Mark of the Rose: The Tudor Vampire Chronicles (13 page)

Read Mark of the Rose: The Tudor Vampire Chronicles Online

Authors: Kate Pearce

Tags: #Romance, #Paranormal, #Fiction

BOOK: Mark of the Rose: The Tudor Vampire Chronicles
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“Rhys?”
He looked up and saw Verity stepping through the broken stones, her face pale and her expression strained. He wanted to pull her into his arms and hold her tight, but he resisted the impulse. If he touched her, he wouldn’t want to listen to her talk; he’d want to kiss her until the only thing she was capable of doing was begging him to . . .
“My lady.” He bowed and waited for her to come to him. She wore a blue gown that matched her eyes, with a silver bodice and sleeves. “Are you well?”
She bit down on her lip. “I didn’t sleep last night. I—”
He held up his hand. “Shall we wait until Elias and Olivia arrive? Then you won’t have to repeat yourself.”
She stiffened. “Why does Olivia need to be here?”
“Because she is helping Elias.” He held her gaze. “You did say I should invite our allies.”
“I meant Elias Warner, not your . . .”
“My what?”
She raised her chin at him. “Your sweetheart.”
“You of all people should know she is hardly that, my lady.” He continued to stare at her until she dropped her gaze.
“I suppose it doesn’t really matter,” she murmured. “We’ll need all the help we can get.”
A prickle of awareness between his shoulders made Rhys turn to see Elias and Olivia approaching through the trees. Olivia also wore blue, but was, as always, dressed like a man. Idly, Rhys wondered whether she even owned any female attire. She was tall and slender and made a fine boy, but he’d like to see her dressed as a woman.
“Good evening, Elias, Olivia.” Rhys bowed and gestured for them to join him and Verity in the center of the shell of the ruined bathhouse. He sat down on one of the sheared-off pillars and Olivia and Elias followed suit. “Lady Verity has some important news she wishes to share with us.”
Elias nodded, his expression equally grave. “As do I.”
Rhys glanced at Verity, who was covertly watching Olivia. “Lady Verity?”
He and the others listened as she quickly recounted what had happened the night before.
“You believe Lady Rochford is a Vampire.”
Verity nodded. “She wasn’t wearing her usual heavy perfume, so I was able to detect her true scent and nature.” She hesitated. “Unfortunately I also had to let her know who I am. She tried to force me to leave the queen alone with her and then she threatened to have me dismissed. I had to assure her that the king would not be pleased about that at all.”
“And what did she do then?” Rhys asked.
“She let me be.” Verity grimaced. “I doubt it will be for long. The loathing in her eyes was quite plain.”
Elias stood up. “Lady Rochford is indeed a Vampire.”
Rhys scowled at him. “And when did you find out that particular piece of information?”
Elias raised his eyebrows. “When I accidentally came across the lady late last night, talking to one of the more senior members of the Vampire Council. She seemed extremely agitated. It is the first time I’ve seen her in the Other Realm.”
“Can you identify who else might have been in the queen’s bedchamber?” Rhys frowned and turned back to Verity. “You said you smelled pansies and something more male?”
“Yes.”
“Would you be able to identify those Vampires again?”
“I’m not sure.” Verity’s hands clenched into fists. “I barely got a chance to identify the scents before Lady Rochford caught me and dragged me away.”
Rhys tensed as Verity approached Olivia, who was listening intently. “Can female Vampires smell different family scents?”
Olivia shrugged. “Humans and Vampires smell like their blood.”
“And do families all smell the same?” Verity asked.
“Yes—which is why I said you smell like a Llewellyn.”
Olivia walked across to where Rhys stood, put her hand on his arm, and slowly breathed him in. As she turned back to Verity her smile was meant to dazzle. “Now Rhys smells like a Williams, with just a hint of Vampire.” She looked at Elias. “You have shared his blood?”
“Aye.” Elias nodded.
“Knowingly?”
“Yes
,
” said Rhys. “And now that we have established that Vampire and Druid females do not share the same abilities, can we get back to discussing the danger the queen faces? If she is being preyed upon by more than one Vampire, Verity is not going to be able to deal with this alone.”
“Why not?” said Olivia. “Can’t she fight off three Vampires? Her cousin Rosalind would have considered that good odds.”
“Olivia—” Before Rhys could continue, Verity held up her hand and came to stand right in front of Olivia.
“I know that I’m not as skilled a fighter as Rosalind, and that I need help, but if that help isn’t offered sincerely, I’d rather it wasn’t offered at all.”
Olivia glanced at Rhys and Elias and then sat back down. “I will behave myself and be helpful.”
Rhys let out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding. “Can we continue?” Everyone nodded. “If we are dealing with three possible Vampires, why would they need to use a secret passage to access the queen’s chamber? Why wouldn’t they just appear inside it?”
Verity stopped pacing. “I hadn’t thought of that. But I can’t even be sure that they did come through the passageway. I heard noises, but . . . oh, this is so frustrating.”
“We can investigate the passageways,” Rhys said. “There are many ways into the palace. We’ll take what we know of the tunnels beneath the palace and where they emerge and see if we can work out exactly how to get to the queen’s bedchamber. I know there is a secret room within the king’s chambers. We used it to trap the Spanish Vampire.”
Rhys noticed Olivia wince at the reference to her grandmother, who had gone mad in defense of the first queen, Katherine of Aragon, and threatened to kill the king.
“I only wish we had a better notion about who else is involved.” Rhys looked at Elias. “Could you talk to Lady Rochford and pretend you are sympathetic?”
“She is unlikely to trust me. She knows I helped turn the Council against her husband and Queen Anne.”
Verity spoke. “Mayhap Olivia can befriend her.”
Olivia’s head came up and Elias met her suspicious gaze. “That is an excellent idea. Olivia could become one of the queen’s ladies. I’m sure we could find a sponsor for her. Then we would have another pair of eyes to watch over the queen.”
Despite the seriousness of the situation, Rhys fought back a smile as he studied the appalled expressions on both Verity’s and Olivia’s faces.
“I agree, Elias. That would be a good plan. I’ve never seen Olivia dressed as a girl.”
Verity sniffed. “She’s scarcely a girl, Sir Rhys.”
Olivia was already shaking her head, but Rhys kept on. “If you truly want to help, Olivia, this would be the best way to do it. But I also understand if you wish to withdraw your offer of help. The possibility of discovery is great and would probably draw the wrong sort of attention to you.”
“As will helping me,” said Elias. “I am losing the Council’s confidence. I can sense it.” He frowned. “There is a new Vampire at court whose power is far greater than mine, which I assure you is very rare and
quite
unacceptable. Of course the Council is enthralled by the idea of elevating such a strong talent to a position of great power.”
“I sensed a strong magic last night when I was with the queen,” Verity whispered. “I had to fight to hold it at bay.”
Elias looked up. “Was it associated with one of the Vampires you sensed?”
“I’m not sure.” Verity groaned. “I feel so useless.”
Rhys patted Verity’s shoulder, which drew Olivia’s sharp gaze to him. “You have already proved your worth by discovering that we are dealing with a far more complex threat than we imagined. If we work together, I’m sure we can save the queen and her child.”
“Well, I have no intention of letting this newcomer take over my position,” said Elias. “And if I can save the queen at the same time, I’m willing to risk it.”
Olivia sighed. “I’ll do what you ask and try to ingratiate myself with Lady Rochford.”
“And I’ll search the passageways until I find the entrance into the queen’s chambers.” Rhys looked at Verity, who was still frowning. “What is it, my lady?”
“What am I supposed to do?”
“You are going to continue to stay up at night and guard the queen. If the Vampires know you are there, it might give them pause and allow us to find a way to get in there and defeat them.”
Verity yawned behind her hand. “I’ll do my best.”
Rhys smiled at her. He didn’t think she yet realized quite how precarious her position was. Now that Lady Rochford knew for certain that Verity was protecting the queen and was onto them, the Vampires would want to be rid of her. It was his job to ensure that didn’t happen, whether she wanted his protection or not.
“Sir Rhys? May I speak with you?”
Rhys walked across to Elias, who had withdrawn from the ladies, as if what he had to say was private.
 
As Rhys moved away, Verity found herself facing Olivia. The Vampire was a fascinating mixture of naiveté and strength. Her interest in Rhys was so blazingly obvious that Verity felt almost sorry for her. She had learned the folly of showing her feelings so blatantly and had suffered the consequences.
Olivia stood up and faced Verity. “Why are you staring at me?”
“I was just wondering how old you are.”
“A mere babe in Vampire terms. I’m only a quarter of a century old.”
“Then we are of a similar age.”
“Yet you will die long before me.” Olivia’s smile was a challenge. “Tell me, my lady, why does your blood smell like Vampire?”
“I have no idea what you mean.”
“You have Elias Warner’s blood in you.”
“And what is that to you?”
“I’m just curious, as no one had mentioned it.” Her blue eyes narrowed with speculation. “Does Rhys even know?”
Verity kept her lips firmly closed.
Olivia continued to circle her. “So, you don’t like me any more than your cousin did.”
“You met Rosalind?”
“Of course I did. She was always fighting with my half brother. I could never understand why he chose her when he could’ve chosen his Vampire family instead.”
Olivia sounded puzzled rather than angry. Verity wondered how her life must’ve been. Did Vampires actually care for their children or did they leave them to fend for themselves?
“My family cannot understand why Rosalind chose your brother either. She has been disowned by our grandfather and we are not allowed to speak her name in his presence.”
Olivia looked indignant. “But she and Christopher are in love.”
“And that counts for nothing to my grandfather. In his eyes, his most favored grandchild married his deadliest enemy and he will never forgive her.”
“And you? Do you believe in love?”
Verity smiled. “I’m not sure anymore.”
“I do.” Olivia’s gaze strayed toward Rhys and she blushed. “I suppose you think I’m a fool.”
“I don’t think that,” Verity said softly. “I’ve just learned that sometimes love, or thinking you are in love, is not enough to carry you through the hardships of life.” She found herself looking at Rhys as well.
“I don’t need your advice, Vampire slayer.”
Verity held Olivia’s defiant gaze. “I wasn’t offering any. Rhys is quite capable of making up his own mind as to whom he loves.”
“You might not be as skilled as your cousin, but you are equally foolish.” Olivia allowed her fangs to show. “I could rip out your throat before you had time to draw your puny silver dagger!”
“Careful, Olivia—if you destroy me, Rhys will always see you as a monster!”
Pain radiated through Olivia’s eyes and she disappeared, leaving Verity feeling ashamed of herself. She had no right to judge Olivia for loving Rhys. It wasn’t as if she had a claim on him herself . . . even if each time she saw him she felt her body yearn toward him.

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