The Two Kings (Afterlife Saga) (119 page)

I pulled myself out of my absurd thinking and noticed how all of my friends were sort of frozen in shock at seeing him for the first time. RJ looked as though she was about to throw herself down in front of him as a s
elf sacrificing ‘wanna
be
’
virgin and everyone else just looked scared of both of us. I suppose for such a shy girl they hadn’t expected me to turn
into a demented lunatic, “one flew over the cuckoo
’s nest” style.

Any other time and I would had turned scarlet and fled from the room. I wasn’t one for centre of attention at the best of times but right now, right at this second, I just didn’t give a damn. Everyone was waiting for me to speak, I knew that, but I didn’t want to explain and from what everyone had just witnessed, I knew I certainly didn’t have to justify my actions. So I said the only thing that came to mind.         

“Jack can you take her home
?
” I asked quietly and he agreed by way of a sympathetic look.

“Thanks
,
” I muttered as I then let Vincent walk me away. It was like he knew I had enough but he still had hold of the top of my arm like he was scared if he let me go I would go back there and kill her. My voice was devoid of emotion which wasn’t like me but I was tired. I was tired of feeling a shame I didn’t deserve. A fault that wasn’t my own and a guilt that just wasn’t warranted. I was just very, very tired.  

“You can let go now
.
” I said in a
n
exasperated voice.

“I don’t think so, I tried that before and now someone’s unconscious
.
” His voice could only be described as controlled calm.

“Yes
,
but the right person
!
” I pointed out, cocking my head to the side out of habit. He didn’t reply to that one, instead he just
directed me to the door that le
d to the VIP. I really didn’t want Draven to see me like this and it made me wonder if he knew anything about what had happened...more importantly why was Vincent down here?

I didn’t ask but that was mostly because we were right next to the stage so hearing any answer he gave me was just not going to
happen. The door
men eyed me like it was the first time they had ever seen me. I suppose I wasn’t looking too hot right now. Once through the solid wooden door the music changed to a background hum and Vincent’s hand dropped from holding my arm to smooth its way down the length to take my hand in his. I held my breath all the way down.

He was now walking in front of me with our bodies linked by entwined fingers. I was led upstairs but when faced with the two doors I knew which one I wanted to take and he knew it too. One led into the VIP area and the other onto a long outside corridor which bypassed the VIP to get into the home part of the nightclub.

“You don’t want to go in there do you?” Vincent stopped before opening door number one.

“Not yet, no
!
” I answered simply.

“I can feel that. Come with me
.
” He turned around me brushing against my body and I followed his movements because he still had my hand tightly encased in his. I don’t know why but it was only at this moment that I realized that my sleeves were still pushed up my arms and my gloves weren’t concealing them like they usually were. That’s when my shame actually hit me. I knew the numbness wouldn’t last long and when it finally came, it would slam into me like the sea does a body from
falling from
the cliff top. How could I face anyone again?

“Are you in pain?” Vincent’s soft voice broke through my personal desolation and when I looked up from the scars I only just focused on, I realized we were outside of sorts. I was stood on the open hallway and the winter air hit me making me shiver. I was sure Vincent asked me something about pain and I looked up to find him stood very close, looking down at me with an odd expression.

“Yes...No, I..” Was that even an answer I had given, I wasn’t sure.

“I can feel your pain Keira
,
but I don’t know that it’s physical
.
” I thought about that for a moment. He could
feel
me? I also took this moment to assess myself. I flexed my hands and my right
one
hurt when doing so. A sharp pain across my knuckles but I didn’t need any guessing as to why that was.

I must have sucked in air because Vincent noted my movements and the sound of pain I had expressed. He took my right hand in his and examined it with a great deal of care. He frowned and before I could ask, the hallway
illuminated from the moon
lit glow to a warm, flaming orange. The wrought iron lamps on the walls were aflame from just a nod of his head. I almost gasped at how beautiful he was. Like a living statue of the Archangel Michael.

He reminded me of a fountain I had seen once in Paris as a child. The statue stood at the top of the fountain in the Place Saint-Michel, the
Boulevard Saint-Michel
is one of the two major streets in the
Latin Quarter
of
Paris
, as far as I remembered from one of my many educational trips my parents took us on. Our family vacations always had some historical learning factor to play, not that I minded of course but Libby did tend to get a bit bored.

“Keira what are you staring at?” He asked me softly and yep, I was staring at him like he was some ancient oil painting created by the masters of his time. I looked down quickly and muttered a barely aud
i
ble
,

“Nothing
.
”

“I think you have cracked a knuckle but I can’t be sure, bend it this way
.
” He was holding my hand like a breakable antique and he moved my fingers individually, when I felt the pain in my middle finger I yelped and he groaned.

“Dom is not going to be happy about this, what were you thinking?” He accused
me
and I yanked my hand from his despite the pain in doing so.

“I have pride Vincent, just like any other!” I snapped at him without daring to meet his crystal blue eyes.

“Was it worth it?” He asked me
,
keeping his voice so neutral it was close to being without feeling.

“Without a doubt
!
” I answered honestly. Damn right it had been worth it!

“It still affects you greatly doesn’t it?” It wasn’t really a question, more of a statement that I wanted to play dumb too.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about
,
” I said moving away from him but as I started to walk the other way I was blocked by a pale arm coated in solid ripples of muscle. They tensed under the flames that cast shadows along the stone wall his palm was pressed against.

“I think you do and I think you’re afraid when you no longer need to be
.
” This time I did face him, as if to prove him wrong about that fear. In his face I found my lies. I was afraid.

“Your brother can’t protect me from everything
.
”

“I...We can and we will
.
” He looked like he had wanted to say somet
hing else but stopped himself.
I started to shake my head and without thinking, rub my arms that were still on show.

“
You can’t protect me from myself... no one can
.
” At this a single tear rolled down my cheek and stung my skin as it touched on the scratch my cousin had given me.
Vincent took a deep breath and took hold of my hands that had started to scratch away at my scars. He moved them away and replaced them with long pale fingers that touched each scar
red line as
gentle as a butterfly.

“You have to let go of your past Keira. These scars you hold are only skin deep, they do not connect to your heart or your soul. These scars do not define you, you define them. They do not represent death and destruction like you think, they represent life, the life you chose to
want
to live...So...make it worth it
.
” His voice was like someone wrapping a warm blanket around me when I was standing in the snow. I was still looking down at my feet and when I saw my hair blowing around my waist I realized Hilary must have pulled it down earlier.

I felt
Vincent’s finger curl under my chin and raise my face up to his. He was stood so close now that he was mere inches away. Our chests rose and fell in sync with each other as our eyes met. When his hands came up to hold my face my breath hitched. My God
,
he made me nervous.

“No tears
,” h
e whispered and he smoothed his thumbs under my eyes and down m
y cheeks to take the tears
away.

“What are we going to do with you my girl
?
” He said smiling down at me. Vincent wasn’t as tall as his brother but he was still a head above me. Actually there wasn’t anything about the two brothers that was remotely similar. Vincent looked like the Angel he was. Pale
lu
minous skin that w
as framed with a halo of golden
blonde short curls that looked almost childlike. His features were strong like a white knight, with high cheek bones and a long straight nose. His chin wasn’t as square as his brother
’
s which gave him more of an oval face. And the most striking aspect were those lips, being a dark contrast to his face with a natural red pigment, tinting them
,
reminding me of an apple you just want
ed
to bite.

“I guess I’m a mess
,
” I admitted.

“Don’t worry, it takes more than a bruised eye and a few scratches to keep the beauty from you but I can’t account for my brother
’
s reactions at seeing you less than perfect, he is...very possessive when it comes to what belongs to him
.
” He said this last part in a confusingly sad way which I didn’t understand. Of course I blushed at the compliment.

“Blushing won’t help my dear
.
” He said in a very sultry way that made me shudder.

“Are you cold?” Before I could even answer he pulled me into his arms and started rubbing my back that quickly created warmth from his actions.

“I’m ok
.
” I said timidly at being so close.

“I’m going to have to heal you...is that alright?” He pulled me back a little to judge my expression but still kept me held to him.

“I thought that was against the rules?” I asked.

“Deep wounds need our essence, sometimes our blood to heal them but superficial wounds can be healed by just the right touch
.
” He had moved me so my back was flush against the wall and speaking while examining the damage. His fingers stroked the column of my neck before his other hand joined it by holding the whole of my neck steady. He could feel me gulp down my anxiety at being held by the throat so he cocked his head and winked at me.

“Relax, I won’t hurt you
.
” His words invaded my mind like a black cloud coating all my fears in the darkness so that I couldn’t see them, couldn’t feel them. I decided to close my eyes to add to the effect.

“Just breathe
,
beautiful
.
”
I could hear the smile in his comfort. So I did as I was told. I took a deep breath and relaxed as I exhaled it. That’s when I felt it. The tingling cool air that began to caress the skin on my neck. I could feel his fingers grip my top and pull it to one side to reveal more of the mark Hilary had left there. His head leaned in so close until his lips hung over the mark, almost like he was about to take a bite out of me. I felt the cool air come from him and enter my pores. It reminded me
of the
time that Ragnar had healed the cut on my knee from my fall on the stairs. If anyone were to walk in on us now it
would
look like Vince
nt was trying to give me a love bite
.

It didn’t take long until my neck went a little numb and Vincent let go of his hold. I opened my eyes to find him now casually brushing off the dried blood from my skin. It felt like someone had just sprayed me with liquid nitrogen.

“Was it good for you?” He laughed at himself making me follow suit. I couldn’t help but smile at his kindness and warmth.

“Behave
!
” I said
,
as one of the most unserious warnings possible but it made him laugh harder.

“Around you, that will be difficult
.
” I couldn’t believe how openly
he was flirting with me
.

“I thought there was only one bad boy in the family
,
” I teased.