“And perhaps a blue one.” Grace giggled and her sister smiled as if they shared a secret.
Annalise cleared her throat. “What I’m wearing is fine. I don’t want anyone to go to the trouble of sewing a new dress.”
“Nonsense.” Larissa lifted a deep purple sheet from the pile. “I love the brighter colors.” She also reached for the green. “This one would bring out your eyes.”
Her acknowledgement of vanity was refreshing. “I like both of those.”
“And you’ll eventually need a black prayer cap to cover your head.”
That she didn’t like. “Can’t I just use the one I’ve been wearing?”
“Not if you get—”
“Shoes!” Grace interrupted. “We’ll need a measurement of your feet to take to the shoemaker.”
Whatever Larissa had been about to explain was forgotten. The following hour passed in a whirlwind of measurements and harmless gossip. There was a gentleness to the women here that Annalise found refreshing. While they relied heavily on word of mouth news, their commentary never came across as judgmental.
Larissa showed a curiosity for Annalise’s home life no one else seemed to share. Her eyes lit when they talked about Annalise’s independence and the fact that she attended college.
“Who takes care of the children if the mothers work?”
“They do.” Annalise laughed. “Or the dads, if they’re around. Each couple works it out. There’s no one-size-fits-all set of rules for everyone. But I know plenty of single moms who manage work and family just fine on their own.”
“But they have to need a man for some things.”
“Such as what?” Annalise tried to think of something, but she honestly couldn’t. “If there’s something we need that we can’t do ourselves, we can learn how to do it.”
“How?”
She shrugged. “We just look it up online or in a book. And if we still can’t figure it out, we can always pay someone to do it for us.”
“Because you have your own money,” Larissa said, her eyes full of awe.
“Exactly.” She didn’t want to shock the woman, but even sex could be a one-woman show. “It’s really amazing how much you can do with a little electricity in your life.”
“It must be very dangerous, living on your own.”
“Not really. I mean, bad things happen, but you learn to read your surroundings and carry pepper spray.”
“Pepper spray?” The girls laughed and Grace asked, “For what?”
“If someone tried to attack you, you spray it in their eyes.”
Larissa gasped. “That would burn, no?”
“Like hell.” They covered their mouths and she realized her slip. “Sorry. Adam keeps warning me about my language.”
The girls smiled and glanced at each other.
“What if a man wants you?” Larissa whispered.
“He has to ask. No means no. And we have plenty of female judges who work hard to make sure men who break those laws are punished.”
Larissa took a deep breath and then sat back in her chair, while Grace continued to pin the seams of Annalise’s dress that they were making. “It must be nice to have such freedom.”
Something inherently sad crossed Larissa’s face. Grace didn’t seem to notice, but Annalise saw it. And then she didn’t.
Pressed by an unspoken obligation to help any woman in trouble, she lowered her voice and asked, “Does he force you?”
Larissa’s head shot up, a dark shade of red tinging her cheeks. “He is my husband.”
“I understand, but—”
Grace placed a hand on Annalise’s. “You mustn’t discuss such things. We could all get in trouble.”
The color leached from Larissa face and she stood, moving to the window. Annalise glanced at Grace in question.
She slid the last pin through the hem and rose from where she kneeled on the floor, offering Annalise a hand to help her off the chair. “The men are on their way back.”
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Annalise’s stomach dipped and spun like stretched taffy the moment Grace announced the men were back. Looking down at the fabric pinned to her, she wasn’t sure how to get it off. “Grace?”
The sisters stood at the window, one’s posture so regal and intimidating the other’s stature small and inconsequential, yet it was Grace’s hand that rested on Larissa’s back giving silent comfort.
Her suspicions had to be true. Larissa, though standing tall with her chin up, feared her husband, and Grace knew it too. Why didn’t they do anything to help her? Maybe Adam could.
“You’ll be back to visit again soon,” Grace said softly and they turned from the window, both wearing blank expressions of acceptance.
Larissa’s eyes jumped to Annalise. “Oh! We have to unpin you.”
They removed the scraps of fabric now marked for sewing and carefully lay them on the table.
“I’ll sew these tonight,” Grace said.
She didn’t know how far the men were or how much time they had left alone, so Annalise took Larissa’s hands in hers. “Thank you for today.”
The woman smiled with such beauty the world seemed to hitch its breath and miss a beat. “It was my pleasure, Annalise.” She cupped her cheek. “Be good to my brother.”
There was so much Annalise wanted to tell her. Her mind wrestled with the approaching future, unsure where she might be in a week, a month, or a year. What would happen to her? To Adam? To all of them?
“You could come with me.”
Grace stilled from organizing the unsewn dresses and Larissa’s face blanked.
“Even if I stay, I could help you leave—”
“Anna, you mustn’t,” Grace hissed.
“It’s all right, Gracie.” Larissa, still holding Annalise’s hands, smiled again. “But you’re going to stay. And you’re going to have a beautiful life with my brother. You’ll see. Don’t let my marriage to Silus change your mind about anything, Annalise. Adam’s an honorable male who has little in common with the male I married.”
“But—”
“Hush now. I now know I have options. That alone will hold my smile for a while.”
“They’re here,” Grace said, and Larissa released her hands.
Heavy footsteps pounded up the steps and the front door opened. Relief swept through her at the sight of Adam.
His sleeves rolled to his elbows and his black pants clung to his legs as his heavy boots stepped into the kitchen. But his eyes wore lines of weariness at the corners when he smiled and approached.
“Ainsicht.” He brushed his fingers over her jaw, but didn’t kiss her. “I’ve missed you.”
“I missed you, too.” The truth came out without thought or doubt.
He turned and took Larissa’s hand. “Are you staying?”
“I can’t. Silus is readying the horse.”
Why didn’t anyone tell this Silus guy to go fuck himself?
Adam nodded without argument. “I’m glad you were able to meet Annalise.”
Larissa grinned at her brother and whispered, “I think she’s perfect for you, Adam.”
The door opened and despite the warm August air, the room chilled. No longer distracted by Larissa, Annalise could now see Silus. Dark features matched flawless tanned skin. His eyes were dark and beady, and his hair slicked with oil that kept every strand in place. He carried himself the same purposeful way a king cobra moved, silent and dangerous.
“Are you ready?” He ignored everyone but Larissa. But he only talked at her rather than to her, so Annalise was glad he didn’t speak to anyone else.
Larissa’s gaze dropped to the floor and she nodded. Annalise wanted to scream when he gripped her by the upper arm and everyone just stood there in silence, letting this supposed husband of hers lead her out of the house.
She looked at Adam, who seemed to anticipate her stare, but his expression remained unreadable. At the sound of the carriage pulling away, Grace sighed.
“I’m going for a walk,” she announced and it was the first time Annalise saw something more than childlike innocence in her eyes.
As soon as they were alone, she said, “I don’t like that man.”
“I can feel that. Silus is not a bad person. You should get to know him before you—”
“I think he beats your sister.”
Adam stilled from sipping a glass of water. “It is not our place to make such assumptions, ainsicht. Silus is Larissa’s husband.”
“I don’t care who he is to her. You of all people should know she’s terrified of him. Don’t you feel it?”
He put down the glass. “It’s been a long day—longer than I expected. I’m weary and have too much on my mind to discuss my sister’s emotions. I’m going upstairs.”
She followed him through the hall to his room. “How can you just ignore what I said?”
“I’m not ignoring you. We can discuss it later. At the moment, I don’t have the energy to think beyond our circumstances.”
They entered his bedroom and he sat in the corner chair, unlacing his boots. She stood inside the doorway, just beyond the threshold. Her hands fisted at her sides.
“Is that how it works around here? A man bullies one of the women and everyone just turns a blind eye?”
His boot clattered to the floor and he unlaced the other. “Not a man, her husband. And as such, he is the head of the household whom Larissa vowed to honor and obey.”
“Oh, please! Don’t make me throw up.”
He stood and slid off his suspenders. He hung his hat on the back of the chair. “Did you discuss this with Larissa? If you had, she would have told you to stay out of it. I know my sister and she knows her place.”
“Her place?”
“Yes, the place she agreed to take by her husband’s side. Do you think she didn’t have a choice to marry Silus? She knew what and whom she fixed to marry. The moment she made her vows she made a promise to him, her community, and God. No one can break that promise for her, Anna. Not me, not you, not even Silus. Only she can choose to change her circumstances, because only she will face the consequences of her choices. She is not as fragile as she seems.”
Her molars locked. “What about mates? What about all the fail proof stuff you claim we share?”
He opened the three buttons of his shirt and dropped to sit on the chair again, his face angled to the floor as he massaged his brow. “What about it? She and Silus are only married. What they share is very different from the connection you and I share.”
“But if she has some perfect match out there, why wouldn’t she wait?”
He sighed. “Because God decides when the time is right, and she could have waited centuries. Sometimes company is easier than loneliness, even when it’s the wrong company.”
She thought about Grace. How long would she have to wait?
Adam stood and approached the door. Realizing her concern wouldn’t just wash away, he said, “Silus will give her a family. She will take great comfort in raising children. All of that takes time, but it also passes time. My sister’s life will be a happy one, I assure you. But some transitions take patience. There’s an adjustment. She’ll settle in soon enough and by next summer she might have a daughter or son to adore.”
His solution was pregnancy? She was trapped in a primitive Twilight Zone. “I guess.”
“Come in and sit.” He took her hand and she sucked in a breath.
“What is that?” Her fingers closed over his and squeezed. A hollow ache filled her, as heavy as a cannonball and as empty as a balloon.
Adam pulled his hand away and the sensation disappeared. “It’s nothing.”
“Hey.” She caught his arm. “That’s not nothing.” She pressed a hand to his head. “You feel warm. Is that normal?”
He smiled though it didn’t reach his eyes. “You’re concerned.”
Only then, did she really look into his eyes. “Adam, you look like shit.”
“Language.” He moved to lean against the wall as he stripped off his shirt, his motions not nearly as fluid as before. When he turned, his palm pressed into the plaster and he shut his eyes, as if fighting a dizzy spell.
“Are you okay?”
His skin had a pasty, sallow haze and his eyes seemed flat. “Just a little vertigo. It will pass. I haven’t…” His was focus interrupted, and he wiped his brow where beads of sweat gathered. “It’s my stomach.”
“Did you eat anything? I can make you something.” I think.
She didn’t know how to cook on a stove that worked from wood and she was pretty sure they didn’t have any boxes of Easy Mac lying around, but she could figure something out.
“I have no appetite.”
His feet tripped over nothing and she rushed forward, helping him to the bed. The moment her hands touched him, the hollow ache filled her again.
She had so many questions about his visit to the Council and what would happen to his brother, but all concerns took a back seat to his wellbeing.
“Lie back. I’ll get you some water.”
She helped him recline on the bed and filled the glass on the dresser from the pitcher.
“Take a sip.”
He watched her as he drank from the glass, but after only a few sips he pushed it away. “I can’t.”
“What happened to your impeccable immune system?”
“My body’s trying to function properly, but I’m not allowing it.” His eyes closed and he winced. “I just need to rest for a few minutes.”
His fingers laced with hers and she frowned. “Let your body fix you, Adam. You look awful.” She pulled her hand away. “And … I can feel it when I touch you.” No clue how that worked.
His eyes opened. “You feel my hunger?”
It felt more like starvation. She touched her throat which seemed suddenly dry. “I feel an empty ache. I need a sip of your water.”
She lifted the glass and drank to the last drop, but her thirst remained. Refilling it at the pitcher, she guzzled another glass down. Her stomach filled, cutting off any room to drink more, but her throat wanted something liquid and soothing. She poured a third glass but forced herself to only take a small sip this time.
Returning to the bed where Adam rested with his eyes closed, face pinched with discomfort, she brushed her fingers through his hair. “If you’re hungry, you should eat.”
The tension in his face slightly soothed as she brushed her fingertips over his skin. Sometimes he’d tip his face to her palm the way a cat chased a petting hand.
“Food isn’t what I need.”
“What then? Medicine?”
His breathing slowed, eyes still closed. Despite his condition, he grinned. “This is nice,” he rasped. “I like having you here, taking care of me.”
She liked it too. Being there, that was. She’d spent enough sleepless nights waiting by the bedside of a sick patient, worrying if she blinked too long her mother’s fight might end.
“Tell me what you need, and I’ll get it for you.” She didn’t like seeing him this weak.
“Just stay with me like this.”
“Adam…” He needed medicine or maybe a tea. “When this happens, how do you get better? What does your body want?”
“I don’t want you to leave.”
“I’m right here.”
“I’m too weak to…” He let out a soft breath. “Promise you won’t leave. The spell will pass.”
Her brow tightened. “I won’t leave. I promise.”
He weakly caught her wrist and kissed the soft underside where her pulse beat. “I only need you.”
“Adam, come on. You can barely hold up your head.”
His lips pressed to her wrists, holding her tender pulse against his soft lips. “It’ll pass…”
She tsked and pulled her hand away. “I think you’re dehydrated and hallucinating. You’re not making any sense. I’m going to find your sister.”
“No.” The sharp command halted he
r exit. “You promised to stay.”
“I’m not leaving the house, I just want to see if Grace is back from her walk. Maybe she can make you soup.”
“I can’t eat.”
“Then tea. You need something.”
“I need you.”
“Be serious. You’re ill.”
He waved a weak hand, signaling her back to the bed. His eyes opened like little slits as he watched her through his lashes. “I need to finish telling you…”
She sat on the bed at his hip and used her apron to blot the beads of perspiration off his face. “Telling me what?”
“Our story.” He held her hand and she tolerated the hollow ache as best she could, but it took effort. The distracting pangs filled her with woozy waves of emptiness that stole her focus, but she breathed through and they eventually passed. “I need to explain the rest to you.”
His faintness gnawed at her. “You can tell me later when you feel better. For now, you need to rest.”
“No.” He licked his lips. “We don’t have much more time. I need to tell you, Annalise. I need you to listen. You must know the extent of what I’m asking so you can make your decision. We’re running out of time. I can feel the—”
“Okay,” she squeezed his hand, trying to calm him. “Okay, Adam. Tell me. I’m listening.”
He caught his breath and his grip on her hand tightened. She felt a wave of relief through the discomfort.
“You remember the ceremony I told you about, and the bonding?”
“Yes.” She remembered—no anesthetics. She still had questions about the ritual and the transfusion, but she’d save them for later once he regained his strength. “I remember.”
“Once the transition begins, my cells will reconstruct inside your body—sturdier and at a speed that modern science lacks the equipment to track. Your body will be reborn. Your scars will fade. Your joints will soften, and your bones will gain density. Everything you are will change, but you’ll still be you. Only stronger.”
“What happens to my brain?” Her memories, her tastes, and dislikes, and silly things like knowing that you were supposed to brush your teeth up and down not back and forth. “Will I remember everything?”
Original Sin (The Order of Vampires Book 1) Page 25
