Conclave (Vampire Conclave: Book 3), page 14
“I can do better than that,” he declares. “I can show you.”
“Just remember our deal,” Nadia tells Julian. “I expect you to uphold your end of the bargain.”
“I promise you I will,” he assures her as he holds a hand out to help me stand from the small table Shael and I used to eat our lunch on. He looks over at Shael. “Your Grace, would you mind taking care of Viktor until we return tomorrow?”
Shael tilts her head and considers Julian. “Tomorrow? Are you remaining here in Alfheim overnight?”
“Yes,” he replies. “We’ll be back sometime tomorrow afternoon to pick him up before we go back to Earth.”
“Are you staying here in the palace?”
“After we leave, Nadia can tell you where we will be. I would rather leave it as a surprise for Sarah,” Julian tells her.
“Don’t get too excited,” Nadia warns me. “It’s not that great of a place, but it’ll serve your needs for the night.”
I can only smile at Nadia’s attempt to downplay the dwelling Julian seems almost giddy about. But truth be told, I don’t care where it is he plans to take me. As long as there is a fully stocked kitchen and a bed I’ll be fine.
Julian holds a crooked arm out for me to take.
“If you ladies will excuse us, we’ll be off.”
“Have fun,” Shael tells us.
“Oh, don’t worry, they will,” Nadia assures her as Julian escorts me from the room and out the castle’s front door.
As we’re walking down the gray stone driveway in front of the castle, I look over at Julian and ask, “So, where are you taking me, or am I even allowed to ask?”
He turns his head to look at me and winks. “Why don’t we just let it be a surprise? I can guarantee that you will like it.”
“Is there food and a bed where we’re going?”
“Yes.”
“Then I’m sure I’ll like it. Do you plan to make love to me until we have to leave tomorrow afternoon?”
Julian smiles. “That was my plan.”
“Then I’m sure I’ll love it.”
His smile grows wider after hearing my declaration, and I pick up our pace.
“Are you in that big of a hurry?” he asks with a laugh. “I thought we might enjoy the stroll through the forest together.”
“I’ve seen trees,” I answer. “They’re overrated.”
Julian laughs heartily as he picks me up into his arms and uses his super speed to get us to our destination in a very short amount of time. To be honest, he moved so fast, I’m not entirely sure where we are when he stops. All I see is a nicely kept two-story cabin built just off a path in the woods.
“Is this Nadia’s house?” I ask, putting two and two together from what was said back at the castle.
“Yes,” Julian answers, taking one of my hands with his since we seem to be far away from prying eyes.
We walk up the wooden steps to the front porch together. Julian pulls out a key from his pants pocket and uses it to unlock the front door.
“What is it that you promised her?” I ask as we walk into the house.
“I told her that if she let us stay here, I would buy her a new bed afterwards.”
All I can do is laugh at their bargain. “I guess she doesn’t want to sleep on something that we make love on.”
“Apparently not,” Julian replies. “It seemed like a reasonable request on her part. I have no problem bringing her a bed from Earth.”
“Why one from Earth?”
“She said the one I have in her room back home is better than the one she has here. I told her I would buy her a new set and bring it here for her.”
I wrap my arms around Julian’s neck.
“That was kind of you,” I tell him as I lean in and give him a small peck on the lips. “Did you also remember to make sure there is plenty of food here?”
“Yes,” he replies, returning my small kiss with one of his own. “I know the large appetite you work up after we play with one another. We raided the kitchen in the palace and brought over as much food as we could.”
“Oh really?” I ask with a pleased smile. “Plan to make me that hungry, do you?”
“I hope to make you hungry for more than just food,” he moans as he grabs me behind the thighs and lifts me up. I naturally wrap my legs around his hips and tighten my arms around his neck.
“You don’t have to hope,” I tell him, “because I’m already ravenous for you.”
Julian begins to kiss me as he carries me through the house. I’m vaguely aware of going up some stairs, but I’m too preoccupied to care. As we begin our escape from the world we live in, I know all of our problems will be waiting for us when we reemerge from this magical abode. But for now, as far as I’m concerned, we’re in a safe place where nothing bad can reach us and only good memories can be made.
“Do we have to leave?” I ask Julian as I snuggle up against his warmth underneath the covers. “I really don’t want to go. I want to stay right here like this for at least a week.”
“I say we just live here for the rest of our lives,” he suggests wholeheartedly, tightening his arms around me as we lie naked together, “and forget all about our other responsibilities.”
I close my eyes as I briefly let myself imagine us doing just that, even though I know it’s no more than a fantasy that can never come true. If we’re going to find a way to transform Julian back into a human again, we have to return to Earth for the conclave. My hope is that by pooling all of the vampires’ knowledge and resources together, we can find a way to cure them all.
I sigh as I let go of my desire to push the reality of my life away and forge the courage to face what we must in the days to come. As the wise old saying goes, “Nothing worth having ever comes easy.” I doubt Julian’s humanity will be the exception to that rule.
“I promise to make that dream come true for you one day,” he tells me, sensing my despondency at the thought of leaving our own pocket of paradise so soon.
“We’ll make it come true,” I correct him. “And when we do, we’ll be able to get married and make as many babies as we want, or at least keep trying until we get it right.”
Julian chuckles. “I have often heard it said that practice makes perfect.”
I lift my head from his chest to look into his warm hazel eyes. “Do you mean to tell me that the more sex we have, the better it will get? Then I think I’ve just become a perfectionist.”
Julian flips me over onto my back until I’m lying underneath him. I can feel his desire to practice stir between my legs.
“I think we have time for at least one more attempt at perfection,” he murmurs just before kissing the corners of my mouth.
I wrap my legs around his waist, showing him my willingness to do as much practice as we need to.
An hour later, we decide the real world can’t be shoved aside any longer. When we walk back into the castle, we find Nadia sitting in the formal living room speaking to a man and a woman I’ve never seen before. While Julian and I were hiding away in her cabin, he told me that he asked Nadia to look for an alfar couple who would be willing to take on the responsibility of adopting and raising Constance’s baby. I feel certain in my assumption that this is the couple she has chosen.
They appear to be in their mid-thirties, but they don’t exactly look wealthy considering their casual attire. For some reason, I assumed Nadia would choose a more well-off couple, but she must have her reasons for picking these people in particular.
“Oh good,” Nadia says as she watches us walk into the room, “you’re back just in time to meet my older brother and his wife.”
Now I can see the resemblance. The man does have the same dark brown hair and striking hazel eyes as Nadia. From the smile on her face, it’s obvious my friend is extremely proud of her big brother, but I’m not entirely sure why she decided to involve a member of her own family in such a potentially messy situation.
“It’s an honor for us to meet you, Princess Sarah,” her brother says to me as he bows and his wife curtsies.
“Sarah,” Nadia says, “this is my brother, Lock, and his wife Trew.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you both,” I say, extending my hand to Lock first and then to Trew. “And this is my sentinel, Julian.”
Julian also holds a hand out to greet the couple. They shake hands with him out of politeness, but I can physically see their reluctance to do so. I’m sure Julian is the first vampire they’ve ever met in person. If I were in their shoes, I would probably act a little cautious too.
“Lock and Trew have been trying to conceive a child of their own for quite some time now,” Nadia tells me. “I thought they would be a perfect couple to help your friend out with her dilemma.”
“We would feel so blessed to have a baby brought into our lives,” Trew tells me, barely able to hold in her excitement at the prospect.
I look over at Nadia. “Did you tell them everything they need to know about her?”
Nadia nods. “Yes. I thought it was only right to explain the circumstances surrounding the adoption so they know what they’re actually signing up for.”
“Good,” I say in relief. I look back at Trew and Lock. “Then you understand that the little girl may want to return to Earth one day after she grows up.”
Trew nods. “Every child has to leave home eventually. All we can hope for is what every parent hopes for.”
“And what’s that exactly?” I have to ask.
“That she loves us enough to want to be with us occasionally. If any parent believes they can keep their child at home for the rest of his or her life, they aren’t doing their son or daughter any favors. People aren’t meant to stay home. They’re meant to go out into the world and forge their own lives, start their own families. If she chooses to do that on Earth, then we’ll support her decision and find a way to work with it when the time comes.”
“I’m glad to hear you say that,” I reply, relieved that they’re so open to what will undoubtedly be the biggest change that will ever occur in their lives. “I hope this doesn’t come off as being rude, but what exactly do you do for a living?”
“I own a small orchard not far from here,” Lock tells me. “We’re not rich, but we make enough money to support a family. Nadia here,” he says, looking at his younger sister, “was the only one of us to pass the entrance exam for Valengard Academy. My father had almost given up hope until she came along. After having four sons to disappoint him, it was his daughter who ended up bringing him the most pride. The rest of us were just happy our dad finally had someone to follow in his footsteps.”
“You could have passed the test,” Nadia tells him, as if Lock’s praise is unnecessary. “You just didn’t want it badly enough.”
“I don’t think that’s why I failed my exam,” Lock says. “But I wouldn’t change my life for anything in the world. I’ve always wanted to be a farmer. So I’m doing exactly what I was meant to do.”
I smile at Lock and Trew because they’ve both said exactly what I needed to hear from potential parents for Constance’s daughter.
“I wish I could tell you when we’ll be bringing the baby here,” I say to them. “All I know right now is that it should be within the next few days. The mother is very close to giving birth. I do feel like I should caution you, however. She may change her mind after her daughter is born. I don’t know her very well, so I can’t say for sure how steadfast she is in her decision to give her baby up for adoption.”
“Nadia already warned us not to get our hopes up too high,” Lock tells me. “And if the mother chooses to keep the child with her, we won’t be upset by it. Disappointed certainly, but we’re fully aware of how complicated a matter this is.”
“Good,” I say. “As long as you understand that nothing is certain in this situation.”
“Nothing ever is in life,” Trew wisely says.
“Okay, big brother, I would love to stay and chat with you some more, but we’ve got to get back to Earth for that meeting I told you about.”
Lock brings Nadia into his arms for a big brotherly bear hug. “You take care of yourself, little sister.”
It’s not hard to tell that he’s genuinely worried about Nadia’s well-being, but I’m not entirely sure why. It seems to me that she’s proven her capabilities of keeping herself alive in all types of dangerous situations.
“I always do,” she reassures him, hugging Lock back just as fiercely.
After we say our goodbyes to Nadia’s family, she and Julian head up to my suite in the castle to retrieve the battle staffs they’re borrowing to use during the battle royale between the vampires’ champions. I go to my aunt’s room to let her know we’re leaving and to retrieve my little castle snoop, Viktor.
When I knock on the door, I hear her call out from behind it for me to enter.
I walk in and find her sitting on a brown leather sofa in the room with Viktor lying beside her. He purrs contentedly as she strokes his back. I’m struck by how forlorn she looks as she watches me enter the room.
“What’s wrong?” I ask her, instantly concerned. “Why do you look so sad?”
“Do I?” she questions, trying to erase her melancholy expression with a forced smile. “I don’t mean to look that way.”
“Has something happened?” I just pray this doesn’t have anything to do with Alden. Did she finally work up the courage to tell him that she loves him only to be rejected?
“I was just sitting here thinking about how good if feels when all of you are here in the castle and how empty I feel after you leave.”
My heart instantly goes out to her, and I actually feel a pang of guilt for leaving her here.
“We’ll be back tomorrow,” I reassure her, hoping to ease her despondency. “And you still have Alden here.”
“True,” she says, this time with a genuine smile gracing her face as she thinks about the man she loves.
Viktor rises to his feet and places his front paws on Shael’s lap. He licks her left cheek twice before he jumps down onto the floor and saunters over to me. I bend down and pick him up as Shael leaves her seat.
“I’ll walk down to the breach with you,” she says as she joins us.
“I would enjoy that.”
As we make our way to the breach room in the basement of the castle, Shael tells me, “Agatha came to me while you and Julian were away. She wanted to discuss the arrangements for the engagement party with you, but I told her you were otherwise occupied and took on the responsibility myself. I didn’t think you would mind.”
“Not at all,” I say. “In fact, I would be grateful if you could handle all of that for me.”
“Of course I will. I know how busy you’ll be during the vampires’ conclave. This silly party really isn’t anything for you to worry about. I’ll even have a dress prepared for you to wear to it. I realize celebrating your engagement to one man while you love another isn’t something you want to do, but I appreciate you going through the motions until we can find a way to end this charade.”
“Jhann understands that I have no intention of marrying him,” I tell her. “I couldn’t have been blunter with him about my feelings for Julian the other night.”
“Speaking of Julian, I wanted to ask you how he took the news about what we learned concerning your powers.”
For a moment, I’m confused by what Shael is talking about, but then it dawns on me.
“Honestly, I haven’t thought too much about it since the farewell ceremony,” I tell her, remembering that we discovered that I’m a re-animator that night. I can bring the dead back to life, but only for as long as I touch them. “I haven’t found the right time to tell him yet.”
“I see,” she replies, not looking at all surprised that I haven’t told Julian my secret. “I suppose it is a little difficult to discuss such things when your mouth is otherwise occupied.”
“Aunt Shael!” I say, feeling completely mortified that my aunt seems to consider me a sexpot, at least where Julian is concerned. In fact, I sense a smidgen of envy from her over my love affair with my sentinel. I just don’t understand why she doesn’t go to her own and tell him how she feels.
Shael laughs heartily at my embarrassment, but I know it’s all meant in good fun. She’s genuinely happy for me, and I know no matter what happens, I will always have her as my ally in this matter.
When we arrive at the breach, Julian and Nadia are already there waiting for us. Julian is carrying six of the battle batons (three in each hand) while Nadia holds two of them.
“Now, promise me you’ll be careful while you’re around those other vampires,” Shael says to me. “I don’t trust Janus or Sophie one bit and neither should you.”
“Have you met them?” I ask.
Shael shakes her head. “No, I have not, and I have no desire to either. I’ve heard about the atrocities that they commit, and it turns my stomach.”
“Sarah won’t ever be alone with them,” Julian reassures my aunt. “You have my word on that. Considering what they almost did to Evie’s companion the last time we had a conclave, I don’t think any of us will have our guard down around them.”
“What did they do to Evie’s companion?” I have to ask.
Julian looks around at the Valengard soldiers positioned along the walls of the room, standing guard.
“I’ll tell you later,” he replies in a low voice, obviously reluctant to share the story with so many alfar around us. “We should be getting back now so we can get dressed for the first meeting.”
I kiss my aunt on the cheek and say my goodbye to her before stepping into the breach to return to New Orleans.
We find Helen in the kitchen of the alfar mansion baking her wonderful cinnamon and chocolate chip cookies. She isn’t alone though. Alea and Kieran are both wearing white aprons as they help her roll the dough into bite-size balls and place them on parchment-covered cookie sheets.
“Welcome back!” Helen says in greeting as she places the balled piece of dough in her hands on the cookie sheet in front of her. She quickly goes to the sink and washes her hands. “Give me just a moment and I’ll help you get ready for the meeting, Sarah.”
