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“Stalwart in her beliefs.” He nodded. “Anywhere else, in other circumstances…it would be an honorable trait. A family trait she could be proud of, but if it weren’t for you…” He trailed off. If Mina hadn’t shown so much love for the girl, he would’ve murdered her on the spot for her venom. His kingdom was built on acceptance. Everyone was welcome in Nilumaria so long as they harmed none.
“Aria never knew her family,” Mina said, narrowing her eyes. “But you speak as though you knew them.”
“The Van Helsing family and I have a long and unfortunate history,” he said, looking toward the fireplace.
“What do you mean?” She asked, following as he crossed the room to sit in one of the leather chairs before the hearth.
“A few centuries ago, I ran into a man named Abraham Van Helsing,” he said, sinking into his favorite seat. “He pretended to be my friend, pretended to appreciate what I wanted for my kingdom, though I wasn’t king yet, of course. Then when the night came that my transformation into…” he gestured vaguely at his own person. “This…he tried to kill me and failed. I was too strong, but rather than kill him I left him alive. Which would prove to be one of the worst mistakes I’ve ever made.”
She curled up in the seat opposite him and frowned. An expression that turned her soft lips into a ruby red pout. “Why do I get the sense Abraham didn’t take his failure lightly?”
Erik laughed once, his eyes drifting to stare into the fire. “He didn’t, not at all. When he failed the Old King cursed his family to live in eternal damnation until their bloodline died out, or I turned to ash.”
From the corner of his eye, he saw Mina’s eyebrows rise. He had no doubt she could put the pieces together. That her friend was bound to hate him, and she would suffer for eternity simply because he still lived.
“What…” she swallowed audibly. “What happened to Abraham?”
Erik closed his eyes as the memory pushed its way to the surface of his mind. “He got smarter. He kidnapped Evangeline. Put her at the top of a burning tower in the countryside, and…”
He shuddered and sat up raking his fingers through his hair. “I tried to save her, but I was foolish. I let him goad me, and I lost her. She burned in that tower, and because he took what mattered most to me, I took what mattered to him.”
“And what was that?” Mina asked, her voice quiet.
Erik pressed his lips together, and then looked up to meet her eye. “His humanity.”
Mina winced and turned her eyes to the fire. “As much as I’d like to claim the moral high ground, I can’t say I would’ve done anything different were I in your shoes.”
“Making him a vampire was the only fate I could conceive of for him that would be worse than death,” he said, swallowing the second half of his punishment. Mina didn’t need to know how he’d killed the man’s wife. That creature wasn’t him anymore. He’d done it in a fit of rage.
“A fitting punishment then.” She nodded.
Erik chuckled. “You’re always surprising me. Not many women would understand my choices.”
Mina laughed, and hoisted herself out of her chair, crossing the space between them to straddle his lap. She scratched her nails over his scalp, sliding her fingers through the loose curls at the back of his neck. “I love you, Erik. Of course, I understand.”
He smiled and cupped her face as she leaned in to kiss him deeply. He whispered against her lips. “I love you too.”
