Limerence II (22 page)

Rosalyn stops
fighting as more of her blood leaves her body, pooling in her lap and trailing down her once pure white gown. Sanuel turns to look at me, his expression pained. He looks at the dagger in his hands like it is the most evil thing in the world and then looks back to Rosalyn sadly, running a hand under her jaw line.

“I have hunted for you for so long, my love. You have to understand that I don’t want this for either of you. I want us to live forever, together. I love you—her—but I refuse to let her live like this any longer. I refuse to lose Rosalyn to this monster, and one way or another I will free her from this—from you.” He squeezes Rosalyn’s chin and moves away with an angry scowl.

She laughs, coughing up blood. “I won’t let her go.” She spits out blood that has filled her mouth, laughing again when it lands on his chest. “I will never let her go. Even as I die, I won’t let her out.” She smiles, baring her teeth at Sanuel. “If you kill me, she will die also,” she sneers.

Sanuel nods his head, his mouth a hard line of annoyance, yet his aura tells me that he was resigned to this from the start. “I assumed as much.” He takes a heavy breath. “Then so be it.” He looks down to her. “So be it,” he whispers quietly.

He slowly drags the dagger across her throat and then plunges it back into her stomach. The Bastions hold her in place as the blood bubbles from her throat. It is thick and gloopy, yet the strangest thing is as I watch the blood leaving her, colour begins to return to her face, as if the loss of blood is bringing her back to life instead of killing her. At first it is just a little pink that rises in her cheeks; then her pure white hate-filled eyes begin to turn back to their original colour: a grey blue. As each new colour begins to fill her face, Sanuel smiles a little more, yet his aura tells me how sad he truly is. That is heart is breaking with every fleck of rebirthed colour.

Rosalyn chokes and coughs on the blood, expelling it from her mouth even as it continues to pour from her throat. Her body grows weaker, her fighting against the Bastions slowing, until she barely moves. Only her eyes watch Sanuel.

And then I see it.

Her aura.

It’s beautiful, and matches Sanuel’s perfectly. As if they are from one star, their auras reach for one another, sparking and blazing with pure ferocity when they connect. He wipes a hand gently down her cheek.

“There she is,” he murmurs. “There’s my love.” He crouches down so they are at the same level, their gazes meeting. Rosalyn still snarls, but it is becoming less and less with the blood loss, and becoming more of a whimper. Sanuel places his hands on her knees, the blood pooling around his fingers. He shakes his head slowly, his gaze never leaving hers. “I’m so sorry for leaving you, my love. So sorry. Can you ever forgive me?”

I realise I am still frozen to my spot by the doorway, the anger that has driven me onwards, forced me to kill and become, to grow in power and to be filled with so much hatred for this woman slowly dwindling away. She is dying. I can see her power leaving her, her body becoming more vampiric again instead of what she was previously, and it makes me fear for myself. I look down at my hands—my pale, white hands that feel hard to the touch and cold…so cold.

I look back up at the sound of crying, and see Rosalyn holding a hand out to Sanuel. He takes it, kissing her knuckles and clasping it to his chest. She swallows and more thick blood oozes from her neck wound, forcing her to cough, blood sprays in his face, but he doesn’t flinch. Instead he leans forward and kisses her mouth gently. The Bastions restraining her finally let her go and she falls forwards into Sanuel’s waiting arms.

He drags her on to his knee, being careful to leave the dagger deep inside her stomach as he pulls her close to his chest, and he kisses her desperately. He moves her light brown hair back from her face and kisses each cheek, and she continues to sob and cough on blood, her body becoming lax in his arms.

“Say you forgive me, Rosalyn?” he begs, his own voice becoming choked with desperation. He presses her face to his chest, his arms tight around her. “Please say you forgive me.”

He kisses her hair and pulls back to look in her face, his own face streaming with red tears. She stares at him, blinking slowly, red tears trailing from the corners of her eyes. Sanuel leans over and presses his lips to hers, kissing her with more passion than I have ever seen. So much so that my anger for her comes back with force.

“This is wrong!” I yell, making Sanuel glance my way. “How could she just give everything up if you love her so much? That doesn’t make sense. Why would she not stay with you?”

“Why do you care?” Sanuel says, his voice thick with sadness.

“I don’t, but she’s selfish and deserves this—deserves to die!” I scream out the last of my words, my temper reaching an inferno.

Sanuel looks at me, his lips curled back in disgust, his fangs showing. “Don’t ever speak of her that way again. None of this is her fault, it is all mine. If anyone deserves to die, it is me. This is my fault. I abandoned her.”

Rosalyn coughs, her head slumping back, and Sanuel lifts it back up so that they are eye to eye again. Rosalyn coughs again, blood and spittle spraying over her chin. Even I can see that she is dying, will be dead any moment if he does not remove the dagger stopping her from healing. I want to leave. I don’t need to see her end, I have what I wanted, yet I can’t turn away from them—don’t want to not see the end of this tragic love story. She murmurs something and Sanuel nods sadly, red tears dripping from his eyes and landing on her face. Her body shudders and trembles and he leans over and kisses her again.

“I will always love you, Rosalyn.”

Rosalyn’s body stops trembling, stops moving, her lips stop mumbling their secret words, and her cough ends on her lips. Sanuel kisses her again and pulls her closer to him, squeezing her tightly as her body turns to dust in his arms and the blade that ended her clatters to the cold ground with a soft tinkle.

When all that is left is ash, he stands up and dusts off his pants as if she were nothing, reaching down to pick up the dagger. I want to tell him that he disgusts me as much as she does—did. I shake my head, my pent-up anger gone.

I suddenly realise that everything has gone quiet in the other room. I straighten my shoulders as the realisation sinks in. This is it: I am queen now. I turn to leave.

“I want you out of here in the next five minutes, or I’ll come back here and kill you myself.” I open the door but turn back to look at him before I leave, curiosity winning me over. “What did she say to you?” I ask with a frown.

Sanuel smiles, but the smile is like everything in this world—fake. It hits me then where I have met him before: he is Mr San. I have never met him, but Mia did.

“Well?” I prompt.

“She said no,” he says with an even bigger smile.

“No?” I repeat, my frown growing deeper as he nods at me.

“No, she would never forgive me for abandoning her.” He picks up his dagger, and I realise that his Bastions have left us. I didn’t even notice them leave. “She said that she would always hate me, and though I had released her, she could still feel the evil there—her inner vampire.” He laughs darkly and walks away, calling back over his shoulder. “Oh, and Maya…don’t ever threaten me again.”

I turn back to say something to him, but he’s gone. I scowl and carry back on down the corridor, opening the door back up into the Queen’s hall. I am not shocked by what I see, but it does make me pause. I am not the same vampire that went into the other room, not the same one that left her Bastions to die. I look about me. And die they did—every one of them, including my beautiful Sabrina.

I walk to the throne of bones, the throne that I had wanted so much, and take a seat, looking out on my empire. There are still vampires alive in the coven, Pawns hiding, Bastions on their way. I do not fear any of them, for I am their queen now.

I am Maya, and they will bow to me.

Footsteps are coming towards the hall, and I wait, watching as Evan strides into the room first. He looks mortified to see me sitting here in my rightful place, his aura igniting with new colours, yet his steps never falter, his gait stays controlled. Behind him is the brunette I had seen him talking to, and Lora, Mia’s so-called friend. They all look relieved and fearful in equal measure. Perhaps because they all had a hand in Mia’s downfall.

They follow Evan in, coming to stop in the middle of the room. I cock my head as I watch them, all so unsure on how to behave around me now.

Evan takes a step forwards. “The Queen?” he asks, his voice booming in the silence.

“I am your queen,” I reply. I notice how my words do not echo around us like Rosalyn’s had.

He takes another step forward and I hold up my hand to halt him.

“Evan,” I say slowly, “I want you to bow to me.” I glare at him so he knows that I am not in any way joking.

Evan looks back over his shoulder, and as one all three of them bow to me and finally I smile, though it hurts my face—my cheeks feel tight and hard to move. I look around the room again, needing a Bastion to feed on, but they are all dead—all but the three that stand in front of me.

“My Queen,” Evan says, looking up at my through his lashes and interrupting my thoughts. I can see the pain he has for the loss of Rosalyn, but he doesn’t say anything, his transference of loyalty from her to me simple. A simple act of staying alive.

“Yes?” I reply tartly.

“I have brought someone to see you.” He continues to watch me from under his lashes, and I suddenly feel very open with no protection.

“Who?” I ask darkly.

The smallest twitch plays on his lips, but he doesn’t reply; the sound of footsteps outside the room interrupts him. I look across to the doorway as a man walks into the room. Tall, strikingly handsome with unruly dark hair and piercing green eyes. I know him. I frown as I try to search through Mia’s memories, because I do not know this man, so she must have at met him at some point. The man walks closer, a swagger to his walk which only infuriates me further. As he gets closer I see that his face is scarred, marked as if burnt, his hair patchy on one side but swept over in such a way so that it is not obvious. I find that the most bizarre thing of all: a vampire that is scarred. How is that possible, since we heal almost immediately? His aura trails lazily after him, as relaxed and confident as he is, but the colours are astounding.

He comes to stand beside Evan, watching me with a sly grin.

“My, how you have changed, beautiful Mia.” His voice is like butter, yet strong and commanding at the same time.

I scowl. “My name is Maya, and I am your queen. You will bow down to me.”

He grins again and does as requested, bowing down low but continuing to look up at me. I know him; I shake my head, thoughts and feelings, memories trying to intrude on me. His aura is grey and purple, with red intertwined in the smoke that surrounds him. I watch it curling around his arms and legs as he continues to stare up at me.

He finally stands back up, and I am taken aback again by how attractive he is, even with his scars. My eyes flit from Evan to this man. Both are handsome vampires, but Evan is larger, his frame bigger and stronger, his hair long and rugged. Everything about him screams rugged masculinity. He is always so calm and collected, very rarely letting on to what he is thinking or feeling. This man, however, is cocky and yet charming—even in his arrogance. He seems like a ticking bomb with every ounce of his being. He is slighter in stature, still with muscles in all the right places. His body reminds me of a swimmer, more athletic and lean, than the rugged fighter body of Evan. His hair is both tamed and unruly, swept over to one side to hide his scars, but it is his eyes that sway me to his cause. His eyes that tell a thousand lies and hold secrets.

I stand, taking careful steps forward towards these two men. Two men that both want Mia. I feel slighted that she has been chosen over me again, but that is their loss. I move to stand in front of them both, watching as Evan stands back up, his gaze flicking from me to this new vampire.

“Who are you?” I ask.

This new vampire looks me in the eye and grins, his scent being absorbed into my senses, sweet musk that brings partial memories to the surface, and I finally know who he is to Mia before he replies to me.

“My name, my love, is Robert Breckt, and I believe we have met before.”

His hand moves
up to touch my hair, grasping the white locks and twining them around his deft fingers. “What have you been up to while I’ve been away?” He smiles again.

I stare blankly at him. “Am I supposed to know who you are?”

He chuckles and lets go of my hair, and rubs at the day-old scruff on his chin. “No, I suppose not.” He grins. “Shall we just say that I have history with the poor creature trapped inside of you.” His tongue darts out across his bottom lip. “I’d like to speak to her, if you would be so gracious.”

I splutter out my annoyance. “That poor creature you speak of… is gone,” I snarl.

Robert tuts at me and wags his finger. “Now, we both know that’s not true.”

I close my eyes, listening to Mia’s incessant wails inside of me. She’s relentless in trying to free herself. Relentless and exhausting. When I open my eyes back up, Robert has stepped closer to me, yet Evan’s hand is on his arm, restraining him. I am pleased to see his allegiance is to me now, that he is my protector and guard. That he does not hold it against me that I killed his queen. I frown; I didn’t kill his queen—Sanuel did. The name holds new meaning for me then, the piece finally slotting into place. Sanuel is Mr San. Not that it matters. None of this matters.

I turn from the two males and walk back to my throne, a smile playing on my lips at that realization.

My throne.

My body is tired, aching to its core, my muscles and bones feeling heavy and hard. I sit and watch the four vampires, and then I beckon Lora to me with my hand. She looks uncertainly around her but moves towards me nonetheless. Evan’s hand touches hers as she passes and she gifts him with a small smile and a nod of her head.

“Come here,” I say, watching as she climbs the three small steps in front of me. “Kneel,” I command, pointing to the floor beside my chair. She swallows but nods and comes to kneel next to my chair, her eyes cast downwards and her head lowered.

“My queen?”

I look up as the auburn-haired vampire steps from behind Evan, and am amused to see that he holds more than just a small amount of affection for this one. She tries to pass him but he blocks her way, a rumble low in his chest.

“Come forwards,” I say.

She pushes past Evan and bows before me. “I am Amora. I was our previous queen’s trusted reader.” She stays lowered to the floor and I wait for her to continue. She glances up, though. “I am a telepath, for a more simple term. I am very useful.” She smiles, the act lighting up her face.

“You can read minds?” I ask, and she nods. “Can you read my mind?”

“My queen?” Her aura is majestic—with royal reds and golds—but she is nervous, and more blackness seeps into it as I watch.

“Can you read my mind?” I tilt my head and tap on the side of my head, ignoring the pain in my joints for moving, and the hunger building in my stomach.

She nods at me, her eyes flicking to Lora, and I smile widely.

“You are indeed useful to me,” I say.

I look across at Lora, who is still kneeling beside me, her head bowed. I reach out and stroke her hair, her blond curls soft under my palm.

“Please, no!” Amora yells, and I grin as I move towards her in a blur.

I dip Amora over my arm as if we are in some grand romantic film, and I tear into her throat with savagery. I hear a scuffle in front of me, but can’t focus on anything but feeding right now. Her blood is sweet like nectar. It ignites my senses, bringing the world back into focus, and I groan against her throat as I swallow her down. Her power moves down my throat, settling into the pit of my stomach, and the second before it is doused by my own power I see her last conversations, her last memories.

I swallow and gulp, sucking down every drop of her, feeling more alive with every mouthful. My muscles are more relaxed, looser and softer; my bones stabilise, the coarseness with which they were building releasing and becoming normal again. Amora writhes and gags underneath me, but I do not stop until she is empty.

And even her death is as beautiful as she.

Lights explode from her, and she is gone even as I drink from her. I stand and dab the corners of my mouth, allowing myself to smile once more. Evan looks horrified, his calm façade blown as I devoured his lover and friend. However, Mr Breckt—Robert—looks impressed. He grins at me, his hand moving through his hair as he continues to stare.

I smile back and return to my chair, feeling the remaining Bastions and Pawns of this coven moving down the hallway towards us. As they enter, both Evan and Robert turn to look, and I glance down at Lora. Her shoulders are trembling in fear and I pet her head and hush her. She flinches but does as commanded.

As the Pawns and Bastions come to stand beside Evan and Robert, glancing at one another as to who I am and what they should do, I speak.

“Your queen is dead. Rosalyn is no more.” I let my words sink in before I continue. “I am your queen, and my name is Maya. You either bow down to me or you die. Make your choice.”

A hush has settled over the coven. There are not many of them left—twenty or so at most, a mix of both Bastion and Pawns. None are particularly powerful, and most had hidden when they sensed danger. I need loyalty and not cowardice, but for now I shall let them live.

“Bow down to your queen.” Robert turns to face them, commanding them for me.

My eyes narrow in annoyance at him taking control, but every single Pawn and Bastion bows, including Evan, and my anger is doused. He turns back around and does the same—bowing low. Even bowed, I can see the smile on his face—such a handsome face.

“Come stand with me.” I do not need to say his name. He knows that I am speaking to him, and Robert moves with speed and grace to stand beside me. His hand touches my shoulder and I glance at it and then look up to him with a scowl. He smirks at me, his untamed arrogance suddenly becoming my aphrodisiac. I look back on my coven, seeing fear and awe in them all. Evan’s face is rigid with anger, his jaw grinding on itself, and it only amuses me more. I reach over my body and place my hand on top of Robert’s, allowing him this touch, and I smile when I see Evan’s jaw still and his aura flame in anger.

“Things have changed. A new era is upon us, and you will fall in line with these new changes or face the consequences.” Now fed on pure Bastion blood, my words travel around the room like snakes, twining themselves between each bowing vampire. None look up. All eyes stay to the floor in reverence to me. Evan still stares at me, his nostrils flaring at the sight of Robert by my side, and I smile. “Did your plan not go to your liking?”

Robert bends down to whisper in my ear. “What is your command, Maya, my love?” His breath washes across me, moving down my neck and sending tingles through me. I glance across at him, watching the twitch of a smile on his lips.

My hand moves from the top of his to move over the scars on his damaged skin. They cover the left side of his face and travel under his chin and down to his neck. I wonder what other parts of him are covered in them. My hand stills as my fingers graze his lips, and he kisses the pads of my fingers, his intense green eyes never leaving mine.

Mia is screaming in anger inside me, her memories of this man and what he did to her sending her into shock, her love for Evan paining her as I touch Robert in ways that make her feel sick. Yet this man made me. He brought upon my death—Mia’s death—and delivered me to this world, and while he can never know it, I owe him everything.

“Now, we rule.” I smile and he leans over, pressing his lips to mine. I open my mouth to him, allowing his tongue to move over mine. Passion ignites in me like I have never felt before and I groan against his lips.

Mia screams inside me, begging me to stop, and I can feel the hate and anger coming from Evan as he loses what little part of Mia he thought he still had. I kiss Robert harder, enjoying the pain it causes Mia and the jealousy it stirs in Evan. Robert’s hand moves to my hair and clutches at handfuls of my white locks in eagerness and greed.

I pull back, gasping as pleasure hums through my body. I look up into Robert’s green eyes, his smile confident and sensual. I run my hand across his damaged skin, thinking of which Bastion I will need to sacrifice to make him perfect and whole again.

My thoughts land on Evan—so strong and dominant, handsome and defiant—and I smile, giving another chaste kiss to Robert’s waiting lips.

Yes, now we will rule together.