Page 36 of Vampire's Hearth

My stomach twisted with bittersweet concern as I heard Rory’s even footsteps, and we walked in silence between the rooms. Would my blood be any different for the High Priestess Heir? “So what would you like to eat? I have sandwiches and some salad. I was thinking we could have steak for dinner.”

A faint laugh escaped Rory. “Salad sounds good to me. I usually eat vegetarian.”

“Really?” I replied with a raised eyebrow, a touch of humor in my voice. “How amusing. I usually drink carnivorously.” Her resulting laughter touched a place in my chest that brought a smile to my face.

She sat on a stool at the kitchen island, unwrapping her ankle as I prepared the salad. I added a few pieces of tofu for good measure and set it in front of her.

“How’s that?” I asked, placing a bowl of strawberries and blueberries beside it.

“Perfect,” she said, giving me a smile that made my heart skip a beat. There was something so simple, so endearing about her appreciation that it made me wonder—could I really be part of the family that her coven vilified so much? But according to her, they were monstrous, evil.

With little warning, I felt a presence approaching. I shot to full height, my senses on high alert. “Someone’s coming,” I said, my voice tense. “My guess is it’s your cousin.”

“Guess we need to get this over with. At least we got a warning she was coming.” Rory slid off the stool, her food untouched, an uncomfortable smile reaching her lips.

I disappeared from the kitchen, reaching the foyer in an instant as the planking on the front porch creaked. I opened the door to the witch crossing the porch. Her facial features resembled Aurora’s, but her brown hair hung stick straight before coming to a blunt end at her shoulders.

“You must be Lyra,” I said, my tone carefully neutral.

“Yes, I am. Now, where is my cousin?” Lyra’s voice was sharp, cutting through the air with an edge that put me on guard.

I heard Rory sigh as she came up behind me to greet her cousin.

Lyra’s gaze raked over Rory as she approached, her eyebrow arching in disdain. “Well, you don’t look too injured.”

Rory took in a slow breath. “I was, but Mac gave me some blood to heal me.”

“You really are trying to become a vampire, aren’t you?” Lyra said, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

I shook my head, forcing my expression to remain calm. “She was injured and needed assistance, so I provided it.”

“Of course you did,” Lyra said with a roll of her eyes.

I opened the door farther and stepped back. “Well, since you’ll be here for a few days, let me show you to your room.”

Lyra shifted the duffel bag on her shoulder and grimaced. I could tell she intended for me to offer to carry it, but I couldn’t bring my old-world manners to the forefront for her. She followed me up the stairs, her critical gaze sweeping over my home. Rory trailed her. Instead of heading to the north wing, we circled the balcony to a guest room in the south wing of the house.

I opened the door and gestured inside. “Here you are.” The room was about half the size of Rory’s, with a single bed draped in a modest canopy and no fireplace. The window overlooked the front of the house, offering a view of the driveway fountain.

“A bathroom connects this room to the next one,” I explained, my tone polite but distant.

Lyra’s eyes narrowed as she took in the modest accommodations. “This looks like a maid’s room.”

I shrugged, unfazed by her criticism. “It might have been.” I saw Rory struggle to suppress a laugh as Lyra dismissed the room with a wave.

“Whatever,” Lyra muttered. “Aurora, I need to see the lineage as soon as possible.”

Darkness clouded Rory’s eyes. “Why do you think you can come here and start making demands?”

Lyra leaned against the dresser and crossed her arms over her chest. “Do you believe my mother trusts you right now? She sent me because she knows I have the coven’s best interests at heart. Do you honestly think the coven will follow you after you disappeared, only to be found gallivanting with a vampire, staying at his house, and drinking his blood?”

Rory’s eyes flashed with defiance. “Yes, I do. Because I’m doing what needs to be done.”

I stepped toward Rory and placed a hand on her shoulder. “Why don’t we go downstairs and leave Lyra to get settled? She can join us in the parlor when she is ready.”

Rory looked at my hand on her shoulder, frozen. It seemed like such a natural gesture, but I dropped it to my side.

Her gaze met mine, her eyes betraying the confusion she felt. “Let’s go,” she mumbled. She turned on her heel and stalked from the room.

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