Lord of the Vampires (Royal House of Shadows #1)(53)
Author: Gena Showalter

“How are you going to invade her dreams?” she asked Nicolai.

“I’ll tell you all about it.” He moved in front of her and gripped her shoulders. Once again he wore the slave’s mask. “When I’m done.”

She knew what that meant—he would be in danger—and her answer was hell, no. “I’m going with you.”

He sighed as if he’d expected such a response and had already resigned himself to it. “I do want to take you into the dream with me, and I will try to do so. Having never done something like that before, I don’t know if it will work. Meanwhile, I want you to stay here.”

“Why?”

He flicked his tongue over an incisor. “If I can’t force her to harm herself, I’ll have to absorb her powers. All of her powers and all the spells she has cast upon herself.”

Jane’s eyes widened. “You can do that?”

A stiff nod. “Most likely I will have to go that route. I tried to invade her dreams while you were sleeping and encountered an unexpected resistance. If the resistance is still there, while I’m in close proximity to her, I’ll have to do something to lower her guard to steal her magic. Something…nonviolent.”

She began to understand, and wanted to throw up. Or maybe throw a punch. “Like…kissing her?” Or more?

Another nod, this one barely discernable.

“You can’t just stab her?” she asked hopefully.

“Not without dying myself. She’s cast a spell that causes any injury I attempt to inflict on her to be directed at myself.”

“Okay, so that’s out.” Jane nibbled on her bottom lip, felt the cuts already there and realized she had been doing a lot of nervous chewing lately. “That explains the power I felt wafting from her, I guess.”

“You felt that?”

“Yep.” She squared her shoulders. “And okay, fine. If you have to kiss her, you have to kiss her. And believe me, I do not envy you. That’s taking one for the team a little far. I mean, I think I’d rather endure the stabbing myself instead of having to kiss her.”

He nearly choked on a laugh. “This is not funny, Jane.”

“I know.” But she’d much rather he laugh than worry over her reaction. “As long as you survive, I’m good with the plan. Please tell me you’ll be able to hurt her once you absorb her powers.”

“Yes.” Absolute determination radiated from him. “I will.”

“Then I guess sticking your tongue down the devil’s throat has a nice enough payoff.” She punched him in the arm. “Good luck, tiger.”

He laughed again, this time far less strained. “Thank you. Now. Will you please stay here?”

“Nope, sorry. I may not possess any magic of my own, but Laila still assumes I’m Odette. You might need me. Therefore, I’m sticking to your side as if I’ve been glued there.”

A moment passed in silence, then another. Finally he pinched the bridge of his nose. “All right. You may come with me. If things do not progress as I hope, you are to run to Elden, and search out the prince Dayn. Trust no one else. Tell him you belong to me. Tell him you are my betrothed.”

How sad he suddenly sounded. At the thought of losing her? “And he’ll believe me?” Not that she would leave. She wouldn’t, not for any reason. They would be together.

“I’ve marked you, so yes. Yes, he will. He is a blood drinker, like me.”

When he turned away, she grabbed his arm. A puny move but one that worked all the same. “You found your brother?”

“Not yet. I have a feeling you will succeed where I have failed.”

Again, he went to leave. Again, she held on to him. “So you are a prince?”

“Yes,” he repeated. “The crown prince, destined to rule all of Elden.”

This time, he remained in place, awaiting her response. She released him and shrugged. “That explains a lot.”

He blinked down at her. “That’s all you have to say on the subject?”

“Yeah.” He was royalty. So what? Everyone had a flaw.

She bent down, grabbed the strap of her pack and hefted the heavy thing onto her shoulder. The cord dug into her muscle, but she didn’t allow herself to wince. Nicolai would take the burden upon himself, and he needed his hands free.

“Just don’t expect me to be all humble and obey your every whim. That’s not going to happen. So are we doing this or what?”

His lashes fused, hiding his irises, as he leaned down, wrapped her in his arms and kissed her, softly, sweetly, a tender lover expressing his gratitude. For what? she wondered, then she forgot the question. Her lips tingled. Their tongues met briefly, and she tasted him. Wanted more. Always, she wanted more.

He straightened and sighed. “I do not want her magic affecting you, Jane. If I fail and she turns on you—”

“Sticks and stones may break my bones, but I might be a vampire so I don’t give a shit. I’ll heal.”

His brow knitted with confusion and anger. “No one will be breaking your bones.”

She patted his cheek. “I believe I’ve already told you that I’m going with you and that’s final. Stop trying to talk me out of it.”

Maybe he could feel her determination. Maybe he hated the thought of being apart as much as she did. Either way, his hands left her and he nodded. “Stubborn baggage.”

“I’ll take that to mean delightful female.”

“You’d be right.” He twined their fingers and ushered her outside, into the night. The moon was hidden behind thick, dark clouds, the air cool and moist. A storm must be brewing.

There was a campfire crackling a few feet away, casting golden rays and heat, but no guards around it. Actually, there was no sign of life anywhere. Not even in front of Laila’s tent. Jane knew men patrolled the perimeter, however. She could hear their hearts beating. Thump-thump. Thump-thump.

“Something’s off,” Jane said.

“I know,” Nicolai replied, his voice flat.

“She should have guards in front of her tent. Why did she send them away?”

“She must be expecting me.”

Could they never catch a break? “We should leave. Come back another day. If she knows who you are, she’ll attack.”

“Oh, yes, she will.” His voice was still flat, but resolve gave it a dangerous edge. “We may be giving her too much credit. She may not know, may only suspect. Either way, she dies tonight.”