AllFreeNovel
Share Us
"When you touch me like this I do not think rationally. Now I am contemplating just walking away. I would love to leave the vampire world behind us, at least for a little while." He sounded wistful, his lightly accented voice a whisper in my ear as I held him in my arms.
"But they'd send Adolfo to find us. We'd never be able to disappear," I reminded him. I rose to my feet and stretched. I soon felt the palms of Stefan's hand run over my shoulders, down across my breasts. His arms crossed around me, drawing me to him.
I'd love to run away with Stefan. We could be anyone, go anywhere. I could forget about Kian, the Council...
"We will do that someday. I promise you."
"I know. A girl can dream," I sighed pensively. Taking his hand, I pulled him along behind me. "Let's talk to Anna and Lukas."
When we entered the living room, they were both sitting side by side on the couch. Neither said a word and they didn't even glance up when we Stefan sat heavily in the chair, pulling me along behind him.
"Josephine and I have bonded. We are mated in vampire law. She has also agreed to a human marriage. The more ways we can tie ourselves together, the safer she is,” Stefan began. He ran a finger back and forth across his chin. “As Lukas has discovered, Josephine has acquired new gifts. She is able to still a human or vampire using a shield of some sort. Earlier, we discovered she is able to use that shield to influence a being with an emotion. As you can assume, no one else is to discover this ability. Tell no one.”
Anna and Lukas nodded in agreement mutely. Their eyes traveled first to Stefan, then studied me for a moment. Anna lips tugged into a small, shrewd smile. I was no longer able to read her future, but I knew what she was thinking. Her earlier words about me being more than human and vampire echoed through my own head.
“Tomorrow we must meet with the Council. Anna needs to be registered as my newest child. We all will need to testify our accounts regarding the night Derek died. It is imperative that you say as little as possible and only answer what questions you are asked. Do either of you have questions?”
Lukas folded his hands primly in his lap. He had wordlessly sat back and let Stefan talk without uttering a sound. He’d been biding his time and he now he chose to speak. “You never ask me about my day, Stefan.”
I couldn’t hold in my laughter. It burst out into the room, a loud guffaw that caused Anna to snicker. Stefan raised up in the seat and I felt his anger surge at Lukas’ snide comment. Running my fingernails over his arm, I attempted to push calmness over him.
Stefan sighed under the weight of my shield, relaxing back into the chair and simply exchanged a long look with Lukas. They stared at each other, silently communicating with one another.
"Josephine and I are going to meet with Nigel soon. We have a few things to return to him," Stefan said. "In the meantime, stay together and stay vigilant. While we are gone, I want you to take Anna out. She needs to learn to acclimate herself to the smell of true human blood."
Anna's gaze rotated between Stefan and Lukas. She started to speak, but stopped and caught her lip between her teeth.
"Nikolaus does not count, Anna. While his blood is alluring,it is not entirely human." Stefan leaned forward, causing us both to pitch forward slightly. "You do not need to worry. You will do fine or I would take you. You are my child. Strength is in us."
Smiling sheepishly, she shook her brown curls back from her face. She sat up straighter and focused her stare on her lap. "Yes, Stefan."
Stefan nudged me softly, silently urging me to stand. "I need to call Nigel to set up a secure meeting place."
He lowered his lips to my forehead. I closed my eyes under the weight of his lips. “I promise you, this will be fine. Jag kommer att skydda dig tills jag träffar min sista död.”
He was off in a blur down the hallway, leaving me alone with Anna and Lukas.
"Don't worry about the Council, Josie. It's a ridiculous formality." Lukas flicked his fingers in annoyance. "This bullshit at being at their beck and call has been a pain in Stefan's ass for 30 years, which in extension has been a pain in mine."
Shaking my head sadly, I preoccupied myself in preparing to leave. I went to the closet, grabbing my leather jacket and purse. "It's going to get worse before it gets better, Lukas."
Lukas flitted to my side. "Be glad the Council is the face for the Board. They're a whole new level of crazy."
Clutching my jacket, gave Lukas a sideways glance. "The others on the Board? Who are they?"
Lukas was in his element. He loved to gossip almost as much as he enjoyed to meddle. His icy blue eyes gleamed as he stepped closer and whispered conspiratorially. "Silvio Armeni and Reginald Sylvester. No one has seen either of them in nearly 20 years. Your father is their spokesperson since they don't like to deal with political issues. Supposedly."
"You sound like you don't believe it," I said. I knew little of vampire politics, but if my father was involved, the probability that something wasn't right was high.
"I'd sooner believe I’ll meet my soul mate tomorrow. It seems much too tidy. Two equally powerful vampires decide to go into seclusion, never to be heard from again? You do the math."
There was no need to do any deep thinking or calculations. As sure as I stood here, I instinctively knew my father had killed, or more likely, had the other Board members killed so he could have the power. The Board members answered to no one. They wouldn't have to reply to any summons to appear. It was the perfect situation for Kian.
"Are you ready to meet with Nigel?" Stefan reentered the living room and touched my shoulder gently. He reached and carefully extracted my coat from my vice-like grip. His concern for spiked as his blue eyes searched mine.
"Let's go. I have a few questions for Nigel."
***
