I do not wish to give him succor.
With a dismissive gesture, he says, “She no longer matters. Her name is stricken from my lips. I loathe that I once thought she could be your equal. I was foolish.”
It is rare for him to admit his shortcomings. This can only mean that he did believe her to be my peer until she proved otherwise. She wounded his pride and my vengeful heart sings with pleasure. How many Brides will he create in an effort to replicate our passion only to be disenchanted in due time and dispose of them? Perhaps this is his punishment for all that he has done to me.
“You’ve always been a fool, dearest husband. She would have never loved you for you gave her every reason to hate you. Did I not warn you of that truth after you first brought her to me?”
Vlad returns to my side to bend over and gaze at my face. I am too weak to do more than attempt to slash his face with my long nails. He catches my wrist and presses his lips to my knuckles. “Why must you inflict this pain upon me, Erzsébet?”
As always, his touch stirs in me the great passion we once shared. That I should love him so utterly with all my heart, yet hate him with as much ferocity is the factual torment of my captivity. I yearn to hold him to my breast and calm the storm of his passions. Instead, I use the last of my strength to pull my hand away.
“Seek my forgiveness now when I am so utterly lost without you. Tell me you love me, swear your obedience, bow to my authority, and promise to stay at my side. Do all this and I will free you, Erzsébet.”
I despise the tears that flood my eyes. The temptation is great. To be free of this prison, find passion in his arms, taste fresh blood on his lips, and stand in the fragile illumination of the moon would be bliss. But I know all that would be an illusion that would soon fade. I could never be happy bowing like a slave to his demands.
“Erzsébet,” he whispers, lowering his lips to my brow. “Say the words. Say them quick while I am weak in the power of your beauty.”
“No,” I answer, my voice hard. “For you are dracul – the devil – and there can be no peace between us.”
The sharp intake of his breath is like a dagger being drawn from its sheath. “How did our love come to this?” His voice is a growl in my ear and the deadly points of his sharp fingernails press against my throat.
I am not certain of the answer, so I remain quiet.
“Erzsébet, Erzsébet, Erzsébet,” he whispers against my skin. “Tell me what I desire and I shall rectify the past. Do not torment me by denying me.”
Perhaps it is my weakened state or my hunger that renders me sympathetic to his maudlin words. They speak to my own desperate loneliness, yet, I cannot acquiesce.
At last, I say, “Choices were made that cannot be undone.”
His kiss is fevered against my lips. I yearn to thread my fingers into the coils of his auburn hair and hold him close, but instead, I curl them into fists at my sides. I refuse to respond to his tempting seduction though I long to surrender to his ardent ministrations.
How can I forgive him for all that he has taken from me?
How can I forgive him for Ágota?
Vlad’s lips turn to ice and his body to vapor when he realizes he is beaten by my stubborn heart. The black cloud of his power recedes through the doorway and the iron door clangs shut.
I lay alone once again in my sepulcher.
With a sob of despair, I tremble with pain as the iron stake presses into my ribs. I wish not to cry, but the tears flow freely.
How did my life cumulate in such pain?
It began with such joy…
Chapter 2
In the aftermath of Vlad’s visit, I clench my hands and weep. I am so utterly alone. I cannot even hear the cries of the entombed Bride. We are both trapped in our hells, but at least she’s free of Vlad.
His words haunt me.
How did our love come to this?
It is tempting to lay all that has transpired at his feet, yet I acknowledge my complicity in the creation of the complex lies, betrayals, and conspiracies which eventually collapsed and buried us both. We loved each other with such ferocity; I would never have imagined the future before us.
It is in these darkest moments I yearn for him most. The touch of his hands o
n my skin, his ardent kisses covering my mouth, his body pressing against mine...