Almost Lovers (8 page)

"I'm not sleeping with you," I said, laying
out the law as Sebastian's eyebrow went up to show his amusement,
"And we're not dating. We're just..."

I tried to think of a way to describe this
arrangement without making it sound like we were dating.

"We're just seeing each other," said
Sebastian, a big grin spread across his face.

That wasn't going to work either. That made
it sound worse than saying we were dating.

"No," I said, shaking my head, "We're
friends,"

"Oh come on," he said, turning up the charm
and giving me a wink, "We're more than friends,"

"Just friends or nothing at all," I
said.

I crossed my arms and tried to look tough.
My biggest negotiations had been paper or plastic for a good while
so this was unfamiliar ground.

"Fine," he said, "Friends...for now,"

"Fine," I said, echoing him.

I felt worse than before. I kind of felt
owned. I mean, this was emotional blackmail over matters of the
heart, wasn’t it? And the realization that Robert and I were not
officially together anymore stung.

It hurt me and made my anger rise up. I
sipped my cold coffee as Sebastian sat there like he had won
something, statuesque and victorious. He looked completely pleased
with himself. I on the other hand felt like I was in deeper than I
had bargained for. How in the world would I be able to get Robert
back? And get rid of Lydia without explaining this to Robert why I
continued spending time with Sebastian. I hadn't thought this one
out. Not in the least.

By the time we were done with our coffee he
had some place to be and I had to get home and wash off all the
shame. I had to figure out how to get rid of Lydia. I wasn’t going
to be able to get Robert back if he had a shiny toy to play with.
Besides, I wouldn't mind seeing her with her toy taken away from
her as well.

Figuring out how exactly to get rid of Lydia
would be the hard part. I looked over at Sebastian as he threw away
our cups and offered an arm for me to hold as we walked back to my
apartment building. I just might have the hardest time convincing
Sebastian that there were better fish in the sea for him. Though he
was handsome, if I ever wanted to get Robert back I couldn't see
Sebastian anymore. But for now we had a deal, even if it was
blackmail.

Sebastian promised to call and I promised I
would, even though I wasn’t sure I wanted to, answer. He placed a
gentle kiss on my hand, then he left and I scrubbed my hand for
fifteen minutes in the shower. Because for a moment, I had enjoyed
his lips on my hand.

This day wasn’t going the way I wanted. I
had postponed as long as I possibly could. I sent a team to track
down Lydia after she had escaped from my car trunk and literally
walked right up to me to rub it in my face. The team had to wait
until that idiot Robert had been distracted to return her to my
trunk. If she was smart Lydia would have run for her life. I had no
idea what the Queen would do.

I pulled the car into the drive and decided
I might as well use the front door. I’m getting ready to present
Lydia on a silver platter to the Queen. I wanted to let her go. I
still had the urge. I could hear her pounding on the inside of the
trunk lid. I couldn't trust her to sit in the car with me. I loved
her but I wasn't an idiot. I saw the look in her eyes before I
knocked her out. She would have torn me to shreds to get to
Prussia. It made no sense to me why she hated Prussia so much. One
second she's playing nice and toying with Prussia's loser boyfriend
and the next she's gone bat shit crazy trying to end her.

The door to the front of the castle opened.
It was cast in shadows and I couldn't really see in. Apparently, I
was expected. That or Charlie wanted me to get out of the car so it
wasn't in the way. The sun was past noon. My coffee date with
Prussia had taken longer than I expected. I couldn't miss my date
with Prussia. I had to choose. So I had left Lydia locked in the
trunk and that’s when she had escaped. She wasn't happy. I could
hear her seething anger in each swear word she shouted from the
trunk. I put my sunglasses on and got out of the car, taking a few
quick steps to the trunk. Lydia banged on the lid from inside the
trunk.

"Let me out of here you fucking bastard,"
Lydia screamed.

As far as screams go, I had never heard her
angrier. Great. I would get clawed again. Just what I needed. I
banged on the lid.

"Shut your mouth or I'll let you rot in
there," I told her.

She went quiet. I was stalling, trying to
think of a way to get Lydia to behave half decent so that the Queen
would spare her, show her some mercy. Maybe she would just send her
to ground for a decade or two. That was a harsh punishment. No one
would think it too lenient. Even for disobeying the Queen. And they
say after the first couple of years it's not so bad. It's just the
first few years that drive you absolutely mad.

"Let me out of here right now and I won't
tell the Queen that you got in the way of me killing Prussia!" she
yelled at me in a calmer voice but still angry.

I couldn't help myself. I let out a laugh.
Here she’s trying to pull a con on me, a lie that could end me. I
thought back to her look, those dead-set determined eyes that were
prepared to go through me to get to Prussia. I laid a hand on the
trunk lid. If I had planned to let her go I would have before I got
to the castle. Hell, I wouldn’t have sent a team to find her after
she got away. But it was as plain as ever that Lydia, if she ever
cared for me, wasn't as in love with me as I was with her. My heart
ached. I still wanted her to live. I wanted to fix her, to make her
better, to just convince her to behave so we could be together. But
not at the expense of my own life.

"If you try to run, I'll kill you," I said,
loud enough for her to hear but not too loud. I meant it. I think
she believed me.

"Okay, it's your funeral," she said.

I opened the trunk and she tried to punch
me. I caught her wrist and twisted it around her, hugging her close
to me so that she couldn't struggle.

"I mean it," I said close to her ear.

We were both breathing heavy. It wasn't
exertion. It was adrenaline.

"I know," she said, her hair in my face.

The breeze brushed her hair away. I could
see that she wasn't happy to be here. She didn't want to be here at
all. A party in full swing has more witnesses. It's no fun to cause
a scene when there is no audience. And it's not a warm thought when
you're about to die without witnesses.

"Take me," she said, "or don't,"

A master of manipulation, I knew what she
meant. She taunted me with the power she knew she had over me, that
dangerous knowledge that she could flip like a switch - I loved her
completely.

"Yes, Lady Lydia," I said.

She bit her lip. I think using her old title
hurt her and made it real. We were about to enter our world, the
world very few knew of and if anything, we were formal and final.
There would be no appeal.

I kept my hand wrapped around her wrist and
guided her out of the trunk. I pulled her up the steps of the
castle and dragged her through the many hallways that
crisscrossed.

When we made it to the Queen's chambers, I
was surprised to find that Lydia put up less of a struggle and even
seemed unafraid.

"I warned you," said Lydia to me as I
knocked on the Queen's door, "I loved you," she whispered.

My heart sank and pity was all I could feel
for her. She clung to her lies all the way to the gates of hell. I
couldn't blame her. Self preservation was a strong urge, even for a
vampire. But why didn’t she run when she had the chance?

"As did I," I said, "in both respects,"

I set my jaw and listened for Victoria. I
heard some muffled sounds from the room but before I could open it
the door was opened by one of the Royal Guard. There was another of
the Queen's Royal Guard stationed inside of the room. They were
guarding her from the inside of the room. That was new.

"Come in," called Victoria, her voice calm
and commanding as usual.

I swallowed hard, not prepared for what I
knew would come next. And what I didn't expect at all happened.
Lydia yanked her wrist from me. And I let her. We shared a glance
in that moment. I desperately wanted her to run, her death more
real now than ever before. With other guards there it wouldn't just
fall on me. I could deny that I was the one that let her escape
though there would still be some shame on my name. But she would be
alive. Her eyes were defiant to the end and furious. She rubbed her
wrist for a split second. A small part of me withered up as she
walked past me, right into the Queen's chambers with her head held
high. She walked straight into the den of the monster, our monster,
as if she belonged. I wanted to scream at her to run. But I kept
silent. I held my tongue.

"Lydia dear," said the Queen, "What news do
you bring me?"

The Queen smiled at her and that made me
extremely nervous. Things were not as they seemed. Something was
up. The Queen was political but she had no reason to be polite with
Lydia, never had. She had openly disliked her and I being together.
Something had changed.

Lydia went straight to the Queen and knelt
in respect, head bent. I followed and stood behind Lydia as jailer.
The fact that my captive came so willing had me baffled.

"I failed," said Lydia gravely, "Sebastian
prevented me from carrying out your order,"

"I see," said the Queen.

I couldn't believe my ears. I couldn't
believe what I had just heard.

"You ordered what?" I asked, "You-"

"Silence!" said the Queen.

Her hand was swift, it came inches within my
face, palm flat and facing me as if to forcibly silence me without
actually touching me.

Lydia bent her head lower. I knelt beside
her as quickly as I could. The Queen really had lost her mind. She
had ordered me to protect Prussia and ordered Lydia to kill
Prussia, giving me explicit orders to kill anyone that made an
attempt on Prussia. The Queen had set us up to kill one
another.

I could feel the haughty 'I told you so'
rolling off of Lydia in my direction in waves. I could see the
slightest smirk on her face as she bent looking at her toes. I let
my eyes drift sideways toward her and glared. She enjoyed this, not
even caring that the Queen didn’t care that we could have killed
each other. She only cared that she was right and I was wrong.

"Prussia is alive?" the Queen asked.

"Yes," Lydia and I said at the same
time.

"Yes," said someone behind Lydia and I.

I caught a glimpse of a Royal uniform. It
was one of the stealth operatives for the Royal Guard.

"Was there any indication to Prussia that
her life was in danger or that either of them was there?" asked the
Queen.

"No, your Majesty," said the guard, "We
staked out the building as instructed and waited,"

He went on to report the series of events as
he had seen them. I hadn't noticed him at all, let alone more than
one operative. The Queen hadn't trusted me to protect Prussia. It
made sense. The life of a human to the vampire is the same as
cattle are to humans.

"Anything else?" asked the Queen as the
Royal Guard wrapped up.

He paused. I thought for certain he would
mention that they were the same team that I had called to recover
Lydia after she had escaped. They had been my team. It made it cut
deeper that she had used my own team against me. I wanted to know
which guard it was but movement would have drawn unwanted
attention. And asking a guard to lie to the Queen could get me, and
others, killed. I held my breath …and waited. What felt like an
eternity must have only been a few seconds but it shredded my
insides.

"We did neutralize an additional threat that
had tried to breach the perimeter during the altercation between
Prince Sebastian and Lady Lydia." said the guard.

"An additional threat?" I asked.

I hadn't caught that either. I had been too
busy dealing with Lydia. Though I would have if I hadn't been
fending off Lydia. That is what Lydia was good at though, causing
complications though put in motion by the Queen this time. Victoria
had manipulated us both masterfully.

"We were able to I.D. him," said the guard,
"A vampire from a coven in Brazil,"

"I want a full report on my desk this
evening," said the Queen.

The guard bowed and took his leave, the
other guards closing the door behind him. She dismissed the two
guards at their posts and they both removed themselves to the
hallway. We were alone, the three of us. I breathed out. Relief
that my greatest mistake had been left out overwhelmed me. He would
not let me forget, if I could keep my head – literally.

"Lydia," said the Queen, "Rise."

Lydia stood up and I continued to kneel with
my face pointed at the floor. I had been confused before but now I
was just angry. I was angry at the Queen for what she had done to
Lydia and I. It was unforgivable. No matter if she thought we were
a poor match or not. She couldn't pit us against each other on a
whim to have us fight to the death and certainly not over a
human.