Chapter
13
In the morning, Elena woke with a song
in her heart, a smile on her face, and aches in places that had
never ached before, but it was a wonderful kind of pain. A wave of
tenderness swept through her when she saw Drake sleeping beside
her. He was an amazing lover. She hated to think what she would
have missed if she had refused to consummate their marriage. How
dreadful it would have been, to go through life never knowing how
amazing making love could be. Remembering how disappointed some of
her girlfriends had been after having made love to their
boyfriends, Elena could only surmise that not every man was as
skilled at the art of lovemaking as her husband.
Was it because he was a vampire? She
frowned. And then she laughed. If being a vampire enhanced a man’s
lovemaking, every woman in the world would be clamoring for her man
to join the ranks of the Undead!
Rolling onto her side, Elena studied
her husband’s face. His brows were nicely shaped, his lashes thick
and rather long, his cheekbones high and pronounced, his lips . . .
ah, those lips. A rush of warmth engulfed her when she remembered
the intimate places his mouth had been last night.
A giggle rose in her throat. Would he
make love to her like that again tonight? How could she wait until
then? If she touched his shoulder, would he awaken and take her in
his arms?
Why had it been necessary for them to
make love? Not that she was sorry, but it would have been easy
enough for her to lie to his sire and claim they had consummated
their marriage. Who would know otherwise?
A breath whispered past Drake’s lips
and then he smiled. “Rodin would know,” he murmured.
“I thought you were asleep!” Elena
stared at him. “How did you know what I was thinking?”
“You were thinking so hard, it was
impossible not to hear you.”
Even though his eyes were still closed,
she made a face at him. Was there anything he couldn’t do? He came
and went like the wind, he could read her mind. And he was the most
amazingly attractive and virile man she had ever met.
“Thank you, wife.”
“Oh!” she exclaimed in exasperation.
“Am I to have no secrets from you at all?”
A wry smile twisted his lips. “Probably
not.”
She glared at him. There had to be a
way to keep him from reading her mind. She tapped her fingertips on
the mattress. There had to be a way. . . . Grinning, she began to
mentally recite the recipe for chocolate chip cookies. And then,
still thinking about flour and sugar and vanilla, she leaned over
and kissed him full on the lips.
He opened his eyes with a start, then
burst out laughing. “Very clever, wife.”
“Thank you,” she said smugly, and then
shrieked when he rolled her onto her back and straddled her
thighs.
“Do you know what I am thinking?” he
asked, a mischievous twinkle in his dark eyes.
“I can see what you’re thinking,” she retorted with a quick,
downward glance. “But it’s daytime,” she added primly.
“What has that to do with anything?” he
asked.
“Well . . . the sun is up . . . and . .
. and it’s daylight. . . .” she stammered. “Shouldn’t we wait until
dark?”
“Daytime, nighttime, any time you
desire, my darling wife.”
It had never occurred to her that
people engaged in such intimate relations in the broad light of
day. Besides . . . “How can you be awake when the sun is
up?”
“How can I think of sleep with you
lying there beneath me?”
“So you can be awake during the
day?”
“For short periods of time, as long as
I stay out of the sun.”
She stored that away for future
reference.
Leaning down, he kissed her forehead,
her cheeks, the tip of her nose, the corners of her mouth. “Should
I stop?”
Feeling delightfully wicked, Elena
clasped her hands behind his neck and drew him closer. “Read my
mind,” she murmured, and pressed her lips to his.
It was late afternoon before Elena
slipped on her robe and left the room. Drake was sleeping soundly.
Had he been an ordinary man, she would have thought him weary after
a morning of lovemaking, but he was a vampire, with the stamina of
twenty men. It wasn’t exhaustion, but the sleep of his kind, that
held him in its grasp.
In the kitchen, she heated water, then
filled a small wooden tub. After removing her robe, she stepped
into the water and scrubbed herself clean. She should be upset, she
thought, frightened that the man she had married was a vampire.
Instead, she felt like singing. What was wrong with her? Had a
night and a morning of exquisite sex deprived her of her sanity?
She felt herself smiling again as she thought of the hours she had
spent in Drake’s arms, the sweet love words he had whispered in her
ear.
Drying off, she slipped into her robe
again, then looked around for something to eat. She settled for a
bowl of fruit and a cup of tea.
Sitting at the table, waiting for the
tea to cool, she found herself thinking of Drake and wondering how
soon they could make love again.
Drake woke with the setting of the sun,
unable to dispel a sense of doom as he prepared to return to the
Fortress. He had avoided thinking about returning home for
centuries. He had always been an outcast, never quite fitting in
with the others of his kind. And now there was Elena. He never
should have married her, never entangled her in his life, but it
was too late now. She was a part of him. The best
part.
After dressing, Drake left the castle
to feed. Knowing he would need all his strength to face his sire,
he fed often and deeply. It would have been quicker, easier, to
simply drain one human, but to do so meant the mortal’s death. Only
thoughts of Elena kept him from taking a life now.
When he returned to the castle, he
found his bride in the main room, a vision in a knee-length dress
of lavender silk that showed off her feminine curves to perfection.
The neckline was square, the sleeves short and puffy. Her smile of
welcome warmed his heart.
“Good evening, wife,” he murmured,
taking her into his arms. “How lovely you look.”
“Thank you.” She gazed up at him, a
question in her eyes. “You’re late this evening.”
Nodding, he stroked her cheek, thinking
it was as soft and silky as the dress she wore.
She tilted her head to the side. “Did
you go out?”
“Yes. I needed to feed before we meet
my sire.”
The mention of Rodin sent a shiver of
unease through her. Try as she might, she couldn’t convince herself
that Drake’s father would be happy to see her, especially when he
learned that his son could no longer marry the woman who had been
chosen for him.
“You didn’t tell me how Rodin would
know if we had made love or not,” she remarked.
“He would only have to read your
mind.”
“Can all vampires do
that?”
He nodded. “We can read human minds,
but not those of our own kind.”
“So, all the vampires I meet will be
able to read my mind?” That was a troubling prospect. It would be
most embarrassing, having them all know what she was thinking,
especially when all she could think about was making love to Drake
and how anxious she was to be in his arms, and in his bed,
again.
He smiled at her. “Soon,” he promised.
“But now, we must go.”
Hoping to put the moment off, she said,
“I haven’t packed anything.”
“No need.” He gazed into her eyes.
“Whatever happens, there is no reason for you to be afraid. My sire
will not harm you. It is not Rodin’s way to make war on
women.”
“War!” she exclaimed. “Are you going
there to fight him?”
“No. At least not in the way you
mean.”
“How long will it take us to get
there?”
“No time at all.” He wrapped his arms
around her. “Just hang on to me. You might experience a little
dizziness or nausea, but it will soon pass.”
Elena frowned at him, but she didn’t
have time to ask the questions forming in her mind. There was a
strange sensation of moving rapidly through a thick gray haze, an
odd buzzing in her ears, followed by a brief queasiness in the pit
of her stomach. When the world righted itself again, she was
standing in the middle of a large room like none she had ever seen
before.
In front of her, two large chairs,
ornately carved from black wood, stood side by side on a raised
dais. A glance around the room showed a horseshoe-shaped table
behind her. A quick count told her there were thirteen chairs at
the table. Twelve of them were occupied by men—all of whom had long
black hair, pale skin, dark eyes, and serious expressions. They
looked so much alike, she was certain they must all be
related.
She noted that the walls appeared to be
white marble veined with gold and black; a thick gold carpet
covered the floor; an enormous fireplace, also made of marble, took
up one whole wall to the left of the dais. Heavy gold chandeliers
hung from the vaulted ceilings, but it was the glow of hundreds of
candles that illumined the room.
But it wasn’t the décor of the room
that held Elena’s attention. Rather, it was the man and woman who
occupied the chairs on the dais. The woman was quite simply the
most beautiful creature Elena had ever seen. She wore a long black
velvet dress that displayed a modest amount of cleavage. The dark
fabric made her pale skin glow like alabaster. Waist-length, pale
blond hair fell over her bare shoulders. Her eyes were a dark,
vibrant green. She wore no adornments of any kind save for a
bloodred rose in her hair.
The man stood. He, too, was dressed all
in black. Tall and broad-shouldered, with inky black hair and deep
blue eyes, he looked enough like Drake to be his twin. He did not
look happy to see the two of them.
“Drake.” His voice was deep, laced with
an air of command. He made a sharp gesture with his hand, a silent
order to approach.
Drake squeezed Elena’s hand. “Stay
here. Whatever happens, do not interfere. And do not lie to him,”
he murmured, and strode toward the dais, his head held
high.
To her surprise, he knelt on one knee
in front of the other man. “Sire.”
So, she thought, this was Drake’s
father. Was the woman his mother?
Rodin made a broad gesture with his
hand, and all the men seated at the table rose and left the
chamber. The sound of the door closing behind them echoed like a
death knell in Elena’s ears.
“Drake. It has been a long time,” Rodin
remarked, his tone heavy with censure.
“Not long enough.”
“You know why I have called you
here.”
Drake nodded curtly. “And you know I
have no wish to take my place on the Council. Or to wed a woman of
your choosing.”
“Unfortunately, the decisions are not
yours to make.” Rodin lifted his gaze to Elena. “Who is this mortal
and why have you brought her here, uninvited?”
Taking a deep breath, Drake said, “This
is Elena. My wife.”
Outrage flashed in Rodin’s
eyes.
The woman on the dais leaned forward, a
gasp issuing from her lips. If possible, her face grew even more
pale.
“I did not think you would go so far to
defy me,” Rodin said, his voice cold.
“I was not thinking of you when I took
her for my bride.”
“It is obvious you were not thinking at
all! To marry a mortal is forbidden. You know that as well as
I.”
Drake shrugged. “You know the old
saying,” he retorted. “Laws are made to be broken.”
“Those who willfully defy the laws of
the Coven invite destruction.”
Still kneeling, Drake flung his arms
out to his sides. “Do your worst.”
“No!” The woman on the dais rose to her
feet, tension evident in every line of her body. “I will not have
it!”
“Be silent! I will not let him go
unpunished.”
The woman relaxed visibly. “Of course
not, my lord.”
Rodin didn’t say anything, but
suddenly, there were four burly men in the room. They surrounded
Drake. He made no move to resist when two of them pulled him to his
feet and dragged him away. The other two men followed
behind.
Elena stared after Drake, overcome with
a sudden fear that she would never see him again. She yearned to
run after him, but every instinct she possessed warned her to stay
where she was.
Taking a deep breath, she turned to
face Rodin and the woman. If Rodin treated his son like that, what
would he do to her, an uninvited, unwelcome stranger?
Rodin regarded the female standing
before him. It was easy to see why Drake had chosen her. She was
young and pretty, with a slender figure and vibrant brown eyes. He
sensed a streak of valor in her that she did not realize she
possessed. It amused him to think that her courage might be put to
the test before the night was out.
Drawing himself up to his full height,
he said, “I am Rodin and this is my wife, Liliana.”
“I’m Elena Knightsbridge,” she said,
only then realizing she didn’t know Drake’s last name. Perhaps he
didn’t have one.
“Has Drake told you of us, what we
are?” Rodin asked.
Elena hesitated; then, remembering
Drake’s admonition to tell the truth, she nodded.
“You wed him knowing what he
is?”
“No. I did not learn that until
later.”
“What has he told you?”
“Very little.”
“Do you know why I summoned him
here?”
“Yes.”
“Your presence complicates matters. My
son is betrothed to another. Their marriage was to take place when
the moon is new.”
Not knowing how to respond, Elena
remained mute.
Liliana took a step forward, her gaze
fixed on Elena’s face. “Are you in love with Drake?”
“Yes,” she said, and knew in that
moment that it was true. Somewhere along the way, she had fallen in
love with him.
“And does he love you?” Liliana asked,
her brow furrowed.
“I don’t know.”
“Love!” Rodin said, sneering. “An
overrated emotion, to be sure. It has nothing to do with Drake’s
responsibility to the Coven.”
Elena cleared her throat. “I would
think that our marriage would negate his betrothal to
another.”
“Our race is very old,” Rodin said,
resuming his seat. “Our men are strong and virile, as you
undoubtedly know. However, in spite of their lusty nature, they are
unable to procreate until they have survived for five centuries.
And because our women far outnumber the men, it is forbidden for
males who attain that age to waste their seed on mortal women. Such
unions do not produce offspring.”
Elena stared at him. She had not given
any thought to having children, had just assumed it would happen
sooner or later. Now, realizing it would never happen filled her
with an unexpected sadness.
“The breeding season for our women is
short,” Rodin continued. “The woman chosen for Drake is young and
fertile.”
Elena clenched her hands. Drake had
told her that Rodin wouldn’t hurt her, but she was beginning to
have her doubts.
“Rodin,” Liliana said quietly, “I
believe you are scaring our guest.”
He grunted softly. “I must think about
this. Take her to dinner.”
Elena felt a sinking sensation in the
pit of her stomach. Was she going to be dinner?
“Come with me,” Liliana said
imperiously.
Filled with trepidation, Elena followed
Liliana out of the room, down a wide candlelit hallway lined with
portraits, and into a large dining hall. The walls were stark
white, devoid of decoration. Dozens of young men and women sat at
long trestle tables that were laden with bowls and platters and
baskets filled with more food than Elena had ever seen. The women
all wore long gray dresses; the men wore gray vests and
pants.
The occupants all turned to look at
Elena when she entered the room.
Liliana guided her to an empty seat at
the last table near the back of the room. “Please, sit down. I will
bring you a tray.”
Murmuring, “Thank you,” Elena sat down,
acutely conscious of the stares being sent her way. Some of the
occupants appeared merely curious, but a few regarded her with
obvious malevolence. She thought it odd that, for so many people,
there was no conversation at all.
Liliana returned a short time later.
She set a tray before Elena that held more food than she could have
eaten in a week.
“I did not know what you liked,”
Liliana explained, taking the seat across from her, “so I brought
you a little of everything. Please, eat.”
Smiling faintly, Elena picked up the
fork, surprised to find the utensils were made of stainless steel
and not gold-plated, like the utensils at Wolfram Castle. She took
a bite of an individual-sized casserole topped with mashed
potatoes.
“Is it to your liking?” Liliana
asked.
Elena nodded. “May I ask you
something?”
“Of course.”
“Are all these people
vampires?”
Liliana smiled indulgently. “No. They
are sheep.”
“Excuse me?”
“The Fortress houses a number of
vampires, both old and young,” Liliana replied, as if that
explained everything.
“I don’t understand.”
“The Fortress is our primary lair. Our
people come here when they feel the need of solitude, or time to
heal. Others come to rest, or to mate. There is no hunting allowed
within two hundred miles. As the Master of the Fortress and the
leader of our people, Rodin is duty-bound to provide sustenance for
those who take shelter here.”
Elena paused, fork in midair.
“Sustenance?” She stared at Liliana in horror. “These people are
food?”
“Do not look so shocked, my dear. We do
not kill them.”
“But you feed on them?” Elena dropped
her fork. It clattered loudly on the table, drawing more curious
gazes from the other diners.
Liliana made a broad gesture with her
hand. “As you can see, they are well cared for.”
“Are they free to leave
here?”
Liliana sat up straighter, her
expression suddenly hostile. “Please, finish your
meal.”
“I’m not hungry. I want to see
Drake.”
“I am afraid that is not possible at
this time.”
“Why not? Where is he? What have you
done to him?” Merciful heavens, had they killed him?
“He is being punished for his
disobedience.”
Relief coursed through her. And then
anger. “I’m his wife!” she exclaimed, rising. “I demand to see him.
Now.”
It was obvious, from the set of
Liliana’s jaw and the look in her eyes, that she wasn’t accustomed
to being addressed in that tone of voice, especially with others
looking on. She took several deep breaths and then rose gracefully
to her feet. “Very well. Come with me.”
Feeling suddenly apprehensive, Elena
followed Liliana up a narrow flight of stairs. She had expected to
find a room of some kind when they reached the landing, but it only
led to another flight of stairs and then another until they reached
a squat wooden door. There was no visible latch on the door, yet it
opened at the touch of Liliana’s hand.
Elena peered into the room, which was
lit only by a narrow shaft of moonlight shining through a slit in
the roof.
“Drake? Elena wishes to see you. Call
me when she is ready to leave,” Liliana said, and pushed Elena into
the room.
Elena stumbled forward into the
darkness to be caught up in a pair of welcoming arms.
“Elena, what are you doing
here?”
“Drake! Oh, Drake!” She collapsed
against him, her face buried in the hollow of his shoulder. “We
have to get out of here.”
He brushed a lock of hair from her
forehead, then kissed her lightly. “I cannot go.”
“Why not?” She looked up at him,
wishing she could see his face. “Why can’t we leave the same way we
got here?”
“I am bound.”
“I don’t understand.”
He lifted one leg and she heard the
rattle of chains. “Shackles,” he explained. “Only Rodin can free
me.” He caressed her cheek. “I never should have brought you here.
Never brought you into my life.”
“They feed on people.”
“He told you that?”
“I saw it. I saw them. The . . . the
sheep.”
Taking off his coat, Drake spread it on
the hard cement. “Come, sit down,” he urged, and sat beside her,
his arm sliding around her shoulders to draw her
close.
“Did you do that? Feed on those
helpless people?”
“Years ago,” he admitted quietly. “When
I was very young.”
“Your mother said they don’t kill them.
Is that true?”
“Partly. Accidents happen when we are
changing. Sometimes there is a loss of control.” There were those
in the outside world who preferred to kill their prey. There was no
law against it, as long as there were no bodies drained of blood
left behind. Vampires who went rogue and became a danger to the
Coven were destroyed. But he saw no need to tell Elena that, not
now.
“Where do they come from?” she asked
hesitantly. “The sheep?”
Drake’s gaze slid away from hers. This
was another part of his existence he had hoped to keep hidden from
her. “We raise them. They have never known any other
life.”
Elena listened in mounting horror as he
told her how the people she had seen in the dining hall were the
descendants of three couples that Rodin had captured hundreds of
years ago.
“As I said, they are rarely mistreated.
They are well fed. They are taught to read and write by their
parents. Here, in the Fortress, they are given books to read and
other things to occupy their time. Some of them work in the
kitchens. Others in the laundry. They live in dormitories in the
basement—boys in one, girls in another—until they are old enough to
mate, and then a select few are allowed rooms of their
own.”
“But they’re prisoners. It’s wrong to
keep people locked up for food, to breed them like . . . like . .
.”
“Sheep?”
“Yes! How can you be a party to such a
thing? It’s barbaric!”
“I never said I approved. It is one of
the reasons I do not stay here. The reason I left in the first
place.”
Elena frowned. If they raised the
people for food . . . “Where are the children? The
babies?”
“They are housed elsewhere until they
are grown.”
“With their parents?”
“Yes, until they are sixteen, and then
they come here.”
“But, the children? Are they always
locked up? Do they ever get to go outside and play in the fresh
air?”
“Elena . . .”
Her answer was there, in the tone of
his voice.
Elena stared up at the sliver of sky
visible through the roof, her heart aching for the people who were
kept here against their will, for the children who would never know
the freedom to run and play outdoors. These people deserved to be
free, to live their own lives, to come and go as they pleased. She
couldn’t begin to imagine how they must feel. And yet, Drake had
said they had never known any other life. She thought of the
homeless people her uncle had told her about when she complained
that she wanted a new dress. He had told her to be thankful for
what she had, that there were children who lived on the streets in
the big cities who had to beg for their bread, men who had to steal
to feed their families.
She shook her head. As terrible as that
might be, she thought she would rather starve than spend her life
in this place, to have no other purpose than to provide sustenance
for vampires.
Drake’s arm tightened around her
shoulders. “I cannot change it, Elena,” he said. “It has been our
way for centuries. Were it not for the ready supply of blood that
is here, Rodin’s people would be forced to prey upon those in the
outside world.”
“Are there places like this wherever
your people live?”
“Yes. Every country throughout the
world has a similar Fortress, and each one is ruled by a Master
Vampire.”
“And your father ordered you here to
mate with another vampire?”
“Yes. And to take my place on the
Council, something I have resisted for three hundred
years.”
“That empty chair. It’s for you, isn’t
it?”
“Yes.”
“I noticed that the men all bear a
striking resemblance to your father.”
“They are my brothers.”
“All of them?”
“Yes, though we do not all have the
same mother.”
“What does the Council
do?”
“They judge those who have broken our
laws, and execute them, if necessary.”
Elena went cold inside. Were they going
to execute Drake for marrying her? Surely not! Surely the members
of the Council wouldn’t pass a sentence of death on their own
brother. She felt as if she couldn’t breathe, as if she had tumbled
into a nightmare from which there was no escape.
“Is that what you wish?” Drake asked,
stroking her hair.
“What?”
“To escape? To be free of
me?”
She chewed on her thumbnail. Did she
want that? Did she want to leave Drake and never see him again? Go
back to her old life with her uncle? If she left Drake, he would be
free to marry the woman Rodin had chosen for him and there would be
no need for him to suffer anymore. She shook her head. How could
she leave him? “I don’t know.”
“If it is your desire, Rodin will erase
your memories of this place and everything that happened since the
night we met. It will be as if none of it ever
happened.”
“And if I stay?”
“You would be wiser to
go.”
She tried to see his face in the
darkness. “Is that what you want?”
“I am only thinking of what is best for
you.”
“Do you want me to go?”
“No. You are the only thing in my life
that matters. But there is no place for you here. And even if there
were, you would not be happy living among us, knowing what is going
on.” He took a deep breath and released it in a heavy sigh. “If
Rodin offers you the chance to leave, you should take
it.”
It wasn’t a decision Elena was ready to
make, so she changed the subject. “Is this where you come to
feed?”
“No. I hunted in the city.” He laughed
softly. “It is another of my sins.”
“Why didn’t you come here? Where is
this place?”
“The Fortress is located high in the
Southern Carpathian Mountains. A veil hides it from mortal eyes,
though there are those, mostly people with paranormal powers of one
kind or another, who have penetrated the veil from time to
time.”
She started to ask what happened to
those people, then decided she didn’t want to know.
“Do all the Fortresses keep people to
feed on?”
“No. Most of our kind prey on the
general populace of whatever country they call home.”
“Are all the vampires united?” That was
a scary thought.
He shook his head. “There are always
those who lust for power. Rodin has had to defend his territory on
numerous occasions. There are rumors that the ruler of the
Hungarian Fortress wants to take over Rodin’s domain.”
Elena frowned. How could vampires go to
war with each other without the mortal world being aware of it? In
this age of cell phones and digital cameras, it seemed
impossible.
“Master Vampires fight one on one,”
Drake said, answering her unspoken question. “Winner take
all.”
“What does that mean, winner take
all?”
“The victor takes the loser’s Fortress
and everything that goes with it. All those who lived there are
forced to leave and seek shelter elsewhere.”
“And they always leave, without a
fight?”
“Master Vampires possess an enormous
amount of power. There are not many who have the courage or the
strength to challenge them.”
“So, do all the vampires in your
father’s command or whatever you call it live in the
Fortress?”
“No. Usually only those of his own
blood, and those who are in need of healing or rest stay here,
although all the Carpathian vampires are welcome to visit. You are
cold,” he said, drawing her body closer to his. “You should go
below.”
She clutched his arm. “I don’t want to
leave you.” Who knew when, or if, she would be allowed to see him
again? Smothering a yawn with her hand, she laid her head against
his shoulder and closed her eyes, her mind reeling with the events
of the day, the things she had learned.
Sensing her distress, Drake let his
mind brush hers, willing her to relax. A moment later, she was
asleep.
Lifting her into his arms, Drake
cradled her to his chest. He stroked her hair, caressed her cheek.
In spite of the darkness, he could see her clearly. He had been
certain that, given a choice to stay or go, she would leave this
place. He had spoken truly when he’d told her it would be wiser for
her to leave. He had no idea how long Rodin would keep him locked
up, wouldn’t put it past his sire to threaten Elena’s life in order
to get Drake to end his marriage so that he might wed and bed
Katiya. And even though Drake was certain Rodin wouldn’t harm
Elena, he wasn’t willing to risk her safety or her life to prove
it.
“Ah, sweet wife, what am I to do with
you?” he murmured, although the greater question might be, what
would become of her if Rodin refused to let her go?
He glanced up as a chill wind eddied
through the crack in the roof. Come morning, the light of the sun
would penetrate that narrow slit. The fire of it, the feel of it
dancing over his skin, would be excruciating beyond anything he had
ever known.
There wasn’t much in this life he
feared, but being trapped in the sun, dying inch by slow inch . . .
He shuddered at the thought.
How long would Rodin keep him locked in
this accursed place? A day? Two?
How long would it take for the sun to
burn away his flesh and steal his strength until nothing remained
but a pile of charred ashes?