Chapter
20
“It is time.”
Drake glanced over his shoulder to find
his mother standing in the doorway. She looked as beautiful as
always. Sometimes it was hard to think of her as his mother, since
they appeared to be about the same age. Tonight, she wore a gown of
cloth-of-gold that made her pale skin glow and added shimmering
highlights to her long blond hair.
“Are you ready?” Liliana
asked.
Drake snorted. “I will never be
ready.”
She blew out an impatient breath. He
could see her gearing up for another argument, could almost see the
wheels turning as she sought for some way to make what must be done
more amenable.
He decided to save her the trouble.
Putting on his coat, he said, “Let us get it over
with.”
“It is for the best.” Liliana brushed
her hand over his coat, removing a miniscule bit of lint. “Katiya
will make you a good wife. She is lovely, well mannered, and will
provide the Coven with children.”
“How can you defend this way of life?”
He hadn’t meant to argue with her, but the words poured out of him,
coming hard and fast as his anger and frustration rose to the
surface. “I know there is no love between you and my sire. There
never has been. Yet you stay with him, and condemn me to the same
misery you have endured for centuries. Why?”
“We are vampires, Drake. The only way
you will ever find peace is to embrace what you are. No way of life
is perfect. Do you think all mortals find happiness in their
marriages?” She shook her head. “Happiness lies in family, in
tradition, in shared beliefs. I stay because my sons and daughters
are here, because this is my home.”
“This was never my home,” Drake said
bitterly. “It never will be.”
“I would spare you this, if I could.” A
sigh of regret whispered past Liliana’s lips. “Your bride
awaits.”
With a nod, Drake followed his mother
down the corridor to the Council chambers.
Weddings among his kind were not
romantic affairs. There was no music, no flowers, no guests other
than the bride and groom, their parents and siblings. As Master of
the Coven, Rodin would perform the ceremony.
Drake glanced briefly at his brothers
as he entered the chamber. Notable by their absence were Vardin,
Andrei, and Stefan. Earlier that evening, Vardin’s body had been
disposed of, the ashes buried in the small cemetery located in the
forest behind the Fortress. Drake assumed Andrei and Stefan were
still at Wolfram with Elena. He would have given everything he
owned to be there with her.
Liliana took her place beside Katiya’s
parents.
Drake took a deep breath. With Vardin’s
death, he had hoped for a reprieve, but he should have known
better. His people had no mourning period. They burned their dead
and never spoke their names again.
His last hope was that Katiya would
find the courage to defy her father’s wishes. If she refused to go
through with the ceremony, Rodin would have to accept her
decision.
Taking his place beside Katiya, Drake
reached for her hand. Her skin was cooler than usual. He could feel
her trembling. She didn’t look at him; instead, she stared at the
floor.
Rodin’s gaze moved over those assembled
in the room. “You have been called here to witness the union of
Drake Sherrad and Katiya Belova, here present. Drake, will you have
this woman to be your life mate, to care for her and protect her so
long as you shall live?”
Drake thought fleetingly of the nights
and days he had spent with Elena, of the love they had shared, the
light she had brought to his life, her willing acceptance of what
he was.
It was his undying love for her, the
very real fear that Rodin would make good on his threat to do Elena
harm, that made Drake say, “I will.”
“Katiya Belova,” Rodin said solemnly,
“will you have this man to be your life mate, to care for him and
bear his children?”
Drake held his breath as he waited for
her answer.
Katiya stared at Rodin and then at her
sire, her eyes wide and scared, like a doe caught in a trap. She
swallowed hard, then lowered her gaze and murmured, “I
will.”
Drake blew out a sigh of resignation.
There would be no reprieve.
Rodin pulled a small golden goblet from
inside his jacket and placed it on the table in front of him.
Taking Drake’s hand in his, he used his thumbnail to make a shallow
cut in Drake’s palm, then held Drake’s bleeding hand over the
goblet. He made a similar cut in Katiya’s hand, adding her blood to
the cup.
Lifting the goblet, Rodin offered it
first to Drake, who took a swallow, and then handed the cup to
Katiya. She closed her eyes, drank quickly, and returned the goblet
to Rodin.
“By the exchange of blood,” Rodin
intoned, “and by my authority as Master of the Carpathian Coven, I
hereby decree that from this night forward, Drake Sherrad and
Katiya Belova are life-mated.” Rodin embraced the bride and then
the groom. “May you be blessed with many healthy sons and
daughters.”
Drake endured his sire’s embrace in
taut silence; then, holding Katiya’s hand, he walked out of the
chamber, his back rigid.
One of the drones had moved Katiya’s
belongings into Drake’s quarters earlier that evening. His rooms,
once spare and uncluttered, were now littered with female
paraphernalia. Colorful pillows were scattered across the sofa.
Half the wardrobe held her dresses and shoes. Bottles of perfume,
sweet-smelling shampoo, brushes and combs occupied half the
countertop in the bathroom. Flowered towels hung on the rack beside
his own navy blue ones. He had seen a sheer black nightgown, most
likely bought by the bride’s mother, spread across the foot of his
bed. He grimaced at the memory.
Closing the door, Drake shrugged out of
his jacket and tossed it over a chair, then turned to face his
bride, his hands clenched at his sides. “Why did you not just say
no?” He bit off each word.
“I was going to—I wanted to, but I lost
my nerve when I saw my father watching me.”
Drake blew out an angry breath. Why was
life never easy? If she had just refused to accept him, he could be
on his way back to Wolfram Castle and the woman he
loved.
Dropping down into the chair in the
corner, he stretched his legs out in front of him and regarded his
new wife over his steepled fingers.
She stood in the middle of the living
room, looking lost, obviously as unhappy about their union as was
he.
So. He had kept his word. He had wed
Katiya. Elena was safely away from the Fortress. As far as he was
concerned, she was still his wife and always would be. Rodin might
have the power to perform weddings and proclaim annulments here, in
the Fortress, but that authority carried no legal weight in the
outside world. According to the laws of Transylvania, Elena was
still his wife. And would remain so, if he had anything to say
about it.
“What are we going to do now?” Katiya
asked.
A slow smile spread over Drake’s face.
“I have a plan. We are going to spend as much time as needed
pretending to fall in love. Once we have convinced Rodin that we
are happily married and have accepted things as they are, we are
going to leave the Fortress for a belated honeymoon.”
“Leave?” She shook her head. “I was
told you were going to take a seat on the Council.”
“One of the terms of my agreeing to
this marriage was that Rodin find another to take my seat in the
chamber.”
She considered that a moment before
asking, “How long must we pretend to be happily wed?”
“That, my dear unwanted bride, remains
to be seen.”
Elena had expected to be unhappy
without Drake, but she hadn’t expected to feel so empty inside, as
if someone had ripped out her heart and left a bleeding, gaping
wound behind. She couldn’t stop thinking about him, but she had
expected that, had known she would miss him, that she would grieve
for him almost as if he had died. She had expected that, too. It
was the depths of her misery that surprised her. She told herself
she hadn’t known him very long, that it wasn’t as if they had been
in love for years and years. And yet it felt as if she had lost a
vital part of her being.
Stefan and Andrei did their best to
cheer her up. And they were good company, but it was hard to be
around Drake’s brothers night after night. How was she supposed to
forget Drake when Andrei and Stefan looked so much like him, when
she was living in Drake’s house, sleeping in his bed? Maybe she
should move, but where would she go? And even as she considered it,
she knew she would never leave Wolfram Castle. She had no way to
get in touch with Drake. Her only hope of ever seeing him again was
to stay here in case he should one day decide to
return.
For once, Elena would have welcomed the
presence of the cat, but he was nowhere to be found.
One afternoon, needing a change of
scene, Elena decided to take the car and drive to the city. She
found the keys to the Porsche, grabbed her handbag and a sweater,
and left the castle.
What had seemed like a good idea faded
somewhat once she was behind the wheel. She knew how to drive a
stick shift. She had learned in school. But she had never driven
more than a few miles from home. So, she thought, switching on the
engine, this would be an adventure.
It was inevitable that thoughts of
Drake would fill her mind as she drove, ever so carefully, toward
the city. It was there she had learned the truth of what he was.
Funny, how unimportant that had seemed once she realized she was in
love with him. She wondered now what they would have done when she
grew old and he did not. Would he have stayed with her, taken care
of her until she passed away? Or would he have left her for someone
else when she became a burden?
Well, she would never know
now.
Arriving in town, she parked the car
and strolled along the sidewalk. Now that she was here, she had no
idea why she had come. When they first arrived at Wolfram, Andrei
had given her an envelope that contained more money than she had
ever seen.
“From Drake,” Andrei had told
her.
Drake. Just the mention of his name
made her heart ache with loneliness. He had once told her to make
any changes she wanted in the castle, but she liked it just the way
it was, although electricity would be a nice addition.
With a sigh, Elena continued down the
street. When she came to a store that sold housewares, she stepped
inside. An hour later, she had purchased a set of flowered china,
sets of silverware and glasses, and several new pots and pans. She
also bought a pretty blue cloth for the table in the kitchen, and a
pale green one for the trestle table in the main hall. It seemed
strange to be able to buy whatever she wanted without having to ask
permission or worry about the cost. After a clerk helped her carry
everything out to the car, she strolled on down the
street.
Passing by a bookstore, she stepped
inside and bought every vampire book she could find.
Elena was making her way back to the
Porsche when she saw her uncle step out of the hotel across the
street. With a gasp of alarm, she quickly turned to look in the
window behind her. Had he seen her? Heart pounding, she stared at
his reflection, breathed a sigh of relief when he moved on down the
street.
Hurrying to the car, Elena stowed
everything on the floor and the passenger seat, slid behind the
wheel, and drove for home as fast as she dared.
It wasn’t until the city was far behind
that she breathed a sigh of relief. She had been so lost in her own
misery, she had forgotten all about Dinescu. What was even worse,
she had forgotten about Jenica.
Drake knew it wouldn’t be easy to
convince his father that he had decided to make the best of things
where Katiya was concerned, so he took it slow, knowing that, if he
went too fast, Rodin would be suspicious. For the first few weeks,
he remained cool and aloof with his bride. He was polite when they
were in the presence of others. He treated her with respect, but
not affection. Only gradually, did he become more relaxed. He began
to smile at her. He held her hand. Once, he let Rodin catch him
kissing Katiya in one of the corridors.
Katiya played her part as well. In the
beginning, she made sure to let her mother know that she was not
pleased to have Drake as her husband, and that Drake was equally
unhappy at being forced to marry her and then, as time went on,
she, too, began to smile more often.
Six weeks after Drake married Katiya,
Andrei returned to the Fortress.
Drake sought him out the next night.
“Elena,” he said, “is she well?”
“She misses you, of course. She cries a
lot.” Andrei grinned. “She’s been reading vampire
books.”
“Vampire books!” Drake
exclaimed.
Andrei nodded. “None of them are close
to being accurate. She asks a lot of questions. And then she cries
some more.”
Cursing softly, Drake shook his head.
Why on earth was she reading vampire books? If she’d had questions,
she could have asked him, he thought irritably. But then, once she
had found out what he was, they hadn’t had a lot of time
alone.
“So, how are things going here?” Andrei
asked. “Is the plan we agreed upon working?”
“I believe so. Yes.”
“How is Katiya?”
“She worries a lot.”
“I cannot say as I blame
her.”
Drake grunted softly. “Rodin is hosting
a feast tonight for Marcos.”
“Why?”
“Marcos has taken over the Fortress in
England. He is coming here to propose a new treaty with
Rodin.”
“So, Marcos now rules the Fortresses in
England and Spain.”
Drake nodded. It was an old story.
Vampires lived a very long time. Often, when they grew bored, the
very old ones challenged each other for territory. Such fights were
always to the death. In the course of Rodin’s long existence, he
had defended the Carpathian Fortress over a dozen
times.
But Drake had other things on his mind
tonight. “Katiya is fully ripe. I am certain she will conceive
tonight. Once that is accomplished, there will be no reason for my
sire to insist we remain here.”
“And if Rodin still refuses to let you
leave?”
Drake clenched his hands at his sides.
“Pray that he doesn’t,” he said, his voice little more than a
hoarse whisper. “I cannot stand being here much
longer.”
The reception began at midnight. Marcos
and his entourage, apparently desiring to make a grand entrance,
arrived an hour later. Rodin took the stage to introduce his
guests, and everyone present came forward to pay their respects,
starting with Rodin’s sons.
When that was done, Drake took his
father aside.
“I hope you will not be offended,” he
said, “but Katiya and I desire to retire early.”
“Is something wrong?” Rodin asked, his
voice curt. “You have not yet danced with your bride.”
“The night is young, and we have
another dance in mind,” Drake said with a smile. “The woman is ripe
and willing, and I am eager.”
“Then go with my blessing!” Rodin said
exuberantly. “She will bear lusty sons and beautiful
daughters.”
“Of that I have no doubt,” Drake
replied.
Moments later, he took Katiya by the
hand. Smiling at each other, they hurried out of the ballroom, arm
in arm.