Chapter 20
Konstantin
The once distant thunderstorm had finally reached them, too loud for Talvi to bother snoozing any more. He propped himself up on his elbow and tenderly kissed Annika awake before stealing away to search for his pants. He found a smaller pair of trousers and a shirt and set them next to her but she didn’t rush to dress. She was too preoccupied watching him slide his pants up his long, lean legs.
“I thought you were hungry,” he noted while buttoning his pants. “Don’t you want to go downstairs and eat something besides tea and toast? I’m certain there’s leftovers from dinner.”
“I’ll eat something later,” she said with a weak smile. “I don’t know if I can even walk after what you did to me.”
“If you don’t get dressed soon, you may very well never walk again,” he warned her. He sauntered back to the mattress and crawled over her body, pinning her wrists against the pillows. “Perhaps I will have to hold you prisoner in my bed, since I haven’t come anywhere close to exhausting all your mysteries.”
“You don’t have to figure them all out right away,” she sassed. He snickered to himself and forced his knee between her legs, then brought down the other to spread them apart.
“I doubt I could even if I wanted to,” he purred, letting his eyes run up and down her naked body since his hands couldn’t. “But what a fun experiment that would be for my little prisoner. I can see you now…chained to my bedpost without a shred of clothing, without any privileges aside from giving…and receiving pleasure. I’d reward you with cake and fairy brandy for your good behavior.”
“What if I wasn’t good?” she challenged, trying to pull her arms out of his grip. “What would you do if I misbehaved?”
A devilish gleam lit up Talvi’s face, and his mouth curled into a wicked smile.
“If you misbehaved? More like when you misbehave. I don’t believe for a second that a saucy, feisty girl like you would take pleasure in taking orders. No,” he paused, shaking his head, “I fully expect you to misbehave…and I fully expect I will have to punish you for it.”
A shudder of intrigue ran through Annika as she considered the infinite possibilities that could entail. He grasped both of her wrists in one hand and let his fingers travel down her ribs, then hesitate over her hip bone, and eventually slip down between her legs.
“I don’t think I can do that again. At least, not for a while,” she sighed, which made Talvi pout.
“Was I too rough?”
“No, but you know what they say about too much of a good thing.”
“What? That it can be wonderful?” he guessed with a sincere grin. She couldn’t help laughing, and to her surprise he let go of her wrists and crept off of her. He patted the clothes that he’d set out for her and gave her a stern look. “Seriously, Annika; if you’re think you’re having trouble walking now, consider this your final warning.”
For as many guests that were rumored to be staying in the sprawling home, Annika was surprised that they didn’t see any of them on their long walk to the kitchen. Sariel and Runa were quietly washing dishes at the sink, but they both stopped and looked at Annika with concern in their faces.
“How are you feeling?” Runa asked, walking up to her. Talvi kissed Annika on the head and busied himself with fixing a couple of plates for them.
“Oh, I’m just tired and hungry,” she said nonchalantly, but the ditzy blonde shot her an unusually clever smirk.
“I’d wager you are,” she said with a wink and a grin.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It’s your hair that’s giving you away,” Runa laughed. “Goodness, I’ve never seen such love snarls! And to think I was worried about you…I should’ve known better.”
Annika’s hands reached up to her head, and she felt her cheeks turn red despite herself. Her hair felt like one giant, balled-up dreadlock.
“Come here and I’ll fix it before anyone else sees you.” Runa bade Annika to sit while she found a comb, and then together they sat down at the table, chatting out of earshot of Sariel and Talvi.
“Where is everyone?” Annika asked while Runa worked on a small section of tangled hair.
“It’s almost sunset, so I suspect they’re upstairs in their rooms to avoid the vampires, although Althea and Hilda will probably come back down after they’ve hunted,” she explained, and then a dreamy look entered her eyes. “I was hoping to run into Konstantin and invite him to play cards with me again. He’s such a divine partner to have when playing spades. Or hearts. Or anything, really.”
“What else have you been up to all this time?” Annika asked, not wanting to dwell too much on the vampires staying under the same roof as her.
“Oh, we’ve been cleaning up since yesterday morning. There were a lot of people that didn’t go home right away. At least the pixies didn’t show up,” she said in quite a cheerful voice, considering how much work that must have been. Annika felt a dash of guilt as she imagined what cleaning the ballroom alone must have entailed, let alone the countless plates and wine glasses and silverware used.
“I feel like a jerk—I should have been down here helping you instead of…instead of getting my hair tangled.”
“No, we were actually helping Yuri. Her parents are making her do all of the cleaning up without any fairy magic to make it easy,” Runa said in a hushed voice. She glanced up from her task at hand and saw Sariel and Talvi talking with each other, and turned back to Annika. “She’s in serious trouble for what happened to you.”
“Why is she in trouble?” asked Annika. “She’s not the one who attacked me.”
“She may as well have done it herself. She put you in harm’s way! She ran off with Konstantin and left you with that creep Vaj. Konstantin at least has some manners, but his friend…ooh I don’t like him at all.” She shivered a little and combed harder.
“Well Yuri wasn’t counting on a human showing up to her birthday party,” said Annika, trying to give Yuri the benefit of the doubt.
“She wasn’t counting on a lot of things. Sariel hasn’t spoken to her since the incident. You know how much she likes vampires.” Runa said sarcastically.
“I’m so embarrassed. I should’ve walked away.”
“Stop blaming yourself,” Runa said irritably. “You couldn’t walk away, that’s the problem. Vampires put you in a trance when they’re on the prowl; that’s what makes them so dangerous. I’ve heard that it’s like being caught in a spider’s web. And we were expecting Pavlo to be with Konstantin, not Vaj. We all know Pavlo, but none of us had met Vaj before. Apparently Yuri lied to her parents about when they arrived, because we didn’t see them until late in the night, and Vaj said they arrived much earlier. I think Yuri went out hunting with them! And if she wanted to dance with Konstantin so badly, she could have found Talvi or Finn to stay near you. Instead she left you with that fiend, and that’s where you got into trouble. I’m just glad the brothers found you when they did.”
“What do you mean?” Annika asked.
“Well,” Runa began, “I ran into Chivanni at the bar and he said you were with Yuri, but when I looked, I saw you were dancing with Vaj and that Yuri was gone, so I told Finn that I thought you might be in trouble.”
“Oh no! Did I cause a scene?”
“Not at all,” Runa informed her, and Annika felt considerably relieved. “All I saw was Finn dash off into one of the darker hallways, and shortly afterward Talvi went running in the same direction. I can’t believe they knew where to find you—especially Talvi since he was outside! You two must have some connection.”
Annika smiled to herself as Runa worked her way through her messy hair, jerking her head from one side to the other. Of all the people under the Marinossian’s roof, Runa was the one she wanted to see the most.
“I’ve never seen him like this before,” she continued affectionately. “He thinks he can hide it, but I’ve known him since the day he was born. It’s so precious to see hi
m falling in love.”
Annika whipped around to face her friend.
“Love?” she hissed. Runa looked startled.
“Well, yes. Isn’t it obvious how much he cares for you?” Runa hissed back. In her exasperation, she tore out a few long red strands of uncooperative hair, making Annika cringe even more.
“I think it’s obvious he likes me, but I don’t know about the L—word. From what Yuri told me, it’s the last thing on his mind…especially when it comes to me.”
“Oh really? What did she say to you?” Runa eagerly asked, tugging harder with her comb. Annika struggled just to keep herself sitting on the bench and not on the floor.
“She said she didn’t want me causing problems because humans and elves aren’t supposed to be together. Apparently it’s frowned upon…but I get it. I’m twenty-five; he’s three-hundred.” Runa pushed Annika’s head forward and began working on her hair again.
“I can understand being concerned because he’s an elf and you’re human, but that’s not her choice to make,” she remarked. “Did she say anything else?”
“Yeah…” Annika began, glancing over at Sariel and Talvi to make sure they weren’t listening. “She said he’s just being sweet until he gets what he wants. Remember the night we all went to the Tortoise and the Hare and those three girls were all over him?”
“Yes.”
“Well, she said he loves that kind of attention so much that he’ll never change. She said he was only interested in me because he’s never been with an American chick before. I’m not sure what to think. All I know is that I owe him my life,” said Annika, relieved to feel Runa’s harsh comb had finally been replaced by skillful fingers forming her hair into two long braids.
“It makes so much sense why he hasn’t wanted to see her, now that I know what really happened that night at the pub!” Runa cried, feeling betrayed. “She said you were sick! That makes me so angry.”
“But still…I think I’m coming between them,” Annika pointed out. “Look how mad she got when I cut his hair. Or how she manipulated me into wearing the black dress to see which one of us looked better standing next to her brother?”
“There’s a lot more that’s come between them besides you,” said Runa kindly. “You shouldn’t blame yourself. You should be thrilled to have such devotion. Remember what Pesha said? He’s your Page of Rods.” Annika snorted a laugh at the thought. He was definitely the something of rods.
“Well, either way, love is a pretty strong word. I’m just having fun. I hope he doesn’t get too attached to me. He knows I’m going home at some point, hopefully sooner than later.”
Runa was silent and Annika couldn’t help wondering whose benefit she was saying this for. Was she really that concerned about Talvi getting too attached, or was she more concerned about herself getting too attached? She frowned a little, unable or unwilling to consider the second option as a possible truth.
“How he feels about you is not your decision to make; it’s his,” Runa answered profoundly. “And by the looks of things, I’d say he’s already made it. Just enjoy him while you have him. Things always seem to turn out for the best anyhow.” At that moment, Sariel and Talvi joined the other two.
“Where’s Finn?” Talvi asked Sariel as he set a plate in front of Annika and handed her a fork. “And my father, where are they?”
“They’re in the library, waiting for them to wake up,” said Sariel, pouring herself a small glass of wine from a half empty bottle. “Now that the sun’s gone down, they’ll be up and about at any moment.”
There was a scratching at the kitchen door and Runa leapt up to get it. Annika jumped in her seat as two enormous wolves padded into the room, sniffing the air curiously. Runa didn’t seem concerned at all as they glanced around the kitchen like they owned the place. They must have weighed nearly two hundred pounds each. One was dark brown with tan legs and rust colored ears; the other was silvery grey with tan undertones and black ears. Both had gleaming yellow eyes. They yawned lazily, showing their rows of long white teeth.
“I’ll bet you two are ready for a nice long nap by the fire, aren’t you?” Runa cooed as the silver one scratched his head. The other rusty-eared wolf actually nodded his head as if he understood Runa perfectly before they sauntered out of the room.
“Where did they come from?” Annika asked, still feeling nervous. She didn’t remember seeing wolves or any dogs at all since she had come to the Marinossian household.
“They’re sentries,” Talvi replied. “They sleep at night while the vampires are awake and keep watch over them during the day. I’d say Konstantin and his wretched accomplice just woke up,” he said, wrinkling his nose a bit.
“Are they friendly? Can I pet them if I see them again?” she asked.
“I wouldn’t,” he advised as he pulled a piece of crusty bread apart and handed her half. “How do you think their masters dispose of their victims’ bodies?” Annika shook her head. “They literally feed them to the wolves, and those wolves would tear you apart if their masters ordered them to.” Annika shivered to imagine the giant canines feasting on flesh and crunching bones to powder. Sariel let out a sigh and folded her arms on the tabletop to rest her head on them.
“What’s wrong, Sariel?” Annika asked her, eager to think of something else. “I hope you haven’t been killing yourself helping Yuri with all the chores.”
“Yuri…” She shook her head in disgust before downing her glass of wine. “I’ve never been so disgusted with her in the past three-hundred years as I’ve been this entire visit.”
“I feel the same way.” Talvi frowned and took a bite of taboule and tomatoes drizzled in olive oil.
“First she starts dressing strange,” Sariel began to explain. “That’s fine, I say. It’s fun to wear dresses and makeup every now and again. After all, if I did it, it can’t be that bad. Then she’s been fussing over the celebration for weeks. No, actually it’s been months! Strange, I say, but I suppose that’s understandable. It’s an important birthday and we all know she likes to have things be just so. Next she’s inviting nocturnal killers to her birthday party. But it’s her party and she’s entitled to some leeway with the guest list. Then I hear from who else but your cousin Sevan that Yuri is drunk as a sailor and has some vampire’s face in her neck! Now, what the hell can I say about that?”
“She didn’t,” Talvi said under his breath. Sariel made no effort to hide her contemptuous laugh as she decided to forgo the hassle of a glass and drank straight from her bottle.
“Oh she most certainly did, and right in front of everyone,” she sneered. “And by everyone, I mean your pious aunt and uncle, your fairy godmother, your parents, and the other five-hundred and six souls that showed up for your birthday!”
“That’s going too far!” Runa exclaimed. “Do you think she wants to become one of them?”
“At this point I think anything’s a possibility,” Talvi said bitterly. “I don’t even know who she is anymore. The Yuri I knew would never have allowed such disrespect in our home. You know how she is when she feels slighted.”
“Yes. She’s unbearable,” Sariel muttered, and said no more. They finished their dinner in silence and Runa volunteered to clean up while Sariel, Talvi, and Annika walked to her guest room to gather her things. He was quite serious that he didn’t want her to spend a moment out of his sight, which she discovered when she headed out the door and was scared half to death by a tall, dark figure leaning against the wall. At first it looked like Finn’s silhouette, but his hair wasn’t curly. It was straight and long, hanging far past his shoulders. Talvi pulled Annika behind him, and squeezed her arm so hard that it hurt.
“What are you doing here?” he said in a cautious voice. The figure didn’t budge. Only his lips moved.
“I came to offer Miss Annika my most sincere apologies for Vaj’s behavior. He is still young, and a little rough around the edges. I should have locked him up for the night.”
“Yes,
you should have,” Talvi replied harshly. “Speaking of being locked up, why aren’t you? Where’s my father?” Konstantin tilted his head to one side, then the other, eyeing his host carefully.
“I will not be monitored like an unseasoned fledgling. Your father and brother are playing cards with Vaj in the library as I speak. I stepped out to get a bite to eat.” He chuckled at his last remark and struck a match along the wall, lighting the lantern in his hand. The flame danced in his dark eyes and cast a warm glow on his pale, but gorgeous face. He offered the lantern to Annika, but Talvi snatched it away.
“I only wanted the lady to see where she was going. It is very chivalrous, how you keep her under your wing…although I am wondering which one of us she is safer with, Prince Talvi.” The low, steady tone he used seemed to work just as effectively at hypnotizing Annika as it did to antagonize Talvi.
“Konstantin, I’m curious,” Sariel asked, just before Talvi could put a stop to Konstantin’s twisted humor. “Why didn’t Pavlo come? We were expecting him, not that monster you brought along in his place.” Konstantin’s beautiful features transitioned from looking amused to becoming unreadable.
“It was not my decision to bring Vaj. As for Pavlo, I don’t know where he is. I hoped to discuss this at the meeting. Again, Miss Annika, I apologize for Vaj upsetting you. If he causes you further harm he will cease to exist. I give you my word.” He gave her a polite nod of the head and continued down the hallway towards the kitchen, carrying himself regally as Annika watched in fascination.
“Hurry along,” Talvi said sharply, breaking her trance. But instead of heading towards his room, he turned in the direction of the kitchen and stormed back to it with the girls trotting behind him. They saw Runa laughing at a comment Konstantin had made while Yuri was slipping into her coat. The long-haired vampire looked up at Annika and smiled ever so softly. His eyes reflected the light like two glowing emeralds, and she swore she heard him ask, Who do you think will keep you safer? The lieutenant who commands an army, or a prince who commands none?
“What are you doing?” Talvi demanded of his sister.
“We’re going out,” Yuri replied flippantly as she pulled her hood over her head. “Konstantin is still weak from his trip, and I’m accompanying him.”
“Don’t you think you embarrassed yourself enough the other night, or is there still more shame you can bring upon this family?”
“It’s none of your business what I do, as long as I’m not hurting anyone,” she defended.
“Oh really?” Talvi asked her in a voice that made Annika’s stomach lurch. “Is that a fact? What about when you are hurting someone? Is it my business then?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Yuri said, blowing him off.
“You know damn well what I’m talking about!” he roared in her face so loud that everyone winced, except Konstantin. He looked completely unimpressed by the outburst. “How dare you serve Annika up on a platter to a vampire in our own home! And what about the lies you spoon fed her about me? Why would you do such a thing? What is wrong with you?”
“Oh ho ho…what is wrong with me, you ask?” Yuri gave him the meanest look Annika had ever seen. “What is wrong with me? I thought you had changed! I thought perhaps you turned over a new leaf, but noooo…I was wrong. You haven’t changed a bit! You’re still The Prince, aren’t you? Are you happy with yourself, Prince Talvi?” She shot Annika an awful expression and then looked back at her brother. “You got what you wanted, didn’t you, Prince Talvi? And you dare to call me the bloody liar of the family?” Yuri shook her head in disgust and ran out the door to the back yard, but her brother didn’t bother to follow her.
“As for you,” he continued, stepping in front of Konstantin. “If you touch anyone else in my home, I’ll make sure—”
“You will make sure what?” Konstantin interrupted, suddenly standing in front of Talvi’s face. The elf and the vampire stood the same height, their noses almost touching, but while the elf was glaring furiously, the vampire only seemed mildly annoyed. Talvi shoved him hard against the wall and let his fist fly at Konstantin’s jaw, but the vampire caught his forearm in a move barely visible to the eye. Talvi tried to pull away, yet Konstantin’s grip was equally as powerful.
“Perhaps you should give your father more credit. Do you really believe he would welcome me into his home if he felt I would harm his family?” The vampire released him and brushed off his jacket nonchalantly. “It would not be wise to test me again, Prince Talvi. I wouldn’t want to prove your father wrong after working with him for all these years.” He gave Runa and Annika a courteous nod and then walked outside to join Yuri as though nothing had happened. Before the heavy door shut all the way, Talvi kicked it so hard that he put a large dent in the solid oak. The glass from the window of it fell out, splintering upon contact with the tiled floor. The girls looked frightened, and even the fearless Sariel was unsure what to think as she stepped carefully away from the broken glass. Up until this moment, Talvi had always been as gentle as a pussycat, never acting with such violence.
“He’s not that bad, Talvi,” Runa said softly. “You could try being civil towards him, at the very least.” His head whipped around and he looked like he was going to say something terrible, but instead he took a deep breath and let it out slowly.
“I’m losing my sister to him. She’s been acting so strange ever since they began writing to each other. She wants nothing more than to be like him. I can feel it,” he insisted from where he stood in the shards of glass that crunched under his shoes.
“I’m sure it’s nothing serious,” Hilda tried to assure him. “Besides, how could an elf ever become a vampire?”
“Why don’t you ask Konstantin?” Finn suggested, having come into the kitchen just in time to see Talvi break the door.
“What are you saying?” Sariel asked soberly.
“You mean you really don’t know?” asked Finn.
“Don’t know what?” Talvi demanded.
“He was one of us before he was made into a vampire.”
“What?” Sariel hissed. “How could we have not known this?”
“I certainly couldn’t tell you. Haven’t you ever wondered why he’s so much taller compared to other vampires?” Finn asked dubiously. “He wears his hair long so that his ears aren’t revealed.” No one had an answer. “Well…it doesn’t matter what he once was,” he continued, while giving Talvi the most disappointed look Annika had ever thought him capable of. “What matters is that Father trusts and respects him, Mother trusts and respects him, as do Anthea and I, and you ought to as well. Now get out of here so I can clean up your bloody mess.”
With nothing left to say, Talvi led Annika back to his room where he locked the door shut. She went to the stereo to play some music, thinking it would help him calm down, but he wouldn’t allow it.
“If anyone comes nearby I might not hear them,” he excused. He sank into the chair at his desk and stared blankly at the mess of papers in front of him. Annika didn’t know what to do. She felt bad for him, that he had so many things upset him in so little time. She walked quietly behind him, and set her hand on his shoulder. He tensed up even more, but she reached out her other hand and began to rub the many knots in his muscles. He closed his eyes and sighed as she tried her hardest to turn those knots into putty.
“Will you promise me something?” he murmured before grasping her hand and looking up at her.
“What is it?” she asked, somewhat frightened by the expression in his eyes.
“I know I’ve already asked this of you, but I want it to be clear that you need to stay very close to me after sunset from now on. Don’t leave my sight. I have a bad feeling…I feel like something awful is going to happen. I can’t trust my sister anymore. In my entire life, I’ve never felt anything like what I’m experiencing right now.” He guided her around to the front of the chair and sat her down in his lap, looking at her. “Can you promise me that, my little d
ove?”
“You’re not following me into the bathroom,” she said, trying to joke with him. He smiled faintly, but did not alter his request. “Fine, I swear, I promise.”
“And while you’re at it, promise me that you won’t go chasing after Konstantin, no matter how charming he acts towards you.” Annika looked at him skeptically. Sure, Konstantin was a babe, but so was the man whose lap she was sitting on. She wondered if it was his jealous streak acting up again.
“Why would I chase after him?”
“I don’t know, just don’t do it.”
“Trust me—I have no desire to be a vampire,” she sighed as she nuzzled against his sideburns. “And if anyone’s going to bite my neck, it’s going to be you.”