Emily drifted in and out of sleep all through the night. When dawn came, she opened her eyes and looked at Chevalier. He seemed relaxed and content. She cleared her throat before speaking, “Déjà vu, huh?”
He smiled over at her, “Why yes… it is oddly familiar.”
“Did you really kill Keith?” She already knew the answer.
He sighed, “Yes.”
“I'm sorry he made you do that.”
“I'm not, I've wanted to do that for months,” he said matter-of-factly. He didn't seem upset at all by the thought of killing someone, “Kyle called me back when he heard the shouting and smelled blood.”
Chevalier's jaw tightened, he was still angry.
“Your life would be so much simpler if you'd have kept going,” Emily told him, pulling her seat back into the upright position.
“He was going to kill you.”
She whispered, “I've never seen him that mad before.”
“He didn't deserve to share this planet with you. I just wish it hadn't come down to…” He quit talking, his jaw flexing again in anger.
She reached out to touch his arm and ran her fingers along the hard muscles and veins, “Thank you.”
He raised an eyebrow, “You aren't mad?”
She shook her head and was silent, her mind deep in thought for the next hour.
“Who is Ulrich?”
Chevalier considered not answering for a moment, but then decided against it, “Do you remember the story I told you about Elizabeth Winchester marrying a heku? The one that started all of this?”
“Yes”
“Ulrich is the one.”
She sat up straighter, “And what's his claim to me?”
Chevalier glanced at her.
“I heard you talking to Sam.”
He sighed, “He's been watching over his family. He thinks I may corrupt you.”
“Corrupt me?” She made a face.
He decided not to go into further detail.
“Where is your Coven anyway?” she asked, looking out toward the flat plains.
“I can't say. It's safer not to speak of the location.”
“Why is that? No one's in the car but us.”
“It's just safer, take my word for it.”
“End of subject, gotcha.”
He grinned.
“Kyle packed some sandwiches, are you hungry?” He reached behind the seat and pulled out a small cooler.
She dug around and pulled out a sandwich and a cold drink, then winced while eating. It felt like Keith knocked some teeth loose. After eating, she curled up in the seat and watched Chevalier.
“Can I help you with something?” he asked, grinning when he noticed her watching him.
“Kyle seems very nice,” she said, watching his reaction.
“Yes, he is.”
“Does he know about me?”
“No”
“Then why didn't he try to bite me?”
“I told him not to. I gave him precise instructions to take care of you but never to feed. I told you, Emily, my coven won't defy me,” he said, gritting his teeth.
“You trust them enough to be outnumbered by them a thousand to 1?”
“Implicitly.” He glanced over at her, “It's going to be ok, don't worry about it. I'll always make sure you are protected.”
“I can't go home, can I?” She knew the answer but wanted him to say it.
“No”
She was silent beside him.
“There were two choices. You could either come with me, or stay there and be taken by Ulrich. I asked Kyle to sell off your ranch,” he said quietly.
Emily looked away when her eyes filled with tears, “That was my Dad's ranch.”
“I'm sorry, it's too dangerous now.”
“Why was Kyle so surprised that you were taking me to your coven?”
“It's complicated,” Chevalier said, tightening his grip on the steering wheel. “Heku don't normally want to spend time with a mortal, we feed and we leave, it's that simple.”
“But with me?”
“With you, it's different. I don't know why, but I'm drawn to you. It may take some time for the coven to get used to a mortal being around longer than a few hours.”
Emily turned to face the window. Eventually, she drifted off into a sleep full of nightmares.
***
The sound of lapping water woke Emily up. The blinding light shone in her eyes as she struggled to see through it. The car was silent, but she still felt as if she were moving. Undoing the seat belt, she opened the car door and stepped out onto damp wooden planks. They were on a ferry, no land in sight. She looked around, the Bugatti was the only car on the large ferry, and she couldn't see any people.
There were voices on the wind, but she couldn't make them out, so she made her way to the back of the ferry and saw a recess in the deck that led to stairs. As she descended, the voices became quiet. She emerged into a small room with a table in the center. Chevalier was seated there, a warm smile on his face.
There were 2 others with him, a beautiful woman with dark hair and a stunning face, and an older man who looked away quickly when Emily met his eyes.
“I'm sorry,” she whispered. “Am I interrupting something?”
Chevalier stood up and motioned for her to come closer, “No, we were just visiting. Emily, this is Storm and Walen… please come and sit.”
Emily sat in the chair on his right as Storm watched her closely and Walen avoided looking at her. She hadn't looked in a mirror, but could only imagine what she looked like with the bruised neck and face.
“These are the highest ranking officers in my coven. They met us so we could go over some details of your arrival,” he explained.
Emily looked over at Storm and was shocked by her beauty. From what Emily could understand of their conversation, things were pretty normal. Word had gotten out that Chevalier would be back soon, and everyone was excited. Kyle had let Storm know that she was coming too, and preparations were made for her arrival. Talk turned to politics within the city walls, and the words they used were strange and confusing.
Emily suddenly felt terribly uncomfortable, “I'll leave you be then and go back up top.” She stood up and walked up the stairs quickly, feeling the eyes boring into her back.
She shivered as the cool ocean wind brushed past her. The breeze had gotten stronger since she went down, and the dark clouds began to look ominous above her. She went back to the car and sat inside, leaving the door open for fresh air. She could still hear the voices, but was thankful she couldn't make out the words. Emily found her bag behind the seat