The Heart's Ashes
Page 152

“Yeah, well, some job your political boundaries did. How ‘bout moral boundaries? How ‘bout life versus death?”
“Please. She’s all that’s left of him, now. Just show me that she’s all right. I’ll give you anything—I’ll give you anything you ask for.”
“Where’s Drake?” Mike asked.
“Show me the princess, and I’ll tell you.”
“Tell me, and I’ll show her to you.”
Arthur sighed. “Very well, he’s hiding in Rome. He has a safe house there. Show me the princess, and I will give you the exact location.”
“Why would you give up your own king?”
Arthur went silent. “I have my reasons—reasons I do not wish to share at this point, but you must trust me. I mean no harm to Amara, or to the Lilithians. I merely want to keep her safe.”
“Why?”
“Just take me to her. Please?”
“Mike?” Morgaine’s voice broke into the conversation. “Show him. Then he can leave.”
Mike huffed and the front door closed.
Do I wake up, or pretend to be asleep? I don’t know. None of them have footsteps. I should be able to hear them walking, but there’s nothing.
As the door handle twisted, I flopped back down on the pillow and closed my eyes. Sleep acting it is. I’m not ready to face Arthur.
A long, slow sigh carried the sound of relief. “So, it is true.”
“What?” Mike asked.
“My son left a note telling me where I could find her if everything went to plan.”
“Plan?” Mike scoffed, closing my door. “What plan?”
“He was supposed to…to throw her from the window if you didn’t get there in time.” Arthur cleared his throat. “I was to pick up the pieces and bring her here.”
“Why would he do that?” Mike snarled, and a scuffling noise ended with a dull thud on the wall. “Why would he throw her out a window?”
“Relax, Mike,” Morgaine cut in. “She wouldn’t have died from it. It was actually very clever. I don’t know why we didn’t think of it.”
“No,” Mike said. “Don’t you believe him, Morgaine. There’s no way they could mutilate her like that, and be planning to help her all along.”
“I know,” Morgaine said. “Arthur, what’s your deal? What’re you doing here?”
“Let me see her, tomorrow, and I will explain.”
“No. I think you need to explain now.”
“Please. I am a man of my word, Morgaine, if nothing else—you know that.”
“Yes,” she whispered humbly.
“I must speak to the princess alone. If you gift me that, I will return your kindness with any information you require. I can help you catch Drake and remove him from power.”
“Why would you do that,” Mike asked.
Everything went quite, then, in a low voice Arthur said; “Freedom.”
All I could hear was breathing.
“Fine,” Mike said. “Tomorrow afternoon. Across the road—that’s as alone as it’s going to get, and only if she approves.”
“Very well,” Arthur said. “I shall be there at precisely fourteen-hundred hours.”
“I’m sure you will,” Mike said, and the front door slammed shut.
“Damn,” Morgaine said. “Did not expect him to drop by.”
Mike sighed heavily, probably dropped his head into hands, too. “He’s convincing, I’ll give ‘im that. I almost believed his story about that depraved prick.”
“I know,” Morgaine said, “me too. He’s definitely up to something.”
“But what? I just don’t get it. What could he hope to achieve by making himself and Jason look like the good guys?”
“Mike?” I called out.
The door popped open and Mike smiled at me, so warmly; I loved that smile—the one that made me glad to be on his side. “Hey, baby, how you doin’?”
“I don’t get it either?” I sat up, continuing the conversation as if I’d been a part of it all along. “Why would he want to help? He watched Jason hurt me.”
“I don’t know. But I want you to find out.”
I shook my head. “No way. Uh-uh, I am not meeting with him—he drank from me, he sat there while Jason—” my lip quivered, “while he—”
“While he what, Ara? What did he do to you?” Mike landed on the bed in front of me; Morgaine walked away.
“I…I never thought I’d get out of that dungeon. I thought I was going to die in there and be hoisted onto the wall with the other skeletons.”
“Oh, baby, that was never going to happen.” He grabbed my face and pressed his nose to mine. “Morgaine and David were planning your rescue from the start—before they even knew you were a pure blood, before Emily and I even knew you’d been kidnapped. They were never going to leave you there.”
I nodded and ran my finger over his arm; his veins were still blue and his heart beat just as strongly as before. I could feel the way the beat would pulse under my tongue; see the appeal humans have to vampires. “You’re still so warm,” I said, “I can’t believe I turned you. I mean, I’m really sorry, you know, if you didn’t want to be a vampire-murdering kind of Lilithian.”
“Are you kidding? Ara, this is the best kind of vampire to be. Morgaine’s completely pissed—wishes she could swap.”
“Why? I mean, she’s totally cool.”
“Yeah,” he scoffed, “But she can’t kill vamps, and—” he bristled with arrogant pride, “—I’m stronger than her, which she hates.”
“I bet.” I smiled a little. “How does Emily feel about it?”
“She’s—” He shook his head, smiling. “She’s over the moon, Ara. Well, she was once the shock wore off.”
“How did you figure it out—what you were?”
“We didn’t. Morgaine knew.”
“How?”
Mike laughed. “When I met with her to go over the rescue plans, she shook my hand and the first thing she said to me was So you let her bite you?.”
“What, she knew just from a handshake?”