Seduction in Blood

The tensions were high as they stood in the rain that pelted down on them like needles. Nikolas shook his head, Darrien and Ethan never got along even when they were humans back in the early 1800s. Ethan was always the attention seeking, risk taker. Darrien on the other hand was the polite, well mannered boy that kept to the corners of the room. The first time Nikolas had met Darrien was at the Delacroix’s Winery special opening. Their parents made some of the tastiest red wine in all of France back in those days. To bad neither of the brothers stuck around long enough to keep the family business running, however they did have some recipes at their estate.

“Who are you people?” Aria asked over the splattering raindrops. She was now standing beside Nikolas, looking at each and everyone of them. No one answered her, no one even looked at her. “This doesn’t make any sense! What happened to Johnny? Why did you bring me here?” Her bombardment of questions were all fired off at Darrien, who looked at her and shook his head. He wanted to answer her, but not while they were out in the rain. Aria looked to Ethan next, who snickered at his brother and shoved past him. He stood in front of Aria and gently stroked the little bit of hair from her face.

“So beautiful, it’s like you never left.” Ethan sighed softly and closed his eyes. Aria on the other hand stared at him in confusion. He lifted his gaze and they stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity. Taking in a shaky breath, Aria turned away from him and took a step back.

“I don’t know who this Clara person is, but she isn’t me.” Aria had her hand on her chest and looked to each of the three men. Nikolas looked over at Darrien, who was just staring at Aria like he didn’t know how to respond to her. Ethan on the other hand only smirked and turned on his heels to look back at Darrien. “Why won’t any of you tell me what’s going on?” Aria hissed, showing her true anger.

“Let’s get out of the rain and then we can talk,” Nikolas suggested.

“I’m not going anywhere with any of you!” Aria shouted over a clap of thunder. Nikolas looked up at the sky and glanced over at Darrien. He nodded once and looked at Aria. She looked back at him and felt her eyes beginning to droop. “No! Stop it!” Aria broke eye contact and shook off the spell Darrien was trying to put on her.

“She learns quick,” Ethan remarked with a chuckle. “Just like Clara before her.”

“Forgive me, Aria.” Nikolas came up behind her and place his hand on her shoulder. Her body went numb and before she could even speak, her vision blacked out. Holding her up, Nikolas put his arms under her knees and behind her back to pick her up. “I’ll see you both at the mansion.” With those words he was gone, leaving only two black feathers fluttering in his wake.


Aria groaned and put her hand to her head. She felt really dizzy like she was hungover from a crazy party. When she sat up and opened her eyes, she looked around and scowled in annoyance. She managed to get away and now she was right back where she started. Pulling the blankets off her body, she found herself in a red silk nightie. Rolling her eyes, she swung her legs off the bed and felt the wooden floor beneath her bare feet. Walking towards the door, she reached for the door handle and yelped as it shocked her. Swallowing hard, Aria looked at her hand and back to the door handle. Slowly reaching forward, Aria reached for the door handle and once again was shocked. Gritting her teeth, Aria hissed in pain and shook her hand.

“What the hell?” Aria snapped, stepping away from the door.

“I will open the door for you if you promise not to run,” a female voice came from the other side of the door. Aria furrowed her brows and took in a sharp breath. “Do you promise?”

“Why can’t I open the door?” Aria asked quickly, completely ignoring the girl’s request. She heard the girl mumble something and then the doorknob twisted. As the door came open slowly, Aria was about to run, but could not get past the threshold of the door. Narrowing her eyes, Aria glared at the small maid standing right in front of her. “Well no point in opening the door if I can’t get out.”

“I can undo the spell if you promise me not to run.” Aria looked at the small girl in front of her, she was the same maid from the foyer. The maid sighed softly and eyed Aria for what seemed like hours. She had big brown eyes and curled hair, she looked different than before. She wore the same clothing as before, but she seemed a bit more evil or mythical. “So will you run or not?” the curly haired girl pressed.

“I won’t run,” Aria announced.

“You promise?” the maid asked once more, narrowing her eyes at Aria.

“Yes.” Aria nodded.

“Say that you promise not to run,” she said, sounding dark and defensive. Aria furrowed her brows and sighed softly. “I need you to say those words to me.”

“I promise not to run,” Aria repeated sternly.

“Follow me,” the girl said, gesturing with a wave of her hand. “And if you run, I will imprison you here forever.” Aria hesitated for a moment, but followed. When she walked through the door and into the hallway, she turned back to look at the room and shook her head. That young girl was not just any girl, there was something powerful and scary about her.

This time around, Aria was able to observe her surroundings. The hall was by far one of the most beautiful and extravagant she had ever seen in her life. Inside the main hallway there were tall vaulted ceilings, huge crystal clear windows, perfectly polished marble flooring, and lovely paintings that looked like the belonged in some art museum. They arrived at the large staircase that was open to the foyer below. Aria watched the young girl trot down the stairs and placed her hand on the smooth golden plated railings that was in a lovely vine like design. Overhead were several circular windows allowing the natural lighting to illuminate the room. Aria stopped to admire the beauty of the mansion and sighed softly as she began to venture down the stairs.

“Very French,” Aria mumbled under her breath.

“The Delacroix family is from France,” the young maid said. “My name is Leila and I am suppose to take care of you during your stay here.” Aria nodded as Leila introduced herself and stopped in front of some double doors just a few feet away from the main entrance.

“And locking me into that room was taking care of me?” Aria shot back with a roll of her eyes. Leila ignored her statement and pushed the double doors open. Walking into the room, Aria saw that it was a game room with a pool table, two poker tables, an old school juke box in the far right corner, and a mini bar in the far back center of the room. There was a large window behind the bar and neon lights lined the ceiling in green, purple, and blue. It was like a retro bar in the middle of a gorgeous mansion.

“How do you feel, Aria?” Nikolas asked, sitting on a lounge couch to the left of the double doors. He had a laptop in front of him along with a atlas opened up to a map of Europe. Aria looked at him and shrugged her shoulders slightly. “I see you have met our resident maid/witch, Leila Harrison, I’m sorry she had to place a spell on your room, but it was the only way to ensure you would not take off again.”

“A witch? There are no such thing as witches.” Aria shook her head, fighting back her urge to laugh at how crazy he sounded. She now felt like she was definitely dreaming and would wake up soon. “I don’t know what kind of trick you were using up there, but I do not believe in witches or magic or anything of that sort.”

“You do not have to believe it for it to be real, my dear.” Nikolas stood up from the couch and shut his laptop. He walked over to Aria and eyed her for a few moments. She stared right back at him and crossed her arms over her chest, suddenly remembering she was in a very short, silk red nightie. “Would you like something to drink?” he asked, making his way across the room to the mini bar.

“Water,” Aria replied, walking after him. He went behind the bar and gestured for her to take a seat on the wooden bar stool. Smiling weakly, Aria propped herself up on the stool and placed her arms on the counter of the bar. “Why am I here?” Aria asked, searching for an answer in Nikolas’s face.

“Please let Darrien and Ethan know that Aria is awake, Leila.” Nikolas poured Aria a glass of water and Leila’s shoes clicked on the wooden floor as she left the room. “I think it would be best if you adjust to everything here before we explain the whole truth of your presence here.”

“The best way to find out if you can trust somebody is to trust them.” Aria smiled as Nikolas handed her a glass of water. Taking a sip, Aria put the glass down and looked to Nikolas who was trying not to laugh. “Do you know who said that?”

“Ernest Hemmingway,” Nikolas replied, pouring himself a glass of red wine. Aria nodded a few times and looked at the bottle of wine that Nikolas had opened. She noticed that the name on the bottle was Delacroix. “He was a fascinating man and pleasant company when drinking a glass of wine.” Aria furrowed her brows, the way Nikolas was talking made it seem like that he had personally known the man.

“He died back in 1961, how could you have ever known him? You barely look like you’re even twenty-six or twenty-seven years old.”

“I’m not the average man,” Nikolas replied, sipping on his wine. Aria suppressed a laugh and looked around the room. “I do apologize for what I did earlier.”

“Bringing me back here?” Aria asked with a small chuckle, brushing her hair behind her ear. Nikolas shook his head and walked away from around the bar to the juke box. “Knocking me out and bringing me back here.”

“I asked you not to run,” Nikolas replied with a laugh, turning back to Aria. She rolled her eyes and hopped off the bar stool. Walking over to the pool table, Aria touched the felt and looked up at the wall across from her where the cue sticks were stored along with the balls.

“You never answered my question,” Aria said, turning around and leaned up against the pool table. “How could you have known Ernest Hemingway?”

“I’m not human,” Nikolas explained softly, causing Aria to tilt her head in confusion. “I haven’t been for a very long time.”

“I don’t understand.” Aria had a skeptical look on her face. She was about to speak again when the doors of the room came open and in walked Ethan Delacroix. Nikolas sipped on his wine and looked at Ethan, who had a glass of a thick red liquid in his hand. Aria seemed to notice that and raised an eyebrow at him. “Is that blood?”