Looking where she shouldnt, how very human of her. Once, Aden would have been proud about that. Nowshe had no idea what was going on inside his head or how hed react to, well, anything. She knew only that Riley was right. Something was wrong with Aden. He wasnt himself. He was colder, harsher.
Challenging.
Vampires were all about tossing challenges at the weak and vulnerable. And the weak and vulnerable accepted those challenges or they endured an eternity of slavery by declining. Then, when they lost, they endured an eternity of slavery anyway. Difference was, by accepting and losing, they werent teased and tormented, too.
Vlad had set the rules, of course. He despised weakness and cowardice, hed claimed, and the challenges were a way to weed out the unworthy.
Did Aden plan to challenge everyone?
A movement in the sky captured her attention, and she watched a black bird soar past. The sun was hidden behind gray clouds, and perhaps even a thick layer of glassy rime. The angels were ice-skating up there, her mother would have said.
Her mother. How Victoria missed her. For the past seven years, her mother had been locked away in Romania, a prisoner charged with sharing information about vampires with humans. Vlad had even forbidden his people from speaking her name. Edina the Swan.
Even thinking it gave Victoria a thrill. Rebellion was new to her.
Then, when Aden was dubbed the man in charge, hed freed the woman at Victorias behest. She had expected her mother to teleport to Crossroads so they could be together again. Only, Edina had decided to remain in her homeland.
As if Victoria wasnt important enough to bother with.
She wanted to be important to someone. And had been. To Aden. Since the first moment hed spotted her, hed made her feel special. Now
Her stomach jumbled as she stepped beside him. His attention never strayed from the surrounding forest. Large oaks knifed toward that icy sky, a smattering of blood-red leaves hanging on for dear life. Mostly gnarled limbs stretched out and interlocked, as if the trees were holding hands, bracing themselves for the coming winter.
She wanted to take Adens hand but wasnt sure how he would react.
I think you should travel back in time, she said, breaking the silence. Shed given this some thought. If he traveled back to the night Tucker stabbed him, he could prevent all of this. Not just the stabbing, but her attempt to turn him. Their week of feeding, of nearly draining each other, their fighting, thisnone of this would happen.
No.
Thats it? Thats all her intense pondering got? No? Just like that?
Just like that.
But Aden, you can stop Tucker, once and for all.
Too many things could go wrong, and we dont know what would happen in the new reality. Could be far worse than this one.
She doubted that. Theres only one way to know for sure. Her new favorite phrase.
No.
So adamant. He couldnt like this reality. Could he?
This is mine, he said matter-of-factly, reminding her of her father.
All right, maybe he could. Yes, she said with a shudder.
His gaze moved to the ground below them, and hers followed, seeing the hidden stretch of land as he must. Bleak, yet fighting to survive. Not a single bloom colored the garden, but the bushes were yellow and orange. Ivy still clung to each trellis, though the leaves were light and brittle.
In the center of the yard was a large metal circle, a ward welded into the dirt, seemingly innocuous whirls intersecting through every inch. The metal could move and open, creating a platform that lowered into the crypt where her father had been buried.
Without a word, Aden climbed the balcony railing and straightened, his balance precarious at best.
What are you doing? Were too many stories up. Come down! You
He stepped off.
A yelp escaped her as she bent over the rail, her heart stopping as she watched him fallfallland. He didnt splat or crumple as expected. He simply uncoiled from a crouch and walked out of the backyard, all liquid grace and lethal determination.
Victoria had done the same a thousand times before. Perhaps that was why she didnt hesitate to follow him over. Aden, wait! Cold, biting air lifted her hair and robe.
As she tumbled toward the flat, hard surface, she remembered her new, human skin. She flailed, trying to claw her way back up. Then it was too late. She
Hit.
Her knees vibrated from impact, and she collapsed, slamming into one of the wards metal bars. During that impact, oxygen heaved from her lungs. Worse, her shoulder popped out of place and the agony nearly undid her. For hoursmaybe just a few minutesshe lay panting, shivering from cold and shock, tears scalding her eyes and catching in her lashes. Stupid, stupid, stupid, she said through chattering teeth. Though the sun was hidden behind those clouds, though the air seemed layered with frost, her skin began to prickle as if she were close to reaching vampire maturity and burning.
What was wrong with her? Besides the thousand other things shed been dealing with lately?
Footsteps reverberated, and suddenly she could scent Aden in the air. That amazing fragrance ofshe sniffed, frowned. He smelled different. Still amazing, but different. Familiar. Like sandalwood and evergreen. A mystic from long ago, yet coldly alive, and now as spicy as the human girl had been.
I will not let jealousy overtake me.
Victoria opened her eyes, unsure when shed closed them. Aden was leaning down, spotlighted by rogue rays of light that had escaped their cloudy prison. His expression was as impassive as before. Dark hair fell over his eyeseyes of startling violet.
Since shed known him, shed seen him with eyes of gold, green, brown, blue and black, but the violet had not appeared until their time in the cave.
When he reached out, she thought he meant to help her up. She offered him a small, waxen smile. Thank you.
I would not thank me, if I were you. He latched onto her shoulder, and sharp pain lashed through her.
What do you
He forced the bone to pop back into place, and she discovered what true pain really was. A scream ripped from deep inside her. Birds took flight, probably desperate to escape the horrendous, ear-piercing sound.
Youre welcome, he said, straightening.
She would take that to mean Im really truly very sorry I hurt you, my love. Next time
There wont be a next time. You wont be jumping from the railing again. Promise me.
No, I
Promise me, he insisted.
Stop cutting me off.
All right.
When he offered nothing else, exasperating her, she rasped, Why did you jump? You could have walked through the house to reach the bottom. And saved her a panic attack and dislocated shoulder.
This way was faster. He pivoted on his heel and marched away. Again.
Wait.
He didnt wait.
Cursing under her breath, Victoria gathered enough strength to stand. Her knees trembled and nearly buckled, but she somehow found the will to remain upright. She trailed after Aden, feeling like a puppy on a leash. A bad puppy who didnt want to go on a walk and had to be dragged.
Aden never once glanced back to make sure she was okay or even to ascertain that she was there. He just didnt care, and that hurt worse than her shoulder, cutting at her insides, making her cringe. To him, she either followed or she didnt, and neither choice evoked emotion.
Why do you want to talk to everyone? she asked.
A few things need to be straightened out. He strode to the front of the house, up the porch steps and stopped at the towering, arched front doors. Few vampires were out and about at this time of day, even with the hazy milieu, but those who traipsed the grounds blinked in shock when they spotted him, then quickly bowed to show their respect.
A minute ticked by.
More minutes ticked by.
Um, Aden. You have to walk through a door to enter a house. Standing here wont do anything.
I will. First, Im surveying whats mine.
Once again, he sounded like her fatheror Dmitri, her former betrothedand she chewed at the inside of her cheek in disgust. She hadnt been fond of either man. Please, please let Aden return to his normal self when the pills wear off.
What would she do if he didnt?
She wouldnt think about that right now. She would just get through the day, help Aden conduct his meeting, for whatever reason, guarding him all the while, and then, later, if necessary, she would worry.
Do you like what you see? she asked, recalling the first time shed brought him here. Hed taken one look at the Queen Annestyle mansionthe asymmetrical towers, the gothic stones and glasswork, the narrow windows with their prominent eave brackets sharpened to deadly points and the steeply pitched roofs, all painted a grim blackand grimaced.
Yes.
One-word answers were annoying, she decided.
Finally he pushed the double doors open and entered. His gaze swept the spacious foyer, taking in the black walls, the crimson carpet, the antique furniture polished to a perfect shine, and he frowned.
I know the layout of this place. There are thirty bedrooms, most of them upstairs. There are twenty ornate fireplaces, several rooms with parquet floors, several with red sandstone, a great hall, a throne room and two dining rooms. But Ive never seen more than this room, your bedroom and the backyard. How is that possible?
Excellent question. Maybemaybe when we exchanged memories all those times, some of mine stuck.
Maybe. He flicked her a blank glance. Do you recall anything about me?
Oh, yes. Mostly she remembered the beatings hed received in a few of the mental institutions hed lived inshe wished to punish those responsible. She also remembered the isolation hed endured in several of the foster homes hed stayed in, the parents afraid of him but willing to take on his care for the paycheck that came with him. Not to mention the rejection hed suffered time after time from peers who considered him too different to deal with. Too weird.
That was why she couldnt walk away from him now. No matter how distant or unlike himself he was, she wouldnt reject him.
Well? he prompted.
Yes, I do. She didnt tell him what, though. Do you recall anything specific about me? Besides this home?
No.
Oh. A memory could have sparked compassion. Compassion could have sparked a thousand other emotions, one of them reminding him of just how much he freaking loved her. Or maybe this was for the best. There were some things a girl didnt want her boyfriend to know about her.
Wait, he said, blinking. I do remember something.
Hope and dread battled for supremacy. Yes?
When you first came to Crossroads, summoned here because of the supernatural blast Mary Ann and I inadvertently created, you spotted me from a distance and thought, I should kill him. Ouch. See? That was one of those things. First, I told you about that. Second, taken out of context, the thought seems worse than it was.
You mean a desire to kill me is a good thing when in context?
Her teeth gnashed. No, but youre forgetting how strange your pull was to us. We didnt know why youd summoned us here, what you had planned for us, or if you were helping our enemy. We
Enemies.
What?
You dont have one, you have many. In fact, the only race you arent at war with is the wolves, and theyd be fighting you, too, if they werent so loyal by nature.
Well, well. An emotion from him. Only, it wasnt one shed wanted. He was disappointed. She didnt understand why. You have no idea the things that have taken place between the races throughout the centuries. How could you? Youve been living in your little humanity bubble, unaware of the creatures that stalk the night.
And yet I know alliances can be formed.
With who? The witches? They know we crave their blood and cant control our hunger in their presence. They would laugh in your face if you offered a truce. So who does that leave? The fairies? We feed off the humans they consider their children. They would wipe us out if they could. Dont forget the fairy prince you helped kill, and the fairy princess who then tried to kill you. What about the goblins? They are mindless beings, caring only about their next meal, which just so happens to be living flesh. Our flesh. Shall I go on?
Yes. Glitter in his eyes, a twitch of his lips. Explain to me why you war with other vampire factions.
Explain to me why humans war with other humans.
He ran his tongue over his teeth. Most humans desire peace.
And yet they still have not found a way to facilitate it.
Nor have the vampires.
They stood there, simply staring at each other in the silence. She was panting again, her aching shoulder rousing her fervor for the subject and perhaps making her snappier than she should have been when Aden had so calmly stated his case.
Aden, she said, gentling her tone. Peace is a wonderful thing. But thats all it is. A thingand sometimes the wrong thing. Will you roll over in the name of peace, allowing my father to reclaim his throne, or will you fight him?
Fight, he said without hesitation. Then I will wage war until the other vampire factions are brought to heel. And if they cant be brought to heel, they will be annihilated. Examples will be made, and peace will finally reign.
War at any cost was classic Vlad the Impaler ideology, and not something Aden Stone had ever before supported. Yet, this was the second time in the last five minutes that Aden had sounded exactly like her father. The third time that day.
An idea rolled through her mind, frightening her.
Were bits of her father somehow trapped inside him, driving him? If so, how? Aden had tangled with Victorias memories, not her fathers. Unlesswere these her beliefs? Had they remained with him along with a few of her memories?
Vlad had always viewed humans as food and nothing more, even though hed once been human himself, and he had taught his children to view them the same way. Power had gone to his head, she supposed. To all their heads. But more than thinking himself superior to humans, hed thought himself superior to all races. King of Kings, Lord of Lords. Peace had been an afterthought, the road to that peace violent and gruesome.