Arielle Immortal Struggle (The Immortal Rapture Series Book 7) (34 page)

Loren and Paul were there, whispering sweet nothing to each other, making them smile. Eva and Ian walked up, letting them know that they were getting ready to leave. They hugged each other and wished them a safe and wonderful honeymoon.

“We’ll see you in a couple of weeks.” Ian said with a wide smile on his face, holding Eva lovingly.

“Don’t do anything we wouldn’t do,” said Gabrielle laughingly, and they were surprised to find Sebastian and Troy completely amused by her statement.

“What do you mean by that?” Troy asked.

“You never heard that before?” Gabby asked, totally surprised.

“No, I must say I never have. Have you, Sebastian?” Troy turned to Sebastian.

“No, I’m not familiar with that expression, but I find it very amusing.”

“Well, you both are pretty easy to amuse I must say,” Arielle said. Troy leaned in and whispered something in Gabby’s ear, and she flushed. They all now turned their attention toward Eva and Ian as they walked away waving and smiling at them.

“Have fun!” Arielle called out.

“We will,” they heard Eva’s jubilant voice.

They were flying to Fiji tonight. They seemed so happy and her friends were extremely joyful for them.

“We will see you in a couple weeks,” the newly married called to their parents as the entered the limousine bound for the airport.

“How human of them…” Arielle said.

Gabby shot her a sincerely stunned glance. “What do you mean?”

Arielle laughed. “Let’s face it, Gabby, they don’t need to catch a plane to Fiji. They can be there before the plane takes off.”

Gabrielle started to laugh, and soon enough Troy, Sebastian, Paul, and Loren joined in. Mrs. Winters approached with her brother-in-law and his wife by his side. She was beaming from head to toe knowing that her daughter was now married to a wonderful young man.

“Her father would be so proud of her,” she said in a soft voice.

“He is…” Arielle entered in a very matter of fact voice that made all of them except for Gabrielle stare at her in wonder. Gabrielle remembered just as well as Arielle did Eva’s summons and her father coming back, stating that he would be by her side every step of the way, so they were sure he was there.

Mrs. Winters smiled and gave Arielle a hug, stating that she was sure her father was watching from above. She introduced them to Mr. Winters’ twin brother and his wife. They seemed to be very kind individuals that loved Eva and her mother immensely. Ian’s sister and parents approached their table, and after short introductions, they talked for a little while about their trip to England and the excitement of the wedding. Ian’s father had lived in England in his younger years, so this definitely wasn’t his first time in the county. It wasn’t long before Arielle and Gabrielle’s parents walked up and, after the introductions to Ian’s parents, they all spent a little more time discussing the beauty of the wedding and the happiness of both Eva and Ian.

Mr. Taylor’s strong, happy voice came from across the room. “I guess we’ll be seeing each other quite a lot in the next few weeks as we have to repeat this a couple more times, right?”

“That’s right…” Arielle’s father replied with a jubilant laughter. He then turned to Sebastian. “Sebastian, my boy, are you ready to take the plunge?” His voice dripped with mirth.

“Yes, sir, I sure am,” he replied with a wide smile on his face, and reaching over, he put his arm around Arielle and pulled her close.

“What about you, Troy?” Mr. Taylor asked, turning to face Troy.

“I’ve been ready,” he muttered, sending a warm smile to Gabrielle.

“Good…good…that’s good to know,” he mumbled and gave Mrs. Taylor a kiss on the cheek. Paul and Loren took off before anyone else did.

Around ten, the remaining guests stood in the country club’s brilliantly lit parking lot talking away when Arielle had a strong feeling that someone was watching her. She shivered as she rapidly scanned the parking lot, trying to pierce through the dark shaded areas, afraid of what she might see, but she couldn’t see anything at all. She bit her lip and tried to suppress the feeling. But it came back much stronger, making her tremble as she pulled herself closer to Sebastian. He immediately wrapped his arms around her and cradled her, thinking that she might be cold.

“What’s wrong, baby?” he whispered, holding her gaze. Bending down, he pressed his lips on her forehead. He didn’t push her for a reply; he just waited. Arielle hesitated because she couldn’t explain the weird feeling, but it was still there. His eyes narrowed, and she heard his soft voice one more time. “What is it?”

“I’m not sure, but I’ve this strange feeling that we’re being watched,” she said. Her voice dropped to a soft whisper. He pulled her closer and held her tighter against his warm body. He rested his soft gaze on her face one more time, lips curved, face relaxed, spreading relief through her.

“There is nobody watching us,” he chuckled, giving her a soft squeeze, and she forced a smile. The conversation continued, and it grew pretty animated now as Gabrielle pressed Troy to tell her the secret location of their honeymoon. Troy kept shaking his head, totally unyielding to her hugs, kisses, and requests. Arielle laughed as she started to relax, and soon enough, she threw herself enthusiastically into the conversation.

“How about taking this argument home?” Troy asked with a chuckle and pulled Gabrielle towards the car.

“I was just about to suggest the same thing,” Sebastian said with a smile.

“Goodbye, Arielle!” She heard her father’s voice and she turned towards the club entrance. She saw her parents descending the main staircase along with Gabrielle’s parents, waving at them. She blinked as the bright lights in the background and the shadows of the night prevented her from having a clear view of their faces. She waved in their direction, smiling. Suddenly a fast movement caught her eyes at the club entrance and she felt her body go rigid. Sheer horror crept up her spine as she zeroed in on the beautiful woman who was standing behind the huge glass doors.

 She was Arielle’s most horrifying nightmare. Her face was partly obscured by the shadow of a pillar, but even in the weak lighting, Arielle could make out her smug expression, and she recoiled. A man stood right next to her with his arm around her waist, but she couldn’t see his face. Despite the peculiar familiarity about him, her eyes were glued to the woman. She managed to draw breath as bile climbed up her throat.

Annabel…
she gasped as her breath held in her throat and she felt her heartbeat hammering in her chest, creating enormous pain. She started to shake uncontrollably, feeling faint, and the ground seemed to sway under her feet. Sebastian’s strong arms instantly tightened around her body and held her upright. Otherwise she would have sprawled on the ground, utterly petrified.

“Arielle…what’s wrong, baby?” he asked with clear concern. She tried to speak, but all she could do was wheeze over and over again.

“What…?” Sebastian asked again, watching her carefully as she lifted her hand and pointed towards the club entrance. They all turned back, gazing at the direction she pointed, and that’s when she heard both Sebastian and Troy gasp at the same time.

“Annabel…” She heard Sebastian’s voice as he turned to Troy and she saw their lips moving but couldn’t hear a single word. The next few seconds were a blur. Sebastian pulled her in his arms, pressed his lips softly on hers, and passed her to Troy like a rag doll. “I’ll be right back; miss me…” She heard his voice, and he was gone before she had a chance to even see him move. Arielle was frozen, astonishment on her face, gazing in the direction that she last saw Sebastian being swallowed by the night.

“What in bloody hell is going on?” Gabrielle asked in shocked voice. “Where did Sebastian disappear to?” She was now gazing between Arielle and Troy.

“Annabel is here,” Troy said, voice low

“Annabel…?” Gabrielle’s eyes went wide with disbelief.

“Annabel is here,” Troy repeated carefully with his eyes fixed toward the entrance.

“That bloody bitch!” Gabrielle hissed. Troy and Arielle turned toward her, stunned by her icy, frantic voice.

“It’s okay, baby,” Troy whispered. “Arielle is safe. Sebastian went after Annabel and it’s not going to be good for her.”

“How is he going to find her?” Arielle asked Troy. Her heart was hammering her chest, creating enormous pain.

“There is a certain scent that we follow with other immortals, and it’ll not be easy for Annabel to shake Sebastian off her path.”

“I wonder what she was doing here?” Gabrielle mumbled, frowning.

“I’m sure she wanted to frighten Arielle and she succeeded,” Troy said. He put his arm around Arielle and gave her a reassuring squeeze.

“I’m a little surprised that my friends in Italy didn’t give me an advance warning that she was coming this way,” Troy said. He appeared disappointed at the thought and remained silent, shaking his head. He finally gazed down at Gabrielle, who was still watching him in shock. Putting his other arm around her, he pulled her close and pressed his lips on her forehead. “It will be okay, Gabrielle,” he murmured in a soft, unruffled voice. He then averted his gaze at Arielle and realized that something was terribly wrong. She seemed to relax briefly in his arm, but suddenly, she tensed, struggling to take a breath, and shut her eyes in sheer anxiety. He pulled her harder against his side keeping her upright.

“What is it Arielle?” he asked, alarmed.

“The man—the man— with Annabel…I think I know the man,” she whispered, trembling.

“The man? What man? Are you sure there was a man with her?” Troy was searching Arielle’s eyes. “I didn’t see anyone. I only saw Annabel for a short second, and she was gone,” Troy said.

Arielle pressed her lips together in frustration. “You can let go, Troy. I am doing a little better,” she said. She was trying hard to evoke her memory. “There was a man with his arm around her. I’m very sure about that. There were both watching us.” Troy let go of her, and she took a deep breath, trying to collect her thoughts.

“Are you okay?” Gabrielle asked with a worrisome expression on her face.

“I’m doing much better, but I don’t mind telling you that Annabel is my worst nightmare.” Her name caused bile to rise up her throat, and it was hard to ignore the bitter taste in her mouth. Troy moved closer to face her.

“So who was the man? Was he an immortal? And if so, how do you know him?” Troy kept on trying to learn a few more details.

“The sight of Annabel terrified me, and I didn’t have a good look at him. But I’m almost sure that I know him.” Her eyes darted toward the entrance one more time.

“Well? Think…Arielle, it’s very important,” Troy pressed on. Arielle paused. Her heart hammered her chest so hard that she thought she was going to have a heart attack.

“Think, Arielle.” Troy’s voice was steady and strong. She stared up at him, and her face twisted in agony, trying to take a deep breath.

“I know that you’ll think that I’m crazy, but I am almost sure that it was Gaston Bertaud. Sebastian grew up with him; he was his best friend.”

“Gaston Bertaud!” Gabrielle gasped, and her jaw dropped. Troy’s body stiffened, watching Gabrielle’s expression. He pressed his lips together in astonishment.

“Gabrielle, how do you know him?” Troy was stunned. Gabrielle didn’t seem to hear Troy’s question because she was focused on Arielle’s face.

“Are you saying that the guy we met in Calais on your birthday was here tonight with Annabel?”

“Yes, that’s exactly what I’m saying. I told Eva and I thought I told you that he was an immortal. I recognized his scent, his appearance, his voice, and everything about him told me he was an immortal.”

“Did Sebastian know then? And does he know now?” Gabrielle asked while Troy was speechlessly trying to understand their conversation.

“I told Sebastian about Gaston when we came back. He was utterly surprised, as he had absolutely no idea that he was an immortal. They were together almost every day for sixteen years, but Gaston never acted any different. He had no reason to suspect something so incredible, especially back in the fifteen hundreds.”

“I wonder if Sebastian saw Gaston with Annabel,” Gabrielle said, as if she was talking to herself.

“When we turned toward that direction, Annabel was alone,” Troy interrupted. “But, Gabrielle, you never told me about this guy when you came back.”

“Well, it was of no importance at the time. We met a lot of people at that ball and he was not someone that I would remember,” Gabrielle said in a low voice.

“He had dark hair and striking blue eyes,” Arielle started to say and she stopped mid-sentence in disbelief.

“You said you didn’t have a good look at him, but you saw the color of his eyes?” she heard Troy’s surprised voice. She was completely perplexed about that statement.

“Of course not,” she replied. “I’ve no idea why I said that, but for the fact that there was an extraordinary familiarity about his presence.” Arielle was now staring down at her toes, a bit confused. She was unable to comprehend how and why she was sure that the guy was Gaston. There was no way from that distance to be able to see a person’s face clearly, especially the color of their eyes.

“I think I’m going out of my mind,” she mumbled.

“It’ll be all right, Arielle. Sebastian should be back shortly.” Troy’s voice was soothing, but she couldn’t shake the icy feeling away.

“Thanks,” she said, and Troy embraced both Gabrielle and her.

“Annabel should know that Sebastian is very fast, much faster and much stronger,” Troy murmured, clearly talking to himself as he picked up his mobile and pressed a number. “Hey, Antonius, it’s Troy.”

The next few minutes were a fast conversation in Italian. Arielle didn’t understand a single word that was said, but she did hear Annabel’s name, so she was sure that he was discussing tonight’s events. Gabrielle was fluent in Italian, so Arielle moved closer to ask details about the conversation, but Troy was then off the phone and looking totally perplexed.

“What is it?” Arielle asked anxiously.

“Antonius was surprised that Annabel showed up here, knowing that Sebastian is determined to kill her. He and his friends have been visiting every possible place that Annabel and her friends frequent, but she has been a no show for a couple of months. Antonius was angry that they didn’t know that she left Italy and he was wondering what she was up to.” Troy was stumped.