A Million Reasons [ S. SALVATORE ]

CHAPTER ELEVEN

          Adelaide understands what Katherine is, possible more than any lover could hope to. She's the snake that deceived Eve in the garden. She's the siren luring men into the water, men who love her even as they drown, even as she holds their head under. And Adelaide can feel when she walks into the room. The temperature seems to drop as every fine hair stands to attention and chills roll down her spine. Adelaide doesn't need to see Katherine to know when her lips are smirking, hiding the weapons that show every time she smiles.

But Adelaide won't sit until Stefan finds her, she won't settle or grow comfortable. She's not here for Katherine. So, Adelaide refuses to join her at the small table used to accompany guests and stays in place by the window, watching rain slide down the glass, watching the trees shudder with the force of the wind. She can see her reflection, a disheveled woman with rain damp hair, lips parted as she holds her breath, eyes wild as she finds the words to say.

         "I requested an audience with Stefan," is the first thing she tells Katherine, hoping that he'll feel her say his name. To see him again after knowing all boundaries between them have lifted would be a pleasure she was always too afraid to dream of. Now it's just within reach, now it's real. Katherine remains the only barrier and even she feels like a ghost of a threat. After all, Stefan said he loved Adelaide. He spent the night in her bed, whispered her name in her ear, kissed her as a husband. More than a husband, a lover. Stefan was and always will be hers alone, Adelaide knows that know. And she thinks Katherine knows it too.

          "Yes, he's a bit busy at the moment. I told him that I'd keep you company while you wait," Katherine says with all the charm that Adelaide lacked. Still, there's an unusual edge to her tone, just barely detectable but still there. It's enough to make Adelaide wonder if Katherine knows. Did she notice Stefan's absence that night, did she creep into his room only to find it empty? Could she smell Adelaide on his skin? Every primal instinct that she may still posses comes to life, urging her to run. But Adelaide has come too far to turn back now.

          "I don't mind waiting alone," she says but the room grows smaller and Katherine remains firmly in place. There's a tea pot in her hands, steam rising from the spout as she pours. Always the goddam tea. It's what ladies do. It's a ruse. Katherine likes to play host, but Adelaide has no time for it, not anymore.

          "Would you like some tea?" Katherine asks as if she hadn't heard Adelaide speak at all. "It's still fresh."

          "No, thank you," she replied through gritted teeth. "I don't like to drink alone."

          "How do you take it?" Katherine continues. She moves on to the second cup, preparing it for Adelaide despite her protests. "With vervain?"

          It's enough to make Adelaide's heart skip. Such a simple thing, said so easily that she fears she might have misheard her. So flippantly that Katherine may have been asking about sugar rather than the herb that acts as a poison for her kind. It's more than a simple formality. It's the acknowledgment that Katherine knows. Vampires haunt the town and Adelaide knows that Katherine is one of them.

          Adelaide breathes deeply and makes a choice.

          "Always," she says more lightly than she feels, and by doing so, she shows her hand just as Katherine had. There is no more skirting around the truth. And Adelaide refuses to be intimidated by Katherine. She may have taken the name of another, but she's still her father's child. It's in her blood, it makes her stand tall. It's the sudden rush that keeps her hands from trembling and clears her mind. Her very birth prepared her for this confrontation, a destiny that she's fought against for her entire life.