Chapter 22
Corazon slipped free of Scarlet’s arms and the bed. He moved quietly across the room, not wanting to wake her. The sun was still a few minutes from setting, but he had been unable to sleep. Having her so close to him, sharing such an intimate moment with her, had sent his thoughts churning so badly that sleep had evaded him. He dressed quickly, fastening his trousers and buttoning his shirt. Taking his jacket down from the coat hook, he put it on and made sure his appearance was suitable before leaving his quarters.
His first step outside was cautious. He eased the door open and squinted out into the light. The high walls of the garrison were keeping the sun off the courtyard. He breathed in deep, savouring the smell of evening and warmth, and walked out. A few of the werewolves that were passing saluted him. They weren’t from his company. He rarely saw the soldiers of the day watch, but met with their commanders every night after assigning duties to his men.
To humans, his kind and the werewolves appeared the same. It was only when they changed that the humans could tell the difference between them.
He nodded to another group as they passed and a couple of them raised a brow and shared a smile. He knew what that was about. The glance they gave to his quarters spoke volumes. Evidently, a few had heard Scarlet and himself this morning.
He ignored their curious looks and walked straight to Troy’s quarters. The rapping of his knuckles against Troy’s door echoed around the garrison. There was no answer. He waited a few seconds more and then knocked again. The door creaked open and Troy peered at him out of the dim room.
There was a moment of darkness in Troy’s eyes and Corazon realised that coming here before bathing might have been a bad idea. He smelt like Scarlet, and not just her fragrance or her kisses. He smelt of sex. To any male, he would smell of the clearly defined scent of a woman, but to Troy it was explicitly Scarlet.
Troy looked as though he wasn’t going to let him in, and then backed off and let the door swing open. Corazon hesitated a moment before walking in. He was beginning to regret his decision to come straight here. He should have thought more about what he was doing. It was hard to think straight after sleeping with Scarlet though. His mind was still full of her. Duties be damned.
“Are you feeling all right?” Troy’s heavy voice sounded in his head and he shook it.
“A little off,” he said and sat down in the wooden armchair beside Troy’s desk.
Troy picked his shirt up off the bed and Corazon’s gaze traced the scars on his back and his torso. He had suffered a lot at the hands of the humans, his injuries worse than Scarlet’s. He had borne it all though. He had done it for Scarlet and the hope of somehow rescuing her. Corazon couldn’t imagine how terrible it must have been to hear her cries of pain and feel the hurt in her, to be so close but to be unable to do anything to protect her from such a horrible fate.
“I never thanked you,” Corazon said, leaning back in the chair and regaining a little control of his thoughts and himself.
Troy stopped putting his shirt on and looked at him. “What for?”
He tapped his fingers against the curved arms of the chair and sighed.
“For protecting Scarlet.”
Troy laughed, a self-mocking kind of laugh that made Corazon see the pain he still held inside and the anger at himself.
“I failed. There’s nothing to thank me for.”
“There is everything to thank you for, Troy.” Corazon stood, walked across the room and put his hand on Troy’s shoulder. He turned to look at him. “You did so much for her, protecting her while I was gone, trying to protect her even when you knew it was impossible. I am glad that I have a child as strong as you, as caring as you, and that you have remained with me and with Scarlet.”
Troy sighed and sat down on the edge of the bed. “I thought only of her. I used being your child as a selfish excuse to have a chance to step into your shoes. I knew she would never love me, and there was a part of me that didn’t want her to. At first I did, I wished she would, but then I saw how changed she was and how your apparent death had affected her, and I wished with all my heart that you would come back and help her because I couldn’t. I could do nothing but watch her tear herself apart and wait for death to come.”
Corazon didn’t know what to say. It must have been hard for Troy to watch Scarlet destroying herself and turning her back on her friends. He couldn’t imagine how difficult or how painful it had been for him. Corazon had been trapped, thinking of nothing but returning home to Scarlet and enduring torture for her. He hadn’t given one thought to how distraught and broken she would have been without him.
“You did everything. You gave her purpose and friendship. You were the only one to take care of her while everyone else turned their backs. Neither of us could have protected her from the humans. If I had been there, they likely would have killed her and you and just used me for information. You did all you could, more than I could have hoped for.” Corazon paused and held out his hand. “Night is falling. Will you take watch with me, old friend?”
Troy stared at his hand for a moment and then stood. He nodded. “It would do me honour to stand by your side again.”
Walking to the wall with Troy, Corazon wondered what he could do to lift his lieutenant’s spirits and make him see that there was no reason for him to be angry with himself. He knew that only Scarlet could make him see that. All his words were futile. It was the woman behind his reason for blaming himself that needed to speak to him.
He glanced down at his quarters and saw her leaving them. She was frowning, searching for him. His heart told him to call out to her, but sense told him to remain quiet. He was a captain, not some new-to-love child. He couldn’t start shouting wild declarations of love at the object of his affections.
His hand twitched when an image of her lying in the dirt and broken came to him. He had been close to losing control when he had rescued her from the humans. It had only been his imperative need to get her away from them that had stopped him.
“It has been three days,” Troy said.
Corazon felt him staring at the marks on his throat but he said nothing about them.
“It has,” he replied and then stopped on the North Wall and stared out into the distance towards the human fort.
“Do you think they will come?”
Corazon frowned. He wasn’t certain they would, but he didn’t want to tell Troy that. His experiences with humans had never been good, not even when he had been one. Since they had killed his love, he had only thought of killing them in return and sating his need for vengeance, but as the years rolled on he had come to realise something. His kind were superior. At least they killed out of a need to survive rather than a simple need to murder a creature for sport or a thrill. The vampires had never openly attacked the humans, not in a century. The humans had persisted in attacking them.
He didn’t know what to say to Troy.
“He will come.” A female voice caught both their attentions.
Corazon turned to see Scarlet walking towards them, her bow on her back with a quiver of arrows.
“He will come, even if it is to tell us to go to hell.” She stopped and leaned against the wall. “At least it is a nice evening for waiting.”
He stared at her, not at the myriad of colours painted across the sky. They were pale when compared to her beauty. She had a smile today, a genuine warm smile that was full of hope and confidence, and most of all love. The sparkle in her dark eyes and the way she was looking at him made him smile in return. His lips curved slightly, enough for her to see.
She looked out over the forest. His gaze followed hers, watching the changing hues of orange, pink and blue as the sky began to darken and the sun lost its hold on the world. It was a beautiful evening, just as she had said, but he would still rather be watching her.
He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye and then at Troy where he stood the other side of him. Troy was watching the forest too, but he knew that his eyes had been on Scarlet when she had first arrived. Corazon looked at her neck and the marks there. She was doing nothing to hide them. The collar of her tunic was undone, exposing them and the smooth milky column of her throat.
His teeth itched as he looked at it, remembering the sweet ambrosia of her blood and the way her body felt against his. He shook his head to clear such thoughts and reminded himself that he was on duty. It was no time for becoming lost in idle thoughts that would stir feelings and impair his senses.
Returning his attention to the forest, Corazon kept his senses locked there and focused on the world. The night drew on, the sky darkening above and becoming spotted with sparkling stars. They waited, immobile, patient.
A noise in the distance made him start and the flicker of firelight broke the horizon. It was torches. Three of them.
Scarlet had her bow off her back before he could command her. He drew his sword and hollered down to the men below to man the gates and be prepared. He stared hard into the darkness, trying to make out the number of people that were coming.
“Six,” Troy said in his ear. “Three torch bearers, the man you met with, and two carrying bows. All are armed.”
Corazon moved to be above the gate. Scarlet followed, staying close to him. He was thankful for that. He wanted her as close as possible so he knew that she was safe and he could protect her should anything happen.
They seemed to take forever to make it to the garrison. He could sense the tension behind him. The whole fort was alive with the quiet murmur of voices and many had scaled the walls to watch. The entire seventh company archery squad were now standing beside Scarlet.
Jacob stopped directly below him, keeping a good distance between himself and the fort.
“I should have known a vampire wouldn’t meet me openly. Come down if you want your answer. Stop hiding in your stone fortress.”
Scarlet touched his hand. Corazon looked down at it and then into her eyes. He nodded and she began to walk towards the stairs. He signalled for Troy to join him and for the archers to keep watch on their guests. The gate opened as he approached. The archery squad of the twelfth company surrounded it once he, Scarlet and Troy were through.
Corazon stepped right up to Jacob.
“I am here. Now what is your answer?” He stared deep into Jacob’s eyes, seeing the fear he could sense reflected in them.
Jacob’s eyes slid across to Scarlet. Corazon held the growl inside as he saw the darkness of desire enter Jacob’s gaze. He waited with infinite patience for the human’s attention to come back to him. Scarlet shifted and he could sense her unease.
“Your answer?” Corazon said.
“Give me a reason to trust you.” Jacob’s voice was low, a slow and purposeful drawl. He was thinking hard.
Corazon didn’t trust him so he wasn’t about to give in to any attempted bargaining to gain Jacob’s trust.
“I have no reason other than the one we gave you. Without us, your kind will die. Your superiors will have given you an answer. Give that answer to me.” He stepped forwards and between Scarlet and Jacob, shielding her.
His hand twitched again as he remembered the severe injuries Scarlet had had and the fact that this man was responsible. The power surged through his body, tightening the muscles in his arm until it trembled as he clenched his fist.
Scarlet’s hand on his arm grounded him. She wrapped both of her hands around his fist, holding it but not saying a word. He glanced at her, saw the concern in her eyes, and released the breath he had been holding. He couldn’t lose control, not now at such a crucial moment. Everyone would see. It would ruin both himself and their chances of convincing the humans to side with them against the next territory’s vampires.
“You have given me no reason to trust you,” Jacob said.
Corazon stepped right up to him and glared down into his eyes.
“You have given me nothing but reason not to trust you, fiend,” he whispered close to Jacob’s face. “But I can give you a reason to trust me. The fact that you are alive right now should be good enough.”
Jacob stared past him. He could almost see the archers reflected in the man’s eyes. He sensed Scarlet move and heard the stretch of her bow as she drew the string back and armed herself.
“Now give me your answer,” he said and drew back, letting Jacob see that he had changed into his vampire guise.
Jacob hesitated a moment and then frowned.
“Yes,” Jacob said, calm and resolute. “We will accept your terms and work with you to defeat this common enemy.”
“Good,” Corazon said and backed off a step. “Your men are ready?”
“We have over three hundred at the fort right now. The rest that can be spared are going to join us once our destination has been set.”
“Our destination is our sixth garrison, south of here towards the border with the next territory. We are able to spare one hundred men from this garrison, werewolves included, and will be joined by five hundred more from the other garrisons including the sixth.” He took another step backwards towards Scarlet. “Return to us tomorrow night. We will head directly to the sixth garrison.”
He waited for the men to turn their backs and disappear into the night before escorting Scarlet back inside the garrison. She looked at him as the doors closed and Troy was issuing orders to the company.
“You are not taking all of the men from this garrison?” she said, eyes wide and curious.
“No.” He shook his head and took hold of her hand. “I intend to leave some behind at every fort. Enough to defend them.”
“You still don’t trust him,” she said.
“I would be a fool to trust a human now.” He touched her cheek. “They have taken so much from me and hurt those that I love.”
She covered his hand with hers, pressing it against her face. Her eyes closed and she kissed his wrist. “I don’t trust them either.”
“Keep it that way. We cannot afford to be blinded by trust. Our survival is key. The humans would still rather we were all dead.” He slipped his hand free of hers and looked up at the walls. “The twelfth have watch tonight. Tomorrow will be a long journey and we must be on our guard. Get some rest and enjoy this quiet before the storm.”
“What will you do?” she said.
His gaze fell to the gate. “I will welcome General Violet and General Constantine. They are due to arrive tonight.”
“Captain...”
“Yes, Scarlet?” he said, studying her face and wondering what had her looking so worried.
“Can I come with you? I would rather be active tonight... being left alone brings thoughts that... I can’t bear them, the memories.”
Corazon drew her close, wrapping his arms around her and holding her. He could feel her trembling as she pressed her hands against his chest and curled up close to him. Seeing Jacob had shaken her. He would have to keep the human as far from her as possible during the coming weeks. He didn’t want her to be constantly reminded of what she had been through. He thought about asking her to remain at the garrison but knew what her answer would be and that such a request would only hurt her. She wanted to be by his side, where she could see he was safe and could do all in her power to protect him. He felt the same.
“Come with me then.” He put his arm around her shoulders and led her towards the East Wall to watch for the generals.
He would protect her.
With his life if he had to.
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