The Fall From Grace

Chapter Seven

Alexandra wakes up in bed with Dylan, her body a little sore from the activities the night before. She looks next to her to see Dylan still sleeping soundly next to her and she smiles down at him. They had not left until the festivities ended and devoured each other in the meantime. His passion for her made her chest flutter with feelings she can not escape. He would one day father her children and they would get married and rule this land together. She wraps her arms around him, snuggling her face against his bare chests. She lies like that for a while before there is a knock at the door, waking Dylan. He stirred in bed before sitting up and he rubs the sleep from her eyes.

"Enter." He mumbles and makes sure that they are both decent.

"I need to speak with Alexandra, there is somebody here to see her." It is Alaric's voice she hears as the door opens and she sits up, looking to the doorway to see him. Dylan looks to her brother with confusion and he smiles sweetly at her.

"Who is it?" Dylan's voice rings from beside her as his arm slips around her waist. She caught a new scent, felt a presence that mirrors her brothers.

"Katerina Berezin." The woman's voice chimes as she enters their room, raising her eyebrows at their appearances. Alexandra can't take her eyes off of her, she looks different than her father but still has some of the Berezin traits. She has long black hair and eyes as blue as the ocean, unlike the dark eyes Alexandra has.

"I will wait in the drawing room for you to get dressed and have Alaric catch me up." They both exit the room and shut the door behind them. Alexandra kicks her feet over the bed's edge but Dylan grasps her arm, stopping her.

"Why is this woman here? I thought that Katerina Berezin did everything in her power to avoid her family." It must be common knowledge that she is estranged from her family. She turns to look at Dylan wondering if he knew about what happened in their room last night.

"She is going to help me conquer my abilities so that my father can not use me for his benefit." He lets her go and she goes to the closet, finding an all white sundress, changing so that she can hurry out to the drawing room. She stops seeing that Dylan has not moved from her spot in their bed.

"What did Alexander say to you last night to make you search out others to help you?" Of course he would be curious about her ever growing group of allies. She secretly wonders if he worries that she will join her fathers cause but he should know her well enough that she would never hurt anyone.

"He said that he was the only one who knew how to tame these abilities. He made it very clear that I am capable of much more damage than I will ever want to commit. I asked Alaric to seek her out last night because she is older than my father and will know how to help me." She feels his surprise but as he looks away from her she feels a rift between the two of them for the first time. She leaves the room, letting him sulk in his thoughts. There were things that he will never understand about her and one of them is her eagerness to learn about the darkest parts of herself.

"Hello young vampire." She looks up from the floor to see Katerina staring back at her from the couch. Her facial features do not match those of the other Berezins and Alexandra finds herself wondering if she looks more like her mother. "Now, tell me why it is that Alaric called me after all of these years in such a tizzy last night." There is an aura of hostility around her but Alexandra can't figure out why. It is as if she is on guard at all times and as she stared at this woman she could see the thoughts flowing through her head.

"I need help from somebody who knew Maxim better than my father. I do not want to let my powers control me." Katerina stands and makes her way over to Alexandra, stopping just in front of her. She cocks her head to the side and analyzes Alexandra, walking around her as if to survey the condition of her body.