I heard a slight chuckle from behind him but I didn’t turn to see who it was. I didn’t need to, I already knew. I bit the inside of my cheek to stop myself from saying something foolish. I let go when I tasted blood.
“
Why do you bring her here?” No one said anything. “Kiera does not like for humans to come here. You of course are an exception,” he looked at me.
“
Damien we want you to change her,” Claudia finally spoke.
“
We need you to,” David added.
Damien’s eyes narrowed as he saw Nadia through their eyes. My heart took on a new rhythm. What if he didn’t change her? Suddenly my earlier worries about her changing fell away. It would be worse if she wasn’t changed. If she wasn’t changed, she would die.
Chapter Forty-Three
The shadows behind the opened door moved and Kiera appeared before us. I felt like I should bow to her but no one else did. “Don’t be silly,” she murmured softly, “I am not royalty.” Great, did that mean she could
all
my thoughts? That could get really annoying. “I am sorry if I annoy you my dear.” I’m sure my face turned every shade of red possible. Her lips twitched slightly but I couldn’t tell if she was smiling or not. Damien seemed to enjoy the exchange.
She turned her head to Damien, he turned to me, grinning widely. I pursed my lips and tried not to breathe too heavily. There were more important things at stake; I needed to keep my cool.
“
I will show you to your room now,” Kiera said kindly. Was she talking to me? “Everyone else knows where their rooms are.” Her eyes twinkled. “You and Nadia may share a room. I thought you would be more comfortable that way.” Nadia and I both took a step forward at the same time. We followed Kiera through the door and into the entranceway. I had never given much notice to houses before but Blakesly House was magnificent.
A beautiful wide staircase opened up in the middle of the floor. The others trailed behind us as we made our way up the steps. The silence of the house was broken by their laughter. At the top of the steps Kiera turned to go right, but the others went left. I paused.
“
Dominick will be just down that hall,” Kiera assured me. “Your rooms are down the east corridor.”
“
I don’t care where Dominick is going.” Did I?
I cringed when I heard his voice next to my ear. “Do you need anything Eva?”
“
No,” I managed to say.”
“
My room is the third door on the right if you need anything. I won’t leave before talking to you.”
No matter how hard I tried to deny it, my heart still sped up at the thought of him leaving. “Ok.” I still didn’t make eye contact.
Nadia’s face pinched up. “We’d best hurry. If I am not mistaken, Nadia will need to lie down, and soon.” Kiera’s warning came as a gentle caress.
I brought my eyes up slowly to meet the eyes of the man standing way too close to me. My heart nearly melted at what I saw there. For a suspended moment only the two of us existed. Without any thought I took a step towards him and put my hand against his chest.
“Eva.”
He said my name without moving his lips.
Nadia screamed out and fell to her knees, effectively breaking the spell. “Nadia!” I tried to help her to her feet but she couldn’t stand up. “I’ll carry you.” I was strong, strong enough to carry a small thing like Nadia, but she was flailing her arms and legs too much.
Marcus was there though. Seemingly out of thin air he was scooping her off the floor and darting down the hall. I looked once at Dominick who stood stoically by the wall. I saw the pain in his eyes but another scream had me running towards Nadia.
By the time I entered the large bedroom, Marcus already had Nadia laid out in one of the two beds. “It has to be now,” he said tensely.
“
Why?” I ran, wide-eyed, to her bed. “Is she dying?”
Claudia and Damien joined us in the room. “We knew the risks,” David spoke. “Kiera, she will die.”
“
I owe you much David.” She didn’t ask for anyone’s input. “You will have to change her yourself.”
“
Me?” He blanched white. “I can’t. She’d be a…it’s never been done.”
“
I’m sure it has,” Damien said from the doorway.
“
It doesn’t matter. No one else can do it; the bond would be too strong.”
Now that I had experienced the bond first-hand, I knew Kiera’s words rang true. David and Nadia’s love would not survive if she bonded with someone else. And since the other Letrell’s had mates, I inwardly groaned, David had to do it.
Everyone else in the room came to the same conclusion much faster than I did. By the time I finally figured everything out only David, Claudia, and I were left in the room. And Nadia of course. “Claudia will you take her out,” David asked without looking at me.
“
I want to stay.”
“
It would be better if you left.”
“
What if you need help?”
“
Eva, there is nothing you can do to help.”
“
I won’t go.”
“
Eva.” His voice took on a new tone, one that I recognized immediately. “You will go with Claudia and stay where you are told.” My body obeyed the command immediately; before my mind could protest.
“
Good luck,” Claudia whispered before she closed the door behind us.
***
Dominick found me later, trying to appear calm and collected. If someone had known me, they would see that I was anything but calm. I clasped my hands tightly in my lap until my knuckles were white. My feet were planted firmly on the ground and my jaw was clenched. I stared hard at the painting on the wall directly in front of me.
It was a beautiful painting really, and if I hadn’t been so distracted I might have fully enjoyed it. It was a picture of a castle, but a real castle, not like Blakesly House. Green fields rolled away from its walls in all directions.
“
Kiera painted that,” Dominick commented leisurely. He sat comfortably in one of the large chairs in the empty room as if he had been there all along. “It’s her first home.” His lips upturned softly.
“
It’s pretty.”
He regarded me thoughtfully for a moment. “The transformation is complete.” My head snapped up in attention. “They are both ok. Even as a fourth generation, it appears Nadia is very similar to David. A little weak,” he shrugged, “but strong enough.”
“
Are they still upstairs?”
“
They will be for a while yet.” He leaned forward in the chair, suddenly serious. “I want to talk to you.”
“
Ok.”
So quickly that my enhanced human eyes didn’t see it, he moved the chair so he could sit in front of me. I flinched back. “Do I repulse you?”
“
What?” My pulse quickened.
“
The fact is Eva,” he took my hand gently in his; “I love you. I have for a very long time.” I couldn’t say anything, but I kept my eyes guarded. “But,” he bit the inside of his cheek, “I like what I have become.”
“
A monster?” It was out before I could take it back.
His eyes remained soft though. “I like that people are afraid of me. That they know to obey me at once and to stay out of my way. I like that I don’t have to feel guilty for what I am.” He let go of my hand, leaving me oddly empty. I didn’t dwell on the feeling.
“
What I don’t like,” he continued with a slight edge in his voice, “is staying here, having Kiera know my intimate thoughts.”
“
Then everyone else knows too.”
“
Yes. I do not welcome the intrusion.” I could relate to that. I stopped myself before I could agree so whole heartily with Dominick Letrell. “I’m leaving Blakesly House.” A ringing started in my ears. “I want you to come with me, but I won’t force you. Will you come with me willingly?”
I felt my heart being ripped in two parts. Each jagged piece stabbed painfully. I saw Neleh in my head, which made everything worse. I realized Dominick was watching me, waiting for an answer. “No,” I choked out, “I want to stay here with David.”
His face registered the pain my words inflicted him with but he recovered faster than I could. He spoke quickly, his words running into each other but I barely heard anything he said. My own conflicting emotions swelled loudly in my ears. I hated myself for wanting him to stay.
“
So I’m not sure where this leaves us,” he slowed his words so they could slice through my fog. I looked up at his face, hoping my expression was blank. “I want you. You won’t admit that you want me too. I won’t force you to come with me. I won’t change you unless you ask me to. And I won’t stay here with you.”
I sucked in my breath and nodded quickly. “So I guess this means we’re breaking up,” I swallowed audibly.
“
Don’t be ridiculous my love.” If he wasn’t careful I was going to start crying. I didn’t dare to blink. “You belong to me Eva. It doesn’t matter where on the planet we are. I’ll come back to check on you and if you need anything at all…” I waited to hear what I knew he would say. “You are a Letrell now. My brothers will do anything for you.”
My tears almost spilled over then. I wasn’t a Letrell, I wasn’t. “When are you leaving?” My voice sounded normal enough, I was sure he wouldn’t notice how his words affected me.
“
My plane leaves in an hour.”
“
Ok.” Should I tell him to have a nice trip? Enjoy yourself?
“
You’ll be ok?”
“
Of course.” I didn’t need him for me to be ok.
He put his head into his hands and sighed loudly. “Oh Eva how I wish…” He stood up abruptly. Using his leg, without looking, he kicked the chair back into place. He bent low and pressed his warm lips against my forehead. “Until we meet again my love,” he whispered.
Then he was gone.
Little by little the jagged pieces of my heart shifted further, making me gasp. I bent forward until my head was resting on my knees. How could he affect me so much? Why did I want him to stay? He made me feel safe but I knew I could protect myself. He made me feel…feel…
I brought my head up slowly. That’s it. He made me feel. He made me feel angry and he irritated me, but I also felt loved and protected. I belonged to Dominick, just as much as he belonged to me.
I bolted out of my chair. I had to stop him from leaving. If I wasn’t already too late. I only made one wrong turn on my way to the front door. I nearly fell over Elizabeth, who was sitting on the front steps.
“
Whoa. Watch where you’re…” She turned to see who had run into her. “Eva? What’s wrong?” She was up in an instant. “Are you crying dear?”
“
Where is he? Has he already left?”
“
Who? David? He’s still up…”
“
No, not him. Dominick. Has he left?”
“
Yes. He’s been gone.”
“
Can he still hear us?” I was beginning to get desperate.
“
No, I haven’t been able to hear him for some time now.”
I slumped forward but Elizabeth caught me. I knew she hated human emotions even more than she hated humans but I couldn’t stop the sobs that racked my body. “Elizabeth I never got to tell him.” I clung tighter to her. “And now he’s gone.”
“
Tell him what? He’ll be back. In a few months I’m sure that…”
“
A few months?”
“
What do you need to tell him?”
“
That I love him.” Months. What had I done?
Chapter Forty-Four
David and Nadia stayed locked away for two days. I was sitting on the front steps waiting for Dominick when David came out to sit next to me.
“
Hey,” he nudged me playfully. I still wasn’t used to this new version of David.
“
Hey. How’s Nadia?”
His eyes lit up and he grinned. “She’s great.”
I rolled my eyes. “Do I get to see her today or will you keep her locked up again?”
He clicked his tongue. “She’s in the red parlor with Claudia right now.”
“
Good, I’ll go see her now.”
“
Eva.”
I sighed through my nose. “I know David,” I stopped him before he could start lecturing me about the evils of Dominick Letrell. “But he’s not as bad as Neleh said he was.”
“
I know Eva.” He squeezed my hand. “Nadia will be eager to see you.”
Was that David’s way of giving me permission to love Dominick Letrell? I hadn’t asked for his permission, but getting it was somehow a relief. I leaned my head on his shoulder. “Nadia is really lucky to have you.”
“
I couldn’t agree more,” Nadia replied happily from the doorway. She came to sit on my other side. “Eva, it’s good to see you,” she beamed her beautiful smile my way and wrapped her good arm around my waist.
“
Same at you.” I winked in an overly dramatic way that made us both laugh.
“
Did I ever thank you properly?”