Darkness Embraced (10 page)

As if there’s much blood to wipe off,
the fox crooned in victory.

Hush, you.

‘T is all right to gloat a little.

I’ve got bigger things to worry about.

Ahh, yes,
he mused,
like that one there and the look she is giving ye…

Renata’s beautiful eyes met mine. Her voice whispered through the confines of my skull.
We need to talk.

Oh, yes,
the fox said,
we most definitely should!

Renata’s eyelids flickered in surprise

Fox,
I thought.

I closed my eyes, blocking out the sight of Renata.

The fox lowered his head.
My lady, I am Cuinn,
he said with a lilting tongue.
Ye do not have to keep calling me “fox.”

Cuinn, then,
I said
. Please, stop doing that right now.

Stop what?

Jabbering.

He inclined his head again.
As ye wish, but I am going nowhere.

What do you mean?

Ye woke me,
Cuinn said yawning.
It was your power that woke me, and now I and the sword are in your keep.

I watched him give a lazy smile as he curled up, nuzzling his nose into his fluffy tail.

Wonderful.

It is,
he said.
I like ye.

I shook my head and jumped when a hand touched my shoulder.

“Colombina, are you well?” Vasco asked.

“I’m fine,” I said and realized that we were the only two vampires left in the room. “Where did everyone go?”

“They left.”

“When?”

“A few minutes ago,” he said. “Are you sure you’re fine?”

I nodded.

He gave me a look that told me he didn’t believe me and then held out his hand.

I arched a brow.

“The sword,” he said.

At that, Cuinn leapt to his feet and screamed,
NO!

I shook my head. “It’s mine. I can’t.”

“It’s not yours, Epiphany. The sword doesn’t belong to anyone.” His voice was tender, as if I’d lost my marbles somewhere during the fight.

“It does now!”
The fox made my words a whispered growl.

Vasco actually took a step back. He held up his hands. “I’m sorry.”

Good,
Cuinn seemed to settle down.

“Renata wishes to speak with you. She bid me to escort you to your room,” he said, gazing intensely at me. “If you hadn’t been wherever you were in your mind, you would have heard her inform me that she would meet you there.”

I nodded. “Sorry, Vasco. I’m not feeling quite like myself right now.” I touched his shoulder with my free hand, trying to be reassuring. “I’ll be fine.”

I couldn’t find it in me to let go of the sword, so as we walked to my room I kept it close to my skirts, hidden against my leg, disguised by the folds of material.

“You fought well,” Vasco said.

“Did I?”

“You had a bit of an unstable beginning.” He stroked his chin with his thumb and index finger idly in thought.

It reminded me of what Gaspare had done earlier, so I said, “Don’t do that.”

He stopped, either because he got it or because he still thought I was off my rocker and was merely appeasing me.

“If I had thought you knew how to fight I wouldn’t have given you my memories.”

I didn’t know what to say as I approached the door to my room.

“I need to be alone for a while, Vasco. I’m sorry. I’m having trouble focusing right now.”

He drew in a deep breath, not because he needed it, but to steady himself. “If you need me…”

“I know.” I opened the door. “I’ll call upon you if I need you.”

He bowed and was gone. I shut the door behind me.

Ah, alone.
Cuinn stretched and yawned.
Might I rest now?

Can I put you down?

Yes,
he said,
just don’t leave me.

I won’t,
I said.
I’m in the same room. Are you ever going to explain?

I shook my head. Cuinn seemed to be fast asleep.

Lazy fox.

Lucky fox.

Vampire or no, my feet were sore from all the fancy footwork. The fox blade, Cuinn, was sitting on my dresser. I had changed into a pair of black silken pants with a matching blouse.

I sat on the edge of the bed, lost in thought, staring at the fox blade. How had my power woken him?

Someone slipped a key in the lock in the door and I was suddenly on my feet. I saw Cuinn alert and on all fours and the blade was suddenly in my hand. I didn’t know how it had gotten there.

Renata entered the room and it seemed as if Cuinn and I let out a collective breath.

I couldn’t imagine what I looked like, eyes wild and startled with a sword in my hand.

The corner of her mouth twitched.

I laid the sword gently back on the dresser. Cuinn didn’t argue, content to curl up and pretend to be more concerned with sleeping. He was curious enough to keep one ear cocked.

It was unnerving. At once seeing him and not seeing him.

Renata came to me and took one of my hands in hers. “Epiphany,” she said. “You are trembling.”

“I know.”

“Why?”

I didn’t know what to tell her so I shrugged.

I should’ve known that she was smarter than that. She had years of reading others. Her beautiful gaze flicked to the sword and she went to it, picking it up in a one handed grip. As soon as her skin touched the metal the sword burst into bright light. A plume of smoke rose and the smell of burnt flesh hit my nostrils. Startled, she dropped the sword on the dresser. It hit the wood with a loud thud.

Cuinn narrowed his eyes.
Not yours, Queen.

Renata gazed down at her hand. The startled expression was already gone, replaced by something quick and calculating.

“The sword,” she said. “Is that it?”

“If I were to tell you it is?”

She sat on the edge of my bed, watching me intently. “Then you need to understand what it is.”

“I know what it is.”

“Do you?” She arched her brow inquisitively at me.

I nodded. “Cuinn,” I said. “He’s a fox.”

“Mmm.” She leaned back on her elbows, showing off the length of her torso in a distracting manner. “Not entirely.”

Cuinn chose that moment to interrupt.

Me thinks your Queen has taken a liking to ye.

“Be quiet, Cuinn.”

Renata’s head tilted to the side. “He is speaking to you?”

“Yes,” I said. “He’s eavesdropping.”

Eavesdropping?
he asked, appalled.
I do not eavesdrop!

I rolled my eyes in disbelief.

His next words made my heart fall to the floor.

Kiss her.

WHAT?

He smirked.
Ye heard me. Kiss her.

Why on the God’s green earth would I do that?

Well,
Cuinn began, talking quickly,
so that I may speak with her and that she may speak with me, but most importantly—
he gave me one of those sly smiles—
’cause ye want to.

I almost tried denying it, but Cuinn shook his head and said,
I know ye,
and I knew without a doubt that he spoke truth. It wouldn’t get me anywhere arguing with him.

Instead, I questioned further.
Why do you wish to speak with her?

Ah, it’ll be easier and she won’t think you’ve completely lost your wits.

“Epiphany,” Renata was still on my bed searching my face. “What is it?”

I opened my mouth to explain, when Cuinn got impatient with me.
Ye don’t have to explain everything ye do!

I moved toward her, spreading my legs and straddling her body between my thighs. I had a moment to see the startled look in her glorious gaze before I pressed my lips to hers.

Renata put a palm against the back of my head and the kiss turned into something deeper, more unbidden. Her hands cradled my hips and as her tongue expertly explored my mouth. I wrapped my legs around her body, my arms lacing about her neck.

Someone cleared their throat.

Renata pulled away from the kiss, whispering my name.

What I saw was not my bedroom.

We sat in a clearing. I, in Renata’s lap, her arms wrapped loosely about my waist. Moonlight cast an enchanting glow on the wooded area that surrounded us. The trunks of the trees were dressed in skirts of rich green moss. Beneath the fallen trunk of a tree, the ground sank into a den, and from that den came Cuinn. Moonlight hit his orange coat, catching the fiery highlights. There were streaks of coal-like shadows at the corners of his snout. His ash tipped ears swiveled as he dipped his head, kneeling in a fox’s version of a bow.

I had never seen anything so magical.

His eyes like sunlit molasses met mine and a crooked smirk curved oddly over his animal face.

Greetings, Epiphany.
He sank lower.
Greetings, Queen of the Rosso Lussuria.

Renata gave Cuinn a very long look. “So this is the spirito animale that lies hidden in the sword?”

The words were simple enough to comprehend, but it was strange to hear her speak her native tongue.

Aye,
he said.
Do ye see now that she is not mad
?

He stepped forward and his ears flattened against his skull. He was treading cautiously.

“I did not fear she was touched by madness.” Renata’s fingers traced circles against my lower back and I shuddered.

Ah well,
Cuinn said,
now ye know for certain she is not.

Renata dipped her head in acknowledgement.

Cuinn asked,
What do ye know about my kind?

I didn’t know who he was talking to, but Renata answered.

“Very little,” she said. “I know that there were once swords of great power, and within them, within every fiber of their making, they were infused with a spirit.” She tilted her head. “Celts, was it not?”

Aye,
he said,
It was, druids namely.
He set back on his haunches.
I must admit I am curious to know how I fell into the hands of a vampire.

“I’ve no aid to give there, volpe. I only know that it has been with the Rosso Lussuria since before I was Queen.”

“Why wouldn’t you know how you got here?” I asked him.

I have been sleeping for a very long time.

“Well, why didn’t you wake up?”

He shook his head.
That is not the nature of a spirit sword,
he said.
We awaken when one worthy wields our blades.

“You’re starting to make all of this sound so very sword-in-the-stone-esque,” I said.

The comment made his face burst into a delightful little fox grin.
Aye, with every myth there’s a grain of truth.

“You’re not going to start spouting some, ‘you are the chosen one,’ lines, are you?”

Renata laughed. “You have been spending too much time in the library.”

Cuinn shook his head.
Nay, but you were in the right place at the right time.

“Or you were,” I said.

Aye.

“I had wondered,” Renata mused, “how Epiphany had beaten Gaspare.”

Cuinn’s eyes narrowed. It wasn’t a human gesture, but it was a gesture of defense nonetheless.
Are ye accusing her of cheating?

“I could,” Renata said blankly.

The fox slowly began to smile, and then he let out a bark of laughter. My ears seemed to hear the barking, but my mind heard a boy’s laughter, not quite a man’s, but it was the closest thing my mind could make sense of. I realized, though I had been thinking of Cuinn as male, he had an amazingly androgynous voice.

“Why do you laugh, volpe? It could very well happen if any of the Elders figure this out. Epiphany could be accused of cheating.”

Cuinn clicked his jaw shut, but he was still smiling.
Nay,
he said and stood on all fours again, coming closer. I felt the line of his furred body sliding against my back, over Renata’s hand. ‘
T was not cheating if it was her power that called me. If I remember your laws correctly.

“How would you know our laws unless you once belonged to a vampire?” Renata asked. I too, wondered.

Nay. I did not.

“How do you know then?”

’Cause I know you are not believing what you’re saying.