Once she got dressed, she stood in front of the mirror. Just like the vanity in the washroom, this mirror was purely cosmetic, but Azurdee still liked to stand in front of it and act like the humans she read about in her books. They were always standing in front of mirrors, fixing their hair, or checking their makeup.
Azurdee had no such luxury, but as she smoothed out some of the wrinkles in her blouse, she felt exceptionally confident.
She felt beautiful.
Grabbing her bag, she headed out of the room, determined to get out of the house. She tried to convince herself that she needed to grab some tights from the store, but it was obvious she was only going shopping to get away from her mother.
***
The shopping center was filled with young girls. Most of them held numerous bags on their arms, their eyes sparkling any time they saw a cute display in the shop windows.
Azurdee weaved through the crowd of vampires, hoping she wouldn’t bump into anyone she knew. She was certain that news of her outburst last night had already leaked out of the estate. In no time, she would be the laughing stock of the nobility, unless of course, her mother did something to prevent such a thing from happening.
Trying to stop such thoughts, she entered a high-end clothing store. It was rather busy, making it easy for her to blend into the crowd. Quietly, she looked through the racks, tempted to buy a pair of black skinny jeans that were currently on sale.
While pondering the idea, she noticed two men walking past the store window.
It was Kai and Noah.
Quickly, she placed the hanger back on the rack and got out of the store, following them. She didn’t even know why she was going after them. It would be best if she just left them alone. It would cause nothing but trouble if she was seen with them, but despite all that, she couldn’t stop herself.
The need to see them again was overwhelming.
The crowd made following them somewhat difficult. Her only saving grace was the fact that they were both quite tall, making them easy to pick out.
They walked into the central plaza where street performers, cart vendors, and beggars all made it even more difficult to navigate.
Azurdee did her best to keep up. She thought she saw them enter a store, so she followed them.
A door chime rang as she walked inside, but when she scanned the area, there was no one in there except for the jubilant store owner.
“Come in! Come in!” He chimed, rushing up and clasping Azurdee’s hands in his. “I have the best dresses in all the capital. I promise you! Come! Come!” He dragged her toward the back, where there was a tiny section of plus size clothing.
“Uh…” Azurdee didn’t know how to react to his enthusiasm.
“How about… this one! Ah yes! This would look fantastic with your figure!” He tossed a bright yellow dress in her direction.
It was the ugliest dress Azurdee had ever seen. It looked like a sack of potatoes had been dyed yellow.
“Uh… I don’t really think that’s my style.” She said, trying to be polite.
A deep frown painted the store owner’s face. He looked so distraught that Azurdee thought he would start crying.
“I… I don’t mean to offend you, sir.”
“No, no. It’s fine!” He said, suddenly chipper once more, grabbing yet another formless dress, this time in a lime green. It looked identical to the yellow one. “And this one?”
Azurdee just blinked, unsure of what to say. “Uh…”
“Come! Come! You must try it on. I will not take no for an answer!” Before she could protest, the man had dragged her into the dressing room, throwing countless ugly dresses in her direction until she thought she would drown in them.
Chapter Seven
Azurdee emerged from the store sometime later, dressed in a bright yellow dress and a matching boa hat that made her look like a giant beehive.
The second she was out of sight from the store, she dashed into a bathroom and changed into her regular clothes. She couldn’t believe she had been pressured into buying such ridiculous clothing and at such outrageous prices.
Flustered, she emerged from the bathroom and luckily, once again spotted Noah and Kai. They had satisfied looks on their faces as they walked along, wearing trench coats they didn’t have on before. Their pockets looked like they were bulging with items.
Azurdee cocked her head, watching as they followed a group of sharply dressed individuals into one of the side streets. Determined to catch up with them this time around, she hurried in their direction, but by the time she reached the side street, they were gone.
She stood there, wondering where they could have disappeared to, especially since the sharply-dressed vampires were still in sight.
“Mind telling us why you’re following us?” Azurdee jumped out of her skin when the two men suddenly materialized from the shadows, amused smirks on their faces at her startled reaction.
She dropped her bags, the horrid yellow dress spilling to the ground. Kai bent down to help her pick it up, while Noah leaned against the nearby brick wall, using a toothpick to clean out his fangs. “I don’t think yellow is your color.” He remarked. “Especially when it’s in the form of a sack.”
Embarrassed, Azurdee quickly snatched up her purchase and shoved it back in its bag.
“So, you going to tell us why you were following us, sweet cheeks.” Noah tossed his toothpick into the gutter before approaching her.
She took a step back, inadvertently pressing herself against the wall. “I… I wasn’t following you.” She lied, hoping it was convincing.
It wasn’t.
“You suck at lying, you know that?” Noah chuckled, stepping even closer until his body was nearly pressed up against hers.
Before he could make contact, however, Kai got between them, shoving Noah aside. “Leave her alone.”
Noah growled slightly at his brother, his eyes darkening, but he kept his distance.
“Thanks,” Azurdee mumbled under her breath, grateful that Kai had intervened. Yet, in the back of her mind, she couldn’t shake off the thought that she actually wanted to feel his body on hers.
“Noah is right.” Kai finally said. “We saw you following us.”
“Yeah, you’re not very good at it.” Noah snickered. “We spotted you from a mile away. Why were you so eager to catch up with us anyway?”
“I just wanted to thank you for what you did the other night. I… I don’t know how to swim. I could’ve been in real trouble if you two hadn’t come along.”
Kai nodded. “Is that all?” He asked as if knowing that she had another reason for following them.
“Yes…” She bit the inside of her lip, refusing to make eye contact.
“Like I said, you suck at lying.”
Azurdee finally managed to get her bearings and moved away from the wall. “What are you two doing here anyway? This is the Mercantile District, only nobles shop around here.”
“What, you think that just because we’re lesser vampires, we don’t have the right to be here?” Noah suddenly pounced, pushing Azurdee back against the wall. “You might just be the perfect match for Fredrick after all.” He hissed, his teeth barred.
“Noah.” Kai placed a hand on his brother’s shoulder, trying to calm him down, but violently Noah shrugged him off, throwing him into the nearby wall.
Azurdee’s eyes widened when the two brothers were suddenly at each other’s throats, their fangs ready to sink into the other. They grappled, tossing each other around. Noah snuck his long nails into Kai’s arms, ripping off the sleeve of his trench coat. In retaliation, Kai tackled his brother to the ground, throwing a punch in his face. A speckle of blood dribbled from Noah’s lips before he rammed his head into Kai’s.
Azurdee flinched, thinking Kai’s skull would crack from the impact. He stumbled back, giving Noah just enough time to wipe the blood from his mouth. His eyes darkened into two pieces of coal and he looked ready to kill.
Their figh
ting was starting to attract attention.
“Guys!” Azurdee rushed forward, throwing herself between the two men, hoping that was enough to prevent them from ripping out each other’s throats. “I’m sorry… what I said was incredibly rude. I didn’t mean it like that. I just meant… the prices are kind of high…” She stumbled over her words, trying to figure out what to say to remedy the situation.
Suddenly, the two brothers burst into laughter.
Azurdee furrowed her brow in confusion. Why were they laughing?
“You’re right.” Noah grinned his signature grin as he reached into his pocket, pulling out an expensive-looking pocket watch. “We don’t come here for the stores, we come here for the loot.”
“What do you mean?”
To her surprise, Kai stepped forward, pulling out a telescopic cane from the inside of his coat. As he extended it, he leaned forward, bending his back at an awkward angle. “Nobles are the best targets. They wear their valuables just a fingertip’s reach away. It’s like they want us to rob them. We can’t be held accountable. It’s just our nature.” His lips curled mischievously, sending a shiver through Azurdee’s spine.
Such a remark she would expect from Noah, but not the good-natured Kai. She stared at him, still confused.
“Still don’t get it, princess? We’re pickpockets. We come here and get us quite a bit of treasure for a few hours work. The best part about the whole thing is how easy it is.” To prove his point, he held out the necklace Azurdee had been wearing when she left the house.
Her eyes widened at the sight of it. “How did you…?” She tried to grab it, but Noah held it high above his head where she couldn’t reach it.
“You nobles should really be more careful.” He handed the necklace back to her. “Why are you so attached to that thing anyway?”
“It belonged to my father.”
“No longer alive?” Kai guessed.
Azurdee nodded, a frown painting her face. “I don’t like to talk about it.”
The brothers didn’t say anything, but there was a look of understanding hidden behind Kai’s eyes.
“So… you two come down here and steal from the rich?”
“And give to the poor!” Kai exclaimed.
Azurdee tilted her head in confusion. “How do you know about Robin Hood? Human literature has been all but eradicated from the lower-class libraries.”
“You don’t think a couple of professionals like ourselves could get our hands on it if we really wanted to?” Kai offered a toothy grin. “You couldn’t keep me away from your fine little manuscripts even if you tried.”
“I… I don’t understand.”
Noah sighed. “Are all noble women like this?” He paused, giving her a moment to try and take their hint. “All you need is a little bit of charm and you can be invited almost anywhere. Then, once we have our foot in the door, it’s easy to break in. Hell, sometimes the servants even help us, telling us where all the secret treasures are hidden.” Noah leaned in close. “You aristocrats all think you’re so far off from the lower-class, but I’ll tell you something, one day, you’ll be in for a rude awakening. We aren’t as weak as you all think.”
As if to prove his point, he waltzed over to the courtyard. Near a bubbling water fountain, a woman with cotton candy hair and a minx coat tapped her foot against the pavement in irritation. She was scolding one of her servants for losing her precious little dog, Mr. Priestly.
Carefully, Noah snuck up behind her and slipped his hand inside her oversized purse, pulling out a diamond-encrusted snuff box. Quickly, he stuffed it in his pocket just as the woman straightened her posture.
The misfortunate servant made eye contact with Noah, a slight smirk playing on his young lips. Creating an additional distraction, he spoke back to his mistress, further infuriating her.
Noah took his chance, grabbing her coin purse. As she kept yelling at her orderly, he placed some of the gold pieces in a hidden nook by the water fountain, where the servant could later come back and retrieve them. Noah, however, kept most of them for himself.
With a satisfied smirk, he walked back to the alleyway where Azurdee stood there, her mouth slightly agape. No one had noticed what he had done. No one even seemed to suspect it. “You have to give those back!” She said, her moral compass screaming at her that it was wrong to steal, no matter who you stole from.
“Why should I?” Noah challenged. “You don’t think it’s right for me to steal from her, but it’s okay for her to treat that servant like he’s a piece of trash.”
It wasn’t a question.
“I… I didn’t say that…”
Noah didn’t bother answering her. Running his fingers through his thick, dark hair, he walked away.
“Don’t worry about him.” Kai squeezed her arm, offering her a warm smile. “He gets worked up sometimes.”
Azurdee watched as the lesser vampire leaned against a wall, pulling out another toothpick from his coat. He started to pick at his fangs with a disinterested look on his face.
“Do you always pickpocket?”
“We do it when we need to. Lower-class vampires like ourselves don’t have many opportunities to make money. We either get sent to the coal mines or we become servants. From a young age, we refused to get sucked into either profession.”
“So, you decided to become thieves?”
Kai’s eyes wavered for a minute before he dropped his hand from her arm, shoving it inside of his pocket. He pulled out a ring. It was strikingly beautiful, with a brilliant diamond set in the middle. Along the band, smaller diamonds sparkled like miniature stars.
“Do you know where these diamonds came from?”
“The mines, of course. Where else would you get diamonds?”
“Precisely. And who works in the mines?”
“The lesser vampires…” Azurdee answered, starting to realize what he was getting on about.
“And every year, countless vampires die inside those mines. Only a few months ago, one of the mine shafts collapsed. Ten miners were crushed underneath. The rest of them survived, twenty or so, trapped inside. Did anyone bother to help them? No. They were left to die so that the nobles could have their precious little jewels. These are blood diamonds as far as I’m concerned.”
Azurdee suddenly felt conscious of all the jewelry she had back home. “I…”
“But, just one of these rings is enough to feed a whole village… but do the nobles seem to care?” Kai shook his head, his pale skin becoming blotched as he grew angry.
“I’m sorry… I didn’t know…” Azurdee felt guilty. Prior to meeting Kai and Noah, she hadn’t had much experience with lesser vampires, save for those who worked in her mother’s estate.
But, Kai and Noah were different.
They were thieves, yes, but at the same time, they were strangely enticing. They were strong. Determined. Not afraid to speak their minds. Kai, at least, was well-mannered, despite the rumors that all lesser vampires were savages.
Plus, they were unbelievably sexy.
All her life, Azurdee had been taught to keep away from the lower-class because they were nothing but scum. She had been told, time and time again, that they were ugly, deformed creatures.
But Kai and Noah were different… so very different.
Chapter Eight
Still, they were thieves. If she knew what was good for her, she would get out of there.
Carefully, she placed her necklace back in its proper place, tossing Noah a glare for taking it in the first place.
“I should get going.” She stated, readjusting her bags on her arm.
Noah perked up at her announcement. “Leaving so soon? What, you don’t want to be in the presence of lowlifes like us?” He snickered.
“I didn’t say that.” Azurdee refused to let him berate her. “I think you are both fine young men.”
“Did you hear that, Kai? Fine young men.” Noah chuckled.
Azurdee felt her cheeks burn at his mocke
ry, but she wasn’t about to let him get under her skin. “Yes. That’s what I said.” She headed back toward the courtyard.
“Hey, Azurdee?” Noah raised his voice, loud enough that some people turned their heads in his direction. “How’s that marriage problem of yours? Are you going to marry a fine young man or some scumbag who thinks he’s better than everyone else just because he’s a pureblood?” Noah’s words dripped with venom, but there was an amused look on his face, his hands in his pockets, his shoulders relaxed as if he was doing nothing wrong. “I hear Fredrick is such a fine young man, I don’t know why you wouldn’t want to marry him.” Noah’s sarcastic tone grew colder, his words sharper.
Azurdee’s eyes grew wide. For a moment, she was frozen in place, countless stares on her. Her skin crawled and her cheeks were on fire. It felt like her feet were glued to the ground.
“You know– “
“Shut up!” Azurdee rushed forward, shoving him back into the alleyway. “Don’t say these things in public, you idiot.” She hissed, looking over her shoulder in concern. If anyone from her mother’s inner circle had been in the courtyard, she was as good as dead. Her mother would never let her leave the house until she was formally married to Fredrick.
“Why– “
“I said, shut up.” She pushed him into the wall with more force than she intended.
“You know, that almost hurt.” He chuckled, still toying with her.
“I mean it…” Her voice started to shake.
“Aww, are you upset with me?”
“Yes.” She snapped.
Noah actually shrunk back for a moment before he took in a deep breath, looking like he was about to shout something to the whole world.
Azurdee nearly panicked. “Please… Noah… don’t.” Her confidence wavered as her emotions got the best of her. “No one can know… please… you’ll ruin me…” She choked on her words, her throat feeling like it was slowly closing up, a small trickle of air barely filling her lungs, making it hard to get oxygen to her brain. “I’m begging you.”
Noah raised an eyebrow, looking intrigued. “I haven’t seen you beg.”
Her Dragon Professor Page 13
