by Danae Ayusso
Tybalt chuckled. “Yes, he did. Which, I have to admit I give him credit for showing great restraint,” he said, shaking his head with a smile on his face. “Threats of war and genocide are such a juvenile and barbaric practice and he knows it. To lower himself to a fledgling throwing a tantrum was truly beneath him, that we can both agree on. But, I will admit, the one thing we have in common is a longing to protect you.”
It was a nice thought, but I don’t even think the Devil knows what Andrei wants with me.
“Is that because of what you think I am?” I whispered.
“Think you are?” he asked, heading to the closet for some reason. “A beautiful woman that is even more breathtaking on the inside than she is on the outside?” he called out from my closet. “I don’t know why you don’t see what I and every other creature of this new, exciting and dangerous world you’ve been thrown into sees when they look at you. Being different is scary, I get that,” he said, exiting the closet with some clothes and shoes in hand. “But it’s what you do with that beautiful uniqueness that makes you worthy of this new world and immortal life you’ve been given.”
He sat on the bed next to me.
“I understand,” he promised. “In a sense I’m unique as well. I’m a great disappointment in the eyes of most of my family because I want nothing to do with the politics they have immersed themselves in. Just like the world you’re used to, playing politics allows for one to gain reputation and power, position in society, and eventually respect through fear. That isn’t how I want to get respect. I want to earn it through what I do, not what games I excel at playing. Instead of playing the game and kissing one person’s ass in order to stab another in the back, I make my own way. I’m a businessman, college educated, have failed and succeeded, but always pick myself back up. Sure, my father helped me start my first business, he fronted me the money, but he was paid back and then some. When I failed at various ventures over the years, he sometimes helped me get back on my feet, but never said I told you so. I’m the baby of the family, and because of that I get away with more than my oldest brothers or any of my troublesome sisters, so yeah, I’m unique as well.”
I chuckled; the way he worded it and his tone, the look on his face, it made it more than obvious that he was trying to cheer me up but was telling me about himself at the same time.
It was adorable.
He was adorable.
“Would you do me the honor of allowing me to escort you to the Queen’s day of celebration?” Tybalt asked.
Royalty wasn’t something I wanted to deal with, especially after the extremely awkward and slightly terrifying, and epic failure, that was meeting the vampire queen, that evening, but I wanted to spend some time with Tybalt.
“Like a date?” I asked then cringed.
“Yes, a date,” he agreed, smiling.
I took the offered dress and shoes. “Fancy?” I asked.
“The Queen demands it,” he said as if it were obvious. “You get ready and I’ll be back in an hour. I have to shower and put on a nicer outfit.”
Tenderly he caressed the backs of his fingers against my cheek.
“Okay,” I said with a shiver.
Softly he caressed his lips against my cheek then hurried from my room, closing the door behind him.
The breath I was holding rushed out of me and my knees shook.
‘Stay within the protection of your puppy.’
I jumped, startled, by the intrusive voice flooding my head.
“Stay out of my head!” I hissed.
‘Nyte. Wear a pair of the gloves. There is a lovely vintage collection in the top drawer on the left burrow. That will keep exposure to a minimum. There is only so much blood I long to spill tonight, and adding whatever lengthy list of idiots you cannot seem to not touch to the list is not something I am in the mood for. You must wear the seal denoting your crown so you will be protected; jewelry box in the middle drawer on the right, wear the pin with the Royal Crest of the Vampires on it. It will not damage the dress, put it on the right side just below the front of the shoulder.’
“Why so specific?” I asked, suspicious.
‘It is over the heart that way, in a sense. Not wearing it correctly would be suspect and cause questions of the legitimacy of your crown by those not in the know of your crown. Do not argue what you are not educated on. You want to go out, thus you will follow my directive to the letter. Do you understand?’
“You couldn’t be nice about it, could you?”
‘This is me nice. Get cleaned up. You are a representation of the crown,’ he reminded me. ‘Down the hall, the last door, is the bathroom. Take a shower.’
“Creepy much?” I complained, laying the dress and shoes on the bed.
I hurried from the room but stopped in the hallway.
‘What?’
“Are those bedrooms?” I asked, looking to the two closed doors closest to the stairs and next to my room.
‘They are. Renovations have not been completed for them yet so there is no reason to go in there.’
“That makes me suspicious,” I said and headed down to the next room down and opened the door.
Inside was a room that was the same size as mine with canvas tarp covered furniture piled up in the middle. Scaffolding was set up around the room, the floor was covered in thick protective paper, and rolls of wallpaper were stacked in the corner.
“Huh, that’s anticlimactic,” I grumbled. “When will the kitchen renovation start?” I asked, looking around.
‘I was unaware it needed renovated. We are vampires, we do not eat.’
“But I love eating,” I said, as if it were obvious. “Alder fed me and it was delicious for being vegan. I never bothered with that type of diet because I have no need to, but I might embrace it since it’ll give the big middle finger to the vampire side of me, in a sense.”
There was no mistaking Andrei chuckled in amusement.
‘Defiant.’
“I’m attempting to be more than what I’m accustomed to being, in order to be more in general,” I explained, closing the door then headed down the hallway when light without a source pulled my attention.
I headed over to the railing and looked up and a smile filled my face.
Seemingly the sun was shining through the stained glass ceiling, painting the area below in a rainbow of light.
I reached my hand out and prepared myself for the burn, but it didn’t come. Rainbows of light pained my pale skin, and it made me giggle.
“How?”
‘You are very welcome.’
“Wait, what?” I asked, confused. “That’s what you threatened disemboweling over?”
‘You wanted to see them in the sun, I could not give you the sun thus an impervious metal dome and lighting that mimics the sun’s path across the sky so you get the full effect of the stained glass.’
That, by far, is the sweetest thing anyone had ever done for me.
“Thank you,” I whispered.
‘It is not thank-worthy.’
It was to me.
“You are a very complicated and strange man,” I informed him, hurrying down to the bathroom.
He huffed in my mind. ‘I have been called far worse.’
I snorted. “I have no doubt. Are you okay with me going out?” I asked, pressing the light switch. “Whoa,” I said, impressed by what I found.
The bathroom was long and narrow, but updated with a vintage vibe thanks to the original stonework and arched, exposed wood ceiling. Along one wall was a floating stone and teak vanity with three evenly spaced sinks with wall mounted faucets; the spouts came out of the stone and looked as if they could be messy, especially with how shallow the rectangular stone sinks were. There was a toilet off to the side with a short, open water fountain next to it-
‘Oh for the love of the Goddess, do not drink out of that. It is not a water fountain.’
I made a mocking face, even though he couldn’t see it.
The ba
ck wall was stone that was illuminated with recessed lighting which made the water rippling down the stone to a copper collection bowl built into the stone floor shimmer. In front of it was a large stone bathtub that was literally a giant, granite bolder hollowed and shaped into a bathtub. Unlit white candles surrounded the floor around the large bowl, and a teak stool had a stack of neatly folded towels on it.
“That one’s a fountain?” I wanted to clarify, looking at the back wall and the way the water trickled down each bump in the stone.
‘Decorative. Again, do not drink from it.’
“Tone noted,” I grumbled. “Where’s the shower?” I asked, heading into the bathroom more. “How do you get your ties so straight?” I asked when it finally registered with me that there were no mirrors.
No pooping.
No peeing.
No reflections.
That was lovely.
Andrei groaned. ‘Your evolved body burns more calories than your human body, thus there is very little to no waste produced as a result.’
That was helpful, I think.
‘Keep eating what your body does not require and you will christen the toilet eventually.’
Why I asked, I don’t know.
‘There are a few reasons for the lack of mirrors,’ he continued. ‘Historically, mirrors were reflective because the metal backing was silver. Vampires and a few others of the mythical world cannot tolerate silver, hence why their reflections did not show up. The same with vintage photography; silver, mercury, and gold were used in the daguerreotype. Silver plates, thus no silver intolerant creature showed up. That is why those of nobility and those that could afford it or steal it had flatware and service sets made of silver in order to easily expose a guest that was too human to be true.’
That’s a terrifying thought, and a history lesson I really didn’t want at the moment…
And it actually made sense.
“It doesn’t explain the lack of mirrors in this century though,” I pointed out.
‘No, I suppose it does not. One reason why there are no mirrors in the bathroom, it is impossible to take a nice, long, hot relaxing bath with an annoyingly vain vampire smooching his lips and smacking his ass, trying to seduce himself in the mirror, in the room.’
I laughed.
“I hope we’re talking about Luka.”
‘Of course.’
“The other reason?” I asked, locating an open shower that was built into the opposite side of the bathroom in what appeared to be a store room turned oversized shower. It was stone on two walls, the others were stone tile to match with shimmering glass mosaic accent tile that reflected the light. Overhead two large showerheads were illuminated by lighting, and on the wall were controls and more shower heads. “Fancy. What’s the other reason?” I asked since I was getting the feeling he was reluctant to speak of it.
‘Privacy, yours,’ he said, and it stopped me in mid-strip.
I hadn’t thought of that.
That is beyond a space violation, and beyond a violation of my boundaries.
Even if Andrei hadn’t been bathing and redressing me when I was unconscious, he would have still seen it all and then some through my eyes.
‘Calm down,’ he scolded when I started to hyperventilate. ‘I removed the mirrors in order to give you privacy. The playing dress up, as you call it, with you was done in the dark. When it was not… You have nothing I have not seen countless times. I am centuries old, and have seen what you are embarrassed by many, many times and in much larger proportions.’
My eyes widened.
‘My apologies; that did not come out right.’
That wasn’t making me feel any better, not by a long shot.
And I knew enough of Andrei to know that he didn’t apologize unless it was real bad in his mind.
‘Go to my room. In the drawer of the right bedside table is an iron coffer. Inside is the reward from each of the Night Hag’s hats. Take one coin and keep it on you while you shower and dress, then put it back.’
“What? What does that have to do… Ammuttadori was what blocked our minds?” I asked.
‘I suspect it was responsible for it. The reward has properties that I deduced is what blocked our link. The first coins fell to the floor, one landing on your foot in the process. I have to warn you, the treasure is cursed. It is not a means to have mental solace and silence. The good fortune it brings is followed by unimaginable misfortune,’ he explained. ‘Until we can take it to the depository and exchange it for your riches, I put it up where it would go undetected or found. It is very dangerous-’
“Shut up,” I snapped at him, turning on the shower.
‘Excuse me?’
“Shut it. I know you well enough to know that the only reason you’re sharing this information with me is because you are flooded with guilt over something that I just realized you were repeatedly doing, and you didn’t realize how messed up it was and what a violation of my boundaries and personal space it was until just now. I get it. You have no clue when it comes to women, so I should expect no less. I’m so mad at you right now, but I know that you’re feeling guilty over it, hence why you told me how to block you, so I’m not going to try to curse you or let whatever crawls out of the woodwork next to kill you kill you. We have to figure out a way to minimize the extent of what you see or whatever the level of this shared nightmare of mine is. Okay?”
There was silence, which I knew was because he was trying to find an argument or counter to my position.
‘Your boundaries I am aware of, though it would be more helpful, in the future, if you would tell me them instead of making me learn of them through trial and error.’
I laughed, shaking my head.
What else was there to do other than laugh and shake my head in resignation?
Andrei was, and would forever be, a pain in the butt that would turn everything around so he wasn’t wrong and was just as much the victim as the actual victim was.
“The things I get myself into,” I grumbled, stepping into the hot water fully clothed.
It was exactly sixty-minutes from the time that Tybalt left to his return.
Punctuality was an admirable and sexy trait, especially considering with my horrible dating experiences they were either late or just didn’t show up all together.
I was nervously pacing up and down the aisle separating the rows of pews in the nave, expecting him to be late or just not show up all together. Without a mirror, it was a struggle to get presentable, but Andrei hadn’t replaced my limited makeup selection when he donated nearly everything I owned to charity. Normally I hid my white eyelashes with mascara, and I used temporary brush in coloring to hide my skunk stripe in the front.
That wasn’t an option now.
Tybalt had seen me without my disguise and he still said I was beautiful when au naturel, thus it wasn’t a concern at the moment. The dress he picked was beautiful, simple, and eloquent; 1950’s Christian Dior black lace knee-length gown with a nude slip underlay. The scalloped lace neckline cut into a deep-V and showed way more inside cleavage than I had ever worn before, and more than my brother would approve of, and he’d voice it rather loudly when he saw me, but it was seemingly designed for someone with smaller boobs like mine. I couldn’t wear a bra with it; thankfully the two-sided tape I found in the closet would help keep wardrobe malfunctions to a minimum. Black leather Vivian Westwood heels, a Dior shawl, the broach denoting the crown I was forced to wear, and Chanel gloves completed the ensemble, and it was perfect for our first date.
When Tybalt entered the church, a beautiful smile filled his face. Seeing him naked was the hottest I thought he could ever be, but the three piece suit he wore was a close second.
“You look amazing,” he whispered.
“This isn’t too much?” I asked, embarrassed.
“No, you look beyond words,” he promised, taking my hand in his. “As much as Andrei irritates me, he truly has exquisite taste. I wanted to bring you
flowers, something completely normal and human, but they didn’t have any at the only open shops in the area that were to my liking, so I brought you an eternal flower,” he said, showing me his other hand and tears flooded my eyes.
Resting in the palm of his hand was a vintage three-prong comb with a flower made of petals that alternated between delicate filigree in antique gold and marquise cut amethysts with clear gum paste stones making up the anthers. It was beautiful, and it was exactly what was missing from my outfit since I couldn’t figure out what to do with my hair so I left it down in defeat.
“Thank you,” I whispered. “It’s beautiful.”
“It reminded me of your eyes; antiqued gold like the hazel, accents of garnet like the flecks, and amethysts like the violet that sparkles when you smile,” Tybalt explained, brushing my white hair in the front back to the side then used the comb to pin it back from my face. “Perfect, just like you.”
Only in his eyes.
Tybalt grabbed the shawl that was draped across the end pew and wrapped it around my shoulders for me. “Ready?”
I took his offered arm and he escorted me from the church.
I barely made it over the threshold before he started in.
“Oh holy hell,” Giovanni gasped. “Is that your werewolf?”
I looked behind us to my annoying brother that was standing back by the closed doors, and gave him a warning look.
“Oh come on, Shawny. He’s gorgeous. Ooh, this is the one you saw naked?!” he beamed with a face-consuming smile.
The things I get myself into.
“And your boobs are nearly showing, ew,” he said.
Shut up! I mouthed. I’m on a date.
“Uh huh. If you aren’t going to have him, can I call him Daddy?” Giovanni asked, wagging his brows.
There was seriously something wrong with my brother.
“Shawn?” Tybalt asked, stealing my attention.
“Huh?”
“Are you okay? Oh, are you talking to your brother?” Tybalt asked, looking around. “I don’t see him since I’m not of the spirit magic variety. I’m Tybalt Lykourgos,” he introduced, looking around. “Which direction should I face?”
