The next night, Lucette started down the stairs to see if Alex had made it through the dog door yet, and was shocked to find him coming up, a rose in his hand.
He really was so generous and thoughtful, and as he handed the rose to her, she asked, “Did you pick this outside in the garden?” The bushes Tristan brought when he first came were now planted and yielding fresh blooms each day.
Alex looked disappointed. “It was downstairs. I thought you left it for me.”
She shook her head, wondering who had left a rose sitting around. It might have been left by anyone, but made her think of Tristan. She missed him so much, she expected to see him around every corner.
As soon as they reached the top of the stairs, Alex leaned over to kiss her on the cheek, but she pulled back.
“You look beautiful this evening, as usual,” he said, undeterred.
“Thanks.” She smiled, but felt slightly awkward. “You look nice, too.”
“Really?” He beamed and ran his hands down his linen shirt.
She nodded.
“Better than Tristan?”
She swallowed, but said nothing.
Alex stiffened and she felt uncomfortable at her unintentional insult. But she couldn’t lie. Both of them were handsome, but when she looked at Tristan, her stomach fluttered and her mind went fuzzy. And the thought that he might still be here, still in the palace watching out for her, even though she’d so rudely turned him away—her entire body tingled with the thought. Even if it was just her imagination.
Alex broke the silence. “So, we’ve been alone again for a few nights. How do you think it’s going?”
“Okay. But I still say keeping guard would have been easier with three of us—”
“No,” Alex said sharply. “That’s not what I was asking. I meant, do you think you’re finally falling in love?” His voice lowered and he slipped his arm around her waist. “I’m thinking maybe it’s time to take this to the next level.”
“The next level?” A lump formed in her throat.
Alex smiled. “How about a kiss?” He turned toward her, but she slipped away.
“I’m not sure.” Butterflies raced around inside her—nervous, uncomfortable butterflies. The idea of kissing Alex didn’t feel right.
But he continued to look at her, his expression intense. Her heart pounded, and while she didn’t feel in danger, she felt decidedly uncomfortable, as she had at age thirteen, the first time her father had dressed her up and introduced her to boys.
It was time to grow up, though. Perhaps she should kiss Alex. If he were right, maybe kissing him would change her feelings. But what about Tristan? The thought of him shot through her with a flush of warmth and she admonished herself for getting distracted.
Tristan had never shown her any romantic interest, whereas Alex was here and interested, and it was her duty to try everything she could to get this curse to lift.
Clearly interpreting her indecision as an invitation, Alex bent forward, but just as he was about to press his mouth against hers, she caught a glimpse of his teeth.
She gasped and pushed him back. “Your fangs.”
His eyes widened.“I would never bite you! ”
She shook her head. “I know, but ... ” Lucette felt as if her body no longer fit under her skin. Standing here, this close to Alex, was wrong—so wrong—and not fair to him. She simply did not want to kiss Alex.
Her mouth went dry and she backed away. “I made a mistake,” she said bluntly.
“What?” Alex’s expression fell.
“I miss Tristan.” She swallowed.“I think he’s the one I’m meant to find love with.”
Alex’s expression changed from hurt to anger. “That’s impossible. You can’t love him. He was only here for three nights.”
“I knew him before. You know that. It’s only because of him that I know how to slay vampires.”
Alex’s eyes narrowed. “You love him because he taught you how to be a murderer?”
“He taught me how to defend myself.” Lucette crossed her arms over her chest. “But it’s not just about that.”
“What is it about, then?” Alex’s expression darkened, and Lucette’s fear crept in.
“It’s hard to explain,” she said. “But the idea of us kissing, it just doesn’t feel right.” She hated to hurt him, but she had to do this. “Be honest, it doesn’t feel right to you, either, does it?”
“But the curse ...” He scraped the toe of his shoe along the floor, then looked up at her, defiant.“We can work on that.”
“I don’t think so.” She held firm. “Around Tristan I feel—I feel different.”
Alex’s face hardened.“When did you kiss Tristan?”
“I haven’t kissed him,” she said quickly.
In a blink of an eye, Alex was in front of her. “If you’ve never even kissed him, how can you be so sure he’s the right one for you? Kiss me to be sure.” He leaned forward, but she pushed back on his chest.
“I’m sorry, Alex. I don’t want to kiss you. Not like that.”
He backed away, but spots of color appeared on his pale cheeks. “Lucette, if you want the curse to lift, you’ve got to at least try. I think you’re expecting too much from love.”
She shook her head and tried to convey with her eyes how sorry she was. “Alex, I like you so much. You’re the best friend I’ve ever had, but I just can’t see us ever falling in love.” She’d never had a brother, but if she had, she’d want him to be like Alex.
He backed away, then ran down the stairs.“Fine,” he called back. “I can take a hint. If you don’t want me, I’ll go. I know when I’m not wanted.” In a flash, he was gone. Sometimes she forgot how quickly he could move.
Her heart heavy, Lucette started down the stairs to make sure Alex had locked the dog door behind him. After checking to see that it was locked, she traced her finger along the nearly invisible crack along the top of the small door. Alex was gone. Tristan was gone. And she was alone, fighting vampires in solitude—with no hope for true love and doomed to a lifetime of darkness.
Lucette woke feeling sad and empty. Alex had been gone two nights, Tristan a week.
She stretched out in her sleeping case, hit the button for the lights, and got ready to turn over and escape the confined space. Above her was a sea of red.
Roses. Someone had left well over a dozen red roses on the top of her glass case. She twisted her head around to see if someone was in the room, but couldn’t spot anyone. There weren’t even any sleeping suitors in the room as there had been in the past. It appeared her father had given up. Or had the suitors? Probably her father saw the writing on the wall after Tristan left. Love was not in her destiny.
She flipped onto her front to push the trapdoor panel and make her escape from the case onto the floor of the tower room. The roses had likely been placed there by one of her parents. Whoever it had been, she was grateful.
Lifting a rose, she inhaled its sweet scent, marveling that she’d gone her entire life without experiencing such a wonderful smell. Mist clouded her eyes as she thought of the sacrifice her mother had made, having her rose gardens destroyed. A lot of good that had done.
She quickly read tonight’s notes from her parents, and it seemed all was much the same. According to her mother’s letter, more Xandrans had fled the kingdom—soon the country would be empty except for the palace staff and the army—but it had been more than a week since the last report of a vampire bite. The citizens who’d remained in the kingdom had gotten at barricading themselves in their homes and tricking the vampires into invading empty houses. She was glad to hear that, yet it meant even more vampires would probably focus on the palace.
Lucette ran the end of her finger over a thorn. If she couldn’t protect each and every citizen of Xandra, at least she could keep the country’s king and queen safe. She had to, and not just because they were her parents. If they died, Xandra would fall under the control of that horrible vampire queen forever.
She shook her head. Standing up here in the tower, sniffing roses, and feeling sorry for herself wouldn’t keep anyone safe. It was time to go down to the library and change into her fighting clothes. First, she stuck a rose through the slats of each of the sleeping slayers’ cases, careful not to poke them. Keeping the rest of the roses for her own protection, she descended the stairs, alert for signs of trouble. But the palace was quiet.
Lucette checked her parents’ doors, ensured they were properly barricaded, and placed one of the roses at each. When she went into the library to change her clothes, she found another dozen red roses lying atop her clothes hidden behind a big atlas. She drew a deep breath that filled her with a thousand smiles.
Lucette spun to check the room, but no one was there. Her stomach fluttered. Tristan and Alex were the only ones who knew where she hid her clothes, and even if Alex had decided to come back, he couldn’t have placed the roses there before sunset.
Every part of her body warmed as she thought of how the helpful gift might have come from Tristan, and as she dressed, her mind filled with thoughts of him.
Lucette spent the next three hours searching the palace for Tristan, or more roses, and found neither. Hope vanished from her heart, and returning to her main sentry point on the corridor above the front foyer, she slumped against the wall.
The sun would rise in less than two hours, and at least the night had been vampire-free. On second thought, maybe it would have been better if a vampire had broken into the palace tonight. If Tristan were still here, even if he were still hurt or angry, surely he’d have come out to help fight if she’d been attacked.
Lucette pulled a petal off a rose and pressed it to her nose. She wondered how she was going to cope all alone, never seeing the daytime again. Staring at a gaslight, she tried to remember the feel of sunlight on her face, but couldn’t.
A crash rang out from her mother’s wing. She sprang to her feet and ran. Her mother had already been bitten once and Lucette could not let it happen again. Heart racing, she rounded the corner to see a mad-looking vampire panting, red-eyed, and scratching at her mother’s door.
He was thinner than any vampire she’d seen before, almost emaciated, his eyes hollow, his hair unruly, and his back hunched. He slammed his body against her mother’s door, swore loudly, and then lined up for another attempt.
Lucette attacked, rose first. The vampire spun toward her, and she thrust the rose in his face.
“What the hell is that?” He grabbed it out of her hand and one of the thorns pierced her thumb, drawing blood.
Clearly, a rose allergy wasn’t one of this vampire’s ailments.
He tossed the rose to the floor and lunged, but Lucette ducked and rolled to the side, pulling out a stake at the same time.
“I came for the queen,” he sneered, “but the princess will do.” His eyes, deep in their dark-ringed circles, turned yellow and glowed in the dim light of the corridor.
“How much are you getting paid?” she asked as she circled around him slowly, watching him, keeping her stake raised and ready. “How much is my blood worth?”
“Wouldn’t you like to know?” he snarled like a mad dog.
Lucette leaped to plant a kick in his chest, but he grabbed her foot before she struck him and shoved her back. She flew though the air, but flipped and landed on her feet.
“Impressive,” he said.
“Glad I’m keeping you entertained. But why don’t you leave before I hurt you?”
He laughed.“As if you could hurt me, little girl. Just for that, I think I’m going to take an extra long drink. Too bad I have orders not to kill you.”
She did a twisting leap to the side, hoping to confuse him, and then plunged the stake into his shoulder. He grabbed her arm, so instead of retrieving her stake she braced herself on it and brought her knee sharply up into his groin. He cried out and released her. Lucette staggered back, pulling another stake from the quiver on her back.
Still doubled over, and with the stake sticking out of his shoulder, the vampire panted. His eyes flashed yellow. “Oh, now I’m angry. I think I might risk the penalty and kill you.”
“What penalty?” She spun around and planted a kick to the side of his head. The vampire staggered, then turned to face her, roaring. Lucette braced as he flew toward her. Luckily, she got her stake out front in time and planted it deep in his chest, but his momentum carried forward and he toppled onto her. She fell back to the floor, him half on top of her, the back end of the stake landing just beside her ribs.
Lucette pulled herself out from under him and scooted along the floor until she felt the wall. Shaking, she looked back to make sure the vampire was still down. Her two stakes were lost. No chance was she going near that creature again. She pulled her legs in and bent forward, hiding her face in her knees. Taking a life, even that of a hideous vampire threatening to kill her, would never get easy.
But so much worse than that—with all the noise they’d made, if Tristan were in the palace he would have come running. He hadn’t. He wasn’t here. He was gone. And she was alone.
To top things off, she had no way of disposing of that vampire’s body. Someone else would have to deal with it in the daylight, and if her father didn’t already know she got free every night, he couldn’t ignore this. Thinking of daylight, she realized it was nearly dawn and time to get changed and climb back into her sleeping case.