Eternal Seduction (19 page)

Before she fully rounded the first curve, Stefan’s powerful voice enveloped her. “This was one of your darkest hours, Logan Ellis, and you should know you moved through it with as much grace and as much strength, as I would expect from any who bear my name. Welcome home.”

“I’m sure she’s fine, Kerestyan.”

Kerestyan stopped pacing outside the doors to his Father’s chamber long enough to glare at Alfred. “How do you know? She’s been in there for fifteen minutes.” He cast a glance back to the blackened doors, icy guilt jacketing the beast in his stomach. “I shouldn’t have left her. I should have forced the issue.”

Alfred chuckled. “Kerestyan, you need to calm down.”

Kerestyan spun on his heel to face him. “No! I don’t. It’s my fault she’s in there.” He raised both arms and pushed his fingers into his hair. “She’s only human, Alfred. She shouldn’t be in there alone with him. I should have stayed.”

All the humor drained from Alfred’s face. “Had you argued with your Father in front of her, she wouldn’t
still
be in there. He would’ve killed her where she stood. You did the best you could for her with the choices available.”

“Did I, Alfred? I could’ve let her walk out of that alley and made it a point to keep an eye on her. I could’ve attempted to reconstruct her memories instead of subjecting her to all of this. She’s here because I was selfish, because I allowed my curiosity to cloud what was best for her.”

Alfred rolled up one white sleeve of his button down shirt and shook his head. “I spoke with Vouclade after your Father separated him and Odin. He and I discussed, in length, the extent of Logan’s exposure to vampires. You know, and we both agree, her interaction with our kind was far too frequent to simply be reconstructed. I’m sure you could have attempted, at the risk of leaving her in a catatonic state. Is that what you’d prefer for her?”

He lowered his arms and fisted his hands. “No. But it’s better than the possible death she faces in there.”

Alfred’s green eyes narrowed as he rolled up his other sleeve. “Is it? Think long and hard about what you just said, Kerestyan. Would her life be better lived as a slathering invalid, or not at all?”

“I vote for not at all!”

Kerestyan turned his attention to Odin, who was exiting the wing leading to the library. “This has nothing to do with you.”

Odin tucked a bright blue book with gilded silver pages under his arm. “You need to stop whining. Do you really think she’s not gonna make it through his test? Please. I don’t even like the bitch and I have at least that much faith in her.”

Kerestyan stepped forward to stand in front of Odin when the animal in his stomach unfurled and scarlet tinged his vision. “Don’t ever use that word as a means to refer to her again, especially in my presence.”

He snorted and lightly smacked Kerestyan’s cheek. “Screw you. We’re not in New York. I’ll call her whatever I want while I’m here. There isn’t shit you can do about it.”

Kerestyan snapped an arm out and knocked down Odin’s hand when he moved to slap him again. “You don’t even know her. What could she have possibly done to make you despise her so much?”

Odin stooped to set his book on the floor then extended to his full height, his black eyes narrowed. “She doesn’t care about you. That’s what the fuck she did to make me not like her. You look at her like she’s the most precious thing in this world. And Logan,” he shook his head and growled, “she looks at you the way she looks at everything else.” He stomped a heavy boot against the marble floor. “Like she doesn’t give a damn whether you live or die! How the hell can you find that attractive?”

When Kerestyan caught sight of Alfred in his peripheral, arms folded over his chest, he forced the stalking beast in his stomach down and focused back on his brother. “You don’t know her the way I do. You haven’t talked with her, haven’t seen the way her eyes light up when she’s happy. You haven’t seen even a shred of the Logan I have.”

He shrugged an armored shoulder. “I don’t want to know her. What I want is for you to grow the fuck up. Good God, you two are so ass backwards it’s not even funny anymore.”

Kerestyan stiffened, and for a moment could only stare at the man who happened to be a minute and a half older in human age, but a full year and a half younger in blood. If anyone needed to mature in this equation, it was his brother. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

Odin rolled his eyes. “It’s not supposed to go this way, Kerestyan! If you’re going to fall for a human, isn’t she supposed to be some cute little thing that paints your world in all kinds of rosy colors,” he dramatically clutched his chest, “and then lures your undead soul out of the darkness?” He sighed and feigned a sniffle. “Isn’t she supposed to be some beautiful, caring creature who teaches the brooding old vampire how to love again?”

He lowered his hand and raked Kerestyan with a disgusted glare. “But you…you backwards son of a bitch. You have to fall for a girl who’s more apt to piss on your foot than she is to love you. You have to fall for the most detached, disinterested and sarcastic street waif the fucking world has ever seen. The human is supposed to try and save you, Kerestyan, not the other way around!”

When Alfred’s hearty laughter filled the room before Kerestyan had a chance to respond, he blew out a deep breath and stared at the old man. “What is so damn funny?”

He smiled. “Odin does have a point. The reversal of roles, although not quite complete, is rather interesting. Of course, that’s simply the opinion of someone who’s been around far longer than both of you, combined.” He stepped forward and clapped Odin’s shoulder. “Why don’t you pick up your book and join your visitor in the side courtyard? I’d like to speak with your brother in private.”

“Sure thing, Al.” Odin retrieved his volume and headed for the main doors. However, he couldn’t quite leave without tossing one last comment over his shoulder, “Maybe
you
can talk some sense into him.”

Kerestyan considered Alfred as he unrolled his sleeves. “You knew he was coming, didn’t you?”

He grinned and buttoned each cuff. “Although most of you Children, with the exception of Trinity and her spiked heels, tend to move silently, I’m still in tune with this home in a way none of you will ever be.”

Kerestyan couldn’t argue there. Alfred was only a few years younger than his Father, and even though he was a servant, he was as powerful as Kerestyan. “Did you anticipate we’d end up in a physical altercation?”

He chuckled. “When it comes to Odin, one never knows. Besides, you aren’t exactly your usual calm and collected self, Kerestyan. I’m most pleased you chose not to ‘throw down’ as your brother would term it. However, I would feel even better if you’d calm yourself.”

Kerestyan shook his head. “I can’t.” He turned to face the doors to his Father’s chamber. “Not until I know she’s alright.”

Alfred sighed behind him. “She’s on her way down to see Vouclade at this very moment.”

Kerestyan whirled around as relief exploded in his chest then surged through his limbs. “She is? She made it through his test?”

When Alfred nodded, Kerestyan closed his eyes and rolled his shoulders, attempting to alleviate the tension knotting his muscles.

“Your Father wishes to speak with you now.”

He slowly opened his eyes when Alfred’s words were closely followed by the sound of the doors behind him creaking open. The overwhelming sense of relief he’d felt quickly faded with each crackle of the steel hinges.

There were only two reasons his Father would desire his presence at this moment. He was either going to be reprimanded for the slight struggle he gave during Logan’s introduction, or for his argument with Odin in the main hall.

After sucking in a deep, useless breath, Kerestyan squared his shoulders and turned to face the doors. Keeping his eyes on the floor, he strode into the chamber and didn’t stop until he reached the foot of the stairs leading to the throne.

He leveled his gaze on his Father, whose alabaster skin glowed under the full moonlight. “You requested me, Father?”

He gave a curt nod. “I’ve offered Logan a place as a Nelek
Servio
. She did well in her first test.”

Kerestyan staved off the urge to grind his teeth. “First test?”

His Father’s face was stoic as always. “Did you truly believe there would only be one?”

Kerestyan shifted to stand with his arms folded behind him. “I don’t see any reason for more tests. If you’ve deemed her competent enough to become a
Servio
, shouldn’t one be enough?”

“Logan has the raw potential to be a very powerful and loyal servant. However, due to her minimal and modern education, she needs intensive training and guidance. She must prove her ability to learn and grow before her testing is complete. Should, for some reason, she stagnate or find herself unable to release what America has taught her are her inalienable freedoms, I won’t hesitate to end her life. However, I don’t believe that will be an issue for her.”

Kerestyan forced himself to ignore the negatives of his Father’s assessment and focused intently on what he could control. “I’m more than capable of educating and training Logan.”

His Father’s cold laughter boomed through the chamber, bouncing off the stone walls. “You will have no hand in Logan’s training, Kerestyan. It’s quite obvious you’ve an attachment to her that stretches beyond mild fascination or simple curiosity. I will not extend you an avenue in which to hold the rights of blood over her.”

Anger burned then immediately cooled in the pit of Kerestyan’s stomach. Had he been standing in front of anyone else, the animal inside him would have seized control of his body and blindly lunged for the man sitting only a few yards away.

But that same man had sent Kerestyan’s beast retreating into the darkest recesses of his soul time and time again. So now it curled into a slumbering ball, refusing to be roused in his presence, no matter how much rage boiled inside Kerestyan.

His Father’s stern face reflected his own thoughts. “You would fight me for Logan?”

He lowered his head and considered the striations in the marble floor while his mind and what remained of his heart silently warred. For thousands of years he’d bent knee to only his Father. He’d obeyed every edict, carried out every command. Not once had he questioned his words. Never had he hesitated.

Never…until now.

Backwards or not, he cared for Logan in a way that defied human explanation. She filled him with feelings and desires he hadn’t felt in longer than he could remember. He understood her detachment, identified with the emptiness inside her. Although he couldn’t declare absolute love for her, he could fight for the promise he made when she’d clung to him in the shower.

He wouldn’t leave her, he wouldn’t lose her.

Kerestyan raised his head and stared into his Father’s hollowed eyes. “Yes. I would fight you for her.”

He watched as his Father stood and descended the stairs to stand directly in front of him. “Then under no circumstances can you be her Master. You can stand here for as long as you like and try to reason with yourself, Kerestyan. I can almost hear your subconscious mind. You couldn’t possibly. You’ve only know her for a short time. You’ve not seen enough yet. But if you’re willing to fight for her, for whatever it is she represents to you, then as you once told her yourself…in some way, you do love her.”

Kerestyan stilled as a knot formed and tightened in his throat. Maybe in some non-traditional ways he did. Maybe he just wasn’t fully aware of them yet. But he would never intentionally hurt her. “I would never use my blood against Logan. No matter what, I would never take her choice away.”

The blackened gauntlets on his Father’s hands retracted before he rested his cold palms on Kerestyan’s shoulders. “That’s a very honorable notion to believe, until you realize her feelings aren’t returned or have faded. The beast desires what it desires, Child, and you will taint the bond between you without realizing you’ve done it.”

He returned to his throne and sat down. “If the request was spoken by any of your siblings, you know I wouldn’t consider it further. However, for you, Kerestyan, I will weigh the potential consequences. While I do, I leave you with but one question. If I remand Logan to you, and in a matter of weeks she comes to care for you, perhaps even love you in her own ways, how much time will pass before you question whether her heart arrived at the decision of its own accord?”

Kerestyan turned and headed for the doors leading to the main hall, knowing his Father’s question wasn’t meant to be answered now or verbally. It was meant to make his mind race, meant to make him search the dark, animalistic vestiges of his soul in ways that made his chest ache and tighten.

Damn him.

If in a matter of weeks Logan came to love him, he would wonder if the decision was her own. It would eat at him each time she smiled with her emerald eyes, every single time her smooth, pale skin touched his. He’d question whether the feelings were truly hers, or if in some twisted way his blood had forced them upon her.

He fisted his hands, his fingernails burning into his palms. Could he live with himself knowing there was even a slight chance his thoughts and emotions would erode hers away?

Kerestyan stepped into the main hall feeling worn, as though he’d just fought his way across yet another battlefield. The question he faced now wasn’t whether he could be Logan’s Master and not hate himself, it was if he could ignore the beast-driven urge to challenge whichever sibling she served.

Logan stared down at her naked body and blinked a few times to make sure she wasn’t hallucinating. Where her clothes had gone, she didn’t know. What she did know was if someone didn’t come get her out of the shiny room the staircase had abruptly ended in, somebody was going to need a doctor to extract her foot from their undead ass.

It was bad enough the second she’d stepped into the room a stainless steel wall slammed into place, blocking her access to the stairs. But then, oh then, her clothes just fizzled away while some kind of gas sprayed all over her, leaving every inch of her skin stinging and cold as if she’d just been bathed in hand sanitizer.