Love Me to Death (Underveil) (18 page)

“And he wants
you.
”

She shook her head. “He doesn’t want me. He wants to control me.”

“All relationships are power plays. You just need to get the rules straight, which he’s not ready to do yet. He not only has to overcome his Slayer’s genetic drive to dominate, he has to deny his control-driven society’s upbringing. You, on the other hand, need to realize these things are part of his composition, and allow him a little control. The two of you come from very different worlds. Give him time.”

“Time!” She threw her arms up. “He had plenty of time while he was dragging me all over hell’s half acre in the snow like I was some dog on a leash he could command. Sit! Stay! Roll over.”

Stefan lifted an eyebrow and smiled.

She sat on the edge of the bed. “Yeah, well, the roll over part was pretty good, but the rest…”

He sat up. “Since he’s not leaving, why don’t we?”

“We’d have to walk by him on our way out, and I’m really not up to dealing with him.”

Sliding out of bed, he smoothed his shirt. “You are thinking like a human.”

“I
am
a… Well, guess I’m
not
a human. I’m a…whatever-I-am.”

Stefan disappeared into a closet and returned with woman’s jeans, a shirt, and some sandals. “Whatever you are, you can teleport, and I suspect you can take me with you.” He placed the clothes on the corner of the bed. “These will be a little long for you, but they should fit otherwise. Have you ever been to Hobby Airport?”

“Yeah, why?”

“Because most Underveilers who have the gift can only teleport to places they’ve been before. I do not have this gift, so if you could please teleport us to Hobby after you get dressed, there’s a plane waiting to take us away. I arranged everything while you bathed.”

“So you already bought our tickets?”

“No. I bought a plane.”

“That’s a bit excessive, don’t you think?”

His grin was beautiful. “Not at all. I wanted a new plane, and this was a great excuse to add one I’d had my eye on.”

“Like a new pair of shoes.” She hoped her sarcasm came through loud and clear.

“Precisely. Go put some on.”

After grabbing up the stack of clothes, she headed to the bathroom, shaking her head. Good thing she was immortal because getting used to this kind of thing was going to take a long, long time.

Chapter Seventeen

E
lena took another sip of her daiquiri and stared over the turquoise ocean. Stefan’s private island off the coast of the Dominican Republic was paradise. So beautiful, in fact, it didn’t seem real—but then, neither did anything that had happened to her since she’d been shot in that convenience store. Especially the moments she’d spent in Nikolai’s arms, which she was trying really hard not to think about.

Taking a deep breath, she reclined her lounge chair and closed her eyes, focusing on the soft sounds of the ocean lapping the shore and the sea birds overhead. No matter how hard she tried to empty her mind, she always saw the same thing: Nik, with his strong, hard body and brilliant smile. And his voice, and his words, and the way he…

Shit. No. Just, no.
She wouldn’t allow herself to go there. He was an ass who had yanked her around like a dog on a leash. She could not be owned.

“Screw him!” she grumbled.
Yeah, if only…

She’d slept for twenty hours after Stefan had introduced her to his staff, and then had done nothing for an entire week but lie around on the beach, but still she was tired and at the same time, restless. She constantly felt like she had lost something, but was too exhausted to look for it. Maybe it was the conversion into being a…whatever-she-was that had worn her out. Or maybe it was the fact Nikolai had starved and dehydrated her.

Or had he?

Maybe he just hadn’t known her needs. Her species was different than his. Maybe she should have been more vocal. He’d always tried to make her comfortable when he knew things weren’t right.

Stop it. Stop making excuses.
She was done with him. Period. She’d hang out here until things settled down, and then she’d go back home and try to simply live a normal life—well, as normal as possible considering she was some kind of blood-powered freak of nature now. Obviously, after a couple of weeks of no-show, she’d lost her research job in the hematology department. Ha. She’d probably want to snack on the samples anyway. Her goofy grin at her own silliness faded. No. It would only appeal if it were Nik’s blood, wouldn’t it?

“Lovely sunset,” Stefan said, sliding into the lounge chair next to her. He wore linen slacks and a light cotton shirt rolled up at the sleeves, buttons open half way down his chest. The tangerine and magenta sunset tinted his skin, making him look like a bronze statue. So beautiful, yet, he did nothing for her. Only one man made her feel like her body was on fire, and no matter how hard she tried to douse it, the flames smoldered under the surface, waiting to be fanned. It was like she had to be near Nik in order to feel right, which was just…wrong. Surely the hunger would pass in a few more days. She just needed to wait it out.

“How are you feeling?” He tapped his bare feet on the side of his lounge chair to knock the sugary sand off.

“Much better,” she lied.

“Bridgette tells me you skipped breakfast and lunch today.”

She adjusted the back of the lounge chair so that she sat upright. She had been a little freaked out by his housekeeper’s intensity over the need for food. “Yeah, I really wasn’t hungry.”

He tilted his head and lifted an eyebrow. “Are you hungry now?”

She shook her head and watched a gull scoop something up from the water and took another sip of her drink.

He crossed his legs at the ankle. “I’ve been trying to sort out what exactly is going on, but am not able to get a clear picture. My sources have provided all the pieces of the puzzle with the exception of few crucial ones.”

Another gull snatched the prize away from the first and flew away screeching.

“Well, you’re way better off than I am, because I know squat,” she said.

“Here is what I know: Both yours and Nikolai Itzov’s fathers died in an incident rumored to be combat resulting in the death of both, yet no one witnessed it. Your father’s death destabilized the vampire nation, leaving it in chaos, causing a large number of them to go rogue and feed on humans. That sparked the execution of thousands of vampires at the hands of the Slayers, which resulted in a rebellion that divided the vampires into two factions.”

The whole thing sounded like a plot for a scary book. Elena folded her legs up and shifted in her chair to face him.
This craziness is real,
she reminded herself.
I’m not going to wake up from this
. But she wished she could—she wished she could forget the whole thing…well, maybe with the exception of a few hot encounters with a Slayer. Those she never wanted to forget. Heat shot through her at the mere thought.
Dammit. Stop.

Stefan stared over the water as he spoke. “Fydor, the newly instated Slayer king, replaced Nikolai’s father and immediately married his mother.”

“How did that go over?”

“Fydor marrying Tatiana Itzov was a good move politically. She was loved by their people and gave him validity. According to my sources, the marriage was not well-received by Nikolai, who moved out of his family’s compound the day the engagement was announced.”

Poor Nik. They had talked for hours in the cabin, and he’d never mentioned any of this. He’d kept it light and funny, probably to make her comfortable. Just like he’d done with his body. He’d eased her fear and discomfort. Maybe she’d misjudged him more than she thought. And as much as she tried not to, she worried about him.

“Fydor vowed to cease all executions if the vampires swore allegiance to him as their king, as long as the feeding on humans was discreet and had a low mortality rate,” Stefan continued.

Low mortality rate? Humans shouldn’t die at all if there were other options. Elena could hardly believe it.

“The ones who did not swear allegiance to Fydor appointed a new vampire king and are considered rebels. They stay true to your father’s dictates, feeding only on willing immortals.”

“Like Margarita.”

“Yes. In fact, her brother is the Arconian leader.”

“Arconian…”

“As it sounds, they took your father’s name.”

Well, no wonder Margarita was all up in her business that day. She smiled as another piece of the puzzle slipped into place.

He leaned down and brushed some sand off his recliner. “Nikolai, unaware of the agreement between his uncle and the vampires that allowed them to predate humans, continued to kill the violators of the laws of the Underveil while searching for you.”

“For me?”

“For the Uniter, who appears to be you.” He gave a half laugh. “I would love to have seen his face when he figured that out.”

No kidding. Finding out the person he sought was enemy number one, and a woman at that, must have been a shock to his big, bad, misogynistic Slayer system. “It wasn’t pretty, I’m sure.” She took another sip of her drink. “So, not knowing Uncle Dearest had given the vamps the green light to drain humans, Nik slayed them.”

“Well put.” How could a guy that good-looking do nothing at all for her? His blue eyes were a shade paler than the water, giving him an unearthly appearance, which suited, she supposed. According to Nik, he was an alien of some kind. “Yes,” he continued. “His execution of those who took human lives made him an enemy of most vampires and in violation of the treaty, which is why his uncle could put a kill order on him.”

“But Nik didn’t know about the agreement.”

Stefan smiled. “Yes, he’s been kept in the dark about a lot of things.”

She fiddled with the tie on the white cotton shorts his housekeeper, Bridgette, had laid out for her this morning. She swore she wasn’t going to ask. That she didn’t care. Still, she couldn’t help herself. “Is he still at your place?”

He pulled his cell from his pocket. “According to security, he teleports in and out.”

A teeny kernel of panic bloomed in her belly. Surely, he’d stay out of danger. “So what is my role in all of this?”

“Walk with me.” Even his movements seemed inhuman as he effortlessly rose from his lounge chair.

She wrestled her way out of the wood and canvas contraption much less gracefully and collected her drink. The sand was soft and warm underfoot—the opposite of the snow she’d trudged through with Nikolai. Where was he now, she wondered? Was he looking for her?

Stefan glanced over and then stopped. “I don’t know what manner of creature you are. I know Fydor desires this war and he wants you dead, so it stands to reason, you are—or he believes you are—the Uniter from the prophecy. The one to build the bridge and end the war.”

“What war?”

The sea breeze blew his hair across his face. “There have always been factions of the Underveil that want to take over the human world, rather than protect it. Right now, with Fydor in power, that element has great strength.”

Definitely like a horror movie plot, only weirder. She walked to the waterline and let the waves lap over her ankles. “Where does Nik fit in?”

Stefan joined her, hands in pockets. He stared at her with those pale eyes and smiled. It was a sad smile that tugged at her heart. “He fits with you…and he is in grave danger, Elena.”

Her heart stopped for a moment. “Danger. Why?” She hoped it wasn’t because of her. Because of the risks he’d taken by not killing her as ordered.

“There are two obstacles to Fydor’s desire to lift the Veil and place humans at the immortals’ mercy. First, is Nikolai Itzov. He’s the rightful heir to the throne, but he abdicated to his uncle for unknown reasons. It was a big upset. Fydor was never considered a viable candidate to be ruler because he is unstable and volatile. Were Nikolai to take his rightful place as Slayer king, the Underveil would follow and desert Fydor instantly.”

Whoa.
Nikolai was supposed to be the king. “So you think Fydor will kill him to put an end to the divided loyalty.” She picked up a rock and rolled it in her free hand. “Where do I fit in?” She pitched the rock out into the crystal water.

“I don’t know. That’s the other missing piece in the equation.”

“Fydor believes I’m the Uniter from the prophecy. What’s the prophecy?”

“Well, I can only tell you what the hieroglyphs on Itzov’s body say, as I’m not familiar with the origin or mechanics of the prophecy. Time Folders are more like long-term observers than members of the Underveil.”

“Spill it, Stefan.”

He closed his eyes as if seeing Nikolai’s body in his head. “His glyphs say, ‘
From the ashes of death, the Uniter shall rise. Awakened by warrior’s blood to restore balance.

With the power to dethrone tyrants and anoint kings
.’”

As if the words themselves had power, a strange jolt rocketed through her, like the bolts of current when Stefan touched her. The phrase was familiar, but she knew she’d never heard it before. That weird need to search for something lost washed through her, and she pushed it down.

The Uniter would dethrone tyrants.
Riiiiight.
They had the wrong girl if she was supposed to be this Uniter person.

“There’s more,” he said. “The Uniter is also,
‘Guardian of the bridge between species above and below the Veil.’”

“What the hell does that mean? What bridge?”

“I assume it’s metaphorical.” He waited patiently while she processed.

This was a terrible and deadly game she’d been dumped into. And then it dawned on her that as kind as this man—or whatever he was—had been to her, she knew nothing about his motivations. She didn’t even know what kinds of powers Time Folders had, other than that of the almighty dollar and an electric supercharge of some kind. Still, Nik seemed to trust him. Perhaps it was just that of all the evil in this new world, this guy was the least horrible option. “And where do you fit in all this? Whose side are you on?”

He shrugged. “I’m on the side that protects the stability of the planet I inhabit. Right now, that would be any faction that opposes Fydor.”

“So, Nik’s side.”

“Ah.” He folded his hands behind his back. “No. Not unless he steps forward and demands his throne back. As of now, he’s self-absorbed, careless, and politically unmotivated.”

A strange sensation surged through her at the slight to Nik. It was as if her frustration had pooled in her palms. “But only because he doesn’t have all the information.”

“None of us do, yet he just goes on blindly thrashing his way through the days, refusing to look into the dark places that sent him on this quest to begin with. My bet is on you. Whether or not you bring Nikolai Itzov into your wake as you destroy Fydor, is your business.”

The sensation in her palms dissipated, and fear caused the fine hairs on her neck to prickle. How in the world could she destroy a Slayer like Fydor? Somehow, she felt like she was being manipulated again. She turned and strolled back toward the lounge chairs, sipping her daiquiri. “Nik is immortal. How can Fydor kill him?”

Stefan ran his fingers through his gold hair. “Being immortal doesn’t mean living forever. Humans have a life expectancy of eighty-five or so years, though some die much earlier. Immortality is the same. Though Underveilers can live for hundreds and even thousands of years, depending on species, many are destroyed prematurely.”

“Destroyed how?” She cupped her hand above her eyes to block the sun so she could see his face in the bright sunlight.

“All immortals have an Achilles heel. With many, like the elves and shifters, a simple beheading with any weapon is enough. Vampires have to be burned. Poisons specific to species are fatal as well, like that poor woman in my building. But all of them, including Slayers, are subject to death from a sword of elven ore. Some species require a full decapitation, while others will die from a wound from such a weapon.”