Blood Curse: Book 2 of the Blood War Chronicles by Quincy Allen

Author:Quincy Allen [Allen, Quincy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: epic fantasy, gaslight, steampunk, clockwork, gunslinger, Dragon, fairies
Publisher: RuneWright
Published: 2018-02-24T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter Thirteen

A Stirring of Hearts

“Intoxicating. That was the only word to describe what I felt for Lady Corina Dănești.”

~ Jake Lasater

As Jake made his way down to the main floor of the White Mare, music drifted up the stairs, layered over sounds of people eating, drinking, and dancing. The melody clearly had its roots in the Irish jigs and reels he’d heard across the country, but the instruments were far from traditional and reminded him of something else entirely.

As he turned the last corner of the staircase, the band came into view. He recognized them instantly. Once again, it was the three shining automatons standing in the far corner. They looked different both from the three he’d seen in Denver and those in San Francisco, but there was no doubt they’d come from the same manufacturer.

“Jesus, those things are everywhere,” he muttered.

His breath caught in his chest when he spotted her.

There was no missing the emerald dress or the river of white hair cascading down her neck like an ivory waterfall over alabaster stone. By the bar, a tall thin glass in her hand, Corina stood amidst three gentlemen in the Roswell version of mannish finery. Forsythe stood behind the bar, a bottle in his hand and his eyes fixed upon the fine lady.

The men around her seemed to hang on every word as she spoke. Then her head turned a fraction of an inch in Jake’s direction. Although her eyes were again hidden by dark glasses, the soft smile that curled her lips warmed his heart. All he could think was that her smile was for him alone, and it played upon his heart like it was a violin and she a virtuoso.

Her gaze never left him as he approached.

“Gentlemen,” she said with soft warmth, “allow me to introduce my escort, Mister Jake Lasater.”

The three men turned with openly disappointed faces, and the stunned look Forsythe wore as Jake stepped up prompted Jake to wink at him with an almost shameful pride.

“Lady Dănești,” Jake said with a bow. He held out his hand, and she took it easily, as if it belonged there. Her touch was cool, but it still filled him with fire. He gently kissed the back of her hand and then released it, regretting the loss of her touch. “I see you had little difficulty making friends.”

“Indeed,” she said with a brighter smile. “These fine gentlemen were kind enough to listen to a tale of doomed spirits in the Far East.”

“Indeed,” one of the gentlemen chimed in. “She told it as if it had really happened.”

“A mesmerizing tale, to be sure,” another added.

“I’m delighted that you enjoyed such an imagined fiction,” Corina replied, but the wink she gave Jake made him think there was probably more truth than fiction in whatever she’d told them.

“Well then, that makes what I’m about to do all the more difficult,” Jake said. “But the Lady and I have a dinner engagement that simply cannot wait.” Jake’s smile was genuine. “If the Lady has no objections, that is.

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