Page 21 of Depths of Desire (The Emerald Dagger Mafia #3)

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

I try to breathe, but I can’t seem to keep the air in my lungs. I’m hyperventilating. I somehow end up out on the balcony. I lean over the balustrade, lower my head below my shoulders, and fight to calm down.

Nico appears beside me. “Slow deep breaths,” he says as if I don’t know that. I would if I could. I’m starting to get dizzy.

“Luna,” he barks at me, but I can’t seem to stop.

He grabs and kisses me hard on the mouth.

I gasp, and he deepens the kiss using his tongue to coax a response from me. I try to push away, but he’s holding me tight. I want to fight, but I find myself responding to his kiss. I relent and lean into his chest.

Nico pulls back. “There, you’re calmer now.” He abruptly releases me, and I have to steady myself on the balustrade to avoid falling over.

I stare at him. I’m totally overwhelmed. He’s a complete asshole. How can he be this cold after what we just heard? Does he not have a heart at all? Vampire. How could I have forgotten? I wipe my mouth with the back of my hand. I can’t believe I let him kiss me.

Worse, I responded. It’s the whole situation. I’m off-kilter. It won’t happen again. He’s no different from Malrick.

Nico stares at me. “Luna, Do you understand the position you are in?”

I face him and say through clenched teeth, “I know exactly what position I’m in. My parents betrayed me, and some asshole vampire wants me because he can use me to keep any magickal creatures at bay. I’m well aware, thank you very much.”

How dare he speak to me like I’m a small child? I was in the room. I know exactly where I stand.

“No,” Nico shakes his head. “Yes, your parents betrayed you, but they also made an agreement to marry you to Malrick. However, it looks like he didn’t do it formally.”

I narrow my eyes. “What do you mean, formally?”

Nico gives me an assessing gaze. “In the vampire world, there are various kingdoms. When a vampire marries, if they chose to do so in the vampire world, it’s different than if they choose to do it in your world.

There are actual contracts that are signed and written in blood.

They cannot be broken. There is no divorce in the vampire world.

There is only separation or death. Vampires don’t marry often, but when they do, it’s very often for reasons other than love. ”

“I see. What does this have to do with me? I fail to see why this is important.” My anger is rising again. “We’re discussing this shit when I should be running, getting as far away as possible.”

Nico crosses his arms over his chest. “You can’t run from Malrick. He will find you. Any vampire with any kind of skill will be able to find you. Malrick, as much as he is a complete asshole, has many skills.

I roll my eyes. “Sure, he can find me anywhere on the earth,” I snark. “I highly doubt it. He has to know where to look, and if I get going now, he won’t be able to find me.”

Nico sighs. “Luna, I can smell the adrenaline in your blood. I can hear your heartbeat. You could be thousands of miles away from me, and I can push out my senses to pick up your scent. I don’t have to be close. You cannot hide.”

“I don’t believe you.” The drop in my stomach belies the snarl in my voice. Could it be true? Could Malrick find me anywhere on earth? My head starts to throb. There must be somewhere I can hide.

“There are a few places,” Nico says and then smiles slightly. “Yes, I know what you’re thinking. But the places where Malrick couldn’t find you, you don’t want to go there. Trust me.”

“Why should I? Why should I trust you? If you’d let me go before, I could have been halfway around the world by now.”

Nico glares at me, the pulse in his jaw pulsating. “If I’d let you run, Malrick would already have you, and you would be married to him by now. Please trust me, Luna. You don’t have a choice.”

I wrap my arms around myself. He’s right.

I don’t have anyone else at this point. Pippa wanted to help me, but now that Luca knows what’s going on, he won’t let that happen.

But maybe, just maybe, I can still use the escape plan if Pippa has kept quiet about it.

I refuse to believe that Malrick can track me halfway around the world.

Just outright refuse. I cannot live with the idea that I can never get away.

“Luna, what I’m trying to tell you is that we need a plan to deal with Malrick.”

“You just said that he didn’t formally make a plan to marry me, whatever that means,” I point out.

“It means that he didn’t go to a tribunal of vampire kings and apply for a marriage license. If he had, that would mean we are all bound by blood and our laws to honor it.”

I shrug. “So, he didn’t. Great. I don’t have to deal with him then.” I put the heel of my hand on my forehead. It feels like there’s a spike through my brain right behind my right eye.

“Yes, you do,” Nico counters. “He’s not going to give up on you. You are too precious to him. Malrick has pissed off quite a few groups in the magickal realm. There’s no way he’s going to let you slip through his fingers. Not when you can save him.”

All this is making my head throb. “If I’m so damn important why didn’t he go the formal thing?” Not that I wanted him to, but I was curious now.”

It was Nico’s turn to shrug. “Probably never thought it was necessary. He had your parents in a vise-grip. They were going to do whatever he wanted.”

“Okay. Now what? What are you trying to tell me?” I am running out of patience. I want to call Pippa and find out if she mentioned the plan to Luca. I also want to know if Royce Dunbar’s yacht is somewhere close.

“I’m trying to tell you that just because he didn’t do the formal thing doesn’t mean he won’t come for you and demand that we give you to him. He is your fiancé, according to him and your parents. He has every right to come for you.”

“And I have every right to refuse.”

Nico remains silent.

I narrow my eyes at him. “And I have every right to refuse,” I say again.

“Yes and no. Your parents made the deal. Malrick will say they were your guardians at the time, and they had the legal right to do so. It will come down to Malrick trying to force our hand. He will appeal to the vampire kings.”

“But you said he didn’t do the formal thing,” I counter.

“Doesn’t mean he won’t try. And he has a claim.” Nico frowned. “We have to be prepared.”

“Fine,” I sputter. “What do you suggest?”

Nico stares at me. “I have a few ideas, but I need to do some research.”

I throw my hands in the air, exasperated. “What the hell do you expect me to do?”

“I expect you to go to bed. It’s almost dawn. You need some sleep. I need to do some work to prepare. I’ll wake you if anything happens.”

“You think I can sleep now? Are you crazy?” Nico has lost his mind if he thinks I can sleep now. I just heard my father confess his and my mother’s betrayal. There’s no way I can sleep now. My brain is going at lightning speed.

Nico disappeared inside the house. I took a moment to breathe and try to get my thoughts straight.

I could still take off. Would Malrick try again tonight?

I’m thinking no. I refuse to believe that vampires can track me if I’m far away.

It makes no sense. I close my eyes and rub my temples. My head is pounding.

“Here,” Nico says as he offers me a bottle of aspirin and a glass of water.

I stare at it.

“I can tell you have a massive headache.”

I sigh but take the bottle. I open it and shake out two tablets, and then take the water.

I down the pills, praying that getting rid of the headache will help me to focus on my next steps.

I rub my temples again. Suddenly, I feel dizzy.

I lurch slightly. “What the hell did you give me?” I demand as I try and focus on Nico’s face.

“Aspirin.” I think he’s frowning, but I can’t tell. My eyes won’t focus.

“You…you’re lying. You drugged me,” I mumble. My knees buckle and I start to fall but Nico catches me. I struggle to stay awake. “What the hell did you do?” I demand weakly. I want to scream the question at him, but it comes out as a whisper.

“I didn’t do anything,” Nico says as he carries me inside the house.

I want to fight him, to scream at him for lying to me, for drugging me, but I can’t focus. I sink deeper, my limbs becoming heavy. Now I’ll never get away, I think, before I give in to the darkness.

A sharp, acrid scent punches through the fog in my mind. I gag, choking on the bitterness as I lurch upright.

“What the hell?” I rasp, squinting against the blinding morning light. My head feels like it's packed with wet sand.

“You’re awake,” Nico says calmly, setting a small jar on the nightstand like this is all perfectly normal.

“Obviously,” I snap. “What the hell was that smell? Rotting skunk and regret?”

“It’s an herbal stimulant. It works.”

I rub my eyes, squinting around the unfamiliar room. And then it hits me.

This isn’t the guest room.

I look down and freeze.

I’m in nothing but my underwear, tangled in unfamiliar sheets. Panic claws up my spine. “What—what the hell is this? Did you undress me?”

“Yes,” Nico replies, maddeningly casual.

I glare at him, fury sparking even through the nausea. “Is this your room?”

“Yes.”

The word is a hammer, and my stomach flips. I shove the sheets off me and make a grab for the edge of the bed, but the moment I try to stand, the room spins like a carousel from hell. I pitch forward with a strangled sound, and Nico catches me before I face-plant.

“Easy,” he says, lowering me gently back to the mattress. “You’re still dehydrated. And probably running on fumes.”

I shove his hands away, but my limbs feel like they’re filled with concrete. “I can’t believe you drugged me.”

“I didn’t,” he says flatly. “You passed out. I told you; you are exhausted. Mentally, physically, and emotionally. You needed rest.”

I don’t buy it. “Right, immediately after taking the medication you offered me, I just fainted like a damsel in a gothic romance. Should I clutch my pearls next?”