A Shade of Kiev 3 (11 page)

I
’d been anticipating
that anytime now, Annora or one of her comrades would notice Anna missing from the cells and alert Isolde.

The Novalics would be the prime suspects.

So as a matter of urgency I had to find somewhere safer to hide Anna. My room was the perfect place, because people were unlikely to venture into it for no reason. But it was also the prime target. I stalked up and down the room trying to rack my brains for some kind of solution.

The apartment wasn’t huge and there weren’t many hiding places. The cupboard spanning the entire length of one wall would have been perfect—it was more than big enough to hold her. It could have even fit me if I curled up my feet. But it was far too obvious a hiding place… But as I was staring at the wardrobe, a solution came to me.

I hurried upstairs and brought Erik down. He always had been good with woodwork.

“I want to section off the back part of this cupboard. Remove the back board, and cut this cupboard’s depth in half, say. That way, Anna can lie behind it. If you do it right, no witch will suspect anything is behind it on a cursory glance.”

He leant inside and knocked against the wood.

“Hm.” He looked at the wood. “Well, let me try to remove this…”

His voice trailed off as he began to run his claws around the edge of the board.

“It’s not fastened very tightly,” he muttered. “If you go down to the kitchen and bring me up some kind of long thin knife, and also some kind of utensil with a blunt end, I’ll have a go at this.”

I glanced over at Anna who was sleeping.

“I won’t harm her,” Erik said.

I rushed down to the kitchen and brought up as large of an array of utensils as I could find in my hurried search.

Erik began undoing the screws and then ran a knife around the edge of the wooden board. Slowly, inch by inch, he removed the entire board until it was loose enough to be pushed forward.

He stepped out and both of us pulled the entire wardrobe forward. I slipped round the back of it and pushed the board forward until I was sure that I’d left enough room for Anna to lie comfortably.

I also checked the front of the cupboard wouldn’t look odd in case it was opened. No, there was enough space to fill up with clothes.

Once Erik was sure that I was happy with his handiwork, he left Anna and I alone.

Although part of me felt guilty making Anna lie back there, it was the best I could do for her right now.

I
lay
in bed the morning after the ritual, feeling relieved that we’d found a hiding place for Anna. Mona and Rhys had attended the ritual for the first time in… I’d lost track of how long.

I had no idea where they’d gone, but wherever it was, clearly it had done something to Mona. The way she’d looked at me from across the flames, it was as though I was a complete stranger.

I’d thought this was just her way of distancing herself from me. But her eyes also appeared darker, or perhaps that was just the firelight playing tricks on my eyes.

A part of me wished that Mona hadn’t returned. Anna had taken my mind off of her recently. But now the discomfort I felt seeing her again returned full force. That ritual couldn’t have ended soon enough. As soon as it had, I’d shot right out of the cave.

I knew now that Anna had to spend as much time as possible behind that cupboard.

I still had no semblance of a long-term plan, and given that Anna was so close to childbirth, I was just taking things one day at a time.

I was fighting a losing battle. But it was a battle I was committed to fighting until the bitter end.

At least Anna had stopped vomiting and was able to stomach the simple meals I was concocting. Her fever was gone too, and she was much more lucid. Although there were still times when she appeared to drift off, she appeared to be recovering.

I’d done my best to make the cupboard soundproof by adding extra cushions and blankets. Though of course, there was only so much air we could block off or she’d suffocate.

As I lay in bed listening to her breathing, a thought that had been at the back of my mind ever since I’d first swept her out of that dungeon circled in my mind.

Why am I doing all this?

Why would I risk my life and the lives of my siblings for some woman I barely even know?

I shut my eyes and lay there for hours as I searched the deepest parts of me. I sat up only once I’d found my answer. Or at least what I believed to be the answer—for my own mind could be a confusing and treacherous place sometimes.

Memories of a pregnant Sofia flashed before my mind. The beautiful redhead kneeling before me, tears welling in her eyes as she begged me to allow her husband to be by her side during her pregnancy. Begging me to have mercy on her unborn children. The sadness in her eyes as I’d punished her for even mentioning Derek Novak’s name in my presence. The screams of her newborn as I’d snatched him minutes after his birth.

Somewhere deep within my black soul, I knew I was grasping at what had eluded me for centuries:
Redemption.

I
got
up early the next morning before Rhys had woken up. Untangling myself from him, I pulled on my cloak and left the room. I wanted a few hours to myself before I returned and gave him my answer.

I wandered aimlessly down the corridors, recalling the look on Rhys’ face as he asked me the question I was sure he’d wanted to ask for years now. He’d looked happier and more nervous than I’d ever seen him before. I imagined how he’d react once I finally said yes.

I stopped walking, realizing that I had arrived on Kiev Novalic’s floor. I absentmindedly placed my ear against his door as I passed it.

Silence.

Backing up against the wall, I slid down it and sat on the floor, staring at the wall opposite me.

I might as well do something useful.

Although I’d searched Kiev’s room and found nothing, something about him still left me suspicious.

“Mona?”

I found myself staring up at Efren.

“What are you doing up here so early?”

He eyed Kiev’s front door, frowning. He was still wearing his night clothes.

I stood up quickly, straightening my dress, and, remembering that he wasn’t to know anything about our suspicions yet, said, “It’s nothing, Efren. I was just taking a walk and decided to rest my legs.”

He looked at me disbelievingly.

“You know,” Efren said, placing a hand on my back and leading me away down the steps, “I’ve noticed Kiev behaving rather strangely recently. I caught him bringing up a tray to his bedroom. A tray that smelled suspiciously like normal food. I think he may be swiping humans from the dungeon and having more than his fair share of blood.”

He raised his eyebrows, then continued walking on his way, leaving me staring after him.

So there’s definitely something going on with this vampire.

Normal food.
There was only one place regular food was prepared and that was the main kitchen on the ground floor.

I decided to head down to the kitchen and wait. I wanted to see for myself what this vampire was getting up to.

I returned to Rhys’ room first to find him still sleeping. I walked over to the desk and scribbled down a note.

“I’ve got cause for new suspicions about the Novalics. I’ll be gone a few hours investigating. I’ll return as soon as I can.”

I placed the note on my pillow, knowing that it would be the first thing he looked at when he woke.

C
overed by an invisibility spell
, I’d been sitting in a corner of the kitchen for a couple of hours before the vampire walked in. He made his way over to the pantry and returned with a handful of vegetables. Clearly he’d timed his arrival just before the cooks came in to begin preparing lunch.

I watched as he worked with furious speed, chopping the vegetables into small pieces. He boiled them, mixed them with milk in a bowl, then poured out the finished liquid into a bowl. Placing it on top of a tray along with a large jug of water, he rushed out of the room.

I vanished myself from the spot and reappeared in his corridor in time to see him come running up. He opened his door and slammed it shut.

I placed my ear against his door once again.

Heavy furniture scraped against the floor. And then came the sound of a voice I’d been expecting to hear all along.

A soft female voice said, “Thank you.”

I breathed in deeply, thinking carefully about what my next move should be.

She was still alive. That was a relief. Now I needed to get her out of there as soon as possible.

I decided to just do this myself. Still invisible, I appeared on the other side of his door. I crept along the hallway to see the cupboard pulled out from the wall, a pregnant woman sitting behind it as she sipped from a bowl.

My breathing became heavier as I prepared myself for what I was about to do.

I manifested myself.

The vampire shot to his feet, his eyes wide with shock. The human choked on her meal.

“Mona?”

“Novalic,” I said coldly. “This game is over. I’ve come for the immune. And I suggest you don’t fight. It will only make things worse for you and your siblings.”

I moved toward the human, but Kiev ran in front of her. There was no way I could reach her without dealing with him.

He towered over me, glaring down at me. Again, I experienced that unnerved feeling that settled over me whenever I was around him.

“What happened to you?” he asked softly.

“What are you talking about?” I snapped. “Get out of the way.”

“You don’t remember me at all, do you?” His eyes darkened.

“I barely know you. I believe I was introduced to you briefly once—”

He lunged forward and brought me crashing to the floor. His full weight was over me as he pinned me down by my wrists.

As I was about to wield my powers, I froze, staring up at him. His eyes had turned red.

I couldn’t fathom why, but watching that green give way to such a frightening red filled me with an overwhelming sense of loss. The sight left me more breathless than his weight crushing against me ever could.

It was like a fire I didn’t know still existed within me being extinguished. A candle being snuffed out.

“Your eyes,” I choked.

He continued glaring down at me, one hand closing around my throat. His claws scratched against my skin. He could rip through my throat in a split second, but I didn’t fight back.

And I didn’t understand why.

It was as if his change of color had made me lose all will to fight.

I caught the reflection of my own dark eyes in his crimson irises. And I remembered a time when mine had appeared brighter too.

I realized then that the sense of loss I felt was for myself.

I’ve lost something.

Who was I before I surrendered to the Ancient?

Why did I ever allow myself to sink into such darkness?

I found myself questioning everything I’d done since my visit to the Ancient, and suddenly it felt like it wasn’t me who’d done these things.

What am I doing with my life?

I’ve lost my way.

And I think I even expected that this would happen the moment I handed myself over to Rhys.

I reached my hands up and wrapped them around Kiev’s, trying to loosen his hold on me. Again, although I could have used my powers, I didn’t.

The vampire seemed surprised that I wasn’t attempting to fight back, and loosened his hold around my neck, though he still sat with his legs either side of my waist.

His eyes didn’t leave mine for a moment.

What was it that I made myself forget before?

I remembered the morning after I had taken the potion. I had woken up with tears staining my cheeks.

Could it have been this man?

I thought of Rhys, memories of his proposal the night before flooding back through my mind. The knots in my stomach became tighter. More painful.

Suddenly everything about the path I was on seemed wrong. Forced. I felt trapped by my own actions. Bound up in rope. Needing desperately to be cut free.

Just thinking about marrying Rhys now made me feel sick to my stomach.

That is not my life.

Rhys’ wife is not what I am.

“I knew you before, didn’t I?” I breathed, staring up at the vampire.

He frowned, then nodded slowly, his red eyes gleaming against the embers in the fireplace.

He stood up. I climbed back to my feet and gripped his shirt, staring up into his eyes desperately.

“What am I?”

His jaw clenched as he tensed beneath my touch.

He gripped my hands and loosened my hold on him, taking a step away from me.

“I don’t know what you are. I don’t think I’ve ever known.” He swallowed hard.

“Please,” I breathed. “Help me.”

His breathing became heavier. His fists clenched.

“You’re the most impossible woman I’ve ever met. Stubborn. Aggravating. Downright insane… Yet you’ve lodged yourself in my brain like no other. And I have no idea why.”

“I loved you?”

He scowled. “You had a strange way of showing it if you did.”

“I loved you,” I repeated. And this time, it wasn’t a question.

He stared at me.

I closed my eyes. How I was sure of such a statement when I had no memories of this man, I didn’t know. But I’d never been more certain of anything in my life.

He stood there speechless. I walked toward him and reached up a hand to touch his face. I brushed my fingers against his stubble, my breath hitching as I relished the feel of him.

When I looked up again, I was staring into emerald green eyes. Several shades brighter than I’d ever seen them before.

At that moment, my heart sang. My chest felt lighter. Hope filled my dark soul. And then came the memories. Flooding back in waves. Filling my clouded mind with the ecstasy, the bright sunshine, that Kiev was to me.

“I remember you now,” I whispered, placing a palm against his chest, over his heart. “You’re my mirror.”