Seared by Desire (40 page)

Ever the voice of reason, Russell rushed to head off the
hasty plan he knew was forming in Gareth’s mind. “This is what Lord
Lucian asked us to do, we have to obey his orders.”

“
He gave this command when he was half delirious from blood
loss,” Gareth countered. “Surely that can’t count. He’s putting his
life at risk, endangering the continuing prosperity of our people
all for the sake of one woman. He was clearly not in the right
frame of mind when he told us to do this.”

“
And what would you have us do then Gareth? Would you have us
bring Sara down here now and force Lord Lucian to
drink?”

“
Yes!” he crowed triumphantly. “That’s exactly what I’d have
her do.”

“
Don’t be ridiculous Gareth, Sara has to recover. If he drunk
from her now he could kill her and trust me when I say that if he
killed her our leader would never recover, he’d be broken inside
not to mention that he’d have to ensure he never sustained another
injury in his life.”

Gareth sighed loudly. “I just feel so helpless, Lucian lies
dying Russell. If he doesn’t drink from her soon he may never wake
and even if he does the monster within him might have taken control
and our Lord would be lost to us forever.”

“
You worry too much, Sara will be strong enough in a few days
to lose some blood, Lucian will be fine.”

“
No Russell, she won’t be strong enough. You’ve seen her. The
woman never stops working. She works on a secret project every
morning that leaves her so drained she has to sleep most of the
afternoon away and then she’s up all night crafting swords. Even I
can tell she’s draining herself of strength by doing all of that.
There are bags under her eyes, her skin is always pale and have you
heard her heart beat recently?” he scoffed. “It’s weak all of the
time.”

“
There’s nothing we can do about that Gareth. She’s a
swordsmith, we can’t tell her to stop without explaining why and
that defeats the whole point of secrecy. Lord Lucian would be
furious. The only thing we can do is watch over him and encourage
her to work less.”

“
Brides are far too much work,” Gareth stated adamantly. “Far
too much work for far too small a reward. Let’s just go and see how
Lord Lucian is doing and if it looks as though he’s deteriorating
then I suggest we take extreme action.”

The door was close now and Gareth’s step quickened, closing
the small distance between him and the guards quickly.

“
Commander Gareth, Commander Russell,” the guards said as they
bowed in greeting. A cryptic look passed between the two as they
tried to decide silently who would break the bad news to their
Commanders.

“
Commanders, there is something we must tell you before you go
and see Lord Lucian.” The man paused, unsure if he truly wanted to
proceed.

“
Hurry up man,” Gareth rushed.

“
It’s about Lady Sara,”

“
Get on with it,” he prodded.

“
Lady Sara…she found out about Lord Lucian's
condition.”

“
What!” Gareth bellowed. “How did she find out?”

“
I don’t know Commander but there’s one other thing you should
know.”

“
What! What could make tonight worse? First we find that
demons have attacked the estate, now you tell me that despite Lord
Lucian's wishes his bride has discovered his true whereabouts.” He
sighed, throwing his hands skyward in exasperation. “Next you’re
going to tell me that William has persuaded some factions to turn
traitor while Lord Lucian has been out of action.”

“
No sir, but Lady Sara…Lady Sara is waiting for you
inside.”

Both Gareth and Russell groaned; it was going to be a very
long night. Gareth moved past the guards and opened the door,
finding Sara sitting on the bed with Lucian's head in her lap,
gently stroking his hair. They walked into the room and closed the
door behind them, their minds trying desperately to find a way out
of their current predicament.

“
Hello Gareth, hello Russell,” she sighed before bringing the
room to light so that she could better see their faces.

“
Lady Sara,” Russell began. “What are you doing
here?”

“
I came to see Lucian who is
not
visiting his dead
relatives.”

Russell winced as his lie was thrown back into his face. He’d
uttered the words when Sara had rushed to see him upon his release
from the dungeons. He’d barely been briefed on the situation and
had said the first thing that had come to his mind. He’d known the
words were false but had hoped she didn’t and once the words were
out there was no way to get them back.

Sara’s blue eyes turned to Gareth next. “Nor is he off
hunting William alone with no guards.” Gareth’s lips parted to
defend his actions but she cut him off before he could utter a
word, raising her hand and shaking her head. “I don’t want to hear
your excuses. Lucian trusts you both with his life; I know you were
probably just doing what he asked you to. All I want to know now is
how to wake him, how to make him better.”

“
We can’t tell you Lady Sara,” Russell sighed.

“
Why not?”

“
Lord Lucian told us not to.”

“
Well if it hasn’t escaped your notice, he’s not in the
position to be asking anything of anyone. Damn it, why wouldn’t he
want me to know how to make him better? Does he want to die? Does
he want to leave me?”

As Gareth watched the tears well up in Sara’s eyes a
startling realisation dawned upon him. “He didn’t tell you did
he?”

“
Tell me what? He doesn’t seem to want me to know
anything.”

“
He didn’t tell you what would happen to him if he drank your
blood did he?”

“
Gareth,” Russell hissed. “Be quiet.”

“
No, this is important. Lady Sara, what has Lord Lucian told
you about a vampire and his bride?”

“
Nothing really. I don’t see what this has to do with helping
Lucian get better and that’s what’s important here. Just tell me
how to help him.”

“
Lady Sara, by drinking your blood, Lord Lucian has tied his
strength to you.”

“
What are you talking about?” she demanded, becoming
increasingly frustrated with where the discussion was
going.

“
Lady Sara, your blood is the only thing that can help him. If
Lord Lucian drinks the blood of anyone else he won’t regain his
strength, he won’t heal, he won’t feel anything. That’s why having
a bride is such a liability. If something happens to you, it will
affect him. If William captured you, the Lord would eventually fade
into nothing because he wouldn’t be able to drink you.”

“
I don’t understand. Lucian has only drunk my blood once and
he hasn’t drunk from me in days.”

Russell sighed in defeat. Most of the truth was already out
in the open there was no point in hiding the rest. “He was
reluctant to drink from you before because he knew what drinking
from you would do to him and with a war to fight he couldn’t afford
to be tied to a single source of strength. And when he did…when he
did finally drink from you, he took too much.”

“
Yes, he told me that part. I have felt a little weak over the
last few days but I just put that down to working too hard. So what
you’re telling me is that for Lucian to get better, he needs to
drink from me again?”

“
Yes,” Russell sighed.

“
I don’t see what the problem is. I like it when Lucian drinks
from me.” Her face flushed red in embarrassment as she remembered
the pleasure that raced through her veins when his fangs sank into
her flesh. “Wake him up and he can take whatever he needs to get
better.”

“
Sara, you don’t understand,” Russell began, running his hand
over his head in frustration. “It takes a while for a body to
regenerate blood and an even longer time for someone who’s never
given blood before to get back to their normal blood levels. If
Lucian were to drink from you now, he could seriously hurt you.
It’s even possible that you could die.”

Russell’s words hit her hard but then she looked down at
Lucian's face, so pale and serene in sleep. So many people relied
on him and he bore the weight of their needs with ease. It wasn’t a
hard decision to make. If Lucian didn’t recover Seraphina would be
unleashed and so many would die before the spirit finally consumed
her life. Lucian's place in her heart was paramount, there was
nothing she wouldn’t do for him and she had no doubt that it was
because he’d known this that he’d decided to hide his presence from
her. She closed her eyes and placed a chaste kiss to his brow
before turning her eyes back to the two men in front of her. “Wake
him.”

“
Lady Sara, weren’t you listening? If Lord Lucian drinks from
you in your condition you could die.”

She sighed loudly. “I’m dying anyway. If Lucian dies then so
do I. If me giving up my life means that he lives, I consider it a
worthwhile sacrifice. Wake him.”

They both gasped, shocked by her admission. “Lady Sara, it
can’t be.”

“
I’m telling you the truth Russell. I need Lucian to live.
Tell me what I need to do.”

Gareth’s eyes darted between Sara’s calm face and Lucian's
battered body a decision quickly forming. Lucian's welfare was his
top priority and if they were both insistent on saving the other
then he would save his Lord first and worry about the consequences
later. “Lady Sara, if this is really what you want to do then I’ll
help you.”

“
It is,” she said calmly.

“
Gareth,” Russell scolded. “You can’t do this.”

“
I can and I will. If you don’t want to save Lord Lucian then
just wait outside, it’ll all be over soon.”

“
I want to help Lord Lucian as much as you do but this isn’t
the way. We can afford to wait a few more days for Lady Sara’s
health to improve.”

“
She’s not going to be well quick enough to save him. The
longer he’s in the deep sleep, the more likely it is that he won’t
leave it. We must do this now.” He moved towards Russell, binding
his arms securely and moving him bodily towards the door. Russell
thrashed wildly, trying to escape and stop Sara before she did
something irreversible but Gareth was too strong. “Lady Sara,”
Gareth called over his shoulder. “You’re the only one who can wake
him. Think back to the times his eyes have turned red from intense
emotion, remember what you were doing and you’ll be able to save
him.”

“
Thank you Gareth and thank you for caring so much about my
welfare Russell but this is something I have to do. I’m glad that I
had the chance to know you both.”

“
My Lady.” Gareth inclined his head in respect before forcing
Russell out of the door and leaving Sara alone with
Lucian.

Chapter Twenty – The Monster
Within

It wasn’t hard to think back to when Lucian's eyes had turned
red with passion and she stood, gently placing his head back on the
pillow. “You know I have to do this Lucian,” she whispered softly
as she began to undress. The leather bindings around her arms slid
easily to the ground before she pulled her shirt over her head. “I
love you Lucian. You have to know that.” She pulled the breeches
down her legs and slipped back between the sheets.

His body against hers sapped the heat from her but she
pressed herself closer to him. Her hands caressed the bare expanse
of his chest, hoping that her heated embrace would stir his body
and cause his heart to beat. Straddling his lithe hips, she pressed
a tender kiss against his cold lips, parting his mouth with her hot
tongue and forcing some of the warm air from her lips into his
frigid lungs. She sighed in triumph when she felt the first, faint
stirrings of a heartbeat beneath her palm. His body was slowly but
surely coming to life. She continued kissing him, hoping that he
would soon join her, that his tongue would entwine with her own but
her hopes were dashed. Though his heart was beating, it was slow
and irregular, entire seconds going by with no sign of life before
the faint echo of a heartbeat reached her. Frustrated she pulled
away, sitting up to watch him. She placed one of her hands atop his
chest, carefully monitoring his heartbeat before letting the other
slide down behind her to wrap around the length of his shaft. His
heart raced for a few seconds before it returned to its irregular
beat.

“
Lucian,” she pleaded, cupping his face in both hands. “Please
wake up. I need you.” She pressed a heated kiss to his lips, hoping
to convey the wealth of emotion she felt for him. His heart sped up
once again but the rapid beat soon petered out.

Groaning in frustration, she threw herself away from him to
pace the length of the room. “Why isn’t it working? His eyes turn
red when we’re together like this. Why isn’t it working now?” She
racked her mind, desperately trying to think of another time when
his eyes had glowed red and it suddenly hit her. Jealousy. His eyes
had always glowed an eerie, almost demonic red at the thought of
others looking at her with lust in their eyes, at the very idea
that someone would take away what he coveted above all else. Lucian
was possessive to a fault and to save him she would exploit that
weakness ruthlessly.