My last night in Buda was spent in Astir’s haven. After I had changed into the beautiful blue gown he provided, I sat down and wrote all that I had experienced. It was a welcome relief to relate all I had endured and find some measure of understanding of my own emotions. I must admit I was quite thrown emotionally to be in the presence of both my Master and my lover.
Just as I finished writing, large traveling trunks were brought into the room, filled with my possessions. I started to question the footmen how my things had survived the fire, but then understood I must accept that Astir is more powerful than I realized. Once the men departed I hid my journal deep in one trunk and moved to stand by the fire.
I felt disconcerted by all that had occurred and knew that Vlad’s suspicion was a dangerous thing indeed. But I knew not how to assuage it. If anything, if I tried to calm his fears, he would only become more distrustful.
“May we enter?” Astir’s voice asked from behind me.
I turned to see Astir standing in the doorway with Ignatius behind him. A smile touched my lips as I saw that Ignatius was recovered from his earlier wounds and dressed in a long red coat. He returned my smile with his own, but it was hesitant and bittersweet.
“Yes, of course. I was waiting for Vlad to return.”
“He is temporarily delayed,” Astir assured me.
“By you?” I tilted my head, arching an eyebrow.
Astir just smiled innocently. “I shall leave you two alone for a few moments.” He retreated back through the door as Ignatius stepped past him. Astir graced me with a tight little warning smile over Ignatius’ shoulder, then disappeared as the door shut.
Ignatius came to me silently. I wrapped my arms around his neck and held him. I stroked his silky raven hair and pressed kisses to his cheek. Wordlessly, he kissed my face and my lips, then held my cheek firmly against his. We were both warm with the life we had stolen from our willing victims. I could feel his heart beating in his chest.
We kissed again, quite sweetly and he rested his forehead against mine. I stroked his neck with my fingers, trying so very hard not to cry.
“I should have let the dhamphir kill him,” he whispered at last.
“Do not worry over that now,” I answered.
“But he will now take you from the city and I know not when I will see you again,” Ignatius answered in quiet misery.
“I will find my way to you,” I promised ardently. “I will. I promise.”
He kissed me tenderly. “I love you.”
“And I love you.”
“Come, Ignatius,” Astir’s voice said from behind him.
I gazed into the dark blue depths of Ignatius eyes as Astir’s hand drew him from me. In his eyes, I saw his great love for me. The two men vanished before my eyes just before the door opened and Vlad entered.
My Master was at full strength, his brutal power emanating from him like hot flames. He glared at me as he strode toward me, clad in black, his long hair flowing around his face in thick curls. He grabbed me by my throat and gazed deeply into my eyes. I glared back at him, fierce and bold, and he abruptly smiled before releasing me.
“I am a fool to think anyone could conquer you,” he said with a laugh.
“Yet you try,” I answered glibly.
Vlad shrugged, moving toward the fireplace. “We leave before dawn. Astir has provided us with a carriage.”
“He also saved my possessions from the fire,” I said pointing to the trunks.
Vlad glanced toward the luggage. “He is a creature of great power.”
“Do you fear him?”
“No,” Vlad answered. “Why should I?”
“You are very much the dragon, are you not?”
“Yes, I am. I am brutal, strong, and protective of what is mine. For a moment, I thought perhaps my brother had somehow managed to steal your heart.”
“Really? I barely met him just tonight.”
Vlad looked at me piercingly. “You lie.”
I shrugged.
“But I realized, looking into those cold beautiful eyes of yours, no one can truly conquer you. That knowledge makes you so very desirable.”
I waved my hand at him, dismissing his words.
He came to my side in a flash and gripped me firmly by my hair, wrenching my head to one side. He looked deeply into my eyes and said, ”Never again will another man touch what is mine. Understood?”
“I know not what you speak of,” I lied.
He just gave me his most fierce, feral smile. “Yes, you do. I shall kill any man, brother or no, that touches you.” He released me and walked to the trunks. My traveling cloak lay on one. He picked it up and tossed it to me. “We leave now.”
Catching the cloak, I held it against me. “Where are we going?”
“I told Ignatius we are going to Vienna,” Vlad answered.
“But we are not.”
Vlad merely smiled his cold, cunning smile in response.
We departed Buda in the crisp, gray dawn and left behind the world I had grown to love. Magda sobbed as I kissed her cheek and clung to my hand until Vlad had pulled me away. Astir and Ignatius had also come to see us off. Their good-byes were muted under the fierce gaze of Vlad Dracula.
I am now certain that Vlad suspected all of us of duplicity and wanted nothing more than to have me far from those he considered my co-conspirators.
“It was a pleasure meeting you, Countess Dracula. May we meet again,” Ignatius had said, kissing my hand.
It had taken all my willpower not to break down and fling myself into his arms. His gaze had caught mine for a mere second and I felt the connection of our love flare. I had quickly averted my eyes least Vlad see.
Later, as I sat in the rocking carriage, remembering my last moments with Ignatius, I felt a tear on my cheek. I brushed it away with my gloved hand and tried hard not to express the deep despair welling up within me.
Vlad’s hand took my other hand and he held it against his thigh. He said nothing, but his firm grip on my hand was possessive.
As we left Buda behind us, I laid my head against the closed panel covering the window.
All that I had cherished in Buda was gone and I was still Vlad’s.
I dreamed of Cneajna on our journey. I dreamt she was nothing more than a skeleton with gray skin, parched and dry, drawn tightly over her bones. In my dream, I tried to console her as she wept in the anguish of the hunger. And in my dream, her milky eyes looked up at me as she seized me and sank her teeth into my throat.
We reached Bistriţa on a misty, dreary night. Drizzling rain fell steadily from the dark sky as our carriage found its way through the dark streets.
When we alighted from the carriage, I felt a pang of sadness as I stared up at the countenance of the Golden Krone Hotel. I had first met Ignatius here not so long ago when my adventure had first begun and now it was almost at its sad end.
Vlad ushered me into the hotel as the proprietor gushed over us, quite anxious to make sure we were perfectly content with the room he had selected for us. I was hungry and weary from our travels and in no mood to deal with the mortal. He simply chattered on in his nervous tone. When we reached our room, I turned to Vlad and gave him my most plaintive look.
“Thank you for your kindness, but it is best if you leave now,” Vlad told the man.
The proprietor glanced toward me, saw my grim look, and immediately withdrew from the room, nearly tripping over his feet.
“You are in quite a mood, my dear wife.”
“I am quite exhausted,” I answered. “And hungry. Give me your neck.”
Vlad laughed. “I think not. I shall bring a victim for both of us.”
I sat down on the edge of the bed and pouted.
“I shall leave immediately. I can see that you shall not be satisfied until you have fed.”
I just glared at him.
Vlad leaned over and kissed my pout. “I shall return.”
I waved a hand at him and flopped back on the bed. I stared at the ceiling and sighed. My fingers played with the buttons of my traveling coat, but I had no desire to undress and put on one of my long robes. Completely morose, I merely lay there and remembered the touch of Ignatius' lips upon my own.
By then I had realized we were returning to the place of my captivity. Up until then I had been uncertain of our destination. When we reached Bistriţa , I understood we were returning to the castle.
I could make sense now of the terrible gnawing within me. As we drew closer to the castle, I could feel the hunger and madness of the three women that we had left behind. My anxiety formed a tight knot in my stomach.
Closing my eyes, I drifted off to sleep for a mere moment, but in that moment, I had the most vivid and terrifying dream.
Cneajna rose up next to the bed, her body restored and once again the Hungarian beauty she had been for four hundred years. Lying down beside me, she wrapped her arm about my waist and laid a gentle kiss upon my lips.
“My little one returns to me.”
“Cneajna,” I whispered.
She smiled gently, tears on her cheeks. “My darling daughter, please come back to me. I miss you so.”
“Cneajna, I am sorry I was away for so long,” I answered.
She lay down, curling herself around my body, kissing my cheek softly.
“I need you to make me feel alive once more. Come home to me, my lost daughter. Come home.”
“I am coming home. I promise.”
I kissed her cold cheek and hugged her tightly. I felt a great love for her in that moment, my cold vampire mother who had helped bring me into this world of eternal darkness. How could I have forgotten her when I was in Buda? What betrayal was this that my heart could forget her calm presence in my life?
Then in my dream, she drew back and I was horrified to see her drawn, skeletal countenance. Before I could escape, her fangs tore into my throat.
I awoke with a start and sat up, my bonnet falling off my head onto the floor.
Vlad stepped out of the shadows dwelling in the corner of the room with a young woman in his arms. Her long blond hair fell over his arms to brush against his legs as he walked. She appeared to be in a deep swoon. When he set her on her feet, she blinked dreamily at me. The languid expression on her face spoke of her thrall, and, as I rose, she held out her hands to me.
“This is Katya,” Vlad said. “The proprietor’s daughter.”
I gave him a dark look. “Do you wish for him to turn against us?”
Vlad laughed. “Drink what you need. No more.”
He released the girl into my arms, and I caught her easily.
“His kisses make me feel so drowsy,” she said. “I must be dreaming.”
My arm about her waist, I let her fall across the bed. She laughed drunkenly and lay in a seductive little pile on the covers.
I unbuttoned my coat and let it slip off my shoulders. Hungrily, I climbed onto the bed beside her and looked down into her transfixed blue eyes.
“Katya,” I said softly.
She focused upon me.
“Think of that which you desire most.”
I was not surprised when her gaze flicked to Vlad as he settled in a chair near the bed. Glancing over my shoulder, I gave Vlad a bemused smile.
“I drink from her often,” he answered.
Looking down at the girl, I willed her to look at me. She smiled and reached up her hands to touch my shoulders.
“He says you will kiss me as he does,” she said.
“I will kiss you better than he does,” I answered. I bent down and bit into her throat as she held me. I willed her to feel only pleasure in the bite, not pain, and she sighed happily.
I drank to quench my thirst, not my deep hunger, and then rolled away from her. She let out a soft little snore as I rose to my feet.
Vlad sat calmly in his chair, rubbing his bottom lip thoughtfully.
“Your mistress,” I said with a snort. “You brought me your mistress.”
“It entertained me,” he answered with a smirk.
Flicking my hand at him, I walked into the shadows and willed myself into the next room. I slipped easily through the darkness into the room beside ours. In this room lay a man and woman sleeping. I pushed out with my power and plunged them into a deeper slumber. Without hesitation, I climbed onto the bed and bit the man’s throat. He moaned and writhed beneath me, but did not awaken. I pressed thoughts of pleasure into his mind and drank in his blood with relish.
I felt Vlad join me, sinking his fangs into the woman. I felt no compunction to cease in my feeding. These were travelers that could easily disappear on their journey. Vlad and I both completely sated ourselves then slid from the bed, leaving the two cooling corpses behind us.
Since Buda, a latent anger had been within me and I felt it beginning to boil. It is terrible to realize I took it out upon those poor travelers, but I must admit I killed them out of spite.
As I slipped through the shadows back into my room, I felt Vlad follow me. He tried to reach for me, but I evaded him.