The Red Lily (Vampire Blood #2)(33)

Clearing her throat, she said, "You don't have to give me anything for last night, you know. I offered my blood freely."

With a glance out the window, his mood shifted from jovial to the dark mask he so often wore. "You think the dress and gloves are payment, I presume."

She shrugged one shoulder. "What else?"

With a shake of his head, he drummed his fingers on the table, seeming about to snap a retort. Instead, he stood on a sigh.

"The sun has finally come out. Shall we take a walk through the town?" He offered his arm politely, but Sienna noted the shift in the atmosphere. From sultry to glacial in a heartbeat.

This man was an enigma. One moment he was making wicked promises and showering her in gifts with wit and charm, and the next he was all brooding scowls and clipped words. She couldn't riddle out his abrupt change of mood, but it had happened in a blink. It was certainly her fault in something she said. He kept his posture stiff and his mind a million miles away. Though she was afraid to admit it even to herself, she yearned for him to come back. 





Chapter Ten

Sienna stood on a wooden bench that Deb had placed at the center of the meeting room, the smell of hay and pigs pungent in the air. Nikolai kept to the right wall where he could see people coming in and keep a watch on every person in the room. It was a smaller crowd than the one in Hiddleston. Little more than twenty. But every man and woman who signed on was a valuable asset to the Black Lily.

The lot of them were working peasants-farmers and small merchants. And standing above them with the torchlight casting a pale glow upon her fair face was the goddess herself. Beneath the folds of her cloak, he could see the crimson gown he'd bought her, her delectable curves on display. She occupied every living, breathing thought he had. For that matter, she'd found her way into his dreams as well. He had to finally admit it. She'd ensnared him, body and soul. He'd even spoken of his secret sin, which he'd told no one before but Marius.

He was a monster. One who'd fallen too far before, succumbing to the beast that lived within, and who'd tasted the sweet pleasure and painful regret of gorging his appetite till his host breathed her last. He knew what horrors he and his kind were capable of. Perhaps that was why he'd felt a sense of relief when Marius asked him to abandon his post at the Glass Tower and join him in their fight. His dedication as lieutenant had been first and foremost to protect the people from the likes of him and to pay penance for what he'd done so many years ago as a lost and lusty youth. He'd been a restless soul his whole life.

And now, Sienna. She made him imagine dreams that had never once drifted into his consciousness. Quiet nights, a warm bed, a devoted lover. More.

But he knew she was too good for him. It wasn't her roots in the gentry that made her so, but her pure and innocent heart, her willingness to sacrifice all for others. He felt the abject misery radiating from her when they left Silvane Forest. And yet, she did it anyway. Even now, as she stood before the crowd, her green eyes a bit wider, her pulse tripping a little faster, she waited with her head held high to do her duty for the Black Lily. A cause she needn't have left the comfort of her cottage in the woods to join. And yet, she did.

"Oy! Shut it!" Deb's sharp voice rang out. The murmuring ceased at once. "Ye all know why you're here. The Lady o' the Wood is here to set it to ye. Do what you will."

The Lady of the Wood. Yes, that was the proper name for her. He gave Deb a polite nod for her correction in Sienna's title as she stepped to the side and let Sienna take the reins.

Sienna roved the crowd, seemingly to look into the eyes of every one of them. She'd done the same in Hiddleston, and her charm had done its magic. There was something in her that made one want to listen. There was a fire inside her that made one want to reach out and touch, even if it burned. Nikolai would readily be consumed in the flames of Sienna. Anything to get closer to the woman.

Before she spoke, her chin notched up and her gaze narrowed. Her confidence-especially when he sensed her trepidation from where he stood in the back-staggered him.

"I bring you good tidings and bad, my friends. A gift and a warning."

She let those words settle in. Nothing but the soft shuffling of cows and the rooting of pigs overhead could be heard. She clasped her hands in front of her and went on.

"I know the people of Lobdell have suffered at the hands of the Varis monarchy. That death has touched many lives here. Unnecessary and horrific death." Not a sound but the guttering of torches. "The gift is the Black Lily. Whether you join her ranks or not, she will fight on. She will demand justice from the Glass Tower for those in chains of oppression. She will break the yoke placed upon the backs of the peasantry and bring freedom where now there is too much work for the poor and little prosperity of your own."