Downs, Jana - Ravyn's Heart [Ravyn Warriors 2] (Siren Publishing Allure ManLove) (23 page)

He shook his head to clear it. He needed to focus on what Salvatore was saying because he was still talking.

“—can’t believe you would deny me the opportunity to see it performed for the first time in ten years,” Salvatore finished, looking cross. Ally sighed. He knew that look. That was the “I’m getting my way because I am Prince and you are my Ravyn, so you have to listen to me” look.

“Fine. Let’s go.” Ally relented, getting into his place beside Dageus.

“It’ll be okay,” Dageus whispered. He gave Ally a half-hug. “I promise.”

“I don’t think anyone can promise that to me,” Ally murmured miserably. He just wanted to go back to bed. He rubbed his chest over his heart. It hurt being away from Damian. The damn Bride bond was ridiculous. It took codependent to a whole other level. He could eat, sleep, and breathe Damian and be perfectly happy doing it. To circumvent the worst of the cravings, he’d taken to stealing and watching Damian’s old performances on disc from Salvatore. He was pathetic.

“It goes both ways,” Dageus said suddenly. He was apparently finding the wall they were walking toward very fascinating because he was staring at it doggedly, avoiding Ally’s gaze.

“What does?” Ally wondered.

“The love, the need. It goes both ways in a Bride bond.”

“I so don’t want to talk about it right now.” Ally held open the door for the rest of their party as they piled into the waiting SUV. Dageus looked like he was about to say something but seemed to decide against it. He shrugged and settled back into his seat beside Ally. Ally leaned his forehead against the glass of the door. Today could not get over with fast enough.

* * * *

“This isn’t the theater,” Ally stated as they pulled into the parking lot of a swanky-looking building toward downtown. The valet stood ready to take their keys and go park their car wherever it was the vehicles were kept. A trickle of relief went through him. He was glad they weren’t going to the theater. There were too many memories there.

“Nope. It’s a smaller venue, and they’re serving a delicious dinner with the performance. The place is called
Bon Nuit
,” Salvatore offered. He looked positively glowing. Happy as a lark. Was it bad that he resented his cheerfulness? “It’s a much more intimate setting, and the food is supposed to be phenomenal.”

They made their way inside and were seated at a long table covered in soft white linens and covered in pale orange rose petals and tall white candles. The plate settings were good china with gold filigree around the outside edge. A plate at this performance probably cost a small bloody fortune.

Ally sent his mind out through the crowd out of curiosity. It wasn’t that big of a crowd, twenty-five people not including the Prince, the Ravyns, and the shifters, and most all of them were vampires. Ally frowned. He’d never seen a performance done by the troupe that wasn’t meticulously planned and advertised. This seemed almost out of character for them.

“It’s an exclusive performance. Only family, friends, and a few extremely wealthy patrons who donate money every year to the theater are allowed to attend,” Salvatore supplied. It still didn’t explain why Dageus wasn’t included in the lineup or why Santiago hadn’t been raising hell at the house where most of the vampires lived.

Then the food came. The servers, humans, and shifters, dressed to the nines in uniforms of black and white, delivered food that made his mouth water just to look at it. The smell was just as intoxicating. The plate was set before him.
Hmmm...yum
. All his favorite foods were piled onto the plate. Loaded mashed potatoes smothered in gravy and cheese, filet mignon, and a pasta salad were arranged artfully on his plate. He expected a wine or champagne, neither of which he was a fan of, to fill the glasses in front of him, but instead one waiter with pretty brown eyes poured him a cola instead. He blinked. Soda pop? Really?

“What is going on, Salvatore?” he asked suspiciously. Salvatore just smiled.

“Shush and eat your food,” he encouraged.

The lights dimmed, interrupting his reply. A small stage that sat no more than five feet from their table was illuminated, and Santiago appeared near a nearly invisible microphone on the center front of it.

“Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to this very special occasion. As most of you know, my sire child has not graced this stage in many years. While he was set to come out of retirement a few weeks ago he encountered an unexpected problem and was unable to honor us with his voice.” Santiago spoke, and Ally got a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach. “But that is going to be remedied tonight. Tonight is going to be a night of merrymaking and celebration the likes of which have not been experienced since we first celebrated our coming to this country.” A cheer went up at that. Sometime when Ally hadn’t been paying attention, the other members of the theater had snuck in and were piled into the back of the room. “Furthermore, the lineup we have will touch your heart, incite your passion, and perhaps move you to take a chance on something unexpected.” The end of the sentence seemed directed at Ally, or maybe he was just being paranoid? “Without further ado, ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the stage Damian McTavish!”

Allasandro choked on his soda, the irritating bubbles spewing out of his nose. His eyes watered, and he coughed rather loudly. Damian’s last name was McTavish? He smothered a laugh in his napkin. It was so… He didn’t know what. Whatever it was, it was hilarious.

His thoughts derailed as his former lover appeared on stage just as the lights turned to a soft blue. He was dressed in a sharp suit of his own, black, of course, with faint pinstripes, and a dark-blue undershirt and black silk tie. His strong, tall body was the epitome of desire. Ally felt the shaking start in his feet and travel up his legs toward the rest of him. He trembled with the urge to run to him.

When Damian opened his mouth and began to sing, Ally was lost. The notes of purity, that breathtaking passion that had made Ally fall just a little bit in love with him the first time he’d heard it, made his heart ache. He looked around the room and even the other Ravyns looked lost in his passion. They were relaxing into his aural command, and Ally felt, for the first time, the true otherworldly power in his vampire’s voice.
My vampire?
Was he really ready for that?
Yes
. He was tired of fighting his and Damian’s wants. The Ravyn let himself go. Let his mind stop churning with what-ifs and trusted his vampire to hold him up. He relaxed into the power of Damian’s voice.

* * * *

Damian’s heart stuttered as Allasandro’s pretty golden eyes met his. Despite the distance that separated them, the soft smile on the Ravyn’s face filled Damian to the brim with hopeful anticipation. He finished the song and immediately went into another, watching Allasandro the entire time. Salvatore’s plan seemed to be working at least from his vantage point. The Ravyn looked enchanted as he absently ate from his plate and listened to Damian’s music. Salvatore gave him a nod of encouragement.

Two songs later and Damian was soaring. The music filled him like never before, the power of it thrummed under his skin and in his blood.

Now you understand the full potential of your Entertainer heritage
, Santiago’s voice echoed in his mind.
Finish the song and go claim your Bride
.

The last notes fell from his lips in a perfect cadence. He put the longing into those last few syllables so that Ally could see that he was still waiting for him, that he still needed him to feel complete.

He took the steps down to the main floor as the onlookers came to their feet in applause. His coming-out-of-retirement debut had apparently been a whopping success. Yet he had eyes for only one person who had stood in his honor. He walked around the table, and the other Ravyns moved obligingly to the side so that he could stand in front of his Ravyn. He reached out and took both of Ally’s hands in his own.

“Allasandro,” he began. He’d thought about saying this since Salvatore had told him of his master plan. “I messed up. Badly. I know I shouldn’t have bound you to me without your permission. I also know that I am not the easiest person to be in a relationship with, nor am I a man accustomed to saying all the right things at all the right times. However, I am the man that will try to make you happy, keep you happy, and will love you like you’ve never been loved before, no matter how many reincarnations you have.” He knelt on the ground at Ally’s feet and reached in his coat pocket for the tiny box he had there. “Allasandro Ravyn, demon warrior and love of my life, will you marry me?” He opened the box to show a simple platinum band with the words ‘forever mine’ etched into the surface framed by two perfect white diamonds.

Damian saw every thought that crossed Ally’s face as he knelt there waiting his decision. His Ravyn’s heart had skipped a beat when he’d pulled out the ring. Allasandro’s thoughts were pretty visible as they crossed his face. He swallowed hard. This was a huge commitment. As they stared into one another’s eyes, it didn’t seem like it though. It just seemed like the next step in a wonderful adventure. Ally nodded, apparently not trusting himself to speak. Damian slipped the ring on his finger and stood. A cheer that seemed too big for the number of people in the room erupted like a geyser. The vampire was grinning from ear to ear, flashing fangs. They were going to be all right. “How about a special performance for everyone in honor of our new lease on life?” Damian asked. He really wanted the world to see how amazingly talented his lover really was.
          

“I don’t know, Damian…” Ally swallowed, looking suddenly nervous. “I haven’t really sung since I quit singing with you, and Santiago will have a cow if I don’t sound my best.” He worried his bottom lip in the same adorable fashion that he used whenever he was unsure of what Damian wanted.

“Come on, love,” Damian encouraged. “There is no reason to be shy. Show everyone that you’re far more than a warrior. You’re a singer, too.”

“You can sing, Ally-cat?” Druas wondered from the seat beside him. Damian raised his eyebrows in challenge. Was he man enough to do this? Was he Entertainer enough to be Damian’s Bride? Allasandro’s oh-so-familiar grin spread across his face in a welcome display of his carefree attitude.

“Oh hell. Why not? They think I’m crazy anyway.” He glanced at his fellow warrior. “Damn right I can sing. Watch this.” He reached up and took Damian’s hand. “Lead the way, gypsy man.”

* * * *

“I have no idea what the hell he’s saying but he sure is singing it nicely,” Druas murmured, leaning his chin against the palm of his hand. He sighed as Allasandro paused, taking a breath before diving into another seemingly effortless stanza. The purity in each note sunk into their souls in a way that would leave them humming the music for days.

“I had no idea Allasandro was so talented,” Salvatore agreed, a small smile playing over his lips.

“I knew,” Dageus admitted. He too had a soft smile on his face. “He’s more than what he seems. Always has been.”

Damian’s voice rose to meet Allasandro’s. The music blended to a perfect harmonic mesh of sound. Their voices completely complimented and enhanced one another’s until the pitch created made the fine hairs on the Ravyns’ arms stand on end.

Salvatore agreed completely. Allasandro was more than what he seemed. He was a Ravyn, but it seemed he was also an Entertainer. The demon Prince’s mind blanked as Damian and Allasandro’s voices rose in a crescendo. The magic in each and every note was made to be the stuff of legends, perfection. The love they felt for one another was apparent in each note. It was by far Damian’s best performance. His Ravyn complemented him. At last Allasandro had found his perfect match.

Epilogue

“You stole from me, naughty boy.” Damian growled, the butt of his gun tapping impatiently on the sole of his leather shoes as he sat in the plush leather wingback chair. The fact that the gun had “replica” written down the side didn’t detract from the fantasy. Allasandro shuddered.

“I’ll pay you back. I swear, boss. Please, sir, give me another chance,” Ally whined, backing toward the door.

“You don’t have the money, Allasandro. You don’t own anything. Even those clothes on your back belong to me.” The “mob boss” paused. “As matter of fact, I want those back. Take them off.”

Ally whimpered in mock fear. “Please, sir. Don’t make me.”