The Crimson Bond (13 page)

            Once the song ended, Ethan and I made our way through a pair of French doors opening out onto a secluded patio. I hoped I wasn’t making a mistake by trusting him enough to be alone with him. I made the quick decision to give him the benefit of the doubt. There was no way I was passing up an opportunity to find out what the connection was between Ophelia and Alex and whatever else Ethan was alluding to earlier. I had a feeling Ethan would not mince words to protect my feelings. He would give me the raw truth.  I walked over to the intricately designed cement railing, propping my elbows on it and looking out over the snow covered landscape. I fought back a shiver as the chilly night air brought goose bumps up on my arms. Ethan walked over and stood next to me staring out into the night. He had a distant look in his eyes and I could tell he was not really seeing what was in front of him, but lost in thought. After a moment he finally spoke.

            “Alex was my best friend growing up. Our estates were just a few miles apart. Our families were friends and being that we were born just a few months apart, we naturally played as young boys, and then continued our friendship when we went to Eton and then later to Oxford University. We were both home visiting our families before our last semester at the university when it happened.”

            He took a deep, unneeded breath glancing over at me and then back out into the night. I watched him spellbound. Scared to say anything that might distract him from finishing the unexpected story. I had thought I was going to have to do a little begging to get it out of him, but apparently not.

            “It was pretty late, or early, depending on how you look at it, when we were walking back from a tavern in the village. It was only about a mile walk from both our estates. We walked the first half of a mile together and then we would separate to walk the opposite direction for the last half mile towards our own estates.  It was just before we were to separate that we saw her. The moon was barely lighting the way, but her gown was so white that she fairly glowed. We could see her very clearly. She was breathtakingly beautiful. Porcelain skin, long white blonde hair, and a long flowing white dress. We both were so shocked to see a young lady out by herself in the middle of the night, that we just stood there dumbfounded for a few seconds, before our inbred chivalry kicked in and we rushed up to her to see if she needed assistance. Imagine our shock, that when her lovely face broke into a smile, two, sharp canine teeth shot down.

            I gasped, knowing what he was going to say next, but still feeling anguished for what would happen to the two young men who had had a bright future ahead of them.

            “It happened so fast that we barely knew what hit us. She attacked me first--I don’t even remember it. What I do know, came from Alex. He later told me she was on me in the blink of an eye, and had drained me before he even realized what she was doing. That’s pretty much where his memory of that night stops. We’re to assume she finished Alex off next and took us back to an abandoned cabin in the woods to complete the process. When we awoke, that’s where we were and she was waiting to take us to feed.”

            “Feed?”

            “Yes, we awoke pretty hungry, and of course she couldn’t wait to unleash us on the local population.”

            “You’ve killed people?” I held my breath, not wanting to imagine Alex murdering innocent people for blood. Ethan, on the other hand, I had a pretty easy time imagining doing all sorts of forbidden things.

            Ethan looked at me as one might a naïve child.

            “Brooke, dear, really? We are vampires. I’ve killed people; Alex has killed people. It comes with the territory. You might as well rid yourself of this fanatical notion that we are not deadly. We, for the most part, do a damn good job of acting human, but we are, and always will be, predators.”

            Though he was not frightening me--right now anyway, I could see the cold glint of truth in his emerald green eyes. I suppressed a shudder and turned back to look out over the courtyard.

            “I’m trying to get past that part, and I suppose it will get easier once I, myself, am a vampire.” I took a deep breath and got to the part that was really eating away at my stomach. “I have to know. Who was the vampire girl in the woods who turned you?” I had a sinking suspicion exactly who it was, but I held out hope that I was wrong.

            Ethan watched me closely for a moment, as if trying to decide whether or not to tell me. I put my game face on and met his eyes as if to dare him not to tell me. After a second his face broke into a sly grin and he laughed.

            “I think Alex is going to have his hands full with you.” He paused contemplating.  “I’ll tell you, but you’re not going to like it.”

            I rolled my eyes. “I figured that.”

            “Well, you asked for it. Our lovely maker was none other than Ophelia. Or Lia, as those of us who know her well call her.”

            I froze. I don’t think I even blinked.
So this is what it feels like to be punched in the gut
. When I finally trusted myself to not burst into angry tears, I spoke in measured tones. “That makes sense. I wondered why they seemed so familiar. And then Alex calling her Lia, really threw me for a loop. So what does this mean? Does she have any power over him?”

            Ethan, with his cocky air, quickly dismissed that notion. “Of course not. But there is a certain connection that a vampire has with their maker. I can not see either one of us not being at least cordial to her. She would have to do something unforgivable to cause us to completely sever the tie.”

            “Like what?”

            Ethan smirked. “Like kill our partner. So I guess you’re safe from her.”

            “I don’t know about that. She nearly clawed my arm to death and then fed me to the hungry vampires.”

            Ethan laughed. “That’s Lia for you. She’ll not make this easy on you. Alex is her favorite. She has had her sites set on him from the get go. Alex has kept her at bay for the most part, but she is bound to be jealous of you.”

            I blew out a puff of frustrated air. “Great. Just what I need--a jealous female vampire.” I shivered again and turned to go back into the ballroom. Ethan took my arm and pulled me to a stop. “There’s one more thing. I can’t tell you anymore except that you need to trust Alex and I in the coming days. That’s all I can say. Just remember that.” He then guided me back into the ballroom just as an announcement was being made. I was confused to see not only Demitrie, but Alex and Ophelia, Lucien, and several other council members on the stage at the front of the room.

            My stomach flipped and I had the sinking feeling that whatever this announcement was, it had to do with the council’s decision about Alex and I.

            Demitrie took the microphone and spoke in his regal voice. “Brooke. Please come to the stage. The council has made their decision and they are going to be announcing it now.”

            My eyebrows shot up and I looked desperately at Alex standing onstage. He met my eyes for a split second and I heard his voice in my head.
Please trust me.
And then he turned his eyes away from me. I felt Ethan tighten his grip on my arm and lead me to the front of the room. I barely felt myself walking and before I knew it, I was standing in front of the ballroom full of vampires. I did not miss the smug look on Ophelia’s face though, and wondered at what she had to do with this. Turning my focus on Demitrie, I watched him, waiting for him to sentence me to death. I wondered whether he would be glad to finally rid himself once and for all of the half breed daughter he had ignored for decades.

            More than myself, I worried that they would rule against Alex. I could not bear the thought of them destroying him.

            Demitrie turned to look at me and then at Alex. Lucien had snaked his way to the left of my elbow, with Ethan’s hold still strong on my other arm.
This can not be good.

            After what seemed like ages, Demitrie finally spoke. “The council has unanimously decided that while we will allow Alex to finalize the bonding process by turning you, we can not allow the two of you to remain together.”

            I gasped and looked at Alex, expecting him to be just as devastated and outraged as me. A wave of confused anguish washed over me when I saw his face remain completely calm. I sent him a desperate plea using our bond.
Alex, we can not let this happen. We need to get out of here.

           
When Alex’s face changed none and I received no response to my plea, I again felt like I was punched in the stomach.

            Demitrie spoke again, apparently not done with his ruling.

            “Once Alex has turned you and completed the bond, you will be handed over to Lucien to remain with for the rest of eternity.” I felt sick to my stomach, but the numbness of shock was spreading through me and I continued to watch Demitrie as he spoke. “Alex will be expected to stay with Ophelia and she will ensure his compliance with our rule. We can not allow the two of you to be together and gain such extreme power. This is our way of allowing you both to continue to exist, while ensuring the power of the Regency.”

            If there is any creature on earth that can stay deadly still; it is a vampire. And not one vampire in the entire ballroom seemed to move or make a sound. They all watched me and Alex intently; waiting for us to react.

            I returned my gaze to Alex, only to see he wouldn’t even look at me. In fact, he and Ophelia were exchanging what appeared to me to be a pleased look. I couldn’t understand why he wasn’t grabbing me and getting us out of here; or at least using our bond to reassure me that he was not going to let this happen. But instead he diverted his gaze and looked not the least bit upset. He seemed completely acceptant of the decision that had been announced. And then I felt Lucien’s cold hand grasp my arm to pull me toward him. Not caring how it looked, I snatched my arm back from him and pushed myself closer to Ethan. Ethan gave my arm a quick squeeze of reassurance and then gently disengaged himself.

            I sucked in a breath, feeling completely abandoned. Tears burned my eyes and threatened to spill over, but I refused to give anyone the satisfaction of seeing me cry.

            I looked to Demitrie and spoke as clearly as I could; trying not to let my voice show the emotion I was feeling. “I would rather be dead, than be stuck with Lucien.” I let every ounce of my anger and disgust show on my face and leak into my voice. “And you Alex. To say the least, you are a disappointment.” I plastered a sickeningly fake smile on my lips. “And congratulations to you and your maker. You two apparently deserve each other.” I had nothing to say to Ethan since I hardly expected him to put himself out of his way.

CHAPTER 16

An hour later I was squeezed into the most seductive black mini dress I could find in the armoire of designer clothes, and had let my hair down to flow around my shoulders. I added makeup to give me smoldering, smoky eyes and slipped into some leg enhancing stilettos. Now, somehow I had to locate Ethan and do whatever it took to convince him to get me the hell out of here.

            Once I was satisfied with my transformation into a seductress, I slipped out of my room and headed to the wing of the house that I thought Ethan was probably staying. My plan was to sneak into his room and be waiting when he came up from the ball. I was hoping he wouldn’t bring a female with him when he returned, but it wouldn’t surprise me if he did. I was desperate enough to take that risk. I’d just have to deal with it if it happened. Luckily, the hallways were deserted. I knew it wouldn’t be good if I ran into a vampire by myself. Chances were most of them would leave me alone, but if I were to run into Lucien or one like him, there was no telling. A chill ran through me when I realized that I could very well be at Lucien’s mercy for the rest of eternity-- if I wasn’t successful in getting Ethan to help me escape. My heart ached at the thought that Alex had so easily forgotten me when given an opportunity to be with Ophelia. That thought only solidified my decision to go to Ethan. When I entered a hall resembling a hotel hallway with closed doors on either side, I realized how silly it was to think I could find Ethan’s room. Even if I opened each one, I wouldn’t know by looking in whose was whose. Frustrated and disheartened that I hadn’t thought my plan through and probably wouldn’t accomplish what I had set out to do, I turned around and started to head back towards my own room.  I stopped short when I heard male voices coming towards me. Panicked, I ducked into the closest room, quietly shutting the door behind me. My eyes darted for a place to hide. I quickly settled on the closet to my right and shut myself into the small, dark space. This definitely wasn’t my proudest moment. To my horror, I could hear the door to the room open and close and someone walking in. Abruptly the footsteps stopped and my heart rate kicked up. I held my breath hoping whoever it was couldn’t sense my presence. I had just started to breathe again when the door to the closet flew open and Ethan’s tall frame stood in front of me, his green eyes blazing in amusement.