Midnight Moonrising (Moonrising #2)(47)

I quickly spread strawberry jam on a triangle of toast and took a bite.

Satisfied, he continued. "She was headed home late one evening from a visit with her sister when the carriage was attacked by gypsies. They killed her escorts, but she ran into the woods and managed to hide until they had robbed her carriage clean. Assuming they left, after a long while of hearing nothing, she crawled out from the brush and thorns and one of them grabbed her—"

I gasped. "Oh, no!"


Phoenix chuckled. "Drink your juice."

I took a sip of the coffee instead. "What happened next?"

"My father happened." He huffed. "He was watching it all, and he ripped each one of their throats out with his fangs."

"Your father was a vampire, too?" I shouted, astonished.

"Yes, and nobody knew about him until her. He'd kept himself hidden away in the forest, well away from the town folk, and lived off animal blood or the occasional nomad who happened to stumble too close to his cave after dusk. After he murdered the men, he was torn about what to do with her. She looked so scared—and why wouldn't she be? She'd just witnessed a monster tear apart six grown men with nothing more than his hands and teeth. Even knowing how risky it was to let her go, that was the choice he made. He waited and waited for days, expecting the village in its entirety to come at him with torches and pitchforks. I guess you can imagine his surprise when no one came… nobody except for her. She brought him a tunic, trousers and boots, all handmade by her, she'd told him."

"As a thank you for saving her life," she mused aloud.

He nodded. "The physical attraction they felt for one another ran deep for them both, and she kept finding excuses to return night after night. Each time he would tell her to stay away from him, that nothing good could become of her visits, but he didn't mean it, and she knew he didn't mean it. So, she ignored his demands and continued to come to him. She wanted to know everything about him, and he told her. He thought telling her about him would be enough to make her stay away; he hated to think what someone would do to her if their affair was ever discovered."

I sighed. "That's so romantic. Did they run away together?"

"They should have, but no. They kept the tryst a secret, even after she told him she was carrying his child—"

"You," I said.

Phoenix smiled. "Yes, it was me. She talked about running away and making a life together, but he knew it wasn't possible. The Duke could provide for her; she and the babe would have a better life if she stayed. Not wanting to disappoint or upset her, he entertained her idea and listened without objection to her plans. She dreamed of being turned into someone like him, so they could be together for all eternity. He fantasized of that actually being possible, and agreed to make it happen after their child was born; she would have better care during her pregnancy and a midwife at childbirth if she stayed with the Duke until after she delivered. And then he promised her the three of them would leave together."

"Did they?"

Glancing down at his timepiece, he said. "You need to shower, Mena. Rhodes will be here soon. I'll finish the story tonight—"

"I don't want to go shower right now. I want to know what happened."

"I would rather you anticipate our next meeting together than be—"

"Please…" I said, and reached across the table to take his hand.

Keeping eye contact with me, he raised my hand to his lips and placed a chaste kiss on my knuckles. My whole body broke out in chill bumps.

"Very well," he said, and kept my hand in his as he spoke. "I want you to remember after I've told you everything that I asked you to wait. Do you promise to remember?"

I nodded. "Yes, I promise."

"Fine. Where was I? Oh, yes, he encouraged her to stay until after the birth of their child. To make everything appear as though the baby was the Dukes, he knew she would need to bed the Duke at least once more. He hated the idea of any man touching her skin the way he did, but he knew there was no other way, for his beloved had promised she had not been with him in that manner since their wedding night. The Duke had since lost interest in her and taken a few mistresses."

My chest swelled with emotion, and I fought to hold back the tears stinging my eyes. "I feel so bad for them."

"She returned the next night in tears. She had seduced her husband and had sex with him, but her main worry was that my father would not want her anymore. He assured her it wasn't so, and told her that nothing could make him stop loving and wanting her. Many months went by and in her condition it was difficult for her to get away as often to go to him. He looked forward to seeing her, and never wasted a minute they got to spend together the times she did get to come. No two people in this world have ever loved each other more than they did."

I dabbed under my eyes with a napkin. I could hear the sadness in his voice and see it in his eyes as he stared blankly at the table in front of him. He was about to tell me something that I wasn't going to like; I just knew it. Maybe he was right; maybe I should have just let him finish the story tonight. "Go on," I said regretfully.


He drew in a deep breath and exhaled fully before continuing. "Several days went by when she didn't show up and he grew worried. He knew a normal pregnancy lasted nine months, but he had heard rumors that if a female becomes pregnant by a vampire, the pregnancy is only seven and a half months. He waited until nightfall and then set out to find her, to make sure she and their child were safe and well."