Seared by Desire (17 page)

He began to read. “Dear Lucian, it has been many years since
we last spoke and in that time I’ve come to the realisation that my
resistance against you is futile. This war has been going on for
over a hundred years that, by any standards, is a long time. The
only reason that it hasn’t ended sooner is because my people are
forced to hide themselves to avoid you. A life in hiding is no life
at all and I have come to understand this unfortunate fact. We
don’t want to live hidden even further in the shadows. We want to
be free. And it is for this reason that I am writing to you.
Lucian, I wish for peace. Let us end this pointless war, there has
been enough blood shed on both sides, I don’t want there to be
another hundred years of meaningless sacrifice. I would have you
meet us in New Malden to discuss the conditions of our surrender.
Myself and a few of my men will be there for the next week, waiting
for your arrival. William.”

Lucian's mind was reeling with the implications of the letter
and judging by the stunned expression on the faces of those present
he wasn’t the only one. Peace? The Malachites had never once voiced
words of peace. Could the war really be over that quickly? His eyes
wandered to Sara and he had to resist the urge to smile. Could he
really be together with his bride within the week?

He quickly dismissed the messenger, eager to discuss the
implications of the Malachite’s message. “You have delivered your
message, you may leave.”

“
Yes my Lord. I will be waiting for your response.” The
messenger bowed before turning on his heel and fleeing the
room.

A moment of silence passed, all present trying to think of
what to say.

“
Lord Lucian,” Russell began. “I think we should hear them
out. Never once have they spoken of peace, we can’t waste this
opportunity to end the war.”

“
Exactly!” Gareth crowed. “The Malachites have never ever
spoken of peace between us, they don’t know the meaning of the
word. So that begs the question, why now? It’s a trap my Lord. We
can’t go to New Malden, we can’t walk knowingly into a
trap.”

“
It might not be a trap,” a voice retorted and just like that
the silence died in the face of loud voices each trying to convince
Lucian that their point of view was the right one. He rolled his
eyes in disbelief, even at the prospect of peace those around him
argued. If he didn’t know better he would think that they’d
instigated the war so that they could have a legitimate reason to
argue.

Peace?
He mused silently. In these
situations he’d found it best to keep his own council.
Could it really be that simple?
It was hard to believe.
Gareth is right, the Malachites have never spoken of peace,
it could be a trap. But then again, they might be as sick of this
never-ending war as I am, maybe they truly want peace.
The lure of peace was strong especially when his
tempting bride was standing right next to him.
Should I consider this? Should I meet them?

His train of thought was interrupted by the frantic calling
of his name, the voice sounded desperate, it’s tone urgent, forcing
him to leave the sanctuary of his mind and face the harsh reality
of life as leader of his people.

“
Lord Lucian! Lord Lucian!”

“
I’m right here,” he drawled. “There’s no need to scream in my
ear.”

The sound of yelling died quickly. The boy in front of him
looked no older than 14 but youth was not an excuse. All those that
lived in the manor knew that once the doors were closed, Lucian and
his commanders weren’t to be interrupted. The boy was human with
familiar dark brown hair and dirt streaked, ruddy cheeks. Lucian
knew every person that lived within his home, especially the human
residents. They had served him faithfully for generations, he had
known their parents, their grandparents and even their great,
great, great grandparents. With his life span being so much longer
than theirs, it was only natural. He was struggling to remember the
boy’s name so that he could scold him when he spoke again, his
power over his tongue apparently returned by the urgency of his
words.

“
Lord Lucian, you have to listen to me.”

“
I don’t have to do anything but what you need to do is leave.
This is not the place for children and their games.”

“
But Lord Lucian, this is serious. I was in town today and I
overheard some people talking. The fire elementals are looking for
us. They say that we took one of their own and they’re coming to
get her back. They’ll be here any day now.”

All eyes turned to Sara, her flaming red hair making her
stand out even more than her unusual attire. She bowed her head,
unwilling to meet their gazes, ashamed that she had brought the
wrath of the fire elementals onto the vampires especially when
their leader was responsible for saving her life.
Will Lucian send me away to save his
people?
Her head flew up at the thought,
her eyes locking with his. They were dark, unreadable, serving only
to confirm her fears.
It isn’t as though I
should have expected any different, I can’t expect him to sacrifice
his people for me, we haven’t known each other long enough for him
to do that for me and even if we’d known each other for longer, he
might still sacrifice me. Abigail has known me for almost my entire
life and she’s prepared to send me to my death, why should Lucian
be any different?

Unbeknownst to Sara, Lucian's mind was reeling, trying to
find a way out of their current predicament. He couldn’t afford to
be at war with the fire elementals while he was trying to deal with
the Malachites, his forces would be spread too thin and he would
lose both wars. Nevertheless, he couldn’t hand Sara over to them,
she would die and he wasn’t prepared to lose his bride. She was
his, no one had the right to threaten her.

What to do, what to do,
he mused,
ignoring the multiple eyes that were trained on him, waiting for
his response.

Whatever he decided, they would follow him without question,
the loyalty of his people was infallible but he didn’t want any
more deaths than were necessary. He was trying to save his people
not lead them to their downfall. He couldn’t abandon Sara for them
and he couldn’t step down as leader without having vampires fall
into chaos.

If only they didn’t know where we were.
The thought floated through his mind and suddenly the
solution became clear. He strode to the doors, flinging them wide
open, his eyes searching the hall for any sign of the Malachite
messenger. He didn’t have to look far, the doors had barely missed
the frightened man.

“
We’ll go,” he declared. “We’ll go to New Malden and meet with
William to discuss the term of his peace.” Shocked gasped filled
his ears. He turned to face the crowd. “There’s no harm in simply
going to meet him and if it is a trap then we’ll have a good deal
of our army with us to avoid his trick.”

The messenger turned as if to depart but Lucian's firm hand
on his shoulder stopped his movements dead. “No, you won’t be going
ahead of us. If it is a trick then I don’t want to warn William
that we’re coming. He said he’d be waiting for a few days
regardless so we’ll go together.”

The man’s blue eyes darted to the exit before his shoulders
slumped in defeat. “Of course my Lord.”

Lucian clapped his hands together in triumph, guiding the
messenger back into the room. “Good, good. Russell?”

“
Yes my Lord?” He answered swiftly his shock at Lucian's
actions well hidden. Though he had been the one to suggest agreeing
to meet William, he’d never actually expected Lucian to agree. He
smiled warmly at Sara, for the positive influence she was having on
Lucian's behaviour, he doubted that she could see him, her head was
hanging as though in shame. She had nothing to be ashamed of but he
could tell from the many scowls that he was one of the few that
thought that.

“
I want you to arrange for the manor’s human residents to move
to the Whitechapel Estate, it is easier to defend and a large
contingent of the army is based there.”

“
Yes my Lord.”

“
Gareth?”

“
Yes Lord Lucian.”

“
I know you aren’t in favour of this plan but I think it’s the
right thing to do.” Gareth scoffed lightly. “Have I ever led you
wrong? In all the decades we’ve been together have I ever made a
decision that’s ended negatively for our people.” He shook his
head. “And that hasn’t changed. You are a good commander Gareth but
there are times when words are more powerful than the
sword.”

“
And if words fail?”

“
That is why I want you to ready the contingent we have here
as quickly as you can. We’ll be leaving as soon as we
can.”

“
Tonight?” he asked shocked.

“
Yes.”
I can’t afford for the fire
elementals to know where we’ve gone. No one would ever suspect that
I would talk peace with William; his timing couldn’t have been more
perfect. Sara belongs with me and I’ll start a war I can’t possibly
win to take her back if she falls into their hands.

He let his eyes wander briefly in her direction, his hands
forming into fists at his side when he saw the dejected figure she
made. His hands itched with the need to pull her body close, to
shelter her behind his strength but he was all too conscious of the
enemy in their midst. Her head lifted and their eyes met, the
connection between them strong and compelling. Her blue eyes were
watering with unshed tears, the sight causing Lucian's heart to
falter before she fled the room, the scent of her tears lingering
in the air even after she was gone.

He forced himself to stand still as his eyes followed her out
of the room.
Hopefully William is telling
the truth Sara because I don’t know how much longer I can resist
you.
The thought wasn’t as shocking as it
had been when he’d first met her and that worried him. She might
not know it but his bride had him completely captivated, there was
nothing he wouldn’t do for her, to keep her with him.

Chapter Ten – For Those We
Protect

One of the many things that Sara had learnt while living at
Lucian's manor was that news travelled fast and the news about the
upcoming relocation seemed to have travelled like wildfire. It felt
as though within mere minutes of her fleeing the meeting angry
stares were being directed at her. She could hear them whispering
about her as she rushed down the hall, the meaning behind their
words all the more transparent because of the hushed voices
murmuring as she passed. She was starting to get a headache, her
temples throbbed, her palms were beginning to bleed because of the
force of her nails against the skin and the insidious words around
her weren’t helping the situation. She ran, ignoring the wide eyed
gazes of those around her and headed for the one place where she
would be left alone.

The smell of hay and horses greeted Sara the moment she
walked into the stables. Her eyes fluttered shut and she breathed
deeply as peace stole over her. All was quiet except for the naying
of the horses and the calming sound of their hooves against the
floor. The quiet wouldn’t last for long. Soon all the horses would
be commandeered for the move. The quiet would disappear, replaced
by loud shouting and heavy boots stomping the earth. She sighed at
the idea, her feet leading her unerringly towards Lance. His strong
legs moved about restlessly when he saw her, his mane flying about
wildly as he jerked his head from side to side.

“
It’s good to see you too,” she laughed, running a hand gently
over his long nose. “I’ve missed you.” He snorted, almost as though
he could understand her words but didn’t believe the truth in them.
“I’m serious,” she laughed pushing playfully against his face
before a wave of melancholy washed over her. “What am I doing here
Lance? I’m going to get these people killed.” Her eyes wandered to
the exit before she turned back to Lance. “I should
leave.”

“
And what would that achieve?”

The darkly whispered question made Sara jump and she clutched
her chest as her heart began to race frantically within her chest.
“Lucian,” she gasped.

“
Are you planning on leaving me Sara?” The very thought made
his fangs sharpen dangerously and his control teeter on the edge of
collapse as the monster within him began rising to the
surface.

She turned away, ashamed, burying her face against Lance’s
neck.

Lucian moved silently, pulling her body flush against his to
wrap his arms around her small frame. His dark eyes slid shut as he
tried to regain control over himself. His bride was a walking
contradiction. Her body seemed weak but she was stronger than he
could ever have imagined. At times she could be forward to the
point of seeming brusque but at other times she could be
delightfully shy. It was hard to know what to expect with her but
deep within himself he’d known that she would think about running
away to protect him and his people. If there was one unchanging
aspect of his bride’s personality it was the care she extended
towards others. She would put him and those that lived here first
even at the risk of her own life. He sighed, quickly realising that
the move had been an unwise one. The soft curves of her breasts
were now pressed firmly against his forearms and his body was
reacting to her nearness. He pulled away quickly.