Page 15 of Silvan

“Umm… not yet. I’m nowhere near ready.”

“That’s what this time is for, Ro. To learn and experience. Maybe even to fail. I have faith in you, Romy. Just like I had faith in your mother.”

Romy noticed a hint of sadness in Selene's last statement, and she wondered how her aunt must have felt, disappointing her family, her coven. She didn’t seem too worse for the wear. Cassia had given Selene an exalted position within the High Council. She’d married, had Loren, and was Cassia’s most trusted adviser. If Romy couldn’t handle the pressures of being the next high priestess, at least she knew she’d always have a place at Thora’s side.

“Ah, Andromeda… there you are.” Cassia tapped the seat next to her.

“Found her perusing the lycan display.” Selene tousled Romy’s hair as she walked past.

Several other elders filtered in and joined them at the round table. Appropriately named the Dragon’s Slab, the iridescent pearl table was composed entirely of a dragon’s tooth, and Romy had always marveled at the different shades and shapes she’d found within. Dragons had gone extinct nearly three hundred years ago, and this relic was the only one of its kind.

With everyone seated, Cassia cleared her throat to begin. “As this is an informal meeting, I’ll skip the pageantry and give the floor to my sister.”

“Thank you, High Priestess. I, along with Dr. Hiller”—she gestured to the man on her right—“conducted a thorough investigation of Claude Rincewind’s body, and presently, we can’t rule out a vampire. However, we found no other signs of vampires within the pack territory. We couldn’t detect their scent, had no additional sightings, and obviously, there were no witnesses to the murder.”

“And it was most assuredly a murder?” an older member asked.

“Unless Claude can rip out his own heart and drain his blood, then yes, a murder was committed.” Dr. Hiller opened a folder and produced a handful of pictures for Cassia, who studied them briefly, then gave them to Romy.

She winced at the mutilated body of Silvan’s uncle and wondered if Silvan had seen him, possibly even found him dead. Claude wasn’t in his human form, but wolf. Matted gray fur and coagulated blood caked the sides of a cavernous hole where his heart should have been. His neck, obviously shaved for the necropsy, revealed the vampire’s calling card of two perfect puncture wounds. His shriveled body was not from old age but because he’d been drained. Romy bowed her head and turned the pictures over before passing them along. Seeing Claude somehow made Silvan even more real to her. Not in a physical way… though she was extremely aware of her feelings in that area, but in an emotional way. He was a wolf with a heart and blood, and a man who’d lost a beloved family member. She longed to comfort him.

“And what is the pack mentality, Selene?”

“They’re all on edge, craving vengeance. Asa is doing what he can to pacify them, but the writing’s on the wall… If Claude’s killer isn’t brought to justice, they'll go to war.”

Cassia shook her head back and forth rapidly. “No. We’ll find the killer. We cannot afford war. Monsignor Marchland is here with the two new vampires, and they’re registering with the PC as we speak.” She leaned over to her chief security officer. “Call the Fontenot Coven in Shreveport. They have a wizard who just retired from the FBI. See if he’ll come down and help with the investigation.”

“Right away, ma’am.”

Romy heard bits and pieces of the remainder of the conversation, but her thoughts were single-minded. Bastian. Was. Here. And now, she had to find him. As soon as the meeting adjourned, she hugged her mother and aunt and sprinted to the registrar’s office.

Through the glass windows, she spotted the same faerie who had helped Bastian at High Council, and on the young woman’s right and left were two men. Pale skin. Distant expressions. Definitely vampires. But no Bastian. Instantly, her heart sank, but Romy couldn’t understand why. One minute, she fantasized about Silvan’s chiseled muscles and strong hands, and the next, she was lovesick over Bastian. Why couldn’t she get excited about the man she was actually going to marry? She hadn’t met Dane yet, but he was a dependable ticket to guaranteed sex.

Maybe that was the problem. No danger. No spontaneity. No passion. Romy Delacroix longed for that life… at least in her mind.

Romy searched for Bastian for half an hour, finally ending her quest at the gates of Alizon’s Dusk Gardens. Magic channeled the moonlight, and the moonlight fueled the plant growth. Evening primroses, moonflowers, and chocolate daisies lined the paths, and farther out, row upon row of night-blooming jessamine, flowering tobacco, and the elusive Queen of the Night. She’d never explored the expansive grounds entirely but felt drawn to a certain area she’d never seen. Literally. Surrounding her now, the twilight shimmered, but there, only night. Romy always wondered what could grow in the blackness but could never think of an answer. Tonight, though, she heard a voice within her whisperanything. Anything can grow in the dark. Anything can find a way.

Gathering her resolve, she waded through the pond and into the unknown until the red water lilies faded to gray and black. Using her senses alone, she found the path next to the water. Romy looked up and then down to see purple sparkles around her. Stars? She wasn’t sure. But she was certain she wasn’t alone, and surprisingly, she wasn’t afraid.

On impulse, she extended her hand into the murky darkness and felt a cool palm intertwine with hers.Bastian. She knew it was him like she knew her own name. Did vampires have a heartbeat because Romy could distinguish two hearts beating? Initially, their cadence was separate, level, and steady, but the longer Romy and Bastian remained physically connected, the more she could feel his core drumming in rhythm with her own.

If it was possible to see without eyes, Romy had all the vision in the world. She couldn’t visualize Bastian before her. She could only feel him. But that was enough because they were one mind and one spirit at this moment, and through their connected palms, they’d fused as one body. It was the most intimate experience of Romy’s life.

Then it was over.

And she was home, at Delacroix Manor, watching television with Thora. “Did… I… how did I… when did I come home?”

“Uh… like a few hours ago, dummy. You’ve been asleep for thirty minutes.” Her sister didn’t look in her direction.

“But… I… I was in the Dusk Gardens at PC Headquarters.”

Irritated, Thora pressed pause on the remote and rolled her eyes. “Yeah… no shit, Sherlock. You and Mom went to look at the Queen of the Night without me. Jerks.”

As Thora returned her focus to the program, Romy replayed the afternoon’s events and couldn’t determine any explanation except that she was losing her mind. How could she have been with her mother and then here, at home, if she was with Bastian?

She had to find out.

CHAPTER6

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