A Shade of Kiev

  It needs mending as well as cleaning—another reason to delay my date with Adrian.

  After I’d sewn up the gown’s hem, I washed it and hung it outside to dry. Then I returned to my desk and wrote out a message for Adrian.

  A much shorter one than I’d written to Kiev.

  “Dear Adrian,

  I enjoyed last night immensely, and I hope you dried off before you caught a cold.

  I would like to meet you again.

  Tomorrow.

  Same time. Same place.

  Yours,

  Irina.”

  Chapter 31: Mona

  When I arrived for the second date with Adrian just after sunset, he was already waiting for me. He stood in fresh clothes, leaning his elbow against the edge of the well. On seeing me enter the clearing, he held out a hand. He pulled my hand toward him and placed a chaste kiss on it. Chills ran through me as the slight scruff of his face brushed against my skin.

  “Good evening,” I murmured, my heart beating faster.

  He nodded, his gaze intense as he looked down at me. Without offering any explanation, he placed an arm around me and led me toward the forest. I had already made plans for this evening, but since he seemed to have something in mind, I decided not to interfere.

  It soon became obvious that we were headed toward the gate. After seeing me struggle with a bramble catching the hem of my dress, he detached it and, gathering me in his arms, carried me the rest of the way.

  Why do I insist on wearing this stupid dress?

  We reached the gate unexpectedly fast, and I didn’t even have a chance to ask him to put me down before the vampire guard had already seen us both. I blushed as the vampire stared at me in surprise.

  He muttered the usual warning to “be careful” and let us out.

  Once we were on the other side of the gate, Adrian started walking in the opposite direction to the previous night. We took a left turn and headed toward rock pools north of the island. He carried me until we were out of view from the beach.

  “Wait here,” he said, as he set me down on a boulder. He turned and walked toward the shallow waters. I watched as he prowled around, studying the pools, until he bent down and picked something up. He returned with a large white pearl. I reached out my hand, expecting him to drop it into my palm, but he ignored me. Instead, he walked behind me and, without asking for my permission, tucked it into the center of my braid.

  Then he sat down opposite me and lifted his eyes to mine, a look of contentment crossing his face. Perhaps he was feeling triumphant that he’d forced a gift on me that I’d previously rejected.

  His gaze was starting to feel more intense than I was comfortable with. But I reminded myself that I was Irina before him, not Mona, and I soon relaxed. I crawled across the rock and reached out to touch his hand.

  “Does it hurt, being cold like this all the time?”

  This was not a question I would have asked of Adrian, but I didn’t mind because I felt hidden behind Irina.

  He frowned at my question.

  “You don’t know if something hurts when it’s all you’re used to,” he replied.

  I stared into his eyes, my face now level with his as I knelt on the rocks, just inches from him.

  He reached for a lock of my hair and wrapped it around his finger. He tugged on it, indicating that I sit down, now much closer to him than before. He reached for my neck and caressed my skin with his strong fingers, before brushing hair away from it, leaving it bare.

  His eyes fell from my face to my neck. Tingles ran down my spine as he leaned forward and lowered his head to my neck, his cool breath barely an inch away.

  “You’re not wearing sandalwood tonight,” he whispered, his voice husky.

  My breath hitched as his lips brushed against my skin.

  “Mmm,” he groaned as he took in my scent.

  His mouth pressed more firmly against the base of my neck. And when he broke contact, I realized what it was. A kiss. Then he leaned away from me, his eyes glazed as they met mine. I just sat there, staring at him, my heart beating at twice its normal pace.

  I might have not known what to think at that moment, but I didn’t need to know what to feel.

  When he eventually escorted me back to the lake just as dawn was about to break, I wrote two chapters I’d struggled with for years in a single sitting.

  He might not have been channeling Adrian exactly, but whatever Kiev was doing, it was working.

  Chapter 32: Mona

  Two evenings later, I once again found myself in Adrian’s arms as he carried me along the beach.

  “Over there.” I pointed toward the port looming in the distance.

  As we approached, we passed by the range of boats our crew had managed to collect over the years. I told him to stop once we’d arrived outside the main ship. I tugged on his shirt to lower me and we climbed the ladder up to the deck. Catching hold of his hand, I led him to the front of the ship, where I bent down and rummaged around in a large wooden compartment. I soon found what I was looking for: a heap of waterproof glasses. They were Brett’s creation. He’d made a whole heap of them.

  Standing up, I handed a pair to Adrian.

  “Why?” he asked, looking at the object.

  I didn’t answer until I’d bent down to the cupboard again and withdrawn two knives. Recalling his cluelessness about how to catch food for himself at sea, I’d decided to share some of my knowledge with him.

  “I want to show you something,” I replied.

  Placing the knives on the floor, I took his glasses back from him and said, “Bend down.”

  Instead, he wrapped his arms around me and lifted me up so that I was level with his face. I giggled and strapped the glasses tightly over his head, careful to tuck his hair out of the way so that sea water wouldn’t leak into his eyes. Then he put me down and I pulled on my own pair.

  Walking to the edge of the ship, I dove into the sea. Adrian landed next to me a few seconds later. I ducked my head underwater and surveyed the area beneath us. I was glad to see plenty of sea life surrounding us—different species of fish, crabs, oysters, and a variety of sea vegetables that Brett was becoming so expert at roasting.

  Taking a deep breath, I kicked down to the sea bed and picked up a particularly large oyster. I surfaced, expecting to find Adrian waiting for me. But he had disappeared. I looked beneath the waves to see him hovering near a large patch of colorful ocean flora.

  When he showed no signs of surfacing, I swam down to see what he was doing. Discarding my knife on the sand next to his, I watched as he ripped up handfuls of sea flowers. I patted him on the shoulder. He reached out and grabbed hold of my arm, pulling me closer to him. Wrapping his legs around mine to hold me in place, he brushed aside my hair and tucked a large flower behind my ear.

  I had to surface for breath after that.

  He appeared above the waves soon after me, with the flowers in his hand.

  It seems that, once again, Adrian has his own agenda for our date.

  He pulled off his glasses, and then eased my pair off with one hand. He swam toward a large rock nearby, indicating that I follow. I climbed onto it and sat with my legs dangling over its edge. I felt his chest against my back as he stretched his legs out on either side of me. And then he started work. His strong fingers didn’t stop tugging at my hair until he’d finished braiding in all of the bright orange flowers.

  He stood up and examined his handiwork. I couldn’t help but smile at the serious expression on his face. What is it with decorating my hair?

  Careful not to disturb my new hair style, I slid back into the water.

  “You seem to like decorating my hair,” I said.

  He remained quiet, still staring at me.

  “Why?” I persisted.

  Ignoring my question, he slipped into the water. He positioned himself in front of me, his hands slid down to my abdomen and he gently pushed me backward until my back was against the rock. He lifted his hands
up the rough surface either side of me, his gaze smoldering. My heart raced as his eyes fell to my mouth. My lips tingled. He leaned toward me, but it was my cheek that his lips caressed. I closed my eyes, feeling his kiss. Soft. Tender. Lingering. And just before he drew away, his teeth grazed me slightly.

  Adrian knows how to avoid answering questions.

  Chapter 33: Kiev

  The door to my room was open when I returned.

  Lorena.

  The beautiful vampire leaned against the wall, her long bare legs stretched out on my bed. Her arms crossed against her chest, she was biting her nails with a bored expression on her face. On catching sight of me, she shot up.

  “I’ve been waiting for you,” she purred. “What took you so long?”

  A sultry smile on her face, she wore a thin robe that drooped around her shoulders, the outline of her underwear clearly visible. Her scent was intoxicating.

  I frowned at her.

  “When did I give you permission to enter my room?”

  “I’m sorry,” she said, fluttering her eyelashes.

  I opened the door wider and nodded toward it. She ignored my gesture and walked up to me, brushing the curves of her body against me.

  “Let me make it up to you,” she whispered in my ear, sliding a hand beneath my shirt.

  I knocked her arm away.

  “I’m sure there are plenty of other vampires in this place who would appreciate your company,” I said, pointing once again toward the door.

  Her eyes darkened. She reached her hands up and gripped my hair, hoisting herself onto me and wrapping her long smooth legs around me. She lowered her mouth to my neck and caressed my skin with her lips.

  “Mmm… But I want you, Kiev,” she moaned softly. “Don’t you want me?”

  Her teeth scraped against me as she shivered with desire. My breath hitched as she started tugging at my pants. I stepped backward, my back now up against the wall.

  “No,” I breathed. “No… Get out.”

  Her lips sucked on my skin harder, her fangs close to drawing blood.

  I gripped her legs and broke their lock around my waist. When she struggled to hold on to me with her arms, I lurched forward and slammed her against the wall. Seizing her neck between my hands, my first instinct was to snap it in two. I managed to reel myself in and instead ran a claw along her throat, etching a cut just deep enough to sting.

  That seemed to make her realize that I wasn’t to be swayed.

  “What is it about that scrawny witch?” she choked, her eyes igniting with jealousy. “You seem to have all the time in the world for her!”

  She exited the room and banged the door shut behind her.

  I backed up against the wall and slid down it. Sitting on the floor, I stared at the bare wall in front of me.

  What is it about Mona?

  I wasn’t sure I knew.

  Chapter 34: Mona

  It dawned on me that I still hadn’t asked Kiev any of the questions I had planned on asking him. Somehow, those questions seemed irrelevant now that the words were flowing so freely just from spending time in Adrian’s presence.

  Since I’d requested another day before our next date, I had that evening free. After I’d washed my dress and hung it out to dry, and done a few other chores around my cabin, I took out the chapters I’d managed to finish over the last few days and read them again. I lay down on the mattress and found myself reading through the same pages again and again, lost in the scenes I’d created.

  My trance was broken by the sound of the front door creaking open. I leaped up and my heart jumped into my throat when I saw Adrian standing in front of me. I cursed myself for forgetting to lock the door after hanging out the laundry.

  His torso was bare as he stood in the doorway, water dripping from his dark hair onto the floorboards.

  “Come with me,” he said, his voice low.

  “What?”

  “You heard.”

  “No. I’m not dressed properly,” I said, tightening my nightdress around me.

  “I don’t care.”

  I gasped when he grabbed my hand and pulled me out of the door.

  “Hold your breath.”

  “Wait. No. Adrian!”

  He jumped into the cool water, pulling me in after him. I surfaced, gasping for breath.

  “I told you tomorrow!” I panted.

  “I know,” he said.

  “So why are you here?”

  “I didn’t feel like waiting.”

  As he looked at me, I realized that something was different about his eyes. I was used to them being a dark blood-red. At that moment, they seemed brighter somehow. More alive. Or perhaps it was just the reflection of the moon playing tricks on my vision.

  I splashed water in his face.

  “You can’t just barge into my home because you feel like it.”

  He grabbed my arms and drew me closer toward him until I was almost touching his muscled chest.

  “Should I leave then?” he asked, his eyes fixed on mine.

  His words were more of a challenge than a question. Unwilling to answer, I splashed more water at him. He swam backward and disappeared beneath the water. When he resurfaced, he was holding a dagger. The gift he’d tried to give me. He reached for my waist and pulled my back against his chest. Running a hand along my right arm, he intertwined his fingers with mine and stretched out my palm. He placed the dagger in it, closing my fingers around the hilt.

  “Why did you reject my gift?” he whispered into my ear, his breath cold against my neck.

  I shivered as his lips brushed against my earlobe.

  “Why do you make this so difficult for me?” he breathed.

  His left arm tightened around my waist, his right hand still enveloping my own.

  “Watch it, Adrian,” I said, trying to keep my voice steady. “You know I’m good with daggers.”

  Lifting my knees, I pressed my feet down against his thighs and broke free from him. I swam back to the cabin and climbed onto the porch. Walking to the bathroom, I placed the dagger on the windowsill before changing into dry clothes.

  When I came out, Adrian was standing in the main room. I threw him a spare towel, forcing my eyes away from his torso as he dried himself. On looking up again, I swallowed a gasp. He had taken off his pants and wrapped the towel low around his waist. He walked outside and hung his wet pants over the railing.

  “I didn’t give it for that,” I muttered.

  But Adrian’s attention had been drawn to something else in my home. Before I could stop him, he swooped down to my mattress and grabbed hold of the parchment containing my recently finished chapters. Mortified, I lunged for him. But he was far too quick. He flew out the door and within seconds he sat perched on my roof.

  No. No. No.

  I stood helpless as he began reading. Damn vampires and their night vision. Protesting was useless. It would only fuel his curiosity. I had no choice but to stand there, my cheeks ablaze, watching him leaf through my chapters.

  When he had finished, he looked down at me. I’d been expecting him to tease me the moment he’d finished the first paragraph. Instead, his expression was serious. It unnerved me that I found it impossible to guess what was going through his head.

  I crossed my arms over my chest and scowled at him.

  “You finished up there?”

  He nodded and climbed down, handing the parchment back to me. He looked out at the lake, and I breathed a sigh of relief, thinking he was about to dive in and return to the forest. But he turned toward me again before leaving.

  When he placed his hands behind my neck, his fingers reaching into my hair, and planted a kiss on my forehead, it didn’t matter what I was wearing.

  Even in Irina’s gown, I would have felt bare before him.

  Chapter 35: Kiev

  The more time I spent with Mona, the more I realized that I didn’t understand her. And that irritated me.

  It seemed that I’d already drained B
rett’s limited knowledge of her.

  I needed to talk to Saira.

  The next day, I picked up one of the straw parasols stored in a bucket by the entrance of the tunnels and walked out into the sunny clearing. I approached a werewolf passing nearby and asked for directions to Saira’s home. Soon I walked in the middle of the werewolves’ woods, my gaze cast upward, looking for the black-wood tree house that Saira was supposed to live in.

  It was built a little away from the main cluster of houses, with a direct view out onto the lake. I wondered if that had been a deliberate decision, in order to keep an eye on Mona. I also wondered how many of my visits to the witch’s house she had spied on already.

  Although there was a thick-stepped ladder etched into the side of Saira’s tree, I leapt up and landed on the small porch outside her door. Like all the tree houses, Saira’s looked small and shabby, clearly built with whatever materials they’d managed to scavenge together on the small island.

  I knocked loudly.

  I heard footsteps and Saira’s short plump figure appeared at the door.

  “Ah, Kiev.” She grinned. “What a pleasure. Come in, dear. Come in.”

  She swung the door open. The tree house seemed even smaller now that I was inside it. The interior reminded me much of Mona’s cabin, bare but for a mattress in the corner and some basic furniture.

  She gestured to a chair and I took a seat.

  “So,” she said, looking down at me. “Are you ready for me to ask the question?”

  “No, no,” I said. “That’s not why I’m here. I want to know more about Mona.”

  Saira took a seat cross-legged on the mattress at the opposite end of the room.

  “What do you want to know about her?”

  A dozen questions ran through my mind but the first one that surfaced was: “Why does she write stories?”

  Saira’s eyes widened.

  “Stories? I never knew she did.”

  “She seems to be… overly involved with her characters.”

  “What do you mean?” Saira asked, bending forward.