Page 5 of Elegy of Twilight
Sylvester took his pipe out of his mouth and pointed it at me. “Tsk. So judgmental, as if you were doing anything more productive. Let me guess, you were out there, playing your lute, trying to charm the stars? No, wait, I saw you with a woman.”
Sylvester’s voice went hard at the end. He picked up a wine bottle and hurled it against the wall.
Shards rained down, and red wine stained the wall like blood. I stepped back.He saw me? Damn. I hadn’t been fast enough, and I’d underestimated his snooping.
“What have I told you, Titus, about showing your face to mortals? Are you a fool? We’re in hiding for a reason. We are lords of the night, damned, cursed, and no one can save us, no matter how hard you try. You endanger the family when you toy with mortals. Currently, the knights in the garrison don’t know we exist, and when they find out, they’ll hunt us down.”
“Sylvester, they are already hunting us. I went out tonight because the knights laid a trap. Would you know anything about that?”
Sylvester scoffed. “Tell me you walked away. It’s only a trap if you take action.”
I crossed my arms, voice cold. “I took action. They left a woman, a priestess, tied up in the wood. The vampires?—”
Sylvester cut me off with a bitter laugh. “Oh, so you saved her out of some self-righteous quest to protect her from the damned vampires when we are no better than them? Especially notyou. Does it matterwhenyou drink her blood? Now, later, or when you’ve convinced her to fall in love with you?It always ends the same, Titus. You woo them, they succumb, and then you feast.”
I stepped back, anger rising, but it would do no good to argue with Sylvester. He’d seen me at my worst, and he was right. How would this time be any different from the past?
Except I had felt a shift. A contented satisfaction hummed in my bones, and I hadn’t tasted her blood. Why?
I wasn’t sure, but an inkling told me it was because of her two-toned skin, shadow and light blending together, shining. When I’d kissed her, I hadn’t felt that urge to sink my teeth into her skin and devour her. I was curious, but Sylvester was correct. How many times had I had good intentions only to lose self-control?
“What would you have me do, Sylvester, hide here with you? Paint and drink while the vampires ravish our food source? If they destroy this village, the lavish lifestyle you’re accustomed to will disappear. The trade routes will close, the gardens will run wild, and you won’t be able to filch paint and other supplies from the abbey.”
“You’re being melodramatic. I have a plan. Don’t forget I always take care of you, little brother. Despite your sins.” Leaning forward, he squinted atme. “Did you bring more candlesticks, as I requested?”
“Find your own candlesticks!” I snapped and left the room, the sound of Sylvester’s harsh laugh following me.
3
LUCIA
Ispent a fitful night tossing and turning, my mind racing with possibilities and questions. Where had the mysterious man—I couldn’t bring myself to call him a vampire—gone after he disappeared? What had happened to Captain Elroy and the knights? Were they searching for me?
Finally, I fell into a deep sleep, only for the bell to ring, announcing the dawn. In the blush glow of morning, last night seemed naught but a dream. But as I washed my face, a quick glance in the mirror made me pause for a closer inspection. I leaned over the glass, touching my fingers to my lips, bruised and unnaturally pink from the man’s urgent kisses. Would anyone notice?
I made my way under the arched ceiling of theabbey, my silver runes winking in the low light. Today I could feel them as though they were alive, a separate part of my skin. They weren’t painful, simply uncomfortable, like a phantom limb.
The abbey was quiet as it always was pre-dawn. Each day was the same. We rose at dawn, came together for morning meditation, breakfast, and finally to the day’s work. Most of the priestesses would be making their way to the kitchens where we dined, but my footsteps took me in a different direction.
I passed bright murals on the walls and took the steps from the hall of sleeping rooms down to the main floor. Within a few hours, it would be full of children who made the journey from the village and up the hill to the abbey for school. The garrison, connected to the abbey by a simple walkway, guarded by blooming flowers, was the safest place in the village.
Many might find it a conflict of interest for the abbey and garrison to exist together, and occasionally, I found some of the younger priestesses leaning out the window, watching while half-dressed men practiced with swords. It was then I closed the curtains and reminded them of their vows, even though I’d wavered more thanonce, drawn by the sight of corded muscles and sweaty skin glistening in the sunlight.
A moment of weakness overtook me as I reached the walkway, and I leaned against the wall, reminded of the way that man had kissed me as though he’d very much like to devour me. Oh heavens, how I’d given in—and so quickly. I needed to confess my grievances, but part of me was tempted to keep it a secret.
Vows were taken seriously in the abbey and those who broke them were forced to leave. The idea of being alone, friendless and destitute, forced to leave the only home I knew, gave me pause.
A step came, and a shadow fell over me. No more than a few feet away stood Captain Elroy. He scrubbed a hand over his face. “Lucia, thank the gods.”
He did not come any closer, and I scanned the area, painfully aware of how exposed we were and hoping it was too early for anyone to overhear.
“I’ll call my men back,” Captain Elroy continued. “We were fools and underestimated this enemy. I’m sorry.”
I swallowed hard, knowing it took a lot for him to come to the point of apologizing. To me, Captain Elroy was like a father figure. He’d been a youthwhen I was growing up in the abbey and had often entertained me with stories, brought me flowers to put in my hair, and, as he still did, taught many of the children self-defense. Now he was in charge of the garrison, responsible for training knights, ensuring the trade routes were secure, and most importantly, protecting the village. Last night had been a failure, but I was quick to give my forgiveness.
“Nothing bad happened,” I said. “If you need me again, I will be ready.”
He shook his head, already turning away. “I was wrong to ask of you. It won’t happen again.”
