Free Staked by Sandra Edwards Page B

myth. Ava had previously thought it utter
nonsense that a Karellian could save a vampire from being staked . Until today.
    She let another pressing thought storm the
forefront of her mind. Propping herself up on one elbow, she looked
at Stone. “Who staked you?” Ava prayed it had nothing to do with
her. She hated to think Lucien was Stone’s attacker.
    “Just somebody that I’ve had a beef with for
a really long time,” he said, with a measure of vagueness. She
suspected, on purpose. Well, so long as it wasn’t Lucien. Ava
didn’t need any more guilt laid upon her shoulders. The reality
that her father had staked her mother—his soul-mate—for Ava’s
benefit was plenty.
    “Same ones from the rest stop?” Ava needed
clarification.
    Stone nodded. “But let’s talk more about your blood ,” he said. “I had a stake through my heart, but now
I’m lying here, in your bed, seemingly alive and well.” He looked
at her with an accusatory eye. “Or am I dead?”
    “You’re not dead.” She stopped at that. No
use giving him info he could use against her later.
    “And how did we go from you being afraid of
me, to lying here beside me half-naked in this bed.”
    “Afraid of you?” It was her natural
inclination to lay out a denial.
    “That’s a fact. Quit trying to change the
subject.” He moved, like he was going to sit up, and winced,
settling back into the bed. “How is it possible that you brought me
back from being staked?” His midnight-dark eyes darted around like
he had wheels spinning inside his head.
    “I’m not entirely sure,” she admitted. “Where
I come from....” Damn it. She didn’t want to talk about the
legend.
    “The future...?” he asked. Ava nodded,
powerless to stop it. His face grew pensive. “Just what year are
you from?”
    “One that’s really far away.” She looked at
him to see if that was enough of an answer. The look on his
face—intensified curiosity—said it wasn’t. “About a thousand
years.”
    “A thousand years?” He repeated, but not
nearly as compelling as Ava. Stone’s gaze fell upon her and stayed
there for the longest time. Two or three times she thought he might
be about to say something, but the words wouldn’t come.
    The questions he needed to ask—the ones that
would bring out the truth, the reality of the situation were way
beyond what Stone could probably comprehend. Finally, after several
more seconds of silence, Stone managed to piece together one
thought. “Maybe you should just tell me what you know.”
    “There is a legend...in my time...” Ava’s
words trailed off as she stalled to find the right words and decide
what to tell him and what to keep to herself.
    “Lay it on me,” he said.
    The words that comprised the gist of the
legend bounced around in her head but she failed to adequately
string them into comprehendible sentences. She surely didn’t want
to tell him about how for every Karellian there was a vampire
soul-mate, and vice versa.
    “It’s just a legend.” She nodded and
shrugged. “How often do legends hold water?” This one couldn’t. If
it did, she was in trouble.
    But there he was. Her proof. He grinned at
her and said, “How often does a vampire get staked and
survive?”
    She was silent for a moment before saying,
“Altogether?” She began shaking her head erratically. “According to
the legend...” She sucked in a breath. “Someone like me can
save someone like you .”
    “Well that’s a given.” He rolled his eyes at
her. “So anyone like you save someone like me?”
    “Who knows...?” She snorted. No way was she
going to tell him about the soul-mate thing. Not happening.
    “How many times can you save me?”
    She felt the anxiety tighten her facial
muscles and hoped it came across as a your-guess-is-good-as-mine look. Somehow, she just didn’t
think it was a good idea to tell him that nobody but her could kill
him now—according to the legend. The fact that he was here, talking
to her