Chapter 23

DEMETRIUS

“How dare they! How dare they make my daughter illegal!” Rose cried, punching a wall.

It shuddered as the surface crumbled, showering her in pebbles and paint. Cursing, she flipped her hair, making the debris fly in all directions.

“Rose, calm down before you wake up Eleanor.” I grabbed her arm and pulled her against my chest.

“Calm down?” she hollered, pulling out of my arms and pacing. “Are you fucking kidding me? Did you hear what he said? How dare he? How dare they? This has Elizabeth written all over it!”

“Obviously, since my father came,” I pointed out dryly. Rose paused to glare at me, then continued pacing.

“What are we going to do, Demetrius? What are we going to do?”

She suddenly looked defeated. She collapsed in the armchair behind her. Her head rolled forward, covering her face with her glossy blond hair.

“We’re not going to give Eleanor up.”

“No, of course not. They’d kill her.”

“Yes, but it’s possible that the law is refused. This could all be a false alarm,” I started.

“Thanks, Demetrius, but it’s not. You’re half royal. All your mother has to do is convince her brother that Eleanor is bad news, and we’re done for.” She sighed heavily.

I moved toward her and knelt in front of her. I took her hands in mine and gazed up into her face.

Her eyes were overflowing with thick bloody tears sullying her pale cheeks, dripping down to her chin, and staining her gown.

I wiped them away with my thumb, smearing her tears against her cheek.

“Rose of my Rose, we’re going to figure this out, okay? I promise you; we won’t let anyone touch Eleanor. I promise.”

Her eyes met mine, and she smiled sadly. “I love you, Demetrius, and I trust you with everything, but there’s nothing we can do.” She closed her eyes.

“Don’t give up, Rose, not now, Eleanor is going to live a long human life, and she’s going to be happy. Remember?”

“Demetrius, if the law is voted, then it’s going to be executed. If they can’t rip her out of my arms and kill her, then they’re going to hunt us down, and they’re going to kill us or put us in prison.

“I’m not going to drag my whole family into this. But I am going to run. Just me and Eleanor, I’ll watch over her until she dies, then I’ll come back.” She was breathing heavily.

“I’m not prepared to put you at that risk. We’re going to figure something out together. Believe it or not, but a lot of people, Aric, James and Selene will also risk their lives for Eleanor.”

Rose looked doubtful. “Selene and James may like Eleanor, even love her, but they’d never give their immortal pureblood lives for a human. Even you wouldn’t. And I’m glad because I need you.”

“Rose.” I squeezed her hands and leaned toward her, pressing my forehead against hers.

“I’ll talk to my father. You killed his dog and scared the others away. I didn’t have time to talk with him. I’ll go after him. He can’t be far off. It was almost dawn when he came by.

“I’ll talk with him, reason with him.”

“You can do that if you want, but I don’t see the point.”

“Rose, as long as the law is not in place, you’ve done nothing wrong. It was actually kind of my father to warn us.”

“Kind?” Rose hissed, pulling back. Her face was drenched in flowing tears. “Demetrius, Eleanor can’t know.”

I nodded slowly. “Of course.”

“She’s so innocent and happy. Did you see how happy she was today?”

She bowed her head again. “I don’t ever want her to be hurt or scared. I just want things to stay as they are. I want her to stay young, small, and happy...”

She trailed off, wiping her tears with the back of her hand.

“Rose, Eleanor is going to grow up. You can’t stop her from growing up. We’re all going to have to deal with that.”

“Eleanor will be lucky to grow up,” she muttered darkly.

“Rose, we’re going to figure this out. We can hide her, fake her death.”

Rose snorted. “And how are we going to do that? We’re up against all the pureblood families here Demetrius, all we can do is run until she dies, then I’ll face the consequences.

“I have all of eternity. Five hundred years in prison is not that bad.”

I scowled at her.

“You’re wrong, five hundred years in prison is for adopting the child. They could kill you for running. I know you’d give your life for Eleanor, but what about the children? The twins? Aric?”

She blinked at me. “What else can I possibly do, Demetrius?” she asked, her eyes wide.

She was so vulnerable. I wrapped my arms around her small body and picked her off the armchair. I hugged her to my chest and carried her to our bed, where I put her down softly.

Rose curled up into a ball, gripping my shirt, trembling against my body.

“I’m here for you, my love, and I always will be on your side. It’s not all over, Rose. We can still fight, and we will. We will fight for Eleanor.”

She sighed loudly. “If we fight Demetrius, we will be killed.”

“I can talk to my mother.”

“She’s too stubborn, almost as stubborn as me.”

I had to suppress a smile. “Rose.” I hugged her tightly.

Her red tears leaked onto my shirt, and I watched as they soaked in slowly. “We can be sure that as long as she stays in her tower, she’s safe.”

“During the day.”

“Yes. Rose, don’t give up, I...” I hugged her tighter, closing my eyes and rocking her body slowly.

“I love you. Go speak with your father if you think it’ll help. We’re safe until the law is put into place, then I’ll run with Eleanor. I don’t care, okay? I can’t make rational decisions now.

“All I know is that they’re never going to touch her. I’ll never let them hurt her.”

“I know, my love, I know,” Rose leaned into me, breathing into my chest and wrapping her arms tightly around my body. Her small frame shook as she sobbed.

I’d seen her cry before, but she’d never wept so much. She’d have to feed. She was losing too much blood.

The scent of her bloody tears tore through my body, not compelling me to drink it but to comfort her.

I lifted my wrist to my mouth and cut through my skin with my fangs. Rose’s eyes met mine. I blinked at her then pressed my bleeding wrist against her open mouth.

I knew my familiar blood would help her to think clearly and stop her from crying. She didn’t hesitate and started lapping at my cut.

Her tongue sent a wild shoot of electricity through my body. I unwillingly let out a growl of pleasure, holding Rose tighter to my body, willing for her to keep drinking.