SovereignsChoice (24 page)

“All right, I get it.” I raise my hands in
a gesture of acceptance. “But…what does that have to do with me? I mean, other
than the fact that I’m this year’s Sacrifice?”

“You are a direct descendant of Katherine,
born on the same day of the same month that she died, over a hundred years
apart,” Grant says. “That makes you her heir and the only witch who can renew
her spell.”

“
What
?
” I stare at him,
uncomprehending. He’s joking—he
has
to be joking, right? Aiden never
told me this. Never told me that I was related—intimately related—to his
long-lost love.
That’s the only reason he wants you,
whispers a nasty
little voice in my head.
Because you remind him of Katherine. Because you’re
the closest thing he can get to her now that she’s dead.

I push the voice away with effort. Grant is
saying something else and it must be important, the way the vampires of the
Council are leaning forward, pinning me with their cold, inhuman stares.

“You must take up the strands of the spell
and weave them back together,” he is saying, looking at me earnestly. “Use your
magic to renew the spell—it’s the only way.”

“But…I don’t have any magic,” I protest.
None to speak of anyway. Lighting a candle and being able to mind-speak, which
any self-respecting beginner witch can do—doesn’t qualify me to renew the
ancient, powerful spell cast by my terrifyingly talented ancestress. “I’m a
dud,” I tell Grant. “I always have been.”

He looks upset. “If you can’t use magic,
you’ll have to use blood. It’s the only other way.”

I look at him, aghast. This is how
Katherine died. She used up her magic and then had to resort to spilling her
blood. Suddenly I have a clear flash—an image of this same room and these same
vampires, sitting in judgment around the circle. I see a small, feminine hand
holding a sacrificial knife. The silver blade flashes and a spurt of crimson
splashes out onto the unforgiving stones.

Somehow the blood finds its way to the deep
groove of the circle I am standing in right now. Slowly, slowly it begins to
fill the deadly trench gouged in the solid stone. Katherine’s blood flows faster
and faster but the circle is greedy—it drinks her blood and demands more. Her
intent is to fill it up, to fill the entire eight-foot circle with the scarlet
ribbon of her own life. But somehow no matter how much she bleeds, it is never
enough. Never enough…

“No!” I gasp as the vision recedes. “No, I
can’t! I can’t die like she did. I
won’t
.”

“You will do whatever is necessary to renew
the spell…or die trying,” the snake-voiced vampire hisses at me.

“No, she will not,” a familiar voice says
and the black door with no handle bangs open.

Aiden strides into the room, a look of cold
rage fixed on his face.

“Aiden,” I whisper. “Master…”

“It’s all right, Emma,” he says softly but
his eyes are scanning the circle, taking in the vast strength arrayed against
us. “I’m here now. I’ll protect you.” He addresses the vampires, staring them
down, each in turn, as he speaks. “How dare you? How dare you take what is rightfully
mine for a second time without asking? I told you I would not tolerate such an
insult again.”

“Calm yourself, Aiden,” the snake vampire
advises. “It’s hardly our fault you chose to attach yourself twice to the only
witch capable of mastering such an advanced binding spell.” He frowns at me.
“Although this one claims she cannot. She says she’s a dud who has no magic.”

“She has magic,” Aiden asserts, raising his
chin. “Magic in abundance. It’s simply dormant inside her—buried in a place she
can’t reach.”

“She’d
better
reach it and quickly,”
Grant says, with an uneasy look at the assembled vampires. “She must renew the
spell tonight—it’s frayed almost beyond repair. If she can’t do magic, she will
have to give her blood.”

“No,” Aiden thunders and his eyes flash
silver. For a moment I think he’s scarier than any of the ancient vampires
sitting around the circle. Then his face clears and his voice calms. “No,” he
says more softly but no less vehemently. “There is another way.”

“What way?” I ask, afraid that I already know
the answer.

“Emma will not be using her blood to mend
the binding spell,” Aiden says. He strides into the circle, entering the magic,
to stand beside me. “I will use mine instead.”

“That is unacceptable,” the snake vampire
hisses. “You are a vampire—your blood has no magic.”

“I have had Emma’s blood,” Aiden
contradicts him. “I had it at the peak of her cycle—I drank from the fount
between her thighs when her magic was strongest. Her blood flows in my veins.”

“Is this true?” the snake vampire demands,
staring at me with cold, glittering eyes.

Blushing and stammering, I admit that it
is. Then it’s Lexy’s turn to chime in.

You really did that?
she demands, shooting me an incredulous glance.
You let him go
down on you during your time of the month?

I squirm uncomfortably.
I was in a lot
of pain and he made me feel better. You know how bad my cramps get. Besides,
what’s the big deal?

The big deal is that you’re never
supposed to let a vampire near you during that time. It gives them too much
power—binds them to you way too tightly.
She sounds
really upset.
I can’t believe no one ever told you that before.

Well, I guess I would have known if I
had any magic to speak of or the inclination to sleep with half the vampire community,
I shoot back, losing my patience.
But honestly,
Lexy, I had no idea.

She seems about to send me something else
but then the snake vampire speaks again. “You would bleed for this witch…this insignificant
mortal with lifespan a fraction of your own?” he demands, speaking to Aiden.

Aiden nods. “I would,” he says quietly.
“Emma is not insignificant to me. I love her. I would endure anything to keep
her safe. Give me the knife.”

He loves me? And he’s going to bleed for
me—there doesn’t seem to be any way to stop it. My heart is in my throat as one
of the vampires stands and moves from the shadows into the light for a moment.
He shows a flicker of white skin as he hands Aiden a long, curving silver
blade. Then he slips back into the darkness and becomes just a pair of eyes
again.

Aiden holds the knife in one hand and
begins to roll up his sleeve with the other. He is wearing a tastefully
tailored charcoal suit but he has removed the jacket, revealing the crisp,
white cotton shirt beneath. Under that, his skin is almost as pale as the
shirt. But a fine tracing of blue veins runs just under the surface, pulsing
with blood he’s determined to shed.

“Aiden,” I say. “Please, I don’t want you
to do this for me.”

“Be quiet, Emma.” He frowns at me darkly.
“There is no choice. One of us must shed blood and I’ll be damned if it’s you.”

“But—”

“Be still and let me concentrate,” he
commands, cutting me off.

I feel sick as I watch him make the first
slice. Without flinching, he draws the silver blade across the white skin of
his forearm. I know how much it hurts him—a thousand times worse than it would
a mortal whose body would give blood much more easily. But he says nothing, just
holds his arm over the circular trench, letting the droplets fall, like black
rubies, into its hungry mouth.

I can feel the blood working, can feel the
frayed strands of the spell coming together but slowly…so slowly. Before they
are nearly woven together, let alone sealed, the cut on Aiden’s arm closes. His
mouth thins to a white line but still he says nothing. He only raises the knife
and cuts himself again.

And again and again and again.

It’s agony to watch him torturing himself
like this and to know that he’s doing it for me. He’s bleeding himself dry so I
won’t have to. Saving me the way he wasn’t able to save Katherine so many years
ago.

But after the fifth or sixth cut, I realize
with horror that it’s not going to work. The magic is coalescing too slowly,
the circular trench etched into the floor is too thirsty. Aiden doesn’t have
enough blood in his body to make this happen—especially considering how much
blood a vampire body needs to function. He’s going to die if he keeps this up.
Surely he knows that.

One look at his face tells me he does. But
it doesn’t seem to matter to him—he’ll do whatever it takes to save me. Even if
it means giving his own life.

“Master,” I whisper, putting my hand on his
arm to stop him before he cuts the seventh time. “Please, no. You’re…you’re
killing yourself. There has to be another way.”

“There is no other way,” he murmurs,
shaking his head. “Once I thought there might be but this moment has come too
soon. We were not prepared, for which I blame myself.”

“What do you mean?” I demand. I’m beginning
to panic at his rigid refusal to stop. I can’t lose him like this. Can’t let
him sacrifice himself for me. “What are you talking about?”

“Think about it, darling,” he says in a
soft voice. “There are only three ways to fulfill a spell. Magic, blood, or…”

“Sex,” I whisper, finishing the thought for
him. So this is what he was preparing me for all this time. This was why he
demanded my submission, why he wanted me to give myself so completely, even
while others were watching. He knew this moment was coming, knew we would have
to perform in front of the Vampire Council and he wanted me to be ready. Ready
to submit in order to heal the spell.

Sex magic,
Lexy
whispers in my head.
If you and Aiden could raise enough energy you could
slap a patch on the spell—kind of like melting the fibers of the spell together
instead of weaving them. It’s not as elegant but it should work.

It has to work,
I send back to her desperately.
I can’t lose him like this, Lexy!
I can’t let him die for me.

You’re in love with him, aren’t you? Be
careful, Emma! It’s never a good idea to get too deeply involved with a vamp.

Yes,
I tell her.
I can’t help it. I love him even though I shouldn’t. He
never told me I was related to Katherine. He never said he was preparing me for
this moment—never warned me what was going to happen. He’s kept me in the dark
about everything ever since I came to him. But… I love him. I have to save him
if I can. I have to.

You can but you’ll have to be completely
committed to the act.
Lexy shivers.
You can’t
hold any part of yourself back during sex magic or it doesn’t work. That’s why
I can’t do it. I can’t…can’t give myself to any guy that completely. Are you
sure you can, Emma?

I have to,
I
send back grimly.
I’ll do whatever it takes.

“Enough, Emma,” Aiden says, calling my
attention back to him. “I think you should go stand outside the circle now,
darling. Let me finish this.”

“No.” I lift my chin and look him in the
eye. “No Master. We’ll finish it together.”

Aiden frowns. “You’re not ready for
this—not ready to submit so completely, Emma. I can’t be gentle if we’re going
to make this work. I’ll have to use you hard—take you roughly.”

I swallow nervously but I won’t let him see
the fear in my eyes. “You mean…like a punishment fuck?”

“Exactly.” Aiden’s silver-gray eyes are
half-lidded. “I was working up to this scenario, trying to get you ready gradually.
But you never reached the point of ultimate submission. And I don’t think
you’re ready to reach it tonight.”

“Yes, I am,” I protest softly, vehemently.
“I know I am—I know I can do this.” To prove my point, I pull my shirt over my
head and drop it to the floor. Next go my jeans and shoes. Soon I’m left
standing in the middle of the circle wearing only my underwear. Aiden’s eyes
widen as I reach back to unsnap my bra.

“Wait.” He puts a hand on my arm to stop me
and looks at me intently. “Do you really want to try this, darling? Do you really
think you can do it?”

“Yes,” I say softly. “Please, Master, I’ll
do anything to save you. I-I want to submit.”

“My darling,” Aiden murmurs, looking genuinely
touched. “I had no idea your feelings for me ran so deep.”

“You told them you’d do anything to keep me
safe.” I nod at the circle of watching vampires. “I feel the same way about
you.”

“Do you?” he murmurs.

“You know I do. I…I love you,” I whisper,
daring to speak it aloud at last, just as he did when he told the Council how
he felt about me. “I love you, Master…Aiden.

“Emma…” He cups my cheek, looking down into
my eyes. “This is neither the time nor the place to declare ourselves. But I
love you, too. So much, my darling.”

“Then let’s do this,” I whisper fiercely.
“We can fix this spell together—I know we can. And I know…” I swallow hard. “I
know I can submit to you, Master. I know we can make it work.”

“Very well.” Aiden nods. He puts down the
knife and takes my hand.

“What are you doing?” the snake vampire
demands. “The spell is not yet whole.”

“Have no fear, we will heal it,” Aiden
says, glaring coolly at the eyes gleaming in the darkness. “We’re simply going
to try a different method.” He looks around, frowning. “All mortals must leave
the Council Room. I want no eyes but those of the Council upon us as we renew
the spell.”

Muttering with irritation, Sanchez and the
other satyr push Lexy out the black door Aiden left hanging open.
Good luck!
Lexy sends, her mental voice dwindling as she gets out of range. Soon all
the mortals besides me are gone from the great stone chamber. All except Grant,
who just stands there.

“You too,” Aiden tells the warlock sternly.
“You must go.”

Grant frowns. “But…what if you need magic?”

“Emma has more magic in her smallest finger
than you have in your entire body.” Aiden gives him a withering look. “I will
tap into that deep well. You’ll be able to feel the spell mend from outside.”

Grant grumbles but at last he shrugs and
goes out the door, following the satyrs. He shuts it behind him and I for one
am glad he’s gone. Not because I didn’t want him watching Aiden and I
do…whatever it is we’re about to do. But because I hope he’ll protect Lexy from
the satyrs.

“Never fear, darling. Your cousin will be
safe,” Aiden murmurs in my ear. Then he reaches into his pocket and pulls
something out—something that gleams red in the firelight.

I give a little gasp when I see it. “My
collar!” I took it off before I went to take my herbology final…which seems
about a thousand years ago at this point.

“Yes, your collar.” Aiden frowns at me fiercely.
“Do you have any idea, Emma, how frantic I was when I found this lying on the
dresser and you nowhere to be found?”

I bite my lip and nod. He must have
remembered the night he found Katherine missing. Must have felt that history
was repeating itself, and unfortunately, in a way, it is.

“You removed it.” Aiden’ voice is steady
but his eyes are flashing solid silver now. “You took off my mark of ownership
and left the house without permission, putting yourself in terrible danger.”

“Yes Master,” I whisper in a small voice.
My heart is drumming against my ribs and my pussy is becoming wet as it always
does when I know he’s going to punish me. But this time the punishment is going
to be so much worse than ever before.

“Emma,” he says in that soft, deep, scary
voice. “This kind of deliberate disobedience calls for the strongest penalty I
can inflict. Strip and get on your hands and knees. It’s time for your
punishment fuck.”

“Oh,” I whisper, unable to say anything
else. Part of me can’t believe we’re really going to do this but another part,
a part buried so far down I can barely even access it, feels a surge of
anticipation. This is the ultimate surrender—the moment we’ve been working up
to from the first minute he claimed me as his Sacrifice.

“Finish undressing,” Aiden say sternly.
“And if you think I’ll go easy on you because of your inexperience, you’re
wrong. I’m going to fuck your pussy hard and long, Emma. You deserve nothing
less.”

“No Master. I know I don’t,” I whisper. My
knees feel weak as I unsnap my bra. I can’t help thinking of all the eyes
watching me—all those cold, inhuman eyes waiting to see me get taken and used. To
see me get fucked by my Master.

“Keep going,” Aiden commands when I pause.
“And look only at me,” he adds, when my eyes wander again to the Council
members around the circle. “Just like you did at Bern’s, darling,” he continues
in a softer, most reassuring voice. “Close your eyes if you must but you have
to submit—both our lives depend on it.”