Right before her eyes, the bar's haze of smoke seemed to transform, changing consistency all around them. Loreans grew uneasy. More than one group shuffled, flew, or scampered toward the exit.
"What's happening?" Sabine demanded.
Bettina could no longer see the sorceress through the haze. She glanced down at her now glittering skin. Speak of the vampire. "He's . . . here." She shot to her feet, whirling around.
Daciano!
His skin was even paler now, his build rangier than the last time she'd seen him. He was dressed all in black, like a reaper in a long leather coat. His lips were thinned, his eyes black with emotion.
Rage? Vampiric hunger? Lust?
All she knew was that he was absolutely about to seize her. A male vampire in his prime had come for his Bride.
He disappeared. No, wait-
His strong arms wrapped around her from behind, enveloping her with his scent and heat. At her ear, he rasped, "Miss me, Bride?"
Through the mist, Trehan had gazed at her, a vision in her bold silks and jewels. A demonic-looking crown perched atop shining braids. A dark green mask highlighted her eyes.
He grudgingly admitted that she was even more beautiful than when he'd last seen her.
Life with Caspion must be agreeing with her.
At the thought, Trehan squeezed her tighter. Now she is warm and trembling in my arms. Where she will remain.
Just before he traced her back to Dacia, he glanced over his shoulder at her Sorceri companion. The female darted her eyes blindly, unable to see through the mist, but she looked delighted. "Have fun, Bettina! You two meet me back here in an hour. . . ."
Trehan frowned, then forced his Bride back to his home.
Inside his suite, Bettina staggered back from him. By the way she was staring at his eyes, he knew they were still black.
"Where have you taken me?" She peered around his home with an expression of dawning horror, then rushed to the opened balcony. As she gazed out over the city, she rocked on her feet. "I-I'm in Dacia."
"Yes."
Without turning back, she cried, "Why?"
"I've been accepted back in. My Bride as well."
"H-how dare you take me to this place!"
For the thousandth time, he pictured the look on her face as she'd handed him that goblet. "I dare easily." He traced behind her, inhaling her scent. "You belong to me. And it was time to collect my belongings."
In the confusion of the bar, the vampire had been able to snare Bettina so easily, plucking her like gold from a rushing stream, then taking her to . . . Dacia.
A place where outsiders could check in, but could never check out. Yes, she'd wanted to talk to him-but not at the expense of her freedom!
Barely tamping down her rising shock, she'd hastened across the spacious, gilded room to a balcony. At the railing, she'd gazed out in bewilderment, seeing everything Daciano had described of his home.
Soaring caverns, wisps of mist, carved-stone buildings. A giant crystal above all twinkled with prismed light. A haunting black castle stood sentinel not far away.
The vampire had truly ferried her to the land of the legendary Daci.
Bristling, she pivoted around, finding herself eye level with his chest. He was scant inches away, so close that she had to crane her head up to meet his gaze.
Close enough that she could take in his addictive scent. It still scrambled her thought processes.
He opened his mouth to speak, then closed it, looking as confused and miserable as she'd been feeling for weeks.
Were his thoughts scrambled as well?
Part of her was outraged by his behavior; part of her was stunned that they were together. I'm with him; he's just here.
No, he'd abducted her. Sure, deep down she'd wanted him to come for her-but she'd never imagined a reunion like this. Why couldn't he have shown up, proverbial hat in hand, asking for another chance with her? Not even hat in hand-how about just looking at her with a steady gaze as he admitted they had some things to work out?
How quickly she would've folded. But nooo, he had to kidnap her with a crazed gleam in his eye! And he'd taken her to this one-way realm? Just when she was getting the hang of ruling her own kingdom? "If you think I'm going to be stuck down here, think again. You trace me back or I'll . . ." She trailed off, catching sight of a metallic sparkle out of the corner of her eye. His vast weapons collection! "Or I'll . . ."
. . . take every single one of those with me?
Lances, maces, axes, long swords, shields, blades. Arms classed in groups, divided by epochs. Shining. Flawlessly curated in gold cases. Like a monument to tissue disruption. It would take her days to investigate all the items.
When she could drag her gaze from the collection, she peeked around him to survey the rest of his home. A solitary chair with books stacked around it sat in front of a great hearth. A lazy fire burned, illuminating a luxe interior. Artwork lined the walls; she thought she recognized a few . . . from infamous heists?
One corridor branched off from this sitting area, opening up into a wing with scores of bookshelves. Through another corridor, she glimpsed a bedroom-with a bed of furs low to the ground.
A vampire's library lair.
"Investigate all you like," he told her in a rough voice. "Familiarize yourself with your new surroundings. We have all the time in the world. . . ."
Even in the midst of his turmoil, Trehan felt pride over his home, over the luxuries that his sorceress so obviously appreciated.
He stood taller, knowing she was impressed. Before, he'd brought nothing to their union-other than a coveted crystal and one family sword. Going forward, they would enjoy the wealth that he provided.
Now that he'd abducted her, this plan struck him as brilliant. Strange that it took a mad vampire like Lothaire to teach me that I need to be a vampire. Dimly, he wondered, What else are we Dacianos to be taught?
"So are you and I going to talk about what happened during that fight or not?" Bettina demanded, tossing her long hair back, as if preparing to spar. "You have to know why I did what I did."
"You made that abundantly clear!"
"I never imagined that you would shake off the poison so quickly."
His jaw slackened. Brazenly admitting it?
"But if I were in the same situation, I'd do it all over again!"
"What?" he roared, punching the closest wall. The building rocked.
Strangely, she didn't flinch, just took his measure with glittering eyes. "Obviously you're still unwell. I'm not going to fare any better with you now than I did the last time we talked. You need to take me home, Trehan."
"I'm not done with you, Bride." Will never be done with you. "As you once told me: resign yourself."
"I won't be kept here against my will."
He raised his brows. "And what will you do to stop me?"
"You forget I have my power back." Light glowed from her raised palms.
"How could I ever forget that?" He stalked to her, looming over her. "Do it, sorceress!" He bowed his chest against her hands. "At least my heart will feel altered from its current wretched state." Stopped heart, lost heart. What did it matter?
Chin raised, she shoved at him with both hands. He felt heat rising from them and tensed against the coming pain.
But she didn't go through with it, dropping her hands with a frustrated sound.
"You hesitate to use your power to help yourself? Yet you wielded it so readily to protect that demon."
"Of course I protected him! I always will if I can."
Fangs gone sharp, Trehan vowed, "He can't want you like I do-no one can! Even if you do worse than you already have, I'll still come for you."
Before Bettina could even react to his baffling words, Daciano had clamped her around the waist and traced her. An instant later, she perceived furs beneath her. He'd taken her to his bed?
"Vampire, stop! Just think about what you're doing!"
Without slowing, he followed her down, pinning her arms above her head, stretching his body over hers.
When he grazed the side of his face against hers, seeming to breathe her in, she peered past him at the vaulted ceiling.
His own scent called to her-his skin, his need-and she found herself responding to him. Gods, she'd missed him so much! "I-I don't understand what's happening." Maybe if she had more experience with relationships, or with his kind in general, she'd be able to decipher his words, his wild emotions. "I don't understand any of this."
"All you need to understand is that I'm never letting you go."
Some weak part of her thrilled at his words. But . . . "You can't just keep me here. I have a kingdom to rule."
"Can't I? Maybe I wouldn't have done so back when I had honor. But you've stripped me down to the bone, woman. Until I'm nothing but pain and need. A shade."
"Did you bring me here to punish me?"
"Yes! No." He worked his h*ps between her thighs, rucking her skirt up to her waist. "I'll figure this all out when I'm inside you."
Just like that night in his tent, she could feel his rigid erection pressing against her panties. Against her will, her sex readied for that hardness, growing damp. "I don't want you-not like this."
He drew back above her, but he kept her wrists pinned. "Damn you, Bettina!" With his free hand, he clutched the back of her head, searching her expression. "Choose me over him! Want me."
Over Cas? I did!
But before she could work up a scathing retort, the vampire yelled, "What do I have to do? Fucking tell me!" He jostled her mask, partly obscuring her vision.
"Let my hands go!" When he didn't, she rubbed her shoulder against the corner of the mask to right it.
At once, a change seemed to come over him. With his irises flickering from black to green and back, he released her, tenderly straightening it for her.
Then, with a groan of misery, he buried his face against her neck, punching the pallet again and again. "I can't hurt you," he rasped. "Even now, I can't."
"But clearly you wish you could?" she sputtered. She didn't deserve this from him! Yet he didn't seem to be listening to her whatsoever.
Against her ear, he murmured, "Before you, I was a male of little emotion." As if he couldn't help himself, he lifted his head up to brush his lips over her cheek. "Now with you? I've never struggled against such lust. I've never felt such wrath." He punctuated his harsh words with a gentle kiss to her temple. "I've never hurt so deeply." A kiss to the corner of her lips. "Or loved so hard."
"Love?" Daciano had talked about fate and bloodings and Brides. But he'd never mentioned love!
His eyes were mesmerizing as they caught hers. "I hate what you did. And still I love you." With a bitter curse, as if he'd said too much, he drew away from her. Turning to sit at the edge of the pallet, he dropped his head into his hands. "I won't let you go, dragă. You'll stay in this underworld with me until your other life is but a memory."
"Stay with you?" She righted her clothing with snappish movements. "After how you've treated me!" He'd abandoned her, then abducted her-never explaining his actions, nor allowing Bettina to explain hers.
His head swung up. "You are angry at me? You betrayed me repeatedly! And then, on top of everything, you used your power on me-on me. Apparently I was the last to know you'd recovered it!"
"I had no choice but to use it. And what about your actions? You humiliated me in front of my people! Not to mention what you did to Caspion."
"You dare utter his name in my home?" A chilling malice laced his tone. "I blame him for your treachery. He talked you into it. You wouldn't have betrayed me on your own."
"He had nothing to do with it! I didn't know what else to do! I was terrified for you."
Double take. "So you poisoned me?"
"I had to- Wait. What?"
"You handed me that f**king goblet of blood, the one spiked with poison from the ring you always wore."
Chapter 52
She gasped. "Vampire, you believe I did that?"
When Trehan registered her dumbfounded expression, hope bloomed in his chest.
Then logic reminded him that she and Caspion had the means, the motive, the opportunity. You reach, because you want her so badly. "If not you and the demon, then who would dare?"
She cried, "How about your cousins? The ones who are always trying to kill you!"
"They would never do something so dishonorable."
"But you think I would?"
In a singsong tone, Salem said at his ear: "You're both wrong."
"Sylph! You followed Bettina here?" And remained? When I was about to take her?
"I'd morphed wiv her collar a split second before your mist came. Then I figured you were goin' to nab her, so I tagged along to make sure you wouldn't hurt her." The being shimmered around the room as if excited. "Do you know how long I've been wantin' to come here?"
Bettina looked as mystified as Trehan felt. "Salem, how are we both wrong? Who did it?"
"The vampire's squire! Not twenty minutes ago, another phantom told me he'd heard the young vamp brag about mickeying Daciano's carafe of blood." Salem addressed Trehan as he said, "Seems the Horde lord you killed in the melee was his sire. The little bugger couldn't murder you outside the ring, but he could hamstring you before a match so Caspion could take your head."
The bloody squire poisoned me? That soon-to-be-dead vampire?
Not Bettina, then.
Trehan's eyes widened, and his heart began to thud. Not Bettina! "This news is . . . welcome," he choked out in utter understatement. "Now, begone from here."
Salem chuckled. "Right you are, Your Kingness. Commencing me tour of the Realm of Blood and Mist-"
"I didn't mean into the kingdom!"
Salem was already gone. And Trehan couldn't stay angry, not with all the relief he felt.
In a quiet voice, Bettina said, "You truly thought I could do something like that to you?"