Page 17 of Cursed Lifeline (Eternal Love)

Sixteen

Esme

Song: The enemy within | Sarah Loft

A few weeks after our late-night rendezvous in my bedroom, Felix’s lips brush against mine as my back arches into the rough bark of an oak tree deep within the forest behind my father’s estate. The unforgiving crust of the wood pierces into my spine, causing me to bend to Felix’s demands and close the distance between us. He captures my mouth with urgency, with a desperate need that has my toes curling and my mind debating just how far we can push our craving for each other out in the open where anyone might happen upon us and anyone from a nearby distance might see.

Felix’s hands roam the curve of my waist before slowly lowering to my hips. Gripping me tightly, he balls the fabric of my dress in his large palm and anxiously starts to raise it up my thighs. My breathing quickens as his mouth falls to the crook of my neck.

“Do you want me to stop?” he reverently asks.

I shake my head no, even though my heart is beating erratically, and my mind whispers I may be lying. He savors the taste of my skin as his lips pebble kisses down my neck. I purr as my center dampens. He breathes in deeply and elicits a carnal growl as my desire to push things further grows.

Gripping his biceps, my hips slowly thrust towards his. He lets out a needy groan. Pulling back, he searches my eyes for a truth we both know I’m hiding. After a moment, he says, “I won’t take what you’re not ready to give. And since you can’t read my mind like I can read yours, before you get nervous that I don’t want this, let me assure you there is nothing I want more than to defile you right now in a purely selfish and indecent way.”

“But, I don’t want you to stop,” I pant, thinking of all the pleasure he brought me in my room and debating if I want to take things further.

He groans. Reading my thoughts, he says, “As much as I’m hungry for the flavor of your sweet essence coating my tongue, we both know my head coaxing the pleasure from between your thighs is not what you’re contemplating I take from you tonight.”

Blushing, I avert my stare, and Felix’s grip on my skirt loosens. When I refuse to look him in the eye, his right hand rises between us. It takes me a moment, but eventually, I focus on hisclenched fist. Biting my bottom lip, I look up and ask, “What is it?”

“I have a gift for you.”

Smiling, I say, “You already gave me a gift last week and the week before that. At this rate, you’ll be out of gift ideas before Christmas.”

The violets he gave me the first week he insisted on courting me have long since withered and died. With any hope, what he holds in his palm will last longer. Felix’s eyes roam my features as his left hand reaches behind my neck and twirls between his fingers the pink ribbon he gifted me last week.

“I could find an endless array of gifts to bestow on you and they’d never be enough to repay you for what you’ve given me.” His eyes find mine and he grins, “Lifetimes spent showering you with presents will never be enough because the hope you’ve given my heart is priceless.”

Opening his palm, a signet ring sits resting in his hand. Two ravens sit on the right and left side of an ornate crest. In the middle, a skull stares back at me. A shiver rushes up my spine as I take in its hollow eyes and sense it knows the day of my death.

When I don’t make a move to take it, Felix says, “I give this ring to you as a promise that I’ll search until the end of my days to find a way to honor and respect you the way you deserve before I ever taint your purity. Before I ever destroy your virtue, your chastity, your…”

I cut him off quickly and chuckle, “My virginity doesn’t have to be held in such high esteem.”

“Your maidenhood should and will be kept sacred,” Felix insists, grabbing my hand and slipping the ring on my finger. Staring deep into my eyes, he kisses the signet and pulls me closer.

“Besides,” he growls. “Wearing the ring also promises me you’ll remain chaste and give yourself only to me so I can do unholy things to you no other man or beast will ever get the chance to.”

Smirking, my lips rest against his, and I sass, “Is that so? And what unholy things did you have in mind, Monsieur Caldwell?”

Pushing my back up against the tree, the bark lightly pierces my spine once again. I let out a light gasp as Felix stares deep into my eyes.

“The vile ways I want to devastate every last pleasurable inch of your body should send me straight to hell, mon cheri. Good thing I’ve been to hell and back already. Corrupting your innocence won’t damn me, only you.”

“Me?” I ask, shocked. “How so?”

Leaning forward, intent on sealing his lewd promises with a kiss, Felix says, “Because you’ll enjoy your arousing downfall even more than I’ll take pleasure in ruining you.”

“Promise?” I ask breathlessly, just before his lips meet mine.

“No,” he says, and my heart stops. That is, until his lips smile against mine, and he whispers, “I vow it.”

“What do we have here?” a voice calls out just before Felix’s lips capture mine.

He backs away slowly and eyes me warily as my father steps out of the dark tree line and comes into view. He’s flanked by two of his closest friends, neither of which is Lord Laurent. Behind him, a small army of men creeps out of the shadows. Fear gets the better of me. Felix senses it and releases an angry growl. My eyes snap to his. Pinned between his broad, strong body and the oak tree, Felix captures my attention, softly touches my lips with his fingertips, and growls, “Mine.”

The sounds of footsteps echo closer.

“No one touches what’s mine and lives, understand?”

He grabs my waist, and his hand begins to shake. But it’s not with trepidation. He doesn’t tremble with panic or fear. No, he vibrates with the need for violence.

A war of emotions flash through his eyes. Before I have time to sift through the changes sharpening his gaze, he spins around and pins me protectively behind his back. Holding my hand tightly in his, he gives my palm a light squeeze for reassurance, though I’m far from hopeful that this night will end well now that my father has found us.

“My Lord,” Felix grins, “I thought you’d have more pressing matters to attend to tonight than strolling the grounds.”

“That fact is evident,” my father seethes as he steps closer. “Tell me, Felix, did you plan on ruining my daughter’s honor before or after you made her your midnight snack?”

My father’s gaze sharpens. Felix’s grip tightens around mine.

“In all fairness,” Felix fumes, “Your daughter is in more danger marrying the likes of your partner, Lord Laurent, than she will ever be in my presence.”

“Hm,” my father scowls as his hand rests on the sword at his side. “Tell me then, Felix Caldwell, Prince of the Damned, is that why I found my partner dismembered? Lying in a pile of his own filth. Bite marks visible on both sides of his neck.”

I suck in a sharp breath from the vision and close my eyes. I take a step backward in panic. Felix notices my reaction and protectively pulls me closer.

“My only regret,” he snarls, as his eyes drift angrily back to my father, “is that I didn’t kill Lord Laurent myself.”

Tense animosity fills the air as my father and Felix stand off against one another. Out of the shadows on the far left of the clearing, Silas, Caelum, and Alfred step into view. They don’t join my father’s forces. Instead, they stand stiff as statues, analyzing, studying, and evaluating every which way this meeting could go terribly wrong. Knowing the trio like I do, I sense they’re trying to be two steps ahead of whatever madness is sure to ensue. On the right of the clearing, several sets of violet eyes start to glow and hold us all captive in their predatory gaze.

The hysteria is palpable, made more intense by the fact that three different groups have converged at the back of my father’s estate, all with similar schemes in mind. The question remains: who will be triumphant in the end? By the look in my father’s eye, from the tense way my watchers stand back in the shadows, and from the feeling of Felix’s hand harshly gripping mine as the sets of violet eyes move closer, I fear I haven’t the answer.

“So,” my father says, “you unleash your men on my partner when we refuse to give you the power you want while you move on to my daughter next?”

Could that be true?

Felix doesn’t answer. Doesn’t move. His eyes stay glued on the small army in front of us.

My father laughs. “You’re wasting your time,” he says with a shake of his head. “She doesn’t have the power to give you what you want.” I’m tempted to rebuttal, to stand up for myself, when my father continues, “The only person who held that kind of power is now nothing more than a memory. Just like my unfortunate partner.”

“King Louis?” I whisper.

My father’s icy stare flashes to mine.

“Is dead,” he grins wickedly. “He was found just like Lord Laurent less than an hour ago.”

That means the Cult of Reason has full reign over France.

“No,” the word rushes out before I can stop it. I try to lunge around Felix, to do what I don’t know. Run. Get as far away from here, my father, and his immoral religion as possible. But Felix’s strong arms stop me.

Fearless, with patience and strength, he pulls me to his side and wraps a possessive arm around my waist. My father’s eyes flash downward and study Felix’s protective embrace. A moment later, his gaze fills with fury.

Slowly closing the distance between us, my father steps forward and states, “With King Louis dead, your assistance is no longer needed, Prince Caldwell.”

Felix tenses but holds still. His eyes never leave my father’s.

Spinning around, my father faces his men and shouts, “The time has finally come for reason.” They chime in with hoots and hollers of agreement. “With the King finally out of the way, the revolution is as good as won. It’s time we take down the church and start a new way of life.”

The men yell, their fists raise in union. Their camaraderie causes terror to rush through my veins as Felix anchors me to his side. I chance a glance up at him, but he doesn’t look my way. He stares intently ahead as if he’s envisioning all the ways he’ll make my father pay once he finally gets his hands on him.

My father grins maliciously as he spins back around, and his eyes meet mine. “The cult of reason will rule France. Starting with Esme’s contribution as our living sacrifice.”

“No!” I scream

I try to break free from Felix’s arms and run, but he pins me tighter against him. Panicked, I look up. To my surprise, Felix doesn’t show any emotion. If it weren’t for the tightness in his grip, I’d think he was on their side.

“Did you think you could escape it, Esme?” my father questions mockingly.

My eyes drift to Alfred, Silas, and Caelum. Their faces are unreadable, except for the common emotion running between all of us.

Fear.

There is no reassurance in their strained gaze. The only consultation I feel is in the comfort of Felix’s steady embrace.

“After all, it’s all you’re good for,” my father smiles wickedly.

He gestures towards Felix who instantly grows tense beside me.

“He knows I’m right.”

For the first time since he’s arrived, my father glances over his shoulder to Alfred, Caelum, and Silas. He nods in their direction.

“They do, too.”

His evil eyes meet mine as he takes a final step closer and whispers, “The only one who’s blind to the inevitable, my dear daughter, is you.”

Felix quickly steps between us and growls, “Touch one hair on her head, and you’ll be the next to pay with your life, Lord Martin.”

A low rumble, a lethal howl, bellows through the forest and snakes up my spine. A shiver courses through my body as the violet eyes glowing in the distance take shape and form, and members of the coven emerge. I notice Dimitris’ face first. His threatening smile, his glistening fangs as he suggestively licks his canines, causes a few of my father’s men to flinch back in fear as several more of Felix’s kind step through a low mist that’s started to gather at our feet. Two males. Three females. The rest stay a few steps back, remaining more ominous as they hide in the veil of midnight.

“My daughter is mine to do with as I please, Prince Caldwell...”

“Your daughter is no one’s property,” Felix shouts as the growls of the damned grow louder.

My father falls silent. His jaw ticks in anger.

Smiling wickedly, he seethes, “She will fulfill her destiny as a sacrificial lamb who naively always finds her way to slaughter.”

“Over my dead body,” Felix growls.

“That can be arranged.”

Felix charges my father, who instantly draws a wooden-tipped sword from his hip and points it straight at his heart. Dimitri and his companions rush the group behind my father, but they quickly turn and raise sharp stakes they’ve kept concealed at their side and point them just the same into the vampire’s chests. I scream out as Alfred, Silas, and Caelum rush to my aid, but while we are all too focused on the stage in front of us, none of us realize the danger lurking in the darkness behind the oak tree is what we need to be worried about most.

Before my watchers can reach me, my wrists are grabbed quickly from behind, and my hands are shackled before I can yell for help. A hand soon wraps around my face, covering my mouth. I desperately try to kick free, but my ankles are secured next. All I can manage is a mumbled cry as panic rises inside my chest.

Felix senses my danger, spins back towards me, and puts himself in grave danger as my father steps closer and aims his wooden spiked sword at Felix’s back. My eyes grow wide, but Felix’s hold calmly on mine. Stern, steady, ready to die for me if it meant keeping me safe, he takes a deep breath, and I release a shaky one.

If I had any more reservations that choosing Felix was wrong, they all crumble to the forest floor as I struggle against my captors and watch his show of valiance.

The men behind me raise their wooden spikes at Felix as my father’s spiked end of his sword pokes between his shoulder blades.

“Let. Her. Go. And I promise to make your deaths quick,” Felix seethes as his eyes possessively hold mine.

My father laughs as he presses the spike deeper into Felix’s back. Felix’s eyes widen, but he doesn’t back down. Not even when the men behind me take a step forward in challenge and threateningly place their spikes in the center of his chest. Felix’s jaw ticks, and his eyes flare with rage. My heart breaks as I struggle against my restraints.

“The only reason I won’t end you, Prince Caldwell, is because watching her die and having to live for the rest of eternity without her will be a worse hell than any place a swift death could send you.”

My father’s stare catches the men over my shoulder. He gives them a curt nod, and they pull me away. Felix breaks. He takes a rushed step forward, but one of the men behind me steps into him and lightly pierces his skin with his spike. A growl escapes Felix’s lips and is quickly echoed by his coven in the shadows.

“You won’t get away with this,” Felix seethes as my father’s small army starts to retreat. “The second you turn your back, we’ll be waiting. Hungry, thirsty, eager to finish what you started.”

My father steps into Felix and whispers in his ear. “You come for us before I can fulfill the rise of reason, and your mother will pay the price.”

“You’d never get close enough to...”

“There’s no need to get close when one of your own can be bought at a price.”

The coven lets out a low roar. Felix’s anger grows. I search his eyes as my father’s men pull me further away. Holding my stare he sternly says, “I choose you. Remember, Esme. Mine. No one touches what’s mine and lives.”

My father laughs as he stalks around Felix, holds his stake to his chest, and then backs away with me and his other men.

“The lion and the lamb,” my father mocks. “How ironic.”

Before either of the two say another word, I’m pulled from the forest. My father and his men disperse quickly, leaving Felix, his coven, and my watchers alone. The last thing I see as I’m hauled to an impending death is the meeting of the two groups in the clearing illuminated by a dusting of moonlight.

Alfred, Silas, and Caelum emerge from the darkness at the same time Dimitri and the others do. They whisper amongst themselves. They plot, scheme, conspire, and oddly start working as a team the entire time Felix’s eyes hold steadfast to mine.

He doesn’t move. He doesn’t speak. Felix watches me until I’m finally pulled from sight, and all I am left with is a burning bond seared into the back of my neck that tingles with the promise that we weren’t fools to fall for each other. That our future is still before us, and overflowing with tender vows that can never be broken.

Unlike Hamlet and Ophelia.