Page 39 of The Vampire Castle in the Sky

“We’re not hungry,” Mikko countered.

“For food,” clarified Delyth.

“Blood will suffice.”

“Warmed.”

The twins cocked their necks to the side and fixed their black, steady eyes on me. “Like it’s from the vein,” they said in unison.

Alexandria hummed a note of disapproval. “That’s enough, children.” Gently, she ushered them out of the room, and like a pair of ghosts, they vanished in the shadows, a mere swish of movement reverberating in their absence.

“Thank you for your understanding. I try to keep them as far away from Camilla as possible,” said Alexandria in an air of subtle but unmissable resentment. Then, as if to correct herself, she offered us a blithe smile. “Anyway, I’ll see you two in a bit.”

I released a breath as soon as Hector closed the door behind her. “Okay, these are somescarychildren.”

Hector said nothing, only cast his attention out of the window. It was clear that the remnants of our interrupted conversation were still weighing on him. But we had no time for it now. Midnight was approaching fast, the starlit wilderness of the night sky stretching endlessly over the Castle, the moon waxing and aglow.

“I should get ready,” muttered Hector curtly before disappearing into the bathroom.

Stifling my disappointment, I went to inspect my appearance in the standing mirror. The extravagant crimson layers of my gown glinted like burnished metal in the watery glass. It was the most exquisite garment I’d ever worn, with a rich bouffant skirt made of the softest velvet and a fitted corset dotted with lacy red roses along the neckline. The short puff sleeves came around the upper arms, stopping right where the shimmer of my white gloves began. A large oval-shaped ruby decorated my neck, held by three rows of pearls, matching the glowing pins in my hair. Never in my life had I looked more regal, more imposing, yetinwardly, I was as unstable as a vessel on water, floundering in waves of giddy nervousness and sick excitement.

I must have been standing there staring at my reflection for quite some time, for when Hector returned, he was already bathed and dressed for the ball. He was in all black again, except for the vest under his jacket that had a subtle pattern of crimson. His hair was still a little damp, and a few strands fell dark and sleek over the curve of his cheekbones.

“Will you tie me up?” I asked a bit absentmindedly, fixing the tiny ringlets along my forehead by curling them around my index fingers.

His figure loomed behind me, a flustered expression on his face. “What?”

I put a hand on my shoulder, indicating my back. “The laces, I mean.”

He blinked in slow understanding, then shook his head as if to push an unwelcome thought from his mind. “Right.”

When he shifted closer behind me, I was disturbed by a sudden ripple of awareness. I became attuned to every movement, every noise our bodies made. The rustle of my skirt against the fabric of his trousers. His hands gliding down my back to take hold of the laces. His hot breath dancing over the nape of my neck. I wondered if he could see the goosebumps that rose on my skin, if he could guess that under the layers of my gown my knees were wobbling.

I was so immersed in the crackling tension that I didn’t resist him when he pulled at the laces. I fell back against his chest. His arm came low around my stomach to keep me steady.

“Careful there,” he rasped in my ear. “Is it too tight? Bend forward a little. I can loosen it up for you.”

Flustered like a bee in spring, I stumbled out of his hold. “Let me see if I can sit down,” I mumbled. I could. The problem was not the dress. The problem washim,Hector, who had grown intoa man capable of rendering me breathless just by standing too close to me.

Had I always wanted him like this? Was I simply surrendering to a desire that had lived with me for so long that I could no longer separate it from all my other feelings?

For once, I wished I had the answer.

“Is it okay?” he asked, genuinely worried. “We have time if you want to change—”

“It’s fine,” I sighed, skittering to my feet to smooth down the pleats of the skirt. “How do I look?”

He had looked at me thousands of times before, but when his gaze fell upon me now, it was something new. “You look…” He paused, taking a long, deep breath. “You look like my wife.”

Hector offered me his arm, and as I slipped my gloved fingers over the crook of his elbow, I stopped feeling so miserably anxious.

The night outside unraveled with a sweep of magic, strings of divinity glowing by the Castle’s many windows. My dress was beautiful. My feet were light. And all the wounds we had given each other stopped bleeding for a single perfect moment.

15

Thea

Freshly rained roses swooped down the vaulted ceiling of the corridor and twisted around the pale columns in clusters of white, red, and pink. The walls beyond the blooming pillars were a vast night sky encrusted with purple clouds, while the floor was a diaphanous moonscape, marking the luminous path to the ballroom. Below, the world was infinite. I felt as though we were treading upon a bridge in the middle of the sky, heading to a previously undiscovered Realm.

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