The Last Guardian Rises (The Last Keeper's Daughter) Read Online Free

she kicked off her shoes – she was wearing blood red nail polish, which amused him – and tucked a leg underneath her. “Catherine was quick but the patrons quicker, and she couldn’t always avoid their hands. For hours I watched her carry ale back and forth between the tables. She never complained, smiled even at the nastiest of customers. Each night thereafter I would find myself sitting at one of her tables. There was a quiet acceptance I felt from her. It calmed the restlessness in me like she understood I needed to be there and not once did she ask why I never drank the ale I purchased. Over time her clear eyes dulled, and her gait slowed until she couldn’t avoid the grabbing hands. Her smile became fixed.”
    “You cared for her.”
    He ignored Lily’s comment and the surprise in her voice, perhaps she still thought he was incapable of feeling compassion. “The patrons thought me a nobleman and left me to my thoughts. One night a pickpocket decided I was an easy target. I played along and went with him out into the alleyway. I would get a quick meal and help rid the city of vermin. Unbeknownst to me Catherine had followed me outside, worried that I would be harmed.” He placed his hand on the arm of Lily’s chair. “Can you imagine? Barely fifteen years old, alone, losing her innocence under filthy, grunting men, and she comes to my defense.”
    Lily’s hand moved a fraction closer to his. “What happened?”
    “She saw what I am.”
    “You tranced her then?”
    “I did not.”
    “Why?”
    “I wanted her to run.” He didn’t add that if she had fled his nature would have taken over and he’d have fed from her. “Instead she stared down at the thief and then back up into my eyes. We stood there, watching one another for what seemed like hours, even to me, but was surely only seconds. When she spoke tears streamed down her face and her voice was whisper quiet.”
    “Catherine said, ‘I don’t want to die here.’”
    Krieger rose and distanced himself from Lily – her scent evoked images he need not think of now. Not knowing his inner conflict, Lily came to stand beside him. The bond intensified their emotions towards each other. He knew Lily was more relaxed, more open to him now that it was flowing between them again. 
    “She was afraid of you.”
    “No, not of me, but of the nightmare her life had become. Catherine wanted her last moments to be someplace beautiful and safe, like the village she grew up in before her parents’ death.”
    “And were they?”
    “Yes.” Krieger turned to face Lily. Slowly, so as not to spook her, he gently swept her hair back and rested his hand on her shoulder directly beneath his mark on her neck. “We came to this new world together. Without her I would have died on the voyage over. Her blood sustained me.”
    “You loved her.”
    In my way , he wanted to say, but knew it would cause undo questions. “Yes,” he answered.
    “She never wanted to become vampire?” Lily leaned her head towards his hand on her shoulder.
    His thumb ran across her collar bone, the bone he’d healed. “No. I wanted that for her, but Catherine wanted her legacy to be her children.”
    “Who became your Keepers.”
    Lightning illuminated his study and was quickly followed by a clap of thunder. The storm clouds opened and angrily pelted the windows with rain.
    “Why was Catherine in the city? I mean why did she leave her home in the country?”
    “Smallpox.” He opened his hand, covering her upper chest, his thumb and forefinger circling her neck. Lily’s eyes fluttered and closed for a heartbeat. “It swept through her village and killed her family. Her father owned a small plot of land with a house. When he died it went to the next living male relative, her uncle.”
    “Why not Catherine?” Her heart hammered against the heel of his palm. “Why her uncle? The uncle should have taken care of her.”
    “Yes, he should have, but he had a jealous wife who didn’t