Indulge (7 page)

A giant question mark sprung onto my face and Leona laughed whimsically. “Not an actual tear. Of course, the priests would never admit that.” Her smile was as mischievous as a young girl who knew a secret. “It’s really just water that the priests bless.”

“Oh.” I was a little disappointed with the revealed information. Sure, I knew it was incredibly unlikely that they had tiny vials of real Goddess tears, but it was a fantastical thought.

“Don’t look so disappointed, Claire,” my mother said. She draped my hair behind my ear with a finger allowing her to see my face fully. “Remember, it is the intent behind the act. The priests bless the water because they follow Nyx; the Blood Guard, or Blood Mate in your case, drink the blood because they want to serve Nyx and her creations and the vampires offer their blood so that others may follow Nyx as they choose. Do you understand?”

It was confusing, but made sense all at the same time. I nodded. “It’s like a circle. Without my blood, Arrick might not have been able to become a Guard… I mean Mate. And without priests to worship, follow and teach of Nyx, no one would know about her?” I hated always mixing up his title and decided that, to me, he would always be both.

“You’re getting it.” My mother and Leona both smiled. I couldn’t fight their positive energy and smiled with them.

“I am proud of you, Claire. I know it’s hard to deal with everything that has happened and I can still see the hurt and anger in your eyes. Ana may be a young vampire, but she still is quite old and you defeated her. In fact you held your ground against two Vampires. That is very impressive.”

Her words were comforting, but squelched the temporary relief I had felt. A picture of Luka, lying on my bedroom floor, blood pooling around him flashed in my mind. As much as I hated him, I didn’t want to remember him like that. And I didn’t want Dmitry to remember him like that either. I hoped that someday he would forgive me.

“I didn’t defeat her though,” I said. “Arrick didn’t see her when he looked over the balcony.” Anger burned beneath the surface, but Arrick’s sudden grip on my hand quickly cooled it. I didn’t know what I would do without him.

“In my book, you are victorious.” My mother pulled me into a small hug and guided me out of the room. Arrick and Leona following behind in whispered conversation.

“You proved to her that you will not go down easily. You are stronger than she or you even think you are, and that is a good thing, Claire.”

It was comforting to hear words of encouragement from her. I did my best to clear my head and let my nerves unwind. I wasn’t alone in this. I had a family and friends to protect me, and it felt good.

“Are you hungry?” my mother asked as we walked through an archway into a large dining room.

“Starving.”

We seated ourselves and my father, followed by the Blood Guard, quickly joined us. The conversation was much lighter now, everyone talking about the customs of the region, or locations in the city with exceptional beauty that I should visit immediately.

“You must take her to the temple, Arrick. She will love it there.” Leona smiled at me.

“I plan on it. I’ve already taken her to the gardens and she loved it. Right, Claire?”

“Yes, they are beautiful.” I wished I could go hide in the gardens that very moment. I was so tired and didn’t feel like talking to anyone for the rest of the night.

“They are my favorite place,” my mother winked at me and raised her hand to have dinner served.

Several golden platters were carried in by hooded servants. They smiled widely as they served us, lifting the lids from atop the dishes after placing them delicately on the table. I always felt the human servants at Palace Noire were so skittish. It was nice to see how comfortable they were here.

I wasn’t sure what I was expecting for dinner. My meals at Palace Noire were all served in little silver goblets, but what sat before me made a small gasp escape me. A petite porcelain bowl sat delicately before me, its edges painted in a golden leaf design. “What is it?” I knew it was blood of course, but I had never seen it served in such a way.

“It’s been infused with almond oil. It’s one of your father’s favorite dishes.”

Sure enough, my father was looking hungrily at his bowl, but he waited patiently for everyone to be served. Arrick and the Blood Guard were brought plates matching the design on the bowl, each topped with a mountainous salad and large grilled fish, steaming and oozing juices. It was cooked perfectly.

When everyone was served, I expected the feast to begin. In fact, my stomach growled loudly in anticipation but it was disappointed. My father rose first, everyone else following his lead. I stood up last, unsure of what was going on. We all joined hands and bowed our heads, my father clearing his voice. I caught him stealing a glance at me with a smirk on his face and then closed my eyes with everyone else.

A giddy sensation crept through my heart, warming it as I held hands with my mother on one side, and Leona on the other. I knew exactly what we were doing and it was so traditional, I felt like I was having my first formal family dinner for the first time in my life.

“Tonight we have one very special thing to be grateful for. A miracle and a dream that Nyx has blessed us with. The homecoming of our daughter, Claire. I have never been more happy since the night she was born. To Claire!”

Everyone raised their glasses, turning toward me, smiles on their faces. Yet the hairs on the back of my neck were standing on end. Something didn’t feel right. I scanned the room, everyone looked genuinely happy. Was I just being paranoid?

No, it was just my nerves. I was finally where I belonged, surrounded by my family. Nothing in my life had ever been this right before.

I spent the next week exploring the Château and Naos. Arrick spent most of his time with the Blood Guard and my father, making their plans for what they would do. For a region that was preparing for war it was completely peaceful. I guess it made sense; telling the citizens would only cause mass hysteria. No point in causing everyone to go running in the streets, fearing for their lives.

Some days my mother would join me in the gardens and talk to me about, well, about everything. She mostly wanted to know about my life. I told her how I grew up and about Liz. She could easily sense how much I missed my old life. I promised her that I was happy to be home and it was the truth.

I wanted to ask her about bringing Robin, Dmitry and even Liz to come live here in Naos, but the timing wasn’t right. Plus, I was afraid to ask. I didn’t think it would upset her, but I was frightened of hearing the word no. Holding back the question meant I could hold onto the hope that she could someday say yes.

Walking past the meeting room where the others were strategizing for the war, I saw how heated it was becoming. They had better come to a decision soon; I didn’t think that Ana or The Dark were going to be very patient. News that I was not longer at the palace must have definitely broke by now. All they needed to figure out was if I was their first target or if Nicolae was.

It was hard for me to visualize the threat. All I could picture in my mind was Ana’s face covered in my blood. If The Dark were any worse than her, which I was certain they were, then we were all in big trouble.

“I’ll go. I know the city and the palace layout,” Arrick said confidently.

Over the past week, scouts had been sent out to figure out the state of the Noire region and to locate Ana. They had failed.

“You will be a walking target, Arrick. Just because the city is running normally, doesn’t mean every vampire in that region isn’t aware of what’s going on. It will only take one of them to see you. Just one!” Jarvan shouted.

“No one will see me. I swear it,” Arrick protested and looked to my father for his approval.

“He’s right.” I hadn’t meant to interrupt, but I believed in Arrick. He had been my guardian my whole life; now it was time I paid him back somehow.

I stood by his side, pushing back the tingle in my gut as our hands brushed, and raised myself to my full height. “He has experience in the region and I trust him. Arrick will be the one to go. If you must” I looked to Jarvan with anger boiling inside me, “then someone will go with him.”

My father’s smile peeked from within his beard, but quickly vanished when Jarvan turned his way. “We must handle this delicately, your majesty,” he said. “If anything goes wrong, we could turn the eye of evil unto us.”

“That’s enough. We have debated long enough. Some of you have seen the dark ages, as have I. I understand your resistance, but doing nothing, only invites war to our doorstep. We are a region of peace, but peace must be maintained.” Jarvan opened his mouth to protest, but my father slammed his heavy fist onto the table to silence him. “Arrick will go and get as much information as he can.”

A few heads in the room nodded in agreement. I was glad. It appeared that Jarvan was the only one that didn’t agree. I might have been born in this region, but I didn’t share the stand by and watch ideals that Jarvan seemed to desperately cling to. I had a hinting suspicion my father felt the same. Sure, we both favored peace. So far, I thought Naos was the perfect place to live, but there was no way in hell I would let anyone threaten it in any way. The Dark may not have done so directly, but if they gained the power they wanted by taking Nicolae’s throne it would only be a matter of time.

As everyone filed out of the room, I stayed behind. “Are you sure you want to go back?” I wanted to hear the words directly from his mouth. It was going to be very dangerous and I guess I was worried about him.

“Without a doubt.”

Something about him had changed since we had been in Naos. Being back home had made him more confident, more focused, making him all the more attractive. I imagined that bringing me home safely had earned him a lot of respect, not from Jarvan obviously, but definitely from everyone else. From me too. I didn’t think I was just a job to Arrick. At least I hoped I wasn’t because I didn’t want to be.

My father approached, “How soon can you be ready?” he asked, locking arms with Arrick in a show of respect. For the first time I truly saw Arrick for the warrior he was.

“Tomorrow night.”

“Good. You have three days. Learn as much as you can and get out. Do you understand?”

“Three days?” I said, surprised. It took us nearly that long just to get here. How did he expect him to get there, investigate and return in such little time?

“It’s more than enough time,” Arrick said. “Don’t worry, Claire. I am fast.” He winked at me. I sensed through our connection that he knew something I didn’t - and then it hit me. He was going to run there. My mouth fell open. I knew Blood Mates were faster than vampires, but I guess I didn’t realize just how much.

Arrick nearly skipped out of the room, saying he had a lot to do to prepare. I wanted to follow after him. There was one simple request I had for him on his quest. I needed him to find Robin and Dmitry. I at least had to know that they were okay.

My father’s grip on my shoulder shook me from my thoughts. “That was quite a sight to see, Claire. You, speaking your mind to Jarvan. I’m proud of you.” He lowered to my height to look into my eyes. “Always speak your mind and be honest. Even when you have to do it to a grumpy old Blood Guard,” he laughed. It was a deep thundering sound and it made a small giggle escape me. I still couldn’t believe I was finally home. “Someday you will make a marvelous leader, but for now,” he said, gripping my chin in his meaty fingers, “Have fun. I love to see you smile.”

My face lit up at his kind words and I sped down the hallway in the direction Arrick had gone. Hopefully, I could track him down and make my request. It wasn’t too much to ask. Was it? I wouldn’t be able to stay behind unless I knew that he would at least check on them. The thought of The Dark attacking the palace made me worry for their safety daily. They had to be okay. They just had to.

It took some searching, but I finally found Arrick after almost an hour. He was sitting in one of the small prayer rooms within the Château. So far I had found two such rooms, both seemingly identical. Not much larger than a walk-in closet, the prayer room held a few benches, a statue of Nyx and thousands of candles that made the room glow in a soft rosy light.

Arrick was kneeling, his head lowered, faint murmurings of his whispered prayers hanging in the air. Not wanting to interrupt, I leaned against the door frame in the entry, waiting for him to finish.

“Are you going to stand there all night?” he asked, glancing up at me.

“I wasn’t planning on it.” I replied entering the prayer room toward Arrick’s sarcastic smile. “I was trying to be polite and let you pray in peace, but if you are going to be so rude about it, I’ll make sure to interrupt next time.” I took a seat across from him on a bench and crossed my legs, swinging my foot rapidly in anxiousness. Arrick grabbed it to hold it still.

“What’s got your panties all in a bunch?” he asked. Then, after a final look at the statue, he turned to leave. “You coming?”

I sighed heavily and followed after him. He was so hard to figure out. One minute he was a duty bound Blood Mate, the next he was consumed with passion for me, and now he was acting like I was his annoying kid sister or best friend.

I lengthened my stride to keep pace with him. “I wanted to ask you something before you leave.”

“I know. What is it?” There was a hint of irritation in his voice. Did he already know what I wanted to ask?

“Okay,” I inhaled deeply. I wasn’t sure how I should bring it up, so taking my father’s advice I came right out with it. No reason to dance around the truth. “I wanted to ask you a favor while you are back in Nicolae’s region.” Arrick winced, but I continued before he could start an argument. “I need to know they are okay. Robin and Dmitry.”

I had been asking every time I saw Arrick to try to contact them, to at least send a message, but he always refused. I didn’t have the guts to be asking anything of my parents, especially since I had brought so much trouble with my homecoming, so asking Arrick was my only option. I knew I was driving him crazy, but they were important to me.