Vampire Betrayed (Vampires Destined) (4 page)

Gasping for air, she awakened, sitting straight up in the bed. Her gaze swept the darkened room wildly. She’d felt Joaquin as if he’d been right in this bed with her. She patted the pillow next to hers to make sure it had really been a dream.

The cool spot affirmed what she already knew. Joaquin wasn’t with her.

And he never would be again.

Crawling from beneath the sheets, she staggered to the window, pushed back the drapes, and shoved the heavy, old window up from the sill. It creaked with age before a blast of cool, night hour bathed her face. Though the hour was late, traffic was still bustling on the streets below her, and the sounds of laughter floated up to reach her.

She didn’t even know where she was, why she was here really, but did it really matter? Joaquin had changed her. The short time they’d spent together, she’d seen a world she wanted to belong to, shared space with a man she thought she could grow old with. A bit ironic considering Joaquin would never age another day.

Just thinking about him brought waves of longing. Memories that scorched her mind. Their first kiss. First touch. And that night in Paris almost three months ago.

 Hotel Plaza Athénée, a sophisticated blend of romance and luxury, and the place Joaquin had chosen to take her on their special night—the first night they’d spent in one another’s arms.

“The view is spectacular,” Ariana whispered, staring at the lights surrounding the Eiffel Tower. “I can’t imagine anyone wanting to leave this city.”

Joaquin’s arms came around her. “Then perhaps we should stay.”

Laughing, she pressed back against his chest. “I wish we could, but this is all like some kind of fairy tale.” She turned in his arms, wrapping hers around his neck. “Thank you for bringing me here, Joaquin. I’ll never forget this.”

He kissed her softly, a brief touch of his lips to hers, before he took a step back and took hold of her hands. “Come. The night is young, and you have much to see.” Sweeping one hand towards the window, he indicated the sparkling sky. “If you’ve never seen Paris at night, you’ve never really seen this city.”

“I’ve never been to Paris at all,” she reminded him, still smiling. How could she stop when the day had been perfection? Joaquin was almost too good to be true, and since the day she’d stumbled on a broken piece of concrete as she walked along Charleston’s Battery, she’d been caught in his embrace. Everything about him was magical, surreal, and yet so magnetic, she couldn’t stop touching him.

His hand curled around her cheek. “What are you thinking, ma chérie?”

She looked up into the swirling depths of his dark eyes. “That I’m dreaming.”

He returned her smile, and the beauty of his face took her breath away as it always did. “Then allow me to make your dream one of exquisite beauty.”

Ariana bit down hard on her lower lip to stem the tide of tears while her hand fisted in the curtain. The night had been so magical, so perfect. They’d covered every inch of the city or so it seemed.

Joaquin had shown her his favourite places—around the Eiffel Tower, from the L’ Arc de Triomphe to Concorde Square, from the Louvre to the Palais-Royal gardens and Notre Dame. They’d held hands and talked through the hours as he pointed out the sights and explained the history behind them.

And then he’d taken her back to the Eiffel Penthouse just before sunrise to complete the night with champagne and a bubble bath in the bathroom with its opaque walls. 

Ariana had never felt so alive as when they’d made love beneath the heated water while the lights of the city blinked all around them. It was as if they were a part of the night, surrounded by twinkling stars.

It was that night she’d fallen in love with him.

* * * *

“Are you feeling better, darling?” Charon sailed into the bedroom, carrying a tray laden with coffee and toast. “I thought you might want something in your stomach.”

Ariana lifted a hand to dissuade her. The thought of food made her nauseous. “No, thanks. I’m feeling okay, but just not ready to face something to eat yet.” Her head throbbed, and she wished she could remember what had really happened.

The alley didn’t make sense, but Charon provided no other information. Ariana knew herself too well. She’d never gone traipsing through an alley late at night in her life. Not with friends and certainly not by herself. If she wanted to go for a walk, she always headed to Battery Park. There was something about the cannons and the fleeting glimpses of history that cleared her mind.

“Are you listening to me?” Charon’s voice had sharpened.

Looking up only caused her head to hurt more. “I heard you. I’m still trying to figure out this whole alley thing.”

Charon waved a hand.  “You really need to get your strength back. Stop worrying about things you don’t remember. The doctor said those memories might never return.

Suspicions growing stronger, Ariana shook her head and immediately regretted the movement. The pain in her head reminded her to stay still. ”I’m just not buying that. I’m sorry, but I don’t walk down dark alleys, Charon. Never have before so it doesn’t make sense that I would now.”

“Perhaps you were running from someone. Did Joaquin return?” Charon sat on the edge of the bed. “His scent is strong in your house, and it’s possible you could have been running from him.”

She wished she could remember. Ariana squeezed her temples in an effort to concentrate, but not even a hint of memory returned. Perhaps because there was nothing to remember.

 “Regardless, you don’t want anything like this to happen to you again. You have to protect yourself, Ariana.”

A note of pleading entered the redhead’s voice that only upped Ariana’s suspicions. She understood being concerned about someone, but having such dogged anxiety about someone you didn’t even know, that made her question the woman’s motives.

Besides that, she wasn’t fully convinced Joaquin would come back. Maybe she was being too starry-eyed, but he’d felt something when they were together. And remembering their nights together, she had to believe those same feelings would prevent him from hurting her.

When Ariana didn’t respond, Charon prompted with more than a healthy dose of irritation. “Dear, please try to focus.”

“Do we really have to discuss this now?”

“I’m afraid we do. I have sources that help me track down the vampires, most of them mortal so I don’t let them get too involved. They provide information that usually leads me to the targets.” Charon crossed her legs in a perfectly delicate fashion, but nothing about her said delicate. “At any rate, a source told me Joaquin is actively looking for you.” She leaned forward and touched Ariana’s hand. “Why do you think he would be looking for you if not to harm you?”

Ariana had to wonder that herself, but she didn’t want to question Joaquin. She wanted to remember what they’d shared, nurse her pain, and eventually manage to move on with her life. She couldn’t do that if this woman kept trying to convince her Joaquin was determined to kill her.

“I really don’t want to talk about this, Charon.”

Fine eyebrows arched. “Do you think you have all the time in the world?” When Ariana didn’t respond, Charon pushed on. “You know what Joaquin is now, and that’s risky for him. He has taken great pains to disguise his identity from humans. Otherwise, he could become the hunted. So it stands to reason that Joaquin never leaves witnesses, and if you think you’ll be the first, well, then you’re just making yourself an easy target.”

“I can’t just condemn him based on a few pictures.” Ariana wasn’t sure if she could ever condemn him. What they’d had, it must have meant something to Joaquin, or he would have killed her right away. Wouldn’t he? No, Charon said he’d had other lovers, but why did he tell her who he was? He could have left without her knowing the truth.

“Was the necklace not enough proof for you? You’re wearing the very same one he took off of one of his victims.”

“And how do I know those pictures weren’t doctored for my benefit?”

As Charon’s eyes flashed, for a brief moment Ariana thought she might have pushed the woman too far, but then her face softened. “You want further proof? Very well. I didn’t want to have to do this, but you’ve given me no choice.” Catching hold of Ariana’s hand, she brought her to her feet. “Go look out the window.”

Unsteady legs carried Ariana across the carpeted floor. “What am I supposed to see?” She hesitated as one hand curled around the edge of the curtain.

“You will see the truth.”

Her heart pounding, she moved the curtain aside. The glare of the sun made her wince, but it soon faded, replaced by a swath of darkness as though all light had been ripped from the sky.

Before she could ask Charon what was happening, a thin sliver of light broke over the ground below, the moon glistening across the dew-laden grass. Blinking several times, she held her breath as she waited, wondering what it was she was supposed to see. And how she was seeing it.

Ariana shivered as a cloaked figure emerged from a thick mist. The way he walked, moved, she’d recognize him anywhere. “Joaquin!” She didn’t even realise she’d cried his name until Charon came to stand beside her, placing one hand on her shoulder.

“He can’t hear you, my dear. This is what happened last night.” Her lips twisted into a smile Ariana caught out of the corner of her eye. “A replay of sorts. I wanted to prevent you from seeing this much of reality, but you insisted on seeing his true nature.”

The rapid tapping of her heart nearly drowned out Charon’s words, and all Ariana could do was focus on the scene unfolding below her.

The grass gave way to a paved street, and beneath the glow of a streetlamp, Joaquin stood, barely moving. He blended with the night until the sound of high heels clicking on concrete captured his attention. The way his head turned, so slowly, so purposefully struck fear in the center of Ariana’s chest.

“Joaquin, no.” But even as she spoke, he was moving to intercept the young woman. She couldn’t hear what they were saying, but in the space of an instant, Joaquin had his arm around her, and his long, sharp teeth sank deep into the woman’s jugular.

“Oh, my God.” Ariana sank to her knees, her hands covering her eyes while her entire body quaked with horror. “Oh, my God.” It had really happened. “He...he killed her.”

Charon knelt down beside her and captured Ariana’s hand. “I’m sorry, but you had to see that. You could very well be Joaquin’s next target. And if not him, then some other vampire. They’re all around us.”

How could she not believe it now? What she saw, it couldn’t have been an hallucination or a dream. Sick with the knowledge, Ariana nodded. “If what I just saw was true—” And she didn’t dare doubt that it was. “—there’s not a lot I can do to protect myself.”

Eyes gleaming, Charon tightened her grip on Ariana’s hand. “Ah, but there is. Let me help you.”

“How?”

“By giving you what you need to protect yourself.”

Ariana’s heart raced. What was it that Charon was offering? “And what would that be exactly?”

“You could not only save your life but others. Now that you know vampires exist, can you really sleep at night knowing someone you care about could be their next victim? That woman you just saw. I know she wasn’t part of your family, but she very well could have been.”

Nausea rolled in the pit of Ariana’s stomach. “You still haven’t told me what it is you want to give me.”

The woman stood, her arms outstretched. “I’m offering you the chance to be free, Ariana. Free from worry, fear, all of it, and to be more powerful than you can even imagine!”

It was too easy, too much of a gift. “At what cost?”

“You will help me in my quest to rid the world of this evil. Join with me, and we can cleanse the world of these vampires so that no other woman has to be scared or left for dead.”

Ariana climbed to her feet and made her way back to the bed. She sank down onto the mattress and clenched her hands. “Why choose me? Of all the women in the world, why did you pick me to help you?”

“Because you have been face to face with a vampire and survived. You know their cunning ways. I can’t save these innocent people all by myself, and I know you have a stake in helping me. There are so few of us hunters and so many of the creatures. We need to build our army, and you need to stay alive.”

Everything made sense, but why didn’t that thought make her feel better? “I’m not sure.”

Charon leaned in, pressing her face close to Ariana’s. “Are you so sure Joaquin won’t return to kill you?”

The woman had a point. Being able to protect herself wasn’t such a bad thing. “No, I’m not.”

“Then your options are limited, aren’t they?”

“Yes.” Ariana’s voice cracked on the one word. Nibbling her lower lip, she battled with the seed of doubt nestled in her heart, but still, she nodded.

“Excellent. Now look at me. Keep your eyes on mine.” Charon advanced as she talked. “You will feel nothing. Just focus on my face and the sound of my voice.”

Chapter Three