Much Ado About Vampires

team with you , Beloved.

I smiled, all warm and fuzzy inside at the emotion behind the words.

“Yes, we can see that you mean business,” Christian said, taking his own sweet time to finish his conversation before turning back to us. He made a dismissive gesture. “You’re free to go.”

I gawked at him for a minute. “Both of us?” I asked, just to make sure I was understanding him correctly.

“Both of you.” He gave a pointed look toward the mass of people at the door. “I’d be appreciative if you took your lich army with you.”

“We’re not really an army,” Jane said quickly. “We’re fully unionized, so that each member can feel he or she is an important part of our family.”

“Wait. . . . You’re letting us go?” Alec laughed again as I shook my head. “You’re really that worried about the liches?”

“On the contrary, with all due respect to the lich union, they are nothing more than an annoyance.”

I thought for a moment. “Is it because Sally is helping us? Did she threaten you guys?”

“Sally?” Christian frowned. “Do I know of a Sally?”

“I mentioned her earlier,” the messenger said with a dark look toward me.

“Ah, her.” Christian’s eyes widened for a moment. “No, it is not the threat of the—” He bit off the word with a look toward the liches. “It is not due to her that we have released Alec.”

I looked at the love of my life. “Did they just come to their senses?”

“Something like that,” he said, kissing me again.

“I didn’t need to rouse the liches?”

“No. If you’d stayed put, I would have been back there by now, and it all would have been taken care of.”

I smacked him on the chest. “Dammit, I hate being left out of things. What did you do to get them to let up on you?”

“He helped rid the mortal world of Bael,” Christian answered. “That, along with continued petitions by Kristoff and Pia, have been deemed as suitable punishment for the acts of the past.”

“But . . . I thought you guys didn’t mind Bael? I mean, wasn’t there some sort of a pact you had with him?”

“One he honored only when he felt like it,” Christian said with a wry twist to his lips. “Bael was a danger to us, as well as mortals.”

“Oh. So we really can go?”

“Yes.” This time he did smile. “Although Allegra would like to meet you. She enjoys meeting other Beloveds. If you decide to stay in Vienna, I would be happy to introduce you to her, perhaps over dinner.”

I looked from him to Alec. “The man who put you in the Akasha to die wants to do dinner.”

“We would be delighted,” Alec said politely, pinching my behind as I tried to wrap my brain around this sudden change in the situation.

Dammit, Alec, I was all prepared to fight for you!

I know you were, and I appreciate that. But there is no need. I had a feeling that once the council realized that you were instrumental in ridding the mortal and immortal worlds of Bael, they would look kindly upon my case, since they could not damn you to any punishment they wished to mete out upon me.

If you thought that, I said as Alec bowed his good-byes and gently herded me toward the doorway full of liches, then why did you not take me with you?

Ah, he said, somewhat abashed, there was the issue of you having the messenger removed from Abaddon. I simply wished to ensure that they weren’t going to make a case out of that before I brought you here.

“From now on, we tackle trouble together, OK?” I told him as we stopped in front of the mass of liches. “It’s what couples do.”

“So long as it doesn’t endanger you, yes,” he said as Jane shooed her liches out the door ahead of her. We followed behind her.

“Not acceptable. Oh, by the way, we owe Jane a whole ton of money for portalling everyone here to save your butt.”

“You portalled all the liches? ” he asked, looking horrified as his eyes roamed over the stream of bodies moving their way down the stairs and out of the house.

“You said you were rich, and I had to do something to save you,” I muttered to him.

“Comfortable, mi corazon. I’m comfortable, not rich.”

I shot him a look.

“All right, I’m relatively wealthy. But still, you couldn’t have had them take the train?”

“A lich army doesn’t ride a train,” I scoffed, my heart singing a song of lightness and happiness, one that would be suitable for the end of a Disney movie, the kind where birds sing, squirrels dance with chipmunks, and the hero and heroine gaze swooningly at each other.

The squirrels and chipmunks have gone to bed, Alec said, his eyes alight with a familiar glint. But I will tell you how much I love you if it makes you look swoonily at me.

I would, but there’s still that one concern. That de Marco guy—why did he want Ulfur to lock you away? Do you think he had some evil plans for you?

Possibly.

And what about Brother Ailwin? He seemed pretty pissed at us. I wouldn’t put it past him to try to get revenge for the fact that I’m no longer a Tool. Man, I have got to stop saying that!

He laughed into my brain and, as we reached the street, pulled me up tight against his body, his breath mingling with mine just as our souls seemed to do. My love, my heart, all will be well. Let go of those concerns, and give yourself up to your happy ending with your prince.

“You are so not a prince,” I said, punching him in the shoulder as he scooped me up and carried me down the street to where one of those horse-drawn carriages that drove tourists around Vienna was slowly making its way. He yelled something in German at the driver, who obligingly stopped. “You’re an annoyingly arrogant bloodsucker who thinks he’s going to get his way in everything, and you’re dead wrong there, Alec. I mean it. Stop thinking that you’re going to let me believe I can have my way but you’ll secretly have yours anyway. Alec! You just did it again! Oooh, with the silk rope? Really? That sounds . . . oooh! All right, maybe you can have your way about that, although the feathers and leg restraints are just downright kinky. . . .”

My Heart Will Go On and On

Enjoy Katie MacAlister’s bonus short story

“My Heart Will Go On and On”

featuring Cora and Alec!

Monday

Six p.m.

“What do you see, Corazon?”

“Um. Mud.” I sensed the hypnotherapist’s disapproval of my answer, and qualified it. “Well, mud and grass and stuff like that. But mostly just mud.”