As she arrived midway up the staircase, the music suddenly stopped and the crowd gasped and murmured. Mystique halted abruptly and turned around to see what the commotion was about. The crowd parted as Elena and Decio, dressed entirely in white, but in formal gala attire, sauntered up the walkway, their arms linked. Everyone there was in shock and stared in trepidation.
Mystique’s eyes fell upon her daughter and her eyes widened. She missed Elena and wanted to run and embrace her, but desperately wished she had not made such a bold appearance. She swallowed hard and considered whether she could swoop Elena away before the countess and lord could see her. But her daughter was more than grown. And furthermore, deep inside she knew it was too late.
She was right. Trumpets began to sound. Elena smiled defiantly as she held onto Decio’s arm. She held her head high as the newest arrivals were announced. The crowd looked onward up the staircase passed Mystique as they appeared.
The herald proclaimed, “All receive his imperial highness, Lord LaVius and the governor, Countess Domnina.”
What timing the countess had. Mystique knew it was no coincidence. She closed her eyes, turned around slowly and exhaled. This was it.
LaVius and the countess appeared arm in arm at the top of the stairs. They were dressed regally in black leather and velvet. LaVius was magnificently handsome, yet daunting, and intimidating. His hair was long and dark and it urbanely blanketed his shoulders. His look was severe as everyone kneeled. He was lord of the realm and feared and respected by all. Elena and Decio did kneel out of respect but stood up before anyone else. The countess took note of this. As everyone began to stand, she let go of her husband’s arm and began to descend the stairs.
LaVius sat on his throne and for the moment remained silent. Mystique watched her friend intently. She wanted to trust her, but was ready to use her powers if necessary.
The countess stood still on the center of the stairs in front of the hushed crowd. Her gown draped behind her, she folded her hands. Her ring burned strongly due to the great deal of magical guests in attendance, but it was harmless to her. “Good evening, Elena. It has been far too long since I’ve laid eyes on you. You really shouldn’t stay away so extensively.” She spoke in a condescending tone. “I am glad you have bestowed your presence upon us, and yet I see you’ve brought an interesting guest.”
Mystique stepped down a few stairs so that she could see Domnina’s face when she spoke, and so that she would be more between her friend and her daughter.
Elena stepped forward to answer the countess’s greeting. She was short in her words, as Mystique had expected. “Thank you, Countess, for the welcome, but I didn’t come here to exchange pleasantries.”
The crowd gasped. LaVius narrowed his eyes. Countess Domnina only grinned. “You’re a brazen young woman, but I suppose it’s in your blood. Tell me, Decio, are you feeling as bold?”
Decio raised his head high and straightened his back. “I do not wish to disrespect you, governor, but wish to support Elena to the nth degree. We are in love.”
The crowd gasped again. LaVius rubbed his temple as a headache began. He then stood and cleared the crowd with one wave of his hand. Every single uninvolved soul exited the courtyard.
“Is this true, Elena?” the countess asked.
“You know very well that it is,” she spat. “I am deeply in love with Decio. We will never again be parted, and there is nothing you can do about it. At the full moon, we shall be married.”
Mystique nearly collapsed, but held a firm grip on the stone banister. Countess Domnina slowly met Mystique’s gaze. “I’ve heard enough, Elena,” she informed.
“No you haven’t! I’m not finished!” Elena retorted. “I want you to stay away from us! You have kept us apart for nothing! Your inane laws have caused us nothing but heartache, and you’ve enjoyed every minute of it!”
“Silence!” the countess demanded and flung her hand into the air to make her point. “This insolence is beneath you, and unlike you. It seems that love has clouded your judgment. Because of this, you have been allowed a bit of rope... but be wary of the noose at the end.”
Decio grabbed Elena by the arm and quickly pulled her back. He tried to calm her.
The countess began to retreat up the stairs. Once there, she turned around and looked at them. “I am not required to explain my laws, but I too have feelings.” She didn’t look very believable, but was telling the truth. “I do not enjoy keeping you two apart, not when you love so deeply. But it is for a good cause.”
Mystique swallowed hard and stepped forward on the stair toward her friend. Her eyes pleaded with her not to reveal their secret.
The countess continued, regardless. “There is a secret I have kept from you both.”
Mystique tightened her eyes and dropped to one knee on the step. This was the moment she’d hoped would never come.
“It is difficult for me to say these words. They have been locked in my mind for a long while.” Countess Domnina sat down on her throne next to LaVius and placed her hand on his. “It has been prophesized that Decio will be married on the evening of a full moon. He shall have married my own niece and that night... I will destroy him.”
Elena and Decio stared at her, their mouths loose with misunderstanding. But neither was more shocked than Mystique who immediately raised her head to look at Domnina in disbelief. For the countess had told only part of the secret—and lied about the rest. She was overtaken with surprise.
Elena and Decio didn’t understand. “Countess, what does this have to do with us?” Elena asked. Her tone was calmer now than before and somewhat shaky.
“Yes, Countess, please,” Decio pleaded. “Tell us why this even concerns us. I am in love with Elena. I have never met your niece.”
Mystique braced herself while this news was revealed.
“Yes, Decio, you have,” Domnina answered. “Elena is the daughter of my brother, Kane.”
Elena’s eyes grew wide. “You’re lying!” she yelled and ran up the stairs.
Mystique turned and stood in front of Elena halting her before she could gain any more speed. “Stop, Elena,” she demanded.
Elena was confused. “Mother... you would have us stand idly by and listen to these lies about my blood?”
Mystique placed her hands on her daughter’s shoulders. “It is true. Kane is your father.” She exhaled when she said those words; they had been pent up for too long.
Elena was stunned. She couldn’t speak. She backed away down the stairs and took off in a flash. Decio followed. The lord and countess stood from their thrones and watched as Mystique turned and approached them.
LaVius slid his hand under his wife’s chin and ushered her near for a tender kiss. “You did what had to be done. I will leave you two alone.” He then turned and nodded good evening to Mystique and slipped away.
The two old friends stood silently staring at each other. Neither knew where to begin. Their secret was out—but only half of it was true. Finally, Mystique broke the silence. “Domnina, you told her about Kane—”
“Yes. But isn’t it for the best? I believe, Mystique that this night was inevitable, and that Elena is old enough and strong enough to handle the truth about my brother. I think the more probing question is—are you?”
Mystique knew what her friend meant by this. She had loved Kane for what seemed like an eternity, but he had a dark side. He was quick to enrage. Deep inside him was a ferocious beast that once unleashed could be deadly to anyone and anything in his path. He had never hurt Mystique, and part of him loathed that side of himself. So he chose to leave his true love behind before she gave birth to their child. He would not risk the safety of either one of them. He wouldn’t chance ever hurting them. Kane made Mystique swear to never tell their daughter about him. He wouldn’t have her know what a beast he was.
On the night of Elena’s birth, Domnina and two nursemaids were in attendance. When the countess felt her brother near, she secretly slipped
out of Mystique’s cottage in her cloak and hood. She peered into the darkness and saw her brother’s glowing eyes in the dark woods. He then took off. He had just seen the birth of his child from the window, but wouldn’t come nearer. He was overcome with sorrow because he couldn’t be with them, and had run away into the night. Domnina told Mystique of this. And the two women vowed to share the secret together, knowing the far-off day would come that Elena would have to be told the truth.
The countess could still see affection and a sense of loss in Mystique’s eyes as they spoke of Kane. “Mystique? You still love him don’t you?”
Mystique inhaled sharply. “Of course not.”
The countess raised her head in disbelief. “I see. Then you will not be happy to see him?”
Mystique was stammered by that remark. “What? See him? When?”
The countess’s lips curved into a satisfied grin. “Tonight.”
Mystique swallowed hard and lost her breath. She had not seen Kane in nearly thirty years, which in their immortal lives was not long, but to her seemed like an eternity. Her voice was shaky. “Tonight?” she echoed.
“Yes, my dear friend. I have sent for him. And he always answers my call. He will arrive tonight. In fact, he is not far. You will be staying won’t you?”
“No! I mean–I think it better if I–well—”
“If you what?” a deep voice questioned from behind her. His words pulsed in her veins. The sound of him made her body instantly shudder. He slid his strong hand onto her shoulder and turned her around. It was Kane. Mystique fainted into his arms.
The countess simply smiled. “Welcome home brother.”
Chapter 7
Kane lifted Mystique into his arms and carried her. He followed his sister along the stone veranda and into the great hall. Once there, the countess stopped a servant and requested he summon the dark lord, LaVius. Kane and Countess Domnina then took Mystique down the hall to the evening room at the back of the castle. It had waterfalls on either side of the room, and faced the outdoors openly via a balcony which spanned the entire width of the room.
It was incredibly serene. Domnina walked out to the balcony and Kane gently laid Mystique on the divan. He then went to join his sister on the terrace.
“It is wonderful to see you brother,” she said in a caring tone rarely heard by anyone.
His scalp was smooth, his jaw defined. He was very tall, strong and handsome. Domnina was proud of her younger brother and he was of her. He inhaled deeply and turned his eyes to the moonlit landscape. “It is truly wonderful to see you as well, sister. But it is a bittersweet return.”
“I know that, Kane. But let us not dwell in the past. You have gained control over your emotions—better than anyone else with the affliction ever has.”
He glowered at her. “It is not an ‘affliction.’”
She put her hand on his arm to calm him. “I know that, Kane, I’m sorry. And you should be proud of having such control. But it is not something to be ashamed of either. You should be proud of your heritage; it’s in your blood—in all of ours.”
He calmed down a little. He knew she spoke the truth. Kane had the most potent form of the venomous blood, and was by far the most dangerous, but he also knew his sister would prefer it if he embraced that uniquely dark side of himself. “Domnina, I know you want what is best for me, but I am concerned for Mystique and for—my daughter.” It was difficult for him to say those words, ‘my daughter.’ He’d only whispered them. For so many years he forced himself to stay out of her life. Learning to control his anger had been a far easier task.
Suddenly, LaVius appeared. “You’ve come home, Kane.”
The two were like brothers. They embraced. LaVius then took Kane by the shoulder. “Are you back, for good?”
Kane turned to see his lovely Mystique lying on the divan silently. He’d longed for her, ached for her every moment since he left. Secretly, over the years, he would come close at times just to catch a glimpse of her and of Elena, and then he would slip away unnoticed.
He answered LaVius in a solemn tone. “I haven’t decided.”
The countess and LaVius secretly looked at each other and grinned knowingly. Kane’s eyes were fixed on Mystique.
“Kane,” LaVius interjected, “Go to her. Remember, your eternity can unfold however you’d like—you can either be alone, or happy.”
Kane fully understood the meaning of those words, and they’d caught him by surprise. LaVius took his wife by the hand and the two slipped away into the dark shadows of the castle.
Kane gingerly neared Mystique. He knelt down beside her and listened carefully to her breathing. He counted each breath. He gazed over her exquisite sable skin that he longed to touch, and the delicate features of her face that he’d memorized long ago. His breath began to quicken, he nearly lost control of his emotions, but held strong. He boldly moved his strong hand to her face and tenderly stroked her cheek with his fingertips. Her eyes slowly fluttered open. He gasped at the loveliness of those warm, deep, brown eyes that he’d yearned to see. The eyes that always made him feel so loved and so at peace.
Those eyes now stared at him with astonishment. Mystique had not only missed Kane desperately, but craved him. She’s tried for so long to push him out of her mind, yet here he was. She felt it must be a dream. She uncontrollably uttered the words, “Are you really here?”
He smiled and lowered his mouth to her. They shared a kiss so passionate—so incredibly overdue—a kiss that would make up for all of the countless days and years apart. Their love was unremitting. It was as if not a single moment had passed and they had never been parted.
Chapter 8
“Elena, stop! We’ve run far enough. Stop and talk to me.” Decio was worried about her. It pained his heart to know that she was hurting.
Elena stopped running in the middle of a valley. The moon shone brightly right above them. They’d run a great distance from the castle. She dropped to the grass and sobbed. Decio rushed to her side and stroked her hair. “My dear, please speak to me. Tell me what is so wrong?”
She stopped crying as she felt a sudden calmness with Decio near. “Decio, this isn’t the way it was supposed to be.”
“Things rarely are,” he responded.
“But Domnina… and then her brother… it can’t be.” Elena gripped her hair with her hands. “It isn’t possible!” she screamed.
“Elena, it’s all so clear now. We both knew her rules made no sense, and now to find out they were to protect us—to protect you… her niece.”
“Don’t say that word!” Elena couldn’t absorb all of this, as much as she tried.
“Listen,” Decio continued. “We must think this through. Her rules were only to shield us. And now that we know about the prophesy, maybe we can find a way to stop it.”
Elena’s whirling mind began to calm down. “You still want to be with me after all you heard?”
Decio was stunned. “Of course! I’ve wanted nothing else for my entire life. We will be married, and nothing can stop us now.”
“But what about the prophesy?” Elena questioned.
Decio took her by the hand. “We know the truth now. And the countess has no reason to want to kill me. We will just make sure that everything continues to go well. We can do this. All we have to do is make it passed the wedding night.”
“And that talk about my father—Kane—what about him? I’ve heard stories of the son of Lucifer. He is supposed to be a terrifying beast. It isn’t possible. My mother would never love someone like that. It just can’t be true.”
Elena was overwhelmed with query. Decio pulled her close. “Do not be troubled, my love. We will sort this out, together.”
At the castle, Countess Domnina and Lord LaVius stood in the pitch darkness on the balcony of their bed chamber. “They say my brother is a fearsome creature that no man can tame,” Domnina recalled.
“No man can tame him, I agree,” LaVius answered, “But they made no
mention of a woman.”
Both grinned.
Chapter 9
Elena and Decio lay on the grass in that valley and slept until dawn. As the sun rose, she began to feel the pangs of hunger. Although she had trained herself to mostly feast on the nectar from plants in lieu of blood, the stresses of being home had made her weary; she felt she needed blood. As she lay there on the cool grass, trying to curb the feeling of hunger she was distracted by the strikingly handsome features of her husband-to-be as he slept. She smiled. Her heart was warmed by his presence. For a moment everything seemed perfect. But suddenly she was snatched back to reality when she recalled the countess’s account of the prophesy. On the wedding night, her aunt would destroy Decio? The thought made Elena feel sick to her stomach with worry. Decio felt her anxiety and immediately awoke.
“Elena, what is it? Is something the matter?” he asked.
His voice soothed her. Every word he breathed seemed to dance gracefully into her heart. She smiled. “Nothing, Decio—nothing we can’t get through.”
They stood together and held hands. He grinned handsomely. “Then shall we eat?”
“Yes, let’s,” she agreed. And they went off to hunt together.
While Decio searched for a grizzly-looking animal or two, Elena tried to curb her bloodlust by snacking on honeysuckle and hyacinth. She remembered that her mother loved hyacinth tea. She stuffed some of the petals into her pouch. Decio soon sneaked up on Elena which startled her into a fit of hilarity. She then ran so that he would chase frolicked and her through the flowers and trees. They laughed and had the time of their lives. Finally, Decio twirled her around and they began to dance.
“There is no music, Decio,” Elena laughed.
“But you’re wrong, Elena,” he stated. “Your smile fills my soul with an everlasting song.” He then twirled her around once more and shouted toward the sky, “I cannot wait to marry you!”
Chapter 10
Countess Domnina, dressed in a black leather riding suit, prepared to ride her beloved horse, Oblivion. Oblivion was a hot-blooded onyx Moroccan Barb; tall, broad, muscular and fierce. Her size, speed, and strength, were what the countess revered, and were only bested by one other horse in the land: Oblivion’s mate, Phenom, which belonged to Lord LaVius. Both horses had a malevolent temperament, their breaths were a searing steam, their eyes black pools of aggression. They yielded to no one but the lord and countess.