Chapter 89 Fallen Petals
❀ Maeve ❀
When he backed out of the hug, I let him.
“I won’t be long. It’ll just be a precursory observation of the entrance to the cave networks spanning Veilmoor, Blackbridge, and IronWolf.”
My head snapped up. “IronWolf?”
I hadn’t known the cave network stretched to the pack territory.
“Yes. Although there’s only one entrance. The cave beneath the fortress.” His voice turned cold. “I would’ve never known its location if you hadn’t drawn me there.”
My skin flushed as I remembered that day. Nikolai had appeared in the cave and observed while Bastian pleasured me in the steaming water.
“Wait… you can trace directly to me even if you’ve never been where I am?”
“Yes,” he said in a clipped tone, seething with jealousy at the memory.
Something bold flared in me.
“I thought about you before I saw you,” I said. He turned, lips pressed into a tight line. “I imagined having you while I was with him. I wanted you both, at the same time.”
He tried to conceal it, but the image made his heart race. Pink tinged his neck and cheeks.
“That’s all it will remain,” he said. “Imaginings. A fantasy.” He turned abruptly.
“Whatever,” I murmured, lying back in bed.
My hand brushed a solid object under the pillow. I’d stashed it there after figuring out a way to secure it in a thick wrap of cloth without burning myself.
It was useless to both of us, but it had been a gift from his mother. He must think it was lost. I’d planned to present it to him, but I was no longer in the mood for sappy.
“I’m leaving. You’re free to explore the house and grounds. The servants and guards will not bother you unless spoken to, and will protect you with their lives.”
“By the time I’m ready to explore, it’ll be afternoon. Do they all have capes like yours?”
“They do, but to be safe, stay within the grounds.”
“How far is Veilmoor from Blackbridge?”
“You can’t escape on foot.” There was that amusement in his tone again.
My stomach tightened, jaw grinding. “I’ll just find another vampire to trace me.”
“Only four vampires in Veilmoor can trace. Good luck convincing the other three.”
Oh, this man.
“I’ll find a way! I promise you. You’re only hurting our relationship by imprisoning me here.”
Cape billowing, Nikolai paced. “You. Are. Not. A. Prisoner.”
I rushed out of bed. “But—”
My heart stuttered when I met his gaze. Red-hot and bitter.
“You’re a future queen. Think like it,” he hissed.
Air wrapped, he traced.
I stood there, feeling foolish. The hearth roared, sounding too close to a mocking crowd.
Still, I straightened my back and lifted my chin.
Then I sat on the edge of the bed.
Think like a queen. That was gold. And a much-appreciated hint.
But wait.
Vampire queen.
Bastian hated the vampire ruling class. If I proved to him I could be different, ushering in a new era—why wouldn’t he want me?
My lips curled into a smile.
Bastian thought he was mated to a wolfless rogue from Blackbridge.
But I was really a queen.
I stood and walked to the windows. The mechanism was simple enough now that I appraised it with confidence. I turned the lever, and the shutters swung wide open.
They creaked from disuse, spilling icy air and the scent of pinecones into the room. The hearth stuttered but burned on.
I surveyed the view.
Mountains surrounded the horizon like jagged teeth. I could continue to see it as a prison—or a defense.
The castle shone leagues away. Warm orange pinpricks dotted the black stone structure like all-seeing eyes.
I wondered if Drusilla or Lilith were peering out of a window toward Nikolai’s mansion, plotting like I was.
Most definitely.
Now, to get to Bastian, I had to trace.
I could either learn to, or—
Tammy.
Tammy was a turned Crimson sired by Nikolai. She would have the ability.
But that left me in the same position, because she’d have to train to perfect it as well.
So my options were to learn fast—or hope Tammy learned faster.
I sighed.
It was never going to be easy, was it?
No. But it could be fun.
I turned to the wardrobe with a skip in my step.
“When life gives you tangerines, you squeeze them into life’s eyes,” I grinned.
I dressed in a cool mint-green dress. The slits were high on my hips, the fabric so soft it whispered secrets.
Sturdy black high sandals completed the ensemble. Then I let my platinum hair fall free.
I rang the bell to call a servant, hoping Jessica would respond and not a strange new face.
The staff here were a little too icy for my liking. Stiff backs and severely styled hair. They made the place feel even more like a prison.
Precious minutes passed, spent admiring my figure and imagining the fit of a crown on my head, and then the most surprising thing happened.
No one came.
I shrugged.
I never needed to be waited on hand and foot anyway.
The walk through the foyer and out the large ornate doors was punctuated by my echoing steps.
The house seemed empty. Of life. Of personality.
It was like a shiny new shoebox with no wear and tear. No memories.
My hands brushed over walls devoid of even a single portrait.
Nikolai had been alone all this time, his obligations to Drusilla and business his only company.
And when he finally found his bride, me, all I wanted was to divide my attention between him and another male.
Of course he was proprietary and possessive. Of course he wouldn’t let me go.
I’d have to hurt him to make him understand.
But how to make them more tolerable of each other?
I pondered until I reached the greenhouse my vampire had built for me.
The structure was so tall I had to crane my neck to behold its glory.
Hundreds of miniature lamps glowed like fireflies around the glass dome. The greenery was lush with life.
I closed my eyes and spun in a circle, a smile teasing my lips.
The air was rich with heady, fragrant scents.
But when I climbed the steps into my haven, another scent joined the array.
My stomach tightened, claws sharpening.
An intruder.
Steps snapping fast, I approached the center of the greenhouse, my favorite water fountain in view.
And there she was.
Holding a shrub in her hands.
She met my eyes, smirked, and plucked a petal.
“Sickening, isn’t it?” She rose with dark grace. “Such blatant display of fake affection.”
“That must be jealousy you’re misinterpreting.”
She shrugged, dropping the flower to the floor. “I’m too self-aware to deny it.”
My claws itched to maul her the way she’d mauled my plant. Its sap wept dying smells into the air.
“Get out,” I said, voice cold.
She chuckled, raising a hand to cover her mouth as if this were a friendly exchange.
Then her eyes flashed in the shadows.
“Make me.”