Just One Golden Kiss (9 page)

He stepped forward. “You should have let her die!”

“You can’t mean that.”

“Did you enjoy it?”

“Eldrich, please, I love you.”

“Answer me. You owe me the truth.”

“I thought of you.”

“I hunted last night,” he said, facing her. “I
killed
last night.”

“I don’t want to hear this.”

“And do you think I care what you want? I no longer care about you.”

“I’ll leave,” she said, making for the door.

He grabbed her hand and brought her close to him. “I still love you. Damn my soul, I love you.”

“Forgive me,” she said, throwing her arms around him.

“I can’t be without you,” he said, kissing her.

She kissed him back, forcefully.

“Don’t ever leave me again,” she said.

“I didn’t leave you.”

“What do you mean?” she asked.

“Do you really think I would ever abandon you? I waited outside until the sun began to rise. I had to make sure you were all right.”

A thought came to Lela’s mind. He must have run into Zel.
No, no, they couldn’t have!

“I talked to Zel,” he said.

She was going to most definitely faint.

“She told me everything.”

“Did you–”

“Of course not. I’m yours, and only yours.”

Blood returned to her brain.

“If you had...I’d have no right to confront you about it.”

“But I didn’t. I hate that you spent the night away from me with another man. I hate it...but I know why you did it.”

“Let’s never speak of it,” she said.

“Will you stay with me?” he asked.

“Forever,” she said. She didn’t know if they would ever truly get past this but she prayed they would.

He picked her up and carried her up the stairs. “I shall erase all memory of him.”

“Yes, my love, I beg you.”

He threw her on the bed and took off his clothes.

She removed the cloak Zel had let her have.

He came down on her and wasted no time thrusting into her.

“To whom do you belong?” he asked.

“Only to you,” she said.

As he plunged harder into her, all thoughts of her night with Xavier drifted to the back of her mind. Yes, she had enjoyed her time with him but she did not love him. The man she loved was inside of her and oh, how she had missed him.
Sweet prince of mine, my love, my everything, take all of me.

Eldrich brought his fangs to her neck and she cried out, “Drink from me, do it.”

In ecstasy, one thought from the night before broke through to the forefront of her mind. She was embarrassed but could not deny that yes, it was on her mind.
The squash.

“I know about it,” he whispered into her ear.

She had actually said the word out loud! Sweet Gods.

“I’m sorry.”

He laughed. “We can try other vegetables if you want, just not squash,” he said.

She laughed. “Oh Eldrich, I adore you.”

She knew all was well and they were in love
and
free. And there were many other vegetables with which they could play.

CHAPTER EIGHT

It was early morning. The night’s storm had brought down trees and overflowed the river, leaving behind disturbed habitats and an eerie stillness in the air. Lela trudged through the forest on her way to the castle. It had been two months since she had seen her father.

She had thought about him every day and panged to see him, throw her arms around him and yes, ask him why he hadn’t sent any of his men to look for her after she ran away to live with Eldrich. Although she was the one who left and chose not to come back, she couldn’t help feeling like an abandoned child. No matter, she pressed on and prayed the storm had passed over the castle without incident.

Oh how she missed the energy of the castle, the servants gossiping and laughing, the aroma coming from the kitchen, dogs barking, and her talks
with Lady Rema, the comings and goings of visitors from other kingdoms...she missed it all.

Before Eldrich had disappeared into his sleeping hiding place for the day, she had told him she was going to go back to the castle to see her father and make sure no harm had come to him or anyone else.

The storm had ripped off part of the roof from Eldrich’s house and knocked down several trees, one of which scarcely missed hitting the house. She and Eldrich had spent the night pretending not to be worried, playing cards, telling jokes and talking about their lives together and how happy they were to have found each other. He had asked her more than once
yet again
if she would stay with him forever. His constant need for reassurance was instilling doubt in her. She was completely in love with him and she was sure he was with her but him asking her the same question made her think he was
really
afraid she would leave him. She made a mental note to ask him to stop or at the very least limit his questioning to only once per week, a thought that made her chuckle. For goodness sake, here she was in love with a clingy vampire.

Last night was the first time they had gone without indulging in each other. They had never gone a single night without having sex, not even when she was bleeding. It was during her bleeding time that Eldrich indulged even more, going down on her, licking her and drinking from her as if he meant to walk into the sun at first light and cease to exist. Even now, thinking about his tongue and lips inside of her, nipping, sucking, teasing her sent a sensation through her which made her want to stop in her tracks right then and there and give herself pleasure.

Yes, it had only been one night but bloody hell, she admitted to missing his warmth, the way he spoke to her during sex, commanding her to do what he wanted, pushing the limits of their desires, but also responding to her wants, her wishes.

For the moment,
just the moment
, she evicted him out of her mind and concentrated on her mission.

It would take her one hour to reach the castle and that’s if she didn’t pause for food and also maintained a brisk pace. Before leaving Eldrich’s house, she had eaten her fill of fruit and bread. Ever since the night she had spent with Xavier fresh bread awaited her every morning in Eldrich’s kitchen. Although she had told Xavier and his golden-haired lover, Zel, never to cross paths with her or Eldrich again, she suspected it was one of them bringing her breakfast each morning. And she was grateful; she’d started to gain back some of the weight she had initially lost when she first came to live with Eldrich and had to rely on berries from the forest.

When Eldrich saw how much weight she was losing, he started sneaking into villages late at night to steal pieces of meat for her. She was a princess relying on a vampire
and
an angel to bring her food. For goodness sake, she had fallen far from the King’s crown.

Thinking of her night with Xavier made her body tingle just a little bit, maybe more than a little bit, if she were to be truly honest. She had had sex with a fallen angel, never mind that she hadn’t even known angels existed before she met Xavier. And what’s more, had she refused to have sex with him, his poor imprisoned and cursed lover would have died. Oh, yes, Lela had considered giving herself the title of Witch’s Curse Breaker.

Never mind her outlandish, yet tasty time with Xavier she centered instead on reaching the castle, a task which was beginning to become quite arduous. With so many trees down, she had to either climb over them or find another way around them.

As she climbed down from the other side of a tree, she noticed something shining through a pile of leaves. Bending, she moved the leaves aside and upon taking a closer look at the shiny material, she gasped. It couldn’t be! She was staring at gold. She stood so abruptly she fell backwards and into the fallen tree from which she had just climbed down. Pointy branches dug into her back. Using her arms to push off the tree, she yelled, “Bloody hell!”

When she was once again standing, she quickly scanned the area.
Please don’t be here, please, leave me alone.
She didn’t see the golden ball which gave her some comfort. Taking in a deep breath, she sped through the forest, jumping over branches and puddles and more than once nearly colliding with a fallen tree.

Ahead, the castle came into view. From what she could see so far, nothing looked out of place. She flew toward it. As she got closer, her stomach began to ache and she considered turning and running back to Eldrich’s house. No, she was
not
a coward. And besides, despite her apprehension, her most important concern was to know her father was safe.

Clearing her throat and swallowing, she reached the castle’s grounds. Everything appeared as she had left it. It was as if the storm had intentionally bypassed the castle. Relieved, she exhaled a deep breath and massaged her brow. Then it hit her. How did she not notice it sooner? The silence, the absence of people, the castle was deserted.

Her heart in her knees, Lela ran through the castle’s halls yelling, “Father! Father! Where are you?”

She stopped and listened. She heard nothing. Not possible. Flinging the doors open to her father’s bedroom, she yelled again, “Father! It’s Lela!”

He was not in his room. Sinking into a chair, she pleaded with her mind to bring her answers. Something awful must have happened to cause her father and the rest of the people to leave. No wonder her father hadn’t come looking for her. Whatever transpired must have occurred soon after she left, as soon as that same night. Vampires!

Blood rushed to her brain; if she had not been sitting, she would have fainted. Sitting still for a moment, she let the dizzy spell pass. Then she dashed into the hall on her way to the castle’s kitchen. She’d gather as much food as she could carry, hus
tle back to the house, formulate a plan and wait for Eldrich to rise from his sleep.

Scanning the kitchen, she held her nose. The smell of rotting food so strong, she nearly hurled. Flies flew about as if humans had gone extinct and it was now their time to rule the land. Barrels of rotting vegetables and fruit sat on the floor and on tables.

Quickly, she searched for any food that was still edible. Ah, yes, the cooks always kept dried salted meat and jars of preserved fruit in the pantry. She spilled a bag of grain and then used the bag to collect as much meat and preserved fruit as she could carry. Throwing the bag over her shoulder, she made for the kitchen’s exit door and then walked through the short hall which led to the animals’ pens.

But when she was outside she didn’t hear any sounds coming from the enclosures. The animals were gone, too. Madness!

If the people of the castle were in immediate danger, her father would not have ordered they also take the animals. But then she had been gone for two months and couldn’t be sure when it was that her father and the rest of the people left the castle. Nothing made sense. How was it possible that everyone, including the animals, had simply vanished?

Trying to understand what could have happened, Lela thought of the gold she had seen in the forest. Perhaps the golden ball had made it out of the sea and was now searching for her. But, if the ball was once again following her, why hadn’t the vampires come for her? Why would they have attacked her father instead? Maybe vampires had nothing to do with this. But who else could have gone after her father?
Questions, nothing but questions and no bloody answers!

“Lela!” a woman screamed.

Lela turned in the direction of the voice. Coming out of the woods was a familiar face.

“Lady Rema, oh my beloved Lady Rema!” Lela yelled, setting the bag of food down and running to meet her.

Crying and disheveled, Lady Rema embraced her.

“I can’t believe it’s you,” Lady Rema said, looking her up and down.

“What happened here?” Lela asked.

“You’re so skinny,” Lady Rema said, hugging her again. “Oh Princess, I thought you were dead.”

“Focus, dear Lady Rema. Tell me what happened. Where is my father?”

Lady Rema started to cry again. “They disappeared.”

“How?” Lela asked, putting her hands on Lady Rema’s shoulders and lightly shaking her. She wouldn’t hesitate to slap her.

“The day you left...when the hours passed and you still hadn’t returned, I went looking for you. I was afraid the King would find out.”

“You went into the forest, alone?”

Lady Rema had never left the castle’s grounds. Not that Lela was aware of anyway.

“I had to bring you back. You told me the golden ball had made itself known to you. That meant vampires would be coming after you,” she said, wringing her hands.

As much as she loved Lady Rema her reason for going into the forest gave Lela doubt. She was the only one who hadn’t vanished. Why? There was something Lady Rema wasn’t telling her.