Page 25 of Bleeding Love

The lightheadedness subsided, but I had lost too much blood. I could barely focus enough to keep the spell going. So I just stared at him, trying to figure out what had changed in him, in me, between us.

Roman finally tore his eyes away from my wound, meeting my gaze. They were black, not red, despite all the blood. He didn’t even look tempted while he held me.

Just as the thought crossed my mind, the black faded, giving place to crimson. I braced myself for the attack, for the pain his bite would bring, for the end that would inevitably come this time. But instead of leaning closer, he pulled back.

I watched in bewilderment as he got up, only then noticing the other vampire had appeared from the door of the reception room. He dusted his clothes with an exasperated sigh, before looking at Roman with a mix of amusement and annoyance.

“Well, well,” he said, sleeking his hair and adjusting his cravat. “To think a day would come when you would rush to protect someone other than your Master. You really took my words to heart, didn’t you, Roman?”

A low, threatening snarl reverberated through the hall as Roman took a step toward the other man.

“Before you do anything foolish,” the other vampire said, glancing at me. “You should put her cuffs back on. The Elders will let us both burn in the sun if they find out you had the most powerful witch in the world and let her slip through your fingers.”

Chapter 11

Roman

“What?”Isnarled,glancingback at where Celeste sat slumped by the wall, her eyes still dazed as her magic worked on the wound on her neck. Her skin and dress were smeared with her blood, the smell of it so overwhelming that I was baffled it hadn’t driven me into a frenzy. But in that moment, my rage at Vincent for attacking her overshadowed everything else.

“Didn’t you know?” Vincent asked as he looked down at the witch. My body moved on instinct and I stepped in front of her, blocking his view. His eyes darted to my face, and the smile on his lips faltered. “You haven’t fed on her at all? If you had, you should have known. Even with those cuffs on, the magic in her veins is so potent that I feel dazed just from a small sip.”

I swallowed the lump in my throat, the memory of her in my mouth making my fangs dig into my lips. I had known her blood was different from any other person I drank from, but until tonight, it hadn’t occurred to me it was because she was that powerful.Ancient. Just like the papers said.

When I didn’t answer, Vincent huffed a laugh.

“You really are completely detached from reality, aren’t you?” he straightened his coat, wincing when he realized one of his lapels was hanging limply over his chest. “This woman is older than both of us. Haven’t you heard of the witch who sold her soul to a demon for immortality? She can’t die, not for long. She always comes back. She is quite the cautionary tale, even among vampires. That’s why the Elders wanther. They want to find out what gives her immortality and how it’s different from ours. She might be the key to figuring out how we were created or how to keep our immortality without the need to consume blood. She might be the key to walking under the sun one day.”

A faint rustle behind me made me twist my body, so I could keep both Celeste and Vincent in my field of vision. The witch rose to unsteady feet, pressing a hand over her wound. She had stopped the bleeding, but I could see the raw skin and torn muscles between her fingers. Whatever she was doing was working, but not fast enough.

Still, despite her deathly pale face, her eyes burned with determination. She wasn’t going to let herself be taken.

“Your Master will be pleased,” Vincent droned, his expression turning sour. “She has been tasked with capturing the witch centuries ago, but she never could catch up with her. She’ll probably take credit for it, but knowing you, you wouldn’t mind. You live to please her, don’t you, Roman?”

I gritted my teeth, finally catching Celeste’s gaze. There was resignation in her eyes—she fully expected me to do it. Her magic already danced on her fingers, but she didn’t attack. She knew she couldn’t leave the house, and I doubted she was stupid enough to think she could overpower two vampires. But there was still one way she could escape.

Death. The Elders will have no use for a dead body and if what Vincent said was true, she would come back again.

“So,” Vincent said, taking a step forward with exaggerated slowness. My head snapped toward him and he stopped. “What do you say we deliver her together? Imagine all the praise we’ll get. We could be raised to Masters. No more serving, no more orders from our Makers. We’ll be our own people. And of course, I will be in your debt.”

A tentative smile crept on his lips as he studied me with caution.

It didn’t take long to make up my mind. I didn’t care about being a Master. I didn’t even care about pleasing my Maker or letting her take credit for my achievements. I didn’t care if the Elders wanted this witch, or if she could allow the vampire race to get rid of the one weakness that had plagued us from the beginning of time.

Celeste was mine.Vincent didn’t get to have her; my Master didn’t get to take her; the Elders didn’t get to torture her until she revealed all of her secrets.

“Mine.” The word slipped from my mouth before I realized it, and Vincent blinked in confusion.

“Pardon?”

“She is mine.” I held his gaze, making sure the words sunk in.

A muscle feathered on Vincent's face and he tried to smile, but it looked forced.

“Of course,” he said, inclining his head. “You can do with her whatever you wish. I wasn’t trying to take her from you. I was just offering my assistance while you bring her to the Elders. From what stories say, she can take down even an Elder when she is in full power. If you managed to capture her, she is probably weak—recently awoken, perhaps?” His eyes darted to Celeste, but then quickly returned to me. “I only bit her because she stabbed me. I apologize for touching her without your permission.”

I clenched my jaw, my eyes lowering to the bloodstains on his shirt. Her blood, on him. The thought almost had me shredding his clothing in frustration. I had grown so distracted that I hadn’t realized he was talking again, his posture relaxing ever so slightly.

“.,.want to leave? If we go now, we can make good progress by morning. You must put the cuffs back on. She is too unpredictable even if she’s weak. If there is a witch alive that could make her magic work on a vampire, it’s her. And I don’t fancy myself becoming her puppet…”

---