Page 58 of Claim the Twilight
She turned to face me, a huge smile on her face. “Orina!”
I crossed the room in quick strides and enveloped her in a hug. “You’re back.”
“So are you.”
She smelled of bread and lavender, and hope swelled in my chest. Hope and a sense of safety. She’d been my mother once, a long time ago, and somehow, that connection had lasted even after our deaths. It was a tugging sensation deep in my soul. The sense of coming home to haven.
She pulled back and cupped my face. “Let me look at you.” She tutted. “So pale.”
I offered her half a smile. “I’m a vampire now, Ingrid.”
She tutted again. “Poppycock. There are plenty of vampires who aren’t pale. You need some real food inside you. A vampirecan’t survive solely on blood, you know. Sit.” She glanced over my shoulder at Lorenzo and smiled kindly. “You too, lad.”
Lad?
Lorenzo pulled out a chair and sat, unfazed with the way she’d addressed him.
I joined him, and a few moments later, Ingrid had piled the table with a variety of breakfast options ranging from porridge and berries to bacon and eggs.
“Tuck in, love.” Ingrid joined us as we loaded up our plates.
I’d always enjoyed food, but now every flavor, every texture was heightened, and I got to experience it in an entirely new way.
“What’s it like out there?” Ingrid asked.
“Too normal,” Lorenzo said.
We filled her in on what we knew and what we’d seen so far. “So now it’s up to Padma to hopefully get us the answer we need. Loviator’s weakness.”
“This Harald creature must be ancient and powerful and also know Loviator to have this secret.”
“A fact that worries me,” Lorenzo said, setting his teacup down. “There is nothing stopping him from turning on us once he’s delivered what he promised.”
My stomach quivered. “Then we’ll need to be prepared to stop him.”
“The trap may not work on an entity such as him,” Lorenzo said.
“Then we’ll figure something else out. One problem at a time.”
His eyes warmed. “One problem at a time.”
Ingrid cleared her throat. “And what about the problem that was keeping you trapped in your vista?”
I blinked, breaking eye contact with Lorenzo to look across at her. “It was my vampire nature. I needed to embrace it. And I did, thanks to you.”
She frowned, looking uneasy.
“What is it?” Lorenzo asked before I could.
She smiled and shook her head. “Nothing, dear.”
“Ingrid?” I arched a brow. “Seriously, what’s bothering you?”
She sighed. “Well, there was a moment when I was trying to reach you that I felt something dark and angry.” She shuddered. “Something…lost and…ancient.”
Goosebumps prickled my skin as the memory of my encounter with my vampire spirit filled my mind. She’d been waiting, watching, biding her time…but I’d called her to me. Accepted her and I’d felt…relief.
“I think what you felt was my subconscious emotions mingled with my new vampire essence.”
