Ageless (9 page)

Violet stiffened. “You think that
he was one of my ancestors?”

“I know he was one of your
ancestors,” Jeremiah said.

“How?”

“You heard me remind Pamela and
Gregory that the Ward and Montrose families lived peaceably side by
side for hundreds of years. Well, that all ended when I did
something that Bruckhart Ward could never forgive.”

Violet trembled. “Which
was?”

Jeremiah stepped closer to her.
“Are you cold?”

It wasn’t a chill in the air that
was making her skin tingle. She shook her head. Then he seemed to
understand and he smiled down at her. It was a dazzling smile and
it warmed her even more.

“I fell in love with Bruckhart’s
daughter.”

The idea that Jeremiah had loved
anyone else felt like a blow, even if it was a thousand years ago.
“Well, if everyone was so buddy buddy, I don’t understand why that
would be a big deal,” Violet said. She gulped as it seemed like
Jeremiah was inching closer.

He chuckled but then his face
turned solemn. “Bruckhart did not wish for his daughter to be
condemned to live a life like mine. So when we tried to run away so
that I could take her to another witch who was going to make her
immortal, Bruckhart was so angry that he cursed all of my kind. He
swore that he would hunt all of us down and kill us.”

“Harsh,” Violet said. She blinked.
“So what happened to her?”

“She died,” Jeremiah said quickly.
“Not long after Bruckhart’s curse took full effect on me. Don’t
forget, she was mortal.”

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Violet
said.

Jeremiah caught a wisp of her hair
that had gotten free and tucked it back behind her ear. “It was a
long time ago and I’ve moved on. I loved Rose deeply once and I
will always honor her memory. But that was another time and another
place. You are what matters to me now, Violet. But you wanted to
know how I know that you are a Ward descendant?”

Violet nodded again.

“You look just like
her.”

Every time Violet thought she
couldn’t be more surprised, she learned some new information that
knocked her flat again. She knew that it couldn’t be a good thing
to be a living, breathing reminder of a vampire’s long dead
girlfriend.

“So, what? You think I’m Rose
reincarnated or something?” she asked.

“You may look like her, but you are
so much more than Rose was,” Jeremiah said. “You are intelligent,
inquisitive, and skeptical. You care deeply about the people that
matter to you. And you are willing to help those in need, even if
it means putting yourself at risk; all admirable qualities. I’m
afraid Rose would have been one of those fainting girls I mentioned
earlier,” he said with a wry smile.

“Then why did you love her?” Violet
didn’t want to care about his answer, but she did.

“I was young and she was beautiful.
She was charming and full of life, but what I didn’t find out until
later was that she lived in fear of her father and that meant that
she would do or say anything to get away from him,” Jeremiah said.
“I didn’t find out until after she was gone that my affections
weren’t the only ones she was courting.”

Violet felt awful for him. There was still a residue
of pain in his voice, and she found her hand reaching out to touch
his arm.

He looked down at her hand and then
his eyes rose to hers. She felt her breath coming in shallow gulps.
When his head dipped toward hers, she knew that she should stop
whatever was about to happen, but she didn’t want to.

Then the door to the ballroom
opened up and she heard Jonah’s voice. “Jeremiah, you’d better get
in here.” Violet backed away from Jeremiah, feeling like a cold
splash had just hit her skin. She looked away from him but found
that couldn’t meet Jonah’s eyes either.

“What is it?” Jeremiah
growled.

“We’ve got some gatecrashers.”
Jonah’s voice was tense.

“Who?” Jeremiah’s voice boomed
across the patio.

“Elysa,” was the clipped
reply.

“Dammit,” Jeremiah said. He moved
quickly to the doorway. “Don’t let her out of your sight,” he said,
motioning at Violet. Then he slipped through the door and into the
crowd of people.

Jonah stepped out on the patio.
“You all right out here? You disappeared on me.”

Violet shook her head. She felt hot tears in the
corner of her eyes. It was all too much to take in.

Jonah crossed to her quickly and
leaned against the railing next to her. “He’s a bit of a handful.
I’m sorry.”

Violet realized that he was talking
about Jeremiah, and that he thought her reaction was because of
him. “Oh, no. I’m just feeling like a fish out of water. Vampires,
warlocks, immortality. This is all still new to me.”

“He didn’t push himself on you, did
he?” There was a current of anger just beneath Jonah’s words. He
was staring out at the yard, but Violet could see his jaw working
in the moonlight.

“No, of course not,” she
said.

Jonah’s shoulders drooped slightly,
and she wondered if he had been hoping that she would say that
Jeremiah had been too forward. She felt like a cat toy on a string,
and regardless of the attention that both brothers were directing
toward her she didn’t want to be the reason for tension between
them.

“Who’s Elysa?” she asked, trying to
change the subject.

“Jeremiah’s ex,” Jonah said with a
grimace.

“Geez, how many exes does that guy
have?” Violet said, feeling completely out of sorts.

Jeremiah looked at her strangely.
“Elysa was way more into Jeremiah than he was into her, so when he
broke things off with her, you could say she didn’t take kindly to
it. Lately, though, it’s more the fact that she’s been trying to
oust him and the whole Montrose coven from power that’s really
driven the wedge between them,” Jonah said with a sigh. “You know
that saying about hell hath no fury like a woman scorned? Pretty
sure it was about Elysa.”

“Why do you think she’s here?”
Violet asked. Then she realized she may already know the
answer.

“Let’s get you back inside where
it’s warmer,” Jonah said, avoiding the question. As they stepped
back into the room, Violet became aware of how eerily quiet it was.
The music had stopped, and the dance floor was empty. This time, no
one noticed her and Jonah’s entrance. All eyes were on the
foyer.

If Violet had thought that Pamela
was stunning, she paled in comparison to the tall woman standing
almost toe to toe with Jeremiah in the foyer. The woman who could
only be Elysa had hair that was white blond and pulled back into a
high ponytail that accentuated her high cheekbones. Violet could
see even from that distance that Elysa’s eyes were brilliant
ice-cold blue. She wore a skin-tight leather bustier and matching
leather pants that hugged her voluptuous curves and made Violet
feel like she hadn’t even hit puberty yet. Spiked black heels
completed Elysa’s outfit and gave her just enough height that her
eyes were in line with Jeremiah’s.

Although Violet couldn’t see
Jeremiah’s face clearly, she could see by his stance that he was
tense.

“It’s been a long time, Elysa.” His
voice was low but held the commanding tone that Violet was coming
to recognize.

“Too long,” Elysa said with a catty
smile. Violet could hear them as clearly as if she was standing
right next to them. “I understand you’ve acquired a new toy,
Jeremiah. It’s just like you to not want to share with the rest of
us.”

Violet was shocked. She was pretty
sure that that woman was pouting. What kind of person made a grand,
unwelcome entrance, and then acted like a sullen child in front of
so many people? Jonah had made it sound like Elysa was a badass,
but all Violet saw so far was just a woman acting out trying to get
attention.

“Elysa, you could have called if
you were interested in a meeting,” Jeremiah said. His tone was cold
and formal. “As you can see, I have guests at the
moment.”

Elysa threw back her head and laughed. Her ponytail
swished in the air against her back. Then her gaze returned to
Jeremiah and Violet saw the first glimmer of what Jonah had been
talking about. Elysa looked ready to pounce.

“A meeting? Oh, Jeremiah. How you
live in the past. It won’t be too long before you are requesting a
meeting with me,” Elysa said. Her voice was steel wrapped in
velvet. Her eyes skimmed the crowd, and Violet felt the moment
Elysa’s ice-blue eyes landed on her. She stiffened and felt Jonah
slip an arm around her. “Ah. I can see why she would have grabbed
your attention. So if the rumors are true, she’s a Ward, isn’t she?
How comforting for you.”

“I think it’s time for you to
leave, Elysa,” Jeremiah said. “I would be happy to discuss the
terms of Coven Rataway’s peace treaty at another time. But this is
not the time or the place.”

“You know I’m always game for a
good party,” Elysa said, and then smiled widely. “But if you
insist, I will go.” She started to turn and then spun back, no
doubt for full dramatic effect. “Two things though. First, if you
think for one second my coven is going to sign a peace treaty with
yours and be under the Montrose thumb, you are quite mistaken.
Secondly, I will be taking the Ward descendant with me.”

Everyone in the room gasped, and
Jonah’s arm tightened around her waist as the words sunk in.
Violet’s mind was racing. Two warring vampire factions were going
to start fighting. Over her. It seemed completely
surreal.

“Violet will not be going anywhere
with you.” It sounded like Jeremiah was chewing on rocks. “She is a
guest in my home and will remain so for the time being.”

Elysa laughed again, but this time
it was a hard chuckle. “Always so arrogant, Jeremiah. So you are
saying that you have permission to keep her here?”

“Violet is my guest,” Jeremiah
repeated.

Elysa cocked her hip forward and
rested her elbow there as she clicked one of her fingernails
against her teeth. “Well, if that’s the case, you don’t mind if I
ask her then, do you? I mean, I’m sure everyone here would like to
hear for themselves that this girl has actually agreed to be part
of your cause, right?”

The trap had been set neatly. Violet felt all eyes
swing back on her, and she felt helpless. To admit that she was
being held against her will would mean that this vengeful woman
could take her. To admit that she was there willingly ensured that
she would be committed to helping whatever crazy plot that Jeremiah
had concocted.

“Jonah,” Jeremiah called out,
although he didn’t turn around. “Bring Ms. Ward to meet
Elysa.”

Violet looked at Jonah and saw he
wore a grim expression. No doubt he had reached the same conclusion
she had, and now everyone’s fate seemed to rest in her hands. She
didn’t want that responsibility. She just wanted to go home, which
seemed further away than ever.

Chin up, she allowed Jonah to lead
her across the dance floor. All too soon, she stood facing Elysa up
close. She could smell cloves and mint, and the effect of being in
such close proximity to her rankled Violet’s nerves. She had
misjudged her. Elysa may be a woman scorned, but she was a woman on
a vendetta. Violet felt the warmth of the two men on either side of
her. They had scared her with their ancient folklore. But with as
much as they had thrown at her, she was drawn to them whether she
liked it or not.

“Aren’t you just cute as a button?”
Elysa said with narrowed eyes as she looked her up and
down.

“My name is Violet. Violet Swanson
Ward,” Violet said. She was proud that her voice didn’t waver once.
“Pleasure to meet you.”

“Well, Violet, we’re all dying to
know, what brings you to the Montrose home? How long are you
planning to stay?” Elysa asked, acting as if they were old
girlfriends. Violet wanted to throw something at her.

The moment of truth had arrived.
Although she didn’t know the consequences of her answer yet, the
words felt right. “My family has a long history with the Montrose
coven, as I’m sure you are aware. I will be staying as long as
Jeremiah needs my assistance.”

She saw the shoulders of both men
next to her relax ever so slightly. She smiled triumphantly. But it
faltered when she saw Elysa’s own smile in return. A smile that
said she had something up her sleeve.

“How old are you, Violet?” Elysa
asked too casually.

“I’ll be eighteen in three days,”
Violet said. The words were still ringing in the air as the front
doors opened, revealing two figures standing just outside. She
gasped. Her grandparents entered the room and walked to Elysa’s
side.

“Jeremiah, I believe you’ve met
Nicholas and Riveka Swanson. Nicholas’s grandfather changed their
name from
Ward
when they migrated to the States. They are Violet’s
grandparents,” Elysa said.

“Violet, we were so worried about
you,” her grandmother said as she crossed the few feet between them
and pulled Violet into her arms for a tight hug.

Riveka had never hugged Violet
before, not even on the day of her parents’ funeral. The gesture
was so awkward and foreign that Violet didn’t know what to do. She
caught her grandfather’s gaze over her grandmother’s shoulder. He
had a strong look of disapproval on his face. That look pierced her
heart. Whereas her grandmother had always been cold and distant,
her grandfather had always been warm and kind.