I had dreamed of this moment so many times, cried out for her in my sleep on more occasions than I could count. And she was finally in my arms, the living, breathing goddess who had consumed my thoughts ever since our first meeting in that rose garden so long ago. Just the taste of her, that honeyed softness that I would never forget, made me desperate for more. Even though she did not remember our past, didn’t remember the love we shared, she was giving herself to me now, in the present. And gods, did I want to take her, to give her the release I had wrung from her so many times before, to hear her crying out my name.

But she’d turned cold. Daphne had stumbled upon us before I’d even had a chance to ask what I’d done wrong. Elena covered her fair breasts, the pink nipples still plump and wanting. I couldn’t stifle a growl at the loss of that glorious sight.

“Oh, I didn’t know I was interrupting something.” Daphne watched me and Elena with interest, her barely covered breasts bouncing jauntily as she straightened from her low bow. Being a nymph, Daphne was an open creature, enjoying seeing and being seen, especially when there was nudity involved. Despite her youthful appearance, she was hundreds of years old, if not thousands. An excellent housekeeper and general companion. I had grown quite fond of her over the years.

“You weren’t, um, interrupting,” Elena said. She was looking at the tattered remains of her sweater with chagrin.

Before I could make my apologies for the destroyed clothing, Daphne picked right up, never missing a beat. “I have plenty of clothes, and, though I may be older, I still got it”—she shook her behind with a sly wink at Elena—“so I think some of them will fit you.”

To my surprise, Elena smiled at the nymph. “You remind me of a certain sister of mine.”

“I do?” Daphne asked with delight. “Then she must be gorgeous!”

Elena laughed, the sound a salve to my heart. I feared I’d frightened her, overwhelmed her with too much too soon. But when she’d stood in front of her game piece, I could not hold back any longer.

The white queen was the only relic I’d managed to save from our life together, the only thing Menelaus hadn’t shattered. When I awoke in our bedchambers in Troy, the figure lay beside me in a pool of Helen’s blood, more blood than a mortal could ever lose and yet still draw breath. My new vampire senses told me as much, but even without them, I knew she was gone somewhere far beyond my reach, to the fields of Elysium or the Island of the Blessed. There was no body; likely taken by Menelaus to be defiled. I cursed the demon for ever touching her and vowed to end his life. My despair was bottomless, a deep abyss that drowned me in pain and rage.

Lying there, reeling from the loss, I could feel the blood of the vampire king Priam flowing through my veins and giving me power beyond measure. Through the crucible of Menelaus and Death itself, I had been reborn an immortal and saved, redeemed by my beloved Helen.

She had given me life and sacrificed her own. On the night of my death, I had gone to battle Menelaus, forsaking the safety of the Trojan wall and staking my life on battle. If I had prevailed, then I would have won peace in the war and the chance at a real life with Helen—two things I valued above all else.

The demon king and I had dueled at nightfall, our battle cries and ringing swords the only sounds in the dusty twilight. A host of vampire nobility watched at my back while the demon horde lined up behind Menelaus, a wall of reckoning. On and on we’d fought, striking and drawing blood, circling, weaving. It was a delicate dance of vicious war. Though I was only a mortal, I fought with all the heart I had. But the demon Menelaus won the battle, a sharp stroke through my chest sealing my doom.

Priam, his tears flowing freely, carried me inside the walls and laid me gently at Helen’s feet. Her face was drawn and pale, yet still beautiful, as she knelt beside me. Her dress was pure white, of the airiest silk that floated on the air and glowed in the silver rays of the moon. I thanked the gods that I was allowed to see her once more before I was taken by the ferryman.

As my vision dimmed and my soul untethered, she fed a liquid down my throat. My senses were failing, but the iron taste was strong on my tongue. Her gentle hands stroked me, soothed me even as I felt her tears and heard her sobs. I never wanted to cause her pain, but before I could even try to ease her suffering, all went dark.

I now knew it had been Priam’s blood she’d poured down my throat. Helen, it seemed, had a plan in place should I fall to Menelaus. She had sought to turn me into an immortal, crown prince of the vampire kingdom.

She had saved me.

I had failed her.

I never saw the Trojan Horse, the fall of my family, the death of my soulmate. I was still in my death sleep, Priam’s blood changing and remaking me into something new. When I awoke, I discovered Priam and all the others of my royal lineage had been snuffed out by the demon hordes at Menelaus’s command. I was the last survivor of the noble vampire house. The deaths of my loved ones haunted me, but it was the loss of her, the one for whom I lived and died, that had made it almost impossible to gather myself from the pool of her heart’s blood and strike out into the cold night. But I had done it. For her and for revenge on the one who took her from me.

And now she had returned to me. Safe in my arms as she was ever meant to be.

Daphne had been chatting excitedly about having a guest in the house, though I hadn’t heard a word as I relived my darkest day in my mind.

Unperturbed, Daphne continued, “We need some more girl time around here. Whenever he sees fit to visit, he’s always brooding around, flat-out moping, or staring at that thing.” She motioned to the white queen. “Come with me. I’ll get you all set up in the prettiest guest room with the prettiest view, unless you’re staying in with Paris?”

I watched Elena, her cheeks pinking at the suggestion. “I’m, um, I need my own room.”

I couldn’t help the smile that took hold of me. We’ll see about that.

Daphne and Elena ate together. The mischievous nymph prepared enough food to feed a small army. When I saw the feast, I raised a brow at the housekeeper.

She shrugged. “I had some ingredients lying around.”

After Elena had loaded her plate with Daphne’s bounty, I sat with them and drank blood from a glass. Elena had watched me with interest at first, but then quickly became bored. Perhaps she was expecting some grand show of “vampire of the night”?

Truth be told, I was far more interested in her, now wearing one of Daphne’s lacy dresses. It skirted the tops of her pale breasts, giving me a tantalizing look at what lay beneath. I’d tasted it and wanted more. Would never stop wanting more.

Not getting a blood-crazed show from me, Elena turned to Daphne, who was all too happy to have an audience. Elena quickly became enthralled with Daphne’s tales of the Underworld. Like her past self, Elena loved to learn. She ate up Daphne’s explanations about how the “Underworld” was actually a misnomer created by the mortals, for this realm was actually a world separate and apart from earth.

“They say a powerful mage of the olden times, or maybe even Hades himself, created the Underworld with the help of the Titans—somewhere immortals could be free from the gods and the mortals alike,” Daphne said conspiratorially, as if revealing some great Underworlder secret.

I wasn’t sure how it was created, but I called it home now, though I spent quite a bit of time on earth. It was safer there for me, easier for me to hide from Desmerada’s cavalcade of spies. I hid in plain sight, melding into the dark culture of clubs and alleys, preying on human women and surviving on their blood and comfort. I cursed myself for touching even a single one of them. Had I known my beloved still drew breath, I would never have done such things. But, as it was, I used the females for blood and allowed them to use me for pleasure. I swallowed, the shame mixing with the iron taste of blood.

Daphne continued and gave a laundry list of all the different types of creatures that called the Underworld home: nymphs, fairies, demons, vampires, spirits, cyclopes, furies, and any number of other beings. The Underworld was far vaster than earth, with several tribes occupying massive strongholds.

The vampire fortress, Bloodkeep, was atop a stone crag in the midst of an immense, misty wood. Their neighbors, the demons, occupied the arid lands just beyond the reach of the forest and plains. The demon stronghold, Decanum, was situated at a fabled oasis amid the shifting dunes and punishing suns of the Desert of Thorns.

I had never seen the walls of my ancestral home, the Bloodkeep, but they were fabled to rival the gates of Troy, shot through with gold and carved with scenes of Underworld lore. I had no desire to claim the throne, no need to live a life at court among the backstabbing nobility that thrived under Desmerada’s rule.

Daphne persisted with her Underworld 101. “Some demons have horns, and some are odd colors, but some look human. I’ve been with a few, though, that look human up top but have a little extra demon down below, and I’m here to tell you that if you find one like that, you give old Daphne a call, because I’d like to get acquainted.”

Elena smiled, warmth lighting her cheeks at Daphne’s straightforward talk. I remembered that smile well, having taken joy in eliciting it from her so many times in the past.

Daphne’s tales continued until Elena’s eyelids began to droop, fatigue weighing on her. “—and that’s why vampires can only teleport on earth, not in the Underworld,” Daphne finished with gusto.

“I think our guest could use some rest,” I said.

“No, I’m fine, I just need to—” Elena’s words were interrupted by a yawn.

“Please, just one night of rest, and then we will make our plans.” I fully intended to set the destruction of Menelaus in motion, and now that she was with me, I knew it was as good as done. But my deep need to keep her safe, to keep her well, overruled even my desire to slay the demon.

She looked to argue again, but exhaustion seemed to overcome her resolve. “Fine. But just one night, or day, or whatever time it is…” She looked to the firmament in puzzlement. It remained that deep amethyst, the three suns making their way across at a leisurely pace.

“Night is almost here.” Daphne started collecting plates from the rough-hewn kitchen table.

“Let me help you.” Elena picked up her plate.

“Don’t you dare. I have to pretend like I work around here, at least a little.” Daphne winked. “Job security.”

Elena’s tinkling laugh warmed my heart. She thanked Daphne for the meal and rose to leave.

“Remember, first right, then third door on your left,” Daphne called.

The moment Elena was gone, Daphne stopped clearing and watched me with a knowing look. “Well?”

“Well, what?”

“It’s her, isn’t it?” Daphne smiled.

“It’s who?” I played coy, but Daphne knew my story, knew that I burned brightly for only one soul.

“By the gods, you found her!” Daphne clapped her hands, joy shining in her eyes.

“But she doesn’t know she’s her.” I drained my glass, itching to follow Elena, to make sure she was safe.

“Doesn’t matter. It was clear as day the second I saw you together. She’s your white queen, through and through.”

I rose, gave the beaming Daphne a kiss on the forehead, and strode to my room. Next door to Elena’s. I sat on the bed and couldn’t help but smile. Looking like a fool, sitting there and grinning at a wall, but it didn’t bother me. If my heart could beat, it might have burst from the sheer joy of knowing that she lived and that she was here. I could hear her even now, pulling back the covers and settling into the sheets. What I wouldn’t give to be in there with her. She belonged with me. But I needed to wait until she realized that for herself.

Did she wear anything to bed? The thought caused my cock to spring to life. The way she’d been with me earlier, allowing me to touch her, needing me to pleasure her. I ran a hand over my mouth, recalling the sweet taste of her on my lips.

I reined myself in. She needed to rest, and I needed to give her space. I rose resolutely from the bed and stripped down, ignoring my demanding shaft as I tucked it into my boxers. Slipping between my sheets, I listened to her, imagining how she looked in the large bed, the shape her lithe body would make under the covers. She seemed to toss and turn for an inordinate amount of time. Restless, perhaps uneasy? I needed her to know she was safe here. Safe with me, always.

But she’d run from me. The memory was unsettling. I shifted against the pillow. I hadn’t meant to take her down so hard, to prowl on top of her like an animal. But my nature was not the same as it was when we were both mortal. Now a predator lived inside me, one that she’d put there. I would control it, though the memory of her arousal, the smell of desire wafting off her in waves, did nothing to ease the ache between my legs. I let the image of her running, her hair streaming out behind her, leave and refocused on the sounds from the neighboring room.

After a while her breathing became even and deep, sleep taking her.

I thrummed my fingers on my chest and stared at the beams of the ceiling, above which the sky had changed to the nighttime dark. A slow eruption of stars dotted the inky blackness. I closed my eyes and tried to will myself to sleep, but even with my eyes shut, she was there, her hair, her eyes, her essence, haunting me as she had these many years.

I saw her running through a field of the deep lavender that covered the hills just outside of Troy. She was laughing as I chased her then, daring me to catch her and make love to her among the fragrant blooms. She was reclining on our shared bed in the palace of Troy, her skin dewy and glowing after we’d made love.

My memory moved on to how her emerald gaze would follow me as I sparred with my brothers. Her lilting voice would give me strategy tips after every match. My smile returned as I remembered what an avid student of hers I had been, listening to her lesson and then thanking her with myriad pleasures. These were the memories that eased me, allowing me to drift into dreams of her.

I was nearly out when a shrill scream of pure terror shattered the stillness.