Shadows of Eternity

Chapter Twenty-Eight

I n the morning, Leia found herself humming “Here Comes the Bride”. Last night, she had called her mom to let her know she was going out to look at wedding dresses this morning, did she want to come along?

“Silly question,” her mom had said, with a laugh. And they agreed to meet at noon.

Life had never been better, Leia decided as she smoothed her hand over her hair. Rohan loved her. In two weeks, they would be married. Last night, he had promised to buy her a house anywhere in the world she wanted to live. He had also told her she didn’t have to work unless she wanted to.

She had mulled that over for an hour or so. In the end, she decided she enjoyed teaching too much to give it up. Besides, it would keep her busy during the day while Rohan rested. As for where she wanted to live, she had no idea. She was perfectly happy in her apartment. Still, it might be nice to have a home of her own, with a yard full of flowers and maybe a pool.

She frowned when there was a knock at the door. Her mother wasn’t due for another half an hour. “Who is it?”

“Trent.”

What on earth did he want? Leia wondered as she unlocked and opened the door.

His gaze swept the room behind her. “Mind if I come in?” he asked.

Leia bit down on her lower lip, all too aware of the vampire sleeping in her bedroom. Had Trent come hoping to destroy Rohan while he was at rest?

“It’ll just take a minute.”

“Let’s sit out on the porch,” Leia suggested. “It’s such a nice day.”

Trent sent her a knowing look but didn’t object.

Stepping outside, Leia closed the door behind her. There were two chairs on her tiny porch. She gestured for him to take one while she took the other. “What can I do for you?”

“Janae tells me you’re marrying that Indian dancer.”

Leia nodded. “I hope you’ll come to the wedding.”

“Do you know who he is?”

“I believe so.”

“Do you know what he is?”

“Trent, who I marry is really none of your business.”

“I’m afraid it is.”

“Oh? And why is that?”

“The man’s a vampire. Are you going to tell me you didn’t know?”

“Of course I know,” she said, her temper rising. “And it’s still none of your business.”

“Dammit, Leia … ” He paused to take a deep breath. “He’s a bloodsucker. You must know you can’t have any kind of normal life with him.”

“I know that,” she said, her patience wearing thin.

“It’ll be a short marriage,” he warned. “There’s a hefty price on his head and I intend to collect it when the time is right.”

Leia stared at him, too shocked to speak. She had known he was a hunter, but he was also a friend. Or so she’d thought. Foolishly, perhaps, she had expected him to leave Rohan alone. “He isn’t hurting you or anyone else. He doesn’t kill those he … he feeds on. Why can’t you just leave him alone?”

“The man’s evil. I know you can’t see it, but it’s true. He’s killed before and he’ll kill again.”

“I wonder what Janae would say if she knew you were a killer.”

Her barb hit home. Trent reeled back in his chair. “I’m not a killer, not like him. I’m a government employee doing my job.”

“If you’re so proud of it, why haven’t you told your wife and kids?”

“I can’t.”

She had momentarily forgotten that there was a stiff penalty if a hunter revealed what he was to anyone, including his family, and the penalty was death. “Maybe you can’t, but I can.”

“Is that a threat?” he asked.

Leia shrugged. She would never knowingly put Janae’s life in danger.

Trent stood abruptly, his face dark with anger and frustration. For a moment, he glared at her, and then he left without another word.

Leia’s mother arrived a few minutes later. “Are you ready, honey?” she asked, enfolding Leia in a hug. “You have no idea how I’ve looked forward to this.”

“Me, too.”

“I remember dress shopping with my mom,” Cynthia remarked as they left the apartment. “It’s one of my fondest memories. Do you want to drive, since you know where we’re going?”

“Sure!” Leia said, as if she would pass up the chance to drive her mom’s Porsche.

It took only a few minutes to reach the bridal shop. Leia paused, wide-eyed, just inside the door. She had never seen so many wedding dresses. How was she ever going to pick just one? They came in all styles and colors—from modest and white to daring and black and every style and shade of the rainbow in between. She supposed she wasn’t technically entitled to wear white, but she didn’t care. She was only going to be a bride once and she wanted a long, white gown and veil.

“What kind of dress did you have in mind?” her mother asked.

“Something long and sort of sexy,” Leia replied as she walked toward the nearest rack. She perused gowns made of silk and satin and lace. Gowns with long sleeves or short or off the shoulder. So many choices. How was she ever going to decide? She grinned as she recalled Rohan telling her to pick something easy to get out of.

Her mother made it fun, reminiscing about when she bought her own gown and how she had finally flipped a coin to decide between the two she liked the best.

Leia tried on a dozen or so before she found the one. It was long, with a flared skirt, and long sleeves made of delicate lace. The same lace edged the neckline. She found a matching shoulder-length veil. Unlike a lot of bridal shops, this one carried many of their dresses in the most popular sizes. Fortunately, Leia’s size was one of them, which meant she could take the gown with her. If she’d had to wait for them to order one, it might have taken months. She also found a pair of shoes she liked.

When Leia stepped out of the dressing room, tears welled in her mother’s eyes. “What do you think, Mom?”

“It’s beautiful,” her mother murmured, with a sniffle. “You look just like a fairy princess.”

To Leia’s surprise, her mother insisted on paying for everything and then suggested they stop for a late lunch and hot fudge sundaes on the way home.

“Thanks for going with me,” Leia said as she pulled up in front of her apartment and put the car in Park. “Do you want to come in for a while?”

“Not this time. I promised your dad I’d be home in time to fix his dinner.”

“You spoil him, Mom,” Leia teased.

“I know, but it’s too late to stop now. Lord help me, I love that man.”

Leaning over, Leia kissed her mom’s cheek. “See you soon.”

After getting out of the car, Leia reached into the back seat to retrieve the garment bag holding her gown and veil and the shoe box.

She waved as her mother pulled out of the parking lot.

Rohan was waiting for her on the sofa when she stepped into the apartment.

“You’re up early,” she said, hanging her dress in the hall closet and placing the shoe box on the shelf.

“What did Trent want?”

Leia blinked at him. “How did you know he was here?”

“I can smell him. What did he want?”

“He warned me you were dangerous, a killer, and tried to talk me out of marrying you.”

A muscle twitched in his jaw. “Did he succeed?”

With a sigh, Leia closed the distance between them and sat on his lap. “What do you think?”

“I think I’m a fool for asking.”

“I think you’re right.” She worried her lower lip between her teeth. “He said he was going to kill you when the time was right.”

“Don’t worry about it. He’s not much of a threat to me, love. I’m pretty powerful, if I do say so myself. I know he’s dedicated to his work. He’s fairly good at it. And he enjoys it.”

“But?”

“Old vampires don’t have much to fear where most hunters are concerned. If you live as long as I have, it’s not easy to sneak up on us.”

Leia shuddered. How could anyone enjoy killing? “How does he … you know?”

“Vampires are pretty hard to kill,” he said. “A wooden stake through the heart will do the trick. Fire. Beheading. They all work.”

Leia grimaced, sorry she’d asked as grisly images flashed through her mind.

“Don’t think about it,” Rohan said. “I’ve lived this long, and now that I have you, I intend to live a lot longer.” He kissed the tip of her nose. “And now I need to go out.”

She forced a smile. Hunting was a part of him, not a part she particularly liked, but it went with the territory. She frowned as a new thought crossed her mind. When he drank from her, it was an amazingly erotic sensation unlike anything else. Did the women he fed on experience that same pleasure?

“You think of the darnedest things,” Rohan muttered.

She felt a faint flush warm her cheeks. But she had to know. “Do they?”

“As a rule, no.”

“As a rule? What does that mean?”

“It’s up to me whether they do or they don’t.”

“And how do you decide?”

“Sometimes, if the woman is lonely, or sad, or grieving, I let a little of my power surround her. But it’s not the same pleasure you feel. For them, it’s more comforting than sensual.”

Leia considered that a moment, then asked, “Do you drink from men, too?”

“Rarely.” He kissed her again. “I really need to go. I won’t be long.”

She grinned when he went out the front door instead of just vanishing from her sight.

His bride-to-be asked the damnedest questions, Rohan mused as he prowled the shadowy darkness. One of the reasons he loved Leia was because she was like no other woman he had ever known. And after three hundred years, that was saying something. He loved the sweetness of her blood, the silk of her hair, the way she gave herself to him completely, nothing held back, the way she looked at him, kissed him, held him. The way she accepted him for what he was. God bless the girl. With Leia, he felt loved. Almost human again.

He fed on the first single woman he found, then strolled back toward Leia’s apartment. He could have transported himself there in seconds but sometimes he enjoyed wandering through the night, feeling the velvet darkness close in around him, seeing things mortals never saw, hearing sounds they could not hear. The wind whispered her secrets in his ear, the moon’s light revealed the beauty of the world around him.

Rohan’s preternatural senses warned him he wasn’t alone moments before his sire materialized beside him. “What do you want now?”

“I’m curious,” Josiah said. “How did you get the woman to love you?”

“You want advice about love, call the lonely hearts editor.”

Josiah snorted. “I’ve had dozens of lovers.”

“Like Magdalena? Did you promise them forever, too, and then split?”

“She grew boring after a while. Always asking if I loved her, always wanting a bigger house, another dress, another trip. There was no pleasing her.” Josiah shook his head. And then he grinned. “Who knows? Perhaps vampire love isn’t meant to last more than a week or two.”

“It’s gonna last a hell of a lot longer than that if I have anything to say about it. And now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a lovely woman waiting for me.” Rohan didn’t give his sire a chance to comment, simply willed himself to Leia’s apartment.

She let out a little cry of surprise when he swung her up into his arms and carried her to bed. There was no time for talk. Their clothing disappeared in an instant. He took her swiftly, masterfully, needing to feel her arms around him, to hear her cry out that she loved him, would always love him.

Exhausted, she fell asleep in his arms. He stayed awake far into the night, just holding her close, listening to the soft, even beating of her heart, and knew, deep inside, that he would never let death take her away from him.