A challenge, that was what he was. A challenge physically, intellectually, and even emotionally. She’d lived long enough to know such an occurrence was extremely rare. Precious, even. So it was something she wanted to keep to herself, hoarding it like a treasure.
But at the same time, she felt some anger with him and herself. He’d agreed to mate with her, but then he’d run away. Why should she protect a man who couldn’t honor his agreement? How could he kiss her like that, then leave?
Just thinking about the kiss made her stomach flutter. Remember me, he’d whispered. As if she could forget a man like Zoltan. So strong and handsome. Fearless and noble . . .
She winced. How could she be so attracted to a man she hardly knew? Maybe it was a good thing that he’d run away. She couldn’t allow herself to develop feelings for him. The women of Beyul-La could not have relationships with men. It had happened a few times before, and the results were always bad. Disastrous, even.
“I wouldn’t worry about it, your majesty,” Lydia said as she prepared the dough for their flatbread. “It was probably a drunken villager who scurried back home once he realized he’d ventured into our territory.”
Nima sighed. “Probably so.” She dropped the fish into the hot skillet.
“If you like,” Tashi said, “the next time I’m in the village, I could remind them that invading our territory means death.”
Nima nodded. “Do that.”
“Yes, your majesty.” Tashi ducked her head and smiled.
Neona exchanged a look with Winifred. Freddie suspected that Tashi had taken a lover in the village, and that was why she volunteered to go there once a month to barter for rice, flour, and the occasional bolt of fabric.
For weeks, Neona had refused to believe that Tashi would bed a villager. The men there were farmers, not warriors. Their seed would not produce the exceptional daughters who were needed to protect this sacred valley. Besides, developing a relationship with a man was dangerous. They could never be trusted with the secrets of Beyul-La. That was why they were not allowed here. And it made no sense for the women of Beyul-La to leave the valley to live with a man. Neona had seen numerous villages in Tibet and Nepal, and in each place, the women lived poor, subservient lives. It was not a life a warrior woman could ever accept.
But something new had happened to make Neona reconsider her disbelief of Tashi’s alleged affair. Zoltan’s kiss. Even now, her lips tingled at the thought of his mouth on hers. If that was the sort of excitement Tashi was enjoying, then Neona could understand the desire to take a lover. She hadn’t wanted Zoltan to stop. The movements of his lips and hands had awakened a yearning deep inside her. She closed her eyes, remembering the touch of his hand on her breast.
“The bread is ready,” Lydia announced, jerking Neona back to reality. Lydia stacked hot loaves of flatbread into a basket and passed it around.
Neona spooned rice into six bowls, then passed them around till everyone had one. Another wave of grief swept over her. It was hard, at moments like this, not to recall that only two weeks ago, there had been eleven of them sitting around the fire. Now there was an empty space next to her where her sister, Minerva, had sat.
Minerva had been able to make delicious salads from the vegetables grown in the garden and from the many wild plants and berries that flourished in the valley. Neona hadn’t attempted to duplicate her sister’s recipe yet. Just the thought of it brought tears to her eyes.
“Here.” Nima chopped off the fish heads and scooped them into a wooden bowl. “Give this to your cat, Neona.”
“Thank you.” Neona took the bowl over to Zhan. Luckily, the queen had accepted her pet. The leopard had earned everyone’s respect by killing any mice that tried to get into their storeroom.
Neona placed the bowl in front of him and rubbed his ears to thank him for keeping her secret.
“The cat’s complaining again,” Lydia muttered as she took a portion of fish onto her plate.
Tashi nodded. “He says he’s tired of fish and wants rabbit instead.”
Neona gave her pet a pointed look. The rascal. Was he letting her know that his continued silence came at a price? “I’ll go hunting for rabbit tomorrow, okay?”
The leopard butted his head against her hand and purred.
Neona returned to her seat close to the fire and picked at her dinner. Maybe she should hunt tomorrow evening in the same area where she’d met Zoltan. Maybe she’d see him again.
Maybe she was losing her mind. She ripped her piece of bread in two. Relationships with men always ended the same way. With disaster. If she had any sense, she’d hope never to see him again. She would forget all about him. And his last words, which kept echoing through her head.
Remember me.
Having worked up an appetite from his unexpected adventure, Zoltan teleported straight to the kitchen in the basement of his castle. From the fridge, he selected a bottle of AB negative, since it reminded him of Neona, then he popped it into the microwave, noting the time on the clock. Almost midnight. He’d been gone three and a half hours.
When his cell phone started dinging over and over, he checked it. Over thirty missed calls and texts? He’d deal with it later. For now, he needed food, a shower, and a change of clothes.
He guzzled down half of the warmed-up bottle, then proceeded up the backstairs to the Great Hall. To his surprise, Elsa was pacing back and forth by the front door. Shouldn’t she be upstairs with her husband?
He took another sip of blood. “Is there something wrong?”
With a gasp, she spun to face him. “Zoltan! You’re all right!”
“Yes, of cour—”
“We were worried sick!” She strode toward him.
“He’s back?” Howard’s voice boomed from the stairway leading to the armory. No doubt his superior hearing had caught the sound of his wife’s shout. The were-bear burst from the stairwell into the Great Hall.
“Good evening.” Zoltan took another sip from his bottle. “Did you enjoy your—”
“Where the hell have you been?” Howard stalked toward him, scowling. “We came back from dinner, and you were gone! Milan was frantic because he couldn’t find you anywhere, and you were missing some important meetings in Budapest.”
“Oh, right.” Zoltan winced. He’d completely forgotten about the closing on his latest real estate venture. And then there was the other meeting with the Society for Architectural Preservation. “Not to worry. It can all be rescheduled.”
“That’s not the point!” Howard gritted his teeth. “This was my first night here as head of security, and I lost my client!”
“I wasn’t lost. I knew exactly where I was.”
“I didn’t know.” Howard gave him an exasperated look. “We tried calling you, but you didn’t answer the damned phone. Do you know how embarrassing it was to tell Angus you were missing?”
Zoltan groaned inwardly. “You called Angus?”
“Yes. He was in Tiger Town in China, so he was still awake. He came right away and brought Mikhail with him. Angus and I have been searching the castle and the grounds. Mikhail and Milan are in Budapest, searching for you there. Oh, I need to let them know you’re okay.” Howard whipped out his cell phone and started texting.
“Oh, my gosh!” Elsa eased closer to Zoltan. “Is that dried blood on your forehead?”
Howard glanced up. “You were attacked? I’ll need a full report.” He sent his texts and pocketed his cell phone.
Zoltan took a deep breath. “I understand you’re accustomed to protecting children like Tino and Sofia, but let me explain something. I’m on my third term as Coven Master of Eastern Europe. I’m CEO of one of the largest businesses in Hungary and Romania. And I’m almost eight hundred years old. I don’t report to anyone.”
Howard stared at him, unfazed. “You do now.”
Zoltan frowned
. He should have never agreed to this. Howard and his wife were acting like nursemaids. Even now, Elsa was circling him and shaking her head like he’d been caught with his hand in a cookie jar.
“Look at your clothes!” Elsa fussed. “Your jacket is torn, and you’re covered with dirt and leaves.”
“Milan can take the suit to the cleaners.” Zoltan moved toward the grand staircase. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’d like to—”
“I’m not done.” Howard stepped in front of Zoltan to block him. “Where did you go?”
“It’s Friday night. You’re not the only one who had a date.”
Howard scoffed. “You said earlier you didn’t have a girlfriend. And what kind of date leaves you with a bloody wound on your head? If you have an enemy stalking you, I need to know about it. Where the hell were you?”
Zoltan tamped down on his growing frustration. These people weren’t going to leave him alone till he answered. “Fine. I was . . . fighting an Amazon warrior in Tibet.”
Elsa’s eyes widened.
Howard stared at him blankly for a few seconds, then snorted. “No, really. Where were you?”
“Is he all right?” Angus called out as he zoomed through the front door at vampire speed.
“I’m perfectly fine,” Zoltan announced. “There was no need to make such a fuss—”
“Ye were missing for over three hours.” Angus’s kilt swished as he came to an abrupt stop in front of Zoltan. “And ye have enemies. We had every right to be concerned.” His green eyes narrowed. “Ye took a blow to the head?”
Zoltan waved a dismissive hand. “It’ll heal during my death-sleep.”
“Why did ye no’ answer yer phone?” Angus asked.
“I was out of range. If I go back, I’ll take a sat phone with me.”
Angus nodded. “If ye go back where?”
Zoltan frowned. For some reason, he was reluctant to let anyone else know. Neona was keeping him secret, and he wanted to do the same for her.
“He said Tibet earlier,” Howard muttered. “But I don’t know if he was kidding.”
“Tibet?” Angus arched an eyebrow. “Does this have anything to do with Master Han? Or Russell? I heard ye’ve been supplying him.”
“It’s not related to either of them. It’s personal. Now if you’ll excuse me . . .” Zoltan reached for the banister and started up the grand staircase. If he could just get away from all these people, he would enjoy some time alone to think about Neona. And strategize his next move.
“Is he all right?” Mikhail asked.
Here we go again. Zoltan turned and saw that Mikhail had just teleported into the Great Hall with Milan.
“Sir!” Milan rushed toward him. “We’ve been looking all over Budapest. We were worried about you.”
“I am perfectly fine, as you can see.” Zoltan cast an annoyed look at Angus. “I didn’t realize I would need anyone’s permission to leave my own house.”
Mikhail snorted. “Yeah, he’s fine. If you don’t mind, I’ll get back to Moscow. Pam’s working tonight, and I don’t like to leave her alone.”
Zoltan lifted a hand. “Good night, old friend.”
Mikhail smirked. “I hope she was worth it.” He teleported away.
“She?” Milan repeated.
Zoltan shrugged. “Mikhail was making an assumption.”
Angus eyed the wound on Zoltan’s temple. “If ye were seeing a lass, she’s no’ verra happy with you.”
“Nothing I can’t handle,” Zoltan muttered.
Angus grinned. “I’ll be going, then. Emma’s waiting for me in London. I havena seen the lass in three weeks.” He teleported away to be with his wife.
“So is the Amazon warrior real?” Howard asked. “Is she the one who attacked you?”
Zoltan ignored the questions. “Milan, I’ll be ready to go to Budapest in thirty minutes. See if you can reschedule the meetings I missed. And call the tour agency.”
“Yes, sir.” Milan whipped out a small pad and pencil from his jacket and took notes. “Is there a problem with the tour?”
“Tour?” Howard asked. “What tour?”
“There are tours in the castle every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon,” Elsa explained.
Howard grimaced. “A bunch of strangers roaming about the castle?”
“It’s a guided tour,” Zoltan muttered. “They never leave the guide.”
“How can you be sure?” Howard demanded. “Is the guide trained for crowd management? Is he armed?”
Zoltan snorted. “That wouldn’t seem very welcoming, would it? We have two elderly women from the village who earn extra money by conducting the tours.”
“It’s very popular with the tourists,” Milan added, smiling. “They all want to see a real vampire castle.”
“What?” Howard stiffened. “You publicize this place as a vampire castle? Holy shit. This is a security nightmare!”
Zoltan waved a dismissive hand. “It’s all in fun. The tourists don’t really believe it.”
Howard gave him an incredulous look. “It only takes one wacko, armed with a wooden stake, and determined to scour the castle till he finds you. And you’ll be completely defenseless in your death-sleep—”
“In my house in Budapest,” Zoltan interrupted him. “I don’t sleep here on the days of the tour, Howard. I didn’t get to be this old by being an idiot.”
Howard’s eyes narrowed. “What kind of security do you have in Budapest?”
Zoltan groaned. “I didn’t know you would be so relentless.”
“I didn’t know you would be so lax when it comes to your own safety.” Howard crossed his arms. “But don’t worry. I’ll fix everything.”
Zoltan wondered what it would take to send the were-bear into hibernation. “Milan, tell the guides that the east wing and tower will be off the tour while renovations are being done. Construction will begin on Monday, so this will affect the next tour on Tuesday.”
“Will do.” Milan made a note, then adjusted his glasses. “If I might say so, the tourists will be very disappointed to miss the main attraction in the tower.”
“Oh, that reminds me.” Elsa turned to Zoltan. “Alastair is worried that the wooden box we built around the mummy won’t be enough protection if a stone wall collapses. He thinks we should move it to a safer location like the chapel. Then it can remain on the tour.”
Zoltan nodded. “All right, but be careful—”
“Wait a minute.” Howard lifted a hand to stop him. With a stunned look, he looked at his wife and then Zoltan. “There’s a mummy?”
“Oh yes.” Milan nodded as he made notes. “A very old mummy. Very popular with the tourists.”
Howard ran a hand through his hair. “This place is crazy.”
Zoltan gave him a wry smile. “Welcome to Transylvania.” He zoomed up the stairs, leaving the were-bear behind, finally speechless.
Chapter Five
The boy was near death, his body bleeding and bruised, an angry red burn seared across his back. Neona moved her hands over the gashes and bruises, taking in as much of his pain as she could endure. In the distance, where the village and castle were located, smoke billowed into the sky. The stench of burning bodies made her choke. Gathering up her courage, she placed a hand on the boy’s burned back. Fire sizzled up her arm.
With a cry, Neona sat up in bed. Gasping for air, she looked around her dark one-room house. She was home in Beyul-La. Far, far away from that terrible memory. She hadn’t dreamed about it in many years.
Moonlight filtered through an open window, lending just enough light to make out the shape of two chairs and a small table in front of the hearth. A trunk containing her clothes rested at the foot of her bed. Another trunk sat at the foot of Minerva’s bed across the room. Her empty bed.
Neona’s heart stilled
as another wave of grief swept over her, leaving her cold and numb.
“Minerva,” she whispered. “Who will listen to me now in the still of the night? Whom can I trust with my secrets?”
Sleep had been difficult since the battle two weeks ago. When Neona would finally fall asleep, she dreamed of her twin sister. Memories of growing up in the valley, running through the green pastures, laughing, playing in the stream. But the dream would always take a sinister turn, and she would see Lord Liao’s sword plunging through her sister’s chest, see her sister falling to the ground. Then Neona would wake up with tears streaming down her cheeks and her heart aching so much that she thought it would burst.
But tonight had been different. Why, after all these years, would she dream about that boy? It had been a horrendous day, full of death and destruction, a day she’d tried hard to forget.
“Why did I have that dream?” She glanced at Minerva’s bed, imagining what her sister would say.
Did something different happen to you today?
“Yes,” Neona whispered. “I met a man. A man so special I couldn’t tell anyone. But I would have told you.”
Silence.
Tears filled her eyes. “It must have been a warning to shield my heart. So I would remember what happens if any of us chooses a man over our sacred duty.”
Steeling her nerves, she wiped her cheeks. It was a good thing Zoltan had disappeared. She was too vulnerable right now, too easily swayed by a false sense of affection. She would have to be strong. The price of losing one’s heart to a man was always the same. Death and destruction.
Innocent or killer? The question reverberated in Zoltan’s mind. It was the following evening, and he was in his office in Budapest, reading a report. But the words on the page kept blurring before his eyes as his brain replayed last night’s meeting over and over.
The memory always started with the best part of their meeting. The kiss. He would recall how sweet Neona had tasted, how strong yet delicate she had felt in his arms. She was the most fascinating combination of toughness and tenderness. Her words had been bold, but her body had trembled at his touch. Innocent.