Chosen: Book 1 in the Ancients of Light series (37 page)

It was washing over her acutely in a tidal
wave this very second; his sudden arrival had triggered a vivid
recollection of their time spent prior to his errand. Ratcheting up
her anxiety was her decision that it was time that all secrets
between them ended. He had shared his magic; she must offer the one
last truth he needed about her. For her composure, it was best she
focus every bit of her energy on her appearance at present.

His footsteps echoed as he came her direction
and she paused in her movements before the mirror to give a final
review of her appearance. She had recreated the dress perfectly
with the use of her magic – the flowing chiffon fit well. It was
held up by a single strap of fabric encrusted with sparkling blue
and white crystals that snaked over one shoulder. The color was the
deepest shade of blue at the sweetheart neckline of the bodice and
faded down the length into lighter shades. It ran completely white
at the bottom, as though the fabric had been dipped in watercolor
and allowed to run down the material. Matching blue gems dangled
from her ears. Her hair piled high in a mass of loose curls
intertwined with strings of crystals in the same hue completed the
look.

Lorcan’s walk ended with his large hand
encircling her waist. Her eyes met his in the glass when he tugged
her back against his chest. Watching his hand roam lazily over her
abdomen in the reflection had her warming for him again, so
Kaitriana averted her gaze. Leaning down he brushed his lips over
her nape, “You look so perfectly beautiful that I would prefer to
keep you to myself and miss the celebration entirely.” Her eyes
flew to him and his exaggerated sigh of disappointment followed,
“However, your people will want to see you and I would be selfish
to not share you with them this night.” Her fingers interlaced with
his and she pulled their joined hands to her lips, kissing the back
of his with a tiny smile.

Her eyes remained fixed on his. Lorcan could
see anxiety lurking there and frowned over it. His hands settled
gently on her shoulders and he turned her to him. Palms splaying
over his chest, her voice was barely audible when she tucked her
head low and spoke, “There is something you must know..." He tensed
automatically in response to the dire thread in her tone. Lorcan
let her stand there in silence, collecting herself for minutes
before he folded his arms around her.

His embrace fostered some comfort and
courage. She began tracing patterns over his chest with a single
finger, “The night I was transitioned...the blood..."

He interrupted gruffly and there was a hint
of irritation in it, “It matters not, Kaitriana. Your origin...it
means nothing." His tone betrayed him. She knew that it rubbed on
him that he believed his enemy’s blood, Dark blood, flowed in
her.

Lifting her face, she waited patiently for
Lorcan to look at her. His eyes were glowing darkly, further
evidence that he was bothered more than he would admit. It prodded
her to rush on, “Do you remember a battle long ago, when you were
nearly slain and Myrrdyn intervened to save you?"

Lorcan wondered at the quick change in
subject. Perhaps she would heed him in this and leave it be. Though
it was a thorn in his side that Rhydach was responsible for her
existence and ultimately returning the beauty to him, it did not
lessen the extent of his feelings for her. It was best to not dwell
on the circumstance. He gave a humorless laugh, “That old Sorcerer
has been weaving tall tales. I was gravely injured but not in
danger of losing my life, love. Rhydach may have thought so and
apparently your grandfather did as well. I suppose it would explain
why he challenged the Dark one that night. I cannot recall seeing
Myrrdyn brandish a sword any other time."

Her male had disputed the facts as her
grandfather had told them to her, perhaps Myrrdyn was mistaken
regarding the vial as well. It gave her pause and she fidgeted
nervously. Lorcan sensed her upset, but his eyes had humor in them
when he grasped her chin and forced her to look at him, “You prefer
to think that Myrrdyn saved me, that I owe him a debt?"

She blurted the question, “Did Rhydach take a
sample of your blood that night or not?"

He was surprised at the voracity of her query
and frowned. Was she intentionally trying to raise his ire by
bringing up circumstances that displeased him? All traces of humor
gone, he explained, “I had a nasty wound. At one point, he had his
boot on my neck and took the opportunity to collect my blood in a
golden vial. It was meant as an insult - the same as when we
Vampire bite the neck of one we have downed in battle - and Rhydach
wore it around his neck for centuries as a trophy." The insulting
recollection had made his demeanor severe.

Taking a deep breath, she nodded gravely, “I
would venture that you have not seen him sporting his trophy for
over five hundred years now, have you?" His eyes narrowed on hers.
Lorcan could not understand what her game was in bringing up this
particular sore point with him, but she was tenacious. He confirmed
with a brusque nod.

Kaitriana interjected before he could speak,
“That is because he no longer has your blood, Lorcan." She could
tell from his look he thought her crazy, so she added simply, “I
do."

His mind was reeling, trying to gain her
meaning. He had not seen the vial in her belongings, why would she
keep it? He voiced his thoughts, “You found it the night you
destroyed his holdings, the night of your return."

She countered softly, “No, it found me five
hundred years ago." She saw a glimmer of understanding begin to
take hold in his eyes and she grasped at it, “My transition was
wrought with merely a few sips from a golden vial. The Darks that
night spoke of it containing your blood, when they thought I was
unconscious. It was the only bit of peace I had that night, the
belief that it was yours rather than Rhydach’s blood."

His voice was still hard but the black had
left his eyes. Lorcan lowered his face to hers and grasped at her
chin once more, “It was my blood? Why did you not say so until
now?"

She could not resist the urge to lean up to
brush her lips lightly to his, “At first I did not know if they
spoke the truth and I did not want to tell you something false.
Myrrdyn confirmed the origin of the vial when he told me the story
of that battle." Her eyes were full of moisture, her voice full of
longing, “I have wanted to tell you. It was your blood, yes. I just
need you to know that I am yours, fully yours...there is nothing
Dark in me, nothing of Rhydach."

Kaitriana was trembling and pulled herself
free of his hold to wrap her arms around his waist and bury her
face in his chest. Her next words were muffled, “Myrrdyn said your
blood is the key. If any other had been given to me, I would have
perished. You are fully Witch and fully Vampire, a perfect hybrid
of both. Only through your blood combined with my strength of magic
could I have been turned."

Her eyes were pleading with him for
understanding, “Until you acknowledged that you remained Witch, I
could not explain this to you either. You might have rejected my
claim, thought I was being deceitful and manipulating you as the
Witch have always attempted."

He did not dispute her claim about his
nature. Instead Lorcan tucked her tightly back against him, “My
love for you was not diminished because I thought Rhydach had given
you this new life. Had I known before that his intent was to turn
you and through that you would come to me, I would have gladly
offered up any amount of blood to my enemy." His tender smile met
her worried expression, “You have always been mine in every way
Kaitriana. This revelation means not that I love you more, I could
not love you more than I do.”

With a self-deprecating smile he continued,
“I will admit that it soothes my possessive Vampire nature to know
that my blood brought you to be the magnificent creature that you
now are. Thank you for having the courage to tell me, Kat.”

She felt the tension ease from him and hers
followed. His lips drifted over her cheek and trekked downward.
Lorcan gave her throat a nip, without fang, before he pulled her
towards the bed. He had a wide grin and she was satisfied that her
confession had affected him so positively. Dropping to the edge, he
inclined his head towards her goodies on the table at the side.
Kaitriana beamed her thanks, skirting his knees as she leaned down
to open the bag. Turning back to him, her smile was triumphant as
she held the overly large treat in her hand.

Lorcan had her tumbling into his lap with a
sharp tug. He ended up with crumbs on his shirt and a squawking
witch in his hold. It was his turn to give her a triumphant smile.
Relieving her of the cookie, Lorcan broke a piece and held it to
her mouth.

Eyeing him warily, she parted her lips to
accept the morsel. Wariness was forgotten, she rolled her eyes with
delight and mumbled through the bite, “Tis good for you I did not
grab the drink as well.” His answer was only an indulgent smile as
he popped more into her mouth. Kaitriana planted a kiss on his
cheek as she chewed, “It is as delicious as Myrrdyn’s memories
promised.”

When he fed her more, she was surprised to
see that his expression had taken a decidedly carnal turn. Her
pulse jumped rapidly in response. That searing look from him was
enough to make her forget the line of her thoughts entirely. Rather
than make any move towards her, she was surprised when Lorcan only
held up another piece to her mouth. She complied by opening for the
offering.

Nuzzling her ear while waiting for her to
finish, he explained the sudden shift in his mood, “I like feeding
you." She leaned limply into his chest when he continued in the
same tone, “Are you satisfied now?” At her answering nod, he nipped
her earlobe sharply, “I am not. Our appearance at tonight’s event
shall be brief.” The tone threaded through those words promised
hours of rapture and made her shiver in anticipation.

Lorcan brushed his lips softly against hers
and lifted her from his lap. As he stood and put the remainder of
the food aside, he handed her the drink and watched while she
sipped. Shortly he took it away and returned it to the table.
Trailing a finger over the exposed flesh at her neckline, he smiled
wickedly when she swayed towards him, “I will feed you the rest
later, after I have made you mine a few more times.” He did not
give her time to form a reply, pulling her into the tight fold of
his arms and shadowing them out to join the others.

CHAPTER 31

Their arrival on the steps outside was
immediately noticed, bringing forth cheering from some mingled with
general calls of greeting and congratulations. Kaitriana noted that
the surrounding area was equally full of both Witch and Vampire,
and more so that the two factions appeared to be mingling with
ease. Her appreciation of it was evident and she gave Lorcan a
tight squeeze of happiness before he released her to the waiting
arms of her grandfather.

She was pulled into a bear hug and praised
over the loveliness of her appearance before Myrrdyn put his hands
on her shoulders and turned her back to her mate. The look he shot
Lorcan was disapproving when he grumbled, “She is not yet with an
heir for my line, Vampire. Do you know what you are doing?”

Kaitriana was mortified but Lorcan merely
waved the elder off condescendingly, “What I know is that my heir
will not be produced on any schedule you devise, even if you
proffer some ridiculous premonition of when it
must
be.”

To his surprise, the Ancient sorcerer
chortled and patted his arm, “Just make certain you do not wait too
long Warrior. You are rather aged and you will require no small
amount of energy to parent Kaitriana’s offspring. I suppose you
recall very well how unruly she was as a child?” The elder had
turned and made his way to a group near the bottom of the steps
before Kaitriana could finish her objection to that unfair
assessment of her temperament.

A thoughtful frown marred Lorcan’s brow when
he interrupted her protest, “You were bossy and tended to wail
loudly and at length over any minor upset. You were also a
troublesome brat with a penchant for making pets of spiders. I hope
the fates are kind and allow us to wait centuries before bringing
more females like you into the Realm.”

Kaitriana’s sharp elbow found his side. She
had not been comfortable with him speaking so candidly about their
mating with her grandpapa and it was unfair of Lorcan to judge her
based upon a single encounter when she was just a toddler, “I was a
perfect
child and spiders are not
difficult to handle unless you are a pansy.”

At the obvious slur towards him, Lorcan
grinned and pulled her into a hard embrace. His promise was
sincere, “If you bring any such creatures into my home Kat, I will
most certainly retaliate in a manner you will not find
enjoyable.”

Her answering laughter was cut short when her
eyes drifted over and she noticed that her grandfather was not
engaged with a group of Witch. Myrrdyn was in a circle with three
Vampire Coven leaders and a few of the Elite. When her grip
tightened instinctively on his forearms, Lorcan followed her gaze
to see what had captured her attention. He then explained quietly,
“Those are allies, lass. None in that group would incite trouble
over our joining. They offer only congratulations and seek to begin
restoring our relationship with the Witch faction. Not all Vampire
have always agreed with the Council’s mandates.”

Her grip had eased but she tilted her head in
question over his last statement. Lorcan pressed a soothing kiss to
her brow, “Two of those males are Ancients and remember when the
Light was united and our breeds intermingled. I would not be
surprised to see many unmated males looking over some Witch
tonight.” He gave her a lecherous look and wiggled his brows at her
to make certain she got the true meaning of his words.