Page 25 of Twisted
“As long as I act like it, right?”
He fixes the collar on his suit jacket.“Once you are family, you will be under my protection.”Our eyes meet, and for a fleeting second, I think I can hear something unspoken between us.I can pick up on what humans are thinking and feeling but I have no idea about vampires.
I’ve never been this close before.
“Come on,” he says after I don’t move.
“It kills you that you can’t control me, doesn’t it?”I whisper, feeling a chill run down my spine as I look at this ancient man.
“I find it…peculiar.”He holds out his hand and I wait for him to say something back.But he doesn’t, so I get up.We walk back into the house in silence.
The jeweler, an older man who is familiar with the Malus family, sets several loose diamonds and preset rings on a velvet cloth.Everything is surreal as I try on rings, looking at a gem on my finger knowing it cost more than I can ever imagine.
“That looks lovely on you,” Mabel says, sneaking into the room without a sound.The jeweler startles but then smiles when he sees her.She must be a good customer.
“It does, doesn’t it?”I hold up my hand, looking at a ridiculously large oval cut diamond in a temporary setting.“I want this one, but with a rose gold band.”I might have something similar on my Pinterest board.Not this big, of course, because holy shit.
Xavier’s hand lands on the small of my back.“If that’s what you want, then that’s what you’ll get.”
I know this is all for show.We need to act like a happy couple to appease the VC and whoever else Xavier wants to impress.If I play my part, I’ll be okay—for now.Being married to the rich, vampire mob boss who has to act as if he is completely in love with his human wife might not be such a bad hand, but it’s not sustainable.
I’ll age.He won’t.My body will deal with the aftermath of pregnancy and birth, and at some point, I won’t be able to keep popping out babies.
The jeweler packs up the diamonds and shows Mabel some other things he brought.She loops her arm through mine, asking me for my thoughts on different necklaces she’s trying on.In the end, she decides that we both need matching pink sapphire and diamond tennis bracelets.She puts our arms together and takes a photo, uploading it to her TikTok stories for her half-a-million followers to see.
“Do you have socials?”she asks.
“Yeah, but I don’t post.”
“No worries.I’ll tag you,” she tells me with a smile and I’m left feeling like I’m in some sort of alternate reality.“We can talk about strategies for building your following later.”
In a way, it’s everything I ever wanted: a husband who accepts that I’m a witch, a big house, financial security, a protective family, a sister who wants to be my friend and doesn’t view me as competition, posting on social media, shopping, decorating, hell…normalstuff.
But none of this is real, and when I hold my hand up next to Mabel’s and smile for a photo, part of me wishes this was real and not for show.The scariest part is, there’s a part of me that hopes in time, it will be.
* * *
I siton the edge of the bed and rake my fingers through my wet hair.Exhaustion crashes over me and I want to lay down and sleep, but I know as soon as I do, my mind will start whirling a million miles a minute.Holding up my left hand, I look at my ring finger.It’s bare now, but by this time tomorrow, the ring will be set and ready to wear.
And by tomorrow, I’ll be legally married.Xavier and I signed the papers and they were taken to be filed at the courthouse.Nothing feels different, not yet at least.There wasn’t even any fanfare around signing my name.Mabel stood next to us, clapping as she watched each loopy cursive letter of my name get written on the paper.She walked away talking to herself about how she’s going to plan a reception and invite the queen.What queen she’s talking about is beyond me.
It’s the middle of the night, and I wonder if Antonio, Leo, and even Larissa are thinking about me.Are they worried?Are they sad?Did they just go right back to life and are on the road to their next assignment.Did anyone tell Ryder what happened?Would he even care?Maybe they’re trying to come up with a plan to get me back.
But…maybe not.
They don’t know where I am or what’s going on, though I’m going to change that tonight.I was able to go into the kitchen, saying I wanted a snack.If I’m not a prisoner here then I should be able to freely walk around, right?I grabbed a couple bay leaves and have what I need to do a simple dream spell.
Looking at the door, which is locked, I retrieve the bay leaf I had hidden.There aren’t black markers in the room, but a black eyeliner pencil works just the same.
“All right, Tony,” I whisper as I write his name on one side of the leaf.“Pay attention to your dreams tonight.”
Going into the bathroom, I turn the fan on and dig through the drawer until I find a pair of tweezers.Using them to hold the leaf, I stand over the sink.
“Accipe nuntium in somnio tuo,” I chant with my eyes closed.“Accipe nuntium in somnio tuo.Accipe nuntium in somnio tuo.”I imagine my oldest brother waking up after receiving my message in his dream.It’s the most important part in casting spells, and often the hardest.“Accipe nuntium in somnio tuo,” I say one more time and then set the leaf on fire.
“Ignis,”I whisper, and the ends of the bay leaf start to char and burn for a second before the whole thing is engulfed in a small flame.I hold it down closer to the sink to catch the ashes.Burning one bay leaf isn’t going to set any smoke detectors off, but usually I’m able to open a window.
“Tony,” I say as the leaf burns.“I’m being forced to marry a vampire and have his offspring.I’m in some fancy-ass house in Charlotte.It’s newly built and was custom-made for vampires.I don’t know how to get out of this situation without a bunch of carnage.”
