“Is that why you think I’m doing this—?” He clenched his teeth shut and his brow furrowed. Then he looked away and nodded. “Of course. Yes. I think it is best that we say our good-byes now.”
“Fine.” I pressed my lips together and nodded. “But will you answer one last question from me before I go?”
He studied me for a moment and turned away. “Anything.”
I took a deep breath. “I want to know what really happened with Nicolai’s wife.”
He froze in place. “Who told you of that?”
“Does it matter?”
“Nicolai spoke to you alone before he left. I should have known this.” He turned back to face me, his expression cold. “The fact that you would ask me about this makes me believe you already know all too well.”
“Hearsay. People tell me lots of things about you, Thierry. Ever since we met. Am I supposed to believe their stories, or get it from the subject himself?”
“How would you know whom to believe?”
“I would make that decision once I have all the facts.”
“What did Nicolai tell you of Elizabeth ?”
“That she was wonderful, that he loved her more than life itself, and when he turned his back you ripped out her throat. In a nutshell.”
He let out a bark of laughter. “My, that is the short version. And did you believe him?”
I swallowed. “Being that it was right after this,” I touched my neck, “I wasn’t sure what to believe.”
“And now?”
“I’m still not sure.”
“Then you’re a very foolish woman. Because it’s true. I was responsible for Elizabeth ’s unfortunate end.
To believe otherwise would be naive.”
I suddenly had to struggle to breathe. “You drained her.”
His gaze rested briefly on my neck before he looked away. “Yes.”
“But you couldn’t control it. It’s not like you did it on purpose.”
He shook his head and looked at me as if I were a five-year-old who wouldn’t learn her lesson. “The extenuating circumstances mean nothing. It is my fault that Elizabeth died so long ago. It haunts me to this very day. The moment I feel that I am free of it I am reminded—” his gaze flicked to my neck again “—reminded that there is a monster inside me capable of something heinous and uncontrollable.”
“But you were able to stop with me.”
“Barely. And it was the same with Elizabeth . When I tore myself away from her, she ran from me into the clutches of hunters waiting outside the inn where I stayed. She had no chance. All I could do was stand by and watch her die.”
I frowned. “Hunters killed her?”
Thierry’s expression was tense and haunted. “No. I killed her. It is my fault. Had I not attacked her she never would have needed to run.”
Nicolai didn’t know this version of the story. I was positive he thought that Thierry had ended Elizabeth himself. God, this was too much to take. But Thierryhadn’t killed her. Hunters had. Why couldn’t he see that himself?
“Were you in love with her? With Elizabeth ?”
He frowned at me with an expression of confusion. “Of course not. She was Nicolai’s wife. At the time he was my closest friend. While he was away on business I had promised to keep an eye on her, make sure she was all right. Elizabeth was only a fledgling, having a difficult time with the transition from human to vampire. The nights proved long for her and her love for Nicolai was unfortunately not as deep as her love for his thick wallet. When he was gone for many months on Ring business, she became lonely.”
“She threw herself at you.”
“In a manner of speaking.”
“Where was Veronique?”
He shrugged. “I don’t recall. InEurope somewhere.”
“So you had an affair with this woman.”
He seemed uncomfortable with my continual questions. “She was my friend’s wife. I respected that. But that was her goal. One night when I was alone, she . . . attempted to seduce me.”
I felt a sharp twinge of jealousy. “Oh.”
“I had not had blood for some time. I was old enough by then that I could go without it entirely if I chose to, but I was still hungry. She wanted me to bite her. And . . . it happened. And I lost control. I took too much and she is now dead because of me.”
“Why didn’t you tell Nicolai the whole story?”
He sat down behind his desk. “The whole story is not much better than what he has believed for all these years.”
“That his best friend killed his wife?”
“It doesn’t matter now.”
“So that’s why you quit the Ring?”
“Yes. It was best that I removed myself from his presence. From everyone’s presence. I have kept to myself since then. It has been a century since I have tasted another vampire’s blood.”
“Till the other night with me.”
“And now I see that I can never taste it again.” Our eyes met and I watched as his darkened a shade.
“And that will be very difficult.”
I felt a moment of fear from that look in his eyes, but it quickly faded into concern for him. “But not impossible.”
“You should leave now, Sarah. We’ve already said our good-byes, have we not?”
“Yes.” I swallowed. “But I want one last thing.”