Stefan (Lost Nights Series Book 1) (11 page)

Stefan snorted. “We both know you weren’t doing me any favors. You killed him for yourself.”

“Who cares!” I shouted, throwing up my hands at their bickering, which I didn’t understand in the least. Mira and Stefan had some kind of history. It certainly didn’t sound sexual since neither one of them seemed to like the other much. “While I am grateful that Mira did step in to save my neck, I’m now concerned that whoever killed Sabrina will now see Mira as a target.”

“Not likely,” Stefan grumbled.

“How do you know? Why wouldn’t the person now set their sights on her with the expectation of using me as leverage?”

“Because they’re all afraid of me,” Mira said. As she spoke, she lifted her left hand and it was instantly covered in dancing blue flames. She didn’t flinch or act as if it was hurting her in anyway. I stared at the flickering fire in wonder, feeling the heat radiating off it.

“You caused the ring of fire,” I whispered.

“I’m called the Fire Starter among my people and they know better than to upset me.”

“I would imagine so.”

With a little flick of her wrist, the flames disappeared. “By claiming you as my pet, I have bought both you and Stefan some time. That is all.” She looked over at Stefan, all joking gone from her expression. “If they went to the trouble of tracking her down and staging this scene, then I doubt they are fooled by your supposed indifference. The culprit is likely to make another pass at her.”

A horrible chill slipped through me at her words and I suddenly wished that I hadn’t put so much distance between myself and Stefan. Despite being a vampire, I’d always felt safe in his arms and right at that moment, I needed that feeling.

“But why?” I demanded, my arms tightening where they crossed over my stomach. “I’m nobody. I don’t know or understand anything about your people. And no offense, but I really don’t feel like I want to know.” Stepping around Mira, I walked over and sat down on the edge of the bed. My legs had begun to shake I was so exhausted. I rubbed my eyes with the heels of my palms and tried to push through the fog that was slowing my thoughts. Nothing was making sense anymore, and I wasn’t sure if it was the fatigue that was slowing me down or if their world really was the complicated.

A hand settled on my back a moment before I felt a heavy weight settle on the bed. With a sigh, I dropped my hands and looked up to find Stefan sitting close, an openly worried expression on his face. “You are not nobody.”

“In your world, I am.”

“No. When I marked you, I claimed you. I was trying to protect you.” Anger and frustration vibrated in his voice.

“Yes, in gratitude and I do appreciate your effort.” I reached out and covered his hand with mine. “Besides, it’s been almost a week. Shouldn’t have worn off by now?”

Stefan looked away from me, a distinctly guilty expression on his face. “No.”

“Did you do it again? But you couldn’t have. You haven’t bitten me in days.” My hand unconsciously drifted up to my neck and rubbed the spot that he’d bitten days ago. The wound was nearly gone, but the skin was sensitive there, tingling under my touch from the memory of his mouth on my skin.

“Biting isn’t the only way to mark someone,” Mira said with a smirk that caused me to blush. Yeah, sex was probably an easy way for them to mark someone and Stefan and I had done plenty of that.

“But why?”

“Because… because you’re mine,” Stefan replied, looking more than a little troubled.

“I really don’t think we need to waste our time figuring out Stefan’s tangled love life,” Danaus said from across the room.

While I didn’t quite care for his choice of words, I had to agree with his sentiment. This was not the time or the place to be hashing out exactly what I meant to the nightwalker, let alone if it was a good idea that I meant anything to a nightwalker. Stefan or I didn’t need an audience for that.

“Yes,” Stefan said with a soft hiss. “The point is that this is the first time that I’ve shown any kind of preference for another in a very long time.”

“How long?” Danaus pressed.

“For a human?” Stefan paused and I stopped breathing, waiting to hear his answer. “Centuries.”

My eyebrows jumped to my hairline and I slid off the bed to stand in front of him. “Do you mind if I ask exactly how old you are?”

“I am more than one thousand years old.”

My brain completely locked up at his words. A thousand. One moment I was standing and in the next, Stefan was holding me up because my legs had given out beneath me. He gently sat me on the edge of the bed again, tightly grasping my shoulders so I didn’t fall over.

“
Ma petite
, what’s wrong? Do you need something?” he demanded, staring into my eyes.

“You’re a thousand?” I asked in a strangled voice, nearly oblivious to his worry.

“Yes.”

“So... what’s that? Discovery of America. Rise of the Ottoman Empire. The Black Plague,” I listed, wracking my brain through world history.

“And then some,” Stefan muttered, slowly releasing me.

I twisted around to Mira. “Then how old are you?” I demanded. Stefan seemed to defer to her and she had the ability to use fire. She had to be older.

“Six hundred and something.” She shrugged. “You stop counting after a while.”

“Oh, then Stefan is the oldest one here.”

“No,” Danaus said.

I turned to look at Knox, but the nightwalker just smiled and shook his head.

“I’m over eighteen hundred years old,” Danaus continued.

“But you’re...” I started to say and then stopped myself, holding up my hands to ward off any further explanations. “You know what? Never mind. I’m done. My brain rejects any further information. I haven’t slept in two days and I’m done.”

“You’re right. Sunrise is just a couple hours away,” Stefan said, pushing to his feet. He leaned down and scooped me up with amazing ease, as if I weighed nothing more than a leaf.

Mira stepped in front of Stefan, her fists on her narrow waist. “Where do you think you’re going with my pet?”

“She needs her rest,” Stefan bit out.

“And I will see that she has somewhere safe to sleep.”

“So will I.”

Mira’s smile grew positively wicked. “You asked me to take her. She is now mine.”

A low growl rumbled deep in Stefan chest and his hands tightened around me. Reaching up, I slid my hand along Stefan’s jaw until he looked down at me.

“Stefan, am I safe with Mira?”

“Yes,” he said without hesitation, which helped ease the last of the tension humming through my weary muscles.

“Then I need to stay here. It’ll be fine.”

“I wanted to watch you sleep as I have the past several nights,” he murmured, turning his mouth so that he could press a kiss to the palm of my hand. As he did, he opened his lips and grazed his teeth along the soft flesh. Stefan wanted to do a whole lot more than watch me sleep and I wasn’t opposed to the idea, particularly since it would help me forget everything that had happened recently. Of course, I was so tired that I worried that it wouldn’t be a whole lot of fun for Stefan.

“And you’ll be dead in a couple hours. That’ll be real fun for her,” Danaus mumbled.

“What?” I demanded, jerking my hand from Stefan.

“It’s nothing,” Stefan snapped and even Mira was glaring at Danaus.

“Leave her here, Stefan,” Mira quickly insisted before I could continue to demand answers. “She can sleep safely and Danaus will be there if she wakes before sunset to help her find food.”

Food sounded heavenly, but sleep was winning the war. I just needed to close my eyes for a little while and everything would be okay. Strength would return to me, enabling me to deal with all the nightwalkers and their drama so I could get back to living my life.

With a weary sigh, I laid my head against Stefan’s shoulder and closed my eyes. “I just want to sleep. We can figure things out tomorrow. I promise.”

Stefan brushed a kiss on my forehead before gently laying me down in the bed. I didn’t know if that was where Mira was planning to place me and I didn’t care. For this short period of time, I was safe. No one was going to try to kill me or hurt me. The world could wait.

Chapter 8

The total lack of windows in the room made it impossible to determine the time of day when I finally stirred again. I was alone. There was also no clock, no watch, and no cell phone. Was it too early? Too late?

A groan rumbled past my parted lips when I hit my feet and shuffled to the bathroom. After seeing what a tangled mess my hair had become after going to sleep with a wet head, I jumped back into the shower and then redressed in the clothes that Mira had given me the night before. They were rumpled and looked as if I’d slept in them, but they were still better than the jail clothes and the blood-smeared clothes.

When I stepped back into the room, Danaus was sitting in the large chair with his feet propped up on the ottoman. The strange man was dressed in a pair of green cargo pants and a black T-shirt that was stretched across his broad shoulders. His dark hair hung down, crowding his face, but there was no missing his piercing blue eyes as they closely regarded me.

Everything about the man screamed warrior. He was a former soldier and a predator just like the nightwalkers, he just didn’t bother trying to hide it from everyone like the nightwalkers did.

“Good morning,” I said nervously. I suddenly wondered if I should have asked Stefan if I was safe with Danaus.

“Afternoon,” he corrected, dropping his feet to the floor with a heavy thud as he moved to the edge of his seat. “It’s nearly four in the afternoon. We’ve got a few hours before the bloodsuckers stir.”

“Oh. Would it be okay if I went to my apartment for my things?”

“We’ll get there eventually. You need to eat.”

Just the mention of food caused my stomach to churn and loudly growl, nearly doubling me over. I hadn’t eaten in a long time. My hands were already shaking and I was light headed.

Danaus frowned at me. “Are you going to be able to make it on your own?”

“Yeah,” I said, straightening and forcing a smile. My ego kept me moving. This stranger didn’t need to think that I couldn’t keep up with him and the nightwalkers.

He didn’t look convinced. Reaching into one of the pockets in his cargoes, he pulled out a protein bar and tossed it to me. “Eat this while we walk. We’ll get your own box while we’re out. You’ll need to keep something on you at all times. Nightwalkers don’t think about things like food, particularly the older ones. Unless they’ve been injured, they usually feed only once every couple weeks. If they don’t need to feed, they won’t think about your need to feed.”

I pulled off the wrapper and fought the urge to inhale the protein bar as I walked behind Danaus out of the bedroom and through the various halls. The place was absolutely deserted and as a silent as a tomb. Everyone must have been sleeping. We went back up to the throne room, which was empty as well.

I paused as we crossed the room and looked up at the chairs. There were the four gold leaf chairs that had held the nightwalker leaders and then there was another on a slightly higher dais that was behind the four. This one was made of black iron and appeared positively menacing. I wasn’t quite sure how I’d missed it last night, but then I’d struggled to pull my eyes away from Stefan and the others while my fate was being decided.

“Who are they in the nightwalker world?” I asked when Danaus walked over to where I was standing frozen.

“They are those who are feared. The Elders. In the nightwalker world, they are the most powerful. They claimed their thrones through death and manipulation.”

“And Stefan is one of them,” I whispered, pushing down the uneasiness that was swirling through my stomach.

“Yes. While he’s not the most powerful, he’s easily the most dangerous.”

I jerked around to look at him, my brow furrowed in confusion. “Dangerous? But—”

“Don’t ever doubt it. Never.”

“Who’s the most powerful? Mira?”

Danaus shook his head and pointed to the fifth unnoticed chair that sat apart from the others. “They call him Our Liege. Our Liege is the true ruler of the western nightwalkers, but he doesn’t tend to be around much. When he is not around, the three Elders decide everything.”

“Three? But there are four chairs.”

“The fourth was killed about seven years ago. Another hasn’t stepped forward to claim his chair.”

“Why?”

Danaus smiled and motioned for me to follow him out of the room. “No one wants to face Mira. To claim a seat on the coven, the nightwalker has to not only face any who might challenge his claim, but he also has to fight any member of the Coven who does not approve his claim.”

“Sounds dangerous. Why do it?”

Danaus held open the door leading into a long dark hall. “Because once you’re on the Coven, the world is yours.”

“Until someone decides to start shit and frames some chick you were nice to for murder,” I grumbled.

The long hall ended in a pair of massive doors. Danaus pushed them open with amazing ease despite their size and bright sunlight had me stepping back into the darkness, shielding my eyes. I’d been underground and hidden from the sun for so long. I hadn’t been ready for it, but when I stepped outside a sigh slid from me and I turned my face up to the blue sky, soaking in the light and warmth. This was freedom. This was life and happiness.

My companion allowed me to stand there for a few seconds before we walked down a winding gravel path to dock with several boats tied up. We took the boats to Guidecca, where Danaus treated me to an enormous lunch. Luckily, I wasn’t the only one eating. The man had a massive appetite, so I didn’t feel embarrassed about eating so much food.

We didn’t talk much as we ate. He mostly asked me about what had brought me to Venice and I told him about the historical artwork I did as freelance work for a variety of companies. Hollywood like to use me when brainstorming for movie sets and such, but the big payer recently had been video game studios that were creating all these fantasy and historical games. Prior to coming to Venice, I’d spent a month in Paris and two months in London.

The sun was setting when I finally pushed to my feet with a muffled groan and waddled after the large man. I felt stuffed to my gills and ready for a nap after that delicious, high-carb meal, but we were a good distance from my apartment and Danaus was apparently in the mood for a walk.

“How long have you and Mira been together?” I asked as we crossed the canal and entered the main part of Dosoduro.

“A while.”

I frowned at his back. The guy certainly didn’t like to talk. “You don’t seem the type to be involved with a nightwalker. I mean, you don’t really seem to like them much.” I picked up my pace and noticed that a little half smile tweaked the corner of his mouth. Something I’d said managed to amuse him.

“It might be because I spent the last thousand years hunting them,” he said.

I stopped dead in my tracks and stared at the man’s back, my mouth hanging open. Danaus didn’t pause and I jogged to catch up with him. “Hunting as in killing them? Does Mira know that?”

“How do you think we met?” he said, still smirking.

“Whoa, you’ve gotta tell me that story.”

“No.”

And like that, the door closed in my face. The man was impossible to read and stubborn when it came to pulling information out of him. He’d given me some valuable details on the nightwalker hierarchy, but there were vast holes in my knowledge. But then, he seemed to have a pretty dark outlook on their kind if he’d been hunting them. He might not be the best person to ask. Then again, what was my other option? Stefan? The nightwalker hadn’t exactly been a fountain of information so far and it was my life on the line.

The sun had set by the time we reached my building. Of course, it was only when I was standing outside the old building that I realized that I didn’t have my keys. Hell, I didn’t have my keys, wallet, passport, or money. The soft tinkle of metal jerked my attention back to my companion, who was dangling my keys in the air. I reached for them, but he immediately jerked them back.

“You need to get away from the nightwalkers as soon as this mess has been settled,” he said, clenching his fist around the keys.

His words were like a slap in the face. This man had spent a while with Mira and didn’t seem to be running for the door. “What? Why?”

“You’re going to get yourself killed.”

“But—”

“They don’t care about you or your happiness. Anyone who has been with a nightwalker has died within a few years.”

“What about you? You’re with Mira. You don’t exactly seem to be looking for an escape.”

“I’m not human. I’ve spent years killing them. I know how to survive.”

“Stefan won’t let me get hurt.”

“Stefan will hurt you to protect his own ass. It’s just their way.”

I gave a little snort and held my hand out for my keys. “Yeah, and how is that different from human men?”

“Most human men won’t kill you for their own amusement.”

“And Stefan won’t do that to me,” I said with clenched teeth.

“She’s right, Danaus.” I jerked around to find Stefan standing directly behind me, glaring at the man like he very much wanted to rip his head off. “I know you have little respect for me and we have never liked each other, but Erin is correct. I wish her no harm and I will protect her.”

“And when she’s done with you?” my companion demanded in a low growl.

“She will safely go her own way and never see me again.”

“Humans die around nightwalkers. It’s a fact,” Danaus said and then tossed the keys to Stefan. The nightwalker caught the keys in one hand in a blink of the eye and continued to glare after the nightwalker hunter as he walked away without uttering another word, disappearing into the darkness as if he were made of it.

“Stefan?” I started, drawing his gaze back to me. I wanted to reach out and touch him, but something held me back. “How much of what he says is wrong?”

His frown softened a bit, but there was now a new sadness that had bled into his eyes. “Would I hurt you? Never.” He paused and looked down at keys clenched in his fist, seeming disgusted even with that answer. “Never willingly. Is it dangerous for humans to be around nightwalkers? Yes, Danaus is correct. Humans do not live long around nightwalkers.”

“Why?”

“Nightwalkers are dangerous. We are predators. We exist to kill.”

“No. No,” I said, quickly closing the distance between us. I lifted my hands and cupped both of Stefan’s cheeks. “I don’t believe that. You’ve never tried to hurt me.”

“The only reason we met was because I was hunting and you were my prey.”

“But you didn’t hurt me. You treated me like a person and not just a meal. You’ve been trying to protect me.”

“If I truly wanted to protect you, I would stay away, but it’s too late for that now.” Stefan reached up and pulled my hands from his face. He pressed a quick kiss to my fingers on either hand and then stepped back. “You’re in my world whether you wish to be or not. Now, let us get inside. Mira has given me two hours with you and I have no wish to squander it.”

I thought it was best not to question him more about it. He was right. We were wasting time. Taking the keys from Stefan, I unlocked the door and led the way up the stairs to the apartment I was renting while in Venice. My hands trembled a bit as I tried to put the key into the lock to the apartment, my mind flashing back to the last time I had been in here. As I unlocked the door, Stefan reached around me and ripped down the yellow police tape that had barred my entrance.

My life was beginning to resemble a violent crime scene. Chaos reigned over everything and all that I could do now was take stock of what survived and move on in a different direction.

When I stepped over the threshold, my eyes were immediately drawn to the spot where the woman’s dead body had lain. The lights I’d had on two nights ago were still casting their warm yellow glow over the scene. A white outline and a large bloodstain on the hardwood floor now marked where Sabrina had died. The door slammed shut behind me and I jumped at the explosion of sound. Stefan locked the door and then paused for half a breath staring at me with an almost frightening hunger.

Before I could even get my brain to process what I was seeing, the nightwalker was on me. Stefan pulled me tightly into his arms so that the full length of my body was flush with his while his mouth latched onto mine. I felt like he was trying to absorb me into his body and at first, I welcomed it. I wrapped my arms around his neck and dug my fingers into his silky hair, holding his head prisoner so that all he could do was kiss me. My tongue fought with his and he only won because mine retreated after being pricked on one of his fangs.

A low growl rumbled up his chest as he followed the taste of blood into my mouth. His hands surged over my body, kneading tense muscles and pulling me close so that I could feel exactly how badly he wanted me. Desire lit a fire in my veins and I wanted our clothes gone. I wanted to become a screaming, sweaty mess as he pinned me against the nearest wall and pounded into me. I wanted oblivion and a physical joy because my mind was hiding from something. Something horrible. A crime. A death.

And like that, I became cold and our kissing felt wrong. I loosened my grip on Stefan and broke off our kiss. He looked down at me with confusion filling his pale gray eyes.