Free Immanuel's Veins by Ted Dekker Page A

completely. “Then let us join you in your toast. Sofia, Simion.”
    Sofia stepped up to the seat directly opposite me; Simion opposite Natasha. They lifted filled glasses and stared at us.
    â€œTo the Cantemirs,” Valerik said. “May no one say you did not live.”
    He’d been listening at the door? Nevertheless, we toasted.
    As one we looked at him, expecting something more from such a bold man. He gave it to us. “Let us drink, eat, laugh, and find the deepest pleasures tonight, before we die tomorrow.”
    I swear, I should have shot him dead, but honestly, I didn’t see the danger then.
    He sat at the head of the table, within arm’s reach of Kesia. The pork was cut and served, and not a word was said as we all began to eat. If I’d been in another state of mind, I might have found it strange, but I was seated next to Lucine.
    Her scent—that of roses, slightly musky yet so flowery. Her hand reaching into my view to pick up her glass—such delicate fingers with red, tidy nails. Her breathing . . . You see, even her breathing distracted me.
    â€œ. . . just for the summer,” our guest was saying. “But perhaps you would like me to stay longer. I can’t imagine better company.” His voice was smooth, like the purr of a cat.
    â€œAnd I don’t think you would find any,” Kesia said. “But perhaps your friends need to learn how to appreciate company without pouncing all at once.”
    He chuckled. “Discretion is not their strong suit. But they have many others.”
    Silence settled around us, cut only by the clinking of silver on expensive china. The sound of swallowing drink, the cutting of meat. I chanced a glance at Lucine and saw that her face was flushed and her eyes were angled down. They darted to me, then away nervously.
    Then I saw past her to the head of the table, where Vlad van Valerik sat eating, staring at her. At me. And his dark eyes sent a shaft of fear through my heart. There was a line of white around the dark centers of those eyes, and they pulled at me, like a wolf with an undeterred stare.
    Sofia was eyeing me as well. Her eyes were dark, rimmed in the same silver. I looked into them and was almost certain she spoke to me.
    I find you beautiful, Toma .
    My teeth froze around the piece of pork I had just placed in my mouth. Her lips had not moved. Then it had been my imagination. But I could have sworn I heard her.
    I lowered my eyes to my plate. The table had gone silent. Only now did I find it strange. It wasn’t like the Cantemir table to be so gripped by silence.
    Alek broke it. “Well, well, this is quite the scene. Isn’t it?”
    â€œIt’s a beautiful evening,” Sofia said. And her eyes were on me still.
    â€œPerhaps we should all appreciate our own beauty,” Alek said.
    â€œBut we are,” Simion said, speaking for the first time. His eyes were on Natasha, who had remained oddly quiet. “It’s like this, you know,” he continued. “The tastes, the scents, the meat, the colors . . . They steal your mind away if you let them. Wouldn’t you agree, madam?”
    His voice swam with enticement.
    Natasha returned his stare. “I would.”
    â€œEnough!” Alek slapped his knife down on the table.
    â€œNo,” Simion said. “It’s never enough.”
    â€œShe’s not a piece of meat to consume with your eyes!”
    â€œAlek!” Kesia glared at my friend. “Mind yourself at my table.”
    Lucine set her hand on mine. The weight of her palm against my hand warmed my blood. I would protect her at any cost!
    But I saw no immediate danger, only this flirting. So I remained still.
    â€œForgive my friends,” Valerik said. “Simion. Sofia. Please, a little discretion. I realize they are beautiful.” He took a drink of wine and dabbed his lips with the white serviette. “But we are their guests. We’re here to