SovereignsChoice Read online

  “Is this true?” the snake vampire demands, staring at me with cold, glittering eyes.

  Blushing and stammering, I admit that it is. Then it’s Lexy’s turn to chime in.

  You really did that? she demands, shooting me an incredulous glance. You let him go down on you during your time of the month?

  I squirm uncomfortably. I was in a lot of pain and he made me feel better. You know how bad my cramps get. Besides, what’s the big deal?

  The big deal is that you’re never supposed to let a vampire near you during that time. It gives them too much power—binds them to you way too tightly. She sounds really upset. I can’t believe no one ever told you that before.

  Well, I guess I would have known if I had any magic to speak of or the inclination to sleep with half the vampire community, I shoot back, losing my patience. But honestly, Lexy, I had no idea.

  She seems about to send me something else but then the snake vampire speaks again. “You would bleed for this witch…this insignificant mortal with lifespan a fraction of your own?” he demands, speaking to Aiden.

  Aiden nods. “I would,” he says quietly. “Emma is not insignificant to me. I love her. I would endure anything to keep her safe. Give me the knife.”

  He loves me? And he’s going to bleed for me—there doesn’t seem to be any way to stop it. My heart is in my throat as one of the vampires stands and moves from the shadows into the light for a moment. He shows a flicker of white skin as he hands Aiden a long, curving silver blade. Then he slips back into the darkness and becomes just a pair of eyes again.

  Aiden holds the knife in one hand and begins to roll up his sleeve with the other. He is wearing a tastefully tailored charcoal suit but he has removed the jacket, revealing the crisp, white cotton shirt beneath. Under that, his skin is almost as pale as the shirt. But a fine tracing of blue veins runs just under the surface, pulsing with blood he’s determined to shed.

  “Aiden,” I say. “Please, I don’t want you to do this for me.”

  “Be quiet, Emma.” He frowns at me darkly. “There is no choice. One of us must shed blood and I’ll be damned if it’s you.”

  “But—”

  “Be still and let me concentrate,” he commands, cutting me off.

  I feel sick as I watch him make the first slice. Without flinching, he draws the silver blade across the white skin of his forearm. I know how much it hurts him—a thousand times worse than it would a mortal whose body would give blood much more easily. But he says nothing, just holds his arm over the circular trench, letting the droplets fall, like black rubies, into its hungry mouth.

  I can feel the blood working, can feel the frayed strands of the spell coming together but slowly…so slowly. Before they are nearly woven together, let alone sealed, the cut on Aiden’s arm closes. His mouth thins to a white line but still he says nothing. He only raises the knife and cuts himself again.

  And again and again and again.

  It’s agony to watch him torturing himself like this and to know that he’s doing it for me. He’s bleeding himself dry so I won’t have to. Saving me the way he wasn’t able to save Katherine so many years ago.

  But after the fifth or sixth cut, I realize with horror that it’s not going to work. The magic is coalescing too slowly, the circular trench etched into the floor is too thirsty. Aiden doesn’t have enough blood in his body to make this happen—especially considering how much blood a vampire body needs to function. He’s going to die if he keeps this up. Surely he knows that.

  One look at his face tells me he does. But it doesn’t seem to matter to him—he’ll do whatever it takes to save me. Even if it means giving his own life.

  “Master,” I whisper, putting my hand on his arm to stop him before he cuts the seventh time. “Please, no. You’re…you’re killing yourself. There has to be another way.”

  “There is no other way,” he murmurs, shaking his head. “Once I thought there might be but this moment has come too soon. We were not prepared, for which I blame myself.”

  “What do you mean?” I demand. I’m beginning to panic at his rigid refusal to stop. I can’t lose him like this. Can’t let him sacrifice himself for me. “What are you talking about?”

  “Think about it, darling,” he says in a soft voice. “There are only three ways to fulfill a spell. Magic, blood, or…”

  “Sex,” I whisper, finishing the thought for him. So this is what he was preparing me for all this time. This was why he demanded my submission, why he wanted me to give myself so completely, even while others were watching. He knew this moment was coming, knew we would have to perform in front of the Vampire Council and he wanted me to be ready. Ready to submit in order to heal the spell.

  Sex magic, Lexy whispers in my head. If you and Aiden could raise enough energy you could slap a patch on the spell—kind of like melting the fibers of the spell together instead of weaving them. It’s not as elegant but it should work.

  It has to work, I send back to her desperately. I can’t lose him like this, Lexy! I can’t let him die for me.

  You’re in love with him, aren’t you? Be careful, Emma! It’s never a good idea to get too deeply involved with a vamp.

  Yes,I tell her. I can’t help it. I love him even though I shouldn’t. He never told me I was related to Katherine. He never said he was preparing me for this moment—never warned me what was going to happen. He’s kept me in the dark about everything ever since I came to him. But… I love him. I have to save him if I can. I have to.

  You can but you’ll have to be completely committed to the act. Lexy shivers. You can’t hold any part of yourself back during sex magic or it doesn’t work. That’s why I can’t do it. I can’t…can’t give myself to any guy that completely. Are you sure you can, Emma?

  I have to, I send back grimly. I’ll do whatever it takes.

  “Enough, Emma,” Aiden says, calling my attention back to him. “I think you should go stand outside the circle now, darling. Let me finish this.”

  “No.” I lift my chin and look him in the eye. “No Master. We’ll finish it together.”

  Aiden frowns. “You’re not ready for this—not ready to submit so completely, Emma. I can’t be gentle if we’re going to make this work. I’ll have to use you hard—take you roughly.”

  I swallow nervously but I won’t let him see the fear in my eyes. “You mean…like a punishment fuck?”

  “Exactly.” Aiden’s silver-gray eyes are half-lidded. “I was working up to this scenario, trying to get you ready gradually. But you never reached the point of ultimate submission. And I don’t think you’re ready to reach it tonight.”

  “Yes, I am,” I protest softly, vehemently. “I know I am—I know I can do this.” To prove my point, I pull my shirt over my head and drop it to the floor. Next go my jeans and shoes. Soon I’m left standing in the middle of the circle wearing only my underwear. Aiden’s eyes widen as I reach back to unsnap my bra.

  “Wait.” He puts a hand on my arm to stop me and looks at me intently. “Do you really want to try this, darling? Do you really think you can do it?”

  “Yes,” I say softly. “Please, Master, I’ll do anything to save you. I-I want to submit.”

  “My darling,” Aiden murmurs, looking genuinely touched. “I had no idea your feelings for me ran so deep.”

  “You told them you’d do anything to keep me safe.” I nod at the circle of watching vampires. “I feel the same way about you.”

  “Do you?” he murmurs.

  “You know I do. I…I love you,” I whisper, daring to speak it aloud at last, just as he did when he told the Council how he felt about me. “I love you, Master…Aiden.

  “Emma…” He cups my cheek, looking down into my eyes. “This is neither the time nor the place to declare ourselves. But I love you, too. So much, my darling.”

  “Then let’s do this,” I whisper fiercely. “We can fix this spell together—I know we can. And I know…” I swallow hard. “I know I can submit to