King Tomb (Forever Evermore) (9 page)

“An acquaintance,” I specified, resting on my seat more comfortably and taking a sip from my cup of coffee in front of my plate. I made a face and reached for the cream and sugar, the coffee black in my cup. My eyes met Elder Merrick’s. “You may remember him from King Cave.” He had been there during the fight.

Elder Merrick stared, then he glanced over his shoulder at John. Watched him a few moments. He chuckled, the sound still rough, turning back to me. “Yes, I do.” Navy blue eyes searched mine. “I remember you showed him leniency when he challenged you, but what do you plan to do with him now?”

I stirred the sugar and cream in my cup. “I haven’t figured that out a hundred percent yet.”

“Compassion during a challenge,” King Zeller murmured, taking a sip from his own coffee, staring. “He must be someone special.” When I only shrugged — I was not about to give away John Smith’s secret to anyone — King Zeller turned his attention to his plate. “So, Queen Ruckler, you were at King Cave?”

“Yes,” I stated, a bit of ice entering my tone, which couldn’t be helped. It was the place where I was mind raped. But I was still conscious enough to keep the conversation rolling. “Have you ever been?”

“Yes, briefly,” he glanced at me then down to Isa. “I think she’s beginning to sweat.”

“Oh!” I placed my coffee cup down carefully and quickly began taking her green knit jacket off, then her knit cap, setting them on the table. Her hair was a mess on her head, smashed down from the cap as it had been, and I quickly ran my fingers through it, feeling it was, indeed, damp with her sweat, the fire Elemental having done their duty. She grinned at me, rocking back and forth and babbling happily with the attention, making me smile at her sweet innocence. She bounced, pressing her cheek to mine, her baby arms around my throat as she glanced around at the table’s occupants, still grinning. I blinked, seeing everyone staring blatantly at us, their eyes darting back and forth between the two of us. “I’m sorry,”
not really
, “did I miss something?”

King Zeller slowly lowered his coffee cup, his head cocking. Green eyes flittered back and forth in quick succession between Isa and me, taking in each part of our faces. My lips began to pinch, but I quickly adjusted the action, knowing exactly what he was going to say before he did. Slowly, he drawled, “Your adopted daughter looks much like you, Queen Ruckler.” His eyes went to her hair. “Your Vampire daughter.”

Playing it cool, eyebrows raised, I murmured, “Well then, I guess I should feel fortunate since even you’ve said she’s beautiful.” I had actually had this conversation a few times before with others who also had a keen eye, so I knew how to handle it and keep my words
truth
. “Thank you for the unintended compliment.”

His eyes flittered to mine, narrowing slightly. He didn’t argue the ‘beautiful’ point, which actually surprised me, but he wasn’t to be deterred, his eyes swiftly turning back to Isa. Her hair. His head cocked slightly. “I haven’t seen so few black streaks since Elder Venclaire.”

And…I froze, unprepared for that comment…because in my mind, she did have her grandfather’s hair. Elder Venclaire. Lots of bright red with tiny, sporadic streaks of black. Fortunately, King Zeller was still staring at Isa, and I was able to glance at Antonio for help.

But, the unfortunate part was, he did nothing to assist me.

Licking my lips, I stated, “Well, I guess it is like his.” It came out a smidge shaky, but I was coming up with this on the fly. Really, I should have been prepared for this. King Zeller had been trained by Elder Venclaire. He knew the Elder, so this shouldn’t have caught me so off guard. “Maybe that means she’ll be powerful like him.”

Green eyes slammed to mine. “You’ve met Elder Venclaire?”

“Yes.” My heartbeat and breathing were normal; the only sign of nervousness was the slight flush I could feel burning my cheeks. “He and the other three Kings did my Awakening when I shifted into a wolf.” My lips lifted, and I tried again to distract him. “It was a bit of an ordeal.”

His gaze flicked to my hair. “I bet it was.” And like a fucking hawk, he turned his attention back to Isa, murmuring softly, “It’s remarkable, really, the resemblance between you two.”

I blinked, coming up with shit to say, so I went with that. “I don’t know what to say…other than thank you.” I shrugged a shoulder when he stared at me. “If I’m half as pretty as her, I would be grateful.”
Truth.

He stared for a long moment. Grunted. Eyes back to Isa. “Honestly, she even looks a bit like Elder Venclaire in the eyes.” His head cocked. “Not the color, but the way they tilt.” He blinked slowly, glancing back to me, and if I wasn’t mistaken, he was eyeing the shape of my eyes as he asked, “Who was the father?”

Instant and truthful. “I don’t know who the father was.” Christ, I needed to get him off this line of questioning, so I went with the only thing I could to distract him, lifting her in his direction. “I know you said you would never lay a finger on her, but would you mind holding her while I eat since you don’t appear to be too hungry?” Yeah, there we go. He appeared a bit startled, his hard face cracking. “I’m starving, and it’s difficult to eat while holding her.”

And, as I knew he would since this was a formal dinner and he had tortured me, he slowly lifted his massive arms to take her from my grip, giving me a quick glare. She whimpered quietly going into a stranger’s hands, and peered back at me, but as soon as King Zeller tucked her against his body protectively, she made a cooing sound and ducked her head under his chin. She snuggled into his warmth, keeping a watchful eye on me to make sure I wasn’t leaving entirely. I smiled at her encouragingly then glanced up at King Zeller, saying, “Thank you.”

He grunted, his grip on Isa tightening, appearing massive compared to her. “She’s tiny.”

Covertly, I sniffed, and even though I could have blatantly called him on his earlier
lie
, since he reeked of protectiveness while holding her, I murmured, “She’s perfect as she is.” Lifting my silverware from the table, I blinked — my eyes flittering back and forth between King Zeller and Isa. I froze again, feeling light-headed, my vision dimming, heart rate shooting into a wild gallop. If she looked like me…well, the dual pairs of spring green eyes staring back at me, the mocha skin, the arched eyebrows, Isa’s red and his black…

The knife and fork in my hands began to shake as I sucked in a harsh breath, my body visibly trembling as, unbidden, I whispered, “
Impossible
.”

And it was. The Law that had mind raped me not only spelled the two who had broken the Law to not remember one another, it spelled them to be separated, never to see each other again. I shook my head, ignoring the way King Zeller’s eyebrows were beginning to furrow. It couldn’t be. There was no way. He just had to look damn near identical or be a great representation of the man I had been with. Hell, of the man I had loved and who had loved me in return.

King Zeller asked, “Are you feeling all right, Queen Ruckler?” His brows pinched even more as he glanced at my hands on my plate. “Perhaps you should eat if it’s been a while.”

An odd noise left my throat, but I was feeling a bit of sanity return at knowing this had to be pure madness on my part, and I turned my attention to Antonio next to me. And all air escaped me as he held my gaze with the most utterly blank expression I had ever seen on him, which was saying something.

Holy shit.

Instinct had my gaze darting to Elder Zeller. I choked, seeing the same expression there.

No way.

My gaze to Elder Merrick and Elder Jacobs was returned in the exact same fashion.

I was hyperventilating — yes, hyperventilating — as the knife and fork fell from my limp fingers to my plate, clattering loudly. As I sucked air harshly, the noise loud and high-pitched to my ears, my gaze swung to King Zeller. His eyes were darting everywhere mine had, to the mute and motionless Elders around us, then back to mine. For the first time ever — in what I could remember — he showed confusion as he stared, his gaze swinging back and forth between my eyes.

Quickly, watching as I grabbed at my chest, he asked, “What am I missing?”

I sucked in air again, blinking hard, then pointed a shaking finger at him, wheezing, “You said you were at King Cave?”

Instantly, his eyes hooded, guarding any expression he might show. “Yes.”

“When?”

His eyebrows furrowed even further. “Directly after the attacks began.”

“What do you remember of King Cave?”

Lazily, he drawled, “Now, that’s an odd question to ask.”

Too bad his tense body didn’t reflect his calm words.

I stared. “Oh, Jesus fucking Christ.” A half-hysterical laugh escaped me as my attention snapped to Antonio. “Am I right?” I paused. “But how the fuck is it possible?”

No answer. No expression whatsoever.

My attention turned to Elder Zeller because he was acting exactly the same. “Can you speak about this?” My gaze darted furtively between his dark orbs. “Am I right?”

No answer. No expression whatsoever.

My gaze turned to Elder Merrick and Elder Jacobs…who had the same blank expressions. “Oh. My. God.” My eyes were wide. Huge, in fact. I know they were as they swung back to King Zeller, another half-hysterical laugh bubbling as I stared, evaluating him. “I don’t even like you.”

Clear confusion was now displayed on his handsome face as he murmured, “The feeling’s mutual.” He leaned forward and whispered harshly, “What the fuck is going on?”

I countered, leaning forward and keeping eye contact, and asked bluntly, even if barely above a whisper as I was automatically conscious of confidentiality, “Were you mind raped a little over a year ago? Origins at King Cave?” I pointed to my head with a shaky finger. “Blank, black spots going back for some time?”

He had gone predatory still, so much so, Isa began squirming in his arms. Ever so slowly, eyes glowing dimly, barely controlling himself, he hissed, “How the fuck do you know that?”

Air shuddered out of me, and I clamped a hand over my mouth as I swung back against my chair, staring at him intently. Panting, I shut my eyes in dazed confusion. I could not understand how this was possible, not an ounce of clarity to guide me…except there was enough evidence to extinguish the one little fact we should have been spelled to never meet.

“Answer me!” he ground out, and my eyes flew open as he slammed a fist onto the table, Isa’s soft whimpers going quiet at his scarcely contained fury. “How the hell could you even guess that?” No, he was no longer a cold outer shell, as I was no longer one right now.

I pointed at Isa, my whole body trembling, voice a mere breath of sound. “King Zeller,”
asshole
, “take another, harder, look at Isa, and you’ll have your answer.” I was still shaking my head in denial, utterly confused. “You were already on your way to figuring out who her mother is…now try to look past the impossible to see who her father might be.”

Green eyes, still furious, darted between mine, but after a few moments of silence at our table, he glanced at his dad’s completely void face, glowering even further at him before he slowly and gently lifted Isa away from his body to stare her in the face. Again, his eyes flicked back and forth between me and Isa, now with a cautious expression. His head cocked, and he stared me in the eyes for a moment too long — no emotion showing — before gazing back to her without a word, even though I knew he had come to the correct conclusion of who was Isa’s biological mother. Time passed as he continued staring. He did not voice one guess as he analyzed the second part of the equation, considering the man who had created her — the Vampire I had illegally had sex with. His eyes flicked over Isa’s features in rapid succession, his black arched eyebrows pinched.

And still I waited for him to look past the impossible.

His scrutiny finally ended on Isa’s spring green eyes.

And stayed there as he froze.

As mine had done earlier, his hands gradually began to tremble.

Isa whimpered and peered back at me, her chin beginning to tremble. She was done playing this game.

I started to lift my arms to take her, but King Zeller’s Vampire growled quietly, and in a flash she was swiftly tucked back against his body. He rubbed her back softly, and she began to quiet, nuzzling into his warmth with an arm lifting around his neck and her bitty fingers gripping into his skin, their coloring exactly the same as King Zeller’s.

Not really wanting to, but making myself, I lowered my hands and peered up into King Zeller’s eyes. A furious and confused green gaze stared back at me as he continued to console Isa. Somehow he had known he had been mind raped over the love of a woman. Possibly he had clues, as I had my ring and a man’s t-shirt, but now he knew who the woman was.

Me.

And now, he knew he had a daughter.

Isa.

He exhaled grandly, his mien flipping like a switch to show nothing. “You were mind raped?”

Swiftly I altered my expression as he had, resting back against my chair. I even lifted my coffee and sipped from it with a steady hand, not about to let a damn thing show. “Yes.”

His gaze danced to our table’s mute occupants, his arms tightening on Isa. “You should have waited to have this conversation.” A blatant reprimand.

Cool rebuttal. “From their non-reactions, they already know.” My gaze flicked to Elder Zeller. “And your dad’s reaction to Isa makes more sense.” She was his granddaughter, and he had instantly fallen in love with her, like any good granddad.

“Possibly,” he murmured, eyes sticking on Elder Merrick and Elder Jacobs. “If they all knew, then we were sloppy as hell.”

I snorted, setting my coffee down as if this was the most normal conversation in the world. “Clearly, we were.” I lifted my knife and fork. “We obviously need to finish this discussion elsewhere, so do you mind holding her a bit longer while I try to eat something?”

He grunted. “Feel free.”

Polite words. “Thank you.”

Well…that was the most civilized conversation I’d had with the man.

It was one hell of a show on both our parts.