“I have already fed this evening, on a delightful wench in a town not too far from here.” He picked at his teeth, examined his fingers. “I do so hate it when they struggle. There is a tendency to overindulge.”
Sylvester presented Ivana with the tray.
“Please tell me, you are not still drinking animal blood?” Nikolai continued.
Ivana opened her mouth to answer, but Leo spoke first. “Tonight we will follow your lead.” He waved the tray away, turned to Ivana and smiled as a way to reassure her. “Tonight we will drink from each other in celebration of our last night together. That is if your husband has no objection.”
“I would not deny you the opportunity to take one last meal.”
Nikolia’s expression revealed his indifference. If he had no feelings for Ivana, why had he forced Leo to leave once before? Why had he threatened to kill him? Logic told him it must stem from a need to protect the mysterious object.
Leo pulled Ivana to her feet. She tilted her head to give him free access to the vein.
The sight of her elegant neck coupled with the thought of tasting her blood caused desire to flare. “Trust me.” He whispered the words as his fangs burst from their sheath, piercing the vein with ease.
She grew limp in his arms while he drank. He could feel her life force flowing through him, energising, strengthening, just as he’d hoped. If they were going to fight Nikolai, they would need to be strong.
A soft moan escaped from her lips. Her husband shuffled in his chair and cleared his throat. It would not do to rouse his ire at this point, and so Leo pulled away, licked the residue from the white tips.
He tugged at the collar of his shirt, encouraged Ivana to feed. “Take what you need.”
The moment she began drawing his blood, his cock twitched. An image of their erotic coupling entered his mind, and he dismissed it for fear the sensation would cloud his ability to focus.
“Enough.” Nikolai’s voice echoed through the Great Hall.
Ivana straightened. She dabbed at the corners of her mouth, a deep look of longing evident as she raised her hand to caress Leo’s cheek. “I will always love you.”
Leo blinked rapidly, surprised she had given a voice to her feelings in the presence of her husband. All the things he wanted to say were lost under the pressure of Nikolai’s intense glare.
“Sentiment is for the weak.” Nikolai flicked a speck from his coat. “It is for those who fear loneliness. It is for those who lack the courage to feed naturally.”
“There is nothing natural about our affliction,” Ivana spat. She moved to Leo’s side and hugged his arm. “It is a grotesque mutation of all that is good.”
Nikolai snorted. “Well, I for one will miss the sense of detachment that comes when one drinks from the host. I find human emotions far more debilitating, but it is something I must conquer if I am to keep my lands and the respect of my people.”
Still feeling lightheaded from taking Ivana’s blood, Leo tried to make sense of the cryptic comment. “You make it sound as though you have a choice.”
“Oh, I do.” Nikolai chuckled though his mouth hardly twitched and his eyes were cold and black. “I suppose it will not hurt to boast of my ingenious plan as come the morning you will both be dead.”
Ivana clutched his arm tight. Leo refused to be intimidated but did not refute Nikolai's claim as he was eager to discover the reason for his return.
“Do not listen to him,” Ivana said revealing her contempt. “He is playing games with us.”
“Now you know that is not true, Ivana.”
“Why must you kill us?” Leo would keep him talking in a bid to delay his inevitable attack. “If you no longer need Ivana, then let us go.”
“I cannot. You know too much.” He waved to the chairs, but they refused to sit. “You will seek revenge, reveal my secret. When I am human, you will be stronger, easily able to kill me.”
“Human?” Ivana jerked back. “You have lost your mind. Why do you taunt us with your lies?”
“They are not lies, Ivana. It is just that you do not remember. I have taken the cure before. You were the one who bit me again so I could become strong. So you see, you did have a purpose.”
“The cure?” they both cried in unison.
A hundred questions raced through Leo’s mind. Was this just another attempt to weaken their resolve? If there was a cure, why didn’t Ivana know of it? How was such a thing even possible? Their blood contained poison; their skin could no longer withstand sunlight.
“Indeed, I must take it again. My people are suspicious by nature. They believe in witchcraft, omens, and signs. There are whispers that I collude with the Devil, that I sold my soul for the power to overthrow my brother. I must be seen to walk in the sun to secure their loyalty. So, I will return to my human form, marry and bear sons to continue my legacy.”