“How have you been feeling, Caitlin?” Dr. Gray sat across from her in the front room, having just arrived via cab at the steps of the mansion. She’d brought only a medical bag and her personal effects. The courier would come by later to drop off her more sophisticated equipment.
Caitlin lounged as casually as she could on the couch. She wanted to ball up, to bring her knees to her chest and sink into the cushions. Instead, she glanced to her newly trimmed nails, then back up as if she couldn’t be bothered to care. “I’ve been fine.”
The doctor did not look as if she believed her, eyeing her up and down with flat brown eyes. She was a mousy sort, with straight dark hair that hung in a strict ponytail, and she was of average build, but deceptively strong, though she was
only
human. “I mean, after the contractions. You haven’t felt another onset?”
“Oh.” Caitlin reddened, realizing she meant her
physical
health. She’d not discussed this with Kalen, but she had a feeling she could be candid with the woman. “No. Um, that day, and after- after Amandine gave me her blood, they haven’t come back.”
A perfectly trimmed eyebrow rose. “Did you feel it coming on before that? Were there any signs that you noticed?”
“Not really.” She looked back on the episode in her mind’s eye. “My morning sickness was worse than usual. I was recovering from it when the contractions crippled me. If Amandine hadn’t been there-” Caitlin couldn’t even finish the thought to say the words.
The doctor stood from her seat, bringing her bag with her to sit by Caitlin. “I will need to run some tests, just in case this is something more serious. Oftentimes, pregnant women will experience what’s called Braxton Hicks contractions. They might be alarming at first, but there’s nothing to worry about. It’s sort of your body’s way of getting ready for the main event. Though-” She pulled out a stethoscope, tucking the tips in her ears. “-you’re a special case.” Althea put the bell to Caitlin’s chest. “Take a deep breath for me.”
Caitlin complied, taking the cues as she was instructed. At least there weren’t any needles... yet. When the doctor was satisfied, Caitlin did pull her knees to her chest, disregarding propriety for the sake of it. The doctor had seen her in much worse conditions. “Do you think the blood helped?”
Althea was much less skilled at maintaining impassivity than Kalen was, but her grimace was only slight. “The problem is, I can’t tell for sure. Again, I’ll have to do some tests, draw another sample to see what your blood count, is, to make sure you’re not suffering from anemia or a blood disease.”
Caitlin’s heart dropped, but she didn’t let it show. “Is there no other way you can do it?”
“Unfortunately, not.” The doctor tucked away her stethoscope. “However, I can’t do it now because my supplies haven’t arrived yet. Let’s reconvene tonight and we’ll take care of everything all at once, so you don’t need me to poke you more than necessary.” She closed her case, offering a heavy-hearted look and a smile. “Your color is good, though. I would be surprised if I find anything abnormal in the results. Hang in there.” She patted her arm and stood to collect her things.
Caitlin smiled in return and nodded a farewell. When the doctor left the front room, her smile disappeared as she recalled last night’s encounter with Kalen. Shame welled up inside her, forcing her to remember her request. She should have known it would only bring out his basest nature. But surely, that wasn’t all he was composed of. It couldn’t be.
She’d seen his fierce, protective side when his father handled her, and she’d seen that true light in his eyes when he rescued her from Gabriel’s clutches. But he didn’t seem to see it, himself. Caitlin’s mistake was asking him to expose his nature to her, to take a human life in her presence. Though she was an idiot for asking, it wasn’t entirely unfounded.
If he expected her to become one of
them
, then she’d have to accept the act of killing. Maybe their nature was such that it stole their remorse from them, as well as their humanity, when they made the transition. But that couldn’t be it, either, or Kalen would have shown no remorse towards her last night.
Some
of his humanity was retained, despite never having actually been human in the first place. And she was determined to find out how much.
Caitlin stood from the couch abruptly and swept up the stairs. After yesterday, she’d abandoned the silly dresses for simple riding clothes. There was no reason to dress up, for him or anyone else at the mansion. They only kept her from performing a basic range of motion. And she needed all the range she could get, with what she was about to do.
She dashed into her bedroom and slipped through the handle-less door at the back, where a walled-off study was prepared for her use. When she’d first returned home from Gabriel’s bunker, she’d found something in her patient gown pocket that hadn’t been there before. It was a familiar tool that fit well in her hand, but it brought forth too many memories, so she tucked it away in the back of her desk.
It would be her bargaining chip, tonight.
Caitlin pulled the drawer open, feeling blindly for the false backing, and pulled it open. There, on a kerchief of gold and red silk, lay the obsidian knife. Not even Kalen seemed to know she had it, and she never mentioned it to anyone, seeing as it was the only material that could kill his kind.
For the first time since her brother’s death, she picked it up, feeling its weight in her hand. The cool stone sapped the warmth from her palm as she held it close. Caitlin moved the innocuous black orb on the desk from its holder, and the fireplace behind her shifted into the wall.
She turned to see the narrow stairwell that would lead her down to his sleeping chamber.
A mausoleum, more like
, she thought, tracing her hand against the rough stone wall, taking one cautious step after another into the blackness.
With the knife clutched at her breast, she descended into his lair.
Her breath was loud in the muted darkness, but she knew the way by heart now. Five more steps, and she’d be in a cold stone hallway. When he slept, she could feel his dark energies eke out into the space around him. There was no mistaking that shroud of darkness that lay just beyond the wooden door. Caitlin’s eyes were adjusting to the space and, with the help of the sliver stream of light from her study, she could see the entrance just ahead.
Tonight, there would be no candle lit, awaiting her presence. And maybe he already knew she was coming, but could he detect what she carried with her? Caitlin took a small breath, rubbing the bump of her belly before entering as quietly as her slow, human limbs could muster.
She could only see his coffin by the way the darkness roiled out of it. But, as she watched, the energy began to change. He
did
know she was here, and already, he was rousing. Caitlin had a scant moment to throw the coffin open and pin him there with his only weakness. He’d showed her exactly how helpless she was these past months, and it was only fair for her to return the favor.
But when the coffin opened, he, and his energy, were gone.
“Is there something you’d like to say to me?” His voice was behind her, sending her hairs on end. She turned on her heel to see his silhouette in the doorway. Kalen tilted his head to one side, his next words dripping venom. “Surely, this is not where you’d prefer to be spending your time after our
discussion
, last evening.” If only she could see his face, to know if he meant what he said.
Caitlin stepped forward, letting go of her fear. She allowed her arm with the knife rest at her side, so he didn’t see it glimmer in the dim light. “Kalen, I- I don’t understand what happened. It was all so sudden.”
He paced towards her, plunging her in his shadow. “As always, you seem to have the most inane requests at the most inappropriate of times. Honestly, I’m surprised you’ve survived as long as you have, my fool of a consort.”