The Last Keeper Read Free Page B

coming.
    As he turned to face me, excusing himself from his conversation, the first things I noticed were the cane he used to support himself and the hand resting atop it. It must have been why he hadn’t been drafted. He leaned heavily upon the cane, though I couldn’t see why. His hand clutched it repeatedly as he moved forward, as though his entire weight were resting there. I stared at him, taking in his short blond hair, gunmetal grey eyes, the nicely defined muscles under his shirt, his close to six-foot frame . . . every inch of him.  
    When our stares met, I was left without words.  
    Never before had I been rendered speechless. Standing before me was the reason I hadn’t slept in months. He was why I was here, and every part of me knew it in that second.  
    The room faded away until there was nothing left. It was there in his eyes, that feeling, that need . . .
    “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Miss Cardea.” He smiled, striking me dumb once more. He didn’t extend his hand as everyone else had. It was resting atop the cane, and I got the impression he needed it more than he would like.
    “Serenity,” I managed to whisper, reluctantly tearing my gaze away.
    “I’m sorry?”  
    “Serenity, my name. Miss Cardea is so formal.” My voice was hardly audible, and it barely held as I forced the words out of my mouth.
    “Would you do me the honour of dancing with me, Serenity?” he asked, smiling.
    “I . . .” Could I say no? I didn’t want to. But I needed to. I needed to get out, to clear my head and think about what had happened. “I’m sorry, but I’m not feeling very well. Would you please excuse me?”
    Without waiting for an answer, I blindly turned away and searched for Helen. I found her chatting quietly with some of the gossip-hungry wives.  
    “I won’t be home tonight.”  
    She looked towards me, startled by my sudden appearance. “Aunt Sere, is everything all right?” Her voice was only a whisper.  
    Clearly I appeared as rattled as I felt. It was a rare occasion when Helen resorted to calling me “aunt.”
    “No.” I didn’t bother to elaborate; I just walked out of the dance and left it all behind.  
    How could I feel so dumbfounded, yet so at ease with a person this quickly? Something about Ray Synclair had shaken me to my core. In the depths of my heart I recognised the feeling. I had recognised it the second our eyes met. The feeling of not being able to look away, of losing all sense of self.  
    I had found my weakness, my mate. The one thing in the world that would make me happy beyond compare.  
    And the one thing that would ultimately destroy me . . .

It was one of those rare occasions when I hoped for trouble. It wasn’t something I found on a regular basis, but being in the city, so close to one of The Seats, I was sure to find some.  
        Vampires tended to gather near them, hoping to be the next in a long line of hangers-on. They were mostly lackeys who were sent on menial errands, never actually part of the main goings on, but close enough to feel the rush of power. Any of them would be eager for a chance.  
      I was betting on someone, anyone, getting on the wrong side of me—anything to distract me from my thoughts of Ray Synclair.  
    The entire time I wandered, I berated myself for leaving him there, in the same room as one of the most notorious vampires in the world. Surely he would be safe; there were far too many people around for her to try anything, but . . .  
    Stop it.  
    I was overthinking everything. Of course nothing would happen to him. He would be perfectly fine surrounded by the people at the hall. No doubt some other woman would want to dance with him, and though the thought made me want to return to ensure that didn’t happen, it caused me to wonder. Exactly how had he planned on dancing with me? Surely that cane of his would hamper any such attempts.  
    There were so many questions I wanted to ask him when I saw