Chapter 3
Ifound myself on the roof of the castle in the early spring night.
I had gone there often to think and get some fresh air.
It was one of my favorite places in the castle.
The forest below spread out for miles, and I could just barely see the twinkling lights from a village in the distance.
The moon was high and bright but not quite full.
The air was very cool, but my tolerance for the cold had gotten stronger along with everything else. The night was alive and I felt it.
I ran my hands over the fine bodice of the gown, leaving them on my stomach.
I opened my mind as Bevin had been trying to get me to do and inhaled deeply.
That glowing feeling started in my womb.
I felt on fire but nothing hurt…it was a wild warmth that came from me, through me.
I gave in to the force I felt growing and concentrated on it, pushed at it.
I let it search outward to the night, feeling the life force of the creatures that rummaged through the forest far below the castle tower.
Each one responded to the call, sending a small acknowledgment to the life force within me.
Bevin was right. Letting the power be part of me opened a new level of understanding of this world. Of myself, of what it meant to be Priestess of the Wild.
“Priestess.”
The deep growl came as a plea from behind me. I turned to find a new life force and—wow! What a force. It was attached to a tower of a man who was looking up at me from a bowed position.
“Forgive me for intruding on your private time, priestess. I’m sure you’ve had precious little of it since coming here.
” He stood and the moonlight hit his eyes.
Black Vampire eyes. Thick, golden hair was neatly tied back, showing off the strong lines of a powerful jaw.
He wore a perfectly tailored black suit with a crisp white shirt and gray tie.
The cut of the jacket enhanced broad shoulders and an expansive chest that tapered down to a trim waist. Even with my new height, he stood a good six inches above me.
I swallowed hard when I realized he was looking me over as closely as I was him. I blushed like a schoolgirl.
“Tynan,” he said in a sultry voice that flowed over my skin like silk. “I hope my home has been to your liking.” He moved farther out of the shadows and I got an even better look at him.
Bevin was right again. No sooner had I opened my mind than my body started talking to me in ways it never had.
I was lusting for this man—this Vampire! I felt his gaze right down to my slipper-encased toes.
I tried to steady myself enough to speak.
“Lord Tynan,” I squeaked. He smiled at me, making my pulse race.
“Thank you for your protection. I’ve been very comfortable here.
Someday, maybe I’ll be able to return the favor.
” Thankfully, the last part came out sounding somewhat normal.
His gaze stayed on my face, making me a little nervous.
I adjusted the long skirt of the gown to have something to do with my hands.
“I see little Hogan has not lost his touch in dressing beautiful women. That gown is a piece of art. The way it brings out your eyes is breathtaking.” I swallowed hard.
My body was aching for him and I couldn’t manage to find any real control over the sensation or any ability to hide it.
Damn this new discovery! He turned away from me to look over the stone walls into the night.
“This is my favorite spot to come in the evenings when I’m here. ”
“Where exactly is here?” I relaxed a little. Having something casual to talk about made the feelings inside me less frightening.
“You were not told?” He let out the tiniest of snorts, humor playing at the corners of his lips. “You have been living in the Castle Dracula.” He watched to catch my expression.
“No freaking way.” I blurted it out before I could restrain myself. He chuckled slightly, and I blushed again. “I’m sorry. That wasn’t very ladylike. I just meant…I would have thought that Dracula’s castle would be some kind of tourist trap these days.”
“Hmm. One would think, but it’s too remote. Very few venture past the village below. Those who do attempt the trek are easily frightened away by the staff.”
I studied him again. Vampire. He didn’t seem scary at all. Delicious, yes—scary, no. “I bet,” I said. “Hiding in plain sight.”
“I’m glad you appreciate the irony. It’s lost on many of my kind.” He looked over the countryside. “It’s actually a sanctuary. I spend far too much time among the humans and their hurried world. I come back here for the quiet.”
I had a million questions for the sexy Vamp—most of which had to do with the instant attraction I felt for him. Was he looking at me that way for the same reason I was drooling over him? Or was it just bloodlust? Would he hurt me?
He obviously saw the uncertainty on my face and lifted one finely sculpted brow. “You do know that most Vampire lore in modern fiction is untrue?”
I looked down, embarrassed. Most everything I thought I’d known about Witches had turned out to be wrong. The only Vampire I’d seen was Feldema’s consort. I should have known not to use that campy Vamp as a guide.
“I’ve had so much to learn in the last few weeks, Lord Tynan.
I’m sorry I don’t know the true nature of the Vampire.
I hope I haven’t offended you.” I kept my eyes down in respect.
Bevin had taught me much of the politics within the Kith.
He held a title, was a member of the council, and I had insulted him.
Not a good thing. Time to play submissive and apologize.
He took my face in his warm hands, lifted it to his and took a step closer, so close I could smell his skin. It was the same scent that filled my bed, a rich, fresh forest…
I’ve been sleeping in his bed. I knew at once the thought was true. My knees felt suddenly wobbly as he looked into my eyes.
“You haven’t offended me, priestess. Your concern for my feelings is a great compliment.
I thank you for it.” He didn’t move away and I didn’t have the will to pull back.
I wondered if he could feel my attraction.
It was all I could feel at the moment. I wanted to be in his presence, in his arms, his life.
“Would it be rude to ask the true nature of your kind, my lord?” Still staring into those dark eyes, I could see now that they weren’t truly black but a deep, luxurious blue. A shade darker than the gown I was wearing. The gown that suddenly felt far too confining.
He let go of my face and smiled. “Of course not. We—”
“Keena, are you all right?” It was Manus. He darted around the stone wall behind us. “Oh!” He stopped short and bowed deeply. “Lord Tynan. I didn’t realize you had returned.”
“It’s a good thing I’m not a threat, Manus…I have been with the lady for some time.” The tone in his voice held a great deal of authority, marking his displeasure over being able to be in my presence undetected.
“Yes, my lord, but the emotions I was sensing from Keena were not of a dangerous nature.” Manus kept his eyes cast down.
“True.” Tynan smiled at me. He did feel my infatuation with him. I blushed again and could see the smile on Manus’s bowed face.
Lord Tynan turned fully to me once more. “Until later, priestess.” He lifted my hand to his lips and pressed a very gentle kiss on my knuckles, his thumb gently rubbing across them. He winked and walked away.
And I stood there, smitten, holding my hand out in front of me. Never before had feelings so overwhelmed me. It felt as if I understood the man completely, knew him without knowing him, his character, his strengths, his weaknesses.
“Keena seems to have found someone she’s interested in, Hogan,” Manus said to the Gnome as he scuttled up behind him. Manus held his arm out for me to take.
Hogan giggled. “That would complicate things, wouldn’t it?”
I took Manus’s extended arm. “Shut up.”
“Yes, my lady.” Hogan grinned like a mischievous boy.
Manus had changed into his cat form for the night and was kneading the comforter at the end of the bed as I brushed my hair in front of the beautiful mirror Hogan conjured in my chambers.
Lord Tynan’s bedchambers. The thought of him gave me a small shiver of excitement.
I’d never responded to a man so strongly.
I felt feminine from the intense desire, and I was still spellbound by my appearance.
“You are simply more you now, Keena,” Manus said as he circled around a time or two then plopped himself into a gray, furry lump. “You’ll grow accustomed to it.”
The truth was, I had already grown accustomed to it. He was right. It was just more me. “Manus?”
“Yes.” He lifted his head from his little paws and twitched his whiskers.
“Tell me about Vampires.”
“What is it you wish to know?”
I did my best to keep my voice indifferent as I ran the brush through my hair.
I loved looking at the vibrant auburn. No more mousy hair—and I didn’t have to spend a fortune at a salon to get it.
“You know what I want to know. Almost nothing I knew in my human life about any of the Kith races has been right. I assume it’s the same with the Vamps. What’s Dracula really like?”
His tail, wrapped around his body, did a little flutter beneath his nose. “Dracula was a monarch in the Middle Ages,” he scolded. “He wasn’t a Vamp at all. The locals just took advantage of the mythology to bring their lost monarch’s memory back to life.”
“Okay, not Drac, but what about real Vamps. Are they soulless fiends who feed on the innocent?”
He laughed, which, from a cat, sounded more like he was hacking up a furball. “No. They were originally created by the Slaugh. Kind of an accident, really.”
“The Slaugh? What do they have to do with Vampires?” The Slaugh had been a good part of my instruction since they had attacked me before.
They were a creepy species that survived by feeding on lost souls and were well known among the Kith for having a nasty habit of stealing.
Collectors of secrets, souls, and treasures, Bevin had told me.
Politically, they wanted to regain the power they had enjoyed before the Kith went into hiding.
They were foul creatures. Even if I didn’t have a reason for personal bias, they’d still give me the creeps.
Manus kept talking as he cleaned his furry paws.
“Their king, King Bran, got greedy centuries ago and tried to take the souls of some Greek soldiers because he craved their bravery and strength. Even though the men had killed in battle, Bran was unable to keep their souls. A soldier may be a killer, but that alone never makes for an evil or tainted soul. Anyway, those souls escaped Bran and tried to return to their bodies or move on to the afterlife. But King Bran cursed the escaped souls, preventing them from entering the afterlife or from completely resurrecting their bodies. He cursed them to roam for ages as the undead. Lord Tynan was among the first.”
“So they have their souls.”
“Yes, but they do need to feed on human blood to exist. It was a side effect of the curse. Life force is needed to maintain their corporeal bodies. They don’t have to feed every night like in the movies.
They’re gentle with humans to the point of being overprotective.
The amount of blood needed to revive their flesh is minimal.
They stand true with the council and the High Priestess. They are strong allies.”
“Oh.” I looked back to my reflection, remembering the depth of those dark blue eyes and the heat of his body so close to mine. I could feel his masculinity still lingering on my skin. My body felt tight with need.
“Keena.” Manus sounded very serious for a cat. “Keep in mind, la graine will love you and no other for their entire life span.”
I knew what he was saying. “A Vamp’s life is an eternity,” I whispered. If I were to let Lord Tynan become la graine, he would love me for a lifetime A lifetime that would long outlast my own. Long after I was dead and buried, he would love no one but me. Too long.
I crawled into the bed, my body still aching for him, dreaming of those deep, dark eyes and those lips that had run over my hands. Imagining what they would feel like as he kissed my stomach, my breasts, my thighs…