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Chapter Twenty-Four
It took several hours before the horns sounded the arrival of a visitor. Drake was led into the great room of the castle with all the fanfare royalty deserved. Jack and I stood at the end of the massive hall. My heart broke as I watched his tortured face rotate emotions as he took in the scene of us standing together as king and queen… host and hostess. It was clear to all with eyes that Jack and I were a bonded couple that would be impossible to separate.
When Drake finally stood before us, he looked at me with tortured eyes, but said nothing. He didn’t need to. It was clear I’d made my decision and it was equally clear I’d broken his heart. My guilt over hurting him forced me to look away.
“You always were an excellent tracker,” Jack said with a smile as he extended his arms in greeting.
“It’s easy to track a sloppy vampire,” Drake teased as he embraced his f
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I could barely move the following morning. Every inch of my body was sore and stiff. I moaned involuntarily as I tried to make it to the bathroom without waking Jack. As much as I loved him, I knew I couldn’t endure any more love making for a while. This was the one thing that truly spoke the differences between his vampirism and my mortality.To add to my misery, my head throbbed and my stomach felt like I’d pulled it out in the middle of the night, twisted it into an enormous knot, and then shoved it back in sideways.Jack was lying next to me, but he wasn’t sleeping. Vampires required far less sleep than humans under normal circumstances. The fact that I was exhausted and slept even longer than normal gave him even more time to observe me without my being self- conscious about it.I struggled through my morning constitution and practically crawled back to bed. When he discovered the reason for my stiffness
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It took Mark and his troop a few more hours to reach us. The soothing effects of the brandy wore off just before he marched into the courtyard. My body was so tense I could barely move to greet him. Grateful for their presence, I positioned myself between Jack and Drake for support and comfort.Without any pretense of civility, Mark immediately cut to the quick.“You have something of mine. I’ve come to get it back,” he said in a demanding and arrogant tone.“It is a human being, brother,” Drake hissed.“Don’t call me brother. You’re nothing more than an embarrassment to me,” Mark said.“I should think it would be the other way around,” I bellowed. I was suddenly angry on Drake’s behalf. “Most bastards would be grateful to be acknowledged by their legitimate sibling.”Drake placed his hand over mine and squeezed. I wasn’t sure
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We lay in each other’s arms for several hours while Jack grabbed some much needed sleep. I was wide awake, but had no desire to leave his bed. His slow rhythmic breathing stabilized and comforted my nerves. I felt safe, secure, and at peace.“Marigold’s a witch doctor?” I asked with concern when he finally showed signs of rousing.“Is that a problem?” he asked sleepily.“I thought she was a regular doctor,” I explained.“Trust me. You want a witch doctor in a situation like this,” he assured me. “I’ve heard vampire pregnancies require magic as well as regular care.”“Why?” I asked suspiciously.He shrugged his shoulders with genuine innocence, “It’s a girl thing, I’m sure.”A soft knock on the door roused my lover. He pulled on his robe and sauntered to the door. He looked so sexy with his hair muss
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When afternoon came around and there was still no sign of Jack, the entire castle was in an uproar. Since I was the last to see him, the sergeant at arms interviewed me extensively. Unfortunately, I was of little help.As the day wore on, I heard whispers from a few disgruntled residents blaming me for Jack’s disappearance. They pointed out that I’d only been there a few days and already they’d had more upheaval than they’d had in the last century. I felt horrible.Drake heard the whispering as well and decided to stick to me like he was stuck with glue. Short of going to the toilet, I was not allowed to be alone. He sat in a chair while I napped and offered me his arm when I went downstairs to dinner. I could have stayed in my room to eat my meal. I think a few of my dinner companions would have preferred it, but I wanted to be there to hear any news of Jack, should it come in.Light conversation
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I managed to get the location of the black vampires, something they’d been able to keep secret since the black king’s return. Drake and Jeremiah were meticulous about recording everything I told them. When I’d said all I could and was so exhausted I couldn’t hold the connection with Jack anymore, they made ready for their rescue mission.Not long after that I was nestled in Jack’s bed with Marigold administering some of her wonderful tea to help me rest. I didn’t think I needed it. I was exhausted and wanted to sleep until Drake returned with Jack, but I took the tea anyway, since she claimed it also had healing properties to keep the baby well and happy.Vicki volunteered to sit with me and a guard was posted outside. We chatted about fashion and giggled about men and sex until the tea took hold and I drifted off to sleep. It seemed as if I’d just settled into a deep state of relaxation when I hea
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When Vicki returned to a more normal looking vampire, she shoved a gag in the man’s mouth and bound his wrists and ankle in a way that made it impossible for him to even fidget, let alone move. She tossed his big bulk over her petite shoulder with surprising ease, held her finger to her lips to let me know I needed to keep quiet, and tip toed out of the door Sara passed through not long ago.I was amazingly light footed as I hurried behind Vicki. We made our way to the dungeon below. We slipped into alcoves and behind doors to avoid meeting up with an occasional vampire. Fortunately, the majority of the black king’s subjects eagerly left to join in on the ambush, leaving us with only a skeleton group to deal with.At one point, Vicki stopped to take more nourishment from the bundle over her shoulder. I watched the robust color I knew to be her natural state finally return. That last feeding brought a resurgence of power to her
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“I’m sorry it’s come to this Jess. I know you were given no choice but it’s the only thing I know to save you. I knew the minute I set eyes on you that we would be lifelong friends. I can’t bear the thought of losing you either,” Vicki explained while I sucked greedily on her arm.I could feel the power of her blood flow through my veins. My baby responded immediately. Once again I felt the surge of adrenaline and energy fill my body. Although she said nothing, I could see that I was very close to taking more blood than was safe for Vicki. I forced myself to stop. It had to be one of the hardest things I’d ever done.Vicki stepped away and stumbled a little. I reached out to steady her.“Now look who’s caring for whom,” she said weekly.“I took too much,” I said with concern. “Why didn’t you stop me?”“You’
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Marigold had the staff hustling and bustling about as they made Jack’s room more suitable for mother and baby. She fussed about the fact that the castle had over one-thousand rooms, yet I was being cramped into his quarters with him. We heard all about how it was done in the old days with mild amusement. Marigold’s outrageous ranting were just the ticket to take our minds off what we’d just been through. For Vicki and me, it was the trauma of giving blood and losing blood and then birthing a vampire child and, for Jack, it was being drained of blood and then almost killing me by drinking my blood and then joining Drake in a difficult battle followed by discovering my situation and what followed.All this within a twenty-four-hour period!Drake stuck to me like glue, refusing to leave even with all of Marigold’s scolding and carrying on. She finally settled for him sitting at the far side of the room with his b
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