A Shade of Vampire 27: A Web of Lies (6 page)

T
he dragons didn’t keep
us waiting long. They soon returned sporting a change of clothes.

Azaiah's eyes roamed the mountain. “So this is where your tribe lives?” he asked Bastien.

He nodded.

“It’s probably a good thing that you brought us along,” Regan said. “Extra protection and all… You don’t expect there to be any trouble though, do you?”

Bastien shook his head, his jaw clenching.

“For the time being, The Woodlands is at peace again,” I said.

Regan, surprisingly chatty, continued making light conversation until we arrived outside the mountain’s main entrance. Here, Bastien drew in a breath. He stepped forward and planted three knocks against the door, hard and in quick succession.

His Adam’s apple moved as he swallowed and stepped back.

Footsteps didn’t sound for several minutes. But when they did, they came loud and hurried. A bolt drew open, and the wooden doors parted. Standing in the doorway was an elderly gentleman. In human years, he looked perhaps seventy years old. His hair was white, his shoulders slightly hunched, and his tan skin was deeply lined.

His face immediately brightened when he laid eyes on Bastien, to my relief. It was nice to witness somebody greeting him with a genuine smile.

“Bastien, my lad! Where in The Woodlands have you been?” He moved forward and grabbed Bastien by the shoulders, pulling him into a firm embrace.

“I must tell you the whole story, Cecil,” Bastien said. “How are you?”

“Much better now that you have arrived on our doorstep!” he said cheerily, clapping Bastien on the back. “And who are your companions?” Cecil inquired.

“This is Victoria,” Bastien said, reaching for my hand and drawing me forward. “She is from The Shade—of Novak blood—and a very dear friend of mine.”

Cecil shook my hand warmly.

“And this is Regan,” Bastien continued, “Another noble lady of The Shade—she is half dragon, half human. Along with her valiant father, Azaiah—a full dragon.”

“Regan must be a rare breed indeed,” Cecil remarked, before shaking hands with her and her father, too.

“Cecil was my parents’ most trusted advisor, and most likely, the closest friend they ever had,” Bastien explained to us.

“A pleasure to make your acquaintance,” I said.

“Come in, come in! You must tell me everything that has happened since the hour you left. You must be in need of refreshments, also.”

Cecil led us through the entrance hall, along several corridors where more unfamiliar werewolves sprang from doorways and hurried to greet Bastien. They joined us in entering a large hall that appeared to be a lounge. Its stone floors were heavily clad with rugs, and cushioned seats were scattered about generously.

Bastien sat with me, Regan and Azaiah in the center, dozens of werewolves gathering around us. A woman who appeared to be in her thirties arrived carrying a tray containing four goblets and a jug filled with a vibrant purple-pink liquid.

“Oh, you must try this,” Bastien said, an unexpected excitement rising in his voice.

“What is it?” I wondered.

“Just try it.” He filled the four goblets and handed one to each of us, then picked up the fourth for himself. He watched me closely as I took the first sip. The drink was refreshingly cold, and as I swallowed the only way I could think to describe it was as… the best-tasting smoothie in the world. It tasted like it was made primarily of berries—the sweetest and most succulent I’d ever tasted.

Bastien grinned as he noted how much I enjoyed it, before he took a deep swig from his own cup.

“Dinner will be served later,” a second woman explained as she brought in another tray—filled with a mouthwatering array of berries and other exotic-looking fruits. The fragrance from the platter made my mouth water.

Bastien leaned back in his chair, and, after introducing Regan, Azaiah and me to the new werewolves who had joined us, he said, “Why don’t you tell me what you know first, so I know which gaps you are missing in the story.”

“We only learned of Detrius and Orion’s betrayal when packs of wolves arrived to inform us and slaughter them. You know about this?”

Bastien nodded. “I’m aware of my cousin and uncle’s treachery, and also the fact that they are dead. The justice that was served upon them was triggered by the good people of The Shade, in fact. Detrius would still be ruling over you now had it not been for them.”

“All of us were too much in shock to even suspect Detrius and Orion,” another male wolf spoke up. “Although we knew of their envy of your parents, we never could have dreamed that they would have become such traitorous, cold-blooded murderers.”

Bastien grimaced. “Since we both know of the event, let us turn to other matters.”

“Where did you go?”

“How did you escape?”

Two questions were shot at Bastien in unison.

Bastien explained patiently how the IBSI had decided not to murder him along with his family, and instead to take him back to their headquarters on Earth. He explained how we had met and his return to The Woodlands and everything that had happened up until we arrived outside the castle’s door just now. He did leave out details of how close the two of us had gotten, though he was sure to inform them that neither Brucella nor any of the Northstones were welcome in Blackhall territory anymore.

I was receiving a number of grateful glances by the time Bastien had finished, having been informed that I’d freed him. I felt rather uncomfortable at the attention, considering that Arwen was just as much his savior as I was.

Bastien glanced around the hall. “So were only my cousin and uncle found to be traitors in the investigation?”

“There were a few others too,” Cecil replied sadly, before proceeding to rattle off several names.

Bastien looked deeply disappointed.

“All of them helped with the cover-up,” Cecil went on, “taking advantage of our grief to pull the wool over our eyes. They’re no longer living either.”

A brief silence fell about the chamber, as perhaps many of us wondered the same thing:
What’s next?

I stopped eating berries and sat tensely at the edge of my seat.

“So, how have you been managing since the execution?” Bastien asked.

“Well,” Cecil replied, exchanging glances with two other younger wolves. “We are still in the process of organizing ourselves, but I suppose I have been the one calling the shots… trying to bring some order among us.” He smiled at Bastien. “But I’m oh-so-glad that you have returned. I fit the role of a leader much less than I do a counselor.” He let out a dry chuckle. “Not as young as I once was.” Cecil turned to one of the men. “Go fetch the crown,” he said. He addressed Bastien again as the man hurried out. “I retrieved it personally from your cousin’s head before he was executed.”

I recalled how Detrius had given the crown to Bastien when we’d visited. No doubt he’d taken it back the moment we left, and had planned to take it back after he’d killed Bastien during the night.

The man returned barely a minute later carrying the heavy object, and placed it atop Bastien’s head. Bastien looked regal with it on, though somehow, he didn’t look quite at ease beneath its weight.

“Worn like our true leader,” Cecil said fondly, and I could’ve sworn he had tears in the corners of his eyes as he gazed upon Bastien.

It seemed like, now that Bastien had returned, nobody here had even considered appointing anybody else as ruler. All eyes were on him, glistening with relief and expectation.

There go my hopes of Bastien returning to The Shade with me in a few days…
Still, it wasn’t the end of the world for us. Even if he remained here full time in his role as chieftain, we could still be together. The Woodlands was safer now than it was when the hunters had been here. I’d survive the next few days without problems, and that should put Bastien’s mind at ease regarding me staying even longer. He could appoint a second-in-command also so that he could still visit our island…

As I was mulling over the implications of Bastien’s rule, he stood and addressed his people. “Thank you all for remaining loyal to me and to my family.” He reached for his crown and held it in his hands. “I do not take this responsibility lightly. If any of you deem there is a more worthy leader among us, then do inform me.” He turned to Cecil and raised his brows.

Cecil shook his head, chuckling. “I believe I speak for every one of us when I say you are our choice.” He glanced around the large hall, which I realized had become even more packed as our discourse had progressed.

“Hear, hear,” dozens of voices called out, amidst clapping.

I didn’t miss the slight heave of Bastien’s chest before he replied in a booming voice, “Then if it is me and me alone whom you choose, I shall bear this crown with pride.”

B
astien spent
the remainder of the day catching up with his friends and well-wishers, as well as acclimatizing to the responsibilities he now had. Responsibilities laid on him for the first time in his life. I wasn’t sure if his parents had prepared him for the eventuality that he might have to rule. But he did not seem to have too much difficulty in wrapping his head around it. I supposed that he had watched his father in this alpha role for so many years, much of it came instinctively to him.

I felt rather useless and out of place, following him around like his shadow. Regan and Azaiah went off for a wander around the castle, but Bastien preferred that I stay within his sight.

But I didn’t mind the awkwardness. I needed to be his shadow right now while he found his feet back home. I shouldn’t be a distraction.

More than anything, I actually felt incredibly happy. Happy to see him accepted so fully. Happy to see that he had somewhere he belonged.

Everybody needed that, whoever they were. A place they could call home and feel safe. I was hoping that place would eventually be The Shade for him, but it didn’t matter all that much where it was, as long as he had somewhere.
And hopefully, somewhere we can still see each other.

By the evening, Bastien had talked to so many different people, and introduced me to all of them too, my mind was spinning with names. I was sure that it would take a good few days to remember who everyone was. Bastien also seemed rather emotionally drained from being surrounded by so many faces. So many voices. So much expectation and responsibility being dumped on him at once. He appeared just as ready as I was to retire after a hearty dinner.

He rose from his chair and bade good night to everyone—many of whom were on the verge of turning into wolves, as the sun had almost set. Then he left the dining hall with Regan, Azaiah and me. Bastien had already arranged for the dragons to have their own quarters—just a floor beneath his. We took them to their doors and wished them a good sleep. As their doors shut, Bastien and I were left alone. Tingles ran up my arm as he reached for my hand.

Our fingers twining, he led me to his apartment. Stepping inside, the place looked the same as I’d last seen it. A familiar, pleasant musky smell filled my nostrils and it felt cold, like before. As we padded along the thick rugs that lined the stone hallway and peered into each of the minimally furnished rooms, there was no sign of the struggle that had taken place the night Bastien and I had escaped.

We entered Bastien’s bedroom, where I spotted my suitcase by the bed, brought up earlier by one of the wolves. Bastien sat down on the double bed and pulled me to stand in front of him, in between his knees. He clasped both of my hands in his and gazed up at me through his thick, dark lashes.

“What are you thinking?” he asked in a low voice.

I shrugged. “Nothing in particular… It must feel good to be back, right?”

“Yes, I suppose,” Bastien replied slowly. “It’s good to see old faces, though…” His eyes wandered toward the dark fireplace in one corner of the room. “The castle does feel rather empty without my family.”

Uncertain of how to respond, I sat down next to him and slid my arms around his waist. I leaned my head against his shoulder and hugged him.

He stroked the back of my head before resting a hand over my hip.

“Are you tired?” he asked.

“A bit,” I confessed, even as I felt a yawn brewing at the back of my mouth.

Moving one arm beneath my knees, he wound the other around my midriff and picked me up before laying me down against the pillows. He crawled over me and dipped his head until our lips grazed each other. He closed his mouth around mine in a breathtaking kiss, groaning softly.

When our lips parted, he whispered, “Then let us sleep.”

“Okay,” I breathed, my cheeks flushing. The room felt rather warm all of a sudden.

I slipped out of bed and opened up my suitcase. I rummaged for my wash bag and nightie before heading to the bathroom. By the time I was out again about ten minutes later, a fire was crackling in the hearth. Bastien knelt before it on the rug, stoking it with a rod. He had changed into a pair of white cotton pants… and removed his shirt.

The room felt a lot warmer.

We headed to bed and slid beneath the covers. Our heads rested against pillows next to each other. I grazed my fingers over Bastien’s bare chest, my mouth feeling dry.

He nestled closer to me and we shared a long, slow kiss, even as his hands moved through my hair. Then I settled my cheek beneath the crook of his neck, the contours of our bodies slotting comfortably against each other.

He kissed the top of my head, while with his other hand he reached out to dim the bedside lantern.

“Good night, Victoria,” he whispered.

I held him tighter in a squeeze. “Good night,” I breathed.

Feeling the gentle heaving of Bastien’s chest beneath me and being enshrouded by his warmth, I felt as safe and protected as I did back home in The Shade. With the fire continuing to crackle in the background, I should have fallen asleep. But my mind was still alert.

I found myself playing over Bastien’s and my history in my head, right from the hour we’d first met. I recalled how, after we had been torn apart that fateful night when the hunters had arrived to storm Rock Hall, I’d had doubts about what Bastien and I had shared—if we had even shared anything. When I had returned to The Shade without him, I had feared that perhaps the attraction we’d felt for each other would have no lasting value. That it had been simply born out of our desperate circumstances, and once those went away, we’d find ourselves with not much in common. That the spark would be gone.

I smiled to myself now as I recalled all these fears. I couldn’t have been more wrong. Since Bastien and I had reunited, the pull I felt toward him had only grown stronger. The connection we’d formed ran far deeper than any external circumstances we might have been faced with.

Feeling so reassured as I lay in his arms, I found myself voicing for the first time what I sensed my heart had known for a much longer time.

“I love you, Bastien.”

He tensed suddenly beneath me. Then he reached for my chin. He tilted my head upward so that he could look directly into my eyes. The light from the fire played in his wintry irises as shadows danced across his face.

“What did you say?” he asked in a choked voice.

I couldn’t help but let out a giggle. Here was Bastien, a man with such acute hearing that he could probably hear a pin drop on the bottom floor of this castle, asking me what I’d said just a few inches away from his earlobes.

“You just want me to repeat it, don’t you?” I whispered.

A broad grin split his face as joy sparkled in his eyes. “Yes,” he confessed.

“I love you,” I mouthed.

His face lit up like a kid’s on Christmas Day. His eyes lowered to my lips and he moved in to kiss me passionately. He held me so tightly, it was an effort to breathe. Yet, at the same time, it felt like he couldn’t hold me tightly enough.

His lips finally withdrawing from mine, he pressed them against the tip of my nose and then against the center of my forehead before gazing down at me adoringly, like I was some kind of prized possession.

“I love you too, Victoria… my brave and beautiful
girl
friend.”