Total pages in book: 133
Estimated words: 122946 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 615(@200wpm)___ 492(@250wpm)___ 410(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 122946 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 615(@200wpm)___ 492(@250wpm)___ 410(@300wpm)
“That is a sign of being with your mate.”
“Mrs. Lucy said we’d feel almost mortal again.”
“I do not know, for I’ve never had a mate before. Some say it is as if the sun is beating on their face; others say it as if the world is spinning; some claim they became human again in their moments of intimacy and can sleep. Indications are different for every mated pair. I feel warmth with you, true warmth, a feeling I had long thought was impossible.”
I nodded, watching as we drove past the invisible line that divided rich Washington and the ghetto, heading into northern Virginia, toward Fairfax.
“Where are they taking us exactly?”
“The airport.”
At that, I turned my head to him. “The airport?”
“The capital of the American Republic is in Montréal.”
“Montréal, Canada?” When they had said America, I was thinking the United States, not the whole continent. “One family rules all of the Americas?”
“They came to power in 1901. They are new to me. Though I have heard of the family before,” he said.
“Can we trust him?”
“When your device rang this evening, it was the woman, Lucy Ming, who was on the other line. She recognized my voice instinctively, and said, I thought you were not going to return until next year.”
“They know you…personally?” I whispered and drifted off, not saying more aloud.
He nodded, and I realized that could be the first clue to figuring out what happened to him. What could have possibly happened that made him lose his memory?
“I believe so.”
“Is it all right that I don’t have a passport?”
He looked at me like it was a ridiculous question. “Neither do I, Druella, but I doubt the President’s family or his guest travel alongside the mortals.”
Okay, it was a stupid question.
Of course, they would have their own private jet or something.
Chapter 11
They did not have their own private jet.
They had their own private airport, and it was hidden, of course, cloaked in the thick trees and forest of Northern Virginia. Right above the Loca Waterfalls, a large slick black private jet sat on a tarmac. On the tail of it was a golden pair of twin swans, their necks locked together and their heads bowed, almost as if they were hugging.
There was a knock on the dividing glass between the front and the back. Theseus glanced around the back seat, looking for how to open it. He searched to see the switch on the vents in front, and holding it, the glass slid down with it.
“We’re here, sir.”
“Leave us,” Theseus commanded the driver. The vampire just bowed his head slightly before getting out, closing the door gently. When he was gone, Theseus cupped my cheek and brought me closer to him.
“Theseus.”
He was getting very comfortable touching me. And I was letting it slide more.
“Though they might not hear us on the outside, they still may be listening, I need you closer. His voice was so low it could barely even be called a whisper as he spoke directly into my ear. Despite the gentleness of his tone, there was none of his usual lightness in it.
“We have been talking this whole time you were worried,” I replied.
“Nothing I said was what they did not already know.” he shot back.
“Fine, what is it?” I leaned in closer.
“I wish for you to question him about me, how they know me, when he last saw me, the more you get from him, the more likely I will at least be able to act as though nothing is amiss.”
I was nearly in his lap and hugging him as I whispered back into his ear. “So, you don’t trust Taelon? I understand. But Lucy seems to, and she isn’t one to share or trust easily. I’ve known Lucy for a year, but I’ve never seen her as the young her, now that I think about it, I barely know anything about her. But she has been kind to me.”
“Yes, because she’s been watching you.” He took the chance to wrap his arms around me. “Though she seemed genuinely surprised to hear it was I that was with you. Nevertheless, I told you do not believe in coincidences. How is it that Taelon Swan’s mate would be the one that was closer to you?”
“Wait, they are mates?”
He nodded, tapping my nose. Feeling his skin against mine felt…nice. “Use your nose, young one; he has clearly claimed her. But as you saw, she is a Lesser blood. It is obvious, she has not been given the right to the Swan name. The only one that can prevent her from that is Taelon’s father. They may be mated, but he cannot acknowledge and treat her as his mate until the head of his family does.”
“I don’t understand.” I couldn’t imagine how hurt Lucy would feel by that. “Just because she’s a Lesser blood, his family won’t allow them to be together?”