Chapter 2
Sunset, Wednesday, November 21, 2012
Ten minutes after the sun sank below the horizon, Luca’s phone buzzed. He answered, smiling when he saw Ash’s name on the screen.
“Hello, beautiful.”
Imitating the Addams’ family’s butler Lurch, Ash dropped her voice to a lower register. “You rang?”
Luca laughed. “Gods, I love you, Ash. I just wanted to hear your voice.”
Her chuckle sent a wave of love and longing through him, and his arms ached with emptiness because she wasn’t there for him to hold. She replied, “I miss you like crazy, and I fucking hate that I’m not there with you right now.”
“Me too, baby. It was much worse than I imagined. So much worse.”
She sighed heavily. “I’m so sorry for everything you’re going through. I can’t even imagine.”
“There have been some bright spots,” he continued, returning to the small library for privacy. “Would you like to hear about them?”
“You bet your sweet ass, I do. Hang on. Let me get comfy. Okay, I’m good. Talk to me.”
Luca chuckled, grateful to have this amazing woman in his life. “Five of the Therian clans sent emissaries to pledge their fealty and help with the cleanup. Apparently, a certain newborn vampire is the subject of legends spreading around the world. I don’t think getting them to accept you as my mate will be as much of a challenge as we thought.”
“That’s fantastic news!” she squealed. “I can’t wait to see you.”
“Come back now,” he urged, not thinking about anything other than how wrong it felt to be separated.
“Luca, my love, you know I can’t do that.”
He groaned in frustration. “I know. I’m just impatient, and I miss you.”
“The feeling is mutual, and if you weren’t there doing what you’re doing, I’d entice you with phone sex. However, the timing never seems to be right. You know, with the war and continuous attacks and all. I have this constant, undeniable pull toward you.”
As she spoke, he felt that same pull urging him to close the distance between them so they could become one. “Ash? Is your mating bond…”
“Gone? I thought so at first, but now I’m not sure. I’ve been feeling…well, I don’t know what to call them. Tracers? Maybe the bond was overloaded by the magic when I changed, like a circuit breaker.”
“I still feel connected to you. It’s not the same without the bond sharing and amplifying your thoughts and feelings, but I think you are right. I thought it was severed, but I can feel the bare edges of you,” Luca answered.
Ash laughed. “I’d like to feel your bare edges, and I plan to do it since we’re coming to the funeral. I don’t have to stand with you, and I will wear a disguise if you think I should, but I refuse to abandon you during that. I would have come today, but I kinda catch fire in the sun. Between Vampire 101 classes with Zia and Eiko working her special magic to let us walk in the sun, I’ll be ready to handle whatever happens.”
“As much as I crave your presence beside me until the end of forever, I’m sensing a ‘but.’”
“I can’t stay yet. I’m not even sure I should stay for the coronation. I have so much to learn about being a vampire. I don’t know the limits of what I can do, and I meant it when I said I had to prove to myself that I am worthy of being your queen. Nadya has put so much evil into the world, Luca. I need to be out there counteracting it.”
“I know!” he grumbled, hating the idea of an extended separation. “I want twenty-four hours before you take off after the funeral for you and me. No war talk, outside agendas, or interruptions. I need it. We both need it. I will work around the clock until then to create enough tasks to occupy everyone.”
“What do you need me to do?” she asked, loving the idea.
“Just say yes.” His voice was low and smooth.
“For you, I always will. I love you, Luca.”
“I will never get tired of hearing that,” His pleasure was clear in his tone.
“You better not,” she teased. “Damn it. Zia’s here for my lesson. I have to go. Can I call you when we’re finished?”
“Of course. Be careful, Ash.”
“When am I not? I’ll call you later, my love. Go tell your sister she’s a crotchety old bitch. It’ll make you both feel better.”
Luca laughed. “You think?”
“I do, and imagining it makes me feel better.”
He was grinning when he left the library.
Thursday, November 22, 2012
Cleaning the palace after Nikoli’s massacre had been a brutal task, and the newcomers had been vital throughout the process. Luca was particularly grateful for Bastien and his magic. Since Luca shared the spell’s cost, they sorted the human and Therian bodies to ensure that the families received the correct remains.
They’d discovered that Nikoli had eaten some of the body parts he removed, so they were glad they would be cremating the victims. The families didn’t need to imagine the violent end their loved ones had met. It would serve no purpose and allow Nikoli to extend his destruction from beyond the grave.
When the sun rose, the first of thousands of Therians arrived in the dragons’ kingdom, with more appearing every hour. An army of loyal shifters had scrubbed the palace’s public areas from top to bottom, and carpenters had worked around the clock to produce hundreds of carved urns to house the cremains. The remaining dragons labored in shifts to prepare the dead.
The moment Queen Kittania received word that the worst of the mess was gone, she led an army of Therian nobles, peasants, and former slaves into the palace to claim their dead and ease the burden of the rebuilding efforts. Her silver eyes shimmered with tears as her band made their way through the palace. She’d lived here for so long that every tiny change stood out to her, so she saw the echoes of Nikoli’s violence even without the evidence. Her steps slowed as they neared the throne room, though the air now carried only the scent of wood and cleaning supplies.
Thanks to the madness of her husband, Kittania had a clear mental image of what had happened, and she dreaded crossing the threshold. Taking a deep breath to steady herself, she entered the throne room. She gratefully glanced at her children, and her voice held only the hint of a quiver. “I know this must have been almost impossible for you both. There is barely a trace of what happened here.”
She took Luca’s and Viktorija’s hands, squeezing them to reassure herself that they were alive and well. The queen didn’t think she would ever stop the new habit. Her world had shrunk in such a short time, and it would be a difficult adjustment. “It breaks my heart to know that you will forever be plagued by the memory of seeing our family that way, and I don’t think I would have recovered from that. I am barely holding on.”
“Better us than you, Mother,” Viktorija replied. “Even the heaviest burdens are manageable when we share the weight.”
The blood and gore had been removed using a combination of Bastien’s magic and determined effort. The rubble had been cleared, and aside from the occasional stone that was beyond repair, the palace looked much as it always had. Luca still found it cold and unwelcoming, but he was grateful it was no longer painted with their people’s essence.
Hundreds of carved urns covered the throne room’s floor in neat rows, filled with the ashes of Nikoli’s victims. True to his boast, the carpenters from Gregov’s clan were talented woodworkers, and they’d kept up with the cremations.
“I agree with Vik. Being trapped in that vision and forced to watch was a torture beyond imagining. Without a doubt, you are the strongest woman I have ever known, Mother, but I would not have let you walk into the palace as it was while I had breath in my lungs.” Luca hugged the queen. “There are some things you cannot block out. I got to know many because of Nikoli, and it will be a very long time before I close my eyes without seeing them.”
Luca refused to ever call that monster “Father” again. He didn’t even want to acknowledge him as their former king. He planned to strip Nikoli of his former titles in death and send him into eternity in shame. “Are you ready to see them?”
Kittania stiffened but nodded. “As ready as I can be.”
When he turned to accompany his mother to the chambers in which their family’s bodies rested, Viktorija stopped him. “Why don’t you let me go with her? You’ve taken so much onto yourself, brother. Let me do this. Go find a quiet place and rest, or reach out to your vampire.”
Their mother continued walking. Viktorija looked hesitant to speak but shook herself and continued. “I’ve been looking into mental health and what we can do to protect yours, Luca. I’m serious. You can’t push yourself without taking breaks to punish yourself for what happened while you were exiled. If anyone is to blame for allowing this to happen, it’s me.”
The queen had rounded the corner, so they didn’t have time for this conversation. He grabbed her arm and spun her. “Fine. We will talk about this later, but you better haul ass since you can’t let her walk in there alone.”
Viktorija nodded and ran to join their mother. Luca looked around to verify that he wasn’t required at the moment, and without giving much thought to his destination, he went to his former chambers. A lifetime of memories assaulted him as he stepped through the familiar door into the room in which he’d spent a substantial portion of his long life. As expected, Nikoli had destroyed nearly everything, but Luca didn’t care. It was just stuff.
He cleared the broken glass off the stone window seat and gazed out at the view he knew so well. His room looked down on the palace’s central courtyard, which bustled with activity as Therians of all clans and stations prepared for the funeral ceremony. Word of his edict ending slavery had quickly spread, and the former slaves who had hidden in the dungeons had been the first to join them.
The survivors had contacted the human village at the base of the mountain, and a group of humans was making its way to the palace with Therian escorts. With so many hands to share the work, the funeral would be held the following day.
Luca refused to rob the humans of the chance to say goodbye to protect the secrets of the hidden world, and much to his relief, the others had agreed. Nikoli and Nadya had rendered that effort futile anyway.
The world Luca would rule was not the one he’d been born into. So many things were changing.
The funeral was a vital show of his strength and compassion for his people. It also represented the end of Nikoli’s tyrannical reign and the start of a new future in which the Therians’ king would protect them and help them thrive alongside humans.
His feelings toward vampires were clouded because of Ash and Zia, but they would have to deal with Nadya’s fuckery, as Ash had called it, quickly. Now, it was time to say goodbye.
High Therian Palace, Dawn, Friday, November 23, 2012
Ash stepped through the portal Eiko had opened and looked at the imposing palace in amazement. Dani and Eiko followed. Zia had opted to spare the grieving Therians her vampiric presence during the funeral. Ash worried that she would upset some people, but she wouldn’t miss this for the world. Her mate was grieving, and she would not leave him to face it alone. She felt a twinge of awareness through their damaged bond and caught a whiff of Luca’s scent.
Seconds later, he appeared in the courtyard. His attention focused on her with laser precision as he closed the distance between them. Dani and Eiko backed away to give them privacy. Ash watched his movements with her new vision, drinking in every detail, from the tousled dark hair that fell over his brow to his handsome features and the familiar muscled planes of his body. Luca crushed her in an embrace, and they both reveled in the contact.
Ash took deep breaths that smelled like Luca, grateful they’d made it this far. She turned her face up to his and smiled, letting her expression reflect her love for him. “I have missed you so fucking much.”
Luca’s eyes widened in shock when he saw that her eyes were human blue again. “Your eyes…”
Ash grinned. “They’re only red when I use my powers. It just takes a while to fade.”
Shaking off his surprise, Luca kissed his mate, savoring having the woman he loved in his arms where she belonged. As the sun warmed his skin, he broke the kiss and looked at Ash in concern. “The sun doesn’t hurt you?”
She held up her hand and showed him a ring that sparkled in the sunlight. “It will only work for a few days. Eiko said the long-term solution will take a while to prepare and will put me out of commission for at least a week.”
Luca looked down at her and smiled. “I’m glad you’re here. We have some time before the ceremony starts. Do you need anything?”
Ash shook her head. “The only thing I need is to be here for you. Are we still set to escape for a while after the funeral?”
Luca nodded. “Yes. I insisted on it. We can’t manage a full day, but we will have twelve hours to ourselves. Viktorija has a small house on a nearby mountain peak that’s well-warded against pretty much everything. You can’t even find it if you don’t know it’s there.”
She snuggled into his arms. “That sounds like heaven.” Ash laid her head on his chest and listened to the steady thump of his heart. Rather than inspiring a thirst for his blood, it sent a powerful wave of emotion through her. They both jumped when that sent a jolt through their bond. “Did you feel that?”
Luca grinned like a child at Christmas and spun Ash in a delighted hug. “I did, so I don’t think our bond is broken. We’re still connected.”
Her eyes sparkled with love when she met his gaze. “You’re damn right we are. You carry a piece of my soul, dragon.”
Luca grinned at her, at peace for the first moment since she’d left. “As you carry mine, vampire.”
Dani cleared her throat behind them. “Uh, guys? Maybe there’s a better time or place for this conversation.”
Luca looked around at the bustling courtyard. They were blocking progress, and some stared with open curiosity. “Fine point. Let’s go inside and check on Mother before we get ready for the funeral.”
“How is everyone doing? I can’t even imagine how hard this has been for you,” Dani murmured as she followed Luca through the enormous doorway into the palace.