Fear flooded my veins. Too soon. Far too soon. I wasn’t ready to leave this man, this life.
Andre’s nostrils flared. He knelt next to my bed and took my hand. With his other, he brushed my hair back. “You’re fine, soulmate, and tonight will be fine.”
I nodded. If I spoke, he’d know my fear hadn’t stemmed from his assumptions.
But at the mention of this evening, I suppressed a groan. He and I were going to have to face off with his coven. They undoubtedly wanted to tear me to shreds now that they knew that, one, the devil had a massive hard-on for me, and two, I was supposedly going to lead to all their deaths.
Yay.
I could hardly freaking wait for tonight.
An hour later, after choking down a sip or two of blood, showering, and getting changed, I left Andre’s room … and promptly ran into Vicca.
Not literally, thank you baby Jesus. I hear that bitchiness is contagious on contact, and I already had had plenty, thank-you-very-much.
Up until now, Andre had managed to keep all vamps away from Bishopcourt, most likely out of fear they’d kill me the moment he wandered away from me. However, tonight that all changed, my current situation case in point.
I ignored her. I might have to play nice with all vampires, but that didn’t mean I had to go out of my way to make friendly with the woman who’d abducted me mere weeks ago.
Vicca, however, had other ideas. Her nostrils flared. For an instant, she looked startled. “You smell like sickness.” She drew her head back. “Andre risks his coven’s lives and his to protect a weak, dying girl? It’s so unlikely I wouldn’t believe it if I weren’t standing in front of the proof.”
Andre chose that moment to exit his room. “Soulmate, I thought we were going to walk together—?”
His eyes fell on the lovely Elder currently curling her lip at me.
“Vicca,” he said, his tone cool, “what are you doing outside our room?” Andre came up to me, draping an arm around my waist.
I didn’t miss his deliberate use of our, or the possessive way he pulled me into his side. Normally I wasn’t a fan of these dominant maneuvers, but considering Vicca had been eyeing me like she might just off me and save everyone else the time and trouble, I’d take it. Gladly.
“Coming to get you,” Vicca said. “Your coven awaits.”
We gathered in the same room where I was first announced to the coven over four months ago. Like last time, we were the center of attention—though perhaps they were a little angrier now than they were before.
I sat next to Andre in a chair someone had drawn up for us on the room’s stage. Though we were supposedly the target of the coven’s wrath, the arrangement made me feel exalted; they’d either consciously or unwittingly enthroned us. Hell, knowing how much Andre’s coven respected and feared him, it probably was a nod to our bond.
Not that they were happy about it.
“You hid this from us!” one man hissed from the crowd. Murmurs erupted and vampires nodded, their brows furrowed and their eyes angry.
Andre settled into his chair before he responded. “I hide much from you—from everyone. We have long known that not all truths should be voiced. This was one of them.”
“She is your soulmate! This changes everything. You should be punished to the fullest extent of our law for what you did to Theodore on our behalf,” this was said by one of the few vampires that actually looked his age—that’s to say, old.
Andre was calm when he spoke. “Theodore was the aggressor. He attacked Gabrielle after we’d extended our protection to her—even after I’d made it clear repeatedly that she was not to be harmed. It was Gabrielle or Theodore. My soulmate, who was being attacked, or my oldest friend, her attacker. Perhaps you can understand both my sacrifice and my actions under the circumstances. Or perhaps you cannot—and that is why I am king, and you are not.”
Ouch. Even I felt the contact burn from that one.
“A prophecy said she would lead to the extermination of all vampires—a prophecy you knew about. And not only did you not kill her, you saved her from someone that would,” Vicca said, her voice rife with accusation. “You put your interests before ours.”
Andre stood, staring the female vampire down. “Do you not understand the nature of soulmates? Our natures our entwined. She dies, I die.” Some in the crowd hissed at Andre; others shifted restlessly.
Andre sat back down and spent several seconds getting comfortable. “That is not a threat. It is simply the way of soulmates. You’ve heard the tales—they are true. I’ve experienced it firsthand. One cannot live without the other. Had Theodore been successful, we would all be burning in the fires of hell at this very moment.”
That silenced the crowd.
“Have you ever thought,” Andre continued, “that perhaps Gabrielle’s death would be what caused the extermination of vampires?”
You could hear a pin drop in the room. Several long seconds ticked by as people digested this. I could see the realization dawning in their eyes … and the horror. These people were aware I was at the top of every supernatural hit list, and they could smell my ill health. They knew I’d kick the bucket soon, and if Andre spoke the truth, then his death could come on the wings of my own.
“This is … a disturbing possibility we never considered,” one of the Elders said. Around him, others murmured their agreement.
Andre inclined his head, acknowledging the vampire’s admission. The room’s rising anger deflated after that.
In the silence that followed, Andre spoke once more. “The devil wishes to abduct my mate.” The words sighed out of him, so weary he sounded. “If he wills it, she’ll be dragged to hell and forced to lay with him.”
My grip tightened on the arm rests. Andre reached out, covering my hand with his.