The Two Kings (Afterlife Saga) (88 page)

I raised my fingers to his face and followed the strong line of his jaw. I didn’t know what to say but when he met my gaze my eyes
must have
said it all. I loved him and I would love him until every fibre in my body was gone and had turned to dust, but even when my bones had joined the earth
,
the memory of our love would
live on beyond the ages.

All of this I let out freely for him to find and when he grasped my fingers in his hand to hold them to his lips, I knew that he had heard me. He kissed my hand like it was the most precious
gift he owned.

“It is
,” h
e said startling me. I quickly put back up all my mental guards so as not to allow him to
o
deeply into my mind. I still had secrets to keep but when I thought about them
,
I couldn’t fully understand why? It was like someone had planted an automatic response to hide things. Images of something Draven might recognise or a voice he would sense controlling me. What was I doing? I needed to tell Draven everything, I needed to let him in...I...I need...What was wrong with me?

Why couldn’t I.... I raised my hands to my head as to try and relieve the pressure pounding against my skull. Something was wrong, I knew that now. All this time...but how?
It was like being here amplified it somehow, something was here that was doing something to me.

“Keira! What’s wrong?” I could hear the panic in Draven’s voice but it was being muffled by another. It was like trying to watch TV and talk to someone on the phone at the same time. I kept picking up bits of one and some of the other.

“
Tell him you
’
r
e
fine
,
” a
voice hummed in my head. I shook myself as though that would somehow help. Then the next thing I knew I was opening my mouth and I heard myself saying
,

“
Everything i
s fine, I only have
a slight headache
.
” It was the strangest feeling, like an outer body experience.

“
Good
girl, now forget my voice and don’t let him into your mind again
.
” The voice sounded frustrated, like he had lost some control and didn’t understand why. I tried to focus on not losing it but it was quickly fading away into a far memory that only recognition triggers. Like smell or a sound that pulls you back
into the information of your
past. I didn’t fully underst
and what had just happened but I
knew one thing for sure...I was scared.

Draven looked happy with my answer and I started to lose control over what it was I desperately needed to tell him. It was lik
e the last ten minutes were
a dream, at the time you know what is happening, it’s so re
al you can touch, taste and feel
even the pain but after you wake, it slips away like the tide. Why can’t I remember?

“Are you sure you
’
r
e
alright? You seem
...
distant” He was right, I felt so far away
,
it felt as though I would never make it back
home. I knew one thing for absolute, something today had changed. I knew something different....what exactly I couldn’t say but it was there, like a locked room in my mind and only I could find a way in, now of course all I needed was to find the key!

“Yes I’m fine, sorry
I was
just thinking about stuff
.
” I said after feeling his touch on my cheek.

“Anything I can help with?” If only
,
I thought pointlessly to myself.
For one thing I didn’t even know what it was that I needed help with.

“Well maybe a kiss would
help
.
”

“Maybe...
?
We’ll just see about that ‘maybe’
.
” He pulled me into his arms and took my brea
th away into his mouth. It was
dreamingly delightful.

It was only when a cough outside the fabric barrier caught our attention and I started to pull away.
Draven however wouldn’t allow that for long and pulled me back so that I was level with his face.

“I will not be dictated to
!
” He said urgently as though a man starved of hunger making him search out my lips like food.

“
شما
صبر
کنید
تا
من
آماده
ام
” (Mean
s “You will wait until I am ready” In Persian)
He spoke out angrily towards the vibrant curtain that concealed both us and the “Intruder” before claiming me once more. I don’t know how long his kiss lasted but I never want
ed it to end. I never did
. However he finished by holding my face in both hands and then tilted it down so that his final kiss ended on my forehead.

“Inebriante” (Meaning “intoxicating” in Italian
) h
e whispered and just before I
could ask him what he meant he let me go and spoke again.

“I have to go now but I won’t be long
.
”

“Where are you going?” I asked trying to keep the needy tone out of that question.

“I have to meet with someone
, it’s the reason I came here but I will explain later
.”
With that
,
he motioned his hand across and the material floated back without contact. Behind it a beautiful
woman stood waiting along with
Leivic. As soon as Draven saw the woman I could have sworn I’d seen him f
linch. I was almost certain she was an Angel as there was a heavenly grace about her that had you looking at her in awe.

She was tall and slender, with a body displaying
slight
curves in just the right places. The dress she wore dipped so low you could see in between the two most noticeable curves and it looked as though she had glued the material to the sides to stop you from see
ing her nipples. The stark white
satin was almost glowing and had me squinting my eyes. Her hair was a complete contrast making her look like a chess board. Long, straight, night black hair hung loose down her back like a cloak of silk. She had o
ne side held back in a crystal e
ncrusted clasp that was in the shape of
the zodiac sign for fire
.
I recognised it from when Libby
had a brief fascination with
fortune telling and star signs.

Her skin was like her dress, spotless and flawless. Skin of a child that glowed along with every
other part of her. However her
beautiful figure and perfect skin was nothing in comparison to the pair of golden eyes that had depths a man could drown in. They were enchanting to witness. And no doubt Draven had been enchanted intimately. The thought had me close to tears.

“
Hora
!
” Draven nodded his head after saying her name in recognition. She smiled displaying a set of pearly white teeth that would
have been a dentist
’
s wet dream
. She bowed in respect making
me
wish she hadn’t as you could see right down her dress to her naked
ness
underneath. Well I guess if you
w
ore a dress that tight you couldn’t get away with underwear! I was almost smug when I saw Draven not looking. Oh yes, these two definite
ly
had history.

“My Lord, it has been far too long, we must get
acquainted once more
.
” I wanted to get up and push her off those expensive looking heels, Angel or not, I could still kick her bony skeleton arse!

Draven looked back at me and like
d
the look of rage on my face and thank
s to conversations little past
I knew why, he knew I was jealous. Hora followed his gaze to mine and what she saw there she didn’t look worried, I mean why would she, I was
a
mere limpet in the shadow of
the most exquisite coral.

“How rude of me, Hora this is
my
‘Electus’
Keira, and Keira this is Hora one of my loyal subjects
.
”
The way Draven said this
sentence made my stomach fill with liquid desire
. His voice smoothed over me like a warm blanket making me swoon. Luckily I was still sitting down otherwise I would have looked like an idiot. It was the first time I had heard Draven
introduce me as ‘
Electus
’
wh
ich I now knew meant “chosen
” In Latin. Hora looked like she had swallowed a bug and I suppressed the urge to laugh.

“Ele
ctus
?
...then the rumours are true
for once. Congratulations My Lord, you have found a rare treasure indeed. In that case you should not keep the Oracle waiting any longer. I now understand her eagerness in speaking with you
.
” After she said this
,
all my misplaced ill will evaporated.
Meanwhile Leivic had been silent but amused with me. His gaze had been locked with mine and
was
watchin
g with great interest with thick
arms
folded across his chest. If he hadn’t been smiling he would have been quite terrifyin
g to look at.

“Keira
,
I have to go but wait here for me to come
back
for you. Do not move...ok?”
I nodded and he looked relieved.

“Good girl
.
” He said before turning to the amused  Leivic.

“Arkadaşım, bekçilik ve yakın kimse izin onu” (Meaning “My frien
d, keep watch and let no one near her” In Turkish)
.
Leivic put a hand on Draven’s shoulder and replied in a language I didn’t know.

“Hayatımda onu koruyacak” (Meaning “I will guard her with my life” In Turkish)
.
I would have loved to have known what they
were saying and my curiosity grew when they both turned to look at me before Draven left with Hora. I didn’t actually receive a goodbye from Hora but I did receive a respectful head bow, which did bump her up to top billing of one of the nicer of Draven’s ex’s. The question of how many I would meet made me shiver. The amount of ex’s one could acquire over hundreds of years was staggering. One bitch named Aurora was enough for me!

“Can I get you something to drink?” A deep accented voice brought me away from my darker thoughts of ex girlfriends.

“Um...ok, yes thank you
,
” I said suddenly shy without Draven by my side. I looked around nervously now I was unprotected and couldn’t help but gasp at all the eyes staring my way. Leivic noticed
my change and decided to intervene.

“Доста!”
(Meaning “Enough” In Serbian)
His booming voice made me jump and I wasn’t the only one. All eyes had now taken their naked bodies back behind the curtains
and we were left alone. He tur
ned back to see my shocked face
at his sudden outburst.

“I am s
orry, did I frighten you?”

“N...no
,
” I lied. He smiled as he knew the truth.
I couldn’t help but wonder what he had said to make everyone leave us alone, so I couldn’t help myself when I asked,

“Why is it your kind never stick to speaking just one language?” It’s something I had always wanted to know but never asked Draven about.

“Ah, for a human this must seem very odd
.
” I nodded and thankfully he appeased my curiosity and enlightened me.

“You will not find all of us do this, just us oldies like me and Dom
.
” He winked at me before continuing,

“It goes back to a time when streets were thick with spies and humans were somewhat wiser, their beliefs a little more trusting in the supernatural. It made things complicated and more beneficial to speak in ways where only the old and the powerful could communicate openly. S
ee
,
as old as we are comes with extensive knowledge. La
nguages are but one thing that we acquire over time.
So as easy and natural as it is for you to speak English it is the same for us in many d
ifferent
ways...it is more habit than not
.
” Ok, well with him putting it like that I could understand it a little better and might not find it so annoying now.