Conclave (Vampire Conclave: Book 3), page 7
Both Susan and Kaylee give her their thanks for the gift, and I don’t have a single doubt that both boxes will be emptied before they even make it back to Pecan Acres.
With a great deal of sadness, I watch Pete, Susan, and Kaylee leave. I don’t want them to go, but I know they can’t be present to hear whatever this urgent matter is that Alden came to speak with me about.
Once they’re gone and Julian closes the door behind them, I turn to Alden and Jhann.
“Why are the two of you here?” I ask, seeing no need to waste time on pleasantries.
“There’s been a development back on Alfheim, and Shael thought you should know about it in case you wanted to help,” Alden says.
Julian walks back over to me and casually places an arm across my shoulders. I sense that the move has a twofold purpose: one, he wants to bring me comfort and be there for me in case Alden is about to give us bad news; two, he wants to make sure Jhann knows we’re a couple. As far as I can tell, his subtle maneuver works because I see the light of understanding enter my betrothed’s eyes.
“Do you remember Corym Windfree?” Alden asks.
The name sounds familiar, but it takes me a moment to put a face to it.
“The man who tried to kill me at the farewell ceremony?” I ask, recalling that incident all too well. I can still remember the harsh words Corym directed toward Shael and me during the funeral of the healers who sacrificed their lives in order to save mine. As an act of defiance and attempted revenge, Corym cast a fireball directly at me in the heat of the moment. Julian took the brunt of that spell to protect me, and the last thing I remember about Corym is that he was taken to the constable station on Alfheim to await his punishment.
“Yes, that’s him,” Alden confirms. “Apparently when you try to murder someone in front of a valkyrie, they pass judgment on the guilty party and decide their punishment. We have it on good authority that the valkyries intend to execute Corym for what he tried to do to you.”
“Good,” I hear Nadia say with zero compassion. “He should be put to death. He tried to kill the only remaining Moonshade descendant.”
“He was grieving over his father’s passing, Nadia,” I argue. “I don’t believe he was thinking clearly at the time.”
“I’m glad to hear you say that,” Jhann says to me in relief. “One of the reasons I came here with Alden was to beg you to save Corym’s life.”
“Beg me?” I ask, feeling slightly confused. “I thought the valkyries were the ones passing judgment on him.”
“As his intended target,” Jhann says, “you have the right to ask them to spare his life. Alternatively, he may end up spending the rest of his days sitting in a prison cell, but at least he will still be alive.”
“Do you think the valkyries will listen to me?” I ask doubtfully.
“They’ll listen,” Alden says with a great deal of hesitation, “but that doesn’t mean they’ll do what you want. Valkyries are notoriously—how should I put it?—harsh and unforgiving in their judgment of others. They detest disorder and strike punishment swiftly when they feel it’s warranted. If you’re going to ask them to spare Corym’s life, your reason for asking them to do so will have to be a good one.”
I look over at Jhann, since he seems to be Corym’s champion in this matter. “Other than the fact that I don’t want to see a man killed for doing something rash, why do you believe he deserves a reprieve? I can’t give a convincing argument if I don’t know anything about the man.”
“I can’t say that I know Corym all that well either,” Jhann admits, “but his father used to be a member of House Nysas. He only moved to Moonshade when he fell in love with one of the mages there. Corym’s father, Galather, was a well-respected member of my house. My father relied on him a great deal and often asked for his advice on matters. I suppose I’m not really asking you to help save Corym’s life because of Corym himself. I’m asking that you help me save Galather’s son because he sacrificed his life to save yours. I think it’s the least you can do for a man who gave up everything.”
“Way to play the guilt trip card,” Alea grumbles. I can feel how dissatisfied she is with Jhann’s argument, but I find his point well taken.
“I agree,” I tell him. “And I’ll speak to the valkyries on Corym’s behalf. I just hope they’re feeling generous. How soon can I speak to them?”
“They’ll be holding a tribunal tomorrow afternoon on Alfheim,” Alden informs me.
“Then we’ll come as soon as we’re through with our business here in the morning,” I tell them. I look at Jhann. “I swear I’ll do my best to save Corym’s life, but that’s about all I can promise you. The final decision will all depend on the valkyries.”
“That’s all I ask of you,” Jhann says. “Thank you for being willing to save the life of someone who tried to take yours.”
“I’ll try” is all I can pledge to do.
An awkward silence ensues as Jhann begins to openly study how close in proximity Julian and I are to one another.
“I was wondering if I could have a private word with you,” Jhann says. “I would like to discuss the terms of our engagement.”
I feel Julian’s hand squeeze the ball of my shoulder possessively, and I know he doesn’t want me to leave his side. Yet I feel like I owe it to Jhann to be upfront with him about why I chose him and how I see my future with Julian progressing. Any man who is willing to fight for another man’s life deserves to be told the truth. Plus, I hate lying. It tends to lead to problems, and that’s the last thing I need in my life right now: more problems.
“Sure,” I tell him, reluctantly stepping away from Julian’s side and forcing him to drop his arm from my shoulders. “Why don’t we go out onto the back porch? The breeze coming off the lake makes it cooler.”
Under the scrutiny of everyone in the room, Jhann follows me out back. He closes the door behind himself as I turn to face him.
“Listen,” I say, intending to be upfront with him about everything, “if there’s one thing you need to know about me, it’s that I’m in love with Julian and I intend to marry him one day.”
“I already assumed that,” Jhann reveals, not looking the least bit surprised by my declaration of love for another man. “When Nadia gave up her position as your sentinel and named Julian to take her place, I knew what was going on.”
“And are you okay with that?”
Jhann looks back into the house through the glass door as if to check to see if anyone is watching us. When he turns his head back in my direction, he asks, “I presume your companion can hear this conversation? I was told vampires have excellent hearing.”
“Yes, he can hear us,” I reply, not seeing any reason to lie about Julian’s abilities.
“Then I have a proposal for the both of you.”
“Which is?” I ask cautiously.
“I propose that you and I go through with the wedding as planned.”
“That’s not acceptable to me,” I say, immediately shaking my head in refusal.
“Please,” Jhann says, not as a beggar, but as a man trying to negotiate terms, “hear me out. I do have my reasons, and I assure you they have nothing to do with love.”
I snort. “Well, that’s romantic coming from my fiancé.”
“Is that a complaint?”
I shake my head. “Not really. Just odd is all. Go ahead. Give me a good reason why we should get married.”
“Well, for one thing, the alfar will never accept you as their queen, at least not fully. They may bow and smile to your face, but I can assure you those same people will try to find a way to discredit your reign. You have two very difficult things to overcome before they will accept you as their monarch.”
“Which are?” I ask out of curiosity.
“Your father’s ruined reputation among the alfar and the fact that you were raised here on Earth instead of Alfheim. Neither of those details will work in your favor, and both of them could potentially be used against you to take the throne away from House Moonshade.”
“So how would marrying you solve those two problems for me?”
“For one, I’m well respected among the alfar. I may not have the most powerful house, but I can give your reign credibility. I’m a pure blood, which is saying a lot among the alfar nowadays, and I have the connections to ensure House Moonshade remains the ruling house. Also …” Jhann hesitates, and I can feel his trepidation to mention his second reason why I should marry him. He’s worried about how I will react. “From what I understand, and please feel free to correct me if I am wrong, vampires are unable to produce offspring.”
Jhann looks at me as if waiting for me to confirm or deny what he’s heard.
“You’re not wrong,” I tell him. “But we may know of a way to make Julian human again. If we succeed, he and I can have a child who can be my heir.”
“How close are you to finding a cure?” he asks, keenly interested in my news.
“It’s hard to say,” I admit. “We’ve had a few setbacks recently, but there’s no way I’m having sex with you just to get knocked up.”
“Although I find you very attractive,” he replies with an embarrassed grin, “that wasn’t going to be my suggestion. We have traditional medical technology on Alfheim to perform in vitro fertilization. I believe Ireen mentioned it when we all presented ourselves to you at the ball.”
“Yeah,” I say with a slight shiver, “I remember her telling me that if I chose to marry her, we would be able to use her father’s sperm to impregnate me. I can’t say that was a strong selling point on her behalf.”
Jhann chuckles. “Ireen isn’t that bad. Her mother is a monster, but I think Ireen gets a bad rap because of her mother’s ambition to become queen of the alfar one day.”
“Well, I hate to stand in the way of someone’s dream, but that’s never going to happen for her, at least not while I’m still alive.”
“And I only want to help you keep the throne,” he promises. “I’m here to serve you in any way I can.”
“Why?” I have to ask. “Almost no one does anything selflessly. You may love the alfar, but I have to know what it is you plan to gain out of this arrangement.”
“Marrying you would give my house more prestige, and if we were to produce a child together, our houses could unite under him or her and my people would always be protected. Right now, I have the weakest house. If a war broke out among us, my house would be the first to get swallowed up by a larger, more powerful house. House Moonshade is strong, but I can help you make it stronger without asking for much in return.”
“And what about Nadia?” I ask. My out-of-the-blue question seems to catch Jhann off guard. He wasn’t expecting me to know about his feelings for my friend.
“What about her?” he replies with a straight face, giving nothing away.
“Don’t play dumb with me,” I say. “If we are going to be friends, you need to be willing to tell me the truth about everything.”
Jhann sighs deeply and turns his head to look out over the lake. As he composes his thoughts and feelings concerning Nadia, I know that his emotions about her are a complete mess. He loves her, but there’s a block in his emotions concerning any kind of future with my friend.
“My relationship with her has always been a complicated one,” he finally tells me.
“Why didn’t the two of you ever marry if you were in love with one another?”
“It wasn’t because of me,” Jhann is quick to say. “I wanted to marry her, even though she came from a working-class family. It was her drive to become a sentinel that kept us apart. That’s why I was surprised when she gave it up so easily in order to give you and Julian a chance to marry one day.”
“It wasn’t easy for her,” I inform him. “It was one of the hardest things she’s ever done, but her loyalty to me is what led her to do it.”
“Either way, I think it shows that she didn’t love me enough to give up on her dream when we were younger.”
I can’t really come back with anything to say regarding that. I don’t know Nadia’s side of the story, and I would be doing her a disservice if I even tried to guess what her reasons were back then.
“There’s one other thing that we need to discuss while I’m here,” Jhann says, adeptly steering the subject away from his doomed romance with Nadia. “It’s tradition for a couple to have their engagement party within a week of announcing their betrothal. We should probably decide on a night to have the celebration. Even if we end up not marrying one another, all of the other houses will expect us to uphold tradition. Otherwise they might become suspicious.”
“I’m going to have to get back to you on that,” I say. “Julian and the other vampires are preparing to have a conclave. I have to be there with him for the meeting—all companions do. Tomorrow I’ll have a better timetable on the events Julian’s sister has planned, but since this will be my first one, I have no idea what all they will be doing or how many days it will take.”
“That sounds reasonable to me,” he says. “Once you have their schedule, we can pick a night to have the party.”
“All right,” I agree, even though I would rather not go through the whole charade, since I have no intention of ever marrying Jhann.
I can’t argue that he didn’t make some good points about the advantages of marrying him, but I won’t in good conscience marry one man while I’m in love with another. It’s just not happening.
Jhann and I head back inside where I find a troubled looking Julian standing at the far end of the kitchen island all alone while everyone else is in the living room talking. He looks so isolated that the picture he makes breaks my heart. I immediately go to him, not caring what anyone else in the room might think of my actions.
“Hey,” I say, smiling at him in an attempt to bring him out of his doldrums, “you need to look happier.”
“And why is that?” he asks, hiding his emotions from me like he used to when we first met.
“Because I love you,” I tell him simply. “And everyone in this room knows it.”
Julian’s gloom shatters as he lets himself smile after I declare my love for him. The expression on his face tells me that he can’t believe I just said the words out loud for all to hear (even my fiancé), but he also can’t hide the fact that he’s pleased that I did it.
“We should probably be leaving,” Alden announces as he stands from the chair he was sitting in. “It’s a long drive back to New Orleans, and I still have some things to take care of for Shael.”
I meet Alden halfway to the front door.
“Thank you for coming,” I say, holding out a hand for him to shake. “I appreciate you both driving out all this way to let me know about the valkyries’ tribunal. Julian and I will be in Alfheim as soon as possible tomorrow.”
“Shael ordered me to tell you that she already misses you in Alfheim,” Alden says with a smile. “It’s been a long time since she’s had someone to confide in besides me and Viktor. I can’t tell you how grateful I am that she found you.”
I’m a little surprised to discover that I miss my aunt too. She’s the only blood relative I have left, and that makes her an unexpected and treasured gift in my life.
“I’m glad she found me too,” I say.
“Well, we all look forward to seeing you tomorrow,” Alden says. “Keep safe until then.”
Alden heads toward the door where Alea is already waiting for him. She opens the door for Alden as Jhann comes to stand in front of me.
“Thank you again for your willingness to help Corym,” he tells me. “I appreciate it and I know his father would too.”
“I’ll do what I can tomorrow,” I promise. “I just hope it’s enough to save him from an execution.”
Jhann nods. “Me too.”
As the three alfar walk through the doorway and out of the house, I breathe a pent-up sigh of relief. I know I can’t shirk my responsibilities to them, and I don’t want to. What I do want is one night with Julian where we don’t have to worry about the outside world demanding more from us than we want to give.
I grab one of Julian’s hands and say, “Let’s go back upstairs.”
“Um, should Viktor and I make ourselves scarce for a while?” Nadia asks as she stands from her spot on the couch in the living room and picks Viktor up into her arms.
“I guess that depends on you,” I say. “I plan to make love with Julian for the rest of the night. If you don’t want to hear us, I suggest you find somewhere else to stay.”
“I’ll go check on the other members of your detail,” she says, making up her mind rather quickly. “See the two of you in the morning.”
Nadia, with Viktor in her arms, is out the front door before I can ask her about the other members of my Valengard detail. It’s just as well. I’m sure she’ll introduce them to me soon enough.
“Let’s go,” I say to Julian, tugging on his arm and heading for the stairs because we’re wasting precious naked time.
“Wait a minute,” he says, coming to a complete stop, which makes me have to stop my forward motion as well. “We should talk.”
“Then let’s go upstairs and talk while we’re naked,” I reply with what I believe to be my best suggestive smile. “I’m all about multitasking.”
Julian doesn’t crack a smile at my jest, so I know he’s troubled about something, and I feel positive I know what that something is.
“Listen, I won’t lie and say that Jhann didn’t make some good points,” I say, “but you need to keep in mind that I won’t have to ascend to the throne for a very long time. Since Shael is my father’s twin, that means she’s the same age he would have been right now: forty-five. She’s going to live for quite a few more years to come. By that time, we will have figured out how to end your curse, popped out a couple of adorable little babies, and made everyone on Alfheim wish they could be us because they’ll all envy the love we have for each other. That’s our future, Julian, and don’t try to get all noble on me by saying I should think about marrying Jhann for the good of my people. I’m happiest with you, and if I’m happy, the alfar will be happy too. Does that about cover everything? Or were you going to make a different argument?”
