Free Ironic Sacrifice by Brooklyn Ann Page A

you would call a village.” Razvan’s gaze grew distant in remembrance over unfathomable centuries. “The people knew what he was and often provided him with sacrifices. If the humans they offered were indeed terrible criminals, he would kill them, but often the crimes were either small or imagined. In that case, he would feed and then release them with riches, except for my mother. Crina was sacrificed to Alexandru by her own husband. She had suffered a fourth miscarriage and the bastard accused her of witchcraft.” His lip curled in derision. “She wanted children very much.
    Admiration shone in his eyes. “She wanted to be a mother so much, in fact, that when the Voivode fell in love with her gentle beauty, she refused to become his consort because he couldn’t give her children. Father was not a man to allow anything to keep him from his desires, so he scoured the village in search of a child for his lady.”
    Jayden leaned forward, absorbed in his tale.
    “One night,” the vampire continued, “Alexandru came across a peasant hut in which a woman was giving birth to twins. The couple was very poor and had five children already, so they did what many in that situation used to do. While the firstborn fed at his mother’s breast, the husband took the second born out of the hut and into the woods to abandon it to the elements. I would have died if the Voivode had not taken me.” Before Jayden could form her astonished reply, Razvan added, “Alexandru then decided to take Radu as well. He left a fortune in gold in the empty cradle. When our new father brought us to the castle, cradled in each arm and with a wet nurse trailing behind, Crina was overjoyed and she agreed to let him Change her.”
    “Wow,” Jayden said, flinching at the lame response, but unable to do better at the moment. “What was it like, being raised by vampires?”
    Razvan smiled, “Besides being on a predominately nocturnal schedule so that our mother was able to dote on us, I would say that our upbringing was the same as that of any child in the nobility. We had the best of everything, fine clothes, skilled tutors, and anything we could ever desire. In fact, I believe that we were luckier than many noble children in that we had each other for companionship, while they were often raised in solitude.”
    He yawned, the gleaming fangs in his gaping mouth gave her a start; hitting home the reminder that she was sharing a bed with a predator, not a normal man. “I believe you must rest now. You have your training tomorrow and I have business in my city to attend to.”
    He rolled over and turned off the lamp without so much as a kiss goodnight.
    Jayden lay in the bed and stared up at the darkness, marveling at the enigma that slept next to her. She had learned so much about him this night. He was Romanian, his brother’s name was Radu and their last name was Nicolae. She suppressed a bitter chuckle that she’d slept with a man without knowing his last name. There was a country song about that out there, she thought sleepily.
    The bedside clock read six A.M in a soft green glow. It was past dawn yet Razvan’s soft breathing was still audible. Now she also knew that vampires did not turn into corpses during the day. Jayden sighed. Still, there was so much she did not know about him. One minute he was generous and tender, the next he was sinister and secretive. And what about his brother?
    Akasha said that he used psychics to try to find him, but he still hadn’t asked her to try, even when she brought it up.
    What would happen if I did find him? Jayden closed her eyes and imagined Razvan’s sardonic features soften into joyous gratitude…perhaps even love. Yes, love, she admitted to herself. This mysterious man who had turned her world upside-down while simultaneously offering her shelter and pleasure had woven his spell around her. She was helpless to resist. Now in the cool hush of morning she recognized that her earlier outburst had