"When were you first attracted to me?"
"Woman, I wanted to tumble you to the ground and take you the second I saw you."
Her belly flip-flopped at the intensity in his words. "And when was that?"
He continued, his voice taking a dreamlike quality as he remembered. "You were riding Duchess through the rain in the dark into Sylus. The night-watch and I saw you from a distance, barreling into town with that fierce look of determination, the rain soaking you through. I drank in the sight of you. I thought how remarkable you were rushing into a circle of vampire Legionnaires at night when there was talk of the blood madness, straight into danger, your head high, without a fear at all. Your white hart wolf wouldn't come all the way to us so you stopped, slipped off her back and marched right up in our circle with your chin up in defiance. I couldn't keep my eyes off you."
Sienna swallowed hard at that confession. "I wasn't fearless. I was scared to death. But I had to help Arabelle and Marius."
"All the more reason to admire you for it."
They continued on, Sienna's memory wandering back to that time many months ago. Her fateful encounter with Arabelle that night in Silvane Forest had changed her life forever. And though her path had been treacherous ever since, she wouldn't change one moment. Especially not now with the man at her side. But her heart ached for those who'd come to peril, reminding her why her mission was so important.
"Poor Kathleen." She finally broke the silence. "Mina's lady-in-waiting was more than her servant. She was Mina's blood host and dear friend." Sienna shook her head as if trying to wipe away the image the duke had put in her mind. "I can't imagine being murdered in cold blood that way. And poor Mina having to watch it."
"That queen is a cruel bitch. And to put Mina in a bloodless sleep. Pure evil."
"What is a bloodless sleep like for a vampire? You said to the duke it's an old practice. What did you mean?"
Steering Ramiel closer so that they rode mere inches from each other, he spoke in a melancholy tone. "It was long before my lifetime. But my father, he was alive during the Thorn Wars. Do you know of them?"
"Yes. Grandmother used to tell me all kinds of stories. Fairytales, legends, even stories of times gone by."
"Mm. Do you know the Tale of Breeton's Bluff?" he asked, tightening his fist around his reins.
"Oh yes! Grandmother told me that one often."
"I'd like to hear her version of the story. In brief, if you will."
Sienna paused, letting her mind wander back. She could see her grandmother, a fiery redhead like herself, though her hair was streaked with gray and had turned almost white in the end. They'd sit by the fire together after a good dinner, and Sienna would listen. This tale had always been one of Sienna's favorites. Perhaps, it should've been a warning that she'd fall for her own vampire one day.
"Well, I remember it was about a heroic vampire general named Soren who stood up against a pack of rogue vampires terrorizing the villages. Soren and his Legionnaires tracked them to the town of Breeton's Bluff and defeated them, saving everyone. The lord's daughter who lived in the mansion overlooking Breeton's Bluff watched from on high and fell in love with the vampire general. The story ends with Soren sweeping her off her feet and carrying her away to marry her where they lived happily ever after."
Nikolai heaved out a sigh. "That's what I thought."
"What do you mean?"
A twig snapped in the dark off to Sienna's right. She jumped and scanned the woods, unable to make out what was walking close beside them.
"It's all right," assured Nikolai. "It's just a deer. I can see him." Then he veered back to their conversation. "General Soren was infected with sanguine furorem. The blood madness. He was the one who had gone rogue, ordering those men who had remained loyal to him to take whatever they wanted from the humans. So they went on a killing spree. When they got to Breeton's Bluff, the royal Legionnaires killed most of his men and the rest surrendered. But the general had spotted the mansion on high. The lord's daughter did indeed watch what was happening below. She was carried away by General Soren as the tale claims and was forced to marry him. He thought to tie himself to the daughter of an important human would save his life. Her father was the king's most loyal human ambassador in the eastern provinces."
Sienna's stomach twisted into a knot, the fairytale unraveling into a warped reality. "So what happened to the daughter? To General Soren?"