Her Secret (38 page)

The trip to the hotel was a somber affair,
Theo relating to Danial the layout of the hotel and Gathering
room.

The hotel itself was gorgeous. As expected,
it was grandiose, with a huge waterfall in the open-air lobby and
real trees. As Danial checked us in, Theoron wriggled in my arms,
eager to explore, his fangs distended in his excitement.

Danial returned, touching Theoron gently on
his head. “I have to feed. I will be up as soon as I do. Ebediah
has provided food for all the attendees. Order some room service,
and wait there for me.”

I nodded to him, expecting him to nod back to
me. Instead, he grasped the front of my coat, and pulled me in for
a rough kiss. Shocked, I kissed him back, figuring he had done it
for someone watching.

“Keep alert,” he said. “Trust no one.”

“Let’s go,” Theo said roughly, clearly
jealous, then strode off. I, Theoron, and Brian followed, Terian
heading off with Danial.

I’d just unpacked in one of the rooms when
there was a knock at the door.

“Sar, can I come in?” Theo asked.

I wanted to scream at him. I wanted to fall
into his arms and admit everything I had done and beg his
forgiveness. I wanted to tell him that there was no point being
nice to me, because it was over, and he was probably better off
without me. “Come in.”

He came in, shut the door, then faced me.
“You look like your old self.”

“I am,” I said evenly. “You on the other hand
are someone I don’t know.”

“I’m sorry for how I acted,” he said
tentatively. “I never meant to hurt you.”

I sat down on the bed, and burst into tears.
Theo sat beside me, then put his arms around me.

His embrace was too familiar, so much that
the act put me from sadness into hysterics. I gasped for breath,
tears pouring down my face, furious at myself for not handling this
calmly. I’d wanted to denounce him, to tell him to do whatever he
wanted with Tasha because he and I were through. Instead, I was
going to pieces.

I bit my lip as hard as I could. The pain let
me get a clumsy hold on myself.

Pulling free of him, I went to the bathroom,
wiped my eyes, and washed my face. “After this is over, you’re
moving out, right?”

In the mirror’s reflection, Theo ran his
fingers through his hair, but said nothing.

“Theo, don’t make this harder for me than it
is already,” I said angrily. “Just tell me the truth.”

He met my eyes and looked away.

I lost it. “Just tell me you love her and not
me and you’re leaving!” I shouted at him, my chest heaving. “Just
say it!”

Theo swallowed hard. “I love her. I’m moving
out, as soon as this is over.”

I’d known it, but hearing him say it still
hurt. “Get out,” I said, turning from him.

He crossed the room and grabbed a hold of me.
“Sar—”

“No!” I screamed at him. “I am not going to
listen to another word from you. Brian!”

Theo released me, as Brian opened the door.
“I’m here, Sarelle.”

“I didn’t plan this,” Theo said. “I just went
to help her escape. I’m sorry how this worked out—” He grabbed my
arm.

I sank my teeth into the back of his hand.
With a growl, Theo released me.

“Theo, you should leave,” Brian said
firmly.

“Get out,” I said in a raw voice. “I never
want to see you again.”

“You will see me again,” Theo retorted,
rubbing his healing hand. “I’m not leaving Elle, and she won’t
leave Danial. Tasha and I will be staying at Danial’s in the
werecompound until we can find a place of our own. I’ll be working
the night shift, so you and I can avoid each other days. But I’m
not going to disappear out of Elle’s life. You’re going to have to
deal with that.”

“Fine,” I spat at him. “Just get out.”

“Sar, I’m sorry—”

“Fuck you and fuck your being sorry!” I
yelled. “And one more thing,” I added, my tone sandpaper. “Don’t
ever call me Sar again.”

Chapter
Seventeen

Theo nodded angrily,
then turned and left, slamming the door behind him.

“I’ll be outside if you should need me,”
Brian said formally.

“We’ll be fine,” Danial said, moving past him
into the room. “Don’t disturb us until morning.”

Brian nodded, then shut the door.

“I hope you’ve not taught our son a new word
in your anger,” Danial said mildly, picking up Theoron.

“I’m sorry.” I sank down onto the bed. “I
just never expected to have him bring her back with him. I’d be
handling this a lot better if he wasn’t stuffing her down my
throat.”

“Do you want something to eat tonight?”

“No,” I said tiredly. “Can you take care of
Theoron?”

“He’s almost asleep already,” Danial said,
laying down Theoron beside us. He put his other arm around me.
“It’s you I’m worried about.”

I didn’t answer, my thoughts in turmoil.
Sometime later, soothed by his touch, I slept.

* * * *

After some calorie-laden room service at
noon, I dressed in casual clothes, and played with Theoron. When he
tired around four, the both of us took a long nap. Brian woke us
close to ten.

“Danial said for you to start getting ready.
He’s not sure what time you’ll be asked to come to the Gathering
room.”

“Is everyone else set to go?” I asked
sleepily.

“Danial is feeding again, with Theo nearby.
Terian is outside the door. Danial feared a possible attack, as
it’s known you and Theoron are here without him.”

Unnerved, I grabbed a robe, and got up. “Can
you order me some French fries?”

“Of course,” Brian said. “Anything else?”

“Steak for Theoron, just a small one.” I
stifled another yawn. “I’d like some wine, but it’s better if I
don’t.”

“Yes,” Brian agreed. He closed the door, then
opened it.

I whipped around. “What is it?”

“Be careful,” he said gravely.

“I am being careful,” I said, looking
steadily at him.

“You are in over your head, and you don’t
even see the water.”

“I did the best I could under the
circumstances,” I said bitingly. “There wasn’t another choice.”

“Wasn’t there?”

“You sound like Lash,” I said, liking the way
the name made Brian shrink back in fear. “This is no more your
business than it is his. Keep your mind on your job, and tell me
when the food gets here.”

Brian nodded, then shut the door.

* * * *

I’d no sooner finished showering than Danial
returned.

“Did you eat?”

“Yes,” I answered, taking out the dress.
“God, this thing’s elaborate. You’ll have to zip me up.”

The dress was deep burgundy with lace trim of
old ivory, and so fancy that it was almost a ball gown, pearl
beading all over the bodice, down the arms and even on the skirt.
There was a poofy skirt to go under it, making me bell shaped. The
matching shoes at least were low heels.

Danial put on a matching colored shirt of
burgundy, his black leather pants and his high boots. After
buckling on a rapier, he zipped me up.

“You look lovely,” he said appreciatively.
“Please dress Theoron, and come out when you are done.” He gave me
a kiss, then left.

I wound up my wet hair and got to work on
Theoron. After dressing him in a tiny replica of Danial’s outfit,
complete with leather boots, I put on my fox head earrings, slipped
on my shoes, fluffed up my hair with magic, and then slipped on the
burgundy headpiece encrusted with pearl beading. After putting on
some light makeup, and dousing my hair with hairspray, I glanced in
the mirror.

“Hello, Christmas Extravaganza Barbie.
Ugh.”

I gathered up Theoron and his bag of
supplies, and went out the door. Terian was there waiting,
glowering.

“What is your problem?” I said, irritated.
“Just say it.”

“Danial wasn’t the one who made you better,
Sar. It was Devlin, wasn’t it?”

His assumption wasn’t a huge surprise. Dev
was the only other vampire who was ever around me. Danial didn’t
have any vampire friends, just allies I’d met at parties. “So what
if it was?” I said harshly. “I’m glad not to be dead.”

“How could you let him touch you after what
he did to you before?”

My eyes narrowed, looking into his red ones.
“I loved what he did to me, Terian. My only regret was I waited so
long to let him have me.”

“It wasn’t you, Sar, it was just your body
needing the virus—”

“I feel nothing but love and lust for him. It
was longing to be back in his arms that showed me I could
teleport.”

Blackness curled out of Terian. “You make me
sick. No wonder Theo’s leaving you.”

“I am who I am,” I retorted. “At least I
don’t hide my nature, pretend I’m someone else.”

“What do you mean?” he said angrily, his eyes
bleeding to full red in an instant.

“I mean enough of the crap about how this job
isn’t you and how you hate killing. I’ve seen your face, Terian.
You enjoy it as much as Theo does. It’s in your nature, and you
might as well accept it.”

“I’ll never accept it,” he growled low. “I
don’t want to hurt anyone.”

“You do,” I said gleefully. “You can’t help
yourself, being what you are. What has taking the high road ever
gotten you, Tears? You’re doomed to evil and you might as well face
it.”

“I can’t believe you said that,” Terian
replied, hurt. He left the room.

As soon as he’d gone, I kicked myself for
saying what I had.
I hadn’t meant it...

Brian opened the door. “We’re ready when you
are, Sarelle.”

I left the room, joining the group in the
hallway and walking downstairs. Danial, Theoron, and I were all in
burgundy, with Theo, Terian, and Brian all in black. I didn’t
understand the significance of the colors, but didn’t ask.

When we reached the main floor, we entered
the main conference room. The sign said it would seat three
hundred, and it appeared at least two hundred people were there
already. As we entered, those inside parted like a wave to let us
through, watching us with interest.

“We’re up there,” Danial said, pointing to a
raised dais with several luxurious chairs. One was clearly a throne
of some kind, and two smaller chairs were beside of it. We ascended
the dais and sat in the chairs, me holding Theoron. Theo, Terian,
and Brian took up positions around us.

“What are we supposed to do now?” I
whispered.

“Sit here and be looked at, mostly,” Danial
said. “Prepare yourself for not only a tiring evening, but a boring
one, too.” He flashed one of his fake smiles to the surrounding
crowd. “Ebediah should be here soon to take his throne. He is the
Vampire Ruler for Canada.”

“Is he mean?” I whispered.

“He’s old,” Danial whispered back. “Like
Samuel. He’s not mean, but he’s exacting.”

I was thinking about what that meant when I
looked down and saw I was still wearing my wedding rings. Angrily,
I took them off and handed them to Danial, who put them in his
pocket. I glanced at Theo discreetly, wanting to see if he’d also
taken his off. To my surprise, he hadn’t.

I pondered that for the next half hour, as
more people arrived. Though many people mingled in groups on the
floor, no one approached us. Whether that was because of our guards
or out of respect, I wasn’t sure. The only thing I was sure of was
that I was getting tired of being stared at.

A lone figure approached us. “Sarelle,
Danial,” Samuel said politely.

“Hello,” I said, extending my hand.

He kissed it. “You look lovely as ever.” He
shook Danial’s hand too, but his eyes were all for Theoron. “May I
hold him?” he asked eagerly.

“No one may hold him, save Sarelle, I or
Terian,” Danial said politely. “But everyone may look at him, and
we will feed him later, so everyone can see his dual nature.”

“Is it true he can walk in the sun?” Samuel
said in a hushed voice.

“He can’t walk yet,” I said with a smile,
“But yes, he can sit in the sun, and we’re working on walking.”

“He can eat food, other than blood?” Samuel
said intently.

“Yes,” I said, rummaging in Theoron’s bag. “I
brought some ice cream with us to feed him. That’s one of his
favorites.”

“This is a miracle.” He took my hand again,
and slowly sank to one knee. “My Lady, I don’t have words to say
what this means that you have shown us this is possible. Know that
no one here wishes you or your child harm.”

He’d left off Danial, and it hadn’t been a
slip. I pulled my hand out of his.

Danial got to his feet. “Samuel, where is
Ebediah? He should be here by now.”

“He asked me yesterday to open the
festivities for him,” Samuel said smoothly. “He had a last minute
problem he needed to take care of, some nasty murder in Quebec.
Excuse me.”

He turned to the crowd. “Attention, everyone!
I have been asked to start the evening festivities. I ask you all
to be polite and courteous to our guests of honor, Danial Racklan,
Ruler of the Common States, his Oathed One, Sarelle Racklan, and
their blessed gift of a son, Theoron Racklan—”

My skin crawled. I gripped Danial’s hand
tightly. He gave my hand a squeeze.

“—
everyone may come and see the child,
but no one is to attempt to touch him. Any attempts will be dealt
with harshly, immediately. Please enjoy yourselves.” Samuel
motioned and the small orchestra to the side of the dais began to
play as the first curious vampires came forward.

Everything went well at first. Despite
Samuel’s speech, everyone asked to touch him, and were irritated
when we refused. Theoron behaved well, though he was as bored as we
were and wanted the ice cream. Finally, I gave in and gave him
some. Everyone watched that event like the finale of a favorite TV
series, their fixated attention and complete silence unnerving.