The King's Vampire by Brenda Stinnett Read Free Book Online Page B

and surely could do so again.
    She struggled to recall how she’d come to be in this position. What had been the first choice that had made her an immortal vampire? She recollected the temptation of becoming immortal and never growing old. Then the memory of her husband forcing his own blood to flow into her mouth washed over her, too horrible to bear, and so she blocked it out. Don’t panic. How was she to get out of this cell again? Maybe she could push her way out this time. She drew all her emotional forces together, and using her legs and arms, she pushed with all her might.
    Fear once again controlled her captivity. Don’t panic. What should she do? How could she control her fear so it would no longer be the barrier to her freedom? She remained still, pondering this dilemma, until she drifted into an intense trance once more.
    This time, images of her parents, her sister, and her daughter Christine appeared before her. Her father was holding little Christine in his arms, and she reached out her plump little arms toward Elizabeth. Then her father kissed the top of Christine’s riotous black curls and she seemed to laugh, but Elizabeth couldn’t hear the joyous sound, but only sensed it.
    The dream had an unreal quality because Elizabeth’s parents were smiling at her in a way she’d never remembered them smiling. She’d never experienced them giving her love and approval in real life. When had reality and dreams melded into one? Her mother, father, sister, and her daughter all formed a circle around her, and the spirits of her loved ones pushed through the cell, allowing her to break through to freedom.
    Elizabeth awoke in a cold sweat, her arms outstretched. The cell had vanished once more. When she released her fears and embraced the love of her family, she was no longer alone and no longer imprisoned. She moved away from the sarcophagus. Two demon vampires still guarded her, until she put them both into a thrall. Her survival depended upon her ability to overcome the prison created by her fears through both faith and love.
    She stumbled over the crumbling stone, avoiding the moss covered abyss and headed toward the damaged archways leading out of the church. A blood-clotted whine told her Julian was coming up fast behind her. Spotting a trapdoor, she scrabbled down the rungs of the ladder, which took her about twelve feet below the church. Here the floor was hard-packed dirt, and there were stone remains of tombs where important bodies had been removed to a safer place after the Great Fire.
    Listening closely, she no longer heard the sound of Julian’s raspy breath. She blew out a breath of relief, until a noise behind her caused her to spin around. A hand clapped over her mouth before she screamed. Looking up and finding Darius standing there, she collapsed with relief into his arms.
    He dropped his hand from her mouth, and pulled her near, keeping his arms around her midsection. He didn’t take those penetrating charcoal gray eyes off her, seeming to measure her reaction when he pressed his supple lips against hers.
    Her knees wobbled and her pulse raced, but she didn’t know if it was in reaction to Darius, or simply because he’d startled her so badly and her fear of the demons. He drew her lower body as close as her full petticoats would allow, and his tongue roamed her mouth in a way she’d never experienced before.
    “We’ve got to stop meeting like this,” he murmured.
    She gave a shaky laugh. “I don’t know how it is you always manage to find me, but I’m glad you do.” Reluctantly, she pulled away, and her eyes fell onto the Duke of Denham and a young boy who stood beside him.
    Following the direction of her gaze, Darius said, “John and Amelia insisted on coming with me to rescue you.”
    “Amelia?” Elizabeth’s voice scaled up a notch.
    With a laugh that sounded like a rippling brook, Amelia removed her hat and periwig. “It’s truly me.”
    Embarrassed to having been caught in