It’s time for #1lineWed again over on Twitter and the theme is “BETRAY”–or any form of the word. I keep noodling around with Sinjen and Sade’s book and have no idea where all the various scenes are going to fit. When I began the tale, I had no idea Nikos would be so involved. Sinjen and the dragon might just come to blows before it’s all said and done. In the meantime, Nikos is trying to figure out his own actions because…well, if his Archon (the chief of his clan) finds out where he is and what he’d considering doing? Yeah…let’s just say dragons take betrayl pretty darn serious. I think this snippet is fairly self-explanatory, especially since I’m not sure where it fits into the story’s timeline.
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Nikos was an idiot. This was one party he should not be crashing. The Mare Mascaradă was, to the vampires, as sacrosanct to the night kind as the Próti Ptísi was to the dragon clans. Still, when he’d discovered that Sinjen intended to bring Sade and introduce her to the Nysferanti court. If he was caught, the Nysferanti would be well within their rights to not only demand his death but to wage war against the Clans. He was the Drakon of Clan Kholikikos.
Pulling his glamour tightly around him, he stayed to the shadows of the upper promenade. Had his information been false? The ball was half done. The new vampires had been presented to the Vampyre Conclave. The more brutal events were over, the survivors of the blood games standing sentry around the perimeter.
What was it about the infuriating human that drew him so? It was a fascination that could be considered a betrayal if he went to far. Risking war by his presence was bad enough. To take her to mate would be to commit the ultimate perfidy. His Archon would demand his head and his hoard. Yes, he wanted to bed the woman, and claim her, but not as his mate. Bad enough that her emerald eyes reminded him of the jewel he coveted most, but the woman herself? She was…unique.
The crowd stirred, pulling his attention to the polished floor of ebony wood where masked dancers whirled in a kaleidoscope of colors. The massive doors opened at the hands of liveried attendants. The vampires were as bad the fae when it came to pomp and ceremony. The male entering drew his gaze immediately. Kristian St. John had been a warrior—a Templar knight. He’d sacrificed his life during one of the insufferable religious wars waged by humans only to discover that he’d been turned by the master vampire, Mathias De Vries.
Sinjen was tall for his age. Nikos choked back his humor. While his glamour would hide his form, it did not blanket sound. In the Twelfth Century, men were not tall. The vampire would have stood head and shoulders above his peers at the time. His dark hair and eyes the color of sapphires set in a face of sculpted planes turned heads of both sexes. He wore the black tuxedo like he’d been born to the garment. So many of the Nysferanti reveled in the formal attire of the past. Nikos had to give Sinjen props for not bowing to tradition.
But where was Sade? He stepped closer to the balustrade, leaned around the massive polished marble column he’d used to shadow his form, seeking her. She wasn’t there. He sought out Sinjen—who was staring up at him. Their gazes collided. Sinjen held out his hand. A gloved hand slipped into it. Nikos jerked his eyes to the glorious woman who could claim him if he let down his guard. The red satin dress caressed her long, lean body with loving care. Her hair was bound in a severe twist held by emerald combs.
Nikos swallowed hard. He was salivating like a dragonet stealing his first jewel. Sinjen’s eyes remained on him as the damnable man led the treasure that was Sade Marquis onto the dance floor. Music swelled. A tango. As he watched them dance, he realized that he could betray his kind to own this woman. It was time to go before he lost all honor.
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Will Nikos betray himself as well as his race? Only the shadow know. 😉 In the meantime, do any of you want to betray your character and post some betrayal words here?
Silver James 