“Devon,” I say, ignoring his comment that makes me shudder. “This is happening a lot quicker than we expected. Are you okay?”
He runs a hand through his floppy hair. “Lizzie, it’s fine. I’m fine. I always wanted a brother,” he jokes, and I blanch at the reference. “He’s a really great guy,” he says grudgingly, “and he loves you. You said the other day and on the jet, that nothing will change between us?” He moves closer and curls a wayward tendril of hair behind my ear. I swallow at his touch and nod. “Do you stand by that? I couldn’t bear to lose you, Elizabeth. I’m not ready.” He looks lost and my heart breaks.
“Yes, I stand by it. I told Cole that you and I will always be together and that you’re not going anywhere,” I say.
“Thank you,” he whispers and kisses me. We hug for a few minutes. “I always knew you were special,” he murmurs. “And that seat was yours. Give ‘em hell, Lizzie. You deserve it after the way those two have treated you.”
“I haven’t got it yet. It might not happen, and to be honest, Dev, I don’t really want it,” I admit to him, comforted though by his constant referral to me as ‘Lizzie’. “I’m a bit scared, for me and for Cole.”
“Hey,” he says, pulling away, “You have nothing to be afraid of. Gregor and Eloise won’t dare lay a finger on you, even without this prophecy thing. Say what you like about him, and you know I do, but Constantine would never let anything happen to you.”
“It’s not me I’m all that worried about.” I bite my lip, remembering my recurring nightmare.
“He won’t let anything happen to Cole either. He knows how devastated you’d be. He was there when Fraser died; he won’t want to see you go through that again.” He tries to reassure me, and I take a deep breath.
“We should probably get going,” I say.
“Of course.” He opens the door and leads me out.
Fortunately, Cole and CK have been behaving themselves, or more to the point just ignoring each other, with Nico strategically placed in between the two of them.
Nico looks up as we walk in. “Ready?” he asks.
I look at Cole, who nods grimly.
“You’re coming?” I choke out as CK steps forward to leave with us.
“Of course,” he says shortly.
I’m still clutching the box with the Faerie Silver inside. I look for somewhere safe to put it. Nico plucks it out of my hand and puts it in his pocket. I smile gratefully at him. He returns the smile, but it never, ever quite reaches his eyes. Well, working for Constantine won’t be a barrel of laughs, I think. It’s no wonder he is so serious. But I wonder what more there is to his story. Brushing the thoughts aside as Cole takes my hand, I squeeze it for comfort. We follow Nico and CK out of the suite, the Grand Prix completely forgotten.
EPILOGUE
Helsby, England, 1506 – Elizabeth
I dripped my blood into Devon’s mouth and closed it to make sure he swallowed it; I turned my attention to his shrieking harpy of a mother. Retracting my fangs, I glared at her to shut up. She screamed even louder when she realized my full attention was then on her. With a quick glance back at Devon to make sure he’d taken my blood, I stood and turned towards her.
“Be quiet!” I snapped.
The wailing continued, now mixed with every expletive she had to offer up about me. My patience was wearing thin with this woman. This woman who had just ruined my chance to turn her son on Holy ground. I stepped closer to her and the panic grew in her eyes as I dropped my fangs again and felt my nails sharpen. My eyes shifted to a darker blue, almost black. The screaming finally abated.
“Devil’s whore!” she yelled at me again. “You killed my son!” She started weeping.
I looked at her affronted. I wasn’t the one who stuck a pitchfork in him. I sighed. I was done with this. I stepped forward and slashed her throat with my claws. A look of horror crossed her face as her hands went up to her throat. The blood was pulsing quickly out of the wounds and I breathed in deeply, inhaling the delicious scent of her.
Unfortunately, all of her screaming had attracted the attention of her husband, who came bursting through the barn door. He stopped dead in his tracks as he took in the scene before him. His wife bleeding to death on the floor, his son already dead (well, by appearances anyway), the bloody pitchfork and me, in all of my Vamped-out glory. Horrified, he backed up, a smarter man than his wife. “Please,” he whispered, holding up a hand.
I flexed my neck from side to side. Oh, I loved it when they begged. I glided forward and he backed up some more. Now whimpering, he stumbled and dropped to his knees. Oh, it was just too easy. My bloodlust was up to overload with all that had been spilt today and it was not wise to leave witnesses. I swooped down to him, clamping my fangs into his neck. He screamed as the blood poured into my mouth. I groaned and swallowed again and again. Remembering draining the last kill with my sire only months before, I growled deep in my throat and bit even harder. His heart slowed, then stopped completely. I released him and he slumped to the floor. Wiping my mouth delicately as I stood, I dismissed my victims.
Making my way quietly outside, I checked to see if anyone else had been alerted by all the noise, but it was quiet. I brought the horse and cart into the barn. I knelt at Devon’s side and stroked his face, pushing his hair out of his eyes.
“It won’t be long now, my darling boy, and we will be together forever,” I whispered to him with a soft kiss. Using my Vampire strength, I picked him up in my arms and carefully placed him on the cart. I covered him up with a blanket I found in the house. I gathered up my skirts and climbed onto the cart. I grabbed the reins and clicked my tongue. The horse lurched forward, and I pointed us in the direction of York.
“The gods help the city when we get there.”
Read on with, Book 2: The Power of One
THE POWER OF ONE: THE FOREVER SERIES, BOOK 2