Scion's Freedom (Siren Publishing Classic) (16 page)

“Why should I? At our last meeting, you brought destruction with you. I followed your faith in your mate’s trust of the murderer. It was a mistake. Why should I trust you now?”

“He is my bonded consort, my missing piece. I need to be near him.” She hoped her eyes held as much need as she felt. A thin ribbon of energy uncoiled itself from around her and stretched out seeking its match. The gate keeper did nothing to stop it, but she did watch as it passed by her and pooled against the door.

“I should not have pity on you. We lost no children, but we did lose a Mother for your foolish stubbornness. But, I, too, have loved. The loss was more than I could bear for nearly three centuries. I would not wish that pain on any other creature, not even you,” she conceded. “I will not interfere on your behalf but nor will I stand in the way of true love.”

She lifted her hands in an intricate move and dissolved into a fine pearlescent mist. “Good luck, Princess Cassandra, Scion of Vlad Dracul,” her filmy voice whispered all around them.

Cassy ran to the door the moment she was free. Elisabeta was only a few steps behind her. They broke the door lock and fell into the small room as the door swung inward. Officer Mills sat beside a bloody mass on the floor.

He gave Cassy a sharp glare. “What in the hell are you two doing here? Haven’t you done enough?”

“Me? What are you doing here?” She returned his venomous gaze.

“I was the one who covered you up after David shot Cap in the back,” he replied.

“How did you know to be here?”

“I followed you guys as backup and stayed in the cathedral nearby. He called after you went to sleep. He was worried about Cap being locked up and knew my mother was a witch. She let me in when I arrived. They threw him in here after your dad beat him more than he already was. I asked to sit with him.”

“Why did Father beat him?”

Elisabeta laid her hand on Cassy’s shoulder. “He thought David was a part of the setup. Gregory wanted you, but couldn’t pass up the opportunity to get inside the compound. He wanted to undo a century’s worth of work by destroying the nursery. It was like having his cake and eating it, too.”

“Hasn’t he been cleared by now?” Cassy knelt on the floor beside David’s unconscious body. The dark hair stuck to his forehead with the dried blood.

“Yes. However, there is still the matter of his bedding a royal princess. Father is old-school, you know. He never said anything in the past because you were not a promiscuous woman. He said he cannot stand idle while you undo over two centuries’ worth of work,” her sister-in-law quoted.

“It is my life, not his,” Cassy all but shouted. David rousted at her sharp tone. The bond between them started reaching out to caress his body. His breathing improved.

“Father says he is part elf. The truth was in his blood work. The witches tested his magic, not his DNA. Elves are very careful not to have their blood typed, but Father knew what to look for. We cannot know what that sort of wild magic will do when mixed with witch and ours. He has decreed David should perish before your bonding is complete.”

Mills cursed. “Over my dead body! That man is a fellow officer. He saved my life twice in the past, and I saved hers for him.” He pointed to Cassy. “They owe me a favor. I want him spared. This is her fault! He shouldn’t have to pay for her inability to pick up a damn phone!”

“I agree, but Father is High Prince. David is a supernatural threat. With the new discovery of his lineage, human laws no longer apply,” Elisabeta explained. A twinkle came to her eyes. “But vampiric law can. Cassy, you will have to hurry. They will be here at any moment.”

“What are you suggesting?” Cassy rolled David into her lap and smoothed the blood soaked hair away from his forehead.

“Make the law apply. Make him yours. Finish the bonding. Change him before Father gets here.”

Cassy could not believe her ears. This meek creature was encouraging something bold and daring in the name of love. She had married a man she had never met before the wedding to seal a deal between her family and his. She was very much a woman from another time, quiet, demure, obedient, and every bit the lady. Cassy realized for the first time her sister-in-law was a romantic. If she could not have the fairytale, she wanted to see someone else have it.

“Look, lady. If you’re going to do this, get a move on, will ya?” Mills was watching the door as if he expected company any minute. “I can’t hold off an entire kiss while you make up your mind.”

Boots could be heard on the cobblestones in the stable courtyard. Shouts to fan out followed. The building would be surrounded. There was no way to take David and run.

“They’re coming! Do it, Cassy. If you love him, if your moon will not rise tomorrow without him, do it now! You will never be happy again if you do not,” Elisabeta shouted. She, too, eyed the door.

Cassy ripped his shirt open and sank her fangs into his neck. His pulse was weak. It took great effort to suck hard enough to pull out the blood. She swallowed as many mouthfuls as she dared, stopping before she killed him outright. His heart slowed even more, and his pulse nearly disappeared. She slit her wrist on a fang and poured the stream into his mouth. At first he coughed and spit it out. The stream soon overwhelmed him, giving him no choice but to swallow.

His cuts and bruises began to heal. The swelling around his eyes and nose went down. The lub-dub of his heart sped up, and his pulse raced. He sat bolt upright and drew in a gasp or air. His eyes changed from the deep liquid brown-black pools to a light silvery gray.

“Night above! Look at his eyes! They should have been dark steel gray!” Elisabeta exclaimed.

He grabbed Cassy, pulling her to him. She kissed him as his fangs grew in, allowing them to cut her lower lip. He swallowed the blood with a satisfied hum. The air around them closed in like it had in the shower. The bond coiled around them and constricted. The air started undulating as it had before. A bright golden light filled the too-small space. Cassy thought she heard Elisabeta and Mills leave as the magic took up the available room.

The magic was becoming a tangible thing. It pressed them together and pushed everything near them out of the way. The brilliant light became a glittering shower of gold sparks. A warm wind swirled around them, lifting them a few inches off the ground.

Someone pounded on the door, but it did not matter. They did not matter. The light kept them out. Nothing mattered in this moment. He was hers, now and forever. To harm one would forever harm both. Their hearts began to sound like a single beat keeping time with each other.
Lub-dub. Lub-dub.
Their very essence merged to create a single soul. They were no long separate people but one being in two bodies.

When the glow started constricting, it settled on them and lowered them back down to the ground. The door crashed to the floor, and several bodies poured into the room. A tall, dark man who appeared to be no older than Cassy walked into the disheveled space.

“Cassandra, vhat am I to do vith you? Vell, let us see vhat you have done now,” Vlad said in his thick Romanian accent.

Cassy took David’s hand and stood side by side with him. Where their hands touched, a golden glow still remained. “David, I believe you have met my father, Vlad Dracul. Father, this is David Ashe, my bonded mate.” David stood stock-still as the prince inspected him.

“Indeed, the eyes are most remarkable. I wonder…” He trained his gaze on David and focused on his eyes. Nothing happened. “Most intriguing. I cannot compel him. It is as if he vere born. Huh. It must be the elf blood.”

“Father, what do you intend to do with him now?” Cassy was almost too afraid to ask. He could let them go, or he could have them both killed.

“He is bound to you. To kill him is to kill you. I vill have to think upon this. You are both confined to your room until further notice.” And he stepped back out into the crowded hall. She sighed with relief.

He turned back and addressed Cassy, “Did Liz really hit Max and the two of you tied him to a chair with strips of sheets?”

Cassy froze. There was no point in telling a lie. He already knew the truth. She knew he just wanted her to admit to it.

“Yes, Father.” She tensed. David gave her hand a reassuring squeeze back.

“Vhat an interesting evening this has been. I have been surprised three times in one night. That is rare.” Without further remark, he and his entourage left.

“We had better return to my room,” Cassy told David. When she started for the door, he spun her around and pulled her in for a hug. He kissed the top of head and then her forehead.

“You came back for me. I prayed you were all right. I didn’t care what happened to me as long as you were okay,” he said. “What will he do to you?”

“I don’t care. As long as I have you, nothing else matters,” she cried. He held her a minute more and then led her back to her room.

The overhead lights were left on after Max’s discovery. The ripped white linens lay abandoned on the rich, jewel tone Persian rug by the red-velvet-covered bed. The fire had not been attended to in Cassy’s absence and was burning very low. The used glass sat on the bedside table with the red-tinged straw still in it. The only sound was the running of water in the private in-suite bath.

“I thought you might like to clean up after your adventure,” the familiar voice of Lady Helena echoed from the tiled bath. The rushing water stopped. She came into the bedroom beaming. “I would like to see you both at sunset.”

Cassy started to speak, but Helena stopped her. “No questions now, child. Not to worry, I will help temper your father’s anger before you meet again. The rest of this night belongs to you. Use it well. No one, witch or vampire, will disturb you this evening. Till the morrow,” she said, nodding in dismissal. Still grinning, she left. As the door shut, a faint purple glow showed around the edges. The door had been sealed.

“A reprieve for one more evening,” Cassy sighed in relief. “It’s too bad they didn’t do that to Gregory’s room.”

She watched as he took in his surroundings. He was like a small child with a new toy. Everything was new to him.

“I don’t know what to say. I feel like I’m on sensory overload. Everything sounds louder, smells different, and seems brighter. Is this normal? Will it wear off, and I’ll go back to being me again?” David was distracted.

* * * *

There were scents in the house David could have sworn were not there before. He could smell the age of the furnishings. The oil paintings smelled as if the paint had been applied yesterday. The area rug had a light musty fragrance. He knew it was clean, but there was a hint of outside debris trapped in the fibers.

Looking down at the rug, he noticed the individual threads. The colors were richer than he remembered. All the tapestries and rugs were so very old. They had lost a great deal of their original brightness. Hearing Cassy talking to him, he looked up. It was as if he was seeing her for the first time. Her skin was completely smooth. Her hair was thick and full. A single hair hung in her face. It was much thicker than he had noticed before. All of her hair was. It occurred to him why she never cut it. Scissors would have had a hard time getting through it.

He reached up and touched his own hair. It was changing into the miniature cables like Cassy’s. He was amazed at how sensitive the pads on his fingers were. When he compared the new sensations to his previous life, it was like walking through the world with gloves. Now the gloves were off.

A giggle caught his attention. It was like music blended with birdsong. If sunshine had a sound, this would have been it. He had never heard Cassy sound this way. Maybe she always had. Maybe he had been unable to hear it before. She was just talking, but it sounded like singing. She laughed again. It sent a pleasurable shiver along his skin. This time he paid attention to her words.

* * * *

“Let’s get you in the tub. The water will get cold long before you get used to hearing the mice nibbling cheese in the walls,” she chortled. The moment she let go of his hand to step away, he gasped. “What’s wrong?” she asked.

“It just occurred to me. George or Gregory or whatever his real name was used me to get to you. I could have been the reason you died!” Sadness filled his face. She could see he was unaccustomed to the strong emotions that came with being a new vampire.

“But it’s okay now. I’m here, and you are why. Mills told me you shot Gregory. I haven’t had a chance to say thank you yet. So, thank you,” she acknowledged. “You saved my life.”

“No. I shot him. Mills covered you up. His mom brought you back inside. She’s a real nice lady, strong, independent, and collected. You’d like her.” The blood still left in his system allowed for a slight blush.

The hall clock struck two. The deep, bass bongs vibrated the floor under Cassy’s bare feet. She noticed how dirty the hem of her nightgown and toes were.

“I think I’ll join you in the tub. It’s two and sunrise is at six or so. If this is my last night on Earth, I want to spend it with you, my love,” she declared. She gave him a wink and dropped her nightgown and robe.

“I like the sound of that,” he agreed. He stripped off his filthy, ragged, bloody clothes.

David scooped her up off her feet and carried her to the bath. He stepped into the high-sided, round, porcelain tub without losing his balance. Sinking down in the hot water, he sat back placing her in his lap. She laid her head against his chest and nuzzled. The strong thumping still matched hers, and she smiled.