Chapter 33
C assia
No one knew what the flash of light was, other than that something significant had to have happened. Elijah helped Selena and me back inside the castle and hustled us down to the ceremonial room again. We were right back where we started.
Checking the crystal ball told me nothing.
The glass remained stubbornly clear no matter how hard I begged it to let me know something, anything.
Whatever it could to let me know Lukas was all right.
It stayed silent. Selena had to stop me from pouring more potions over it, but I couldn’t deny it would have been a waste of resources.
Elijah stated it likely had something to do with Lukas, Wyvon, and Annalise, and him saying that did not inspire any confidence.
Some servants brought us folding beds and me and Selena napped, and then we ate when food was brought in.
“How long are we going to stay down here?” She complained to Elijah.
“Until I get word that its safe,” he replied.
Selena huffed at him. “You’re one of the most powerful vamps out there and my bestie has a god damn unicorn guarding the castle—I think we’ll be all right.”
“If we didn’t have company I’d make you get on your knees,” he warned her. Her face turned a brighter red than I knew she was capable of, and she slunk back to her cot.
I giggled. “At least he’s considerate of your privacy.” I couldn’t help myself.
Selena flung a small pillow at me but missed. I heard it splash in the water. Then I heard it land on the stone with a wet splat. “Behave,” her husband warned her.
She made some unintelligible sounds and then the door on the other side of the room opened.
Tossing the blankets off my legs, I sat up in time to see Markus walk in. He approached Elijah, and Selena and I glanced at each other. This wasn’t a social call, not if you went by his formal posture or the missive he placed in the other man’s hand.
As much as I wanted to interrupt, I waited. Until Elijah met my gaze.
Before I knew I’d even moved, I was standing in front of him. “What is it? What happened?”
Selena quickly joined us. “They’re gone. Wyvon and Annalise. The Kakian army. Not a trace of them remains beyond their scents.”
“Lukas?”
He shook his head, eyeing the piece of paper again. “Same. There’s nothing there.”
My stomach sank and my legs wobbled. “I need my painting from the bedroom. I want it.”
Elijah’s eyes flickered. “I’ll send someone to retrieve it.”
Nodding, I said, “Thank you.” My voice cracked. “I appreciate that.”
The ceiling had collapsed in the room me and Lukas had stayed in.
Someone put a tarp over the hole, but Elijah warded it so no one could enter, knowing I would have tried despite the new lack of structural integrity.
They may have been able to keep me mostly in the castle—I wasn’t that dumb, but I couldn’t say I wouldn’t have attempted to get my portrait of Lukas.
True to his words, a couple hours later, I had my painting. In hindsight, I should have asked for my drawing supplies as well, but I’d had my priorities when I made the request. I wrapped the artwork carefully in some cloth and then set it out of the way, against the wall in a corner.
Selena and I both passed out after eating another meal Elijah had delivered. He still wanted to wait a bit longer before we went back upstairs.
I fell asleep trying to figure out how I would adjust to life without Lukas. Eventually, I’d be fine, I knew. Heartbroken, but fine. I just hoped it wouldn’t come to that, and that I wouldn’t have to traverse a life without him.
A commotion by the door was what woke me. Markus was gesturing to Elijah and then he disappeared. Elijah swiveled his head, and his stare pierced me. Whatever was going on, it was serious.
The blanket caught around my leg as I got up and I tore it away. “What’s going on?” I heard Selena yawn and I ignored her, keeping my gaze locked with her husband’s.
I ran until I found myself in front of him, craning my head back to look at him. I’d never stood this close to him, out of respect. That regard went out the window the moment I realized that whatever happened next would change me forever.
“He’s here,” Elijah stated.
The room spun as I twisted in a circle and made a mad dash for the door. Sounds dimmed and the walls flew past me as I ran blindly. As I turned a corner, I heard Lukas say my name and then, I was in front of him.
Or what once resembled him.
He was red. I’d briefly seen him covered with gore when we first met, when he killed Bryan and those two women, but this was different. It was like someone had dumped a can of paint over him.
Brown flecks crumbled from his hair and his skin as I threw my arms around him, and he sank to the floor, taking me with him. He nuzzled my neck and clasped the back of my head, clearly breathing me in.
“Cassia,” he whispered. “Why aren’t you in your cage?”
A laugh shook my chest. “I’m still mad at you for that.”
“Yeah, hot stuff. The roof caved in.”
“Selena, leave them alone,” I heard Elijah say. “He needs blood,” he said, his voice fading as they walked away.
Lukas moved, his face swimming in front of me. I was crying with relief and disbelief. He wiped my tears away with a bloody finger and then kissed me hard enough to make me swoon.
“Drink,” I ordered him, shoving my hair back over my shoulder. “Please.”
He didn’t need to be told twice. His fangs sunk into my neck, tearing through my skin and squeaking against tendons.
Sharp pain cut through me, stealing my breath before he soothed it away.
I sank down to the floor with my arms around his waist and felt his body relax as he took his fill.
The pleasure that washed through my body along with the security of being in his arms again was unreal. This was where I was supposed to be.
Lukas retracted his teeth and clutched me to his chest as his hands roamed my body. “I didn’t think I would see you again,” he whispered.
“Same,” I replied, my voice hoarse.
I wanted to say so much more, but the words caught in my throat as my heart pounded in my chest. How was it possible to have such strong feelings for someone?
I didn’t have a clue of depths of my love and emotions for this man until he’d had to leave.
The concept of this type of love was foreign to me.
I’ve never experienced it before. The thought was both sobering and exhilarating.
Sobering because while it was beautiful, it was heavy. But it was thrilling for the same reasons. The same way my blood and love fed him; he fed me.
“I managed to save the painting. It didn’t get damaged when the roof fell, just dusty, but it's fine.”
Lukas grinned and lowered his head. He peered up at me with those green eyes of his and said, “Cassia, I love you.”
Returning the grin, I said, “I love you, too.”
“Hate to break up this reunion but here,” Elijah said, his shiny boots stopping right by our legs.
He handed Lukas a carafe of blood. “He needs this. Badly.” He flicked a look at me.
I nodded and Lukas stood, shaking slightly. “You need a shower. A lot of them,” I said.
He glanced at me, furrowing his brows slightly. “Really? What makes you think that?”
Joking, sarcastic Lukas was back.
He lifted the carafe and downed what must have been an entire gallon at once. It didn’t take long to see the difference in his physique. Where his skin had seemed thin, it plumped up. The fine glow he normally possessed spread across his flesh.
He wiped a hand across his mouth and handed the container to Elijah. “Thank you,” he said, nodding his head. Elijah nodded back.
Selena stepped beside him. “Cassia’s got a unicorn now.”
Lukas looked down at me. “He came?” His voice was full of wonder. “I ran into him in the woods and asked him to look after you.”
“Shit, that’s so fucking cool,” Selena said.
“He was outside. We were watching the horizon, trying to see if we could see anything and she noticed him down by the bridge. He was definitely here for me.”
If a vampire could be and look exhausted, Lukas would fit the bill. “Let’s go upstairs,” I said, both wanting him to rest and wanting him to myself.
I’d forgotten we didn’t have a room anymore and Elijah must have seen the look on my face. “Take the room beside your old, it’s ready,” he offered.
* * *
After Lukas showered, I laid in his arms on the bed.
I was pretty sure he dozed off for a while.
I know I did, but not before I played with his fresh, clean hair.
While I stared at him, I watched his chest rising and falling and I could have sworn I saw the blood he’d drunk continue to work its magic.
It seemed almost as if I could see the life returning to the individual cells of his body, the way his skin seemed to waver and change.
I couldn’t identify it exactly; it was almost more like a knowing .
Perhaps saying I could see it with energetic eyes may have been more accurate. I could see it, but I couldn’t see it.
When I woke up, I marveled at more of the same, trailing my fingers back and forth across his skin.
Then his chest stilled. “Are you staring at me?”
“I am. Can you blame me?” I felt rather than saw his smirk. He knew he was beautiful. How could he not? He wasn’t a television vampire that didn’t have a reflection.
He grabbed me and pulled me on top of him. “Now you’re staring,” I said.
“I’m counting every little freckle on your nose and cheeks. Eternity is a long time, things can change. I want to keep track.”
My skin felt hot. “You’re corny.”
“I’m something,” he murmured, tugging me higher and kissing me before he thought it would be a fantastic idea to count my orgasms instead of the tiny dots on my cheeks.
We showered together, something I never thought I’d do with a man. I’d always been too self-conscious to do it before. That went away pretty fast when I admitted to myself that it was inevitable. Neither of us were going anywhere again without the other.
While I towel dried my hair, I asked him, “What happened up there, on the mountain? We saw stuff down here. There was more lightning. Some thunder. Then there was this crazy bright light. Are they gone?”
He knew I meant Wyvon and Annalise. “They are. I should probably let Elijah know. Come downstairs with me and we can talk about it. There’s another topic to discuss, as well.”
We both dressed. Lukas in the formal-style clothes he preferred and me in leggings and a hoodie. I was still emotionally raw and wanted the comfort of loose, casual clothing.
Elijah and Selena were waiting in a room that reminded me of a small parlor. Couches with carved wooden trim and soft edges were set apart, with a short coffee table in between. A bookcase with glass doors was tucked in a corner and a floor to ceiling window brought bright sunlight into the space.
Elijah poured Lukas a glass of blood and handed it to him.
“The Kakian army was here, a portion of it. They somehow missed Juliet’s house, and they never entered the village. Their focus was solely on the castle. I’m sure they were here exclusively for Cassia,” Elijah said.
Lukas sat down and I settled beside him. “The unicorn. It killed them?” He asked.
“Yes. It didn’t leave a single man alive.”
Lukas and Elijah talked about what Lukas went through, on his way to meet Annalise and Wyvon, the battle, and his journey back.
“I know who Kate is. She’s friends with Samantha, Ramone’s wife.
I’ve only seen her once. You’re lucky it was her and not some of the others you could have run into.
Some of these women would slit their own wrists in front of you.
I’m sure she appreciates you saving her life.
” Elijah took a sip of his drink. “It's a very small world around here,” he said pointedly.
“I’ve gathered that,” Lukas replied. “I don’t know where Annalise went. She’s still out there, somewhere. I can’t feel her anymore and that’s unusual. She’s always kept a tight grip.”
Selena spoke up. “Why, do you think she’ll show up here?” Elijah appeared mildly concerned about the idea.
“No, I suspect she won’t. Not if she wants to stay alive,” Lukas answered.
“But it's a possibility?” I asked.
He glanced at me. “Anything is possible.”
I remembered the crows. “I used a crystal ball to try and call Kiam to help. He wasn’t answering Elijah’s emails or messages. All I saw in the crystal ball were birds, and then we saw a black cloud over the mountains. I thought... no I hoped, it would be crows. That Kiam sent them to help you.”
He grabbed my hand. “You have no idea how to use a crystal ball,” he said. “But yes, the crows came.”
“Did they do anything?”
A small smile tilted his lips. “They did. They helped me. Thank you.”
“How did you end Wyvon?” Elijah asked, stroking his chin with a couple of fingers.
Lukas’s eyes glowed green. “I froze him and shattered him with a dagger.”
The grin on his face was downright diabolical. “Froze?” I asked.
Elijah leaned forward, resting his elbows on his legs. “The angel blood,” he marveled. “I wasn’t sure how it would affect you.”
“Me either,” he admitted, before turning to me. “Yes. He’s in pieces now, carried away by the wind.”
Unsure how to respond, I stayed silent. Selena looked excited and intrigued. She was either more used to this stuff than me, or she had a morbid streak I couldn’t match.
“Maybe nothing will grow up there anymore cuz his remains contaminated it. Everyone will know he sucked,” she said. “No pun intended.” She guffawed. Loudly.
Lukas’s eyes slowly shut and he pinched the top of his nose. Elijah stood and refilled their glasses.
“What are you guys going to do now?” Selena asked, glancing between me and the man by my side. Her chest was still shaking with laughter.
I peered up at him, and he glanced down at me. His eyes crinkled in the corners with a small smile, but I saw some concern flickering.
“We’ll go the Second.” He took a deep breath. “I’m taking it over.”