A Shade of Vampire 8: A Shade of Kiev (16 page)

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.

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 Brett’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.

Somehow, I didn’t feel like revealing to Saira the extent of Mona’s obsession. It felt like something that was intimate, just between the two of us. So instead, I changed the subject.

“Why did Mona leave The Sanctuary?”

Saira sighed. “She said that she found the place too restricting. She preferred the life of a wanderer.”

“She wasn’t kicked out because she had no magic?”

“That’s one theory.” Saira eyed me. “But she hasn’t claimed that. At least not to me.”

“Where did you first find her?”

“Actually,” she said, sitting back against the wall and making herself comfortable, “Matteo, Mona and I all met each other at the same time. We were all trapped in the same prison on the boat of some particularly nasty pirates. Matteo and I managed to break free from our cages, and we helped Mona too. It’s made sense to stay together since then. We were able to hijack a small boat and make it our own. Gradually we’ve built up the crew to what it is today.”

Saira wasn’t telling me anything that I didn’t already know from Mona herself.

“Why does Mona keep to herself so much?”

“She always has,” Saira said, a concerned look on her face. “I’ve come to believe it’s just her personality. She feels… uncomfortable around people and prefers her own company most of the time. But I think she’s just been waiting for the right person to come along and offer her a little friendship.”

I rolled my eyes at her. I was about to get up and leave but another question crept into my mind.

“Are witches like vampires—immortal?”

In all my years of dealing with witches, I’d never asked about a witch’s mortality. I knew that witches on Earth died after several hundred years; they died of old age, unlike vampires, who were immortal unless killed by specific means. But I wondered whether witches in this paranormal realm were immortal, being in their natural atmosphere.

“As far as I know, they are,” Saira replied. “Though to be honest the only witch I’ve ever come across is Mona, and, well, she’s not exactly your typical witch.”

That she isn’t
.

Unwilling to spend more time with the wolf, seeing that she hadn’t been able to answer my questions satisfactorily, I got up to leave.

“I suppose the next time you visit you’ll have finished your task,” she called out of the window as I jumped to the forest floor.

Her last words caused my throat to feel dry. Just recently I’d been longing to get this duty off of my shoulders. Now, the image of Irina standing in wait for me by the well flashed before my mind, and the thought of finishing my task unsettled me.

I wondered if I might have been doing my task too well.

What if I don’t want to stop trying to be Mona’s friend?

What would that mean for her?

He’d left his pants on the railing. Deliberately, I guessed—so he’d have an excuse to visit me again uninvited. Not that the vampire ever needed an excuse for anything he did.

The next day, I decided to arrive early, and rather than wait by the well, surprise him by showing up in his room. Perhaps I’d find him asleep, and I could disturb him as he had disturbed me the night before. I emerged from the forest, his pants tucked beneath one arm, and walked into the entrance of the tunnels. The place seemed empty on first glance, as I had expected at this time of day. But as I walked further underground, footsteps sounded behind me. I whirled around to see Giles emerging from a corridor a few feet away from me.

He raised his eyebrows on seeing me. Then his eyes darkened. I thought he was about to approach me but—to my surprise—he appeared to think better of it. He scowled at me and stormed off in the opposite direction.

“Good riddance,” I muttered beneath my breath.

I continued walking along the corridors until I was outside Kiev’s—Adrian’s—room. I placed my ear against the door. I couldn’t hear anything.

He must be sleeping.

I knocked.

No answer.

I knocked again. When there was still no answer I gripped the handle. I was surprised to discover that it had been left unlocked. I pushed the door open.

The room was dark except for a dim lantern that burned in the corner of the small room. And it was empty. A shirt lay strewn on his straw mattress, but other than that, there was barely anything else contained in that room.

I stood in the center, looking around at the grim decor.

I felt disappointed that I hadn’t been able to catch him off guard. But more than anything I was curious as to where he would have gone in these daylight hours.

I decided to wait for half an hour or so and if he still didn’t show up, I’d leave to wait by the well at our appointed time. I walked over to the mattress and laid his pants down near his pillow. Then I sat down and crossed my legs, staring at the front door and listening to the occasional drip falling from the ceiling.

After what felt like at least half an hour, I got up and opened the door. About to close it behind me, I felt cool hands slide around my waist. Whirling around, I found myself face to face with Adrian, his eyes staring down into mine.

Opening the door with one hand, he pushed me into the room until my back hit the wall. He placed both of his hands either side of me, trapping me against it.

“Where did you go?” I asked, breathing heavily.

He didn’t answer, but continued to gaze down at my face. I hated feeling like he was studying me. I lifted my hands instinctively to hide my face from his steely gaze, but no sooner had I lifted them than he caught them and pinned them against the wall. He pressed his body closer against mine.

“What are you doing?”

His lips parted slightly and I thought he was going to say something, but then he closed them again. Finally, resignation flickered in his eyes, and he let go of me, taking a step back.

The silence felt awkward as we stood there, looking at each other across the room.

“I brought your pants for you,” I muttered, pointing to them on the mattress. When he still didn’t speak, I continued, “Adrian, this evening, I want to take you somewhere I’ve been meaning to show you ever since our first date.”

His eyes remained on me as I spoke.

“It’s probably getting dark outside already. I suppose we can leave now.”

Wordlessly, he caught my hand and pulled me out of his room, not bothering to close the door behind him. As on previous nights, he swept me up in his arms as soon as we entered the forest.

Once we were on the other side of the wall and walking along the beach, I pointed to a rock in the distance. He ran toward it, and I tugged at him to put me down. Unbuttoning my dress, I laid it on a rock and straightened my underwear. His eyes roamed the length of my body as I stood before him in the water. Then, tearing off his shirt, he walked into the water alongside me.

When he motioned to pull me onto his back, I pushed his hands away and said, “No. Not tonight.”

I swam away from him and ducked underwater, emitting the call that Kai and Evie had been trained to obey. It didn’t take long before they came swimming toward me.

“Why do we need them?” he muttered on seeing the dolphins surface. “I can take us wherever we need to go.”

“They remember the location of this place better than me,” I replied.

I guided Kai over to Adrian as I mounted Evie. Adrian looked over the dolphin for a few moments before following my lead and sliding onto his back. Evie led the way through the waves, heading deeper and deeper into the ocean. Kai sped up until he was swimming alongside us, the two dolphins racing each other in the waves.

I looked sideways at Adrian. My motion caught his attention and he looked back at me. There was something wrong with him this evening. Something was on his mind. He kept looking at me as though he wanted to say something, but reined himself in.

We arrived at a formation of rocks far away from the main island. I patted Evie on the head, encouraging her to go the rest of the way. She swam in front of Kai, circling the rocks until she’d spotted an opening to a cave. I held my breath as she ducked beneath the waves and we resurfaced moments later in a clear blue pool, surrounded by rocks. Kai and Adrian surfaced seconds after me. I got off Evie and clambered onto the rocks overlooking the pool. I stood up and Adrian climbed up after me. The rock afforded us a better view of this little enclosure, and as I looked around I realized that the place had grown even more beautiful than before. Multicolored shells clung to the rocks, small pools of pearls and precious stones glinting in the rays of moonlight that escaped from the gaps in the cave’s ceiling.

When I turned to face Adrian, expecting to see his reaction to the gorgeous cave, I found his eyes fixed on me, ignoring our surroundings.

“What is it?” I snapped. “You’ve been acting strangely all evening—”

“Mona.” His deep voice broke through me.

Hearing him say my name sent goosebumps running through me. I looked up at him, bewildered.

“What? We’re supposed to be—”

“I know. But I don’t want to talk to Irina. I want to talk to you.”

“Th-that’s not why I brought you here—”

“I know.”

Terrified, I averted my eyes, looking anywhere I could other than into those crimson irises.

“Why do you write these stories?”

A cool hand reached for my face, tilting my chin up toward him. Unable to bear the intensity of his gaze, I closed my eyes.

“Tell me.”

Panic surged through me. I regretted bringing him to such a secluded place. There was nowhere to run. Nowhere to hide. Nowhere to escape from the questions behind his eyes.

I sank to the ground, burying my head in my knees.

He placed a hand over mine as it lay resting on the rock. Something about his strength lured me into a comfort that my brain was screaming I could never have.

I looked up at him, wide-eyed and afraid.

He kept his gaze steady. When I still remained silent, he reached to caress my cheek.

This is Irina feeling for Adrian.

That’s all.

Shutting my eyes tight, I breathed out deeply and, trying to keep my voice steady, said, “Because feeling is easy in stories.”

I looked up at him to see his eyes fierce with curiosity.

Not Kiev’s eyes. Adrian’s eyes.

This is Adrian.

“What do you mean, Mona—”

“Irina!” I cried out. “Don’t call me Mona while you’re touching me like this!”

He pulled his hand away from me and shot to his feet.

“I don’t understand you,” he said, his voice traced with irritation as he turned his back on me, looking out at the pool.

“You don’t need to understand me,” I whispered, my voice hoarse. “Nobody does. All you need to know are my boundaries.”

“And what are your boundaries?” he snapped.

I fell silent.

I didn’t know anymore.

Since meeting Kiev, I’d pushed my boundaries back inch by inch, and now they were unrecognizable. I could no longer see where they began or where they ended.

I felt lost.

At that moment, I was grasping for any bit of solidity. Anything grounding. I began to feel dizzy. I stood up and grabbed Kiev’s hand, burying my head against his chest. He tensed at my sudden motion, then relaxed as he wrapped his strong arms around me, easing me against his body.

I felt secure in his embrace.

I hoped that just by touching him, some of the strength in his body would flow into mine. Strength I desperately needed.

I didn’t know where my boundaries started or ended anymore, but I did know that at that moment, Kiev was my rock. Keeping me anchored in the storm.

I lost track of time as we lay down next to each other on the rock. I shut my eyes, listening to the steady beating of his heart. I breathed in the scent of his skin, stained with salt water. He rested his chin on my head, groaning quietly as he took in my own scent. As he ran his fingers through my hair, massaging my scalp, I lost myself in the comfort I’d found against the contours of his body.