They would pay, he thought, rubbing his hands together with anticipation. Oh, yes, they would all pay. And Elena most of all. When the moment was right, he would strike. She would not escape him again.
Chapter 34
November turned to December, bringing a flurry of snow that quickly covered the ground and clothed the trees in gowns of white. In spite of the fireplaces and heaters in every room, the castle was chilly. Elena spent most of her time in the main hall, curled up on the sofa in front of the hearth, sometimes reading, sometimes napping.
Strangely, Drake, in his cat persona, had returned. He spent his days sitting beside her, or stretched out along the back of the sofa, sleeping. She was glad for the company.
She had asked Drake about the return of the cat the first time it appeared. He had said only that he missed her during the day and wanted to be near her. She suspected it was more than that. Her uncle was still out there, somewhere, and even though Drake claimed not to be worried, she knew he was.
Drake appeared late one afternoon, when the sky had turned dark and overcast. “This will be our first Christmas together,” he said, helping her into a heavy winter coat. “I thought we should have a tree.”
Excited at the idea, Elena pulled on a pair of fur-lined boots and gloves, put on a fur-lined hat, and followed him outside, where he picked up an ax and laid it on his shoulder. “Ready?”
“Ready,” she said.
She followed him down a path he had cleared earlier to the edge of the forest.
“Which one do you like?” he asked.
She glanced from tree to tree. “That one,” she said, pointing. “But how will you ever carry it into the house?” she asked, and then grinned sheepishly. To a vampire, carrying a ten-foot tree was akin to a mortal carrying one-half that size.
It took only a few strokes of the blade to bring the tree crashing down.
Returning home, he shook the snow from the branches, then carried the tree into the main hall. “Where do you want it?”
“There,” she said, pointing to the far corner of the room.
He quickly built a stand and nailed it to the base of the tree.
“We don’t have any ornaments,” Elena said. “Or lights.”
“We’ll take care of that tomorrow night,” he said. “For now, you need to get warmed up.”
“I’m fine.”
“Of course you are.” Even as he was speaking, he was helping her out of her coat, boots, and hat, settling her on the sofa, covering her with the afghan she had made, bringing her a cup of hot tea.
Elena smiled up at him, thinking he was the most wonderful, sweet, caring man in the whole world.
She was about to tell him so when she sensed a familiar ripple in the air. Moments later, Andrei materialized in the room.
Elena’s smile of welcome faded when she saw the expression on his face. Something was wrong. Terribly wrong.
“The baby was born tonight,” Andrei said, his voice flat.
He didn’t have to say anything else. She saw the sorrow in his face, the pain in his eyes.
“He came too early, and lived only a few minutes. Just long enough”—Andrei swallowed hard—“long enough for me to hold him.”
“How is Katiya?” Drake asked.
“For a time, I thought I would lose her, too. But she will be all right.”
“Andrei, I’m so sorry,” Elena murmured. “Is there anything we can do?”
“No.” He sank down on the edge of the sofa beside Elena, his head cradled in his hands. “Her mother sent me away, told me Katiya needed to rest. I wandered around outside the Fortress and then”—he shrugged—“I found myself here. We were happy here.”
Feeling helpless, Elena looked up at Drake, who was standing near the hearth. What can we do?
He shook his head. He needs time.
“I should go back,” Andrei said. “I just thought you should know.”
Biting down on her lower lip, Elena slid her arm around Andrei’s shoulders. To her surprise, he turned into her embrace, his arms going around her waist. He held on tight, his body shaking uncontrollably as sobs racked his body.
“She’ll be all right,” Elena said, patting his back. “She’s young and strong. And she loves you.”
Andrei took a deep breath, then drew back. “Forgive me.”
“There’s nothing to forgive.”
Andrei rose heavily to his feet. “I must go back.”
“You may stay, if you wish,” Drake said.
Andrei shook his head. “Katiya will be missing me.”
“How are things at the Fortress otherwise?” Drake asked.
“All is well. Your plan to free the sheep was a good one. The transition has gone smoothly. I must go.” He bowed in Elena’s direction, and then he was gone.
“Poor Andrei,” Elena murmured.
Drake nodded. He had never fully understood Stefan’s pain, he thought, perhaps because he, himself, had never been in love, never lost anyone he cared for, but he understood it clearly now. He had seen Stefan’s pain reflected in Andrei’s eyes.
Needing to hold Elena, he sat beside her and drew her into his arms as he faced the very real possibility that he could lose Elena, and the baby, too.
Later, lying in the dark in Drake’s arms, fears about her baby, about the birth itself, rose in Elena’s mind. Katiya had been young and healthy, in her prime for bearing a child. If Katiya could not conceive and carry a vampire child, what chance did a mortal woman have? Elena placed her hand over her womb. Would her baby be born too early, as well? Take a few breaths, then slip away, its life over before it had even begun? And what of her own life? Andrei said they had almost lost Katiya. If a vampire, who had the strength of twenty and was nearly invincible, was at risk, how much more so was she?
“Elena, you must not worry.”
He was reading her mind again, but she didn’t care. She hadn’t wanted to worry him with her fears, but now that they were out in the open, she needed to talk about it, needed his reassurance.
“Do not be afraid for our little girl,” he murmured, stroking Elena’s hair. “She will survive. I can hear her heart beating, strong and steady.”
Elena nodded.
“She already knows your voice,” he said. “Whenever you speak, her heartbeat speeds up a little. I know she is eager to see your face, to be in your arms.”
His words brought tears to Elena’s eyes. True or not, it was what she needed to hear. Content to be in his arms, she closed her eyes. How blessed she was, to have Drake in her life. What more could she ask than to spend the rest of her life with this incredible man?