Burning Both Ends

Chapter Eighteen

Reluctant to cut her time short with Andreas, Ari delayed her return to Riverdale as long as possible. She and Andreas were inseparable whenever he wasn’t involved in vital court business. Sometimes they just enjoyed being together, but often they held serious discussions on the situation in Toronto, her responsibilities in Riverdale, and how they were going to reconcile the two. And they talked about the magic.

In public, they worked hard to dispel any rumors by openly discussing Ari’s plans to fly back and forth from Riverdale to Toronto. She also tried to meet the vampires’ expectations by acting more like a consort, even allowed Andreas to give her an order or two, which she meekly accepted. He ruined the performance by laughing.

When Andreas was busy, Ari became better acquainted with his inherited staff, hoping to win their trust. This included spending time with Gabriel. He was rather amusing company, and, best of all, a great source of information on her favorite vampire.

On Sunday, her last night in Toronto, Ari and Gabriel met in the lounge for drinks while Andreas dealt with some last minute business, something to do with finances.

Gabriel had commandeered two upholstered chairs near the stone fireplace, and Ari sipped her glass of wine while watching a group of wolves playing pool. Gilbert and his friends had returned to the States, so these had to be locals. They acted happier, more carefree than they had under Sebastian’s dictatorship. But then maybe her interpretation was biased.

Gabriel had fallen into an uncharacteristic silence.

“Is something wrong?” she finally asked.

“No, just something on my mind. I’ll figure it out.”

Ari decided it was none of her business and changed the subject. This might be her last chance to interrogate Gabriel on Andreas’s early life in England, and she didn’t intend to let it get away from her.

“Tell me what it was like when you lived in London. I know you and Andreas were sired by the same vampiress, and you can spare me those details, but did you know each other before you became vampires?”

Gabriel gave her a crooked smile. “Afterwards, but I had seen him once before.” He warmed to his subject. “It was the night of London’s Spring Ball. I probably wouldn’t have noticed him, except he was the fashionable young buck dancing with Miss Charity Worthington. And I very much wanted to be dancing in his place.” Gabriel sighed. “She was such a lovely thing.”

“Did you get to meet her?”

“Alas, no. She only had eyes for Andreas. I never saw her after that evening, and a month later I was a vampire. The memory of Miss Worthington and that missed dance still breaks my heart.” He clapped a hand to his chest. “I’m sure it left me scarred for life. Tragic, isn’t it?”

“I might think so,” Ari chuckled, “if I believed a word you said.”

“You wound me.”

“Oh, please. But tell me, was Andreas already a vampire? The night of the ball, I mean?”

“He was. I didn’t know at the time. How could I? I’d heard the whispered tales of vampires, but who really believed such fantastic stories?”

Ari had a sudden horrible thought. “That isn’t what happened to your Miss Worthington, is it? Did Andreas kill her that night?”

Gabriel looked at her in mock horror. “Shame on you. Of course not. Even at our worst, Andreas and I didn’t prey on beautiful women. No, she married a wealthy lord and left the London scene. I suppose she had a dozen aristocratic babies.” He sounded a little wistful.

“So Andreas was leading a normal life, going to balls and whatever else you guys did back then? Didn’t people notice he was a vampire?”

“Andreas, Andreas. Can you talk of nothing else?” Gabriel shook his head, dislodging a shock of blond hair. He finger-combed it back in place. “I know he’s a fine fellow and all that, but sometimes a guy wants to talk about himself, you know? Why don’t you ask me about the great accomplishments of my life? Or, heaven forbid, even my failures?”

“Fine, I’ll bite,” Ari said. “No pun intended. You can tell me all about yourself, and then you can tell me about Andreas.”

He gave her a prissy look. “I give up. A man has to admit when he’s beaten. You have a one-track mind.” He gave her his lop-sided grin, but when he spoke again, the carefree lilt was missing from his voice. “You’d have to understand London at that time to understand Andreas’s behavior—and later, mine. Society, at least the part we belonged to, was a constant swirl of parties and dinners. Almost everything happened at night, so it wasn’t remarkable that no one saw Andreas during the day. And remember, no one believed in vampires, not really. No one suspected that Andreas and I were different. Without an older vampire to guide us, we didn’t know how vampires were supposed to act, so for a while we kept doing the things we’d always done as humans. At least most of the time. The rest of the time… It was almost as frightening to us as we were to our victims.” His voice drifted away, and he gazed pensively into the fire.

Gabriel’s face reflected pain, and Ari was sorry she’d pushed him into talking about the early years. She didn’t know what she could say to make it better, so the silence lengthened. Gabriel finally looked at her. “I think that’s enough of the history lessons for tonight. Maybe it would be better if you talked to Andreas about those first months and years.” He smiled ruefully. “I didn’t mean to turn gloomy, but some of my memories aren’t so good.” He took another sip of wine. “I think it’s time to tell you why I wanted to have a drink tonight.”

“That would be good, but I don’t understand your hesitation. I thought we’d become friends.”

“We have, but I’m not sure how to say this, without there being another misunderstanding. It’s about your leaving tomorrow. I won’t pretend I like it or agree with your decision, but I want you to know that up here,” he tapped his head, “I understand your reasons. You have a job to do, and Andreas has his own life to live, but you two belong together. Not for romantic reasons—that’s none of my business—but you’re stronger together. Your magics are stronger.” He shifted to sit forward in his chair, resting his arms on his legs and gave her a direct look. “I’m worried about what happens to him and to you after you leave.”

“Worried about what?” Although he meant well, Ari wished he wouldn’t do this to her. “Believe me, this magical thing is a two-edged sword. It isn’t all good.”

“I can see that.” Gabriel shrugged.

“What is it you want from me?”

He shook his head. “I guess what I really wanted was to say you won’t get further grief from me. When you’re not here, I’ll keep a close eye on everything—including your boyfriend, and if he gets into trouble, I’ll call.” Gabriel grinned and leaned back. “You better not hang up on me again, even if I deserve it.”

“Deal. I can drink to that.” Ari lifted her glass.

“What are you two toasting so early this evening?” Andreas was smiling, obviously pleased at seeing them so comfortable with one another.

“Long lives and pretty women,” Gabriel said glibly. “At least, I was.”

“A worthy toast,” Andreas said. “I wish you luck with both, but I am going to take this particular pretty woman away with me.”

“Such is my life,” Gabriel grumbled. “Destined to drink alone.”

“I hardly imagine that will happen,” Ari predicted, rising from her chair.

As they left the lounge, she glanced back and smiled to see Gabriel had already found other company. A dark-haired vampiress was regarding him with a sultry look over the rim of a glass of dark burgundy liquid.

Ari looked up at Andreas. “Did your meeting go OK?”

His lips tightened for a moment. “Finances are not particularly enjoyable but necessary to the running of an operation this complicated. I must admit, I was unpleasantly surprised by the large amounts of money Sebastian squandered. Another few years and he would have run the court into disastrous debt.”

“That bad? But then he seemed to do everything to excess. I suppose he had expensive tastes.”

“Very. Speaking of that, I wanted to discuss your return trip to Riverdale. When do you have to be there?”

Ari shot him a quick look. How did finances bring up her trip? He couldn’t be that worried about flight cost. Besides, the Council would reimburse her. But his question reminded her how short their time was, and she struggled to keep the regret from her voice. “The vote’s tomorrow afternoon. I can’t risk missing it, so I should probably get a flight out late tonight. I haven’t checked connections yet. I guess I’ve been putting it off, not wanting to cut into our time.”

Andreas’s face broke into a boyish smile. “Forget about the connections. One of Sebastian’s extravagances was the sweetest little jet you will ever see. I have decided to keep it, and it will be at your disposal whenever you feel you must go. Flight time to Riverdale’s small airport is approximately three hours, which means we still have until dawn.”

Ari returned his smile. Andreas loved to spring things on people and watch their reaction. Usually she didn’t share his enthusiasm for sudden revelations, not unless she was the one making them, but this was fantastic news. “You mean I’ve been catching these commercial flights for nothing? Why haven’t I heard about this plane before now?”

“If you had checked with me before flying here and there, I would have told you.” A twitch of his lips assured her he was teasing. “Shall I have its galley stocked with champagne or coffee?”

“Are you kidding?”

“Yes, as a matter of fact, I was. I am working on that sense of humor you value so much. My special blend of coffee from Club Dintero is already on board.”

“You seem to have thought of everything. Since I don’t have to fly tonight, we have quite a few hours with nothing planned. Do you have thoughts about that, too?” She sure hoped so. Something that would shut out the real world for a few more hours.