Chapter Two – Cleo
Cleo waited on the third-floor balcony just outside the room she and her husband shared to wave to Darius as he and his squad rode away from the estate on their motorcycles. At first, the tradition of seeing him off from up here felt as silly as his nightly calls when he wasn't home. It had been especially so since neither of them made any pretense about loving each other. Yet, it wasn't like they weren't becoming friends, or that Cleo didn't worry for him (as any decent person would). So the ritual continued.
As soon as her husband was out of sight, Cleo turned back to the room. Perhaps she should have told him about her pregnancy sooner, but she had witnessed plenty of her fellow human-wives reveal their own pregnancies only to see their vampire husbands to turn into puddles of emotion. More than one missed a prime opportunity to increase their position because they were too busy fawning over a full stomach.
She ought to have known that her Darius would be smarter than that.
Oh, well. He knows now, anyway.
Tea wasn't for another few hours, and, since Darius was gone, it gave her time to go into the city. She hadn't seen Ed in almost two weeks. It was the high time she visited again.
Cleo went to her wardrobe and picked out a bright yellow tight summer dress. The V-neck was cut to maximize cleavage, the skirt just above her knee, and it was sleeveless, of course. There was also a belt encrusted in crystal attached.
Stunning. Perfect for what she had in mind.
The young woman dressed quickly, adding a wide-brimmed straw hat to her ensemble. After that, she put the peppermint essential oil that Ed liked in her clutch and headed out. It was common for her to dress up and go out when Darius was not around, so nobody questioned her as she went to the garage and took the Porsche out for a drive.
They had agreed to keep secrets from each other when they married. Well, Ed was just one of those secrets. The biggest secret, Cleo had to admit. If Darius ever found out, everything would change.
Darius' estate was close to the heart of King Iosif's territory. It was more rural than Cleo would have liked, but the grounds were extensive and gave her the space to do whatever she wanted. Besides the three-story house, there was also an indoor swimming pool, a garden, tennis courts, and a hedge maze. Beyond that were the barracks were Darius' troops lived. They had a few buildings for training and a huge field for sports, but Cleo had never been out that way. They were always fighting each other over there.
Violence was the vampire's domain. She had always believed that there were better, more efficient ways to get what a person wanted than to club another person over the head. Most of the time, anyway. In some situations, there wasn't much choice.
She put thoughts of vampires and Darius out of her head as she left the estate. It was a half-hour drive to the city where she grew up, and she didn't want to bring all of her vampire troubles to Ed. These visits were the only times she let go of her plans to get her husband named the future king. It was true that Iosif already had an heir picked out, but things could always change. If nothing else, her husband was going to become a prince.
Stop, she told herself. Ed thinks you're the most selfless angel that ever existed. Let's not ruin that.
She turned up the music to cleanse her thoughts.
Soon she was in the familiar sights of the city, driving past the huge shopping malls and fancy restaurants towards the residential area. Would Ed be having a good day?
When she was almost at her destination, Cleo glanced in her rearview mirror. A familiar black motorcycle was following her. He hadn't even bothered to wear a jacket without his captain's insignia on it, although he did have a tinted faceguard on his helmet.
The human sighed. Gordon. She pulled into the parking lot for St. Dymphna's Hospital for the Mentally Unwell. Gordon pulled in beside her. He took off his helmet as she got out of the car. As the vampire marched up to her, eyes narrowed, she tucked her hair into her hat.
"I thought Darius took you on his latest mission."
Gordon shook his head.
"So you decided to follow me? Why?"
"Don't think that the lower-ranked vampires Darius employs don't talk. You disappear for a few hours every time he leaves. I know what's going on. Everybody knows what's going on." Gordon's eyes narrowed. "Who is he?"
"Who is who?"
"Your lover. I won't kill him if that's what you're worried about. Just make sure that you never see him again."
Cleo ground her teeth. Clearly, he was looking for evidence before he went to Darius with his suspicions. Not that it would make much of a difference. Vampire law didn't allow for divorce unless it was proven that a wife was pregnant with another man's child.
What would he do if he found out about Ed?
She put a hand on her stomach. "Darius told you I'm pregnant, I assume?"
"Yes. And he hasn't been around often enough for you to be pregnant with his child."
"Once is all it takes, Gordon. I assure you, Darius is the father of this child. I am faithful to him. Besides, even if I weren't, would it matter? Darius didn't marry me for love, he married me because he can't be promoted without a human wife to prove his good relations. And he only picked me because he knew that people would look at this 'robust' body and praise him for not being shallow."
Gordon's eyes narrowed. "He has been my best friend for longer than you've been alive, woman."
Cleo bit back a sarcastic reply. Her heart was sinking low, though. It didn't look like Gordon was going anywhere.
"Answer my question or I'll open an official inquiry. I don't want to do that – I would rather this be solved between the two of us. But I will do whatever is necessary to protect my friend. I know that you married him for his wealth and power. If you think that I —"
"Oh, fine!" Cleo shook her head. "As long as you're here… you might as well come see the person I was going to meet."
"So you admit that you're here to see someone? Who is he?"
"Ed. Or Edyta. And she is my sister."
Gordon's eyes widened. Cleo turned on her heel and marched away, not letting herself twist her hands in worry. She didn't have much of a choice but introduce the vampire to her sister now.
But if Darius found out about her, he would know that she wasn't as invulnerable as she seemed. And a woman who had any weakness had to fight three times as hard to get anywhere in life.
Cleo wasn't sure if she could stand the vampires finding out about Ed. They would use her sister against her in ways that were veiled as sympathy. She could handle that at most times, but when it came to Ed… she was too protective.
She'd rip apart anybody who suggested that her sister wasn't good enough.
The walk to Ed's room was filled with awkward silence. Cleo didn't try to talk with Gordon. As far as she was concerned, he had no right to be here. A few of the staff and patients stared at him openly, but he didn't speak, either. He kept shooting Cleo suspicious glances, which she ignored.
Ed's room was on the top floor. It was decorated in bright pastels, butterfly stickers on the wall and a lacy pink bedspread. Ed was sitting at her desk, typing away madly on her computer. Cleo smiled and knocked on the door.
"Still working on your book?"
Ed looked up. A happy smile broke over her face and she jumped to her feet. "Cleo!
Cleo hugged her sister tightly. "I brought you some new perfume."
"That's great!" Ed stepped back and beamed. She looked down at the outfit Cleo was wearing and gasped. "Oh, can I have that dress?"
"Of course. As long as you give me back one of my other dresses so I don't walk home naked."
Ed giggled and ran to her dresser. She pulled out a wrinkled purple dress that had a large stain on the crystal-embossed bodice and ran back to Cleo. Gordon stood in the doorway, his eyes wide as he watched the exchange. Ed peered at him, stepping closer to Cleo.
"Is that your husband?"
Cleo laughed and shook her head. "No. This is Darius's friend, Gordon. But he is a vampire, like Darius is. Why don't you get to know him while I change?"
"Okay." Her sister strode to Gordon and stuck out her hand. "I'm Edyta but I don't like that name. I like to be called Ed."
Cleo slipped into the bathroom to change. When she came out, Ed was eagerly telling Gordon all about the book she was writing. A time-travel mystery centered on a fairy who didn't know he was a fairy. The hours flew by quickly, and all too soon Cleo had to leave. Ed was bright and cheerful as she said goodbye, but Cleo's heart felt heavy, the way it always did when she had to leave her sister.
"So." Gordon cleared his throat as they headed back outside. "Down syndrome?"
"Yeah. And schizophrenia. She doesn't do well outside of the hospital. I'm not a terrible sister," Cleo added, crossing her arms to hide the stain on her dress. "I just couldn't take care of her after our father died and our mother abandoned us. She needed more than I could give her, and… and she does much better inside the hospital, anyway. She has friends, people don't tease her, and there is always somebody there to look after her."
"Your mother abandoned you?"
Cleo winced. She forgot that even Darius didn't know her life story. "Don't tell Darius about this."
"Why? He could —"
"Help? Was that what you were going to say? Help what? There's nothing that can be done that hasn't already been done. I will not have my husband think less of me or pity me because of my sister. And I won't have her used against us. So just don't tell Darius."
After a moment, Gordon shrugged. "Fine. I won't tell him. But you should."
Cleo was silent. She wasn't going to tell Darius anything. He knew she had secrets. She wasn't asking for him to reveal his, so she wasn't going to reveal hers, either. Secrets were what kept them together.