Intertwined

CHAPTER 24

That night, Riley stayed with Mary Ann. Though her window was shut and locked, she could hear the wolves howling outside as they kept watch. Despite the day’s grave events, they talked and laughed, even kissed again. Only when the sun rose did the howls quiet, and only then did she drift off to sleep.

When she woke, the sun was still shining and Riley was still beside her. Her thoughts immediately returned to the wolves, as if her mind had simply been waiting for her to wake back up to continue. She wasn’t sure their presence was a good thing. Last night, the news stations had blasted the story of Mr. and Mrs. Applewood and how they had been killed by “wild animals.” His brothers—both by blood and circumstance—could be hunted and shot by locals wanting to protect their loved ones.

“Vlad made sure they know how to take care of themselves,” he said, as if reading her mind. Perhaps he had. No telling what color her aura was right now. “Besides, they howled to let me know they’d taken out a goblin.”

Okay. She hadn’t known that. “How many howls have there been?” She’d lost count.

“Twenty-eight.”

Wow. “And just how many goblins are out there?”

“Like wolves, they run in packs so it’s hard to say.”

She snuggled deeper into his side, his heartbeat pounding against her ear. “Maybe the goblins will eat the witches.”

“Maybe.” He didn’t sound convinced that it could happen.

Made her wonder exactly how powerful the witches actually were. And if that power was actually a good thing. If the witches died, but their spell didn’t die with them, Aden wouldn’t be able to attend their meeting. She, Riley and Victoria would then die themselves.

That line of thought had her grimacing. It was beyond confusing and utterly surreal. She didn’t feel cursed. Didn’t feel like there was a knife hovering over her head, ready to strike her down.

“I negate Aden’s powers, so why didn’t I negate the witch’s spell?”

“I negate your negation, remember? Or maybe I increase his powers. I still don’t know. Either way, I think it means we belong together,” he said, obviously trying to lighten the mood.

“I like how you think.” Because she wanted to be with him. A lot. “Are we really going to die if Aden fails to attend that witches meeting?”

Riley kissed her temple. “Don’t worry. I won’t let anything happen to you.”

Though he’d sidestepped the question, his evasion answered it well enough. Yes, they would. She traced an X over his heart. “Have you ever been bespelled before?”

He nodded reluctantly.

“Tell me about it. Please.”

At first, he didn’t reply and she figured he planned to ignore her. Then he sighed. “A few years ago I…dated a witch. When I tried to break things off, she became angry and cursed me—as well as my brothers. Until the day we died we were to look amazingly beautiful to everyone we considered friend.”

“Uh, that doesn’t sound like a curse.”

“That’s because that was only the beginning of the curse. Anyone we considered more than a friend, anyone we found attractive or wanted to date, would find us plain, even ugly.”

“I don’t find you ugly.” Or plain. He took her breath away. And she knew he found her attractive. He’d kissed her, had said he wanted her. “The curse must have stopped working.”

“You’re able to see me as I truly am because I died and the curse was broken.”

“You d-died? How? How are you here with me, then?”

His hand caressed up and down her rib cage. “I was drained by a fairy trying to get to Victoria. And just as your modern medicine can bring people back from the dead, so, too, can ours. I was brought back. But because I died, the curse was broken. The same is not true of my brothers, innocents in all of this.” Guilt layered his voice. Clearly he felt responsible for their pain. “I wish they could die and be revived as I was, but like your medicine, ours is not a guarantee. There is a chance they would not be able to be revived. So they are stuck, unattractive to all the women they desire.”

How terrible. Would she have wanted to be with Riley if he’d been unattractive to her? Yes, she thought. She’d liked him, even in wolf form. Liked his strength and his intensity. “Nothing else will free them?”

“No. A curse, once spoken, is unbreakable. Even by the witch who uttered it. It takes on a life of its own, its only purpose enforcing the words that brought it into existence.”

So there was no hope for them. Any girl they desired would turn away from them in disgust. And there truly was no breaking the spell that bound her, either. “Poor things.” Poor me. Poor us.

He laughed with true humor. “Do not let them hear you say such a thing. They despise pity.”

As he did, she thought. He was utterly capable and didn’t want her or anyone to see him any other way. In fact, he hid his fears so well, she would almost believe he didn’t have any. Almost. But she’d seen his expression when the witches first approached them. She’d sensed his torment over his brothers’ bleak futures.

“They’ll find love one day. I know it.”

“I hope you are right.” He gave her another kiss and sat up. “What are your plans for today?”

The weekend was here and that meant only one thing. “I have to go to work. I haven’t been in weeks.”

He flicked her a hard glance over his shoulder. “Nor will you go today. Call in sick. Please,” he added as an afterthought.

“I can’t. Not again.” She anchored a hand behind her neck to prop herself up and see him better. “I’m already close to being fired.”

“Better fired than dead. Do you remember the number of witches and fairies in town? It was dangerous before but it is suicide now. The witches know who you are. I’d prefer it if you stayed home.”

He could have forced her. Instead, he was asking. “Fine,” she sighed.

He grinned. “Thank you.”

“And where will you be?”

“I must prepare for Vlad’s awakening,” he said, standing. “Well, awakening ceremony. I’ll return in a few hours to pick you up for the ball.”

She jolted upright. “You want me to go?”

“Of course. I wouldn’t attend without you.”

Whether she sighed dreamily out loud or just inside her head, she didn’t know. When he said things like that, she wanted to offer him her heart on a silver platter.

“I don’t have a costume.”

“Mary Ann,” her dad suddenly called through the door. Since her road trip, they hadn’t spoken about her mother or his lies. They’d just sort of fallen into a routine, a bit formal with each other and staying out of each other’s way whenever possible. “Come down and eat lunch. You missed breakfast.”

She’d been in bed that long? “In a minute,” she called back. They’d make up, she knew they would. As Anne-Eve had said, he was a good man. Mary Ann had already forgiven him. She just wasn’t ready to talk to him about the past again. Losing her mother—a second time—was still too new, too fresh. But soon, she thought. Soon she’d have to tell him she forgave him. She was all he had and he did love her.

Riley hugged her tight, whispering, “Victoria bought you a present. Look under your bed.” With that, he untangled himself from her and moved toward the window.

When he was out of sight, she stood and peeked under her bed. There was a medium-size box with a red bow glued to the center. With trembling hands, she slid the cardboard over the carpet and flipped open the lid. When she saw what was inside, she couldn’t help but laugh.

Hopefully, the night would end with a smile, as well.

ADEN STOOD in front of his bedroom mirror, studying his reflection. He wore Victoria’s gift. A costume. He was a knight in shining armor. The chain mail was thin and light, so it didn’t weigh him down. It covered him from neck to ankle, only broken up where the pieces didn’t quite meet: his elbows, wrists, stomach and knees.

“How do I look?” he asked Shannon when the boy soared into the room.

“Great, but Dan’s never gonna l-let you go to the costume party. We have g-guest. This morning Mr. Sicamore unexpectedly decided to p-pack up and go on an extended vacation, but he recommended someone new. Apparently Dan liked the guy and hired him on the spot. Mrs. Reeves just got done cooking a big dinner for us, so we can all sit down and get to kn-know each other. Dan told me to gather everyone up and bring them over to the main house.”

Great.

Victoria will get you out of it, Elijah said.

He relaxed. Tonight he wasn’t going to worry about the witches’ meeting or losing Caleb. Tonight was about proving himself to Victoria’s father and setting her free from her stupid betrothal.

“Tell Dan I’m sick, that I caught what you had,” he pleaded. “Tell him you had to help me into bed.”

“If I’m caught lying…”

“You won’t be. Swear.”

Shannon hesitated only a moment more before nodding and taking off. In the hall, Aden could hear the other boys mumbling about the dinner, then their dragging footsteps, then the click of the main door as it shut. He stuffed some pillows under his covers to make it look like he was in bed and switched off all the lights. Where was Victoria? She should have been here by—

A clatter of rocks hit his window. Heartbeat picking up speed, he strode to the glass and peered out. Victoria stood a few feet away, the moon glowing around her. He caught his breath at the sight of her. There were more blue streaks in her hair, half piled on top of her head, the rest curling down her back. She wore a gown of blue velvet that hugged her chest and waist and flowed freely around her ankles. Her sandals showed off her glittery pink toenails.

A damsel in distress to his knight in shining armor, he thought with a grin.

He climbed out the window, surprisingly agile for someone in chain mail, and joined her. Usually she would kiss him in welcome, or he would kiss her, but they just stood peering at each other, unsure. Since her announcement about Dmitri, they had lost some of their ease with each other, and he didn’t like it.

Finally, he said, “You look beautiful.”

“Thank you. You look…edible.”

High praise, from a vampire. “Are you thirsty?”

She licked her lips. “For you? Always.”

“Then drink.”

Her gaze fell to his neck, and a deep longing entered her crystalline eyes. He’d fed her a lot this past week. “Not tonight. Tonight you need your strength. And mine,” she said, lifting the hand that bore that opal ring.

He held up his hands. “Do not cut yourself. I can’t stand to see you hurt.”

Take her up on the offer, Aden, Elijah said. Please. I have a feeling you’ll need it.

“Aden—” Victoria began.

“No,” he told them both. Even if he needed her strength to survive the night, he would not allow her to hurt herself like that.

Slowly she lowered her arm, her eyes narrowing. “I could force you, you know.”

“But you won’t,” he said confidently.

A moment passed. She gave a dejected sigh, the anger leaving her. “But I won’t. Not even for your own good.”

“Everything will be all right.” He hoped. He reached out and stroked her hair, the strands silky against his skin. “You’ll see.”

“Oh, Aden,” she said on a trembling breath. She rested her head on his shoulder. “I’m so afraid. For you, for us.”

He gave her the only reassurance he could. “I will never stop wanting you. We’ll find a way to be together.”

She wanted to believe him; he knew she did, but she gave no response. “So many things are going wrong, all at once. First the witches. Now a fairy is speaking with Dan,” she said, taking his hand and leading him to the main house. “Come. Let me show you.”

They reached the kitchen and he peered in through the window. Thankfully, it was dark outside and well lit inside, allowing him to see everything clearly without being seen himself. Dan was introducing the boys to a tall, muscled man with silver-white hair who had his back to Aden.

“That’s probably the new tutor.”

“Let me guess, the old tutor suddenly decided to relocate?”

“Yes. How did you know?”

“Standard operating procedure for a fairy. And with him inside, I can’t tell Dan to allow you to go to the party. The fairy would attack me and I would attack him, we wouldn’t be able to help ourselves. Our kinds hate each other too much. We would injure each other.”

“What does he want with Dan, do you think?”

“He probably followed your energy here. Though it’s likely he doesn’t know which of you boys has been summoning his kind, or why.”

“This is such a mess. I wish—” His voice cut off abruptly as the fairy turned, gazing over at the window.

Aden and Victoria ducked, but not before he’d gotten a glimpse of emerald-green eyes, a face so perfect angels were probably singing to celebrate its creation, and ears that were just a little pointed.

“Let’s go,” Victoria said.

“I can’t leave them with a fairy. I haven’t forgotten what you told me, that a fairy’s beauty hides its evil.”

“Fairies are evil. To vampires. As I told you before, they consider themselves protectors of mankind and vampires destroyers of it. That is why they hate us so.”

“So the boys will be safe?”

“Without a doubt. The only time a human has to worry is when a fairy thinks it’s being usurped. They value power above all things. And you, they won’t understand. You, they’ll consider a threat. But the others? No.”

Okay, then. Off they went, striding around the house and toward the road. Aden would deal with Dan later, if need be. “Is there anything I should know about your dad? Any customs or rituals that I could possibly ruin, thereby bringing a death sentence upon myself?” Like a stabbing, he thought, recalling Elijah’s vision.

She twirled a curl around her finger. “He is used to reverence, so bow when you are introduced to him. Do not speak to him unless he asks you a question, and do not look him directly in the eyes. That makes him feel challenged. Believe me, you do not want to challenge him. There is not a crueler living being on earth.”

Why was he attending this party again? “And the other vampires? What will they do?”

“Stick to my side. Never leave it. You will be viewed as my property and left alone.”

Up ahead, headlights flashed, ending their conversation.

Victoria increased her pace. “That’s Riley and Mary Ann.”

The car he soon found himself entering did not belong to Mary Ann’s father. It was black and sleek and sporty. A model he’d never seen before. Stolen? He and Victoria got in the very small backseat. As he moved back there, he was given a glimpse of Mary Ann’s costume. It was a red and white checkered dress that cut off at midthigh, complete with a long red cape and white high heels.

Riley, he noticed, wasn’t wearing a costume.

“Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf, I take it,” he said with a laugh. “Nice.”

On the drive to…wherever they were headed, he lost his amusement in favor of nervousness. Elijah’s doom and gloom mutterings didn’t help. So much depended on tonight. His life, his time with Victoria. What if he blew it all?

“Will the vampires try to drink from us?” Mary Ann asked.

“They shouldn’t, no,” Riley told her. “They will have their own meals.”

Blood-slaves?

All too soon, they pulled up to a towering monstrosity of a house. It was the only one in sight. Five stories, sprawling, consuming acre after acre, the windows painted black to match the brick. A wrought-iron fence creaked open, allowing them inside. Two wolves stood sentry as the car eased past.

“Wow. I know you said you lived at the edge of town, that your home was hidden and I probably hadn’t ever seen it, but I never expected this.” Mary Ann pressed her nose against the glass.

“We had to renovate it to suit our needs,” Riley said.

The moon seemed to shy away from the house, casting its rays elsewhere and leaving the place in total darkness. Because of the car’s headlights, he could see that there were no other cars present, and no one but wolves lingered outside. Were they the first to arrive?

“You ran back and forth between school and this place?” Aden asked. “Between the ranch and this place? Every day?”

“Kind of,” Victoria answered. “I’ve been working on my…teleporting skills. I think that’s what you humans call it. Moving from one place to another with only a thought. I’m getting better.”

Wait. What? She could teleport?

There wasn’t time to question her about it. The car stopped at the end of the drive and they emerged. The moment their doors slammed shut, the front doors to the house opened and a tall figure stepped out. Aden recognized the figure immediately and scowled. Dmitri. A red haze of fury clouded Aden’s vision.

He stepped in front of Victoria. Dmitri bared his teeth, the only sign he gave of his displeasure.

The vampire closed the distance between them. Victoria’s hand slipped into Aden’s, squeezed, and then she moved beside him.

“I’ve been waiting for you.” Dmitri leaned down for a kiss but she turned her head. His irritated gaze flicked to Aden. “I see you failed to heed my warning.”

“Father commanded his appearance, remember?”

And she had craved it. He would not allow himself to believe anything else. She wanted Aden, not Dmitri.

“I do,” the vampire said. “Which is why I thought you’d be interested in the night’s entertainment. Come.” He waved his hand and moved off, expecting them to follow.

They did, up the stairs and inside the house. Aden soon found himself standing in a foyer, surrounded by more wealth than he’d dreamed possible. A shiny white bench that looked as if it was made from Mrs. Reeves’s pearl necklace, Chinese wall decorations of gold and silver, and glass chests filled with colorful vases.

Victoria pulled him along, so he was only given the barest of glimpses. Mary Ann was just as stunned as he was, cranking her neck to gaze at the spacious entryway until the last possible second.

They didn’t climb the spiral staircase, but actually walked straight through the seemingly deserted house to the back door, French doubles that opened before Dmitri could touch them. Suddenly the scent of blood hung in the air, thick and metallic. Chattering voices drifted to his ears, but the words were spoken so quickly they reminded him of crickets chirping.

Dmitri stopped, not exiting the terrace. Twinkling lights were suspended from the trees—trees that flourished with bloodred roses. There was a large silver circle in the center of the yard, flat as the ground but cut into some kind of maze. No one stood upon it.

People were scattered throughout the immaculate lawn. Most of the women wore black robes and most of the men wore black shirts and pants. They drank from chalices, and swayed to a beat of sultry music whisping on the breeze. Those scantily dressed in white were clearly human. They offered their necks, arms, legs, whatever, whenever a vampire gestured them over.

Their eyes were glazed, their motions eager, as if they couldn’t wait to be bitten. Oh, yes. Blood-slaves.

“My apologies that there isn’t time for our two happy couples to dance,” Dmitri said, drawing Aden’s attention. “There’s too much to do, you see.”

“Where are my sisters?” Victoria demanded.

“I’ve had them confined to their rooms.”

She stiffened. “You can’t do that.”

“I can and did.” He didn’t give her time to respond. “So—is it? — Aden, what do you think of the hors d’oeuvres?” He pointed to the two tables at each side of the yard.

Aden followed the direction of his fingers and sucked in a breath. On one table lay Ozzie. He was clad in jeans but shirtless. He was also bound, motionless, gaze fixed straight ahead. Dead, Aden realized numbly. On the other table was Tucker, again shirtless with his jeans and bound, but still fighting and thrashing as a vampire drank from his wrist. He was gagged yet clearly screaming for help, his eyes bulging from strain. Unconcerned, the vampire continued slurping at him.

Mary Ann noticed, too, and gasped in horror. “What are you doing to him? Stop. Stop!” She tried to race forward but Riley retained a firm grip on her, his face grim.

Aden stepped forward, but Dmitri turned out to be his guard, holding out his arm, preventing him from moving a single inch. “The only way to remove a meal is to provide another. Would you like to offer your services, human?”

“How dare you.” Victoria’s fangs were bared and sharp, her eyes glowing pools of hatred. “You’ll pay for this. I’ll make sure of it. My father will not be amused.”

Dmitri whipped around, his own eyes glowing. “No, you’ll thank me for it, my little princess, for I have punished the enemies of your human friend. Doesn’t that make you happy?”

She raised her chin. “And after the party? What did you plan to do with the bodies? Call the human police and blame Aden, have him arrested? Out of my reach?”

“That is just an added bonus.”

“You disgusting piece of—”

Scowling, Dmitri slammed a fist into his upraised palm. “Do not speak to me so. I am your husband and I—”

“You aren’t my husband yet,” she shouted. The voices below them tapered to quiet. Heads turned. Attention fixed on them. “And if I have my way, you never will be.”

She wasn’t taking any crap; Aden wouldn’t, either. “You have no idea what you’ve done, Dmitri,” he said flatly. Julian couldn’t control his ability to raise the dead, which meant Ozzie wouldn’t stay dead much longer.

Even as the thought filled him, Ozzie sat up, dull eyes blinking, tongue flicking out hungrily.

“Oh, thank God. That boy is still alive,” Mary Ann cried, clearly relieved. “We have to save him.”

“It’s too late,” Aden told her, still without emotion. He couldn’t let himself feel. Not now. Not with what he was about to do. “He’s dead, even if he doesn’t look it. And there can be no saving him. Dmitri made sure of that.”