Page 38 of Until the Heart Stops
However, this newfound connection with my power did nothing to strengthen the blood bond between myself and Callum. In fact, it was fading. Each second passed I felt Callum less and less until only a shimmer of him remained. I couldn’t help but inhale his scent wafting from the silk each time I shifted in the opulent coach, as though it would strengthen the bond between us.
Adrienne and I did not speak as we made our way to Eamon’s estate. These last few weeks she had been withdrawn, but any time I attempted to discover what weighed on her mind she would change the subject. My heart gave a hollow pang of guilt as I realized I had not been trying hard enough. When I reached to take her hand, she interlaced our fingers and squeezed tightly, but did not move her gaze from the window where the curtain had been drawn back.
Eamon’s great mansion spilled with light and color as it always was, immortals bustling up the stairs and out into the gardens. The party already in full swing by the time we arrived. The coach driver slid from his bench to open our door with a bow and an offered hand as we stepped onto the smooth paving stones.
“Thank you, Ralph,” Adrienne murmured.
A shiver rippled through the air and it made me pause at the wide double doors. Adrienne noticed, doubling back to link her arm through mine. But I couldn’t shake the feeling a great change had occurred, like a power waking for the first time.
Music poured through the hall, mixing with the cacophony of voices and footsteps as vampires andVyenurs milled around. A few of the former sipped synthetic blood from crystal chalices while the latter politely declined anything that was offered them. Vyenurs did not need to eat or drink to survive—they feasted off the magic of the venefica they killed, though Noah had been known to imbibe a glass of wine or a sweet from time to time. Most, however, abstained out of habit.
We slipped through the crowd lining the walls. I caught sight of couples dancing within the center of the ballroom, but there was no one I recognized. But when Eamon saw us as we approached the dais, his face did not split into the radiant smile he most often wore for Adrienne. Instead, his gaze darkened, deepened, and a thread of despair slithered through the air—a bitter note to the revelry happening around us.
“My lord,” I greeted when Adrienne said nothing.
Together we curtsied low, pressing three fingers to our lips. First, he welcomed me with the usual kiss and touch to my brow before he lingered on Adrienne. His mouth moved from her brow to her cheek, ghosting across her lips before pressing against her jaw. She trembled, her hands fisted into her skirt, and a soft vee formed between her golden brows. Eamon finished his journey there, pressing a kiss to the space to smooth it.
The look on his face was so intimate I had to look away and instead found the attention of another on me. He was tall, taller than Eamon even, with silken black hair streaming unbound over his shoulders and chest. Slowly, he dipped his chin, but he did not offer the typical greeting. Instead, he placed a fist over his heart and then to his brow before lifting his head again. On shaking knees, I curtsied. I wasn’t shaking because I did not know this immortal, no. I was shaking because before me was the source of the strange power I’d felt when we had arrived.
“Hello, little one,” he rumbled.
His voice was softly accented, but I couldn’t place it, nor could I stop the shiver running up my spine from his otherworldly tone. In a heartbeat, he had crossed the space between us so quickly it was as if he’d jumped. I started, but this immortal gathered my hands in his and a wave of warmth crashed over me. It was the way I’d felt as a child tucked into my bed, my mother stroking my hair and singing me to sleep. Heat burned behind my eyes when he touched a knuckle beneath my chin.
“Do not cry, not now. Save your tears for when the time comes.”
I blinked, but before I could formulate an answer, he lifted my hands and pressed a kiss to each one. His mouth was cold, as if he’d been submerged in a frozen lake, andgoddess, his eyes. I had no idea how I hadn’t noticed them first. They were bright gold and appeared to shift like molten metal.
“Lilith,” Eamon said, placing a light hand on my back. “There is someone I’d like you to meet.”
He moved me gently away from the powerful male. I tried to fix my expression into something presentable, but it fractured as I turned to see Callum on the dais as well, flanked by Mateo and Henry.
Callum stared at me so intensely I was surprised my dress had not gone up in flames. Yet, even as the breath whooshed from my lungs and my chest panged, I could not help but stare right back, touching the ruby at my neck for a moment. He was different—not so different I could not recognize him, but different enough it made me pause. His alabaster skin was smoother, the shine in his eyes brighter, and just a small measure of the power I’d felt from the immortal at my back radiated around him.
“I do not believe you have yet been formally introduced to Lord Callum Auguste,” Eamon said.
Swallowing the lump in my throat, I curtsied with the usual ritual. “It is an honor, Lord Auguste.”
Before a muscle would have ticked in his jaw, I was sure of it. Perhaps he would have stiffly greeted me. Instead, Callum stepped forward and took my hand from my lips and guided me to my feet before bowing over it.
“The honor is mine, Mademoiselle.”
The room hazed and I fought the urge to throw myself into his arms. He was closer now, my hand still clasped in his, and he ran his thumb across my knuckles. Our fading bond pulsed quietly, but there was another—a stronger one, yet unprovoked, and I was sure it was the mating bond.
“Callum, would you mind dancing with Mademoiselle Searah? She is a respected guest and I want to ensure she is well taken care of.”
I could have kissed Eamon for this kindness. From the looks of it, Callum could have too, though he didn’t take his eyes off mine as the corner of his mouth drew up slightly.
“Of course, Uncle.”
Without another word he guided me onto the floor and into his arms. I went willingly, sighing in relief as his scent surrounded me. We did not speak as the dance began, but that didn’t stop us from staring at each other as though the sun rose and set in the other’s features. His touch on my back was heavy, possessive, and as I placed my hand over his elbow and the other around his neck in the traditional hold. He ran his palm up my arm before sliding it up to the nape of my neck.
I shivered as he led the dance, cradling the back of my head tenderly while we turned around the other dancers.We were too close for propriety’s sake, but neither of us had the strength to move away.
Callum released me, save for my hand, and twirled me beneath his arm before drawing us back together. “I missed you.”
My hand flexed on his shoulder, tangling in his hair that was free tonight rather than in its usual ribbon. It put me in mind of the powerful immortal I’d just met.
“And I you,” I breathed, ducking beneath his outstretched arm again before returning. “More than you can know.”
