Page 3 of Fire & Ice

Thinking of him seemed to be the trick to allow rest to embrace me and the second the small death took hold; I gave myself over to dreaming. Opening my eyes, I realized I wasn't alone. He stood there before me, just as he had in so many of my dreams. His cool arms encircled me, and a spark lit in my core. Drawing me closer to his chest, I felt the fire that usually ran through me settle into a delectable warmth that seemed to vibrate through every inch of me.

"Who are you?" I asked, barely believing it was really him again.

"I'm the one who has been dreaming of you," he said with a smile, the shadows hiding his face, but his eyes still piercing right through my soul.

Every muscle tensed as I dreamed, the sensation of his touch feeling so real. I felt my fire starting to take form and come to life from the excitement, causing small flames to dance upon my body and touch me in the real world, as he did my dream.

My knees buckled as his head dipped and he pulled me up his body to lick and suck on my breasts. Following his lead small balls of fire danced across each nipple—seeming to pucker and pull on them— my body broke out into a sweat as my core tightened, in need and pleasure. He trailed his hands down my body as if he was searching out every nook and cranny of my flesh. Other small flames followed suit as if the dream was a blueprint for what my body needed and craved. "I love how you touch me" I whispered into the ether of my dream.

My flesh grew hotter, as my flames danced across my body. My hips lifted as the flames made their way to my core and settled on my most intimate area. The fire danced across my nubbin, just as his tongue was doing in my dream when he ran it over my slit, before sucking on my clit as he slid two fingers inside, pumping me to fulfillment. My body arched again as I climaxed, wetness gushing out, extinguishing the flames and the dream all at once.

Chapter 3

Beauregard

I paced relentlessly throughout the corridors of my family’s ancient palace, unable to quell the anxiety building within me prior to one of the most crucial nights of my life. Most everyone else within these walls was sound asleep, but not me.

Waning moonlight cast its glow through the stained glass of the library, as I gazed upon portraits of those who had come before me. I wondered if their legacy would continue through me if I didn't find my mated tonight.

Being 124 and unmated was akin to failing to uphold my family's legacy. Although there were no guarantees that a vampire who bore human children, called fragiles, would have them ascend beyond their humanity to become a gifted, Halfling, or part of a mated vampire pair. My family has been the exception to this rule since the first generation. Every one of their offspring have been gifted, halflings, mated then Ruler—if the oldest—each ruling for 500 years according to the Vampiric Law of 800.

Sadly, I was the first born of the 25th generation and found myself without a mate. If I failed to find her tonight, my supposed reign would be the first time that my family’s claim to the crown would be up for grabs.

“You’re in a blue funk brother,” Gabriel spoke from behind me in the shadows of the ancient library.

Emerald eyes pinned me to the spot where I stood. They were ones I had known since we were younglings, and I recognized his voice immediately. I sighed, grateful for his presence. He had a way of bringing me out of my self-loathing.

"You always were one to make an entrance," I smiled.

He stepped forward, grinning lopsidedly. "I figured you wouldn't be able to let sleep embrace you today, dreading the soiree tonight."

I chuckled dryly, trying to pull my mind from under the pressure that was crushing down on me. Not finding my mate would bring an end to our family's claim to the throne, and though I wanted it to go to my younger brother Gabriel, there would still be a fight for power.

"Brother, I have to say that at this moment, I may not be proper company."

Gabriel huffed in understanding. "The weight of duty has always been heavy on your shoulders brother, and I do not envy you it. So, I'll leave you be." His robes swished behind him before he disappeared.

I paced around the room again, stopping in front of the portrait of our family. Our mother Tatiana and father Lucas both stared back at me; Gabriel looked exactly like her—slim, tall and regal with emerald-green eyes–while I was a perfect combination of mother and father. I had inherited my father's cold blue eyes, strong nose, and impressive height. From my mother I took her naturally tan complexion, thick raven hair, and smile. Too bad I didn’t inherit their luck of finding their mated.

The only thing keeping me sane in all of this was that if indeed I were to be unmated by the end the upcoming night, I would back my brother's bid for the throne and then I would seek out the beautiful woman who had been haunting my dreams for the past year. I could sense that she was just a gifted and not a Halfling, even in my dreams. I closed my eyes as I pulled her image clear to my mind, as if I had seen her in real life.

I opened my eyes and held out my hands as ice began to form between my palms, creating a sparkling sculpture that closely resembled her. My gift pulsed as blue lightning flashed between my hands. Though close, my ice could not capture the true nature of her beauty.

In my dreams her eyes were black with a striking contrast of red throughout them and a swirling effect that drew me in. Her skin was a rich mahogany that seemed to glow with a deep red undertone of fire. Her full red lips and high cheekbones gave her an elegant look. Her hair was thick and heavy, cascading down her shoulders in a graceful waterfall of black tresses interlaced with tendrils of red fire.

I closed my hands around her frozen image and hoped that just maybe, this was a true vision of my future that had been haunting me, and not a figment of my imagination turned obsession.

Chapter 4

Beau

Looking at the crystal image of her, I thought of what my father had told me to prepare for on my upcoming 25th blood moon with high hopes that I would find my mated. I snorted as I remembered how excited with anticipation I had been then, 100 years ago.

“Son, you know the reason why there are so few mated in our kind? I mean of course vampires, halflings, and the gifted may choose to mate with any person they wish and walk this life together. However, to truly be mated, to combine your gift with another, to share heartbeats is a rarity that only one percent of vampires will ever know.”

“No, I don’t know, Father,” Beau shrugged his shoulders. He had been told about the hierarchy of things since his eighteenth blood moon when he had received his gift of ice. However, to be told upon his twenty-fifth of an elusive mate that would one day show up to turn his life upside down hadn’t really meant much to him.

Lucas laughed lightly as he turned to sling his thick arm over his son’s shoulder, pulling his six feet eight frame closer to his own matching height. “The way my father explained it to me son was like this. The only creature more fearsome than the sacred mated vampire is one that has lost their mated half, which has only happened three times in our creation. When a mated loses their other half, they lose half of themselves as well. Their soul drowns in a deep well of desperation and despair, and it resurfaces as a monstrosity seeking only to kill anyone in its path. They destroy cities, topple kingdoms, ravage armies, and shake the very foundation of our Vampiric Society.”

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