Excitement thrummed in the air until the whole room vibrated with suppressed hysteria. Leo removed the first bottle, picked out the stopper and sniffed. He could smell nothing. He shook it. But he did not hear the liquid sloshing against the glass. Holding out his hand with his palm facing up, he attempted to pour a drop out for all to see.
But the bottle was empty.
His throat grew tight as he tried to swallow. Leo turned to see their smiles fade, to see fear flash in their eyes. He checked the next bottle, knowing that there were only four left, not knowing what to do should it be empty too.
Replacing the empty bottle back in its cushion, he took the next one, knowing as soon as he held it in his hand it was also empty. Still, he went through the motions, felt his shoulders sag as he tipped it upside down and shook it.
The room was deathly silent.
Leo continued with his ministrations, feeling a little easier when he discovered nothing in the third bottle. To leave only one of them suffering from the affliction would be the worst punishment of all. After checking the last two bottles, it was as he suspected.
He closed the lid gently and turned to face them. In their disappointment, they had stepped back into the middle of the room. Alexander and Elliot held their wives in their arms. Indeed, the realisation that their husbands were immortal, and there may be no cure, had finally roused painful emotions.
Elliot cleared his throat. “From your grim expression, I suspect it is not good news.”
Leo gazed at the sorrowful look on their faces. “I’m afraid we cannot all take the cure.”
“All?” Elliot asked. “You mean not all of the bottles were empty?”
Leo shook his head, struggled to suppress the wave of sadness consuming him. “No, not all the bottles were empty. There are two left. Only two of us can take the cure.”
Chapter 18
The sudden sound of whimpering permeated the stunned the silence.
Ivana glanced at the men whose lives had been forever altered by her bitterness and resentment. Their wives looked weak and helpless when enveloped in their strong arms. Many times, while tending to a child plagued with a fever, while trying to persuade Christoph to speak, she had felt justified in her actions. But now she had come to know Evelyn and Grace, to know the love they shared with their husbands, it made her doubt her decision.
Ivana pushed past Leo, desperate to see the evidence for herself. But she knew her eyes and ears had not deceived her. Watching Leo check the bottles, counting in her mind all the times Nikolai had taken the cure, convinced her there was not enough to save them all.
“I thought it might be in a large flask or similar vessel.” She ran her hands over the tiny bottles as though the process would make them magically refill. She turned to Leo as he came to stand at her side. “I hoped there would be enough for all of us.” Years of suppressed emotion filled her throat, and she gasped a breath. “What can we do, Leo?”
Alexander cleared his throat. “Forgive me, but I need to take Evelyn somewhere to sit down. Is it safe for me to go up into the Great Hall?”
Ivana turned to him, her heart aching when she noticed Evelyn’s blotchy face. “In an hour or two. I’m afraid you will have to wait in the crypt until then.”
He nodded to the room beyond the secret chamber. “We’ll sit out there. It will give you a chance to talk privately.”
Elliot looked at Grace, cupped her face and kissed her softly on the lips. “Are you alright?”
She shook her head numerous times in response. “It never mattered to me before, that you were different. But now,” she paused and hung her head. “Now I feel as though there is a huge divide separating us. Every day I age only serves to widen the gap, only serves to take me further away from you.”
Elliot glanced at them, his rueful look causing guilt to flare. “We will go and sit with Alexander.” He took Grace’s hand and led her from the room.
Ivana fell into Leo’s arms. “Oh, it is all so terrible. It is all my fault.”
“Do not be so hard on yourself.” He stroked her hair, the motion going some way to soothe her. “We have all moved beyond the need to apportion blame. We all understand you did what you thought was best. Indeed, in a strange way, our lives have been enhanced by our experiences.”
She looked up at him and without another word gripped his shirt and claimed his mouth. The kiss was desperate and rough, a way to banish the pain of regret. Even in her despair, she wanted to feel his naked body covering hers. And she would have given anything to join with him in that instant.
Leo stroked her cheek as their lips parted. “We must decide what to do.”
“Will we ever be truly happy?” The question fell from her lips without thought. “Will we ever be able to move forward?”
“While my heart aches for my brothers, it soars with joy at the thought of sharing my life with you.”
“I love you,” she said, a radiant light flowing through her body at the thought.
Leo smiled weakly. “And I love you, which is why I must be honest with you now.”