Page 81 of A Vampire Bewitched
“Would someone please tell me what thefuckyou all are talking about?” Nik gritted out in frustration.
Emma moved in front of him, ignoring his frustration at her continued disregard of his attempts to protect her. “Listento me,” she beseeched him, placing her hands on his hard chest. “You didn’t kill Eliana! It washer, Nik!Shekilled her!”
“What?” Grasping her hands in his, he held them where they were, his eyes bouncing around as he remembered that night. “No. No. Emma, I was…I was fuckingthere. It was me. She was alive when I came home to her. And dead five minutes after. No one else came in the room.”
“How alive, Nik?” This from Aiden.
“I…What? I don’t know. I was all riled up from the fight. She was asleep.” But there was the slightest glimmer of hope in his blue eyes.
Emma smacked his chest excitedly as another thought popped into her head, one that had been eluding her since he’d told her this story. “Nik! Was it normal for the woman who supposedly loved you to be home, sleeping, while you were out fighting?” Looking at it from a woman’s perspective, she’d finally realized what it was about his story that had been bothering her all this time. “Because I know if it were me, I wouldn’t be able to sleep a wink until my man was home safe and sound.”
Chapter 45
Hope plucked at the guilt as Nik pondered Emma’s question. He’d never questioned why she’d been in bed when he got home. Eliana always waited up for him. Always, without fail. Whether it was to welcome him home or fight with him was questionable, but Emma was right. Why had it never occurred to him before?
Because he’d been too entrenched in guilt and self-loathing, that’s why.
Aiden whacked him hard on the back as Emma gave him one of her mind-numbing smiles. He memorized her glowing face, a face that had become more beloved to him in these few days than anything or anyone in his life.
Slow applause came from the front of room, and Leeha heaved a sigh. “Finally! I thought I was going to have to spell it out for you, like, literally. I-k-i-l-l-e-d-h-e-r.” Admiring her manicure, she added, “This is why I went after Luukas, and not you, Nikulas.You are but a weak replica of your brother. You could never rule.”
Emma whipped around at the insult, her small form vibrating with fury. “Don’t youdaretalk about him like that! You’re not worthy of licking the mud from his boots.”
Nik pulled back in surprise. His little Emma was standing up to a crazed female vampire, because she’d insulted him? He felt a pulse of magic reverberate through the room. Keira was here, too. Her magic felt similar to Emma’s, but stronger. A lot stronger. It washerspell that caused the torches to come alive as they entered.
“Easy there, killer.” With one eye on Leeha, he grabbed Emma by the shoulders and pulled her back against his chest. “It’s not worth it.” He kissed the top of her head and whispered, “But, thank you.”
He rubbed her shoulders until he felt her calming down. Though he understood her desire to lob rocks at the bitch, they needed to keep their heads about them if they wanted to get to their siblings.
“Ick.” Leeha made a face. “You two are disgusting.” She narrowed her gaze at Emma. “And I should kill you where you stand for how you just spoke to me.” She crossed her legs and contemplated the three of them. “But, I’m feeling generous today, so I’ll spare you. This time. However, I would strongly suggest you watch your tongue from now on, or I may change my mind. I still need a replacement human for Eliana.”
Aiden slapped a hand on Nik’s shoulder just in time, physically holding him in place and repeating his own words to him, “It’s not worth it, mate.”
As Nik struggled to take his own advice and get his hair trigger emotions under control, Aiden stuck his hands in his pockets and strolled closer to Leeha.
“So, tell me love. Why did you kill Eliana? What ever did she do to you?”
“I didn’t like her.” Her red lips pouted. “She was too close to Luukas.”
“But she didn’t belong to Luukas,” Nik pointed out.
“She didn’t belong to you, either.”
Nik waited for the pain of Eliana’s loss to hit him, but surprisingly, there was nothing more than a lingering need to know the truth. His gaze fell to Emma’s bright hair.
Maybe not so surprising.
Leeha’s chin rose as she turned those blood red eyes back on Nikulas. “She was mine. We were lovers, you know.Isent her to you. To get close to you, and therefore close to Luukas. Learn his secrets. His habits.” She sighed with disappointment. “She was supposed to help me win him over, but she was jealous, and became rebellious. She wouldn’t cooperate. She stopped reporting in to me. And then everything changed. She became too enamored withyou, Nikulas. Why? I don’t know. But, she did.”
Standing up, she paced back and forth along the platform. “She stopped sneaking out to see me. Didn’t want to be with me anymore. She just. Wanted. YOU.” Leeha looked back and forth between Aiden and Nik with her horror-filled eyes, her expression open and beseeching. Nik felt her need pulling at him, willing him to understand. “I couldn’t just let her leave, you understand. She was mine. And she betrayed me.” With a sigh, she turned and sat down again.
“Luukas is meant to be with me. And Eliana wouldn’t help me anymore. So, I killed her. I coaxed her into coming to see me by promising to release her. And then I drained her to the point of barely being alive and had her returned to your bed. It didn’t take much for you to finish the job. And then, since he still refused to see what was right in front of his eyes, I had to resort to taking Luukas forcibly.” Satisfaction dripped from her tone. “With a little help, of course.” A secret smile played about her mouth. “And you don’t even know the best part.”
“I’ll bet.” Aiden put a hand dramatically over his heart. “But, you’re ripping my heart out, love.” Flopping down on the steps leading up to her throne disconsolately, he was the picture of a broken heart.
Leeha stared at the back of his hanging head, an internal struggle written all over her face, before rising and coming down the stairs to sit next to him. Pulling his hood down, she stroked his dark hair. “Don’t be jealous, my sweet. I’m so very happy you’ve finally come to see me. My relationship with Luukas doesn’t have to affect what we have between us.”
She lowered her voice. “Why don’t you stay with me for a while?” “We can stick these two in the dungeon for a fortnight or two—separate cells, of course—and let them wallow in their self-righteousness, while you and I wallow in other earthly pleasures.”
