“Clara?” he demanded, his eyes darkening as if aware of the excitement that was beginning to zing through her body.
“Sybil’s twin.” Anna shuddered, her pleasure replaced by distaste at the memory of the horrid fairy. “She tracked me down and threatened to hand me over to Morgana. Well, after she made a tidy fortune off me.”
“She wasn’t there when I arrived.”
Anna narrowed her gaze at the unmistakable sense that he wasn’t being entirely honest.
“You’re hiding something from me,” she accused.
He hesitated before giving a restless shrug. “She’s dead.”
Anna’s breath tangled painfully in her throat. She remembered holding onto Clara as the emerald had pulsed with its strange power. Then there had been an explosion and everything had gone black.
“I killed her, didn’t I?” she husked.
Cezar gave a slow nod. “Si.”
“It was the emerald.” Anna glanced down at her hand, relieved to discover that she no longer clutched the priceless gem. She didn’t care where it was as long as it was no longer touching her. “I thought it was supposed to control my powers, but instead it only made things worse.”
“No, Anna.” The dark eyes flashed with a fierce emotion. “You’re alive.”
“But…”
“That’s all that matters,” he growled, pulling the offensive emerald from his pocket. “Levet said this came from a dream?”
She shuddered, pressing herself away from the delicate green glow. “No, it couldn’t have been a dream, it was far too real.”
“What happened?”
Anna unconsciously clutched the blanket that covered her, that aching sense of loss tugging at her heart.
“I was in a ruined castle and there was a man there.” She sucked in a deep breath as her voice threatened to crack. “He claimed he was a relative. My grandfather of sorts. He also said that he wanted Morgana punished.”
With that uncanny ability to read her emotions, Cezar wisely didn’t pry into the disturbing vision. She wasn’t prepared to discuss the bittersweet feeling of at last meeting a relative, only to have him be nothing more than a fleeting apparition.
“And the spirit gave you this?”
Spirit? Yes. She liked the sound of that. Much better than crazed hallucination, or creepy phantom.
“He claimed it would help me to focus my powers.”
His lips twisted in a wry smile. “I would certainly say that it accomplished that.”
“God.” Anna lifted her hands to cover her face, guilt spearing through her. “I killed that woman. It’s awful.”
“You saved yourself and you saved Levet.” Grasping her wrists, Cezar tugged her hands down so that she was forced to meet his glittering gaze. “Don’t forget that, querida.”
“Levet,” she breathed, another wave of guilt assaulting her as she realized she hadn’t even asked about the poor gargoyle. “How is he?”
Cezar grimaced. “In considerably better shape than you, I promise.”
“Thank God.” Anna gave a shake of her head. “She knocked him out and then she stabbed me with a knife that she said was hexed so I couldn’t heal.” Her eyes abruptly widened as she recalled the gaping wound in her stomach. Instinctively she reached beneath the covers, discovering she was attired in nothing more than a T-shirt and her underwear, and more importantly, that her stomach was smooth and perfectly healed. “How…how did you save me?”
There was nothing to read on the dark, beautiful face, but Anna easily sensed the sharp wariness that suddenly raced through him.
“I gave you my blood.”
“Oh.” Anna scooted up on the pillows, her gaze searching his guarded expression. “It broke the curse?”
“Si.”
Okay. Something was definitely up.
Folding her arms over her chest, she cocked her head to one side. “There’s something that you’re hiding, I can actually feel your tension. What aren’t you telling me, Cezar?”
His brows drew together before his lips twisted. “Dios. I hadn’t considered this side effect. It will take me a while to become accustomed.”
Side effect? That didn’t sound good.
“Cezar?”
He briefly closed his eyes before meeting her worried gaze. “You were dying, querida. I couldn’t bear to lose you. I had to do something.”
“I’m glad you did,” she said softly, not at all certain why he was so disturbed by the fact he had saved her life. “Despite my numerous years, I’m no more eager to die than anyone else.”
“The only means to save you was to give you my blood.”
She gave an impatient click of her tongue. What was this ridiculous obsession about giving her blood? Did he truly think she’d rather die than to drink the blood of a vampire?
“And?”
“And…when you took my essence inside you it bonded me to you.”
She stilled in confusion. “What do you mean, bonded?”
He captured and held her gaze. “I am your mate.”
Chapter 17
Although Cezar had prepared himself for Anna’s shocked reaction, his heart still clenched with regret as she surged out of bed and began pacing the cramped room with obvious distress.
“I…I can’t believe this,” she muttered.
Dios. Would she ever forgive him?
Rising to his feet he crossed the room and grasped her shoulders to halt her jerky steps.
“Anna, listen to me,” he urged. “This changes nothing for you.”
“Nothing?” Her beautiful hazel eyes widened. “Being mated may mean nothing to you…”
“Nothing?” He gave a short, bitter laugh. “No, querida. I have waited for what seems an eternity to at last claim you as my own. To know that I am forever bound to you fills me with a joy that I have never known before. My life is complete.”
Her features slowly softened as his fierce words sank in. “But…” Her words cut off with a gasp as she at last caught sight of the scrolling that marked her inner arm from her wrist to the bend of her elbow. “Oh my God. My arm.”
“That is the proof of my bonding,” he hastily assured her. “It won’t harm you.”
She blinked, looking stunned.
The sort of look to be expected from a young woman who awoke to discover herself bonded to a vampire.
“Is it permanent?”