”
She was being purposefully coy, so I slipped inside her mind and heard her tell me, “Miss Donadieu’s sister. Seraphina.”
My ability to slide into minds was a gift few other vampires possessed. I couldn’t hear thoughts, but I could speak directly with someone. However, I’d never felt it as deeply as the bond I had with Claire.
“This woman who allegedly turned into a werewolf—what did she look like?”