Indulge (12 page)

“Are you okay?” I was concerned for her. Seeing such a powerful vampire look so sullen and defeated wasn’t a good sign. I needed her to be strong. Not only for her, but for me too.

“I’ll be fine, Claire.”

“Are you upset because you couldn’t get into the meeting?” She smiled at me and I smiled back. I wanted to crack the shell of sadness around her. “’Cuz I sure am.”

“Oh, my darling daughter. I didn’t realize how much I missed having another girl around. It’s about time your father was outnumbered.”

We both laughed until tears rolled down our cheeks. I was growing so easily close to her, it was almost like we had never been apart.

I finished my meal as fast as I could. I think this was the best infused blood I had ever had. The rose petal gave it a sweet, earthy taste. Next family dinner I was definitely going to request it.

“So, shall we crash this meeting?” I asked as we finished eating.

Color had returned to her face. “I think we must,” she said in a playful commanding tone. Her chair scooted backward causing a screeching echo to vibrate through the room.

I refrained from licking my bowl and watched my mother as she futilely tried to push back the stray strands around her face in a nearby hanging mirror. “You might as well give up,” I giggled at her.

She smiled at me through the mirror. “And why is that?”

“Because,” I said, getting up and grabbing her hand. “We don’t want to keep father waiting.” I smiled at her with my most evil grin, my fangs fully displayed.

We squeezed hands and bolted out of the dining hall toward the strategy room where my father was holding some secret meeting. I couldn’t contain my laughter as we raced to see who would make it there first.

She beat me, but just barely.

“I haven’t run like that in years.” She breathed heavily and pulled the pins from her hair. It fell in soft waves down her back.

The Blood Guard stationed was looking at us like we were mad, which only made us turn to each other and smile wickedly. But we were merely just a mother and her daughter, making up for lost time and enjoying each other’s company.

Taking the lead, my mother marched to the door with superiority. I didn’t see the look she gave the guard, but by his wide-eyed and shocked expression, I could only guess it was frightening. As beautiful as my mother was, I did not doubt for a second that she could look very intimidating if she wanted to.

As I followed behind her I could feel the power emanating from her. She was a focused and determined vampire Queen. Someday I hoped to be the very same thing.

She opened the doors without resistance, marching into the room like she had never been told she couldn’t be there. I shadowed her movements close behind and spied my father’s expression briefly. He didn’t seem the slightest bit surprised and if I didn’t know any better maybe even amused. A tiny twinkle sparkled in his dark eyes.

I expected the room to be filled with several Vampires and Blood Guards, but there were only four seats filled, aside from my father. The strategy room could have easily seated twenty or more.

A throat cleared loudly and my eyes traveled over to my left. There sat Jarvan, his judging eyes piercing in my direction. I sighed inwardly. I really didn’t like that guy even though I was starting to understand him.

Everyone remained quiet as we entered the room and took seats near my father. I wouldn’t have been surprised if everyone immediately got up and left, but when my father waved toward Renek he nodded and continued.

“Very well. As I was saying, the city has been secured. We have notified all city heads about the situation and they are strategizing efforts to ensure security in their cities.”

“Did you instruct them on the appropriate protocol to handle the event of a stone?” Jarvan interrupted.

“I did,” Renek said clearly annoyed. I would be too if I were him. Sometimes I thought Jarvan thought he was the one calling the shots. Someday I’d like to be the one to knock him off his high horse.

Renek directed his attention back to my father. “Black boxes have been sent to all the major cities with precise instructions. I know first-hand the severity of contact with dark stones.” He glared at Jarvan, his scared forehead wrinkling.

I was really starting to like this Captain Renek.

“Good.” My father nodded as he flipped through papers and parchment on the table before him. Some of the documents looked incredibly aged and I wondered what was on them. How old were they? They looked like they could have been from the Dark Ages, with their yellowed edges and brown spots.

Robin and her family would probably love to see them. They loved any form of history. Goddess, I missed them.

For a time, everyone was silent - then my father looked up and dismissed the gathering. “You can go. That’s all for now.” The room all rose, collecting their things and exiting. “Renek, check back with me before night’s end.”

Renek nodded and bowed, then marched out of the room.

When the room was empty, aside from myself, my mother and father, I sighed aloud. I couldn’t help myself. I was really disappointed that we had missed nearly the entirety of the meeting.

Still looking down at the documents in front of him, my father cleared his throat and I snapped to attention. “I suppose I should have known better than to think I could keep you two from coming to a meeting you weren’t invited to.”

I wasn’t sure if he was seriously annoyed or joking with us. I glanced at my mother for some clue, but she had ignored him. Her eyes were fixated on some papers that were left behind by an older man who had been seated across from her.

I bit my lip. What could I say? What’s the worst he could do, ground me?

“Nothing to say for yourselves?” My father raised his head and laced his fingers together in a large fist on the table.

“Cathair!” my mother cried exasperatedly. The papers crinkled loudly as she shuffled them together. “You’re going to make her fear you if you aren’t careful. You know that no one can tell when you’re being sarcastic.”

I looked to my father, relief filling me. I really didn’t want him to be upset with me. Our eyes met and for a long moment we stared at each other. It was almost like a staring contest, when suddenly he smiled.

The heaviness of his emotions was temporarily gone from his handsome face. “Come, child,” he said, patting the chair to his immediate right. “Tell me how your first night of training went. Did you show Eli what a true Zakarian princess can do?”

My cheeks blushed. He was every bit the father I had always dreamed of. Right down to the cheesy comments.

“I did land a few good strikes,” I said triumphantly. I wasn’t above bragging. Besides, I was damn proud of myself.

“That’s my girl!” He squeezed me into his arms, his bright fangy grin lighting up his face. “You hear that, Ione? Our daughter is a warrior!”

“Not quite,” I said. Sure I was proud of myself, but I wouldn’t go as far as saying I was a warrior. At least not quite yet.

“You can be anything you want, Claire. There has never been anyone like you before. The possibilities for you are limitless. Besides, you’re my daughter and I can already tell you take after me.” She smiled at me and then winked at my father.

“Now, now! Don’t you start. She has Zakarian blood in her. Just look at her, she’s a natural fighter.” He playfully jabbed at me and I blocked him swiftly, causing a deep laugh to roll through his husky voice.

My mother waved him off and the levity in the room quickly evaporated. I couldn’t help but think that it wasn’t just Zakarian blood I had anymore. I had Noire blood too. I wasn’t sure anymore what affect it would have on me. Would it change me somehow? Would I become like Nicolae, desperate to do anything to make things how I wanted them, to maintain my throne and reign of power?

In a way, I guess I could say I was. Before Ana tried to kill me I felt willing to do anything to protect Nicolae and the rest of Palace Noire. Even now, I was willing to do anything to protect the ones I loved from The Dark. But would I be willing to do anything to stop them? I could only imagine how horrific things could end up, and I how far I was willing to go to protect the ones I loved.

What really frightened me was that deep down I knew the answer. I would do anything. My thirst for revenge still bubbled deep inside me and I gave it another push back. I didn’t know how much longer I could keep it at bay, but for now that was all I could do.

I wasn’t sure how long I had sat there lost in my thoughts, but it was nice that my parents let me think without interruption. At least until the sound of Renek’s armor clanking from the end of the hallway grabbed my attention. I looked up to see him enter the room and I smiled. I was getting better at focusing on my surroundings.

Renek’s expression was emotionless, his brow beaded with sweat. I tried to sneak in and get a sense of his feelings. He was most likely bringing my father his report and I would have to leave for training any minute. I didn’t want to miss any details.

His eyes flicked toward my direction and I quickly looked away. Did he sense my prying? Of course he did. He was the Captain of the Blood Guard. No doubt he had been trained to sense a vampire searching his mind and emotions.

His attention stayed locked on me as he took a seat next to my father and handed him a long printed document. I didn’t want to meet his gaze, but I knew I had to. Having Renek suspicious of me or not liking me wasn’t something I wanted. I needed as many people on my side as possible.

If I tried to apologize then, my parents would know what I had done. I wasn’t sure how they would feel about it. Society here didn’t express their emotions the same way they did at Palace Noire. I hadn’t weaved a single ribbon of emotion or sensed anything from anyone since I had been here. Everyone had been so open there was no need to.

That gave me an idea. If no one in Naos did this, then maybe I could find some valuable information. Maybe I could discover some secrets and clues that no one else could.

My heart fluttered with excitement, pumping in my chest like a hummingbird. There had never been a vampire like me before, so maybe I could do things with this ability that had never been done before.

I stepped out of my seat, trying my best not to cause the legs of the chair to screech across the floor. My parent’s attention remained on the reports that Renek had brought in, so I looked eyes with Renek.

I did my best to connect with him and convey the sincerity in my words. “I’m sorry.”

“What’s wrong, Claire?” my mother asked, only half paying attention.

Renek’s gaze stayed fixed on me. “I was just excusing myself to go to training,” I answered. She only nodded in response.

I looked to Renek one last time before leaving. His eyes were softer than before and I hoped he accepted my apology. Hopefully, he would think I was just a curious new vampire, testing out my abilities. And that was the truth, technically. Mostly.

It was bad enough that Eli was waiting for me when I arrived in the training room, but he also wasn’t alone. He was talking to a thin guy, who standing next to Eli, looked like a toothpick. He had stark white hair that was cut close to his scalp.

The guy smiled at me as I entered the room, his mouth crowded with teeth. Set deep behind his pointy nose were the lightest blue eyes I had ever seen, giving him a ghostly appearance.

“Finally decided to join us?” Eli asked.

“Sorry, I got wrapped up talking…”

Eli cut me off. “I don’t care what you were doing. Just don’t be late again.”

Great. That’s all I needed was to piss him off.

I took my stance on the mat as instructed and waited for Eli to begin training. Tonight I was going to learn how to land debilitating blows to my enemy. It may sound demented, but I was really excited about tonight’s training. The next time I faced an enemy, I didn’t want them to get away. Not again.

“Claire, this is Bennett,” Eli said, pointing a thumb. Bennett took a stance on the mat across from me and gave a crooked smirk. “He is going to be your sparring partner tonight. As I said last night, you are going to learn how to land an attack on any enemy. You are already capable of avoiding an attack, but you also need to learn how to weaken your enemy when the opportunity presents itself. You won’t get many chances, especially if you are fighting someone more advanced, so you need to make every one count.”

“Why aren’t I training with you?” I asked. Bennett’s eyes flashed with annoyance. “No offense or anything,” I said to him. He just shrugged in response.

“Bennett is one of my most talented pupils in this area. His percentage rate for landing attacks is leagues higher than any of my other students.” I saw Bennett’s chest puff up in pride. He didn’t look like much, but I guess I would see how good he was. “Now, let’s get started. Bennett is going to first show you one of the most effective strikes.”

Bennett nodded to Eli and then focused his ghostly eyes on me. A shiver danced across my skin and I prepared my body for the inevitable attack. My breath was steady and my senses focused. I saw him jump and roll to the right and spring into action, diving over him as he lunged at me. He groaned in frustration. Apparently he thought I was going to be easy; sadly for him that just made me try that much harder.

We swung and dove, twisted and turned, narrowly missing each other as he tried to attack me. I flipped backward to avoid his long leg as he propelled it toward my stomach with swift force. The tip of his sneaker grazed my thigh as I landed on my hands and turned myself upward. Eli would critique our movement as we bounded across the mat.

Bennett’s frustration grew more and more the longer it took for him to catch me. I smiled widely at him, displaying my fangs and egging him on. It wasn’t my fault he wasn’t as bad ass as he thought he was.

Screaming in frustration, he ran full-pelt at me. I watched him steadily, confident that he was going to make a forward attack. Could he be any more obvious? I waited to the last second and readied my stance to jump upward, allowing him to fly right under me, only he predicted it.