Page 67 of Vampire's Hearth

Jade sighed as Rory smiled. “Why don’t you come in,” said Rory, picking up her bag, “and we’ll find a room for you.”

I grabbed my duffel and stepped through the familiar French doors. When I first entered through them in 1855, the home was already fifty years old and one of the grandest in the area. The hallway ran the length of the house, with doors at either end that could be opened to let a breeze blow through the home. The air inside was dry and cool, a modern-day air-conditioning system replacing our old method of keeping the house cool. I peered up the stairway, the polished wood railing guiding my eyes as it rose through the attic rooms and opened into a belvedere that allowed a stunning view of the surrounding area.

In the dim light, I could see the same blue furnishings lining the walls that had been present the last time I was here. The settee and chairs created a resting point for people to sit in the breeze created by the open doors. I remembered sipping lemonade there with my brothers, speaking to the ladies who had come to the home to board and finish their education as witches. They had all stayed in the third-floor rooms usually reserved for servants, while cabins outside had housed members of the coven and other sharecroppers. The plantation had never used slave labor but relied on fees from boarding, selective lumbering, and a lucrative apothecary and ornamental trade to fund its operations.

I climbed the stairs, following Rory, my eyes glued to her pert ass as Jade walked behind me. I wondered how the bedrooms were allocated. As the plantation owner, did Rory occupy the primary bedroom, or did Amara take it as the High Priestess Regent? We alighted at the top of the stairs into a similar hallway from below, the French doors at the two ends of this hallway opening to the wraparound gallery. Two conversation areas occupied this hallway, one at the front of the house and one at the back. Rory paused at the top of the stairs. “Aunt Amara’s room is there, and Lyra stays in that one.” She pointed at the primary bedroom at the front right of the house and whathad been the attached nursery the last time I was here. “My room is that one.” She pointed at the door across the hall from Amara. “You have your choice of the back bedroom or one of the outer rooms.”

I thought through my choices. My family had occupied two outer rooms the last time we were here, so called because the only way to reach them was to go out onto the gallery to reach their doors. My parents had taken the room next to what was now Amara’s rooms, and my brothers and I all shared the back room. A pang went through my heart as I thought of a time when my brothers and I would live like siblings even though we were already seven hundred and fifty. Any of us could have gotten a house in town to stay in. Instead, we shared the room here and had a large apartment in town that we used when we wanted to feed—or bed someone.

I stepped closer to Rory, wrapping my arm around her back below her backpack. “Why can’t I just share yours?” My question was low as my eyes searched hers, wondering if there was a reason for keeping me out of her space.

She kissed me softly with a giggle. “I never said you wouldn’t end up there, but I thought you might like your own.”

I nodded at her consideration. “I’ll take the back room then. It’ll make it easier for that to happen,” I growled before kissing her more fully.

Jade’s voice came from behind us. “I’d tell you to get a room, but I thought that was what we were already doing.”

I pulled away from Rory and followed her to the door at the back left of the house. The room had changed very little, except the floor now creaked beneath us as we walked in. The fireplace on the outer wall remained, and the green furnishings gave it an opulence that reminded me of the manor. I placed my bag next to the bed before I turned to my left and pointed at a door. “Shared bathroom with the room next door?”

Rory smiled. “It is so weird that you already know the house. Shared bathroom with my room. We’ll let you get settled?”

She glanced between Jade and me, her desire for time with her friend unmistakable. “I’ll be here when you return.” I kissed her.

Rory followed Jade into the hallway, closing the door behind them. I threw open the French doors leading to the gallery, allowing in the sweet floral scents from the gardens. I stepped into the heavy, moist air, walking to the edge while looking across the lush greenery.

I ran my hand along the railing, the painted wood smooth beneath my fingers. It was just as I remembered although somehow brighter and newer. I could hear Rory’s faint laughter as she spoke with Jade. She was safe for now, but how long could I keep her that way?

I turned back to the room, closing the French doors behind me. The sweet scent of gardenias lingered in the air, and with it, the promise of what could be—and the threat of what was yet to come.

Aurora

Jade and I entered my room, the familiar soft lavender walls and dark wood furniture reminding me I was home. I ran my fingertips across the vanity, yet somehow, the perfume bottles and makeup almost looked foreign. My backpack fell from my shoulder before I made my way to the chaise at the foot of my bed, sinking into it with a groan. I let my head fall back against the soft mattress.

“That bad?” Jade’s voice was light but probing.

I sat up straight, glancing at her. “I don’t even know where to start. The past few days have been...” I shook my head, completely overwhelmed.

“Amazing? Wonderful?” Jade offered, tossing words my way like they could fix everything.

I forced a smile so weak it was more like a twitch of my lips. “Something like that.”

I longed to feel Mac’s arms around me again, his lips on mine, but here with Jade, a nervousness settled in my chest, like it could all fall apart in an instant. A vampire and a witch together felt like an impossible reality.

Jade sat down beside me, her hand finding mine. “When did all this start with Mac?”

I felt the warmth of her hand and clenched my jaw. So much had happened in such a short amount of time. I sighed. “Just yesterday. We walked, and he took me to this beautiful cave. But I felt something even before we went to Ireland. Like I’m... drawn to him—drawn to the taste of his blood, even. I can’t explain it.” I pulled my knees to my chest and wrapped my free arm around them.

Her eyes widened as she dropped my hand. “Wait, did you taste his blood?”

I nodded, my voice lowering. “After your mom told me about its healing properties, he gave me some for my ankle.”

Jade’s eyes darkened. “And you think that was a good idea?”

I shrugged, leaning forward, my fingers twisting together. “Maybe not. But... there’s something about it, Jade. Something that felt right, like it was meant to be.” I bit my lip, raising my gaze with a painstaking slowness as I feared what I would find in hers. “Please don’t tell anyone, especially not your mom.”

Jade sighed, shaking her head, her voice softening. “It isn’t like they won’t see the two of you together.”

“About the blood.” Jade nodded as I held her worried gaze and forced a smile, fighting to keep my voice steady. “I don’t know what’s happening, but I know, deep down, I’m on the right path. And Aunt Amara told me to follow my heart, so that’s what I’m doing.”

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