Page 65

He squeezed my hand gently before helping me into the carriage. Stepping back, he allowed Adem to follow me. His brow was creased with worry. His concern touched me and I gave him a short wave before the carriage rolled forward and he disappeared from view.

“What did you see?” Adem asked.

I clenched my hands together in an attempt to keep them from trembling. “A vampire. ”

Adem sucked in a breath. “I see. ”

“Percy noticed her first. She was watching me. ”

“What did she look like?”

“Dark haired with eyes that did not match. One was blue and the other green. Do you know of her?”

Adem sat in silence, his shoulders hunched. He exhaled a breath I did not realize he was holding and shook his head in answer. “I will notify Astir and give him your description. ”

“I did as he said,” I whispered.

“I know this. It is not a question of your not being discreet. It is most likely by chance she saw you tonight. ” Sitting back, he crossed his arms over his chest. “Let us hope it was by chance. ”

“Do you know if she is one of the powers that be that Astir spoke of?”

“I know very little,” Adem answered. “I know there has been a terrible power struggle and that Vlad negotiated to remove you and him from the fray. Astir told me that much. ”

“A power struggle between who?” I wanted to scream with frustration, but reigned in my darker emotions. Instead I set my gaze on Adem and willed him to answer.

Immune to my power, he slightly smiled as he shook his head. “Do as Astir said and do not tempt the fates. It is best you know nothing, so should a time come when you are confronted you will be truly innocent. ”

I hurled my fan at him in anger and slumped down in my seat. I watched the city slide by the window as the carriage climbed up the hill toward the baroness’ palace. The streets were not so crowded now and I felt the loneliness of my position begin to weigh on me.

As the carriage turned a corner, I saw a figure standing by the side of the road dressed in a fine green gown with a glittering black shawl draped around her shoulders. The vampire’s mismatched eyes glinted like an emerald and sapphire in the moonlight, then the carriage turned down the lane and she vanished from view.

Gasping, I drew my dagger from my small purse. Adem immediately copied my action. Sliding to the edge of his seat, his gaze raked over our surroundings anxiously.

Be careful, little one.

A female voice, low and rich in tone, filled my mind. I felt her presence fill the carriage and wash over me like cold water. I swooned as I saw her eyes in my mind, sparkling like jewels. Her power surged around me and I cried out. She was so powerful I felt paralyzed with fright and my desire to fight rose up within me. Then I remembered Astir’s warning. I forced my trembling hand to return my dagger to its hiding place.

Adem witnessed this act and reluctantly followed suit.

Very good, little one.

The power of the vampire receded as she withdrew her presence from the carriage. I understood I had been tested and had passed. Had I attempted to fight her, I knew she would have crashed into the carriage and killed us all. I was naive, but not feeble of mind. I had been an unknown quantity and now she knew I would not stand against her.

The carriage swung around yet another curve in the road and I held out my hand to steady myself. Adem immediately reached out to help me, but his head whipped to the side as though he had been struck. Unconscious, he slumped over as I gasped.

Looking up I saw the vampire hovering just outside the carriage window. With a smile, she ripped open the door and slid inside. As though she were swimming through the night, she drifted over me. Her shawl floated around her like wings as her small hand tipped in long nails lightly touched my face. Her mesmerizing eyes gazed deeply into mine as I sat still and silent before her.

Vlad had once terrified me with violence and rage: she terrified me with the mere touch of her hand.

The vampire’s face drew closer to mine, her eyes sweeping over my face as though she was staring through me and into the workings of my innermost being.

“Yes,” she said in her rich, low voice, “I can see why he chose you. ”

I opened my lips to speak, but she pressed her thumb against them.

“Not now. Not yet. Soon. I know your face now. I know the taste of your power. And I see that what your husband and Astir said was true. ”

The long sharp nail of her thumb slowly cut my upper lip, blood welling in the wound. I gasped in pain, then felt her lips close over mine in a firm kiss. Her soft, cold tongue licked away my blood. I withdrew from her, flushing with anger and fear.