Arielle Immortal Awakening (26 page)

Arielle was so happy about him being here that she could hardly contain her emotions. As she walked dreamily back towards Ian and Paul, she caught a glimpse of Eva in the corner of the living room, looking extremely worried, and motioning anxiously for her to come over. As she got closer, Arielle could see that Eva was having difficulty breathing. She reached over and held Eva’s hand.

“What is it, Eva?” she asked, staring at her face. She looked as if she were in a trance.

Eva leaned close to her ear and whispered, “Danger. I can see danger approaching the house!”

Terrified, Arielle’s body went rigid. She stared towards the ballroom entrance, but saw nothing unusual. Her mind began to race as conflicting feelings overwhelmed her. Eva’s visions had always been accurate before. Who was coming? Could it be Annabel? She looked around in a complete panic. Her breath was coming in uneven gasps. She was trying to decide if she should run and find Sebastian. She looked back at Eva, whose expression gave her warning only a second before panic did. She pressed her eyes closed and gulped mouthfuls of air, trying to calm herself down. She felt she was being totally irrational. She was in her own house, among her family and friends. What could possibly go wrong?

Then, before anyone could move, they heard the doorbell ring. Arielle froze in place as she saw her mother move toward the door. Soon she walked back to where Arielle was standing, followed by a beautiful young woman with dark hair and a seamless walk. Their eyes met. Arielle had never seen her before. But Eva’s look didn’t escape her; her eyes were filled with horror. She looked back at the woman who was approaching and she heard her mother’s voice. “This is Savanna,” she said. “She says she is a friend of Sebastian’s.”

Arielle understood the look on Eva’s face. Savanna’s perfect features, her seamless walk, and her incredible beauty all suggested that she wasn’t human. Still, Arielle had no idea who she was. Instinctively she reached up to touch her necklace and was horrified as she remembered that she had left it in her jewelry box. She turned to look at Troy with a desperate look, and he seemed to understand that something was not quite right. Eva was still standing next to her, unable to move, and Troy was moving closer, never taking his eyes off of Arielle.

Arielle’s mother smiled politely and walked away, completely unaware of the danger Arielle might be in. Arielle turned toward Savanna and said, her voice a bit shaky, “Oh, can I help you?”

“I’m an old friend of Sebastian’s,” Savanna said. Her voice was soft as velvet and her smile was absolutely beautiful. “I was told he was here, and I came to see him,” she lied.

Somehow her smile seemed just a bit too friendly, but it never touched her eyes. “How do you know Sebastian?” Arielle asked, her voice barely a whisper.

“He was my boyfriend for a very long time. The last time we saw each other was in Spain at the Garniere ball with the Dillons,” she said. Her smile remained as if pasted on her face, and she never took her eyes off of Arielle. Arielle was extremely uncomfortable. “We had a wonderful night together, and he asked me to look for him if I ever found myself bored and somewhere close to him. I found out he was here, so here I am,” she lied again, chuckling softly. Her laughter was full of insinuation.

“Who told you where to find him?” Arielle asked, her heart hammering in her chest. Here was yet another woman from his past, looking for Sebastian, wanting to claim him. Arielle shifted her gaze slowly from Savanna’s face to Troy’s. Savanna followed her gaze and turned to look at Troy, but, oblivious to the fact that she was looking at another immortal, seemed totally unruffled by his presence. Then Arielle turned back to Savanna, who was looking intently into her eyes.

“So, you must be Arielle?” she asked, her voice completely composed.

Arielle took a couple of deep breaths, then answered in a low and shaky voice, “Yes, I’m Arielle. And you are in my house.” Savanna looked completely unmoved by these words. Arielle, not wanting to create a spectacle in front of her guests, decided to walk to the dining room without thinking about her safety. Savanna followed her with Troy and Eva keeping a sharp eye on both of them.

“What exactly do you want?” Arielle asked Savanna, in a near whisper. She was still trying to prevent a scene.

“I want to see Sebastian, of course,” Savanna said, her lips curling in an ugly, insincere smile. “I’ve been thinking about him, and I thought that we could maybe just pick up where we left off. I hope you have no objections.” Her low chuckle drove a dagger into Arielle’s heart. She couldn’t believe this was happening. Savanna was now laughing openly, looking at her with a smirk, knowing the anguish she was creating for her.

“Well, how about that?” Savanna said, chuckling again with a satisfied look on her face. “You thought he was perfect, did you not?” Then, not waiting for an answer, she added, “But how wrong you are! He is not your white and shiny knight; he is the dark prince that leaves broken dreams on the way to his kingdom.” As she spoke these chilling words, she was looking directly into Arielle’s astonished eyes.

Finally something snapped in Arielle and she became angry. She stepped toward Savanna and said to her in a very low voice, “Please leave this house immediately. And leave Sebastian alone!”

“You miserable, breakable human, you have no idea who you are dealing with. Annabel was right, you are no match for me!” She practically spat the words at Arielle, and before Arielle could blink, she had grabbed her arm and squeezed it tight, making her gasp from pain. Arielle tried to pull away from Savanna, but her grip was like a vise. Then she made a fist with her other hand and Arielle felt a crushing weight, like a rock, land on her chest. She stopped breathing and gasped desperately for air. She would have been on the floor writing with pain, but Savanna yanked her back up like a rag doll. She was still squeezing her arm extremely tight, and Arielle could feel her nails sinking into her flesh like sharp blades. She gritted her teeth in agony and let out a low wail as she watched Savanna raise her arm one more time. She shut her eyes, waiting for the impact that she was sure would incapacitate her.

She waited for a few seconds, anticipating another blow, but nothing happened. When she opened her eyes, she saw that Troy was standing between her and Savanna, his left hand holding Savanna’s hand in the air as it was about to come down, ready to strike Arielle; his right hand gripped Savanna’s throat with enormous power. Arielle heard a noise like crushing bones, and she saw Savanna’s arm fall to her side; she knew instantly that it was broken. She saw Savanna’s face register complete shock and agony as she tried to shake loose from Troy’s grip, her eyes wild with anxiety.

Arielle collapsed and fell to the floor as Savanna’s other hand let go of her arm, and Eva rushed to her side.

“Jesus, Eva, help her to her room,” Troy said, taking advantage of Savanna’s confusion, pushing her out the room at such a fast pace that Arielle was sure no human eye could follow them.

Arielle was in extreme pain. Eva helped her stand up as she looked anxiously toward the door. Nobody seemed to be aware of what had just taken place in the dining room. But Arielle’s arm was bleeding, and her eyes welled up from the sharp throbbing in her chest.

“Oh my God, Arielle you look absolutely awful. I knew something bad was going to happen,” Eva murmured, distressed.

“Eva, I’m sure Troy needs help. Can you please go and find Sebastian as quickly as you can, and tell him that Troy needs him to go outside
right now.
Don’t tell him anything about my being hurt; just have him go outside first. I don’t want anyone to see me the way I look right now,” she lied. “I’ll go to my room the back way and change. My dress is ripped, and I need to clean my arm.”

“Don’t you want me to help you?” Eva said. “Don’t you want me to get your mum?”

“No!” she said sharply, and then added more softly, “I’ll be fine, just go get Sebastian now!” Eva looked back at Arielle once more in concern, and then she was gone.

Arielle took another look around, making sure that she hadn’t drawn anyone’s attention. Then she walked slowly up the stairs to her room and shut the door.

In her bedroom, she looked in the mirror. There were four small cuts on her upper arm that looked red and a little inflamed. She ran cold water over the wounds and washed the blood off. She put a large Band-Aid over the cuts and took her dress off. At the center of her chest was a large red spot, but there was no bruising at the moment. She was hoping that she had no broken ribs, as the pain was sharp and she was having a hard time breathing. She laid down for a few minutes to pull her thoughts together before she changed her dress and rejoined the party. She didn’t want anyone to notice she’d been gone.

She closed her eyes and reflected on how happy she was that no one had noticed her distress. She quivered at the thought of what might have happened had a mortal guest tried to protect her from Savanna. She knew that the significance of the injuries to a human being confronting an immortal could be devastating. Her hands were clenched into tight fists just thinking about what could have happened to her if Troy hadn’t been there. She lay there, not quite believing what she had just been through.

Her eyes remained closed for a few more minutes as she wondered what was happening outside, what Troy was doing with that woman. She was sure he had heard her use Annabel’s name, and she felt sure that he and Sebastian would get to the bottom of this. She felt herself calming down as the pain in her chest eased. The pain of the cuts didn’t bother her—yet.

Chapter 20

M
eanwhile, Troy using his immortal speed had moved quickly and had taken Savanna outside through a side door, where he tightened his grip on her throat.

“What do you want with Sebastian? Who sent you?” Troy asked. His voice was dripping venom and the hardness in it would drive chills down any human’s back. Savanna didn’t reply. She kept her lips closed tight, and glared at him with total disgust as he continued squeezing her throat tighter.

“There is no Garniere family in Spain, you made all that up. What do you want with Sebastian, and what are you doing here?”

“Who are you?” she asked as she tried to pull away from his grip.

“Don’t worry about who I am. Tell me who sent you before I kill you.”

Sebastian was by Troy’s side now and was looking at Savanna in complete shock. He recognized her face and couldn’t understand how she had ever found him.

“Sebastian, do you know this woman?” Troy’s voice was sharp.

“Yes, I dated her a couple centuries ago for a short time,” Sebastian said, staring at her, still puzzled. “How did you find me?” he asked her with a firm, cold voice.

Savanna remained silent and didn’t look at either one of them.

“What happened, Troy?”

“She tried to hurt Arielle,” Troy said, and Sebastian’s body went rigid, his eyes now filled with anger.

“Did she touch her?”

“Yes, she did, but I’m sure she’ll be all right. I don’t think it’s that bad, but I was in a hurry to get her out of there. Eva is with her.”

“Did Annabel send you?” Sebastian hissed at Savanna.

She was glaring at him now while gasping for air.

“I heard her mention Annabel’s name to Arielle,” Troy said.

“Can you take care of this so I can check on Arielle?” Sebastian asked.

“Yes, no problem at all. I just wanted to know if you had ever seen her before. I’ll make sure she never comes back or bothers anyone at all.” His grip was now so tight that the girl’s body had gone limp, and her eyes were rolled back in her head.

Troy lugged Savanna’s body off to finish her off in a remote area. Sebastian hurried to go and check on Arielle, so worried that he could hardly hold back his anger. He passed Eva on his way inside and stopped to question her for a few moments. Eva pointed to Arielle’s room and he ran up through the back stairs. He opened the door to her room and rushed in.

Arielle was lying on the bed undressed, her eyes closed. His jaw dropped as he saw the huge red spot in the middle of her chest. He noticed the large Band-Aid on her arm and he started to quaver.

She opened her eyes and saw Sebastian standing there, reaching for her hand. “Arielle!” he murmured tenderly. “Baby, how are you? What happened?”

When she tried to take a deep breath, the pain felt like a sharp knife going through her heart. Sheer distress spread across her face, and her grimace didn’t escape Sebastian’s notice. She took a small, painful breath, then, looking at his beautiful face, she smiled softly.

“I’ll be okay,” she said. “I just need to pull myself together. I’ll go down in a few minutes. I need to change my dress - she ripped it,” she said in a tone of wonderment. She truly couldn’t believe what had just happened. Then she smiled at Sebastian softly and gritted her teeth to keep from crying. His eyes locked on her face and anguish shattered his gaze as his lips pulled back in sheer fury. He pulled the Band-Aid away, looked at the mess of cuts and let out a low growl, as he looked again completely dumbfounded. His eyes took on a wild look before he stormed out the door, his movement so fast that she couldn’t follow him. Where was he going?

With a great deal of effort she got up and put another Band-Aid over the cuts. Then she changed into another cocktail dress, one that would cover the red mark on her chest. It was quite painful to move her arms, but she knew she had to pretend that she was fine and get back to the party. She went down the stairs slowly and ran into Gabby at the bottom of the stairs.

“Where are the guys?” Gabrielle asked in an anxious voice.

“I’m not sure. They said they had to run an errand and they would be right back,” Arielle lied. “Where’s Eva?”

Gabby led her in the right direction. Eva searched her face as Arielle walked up to her and asked if she was all right. Eva put her arm around Arielle’s shoulders and smiled softly at her friend. “What a birthday!” she said. “I’m sure that crazy woman must have sent her here to get you all upset.”

“I’m sure she did too,” Arielle replied, not wanting to go into any details with Eva. She knew Eva had been right about the danger she had predicted. If she only knew how close she had come to really being hurt. If not for Troy, Savanna might have killed her. Arielle shuddered at the thought.

“Arielle, why did you change your dress?” asked Gabby.

“Oh, I spilled some food on it and it was ruined,” Arielle said. She gave Eva a meaningful look and Eva understood that Arielle didn’t want her to say anything about what had really happened.

Just then Paul came up and asked Arielle to dance. “Oh, I’m sorry, Paul,” she said. “I’m afraid that I’m a bit tired. Maybe a little later on?”

“Wow, what happened to your arm?” he asked.

“I scraped it on the corner of my dresser, no big deal,” she lied.

“Where’s Sebastian?”

“He’s with my father somewhere,” she smiled.

“He seems like a very nice guy,” Paul said.

“He is. And I’m very much in love with him.”

“I know. I can see that, and I’m happy for you,” he said. “A bit jealous, too, I must admit,” he added with a crooked smile.

She smiled too, then turned away and moved toward the bar to get a glass of wine. She felt like she really needed a drink right now.

It seemed like hours had passed when suddenly she heard Sebastian’s voice, soft and velvety, behind her.

“Hey, baby, how would you like to dance with me?”

She turned around slowly and let him encircle her in his warm embrace.

“I’m so sorry,” he murmured as he leaned down and pressed his lips on hers. His arms pulled her closer and she winced, feeling the pain in her chest.

“Does your chest really hurt that bad?” he asked. He looked so worried.

“Yes, please don’t hold me so tight,” she said.

“Why did you take the necklace off?” Sebastian chided. “I told you, you must keep it on you at all times. You must!”

“I never thought something like this could happen to me in my own home.”

His lips found her mouth and he stopped her from protesting any further.

“Please put it back on,” he said, his voice sweet but firm. “You will be the death of me one way or another, I’m sure of that now,” he said. “What would have happened if Troy had not been here?”

“I don’t know,” she said. “But he was, and now it’s over. What happened outside, anyway?” she asked. “Can you tell me?”

“Not now, later,” he said. The song was over and he moved her over to where Troy was standing. Leaning closer to Troy she gave him a kiss and whispered how thankful she was for his help. He smiled softly.

“Is your arm okay?” he asked in a low voice.

“It’ll be all right. But I’m afraid that I’m going to have a huge bruise on my chest. It feels like she broke my ribs.”

“Are you serious?” Troy looked at her, concerned.

“What is it?” she heard Sebastian’s voice ask behind her.

“Nothing, nothing,” she said, trying to keep him calm.

“I see that it is something, and I need to know what,” he insisted.

“We’ll talk about it later,” she said. She looked at him firmly and to her surprise he backed off.

Suddenly Annabel’s image flashed in front of Arielle’s eyes, and she reached for Sebastian’s hand. He immediately put his arm around her waist, pulling her close.

Finally the party was winding down and everyone was getting ready to go home. Arielle left with Sebastian after the last guest had left, but not before retrieving her necklace from her jewelry box. She couldn’t wait to get to bed. She was still in terrible pain.

“So what did you and Troy talk about?” she asked when they were in the car.

“He’s in a very difficult situation right now, trying to find a way to tell Gabrielle who he is, and what he is. She is his Lizzy, Arielle, and he has found in her what I found in you. I know how he feels, and my heart— if I had one—would be breaking for him.”

He was clearly trying to avoid talking about the incident with Savanna, but Arielle pressed on.

“What happened with Savanna?” she asked.

“She won’t bother anyone anymore.”

“What are you saying?”

“I would prefer that we drop this conversation,” he said.

“And Annabel is behind the whole thing?” she asked.

“Yes, she is,” he said. “But Savanna is gone, and won’t be bothering anyone else ever again.”

A cold chill ran down her spine as he spoke those words, and for a moment there was an awkward silence.

“How in the world did Troy end up here?” she finally said, changing the subject.

“This is the interesting part,” he said. “Troy is from Italy. He saw Gabrielle from a distance in San Marco where his estate is located. And he watched her for a couple of summers. He fell in love with her. He didn’t have the courage to approach her there, so he followed her here. And now he’s going to school again just so he can be with her.”

“Oh. My. Gosh!” she said.

“What is it?” he asked, smiling at her look of excited incredulity.

“She told us about a mysterious rider that was following her and her friends every day. But he never got close to them and she never saw his face. He has remained a wonderful mystery for her, and she couldn’t wait for her next holiday. If her mystery rider is Troy that will be wild! Don’t you agree?” “Yes.” Sebastian smiled. “That will be a wonderful story.”

“How old is he?” she asked.

“Oh he’s a little older than me,” he chuckled.

“Good Lord! What in bloody hell?!” she exclaimed, giggling.

“Now, now, Arielle, you should know by now what true love can do.”

“I know,” she said. “But, I just can’t get over this.”

“Well it’s true, and now he knows that you know who he is, too. He’s happy that you know, and that you approve. He feels he has a friend in you.”

“Is there anything I can do to help him?”

“Just be there to support them both. I told him how afraid I was to talk to you about who I am, and he feels the same way about talking to Gabrielle. Please try to help them if you can. You’ll know when and how.”

“Wow!” she said as she absorbed this latest news. “Life certainly is full of surprises.” Then she fell silent as he reached over and took her hand.

“Do you love me?” he asked, his voice soft as velvet.

“Why do you feel that you have to ask, Sebastian?” she smiled.

“I want to hear you say it!” he insisted.

“I love you, and you are the best birthday present I could ever get.”

They were now at the entrance of the hotel and he was helping her out of the car.

“Good evening, Mr. Gaulle,” the hotel manager greeted Sebastian.

“Good evening,” he replied.

They went up to his room, holding hands as they always did. When the door closed behind them, he turned around and she could see the longing in his eyes.

“I don’t think I can do this anymore, Arielle,” he said, his voice husky with emotion. “I can’t be away from you. I have been tormented for a week and a half, just waiting for this moment. I think I’ll go out of my mind.”

He pulled her into his arms softly and she let out a small gasp of pain.

“Sorry, I just want to devour you completely!” he chuckled.

“I think she hit my chest pretty hard,” she said.

“I saw the red spot on your chest,” he said, shaking his head again angrily.

“Where did you go when you left my room?” she asked.

“I went and found Troy. I was angry, and I had to do something.”

“I’m sorry you got so angry,” she said.