Vampire born, p.42
Vampire Born, page 42
“Are you sure you’re all right” she asked. “I forget this is your first experience with our world. The last time Nicky was involved with a human, she already knew about our kind, so it wasn’t such a revelation for her.”
“You mean Sophie?”
Gwen abruptly stopped, and it was her turn to look astounded. “Nicky told you about Sophie?”
“Yes. Does that surprise you?”
“I must say it does. It’s a topic he normally avoids at all costs.” We stepped outside the gallery, and she closed the door behind us. “I’m happy he’s told you. It’s good that he feels comfortable being open with you.”
A question burned in the back of my mind, and I knew if I didn’t speak up right then, I’d likely lose the courage to inquire. “Can I ask you something?
“Of course.”
“Does it bother you that Nick married a human? That he wants to be one?”
She paused, and I sensed she was taking time to choose her words.
“What I want first and foremost is for my son to be happy, and anyone can see how happy he is with you. He’s had a hard time, my Nicky. Even as a young man, he never felt at home in the world. He’s always been searching for his purpose, for his place. I think he found that with you and the work he’s dedicated himself to; he found as a human what he never could as a vampire. I hate that it was interrupted.”
“He’s trying to find a way back. He said you were helping with his search.”
“I am.” She clasped her manicured hands in front of her, the diamonds of her rings reflecting the lights of the hallway chandelier. “Reluctantly, I must admit. He begged it of me, and I’ve never been able to refuse him, him being my only child. You’re a mother. You understand.”
“I do, but why reluctantly? You said yourself he was happy as a human, and happy’s what you want him to be.”
She pressed her red lips into a firm line. “I don’t know how much Nicky has told you about what he went through so he could have you in his life.”
“Not much. He’s only told me it’s called a shadow contract, and that he doesn’t know of any other of your kind who’s done it.”
“I should stay out of it,” she said. “He’d probably chastise me for saying anything at all.”
Trepidation crept up my spine, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to know what she knew, but she’d already decided to share.
“The shadow contracts are fulfilled by beings of great power who have little or no principles. They’ve lost their compass and forfeited the Code that binds us in this realm. They live outside the norms that both the mortal and immortal societies have set forth. The mere fact that they are willing to sell or trade their powers for personal gain is proof of how far they’ve fallen. If caught, they could be banished from this realm, depending on the severity of their infraction.”
My forehead crinkled as I struggled to recall what else Nick had said. “Nick told me he wasn’t breaking any laws or any tenets of your Code. He said he wouldn’t get in trouble, but what he was doing was frowned upon.”
“The progeny with the powers are the ones breaking the Code for using them in such a manner. Those who seek them out encourage their downfall, but there is nothing that states the contracts are outlawed. Call it a loophole that needs to be closed, but the Council, so far, has refused to do so.”
“Why have no other vampires been shifted if it’s not against the rules to do so? Nick can’t be the only one who wanted a different life.”
Gwen dipped her eyes down to her clasped hands, and then they rose to meet mine. “There is no way for anyone to know what they’re going to receive in a shadow contract, or what they’ll owe. No amount of research or preparation offers a guarantee. These are beings who have willingly gone off the grid, so it’s not like honor or decency can be found among them.”
She stepped closer, and every instinct in me urged me to step back, but I hated the impression that would give. I didn’t want Nick’s mother to realize she intimidated me, so I held my ground, tensing as I glanced toward the other end of the hallway to gauge the distance in case I needed to flee.
“Aria, you must understand…Nicolaas doesn’t know when he goes to meet with these deviants what he will encounter or what they will demand. To have the contract fulfilled, he must decide if he’s willing to sign over whatever they ask of him—be that money, time, servitude, or the use of his body or his abilities. Then, once he’s committed to that, he has no recourse if they don’t perform the task as contracted. It’s not a valid transaction in the eyes of the Council, so they turn a blind eye to disputes.” She crossed her arms again as she shifted her weight to one side, pushing her hip out so far her body formed a shapely curve. “The last time my son went through with this, he was given a potion to render him unconscious, and it was only when he woke that he knew if the transformation had worked, and luckily for him, it did. Any number of unimaginable consequences could have been his to bear, and who knows what he could have endured in that vulnerable state?”
I’d tried to make my face a mask of indifference, but I could see from her expression that I’d failed.
“And now, I’ve upset you again,” she said, her face crumpling with concern as she laid her ice-cold hand on my arm. “I forget how fragile humans can be in the beginning. Frightening you was not at all my intent. I know how important it is to the two of you that Nicolaas finds a path back to the way things were. I can’t imagine it’s been easy for you, discovering this world, and I would think it’s hard to balance what you and Nick want with what’s best for your child.” Moving her hand from my arm, she leaned in as though to say something conspiratorial. “If it were me, and I were human, I’d have serious doubts about exposing my little girl to a world that lives in the shadows behind the scenes.”
Bristling at the suggestion that I was somehow not considering Sage, I stiffened. “I can assure you that Nick and I will take every precaution necessary to keep our daughter safe. While I appreciate your concern, that decision is ours.”
“Of course!” She held up both hands to indicate she was hands-off. “I want to support your efforts, and I’ll do the best I can. I just worry about my son and what could happen to him. He got incredibly lucky the first time. I fear his chances might not be so great again.”
“Madam?” A tuxedoed gentleman I recognized from my first visit to the castle called to her from the end of the hall.
“Goodness, me!” Gwen exclaimed. “I’ve gone off on a depressing tangent, and I’ve kept you from the party far too long. Forgive me. We’ll chat more soon. Can you find your way back?”
I nodded, lost in my thoughts regarding what she’d said as she departed.
I had no idea Nick had been flirting with such a threat. With so much going on and so many other questions at the forefront of my mind, I hadn’t asked him for details about what his shift entailed. Had his trip to Memphis been more dangerous than I’d realized? Was there no way to do this safely? And if not, was I wiling to live with him as he was, as a vampire, rather than take that risk?
Even if I could, what would that mean for Sage? As irritating as her unsolicited advice had been, Gwen had a valid point. It was one thing for me to know what Nick was and interact with his world. Bringing Sage into that was a whole other level of madness.
And beyond that, what would our future be like if Nick remained immortal? My husband wouldn’t age the same as I would. If his mother was any indication, Nick would still look the same a hundred years from now, while by then, I’d be long gone and dead.
How could I ask him to go through with another gamble now that I knew the stakes? But how could I ask him to stay with me unchanged if I knew I’d be dooming him to a life tethered to a frail and aging human?
FORTY-EIGHT
ARIA
I was so consumed with my thoughts as I reached the bottom of the stairs that I almost ran into a woman walking down the corridor on the main floor.
“Pardon me, I’m sorry,” I mumbled, lifting my hand in a wave of apology.
“You must be Aria,” the woman said as I turned to go, and I looked back, trying to muster another fake smile to paste on my face.
I did a double take, instantly mesmerized by her beauty. She was equally as stunning as Gwen, though where Nick’s mother’s beauty was centered around the bold contrast of her dark hair and eyes against her pale skin, this woman looked more like a beach goddess who’d been birthed of sand and sunlight.
Her hair was a honey-gold, cascading in loose waves all the way to her hips. Though her skin was sun-kissed, it was as smooth and unmarred as Gwen’s. Her eyes were the palest, clearest blue, such an unnatural, electric shade that I knew she couldn’t be human.
She wore a tiny, form-fitting scrap of fabric that was the epitome of the perfect little black dress, and it fit like it had been sewn onto her body and would have to be cut off to free her at the end of the night.
Taller than me by a few inches even without the three-inch heels she wore, she extended her hand toward me. Having shaken too many hands to count since we’d arrived, I’d come to expect that most were cold, but hers were so frigid I got goosebumps from the contact.
“I’m Lily, short for Liliandra.”
“Aria Gaenor, but I guess you knew that. It’s nice to meet you. Are you related to Nick or a family friend?”
“Nicky and I go way back,” she said, smiling so that her perfectly straight, white teeth were on full display with her fangs exposed, the first time I’d seen that all night. “I’m his fiancée.”
I blinked, certain I’d misheard her, but the sadistic gleam in her eyes made it evident she was enjoying my confusion and discomfort, and that pissed me off.
“I think you mean ex-fiancée. What was your name again? I don’t believe he’s ever mentioned you.”
The joyful gleam turned to anger, and the fanged smile faded. “You can’t possibly think you’re a good match for Nicky. You’re not even cut of the same cloth.”
“I would say that’s for my husband and me to decide.”
“There you are!” Nick’s voice came from the other end the hall behind me, his eyes frantic as they swept over me and then met mine. “Are you okay?”
“Yes, why?”
“You were gone a while,” he said, his arm snaking possessively low around my hips as soon as he reached me. “I came inside to look for you in case you got lost, but Graeco said you were with my mother. I figured I’d give you a few minutes alone to get acquainted, but I was on my way up to rescue you. You’re good?”
He hadn’t even acknowledged the other woman’s presence, and he didn’t seem to notice her seething glare as he pulled me closer and leaned to kiss my temple.
“I’m fine. Your mother took me on a little tour, and then I was on my way out when I ran into Lily, your ex-fiancée.”
“Fiancée?” He rose a brow and shot her a confused look. “What are you talking about? We were never engaged.”
She laughed with an artificial singsong sound that grated on my nerves. “Well, maybe not officially. It was just assumed.”
“Only by you. Excuse us.”
He gathered my hand in his and started to walk, but she sidestepped into our path.
“C’mon, Nicky. Don’t be like that. You know both our families expected us to wed. It was practically all arranged before you took off.”
“Are you delusional? Nothing was arranged, and if anyone expected that, they damned sure never cleared it with me. Now, if you’ll excuse us, I’d like to introduce my wife to a few of my friends.”
Lily’s mouth popped open, without fangs this time, and she began to blink rapidly. She looked like she didn’t know whether to explode or cry.
“Why would you treat me this way, Nicky? I’ve been nothing but compassionate and understanding about your need to indulge in this unhealthy obsession, and this is how you repay me? By daring to show up here with her?” She flung her hand toward me. “And then, as if you flaunting a human around like a prized pet wasn’t enough, you purposely try to hurt me by pretending what we share means nothing? You’re cruel, Nicolaas. Twisted and cruel.”
Nick never released my hand, but in a blur, he stood toe to toe with her, her height placing them nearly eye to eye. “I don’t know what game you’re playing or what you hope to accomplish, but you need to stop. There was never a we. It was one night, nothing more. I’ve asked you before to let this go. We both knew what it was.”
“Nicky, please.” She grabbed for his arm, but he jerked it away, and her eyes filled with tears. “I’ve waited so patiently for you to get this asinine quest out of your system. We’re so much better suited, you and I. We’re an equal match. You can’t possibly think you’ll stay happy with her.”
“Liliandra!”
I turned at the cold steel of Gwen’s voice behind me, and I hoped I never did anything that would make her look at me like she was looking at Lily. I shivered at the darkness of her eyes and the intensity of her gaze.
“You are making a fool of yourself,” she spat out as Lily backed away from Nick. “Come with me and let my son and his wife pass. Now!”
Lily obeyed Gwen immediately, not even casting a second glance at Nick or me.
Nick gave a quick nod to his mother before leading me away, and I resisted the urge to look back as we made our way toward the door.
“Well, that was fun,” I said once we were outside.
“I’m sorry,” Nick said to me as we walked. “I have no idea what got into her. I apologize for the disrespect.”
“You don’t have to apologize for her. You didn’t do anything.”
He stopped and turned to look at me. “I need you to know she and I were never a thing. We’ve known each other for years. Our families were close, so we spent a lot of time together. We’d always been flirtatious, but it had never progressed until one night when things began to veer in a more intimate direction. We both discussed openly that it would be a casual thing. I made it clear where I stood, and she insisted we were on the same page, but afterwards, Lily admitted she had feelings for me and wanted more. I didn’t feel the same. I never should have let anything happen between us.”
Nothing he was saying mattered as much to me as the question in my head, and I blurted out, “How old are you?”
He swallowed hard, and his eyes took on that desperate look of an animal caught in a trap. “Can we talk about this later?”
“I’m guessing you’re older than thirty-five.”
“I had to pick a number for a starting point as a human, and biologically at the time I transitioned, thirty seemed about right.”
“How old are you?”
Again, his hands went into his hair, and I worried he was going to pull it all out before this stressful week was through.
“God, Aria, how many different ways can I be screwed when it comes to you?”
“I just want to know, Nick. I think I have the right to know how old my husband is.”
“Of course, you do.” He closed his eyes with his lips pressed together. “Yet another thing to make you run.”
“Yet another way you don’t have enough faith in me to tell me the truth, evidently.”
His eyes opened. “It’s not a fair question. Our bodies don’t age the same as yours.”
“Over fifty or under fifty?”
With a shake of head, his glower deepened. “Over.”
Although I’d expected that was the case, it still rocked me back a bit. “Okay.” I took a moment to compose myself and pressed forward. “I can’t believe I’m going to ask this, but over seventy or under seventy?”
“This is ridiculous, Aria. You’re looking at this through the mindset of a human my age, and that’s not fair.”
“Just tell me, Nick. I’m not going to spend the rest of my life with you and not know how old you are. Over seventy or under?
“Over.”
“Damn. Okay.” Steeling myself for his answer and reminding myself of the body I’d held the night before and what it had been able to do to mine, I pressed forward. “Eighty?”
“Over.”
“Ninety?” My voice betrayed my disgust at the idea of it, and I could see in his face that he heard it.
“Aria…”
“Over ninety or under?”
“It’s impossible to gauge my age at this point. My body has been immortal, mortal, and then immortal again. Calculating that would be impossible.”
I stared at him, not sure I wanted to know if the answer was over one hundred.
“All right,” he said finally. “At the time I transitioned, it had been one hundred and fifteen years since my birth.”
“Oh my God, that’s gross!” The words flew out of my mouth before I could restrain them.
He threw up his hands and paced back and forth in front of me. “Gee, thanks. Tell me how you really feel. Don’t hold back.”
“I mean, if you’d been like three hundred or five hundred, then I might have been able to rationalize it like, ‘Oh, okay, he’s immortal. They’re all old like that!’ But one-twenty? That’s like someone’s well-preserved grandfather.”
He stopped pacing and shot me a glare. “Do I look like someone’s grandfather? Is this yet another thing that’s going to come between us when I have no control over it and it does nothing to change who I am?”
“It’s a lot, Nick! Look at everything that’s been tossed at me in the past week. Hell, in the past hour, I’ve toured your mother’s museum of the macabre and learned more than I ever needed to know about vampire history. Then, I got accosted by your crazy-ass, jilted, non-fiancée, who seriously needs to consider some meds, and now my smoking hot husband just went from thirty-five to a hundred and twenty. I think I’m gonna need something stronger than champagne.”
“Fine.” He took my hand and began weaving us through the crowd. “But only if you promise to eat something. All you’ve had is a couple of hors d’oeuvres.”
“Let me see how my stomach does with a stiff drink, and then I’ll consider some food.”
