Vampire Girl 2: Midnight Star (18 page)

I feel the pull of her plea, but I see in my mind what it would mean. I see Daison dead. Ace dying. I see Fen… bloody. "No," I say. "I cannot. I will not."

Her face hardens, and her serpent raises its head and hisses at me. Rain begins to fall outside. Lightning flashes. "Then you will fight for the demons? You will cause the annihilation of your people?"

"No," I say again. "Fighting isn't the answer. As long as both sides continue to seek blood for past sins, they will destroy each other. It will never end."

She cocks her bald head, her tribal tattoos catching the moonlight. "Right now, it is the only choice we have. You must choose, Princess Arianna. You must choose who you are. Are you the Midnight Star, sent to save your people? Or are you a pawn of the demons, aiding them in killing and enslaving our kind? Who will you be?"

Her words fade and her body turns to mist, disappearing into the night.

I walk back to my bed and sit on the edge, shaking from nerves, fear. I don't know what the right path is, but I'm sure all the ones that have been presented to me thus far are wrong.

The rain dies down. The lightning and thunder stop. I try to go back to sleep, but it will not come. I can't settle my mind or rest my body. I keep glancing at my window waiting for another visit, another attack.

So I pull on my robe and creep out of my room and down the hall to Fen's quarters. I knock, but he doesn't answer. When I open the door, the room is empty. Disappointed, I enter anyway and crawl into his bed. It smells like him, and for now, that will have to be enough.

***

I don't realize I fell asleep until his arms wrap around me.

I turn over to face him, placing my hands on his face. "Fen."

"Are you okay?" he asks. He pulls me closer to his chest, his arm wrapped around me, his large hand splayed against my back.

I love his eyes, love gazing deeply into them, getting lost in the piercing cobalt blue. "Is there anything you fear so much it keeps you awake at night?"

He closes his eyes, then opens them slowly. "Losing those I love." His arm flexes, tightening around me in a protective embrace.

My breathing turns shallow. "Fen… I… there's so much I want to tell you, but I can't."

He brings his thumb to my lips, caressing them. "I know. Asher told me. I know you were forced into another contract. I know my father is alive and behind all this."

But does he know about the Midnight Star? Does he know the plans they have for me? I can't ask him. But I'm glad this secret isn't a wall between us anymore.

"When I came to hell," I say, "I didn't expect it to be this… beautiful. Magical. I didn't think I would find friends. Family. Love." I hold my breath on that last word, waiting, but he just nods, encouraging me to continue.

"I feel torn between two worlds. And neither of them, bizarrely enough, are the world I was born in. But there's one thing I'm not torn about. Not anymore."

"What's that?" he asks softly, his breath caressing my face.

"My feelings for you."

"Ari…"

"No, let me finish. There's a lot I can't say, but I can say this. Fen, I don't know what our future holds. I don't know how this war will end, or who will become king, or even who
should
be king. I don't know what will happen with… " My throat constricts as I almost cross a line in talking about the Fae. I don't think we need to ruin another moment with one of us vomiting blood again. "With other things that shall not be named."

His lips twitch.

"But I know that even an immortal life is too short to ignore the heart. I know that I can't get you out of my head, and that the thought of anything happening to you nearly kills me. I know that I would give anything to keep you from going to war tomorrow, and not just because I'm worried about… things." I take a deep breath, but before I can finish my speech, Fen closes those few inches between us and kisses me. It's a gentle kiss. Soft. Warm. Tender.

"Ari," he says against my lips. "I love you. I have never cared for anyone as deeply or truly as I do you. And I cannot imagine losing you either."

Tears burn my eyes. I press into him, kissing him again. After a moment, I pull away to look into his eyes. "I love you too, Fenris Vane."

He strokes my face with his fingers. "I don't know what the future holds either, but we'll sort it out, somehow."

That night, I sleep in his arms, in the safety of our acknowledged feelings, however unknown our future is.

As morning breaks, something licks my chin. I open my eyes. "Baron?"

My baby dragon, now small again, peers at me with large dark eyes. "Yami!"

***

Fen and I linger in his room as long as we can that morning, and though he still cannot see Yami, I think he's starting to figure out Baron's odd behavior has a purpose. I, of course, can't tell him the truth yet, but I will be pushing Asher to end my contract as soon as possible. And I will not be signing another that involves secrets and physical pain.

"Would you like to join me in Stonehill today?" Fen asks as we head down to breakfast. "I must check on the soldiers before battle."

"I'd love to." I try to focus on being with Fen, and not on the war we are about to fight.

Asher is finishing up breakfast when we enter the dining hall with Baron at our feet. "There you two are," he says, dabbing his lips with a cloth napkin and standing. "Lazing about, are you?"

I snort and sit to eat. I find I'm famished after everything.

"Did you enjoy breakfast?" I ask Asher.

"Enough. But I'm in need of blood. Me and the other lads are getting restless." He turns to Fen, who sits across from me. "Where might we find a fresh source in your wild realm?"

Fen glares at him. "You know I restrict that sort of thing here, Asher. Make due with animals."

Asher grimaces. "How appalling. You live like such savages. How do you stand it, dear Ari?"

I shrug. "I don't drink blood."

He chuckles. "Not yet, at any rate."

Asher leaves before Fen gets any more angry, and I smile. "You two love each other. You should be kinder."

Fen looks up, narrowing his eyes. "He kissed you."

I nearly choke on my juice. "He told you?"

"Yes."

"Then he must have also told you it meant nothing. It was like kissing my brother, if I had a brother. Besides, I'm pretty sure I'm not his type."

Fen frowns. We eat quickly and walk to town. The army has set up camp outside the walls, since there isn't enough room inside. Baron trots between us, seeming quite happy that we are all together again. Yami rides on his back and occasionally flies over the wolf, causing Baron to bark and chase the baby dragon.

Fen just looks at me oddly, and I make a motion as if zipping my lips. He frowns, but doesn't push.

We walk to the outskirts of the city, to the largest crystal waterfall, the one that blocks the secret passage out of the Stonehill.

I rub the ring on my finger, the one Fen had designed for me. "I wear this all the time. It makes me think of this place. Of you."

We stand beside the water, crystals catching rays of sun, casting color and light everywhere.

"I don't need a ring to think of you," he says.  He kisses me, and it's a lingering kiss. When he pulls away, I sigh. "I must check on the soldiers. We will leave soon."

"I worry for you. If anything were to happen… "

I touch his chest, and he covers my hands with his own. "I am the Prince of War. It is the Fae who should be worried."

Chapter 15

WHAT IS IMPORTANT

Fenris Vane

"War is coming."

—Fenris Vane

I do not
want to leave Ari, but Asher approaches, and I know it is to tell me that our brothers are ready and it is time to march. "I must go," I say quietly, touching the softness of her cheek.

"I know," she says. "But I wish you wouldn't."

I kiss her once. "My heart stays here with you."

"You are my Karasi," she says softly.

"Spirit of my heart," I say. I have heard the Fae speak of this, but have never felt it myself until now. Time will tell whether this love gives me strength or weakness. 

Arianna nods. "You are mine. And I am yours. We are bound, you and I. Come what may, we are bound."

"I will leave Baron with you, to defend you," I say.

But Ari won't have it. "I'll feel better knowing he's protecting you. I'll be safe in the castle."

By the time Asher reaches us, we have said our goodbyes. Ari hugs Asher and whispers something to him I cannot hear, and then we leave.

"What did she tell you?" I ask my brother.

He looks at me with an odd expression. "She told me we find more strength in love than in hate."

I should not be surprised that somehow Arianna heard the words in my heart and answered them. It is not the first time she has done so. "She is wise. We do not deserve her."

Asher nods. "In that we agree."

A Shade boy runs up to us, breathless. "The Fae army has breached the great wall, they're gathering north, just near the Outlands," he reports.

Remembering Ari's kindness, I tell the boy to fetch some food and drink before heading back.

Asher grins at me. "She really has stolen your heart, hasn't she?"

I frown and walk faster.

The armies of the Seven Realms gather outside Stonehill, near the burned corpse of a forest, each stationed with their colors. Ace's soldiers are under my command, since he is still convalescing at High Castle. Asher and I enter a grand red tent, large enough to fit dozens of men. Levi, Niam, Dean and Zeb wait inside, gathered around a war table full of maps.

Levi points to one. "Let us march forward, into the northern woods, and cut them off."

"No," I say. "We must avoid the forests. If they are set on fire we will burn alive within them. And we must stay far from the rivers unless we wish to battle Wadu once again."

"Where does that leave us then?" Dean asks, who at least came dressed appropriately for once in battle gear and armor.

"The mountains," I say.

Asher groans, but does not disagree.

Levi shakes his head. "They will slow us down, and if we are caught in the lower ground, we will be at a disadvantage."

"That will not happen," I say. "Not if the Druids think we're somewhere else."

Zeb nods. "What do you propose then?"

"A decoy," I say. "We send in a Shade we trust who claims to be a deserter. They tell the Druids we are taking the river pass, that we feared the forest because of fires, but we were less concerned with the Water Druid. We fought her off before."

"And why would they believe this person?" Levi asks.

"They are too caught up in the idea that all Fae and Shade are on their side, that no one with Fae blood would ever willingly fight for us," I say. "The Druids have slumbered for thousands of years. They do not realize things have changed. They do not realize there are Fae and Shade who would fight and die with us and not with them, even if given the choice."

Levi crosses his arms over his chest. "Let's say that's true. How can
we
trust the Shade not to betray us?"

"They won't know enough of our plan to give much away, so the risk is small."

"It's our best plan," Dean says, surprising me. "I agree with Fen."

Zeb, Niam and Asher all agree as well. Levi frowns, but doesn't argue. I call a Shade boy over and tell him what his orders are. He looks nervous, but I remind him his actions will help save Princess Arianna, and his eyes light up. He will do as I ask, that much I'm sure of.

Once the boy is off, my brothers and I send our scouts forward and take the lead at the head of our armies. We march up the mountains, against the snow and wind, to claim the high ground before the Fae take notice of us.

It's a long, hard hike, made harder still by the continuous deluge of rain pouring down like waterfalls. "It's the blasted Water Druid," Niam grumbles. "She's trying to drown us before we even have a battle."

Asher rings out his cloak, a look of distaste on his face. "It's working. I feel as if I might never be dry again."

"At least this will make our forests harder to burn," I remind them.

"I wish Ace were with us," Asher says. "He might have a nice invention to make this miserable climb a bit more pleasant."

At the mention of Ace, everyone's mood turns from frustration to grief. Levi seems to be most affected, patting Asher on the shoulder as he passes. "He will be with us again soon, brother," says the Prince of Envy, his red cloak wrapped around him.

It takes many hours to reach a plateau high enough and large enough to make camp. Our commanders report to each of us and rally the soldiers to their stations, setting up shifts for guards and patrols. We pick an area separate from the rest to bed down for the night.

By the time the moon is high in the sky, the rain finally stalls out, giving us a brief reprieve.

"Maybe she ran out of magic," Dean says, taking off his shirt—naturally. He grins as we all groan. "What? It's soaked. I'm drying it. Don't be jealous of my majestic physique. We can't all be this irresistible."

Asher chuckles. "We can't all be that annoying either."

Zeb brings out a plate of cheeses and meats and two bottles of wine. He holds up one. "Alcohol." Then he holds up the other. "Blood." He places them both before us. "I have more. Choose your poison."

Most opt for both, mixing the blood and wine into a vampire cocktail. I take neither. I've had blood recently, and I don't wish to dull my senses with alcohol before battle. I advise my brothers to show restraint, but Zeb laughs.

"Eat, drink and be merry, Fen. Tomorrow might be the end," he quips.

"Yes, especially if you're hungover," I remind him, but he doesn't listen, not that I expected the Prince of Gluttony to stop drinking.

"How did you fit all this in your pack?" Niam asks, filling another glass.