Sacrifice of the Septimus: Part 1 (Afterlife saga Book 7) by Stephanie Hudson
“It’s the venue.”
“Okay,” he said, obviously not expecting this.
“Well you know its late notice and well I am worried about…” He held up his hand to stop me and said what he thought I wanted to hear,
“Sweetheart, pick a place and I will buy it if need be.” I gave him a sheepish smile and said,
“Well I’ve kind of already picked a place and see the thing is…”
“Yes?”
“You already do own it.” He gave me a quizzical look, obviously trying to figure out what I was saying before I said it.
“I gather you don’t mean here at the club, so that only leaves…” I waited and saw the second his eyes flashed purple that he knew what place I was thinking about.
“Witley court?”
“Yeah.”
“May I enquire why?” he asked and I knew it was now or never for my acting skills.
“Most of my family lives in England and I kind of always wanted to get married in my own country.”
“That makes sense but again I ask, why Witley Court? Because you know with mortals there it won’t look as it did for Pip’s party.” I grinned at him and how he wanted to give me this picture perfect wedding.
“I know, but it still holds good memories for me…especially a particular rooftop.” I winked at him, reminding him of how beautiful our reunion was that night but more than that…
“You wish to say our vows at the place I first asked you to marry me.” Draven looked deeply touched by this and I was left wondering why I thought he would even have an issue with it, so I clarified,
“It would mean flying everyone from here, out there…at short notice.”
“Done.” I grinned at how eager he was to give me this.
“And it will mean trying to get in the church there when they might already be fully booked.” I added only now thinking of this problem.
“Leave it to me.”
“And you’re sure you don’t mind?”
“I think it’s a wonderful idea and one close to our hearts, why would I not be sure.” On hearing this, I threw my arms around him, hugged him tight and said,
“Thank you, Dominic.” Knowing that my gratitude would hold its weight even more by calling him by his first name, something I rarely ever did.
“Of course I am not gentlemanly enough not to take advantage of this gratitude and insist you show me…in bed.” He said winking at me, making me blush.
“You’re an incorrigible flirt, you know that.”
“Around you, can you blame me?” I scoffed at this and then warned him,
“They are going to start calling you the Mad Rampant King!”
“I do hope so, for that would be my favourite so far.”
“Been called many things, have we?”
“Oh you know, just the usual things, The Conqueror, The Great, The Noble and let’s not forget The Holy.” I burst out laughing when he wagged his eyebrows at me for this last one.
“The Holy! Well certainly not in this bedroom!” We quickly found ourselves carried away in this conversation and it was only when the clock started chiming that I realised we would be late. I jumped off the couch like we were naughty teenagers who had just been caught necking by my parents. Draven made a rumbling protest, trying to pull me back to him to finish what we had started.
“Come on, come on, we have to go or we will be late!” Just then my phone rang and I knew it would be Libby.
“Hey, I’m sorry we are…”
“You haven’t left yet?” my sister asked, sounding stressed out.
“No, sorry but I swear…”
“Oh thank God!” she said interrupting me again from my excuses.
“Libs? What’s up?” I was getting concerned now.
“Can you bring some food with you?” I rolled my lips in to stop from laughing.
“You burned the dinner, didn’t you?”
“Ssshh, don’t say it out loud!” she said, whisper shouting it.
“Why not?”
“Because Dom will hear you.” I laughed at this and reminded her,
“Libs, if you want me to buy food then it’s kind of a given that he will know about it, seeing as he will be with me when we drive to get takeout.”
“Bugger! I didn’t think about that…can’t you just say that I needed some ingredients and then when you get here you help me cook?” Libby’s whiny voice pleaded with me down the phone and I couldn’t help but laugh again knowing that a) when Libby asked me to help her cook, what she was really saying was, could I cook and b) Draven could hear this entire conversation anyway.
“Right fine, what were you making?”
“Spaghetti Bolognese.” I had to laugh again.
“Spaghetti Bolognese?”
“And Garlic bread!” She added defensively.
“You mean the frozen type.”
“Well yeah, but it’s still hard to get right.”
“Not if you don’t leave it in the oven too long or set the temp too high.” I told her, wondering how anyone couldn’t just shove something in the oven without burning the crap out of it.
“And what went wrong with the Bolognese?”
“Well I made it just like you used to, but then all this orange fat floated on top and I tried to scrape it off but then half of it fell down the sink when I tried to drain it and…”
“Okay, okay, I will make the dinner but no more as you are killing me here.” I said as I was nearly doubled over, laughing so hard.
“Thank you, thank you, thank you! Oh and can you make homemade garlic bread, oh and salad in case people want that…oh, oh and that chocolate cake I love so much, ta, see you soon! Oh and don’t forget that I invited your friends, so you’re cooking for eight people…okay bye!” She said, quickly hanging up and leaving me slightly bewildered as now I wasn’t just making dinner for four, I was now making a two course meal for eight…and who was the eight anyway?
“That sounded painful,” Draven commented smirking.
“Well just call me Cinderella, the shoe obviously fits,” I said sarcastically, making Draven laugh.
“Come on Cinders, let’s go shopping.” I rolled my eyes as Draven led me out the door, with me asking,
“So who are the other four…oh…?”
“Are we ready to go?” Sophia asked the second we walked out the bedroom door to find the ‘four’ waiting for us.
“I’m so excited! We’ve never been to a mortal dinner party, have we hunka?” Pip was jumping about excitedly causing the colourful gift bags looped around her wrist to shake around.
“You bought gifts?” was strangely the first thing I asked.
“Just a few, you know for baby Ella.” I laughed shaking my head when I noticed Sophia was also holding a bag behind her.
“You too?” She grinned and lifted up her flower patterned bag saying,
“Guilty.”
“Kid’s gonna be spoiled rotten with you lot around.” It was at this point that Draven cleared his throat and I looked back at him to see that the girls weren’t the only soppy gift givers.
“And you?!” I said as Draven revealed his own wrapped present which had been tucked away in his jacket.
“Also guilty.” I faked a groan and said,
“You do realise her birthday is months away…right?”
“Yeah but which kid doesn’t like getting presents?” Sophia argued and Pip jumped in with,
“Yeah, I love getting presents!”
“See, I rest my case.” I laughed at Sophia’s comment and then looked at Adam and Zagan, who both lifted up bottles of wine and Zagan said,
“No presents, just wine.”
“Me too,” Adam said making Pip rat him out on a laugh,
“No, but you did help me pick the toys!” He gave me a grin and shrugged his shoulders before informing me,
“Don’t worry I kept her clear of getting anything that fired from cannons. It’s all age related and safe.” This made
“Okay, let’s go but first I have to buy food.”
“I thought your sister was cooking?” Sophia asked and one look from me said it all.
“She burned it again, didn’t she?”
“Yes, that and accidently tipped half of it down the sink.” I told her as we made our way to the main entrance of the club.
“She should have made Chop Suey, a lot safer.” Pip commented shaking her head in total seriousness.
“Pip, if it’s near an open flame then it will never escape the calamity which is my sister in the kitchen…trust me on that, I have witnessed it all.” The rest of them chuckled behind me and Draven took my hand in his so he could kiss the back of it as we walked.
We got down to the large car park situated at the front of Afterlife to find a Limo and a shiny new sports car waiting for us.
“Please tell me we are riding in that.” I said as my mouth dropped at the red beauty in front of us.
“But of course, Sweetheart” Draven purred in my ear and the doors automatically opened upwards as he approached, making it look more like a bird ready to take flight.
“How cool” I whispered once again, feeling a bit like I was married to a supernatural James Bond.
“We will meet you there,” I told the others before they seated themselves inside the limo.
“What car is this?” I asked as I folded myself inside.
“It’s a Spyker C8 Aileron and they are custom built, usually to meet the customer’s needs.”
“And let me guess, your needs were for you to feel as though you were flying a fighter jet in space?” I asked, regarding the finest bespoke diamond cut leather and aluminium plating on the dash that gave it a steampunk, rocket ship vibe. It even had a red cover you had to flick up to flip the ignition switch, as if starting an aeroplane.
“No, they all come like this…but it might just add to one of the reasons I bought it.”
“And the other?” I asked and suddenly he flipped the switch, activating the dashboard to light up as if doing a ‘pre-flight check’ before he pressed the start button.
“It does nearly 200 miles per hour!” he said grinning as the V8 engine roared to life and before I knew it, I was screaming as he spun the car round in a doughnut and we were off like a bullet from a gun.
“Draven! Slow down!” I shouted making him laugh before bringing it back down, doing a reasonable speed (for him) as soon as we got onto the main road.
“Made you gulp.” he teased and I growled at him.
“I will never forget that day you shouted at me for speeding and stormed out of the car.” I did the same and also thought back to that day. It felt like an age ago and I remembered arguing my point that I wasn’t immortal. Draven had seemed so sure that nothing would have happened to me and that he wouldn’t let something as unimportant as my mortality get in the way of being with me forever.
I wished now more than ever to believe in his old words. But the difference now was staring me in the face with every decision I made without him.
I knew the truth and nothing could save me from it.
“Remind me never take you on the back of a horse! I don’t think your delicate constitution would take it,” he said, bringing me out of my sombre thoughts.
“Oi, less of the delicate constitution thank you very much. I will have you know I am a lot hardier since back then, as two trips to Hell will put hair on anyone’s chest.”
“I would get that looked at, because I might be wrong but I don’t think that’s where hair should be on a woman. Now in between her lush wet thighs then…” I smacked him on the arm, unable to keep the smile from my face as I faked being serious.
“Try to keep your mind on driving, Draven and not on how trim I am down there, besides are you saying you wouldn’t love me if I had a hairy chest?” I asked crossing my arms over my, thankfully non hairy chest.
“But of course I would… I would just buy shares in wax strips.” He muttered this last part and I burst out laughing.
“Well lucky for you they are not on my shopping list for this evening.” I added, this time making him chuckle.
We pulled into the supermarket parking lot and the looks we received were priceless. Of course, one look at the sports car and everyone knew who was in the driver’s seat and like that day when Draven picked me up at the cinema, people started taking pictures. It was like being with a famous actor and I turned to him and asked,
“Does it bother you?” He looked at what I was referring to and asked back,
“What this?” then he nodded to the window where people held up their phones to snap quick pictures.
“Yeah.”
“No.” It was a simple answer without any reason given.
“Want to elaborate on that.” I said on a laugh.
“I am a private person it’s true, but living amongst the mortal world for as long as I have and you get used to certain aspects that a person of position is bound to attract. It is simply the curious nature of your kind.”
“Says the man who stalked me.” I commented ironically.
“I don’t remember you getting the police involved or filing a report.” He countered grinning.
“Hey I didn’t say I minded.” He winked at me and said,
“No, I thought not.”
“So has it always been like this?” I asked not letting it go.
“Yes, in some form or another. Don’t forget, I have lived many mortal lives, Keira.”
“You mean fake lives?” He gave me a raised eyebrow after pulling into a space big enough to fit us.
“What?! You have always been Dominic Draven to your world.” The look he gave me was one I couldn’t place but if I had to guess it looked as though he was trying to figure out where my line of questioning was heading.
“I have always been their king, but one with many names.”
“You don’t like to talk about it?” I questioned as he frowned when answering.
“The past has no hold on me.”
“What do you mean?”
“Why would I look to a past without you in it, when I have a whole future ahead of me with you by my side?”
I smiled at him but inside…
I was dying.
Chapter 18
For Family
“Well, that was certainly eventful.” I commented on a laugh, knowing there were still tears in my eyes from laughing at Draven so hard. It turned out that even given the amount of fake mortal lives Draven had lived he had still never gone to a Supermarket shopping for food before. In fact, it was kind of like Draven was getting his own back on the amount of questions I had asked in the past, getting them all out in just the thirty minutes we were in there. Even walking down the sweet aisle felt like taking a child to his first toy shop. Surprisingly, it turned out that Draven had a sweet tooth and I had to stop him from picking up one of everything, his excuse being, of course, little Ella.
“I think if you turn up with nothing but candy for Ella my sister will have a fit!” I had told him and then had to explain what colours in sweets did to kids.
“But why blue?” I had stopped the trolley at this point and burst out laughing.
“Draven, can you tell me, in all your worldly wisdom, how much blue food you have ever come across?” He opened his mouth to speak and I beat him to it,
“Other than blueberries!” This was when he snapped his mouth shut and had another think about it.
“There are purple blue potatoes,” he said smirking, thinking he had got one over me.
“No there aren’t!” I argued knowing he was trying to tease me.
“Are you calling me a liar?” he mocked placing his hand on his heart as if he had been shot.
“So you’re telling me honestly that there are purple blue potatoes in the world?” I asked p
“That’s what I am telling you, sweetheart,” he whispered seductively down at me and it became obvious that he cared little for all the onlookers who were staring at us.
“I don’t believe you.” I challenged and he snapped his jaws at my nose barely missing it and I gave a little shriek.
“Umm, we shall see,” he said, then he left me leaning back against the trolley to catch my breath.
“Get a grip Keira, he’s your husband, just remember that.” I muttered to myself for acting as if he was some gorgeous hottie I didn’t know, chatting me up in the supermarket.
Then after this came the wine section which I admitted trying to avoid because I could only imagine what was coming next. Draven cursed down the whole aisle in different languages and by the time we got to the end he was on the phone to someone, making sure a few bottles from his private reserve were going to be at Libby’s house before we got there. The whole time I refrained from calling him a snob and telling him how I actually enjoyed the cheap stuff, being quite partial to a bottle of Mateus Rose wine, so I sneaked in a bottle. The look of disgust I received at the checkout from Draven was priceless and worth sneaking it in just for that!
Which brought us to now and me nearly in tears from watching a mighty supernatural king like Draven fighting with a shopping trolley when trying to get it back into its bay with all the others.
“Stupid contraption.” Draven muttered in reply to my obvious amusement. Shortly after this we were soon pulling up to the house and it sounded like there was a party going on inside. Draven and I looked at each other and said what we thought was the cause at the same time,
“Pip”
“Pip.” It was quickly confirmed when I pushed the door open, knowing no one would hear if I knocked, and saw Pip had Ella in the air pretending she was a fighter pilot and she was firing on all her new toys which still had half the wrappers on. Adam was in front on all fours pretending to be a monster, of all things, one that Pip and Ella were pretending to fire at.