AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She couldn’t argue with that.
“Stemmons or Caris left that doll on your doorstep,” he continued. “They know where you live. And I will not see you harmed.”
She opened her mouth to protest that her apartment was oozing with security, but closed it when she saw his face. His concern was real, as was his determination. And she knew damn well this was not a battle she would win, even if she wanted to. “All right,” she said. “I’m not entirely sure how I’m going to make that fly at work, but I’ll figure it out.”
“Thank you,” he said simply. “There is another thing.” Though he spoke firmly, there was a catch in his voice. A hint of reservation.
“Luke? What is it?”
“My blood. I want you to drink from me.”
His words surprised her, but what surprised her even more was that his words didn’t repulse her. Slowly, she tilted her head, looking at him from this new angle. “Why? Why would I do that?”
“With enough of my blood in you, I can find you. I can reach out in my mind and locate you through your thoughts and sensations.” He brushed her cheek. “You would be safe, and I would rest easier when you were out of my sight.”
She bit her bottom lip, unable to deny that what he proposed was appealing. Erotic, even. The promise of a forbidden intimacy and the excitement of dancing on the edge but not slipping over. What would it taste like? Feel like? And would such an intimate encounter change her?
“No,” he said, his words sharp in answer to the question she voiced. “I would not change you even if you wished for me to. I would not risk that with you, Sara. Not ever.”
“Risk? You mean theAzag Mahru?”
“That is part of it.” He stood and moved to the wall of windows, now covered by metal shutters. “I told you before I would have you know everything. That there would be no secrets and you would understand who and what I am.”
“Yes,” she said, a hint of worry rising within.
“Then it’s time for you to hear the rest of it.” He turned to face her. “I killed my Livia,” he said, his voice deceptively impassive.
She sat on the couch, her knees suddenly weak.
“She was so young, and death was upon her, a weakness that she was born with and only got worse as the years went on. I was newly turned and arrogant. I thought I could save her. But I had never gone through the Holding, and the serpent was not bound. It rose up, and I surrendered to it. Instead of saving her, I took life from her, and lost myself utterly to the darkness. It was centuries before I went through the Holding. Centuries during which I did unspeakable things.”
“It wasn’t you,” she said, feeling cold. Feeling sad. “It was the serpent.”
“It was me,” he said firmly. “The serpent is within me, and though I have more control now, that darkness lives just under the surface within me always.” He sighed, looking back toward the shuttered window.
She pressed her lips together, willing herself not to cry. “Leviathan told me that vampires who haven’t controlled the dark are rogue. Are hunted.” She winced, thinking of him like that. “He told me you weren’t rogue.”
“I’m not,” he said. “But at one time, I was. And there were those who lost their lives trying to put me down. My serpent is powerful, Sara, and it was not until I met Tiberius that I was forced to succumb to the Holding. For six months, I endured the torment of that ritual, and when I emerged, I had control, and I had regret. Tiberius stood for me, arranged a pardon for my actions, and in the centuries that have passed since then, I have battled to keep my will dominant. To control and use the serpent rather than it using me. Most often I have won that battle. But not always, Sara. Not always.”
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small gold ring, a coiled snake, so tiny it seemed to disappear into his palm. A child’s ring. “Livia’s,” he said. “I keep it as a reminder of what I did. Of what I am capable of.”
“Luke—”
He held up a hand, cutting her off. “No.” She watched as he collected himself, then focused again on her. “When you drink from me, you will not be changed—you will not be able to seek me out, to feel my emotions. It works only one way without the change. There will be some increased strength, your senses sharpened. But no ill effects. But I will be able to find you.”
“It sounds intimate.”
“It is.” He took her hands. “Very.”
She pressed a soft kiss to his cheek. “Then my answer is yes. But I don’t get it. Didn’t Tasha have to drink your blood when she changed? Why can’t you find her? The same way you’d be able to find me.”
“With Tasha it is different. I cannot feel her, nor she me. I cannot close my eyes and find her in the world. I cannot look at her,” he added, moving to her side, “and sense her fears or her joys.”
“Why not?”
He considered his answer. “Her injury,” he said. “Her mind allowed the change, but resists the connection. It is one of the reasons for the prohibition against turning those who are addled.”
She heard the sadness in his voice and took his hand. “We will find her.”
