Shadows and Stars
Page 45
I hummed in surprise as I caught the eyes of the young woman in the row across me. Unlike the rest of the dragons, she wasn’t singing along either. My heartbeat quickened as I wondered. Maybe another non-dragon? Oh, if that were the case, I should talk to her during the banquet. Maybe I’d have someone to talk to without having to lie about my vampire nature. And it didn’t hurt that she was breathtakingly beautiful either.
Without disturbing my neighbours, I awkwardly waved at her across the aisle. She shot me a strange look and mouthed ‘what?’, before batting her eyes down and effortlessly joining the hymn.
Disappointment rushed through me. So she was a dragon after all. Well, this party would suck. Ayra would be too busy holding up her own pretences to have time for mine. Luckily, she had Devon who’d known Tate for her whole life. He’d be able to fill in the gaps and recognise the people who thought she was Tate. And of course, being close friends with the woman she swapped bodies with also helped with that.
Looked like I’d just be on my own then. Oh well, I was used to that. Even in a household with a bunch of siblings, I grew up as a bit of an outcast. If I could stand six vampires not talking to me, I’d surely do fine around a community of dragons ignoring me.
I glanced at the woman across of me again and nodded to myself. Yes, I’d be totally fine.
TWO
“ARE YOU GOING TO EAT THAT?”
I turned and found myself face to face with the beautiful woman from before. I swallowed the lump in my throat and looked at the last piece of beef between my tongs.
“What? Errr…” Yes, of course, I was going to eat it. That was why I grabbed it. “No, you can have it.”
Damn it, Marcus. You sucker.
“Thanks,” she smiled, happily holding out her plate. Reluctantly, I placed the last rare steak next to her potatoes and held back a sigh of disappointment. These dragons really didn’t know how to throw a party. Everything was overcooked and there was a suspicious amount of sugar in everything. Damn those dragons and their sweet tooth. I always figured it was just a preference of Ayra, but nope, they were all like that.
And now I gave away the only edible thing from the buffet. Think with your head, Marcus! Not with your…
“Not a lot of people like their steak rare,” she said, giving me another odd glance. I tugged on my rolled up sleeves, scanning the tables for something else not covered in syrup or dusted with sugar.
“Yeah, well, I do,” I muttered, inspecting a suspiciously glazed turkey. The glaze looked nauseatingly sticky and sweet, but maybe if I scraped it off, the turkey would be tasty. It wasn’t my favourite, but it was better than the ham drenched in syrup or the ribs covered in honey.
“Not much of a sweet tooth?” The woman swiped her finger through the glaze and held it out to me.
I pulled up an eyebrow and frowned. What was with her? Was she pretending to be a sexy woman in a bad movie?
“Uumm… What are you doing?” I tilted my head, staring her down. She was beautiful from a distance, but rather strange up-close.
She scoffed and wiped the glaze away. “Urgh, what was I thinking? This is not a movie, nobody does this. What’s the matter with me? Why?” she muttered to herself, stressing over the paper tissue sticking to her finger. “Why won’t this come off? What’s wrong with you, you stupid serviette.”
I held back a snort and handed her a wet wipe from next to the ribs. “Here, this should help.”
She flushed red and brushed the tissue fluff away. “Sorry, I get quite nervous at these things.”
I smiled and decided to dare try the turkey. “That’s okay, I get that way too. I don’t know anyone here. Well, except for the mother.”
“Oh? How do you know Tate?”
“Tate? You mean Ay— Oh, yes. Tate.” Dumbass…
The woman stared curiously at me and I coughed loudly, hoping to distract from my slip up. “Oh, we go way back. Waaaay…. Back…” I lied, sniffing the turkey meat. That was definitely a lot sweeter than it should’ve been.
“You do? I’ve never seen you before,” she mused, tilting her head as she studied me. “Although you look familiar. Do I know you? Do you come here often?”
Was that another weird pick-up line? What was she doing? “Uuuumm….”
“Sorry, that was so cringy. I’m so bad at these kind of things.”
I grinned and held out my hand. She was a bit weird, but I found it strangely endearing. “How about a hello?”
“Hi.” Surprisingly, she took my hand in hers and gave it a shake.
Less surprisingly, I liked it. A lot. It was like her hand fit perfectly in mine, and it should never have been anywhere else.
Uh-oh.
I couldn’t fall for a dragon. I couldn’t even like a dragon. They might as well be aliens for all their customs. I should get out now. Both of this conversation, and of the banquet. Ayra would understand, I was sure.
“I’m Marcus,” my traitorous tongue announced.
“Zara,” she replied.
Interesting that she didn’t give me a surname. I knew I hadn’t given her one, but the dragons seemed to have a real thing about it. I hardly ever heard them use Ayra’s name without tagging James on the end. Or Orrin. Wow, that was confusing.
Bloody dragons.
“So…how come you’re here and not doing…whatever that is?” I asked, gesturing towards what looked like some kind of group dance with Ayra and Devon in the middle. The former looking particularly uncomfortable. I didn’t blame her. The dragons were all making weird noises as they moved about, and were coming awfully close to her face.
“That’s part of the blessing,” Zara answered. Though not the question I really wanted to know about.
“I thought they did that at the altar already?”
She frowned at me, which didn’t detract from how beautiful she was. Damn, I was quickly heading towards being a goner.
“They did. But we have two different ones, you know that.”
Well, no. I hadn’t known that. But probably best not to clue her in. She seemed pretty smart, I didn’t want her figuring it out quite yet. Maybe in a couple of dates time when I was sinking my teeth into her neck as we…
No, Marcus.
Where were these thoughts even coming from? Sure, I liked sex just as much as the next man. Or the next vampire. But I’d never thought quite so blatantly about someone as I was about Zara. She was really getting to me. Far more than I wanted to admit.
And I’d only known her a matter of minutes.
Eh. Maybe not a bad thing. Ayra said she’d known with Devon almost as soon as she’d met him. And Tate said she’d known that Sian was it just as quickly, even if she had taken a lot longer to actually accept it.
I smiled thinking of my friends. I was glad I’d grown closer with Tate, she’d been lonely for a long time I think. Though having seen the dragons in action now, I could understand why.
“Sorry, just forgot for a moment.”
Zara didn’t look convinced. She shouldn’t worry, I wasn’t convinced by my own lies either. In fact, I was a terrible liar. Even as a child I’d always ended up confessing if I’d done something wrong.
“Surely you’d have had it drilled into you, along with all the other…” she trailed off, before her face lit up. “Are you like me?” Wonder filled her voice, and I had absolutely no clue why.
So…how was I going to blag my way out of this one.
“Like you?”
Ignorance was always a good get out clause. It was only then I realised we still had our hands clasped together. I really should take mine away. But I liked the feel of her skin against mine.
Oh damn it. Tate and Ayra were going to have a field day when they found out about this. The teasing would be merciless.
“Don’t toy with me, Marcus, I don’t like it.” She tugged her hand back and folded her arms, pushing her breasts up and giving me a great view.
I bit back a grin. That would be highly inappropriate
of me, and would likely earn me a slap. I wasn’t so keen on the idea, even if I did deserve it.
“I’m not toying with you…” I started, only for Zara to hold her hand up and silence me.
“You’re just like every other dragon.”
With that, she spun on her heels and stormed away from me. Back to…nothing? There was no one in the corner she was heading for. Did she really prefer her own company to mine?
I must have lost my touch.
If I wasn’t careful, I was going to end up being accused of being a peeping Tom with the amount I was still staring at her. But she was mesmerising, and I wanted her. A lot.
A large hand clapped me on my back and I almost fell forward with how unexpected it was.
“Damn, sorry, Marcus,” Devon said, steadying me.
“Cheers,” I responded automatically, before turning to look at him. He was Ayra-less. Which surprised me. Apparently he didn’t tend to let her out of his sight when they were at dragon events. Something to do with her worrying about messing up, and him wanting to reassure her she wouldn’t.
“She’s just taking a break. It’s customary for the mother to at this point,” he answered my unspoken question. This was what I liked about the man. Well, other than the fact he made my best friend so happy. That was another good reason to like him.
“But not the father?”
Devon sighed. “No. We’re supposed to stay and mingle to prove to her parents that we have the stamina to look after our newborn properly. But I think I already proved I have enough energy to take care of my girl.” He gave me a devilish grin.
Ah yes, Devon’s stamina. I’d heard all about that. In far more detail than I’d have liked.
“What do you know about her?” I blurted out, nodding my head towards Zara. Damn it. I hadn’t intended to be so blatant about it. But this was Devon. He could be trusted. His trustworthiness was also something I’d heard about in detail, but I was okay with that.
“Zara? She’s one of the Elder’s daughters. Except…”
Why did people always seem to stop talking just when it was about to get to the good bit.
“Except?” I prompted eagerly.
“Nothing,” he muttered, looking a little embarrassed, like he almost spoke out of turn.
“Okay?” Devon was a weird guy. He had this bizarre gentleman-ish way about him. As if he had an inherent deep respect for everything. I could tell from how he treated the world, the people around him, and Ayra.
“I don’t think it’s my place to tell. She’s a lovely girl, but maybe stay away from this one, alright?” he smiled, slapping my back. “Hang on, is that...? Oh damn, her parents are trying to tie that damn scarf around her again. Sorry, got to go,” he mused, running off to save Ayra from Tate’s insistent parents. They loved their traditions, alright.
I watched Devon curl up behind Ayra, whisking her off to a more secluded spot. I smiled and felt a little bit of jealousy bubble up inside of me. Ayra was lucky. First Sian, her almost perfect match. And now Devon, her perfect mate.
Something I’d never have.
I glanced at Zara in her corner and bit away the envy. She was a dragon, so she’d have a mate. Just like Devon and Ayra. Even if I started something, she’d leave in the end. I studied the rest of the dragons and lightly shook my head. What was I doing here still? Ayra was wrapped around Devon and had a hard enough time escaping all the Elders. Everyone here was from a dragon descent, and everyone knew they only mated inside their own species. Even their friendships were confined inside their race.
Yeah, I really had no good reason to stay.
I pushed my plate away and grabbed my coat from my chair. I waved at Ayra, but she was lost in Devon’s embrace. I’d call her later, when she was away from the crazies and could stop pretending she was Tate.
I held the grimace off my face and marched out of the stuffy banquet hall. The chilly breeze tugged on my coat and I welcomed it. It was nice to be away from the dragons and all their sweet stuff.
My keys jingled as I pulled them out of my pocket and my car beeped open. The metal was cold under my hands for only a second as I was suddenly yanked back.
“Yo, where do you think you’re going?”
I turned and found myself facing three bulking guys. I held up my hands, trying to worm myself out of the hand holding my shirt.
“Look at him, what a piece of shit.”
The two guys furthest away laughed at what I imagine was supposed to be a joke from their leader. The guy holding me hissed, breathing out smoke through his mouth. Definitely a dragon then.
“What do you think you’re doing at our sacred ceremony, vermin?”
“Vermin?” I echoed, balling my fists. I didn’t want to make a scene outside of the venue. The Elders would definitely show up and I’d effectively ruin Ayra’s Blessing.
“Yes, you vampire scum. Don’t think we didn’t notice your stench.”
Shit.
I shoved the biggest bully away and bared my fangs. “Don’t touch me,” I growled back. If he thought I was an easy prey, he was mistaken. I grew up as the youngest child and was pestered all the way through school. If there was something I learned, it was defending myself.
“How dare you enter our sacred grounds?” the tallest guy sneered.
“Yes, how dare you enter our sacred grounds? Scum!” the skinny guy in the back echoed.
“Get your hands off me,” I spat, flashing my canines at the trio. The big guy snarled, smoke blowing from his nostrils. He was intimidating and I made a mental note not to piss Ayra off in her new dragon body. She was still getting used to her shifts, but from what I heard from Devon, she made a mean fire.
“We should teach this vampire a lesson. What do you think, boys?”
“Yes, teach him a lesson, Big D,” Skinny echoed again, spitting on the ground as he rattled his silver chain. Yup, all dragons had the same tendencies. The one thing they liked even more than sweets, were shiny things. And that chain was very shiny. And unfashionable.
The lanky guy ran a hand through his gelled up hair and balled his hands into fists. “Can I beat him, Big D? Can I?”
The big guy, Big D as his idiot mates called him, laughed out loud. His lips curled up to expose a set of yellow teeth and I refrained from recommending him a good dentist. I figured that would give me a one-way trip to the hospital.
“Guys, I don’t want any trouble. I was just about to leave,” I tried, not wanting to cause any unnecessary trouble. I just wanted to get away from the dragons and their weird ceremonies.
“Oh, I will make you leave,” Big D laughed, pulling a cigarette from his pocket and lighting it up with his own fire. He took a big drag and grinned. So that was why his teeth were so yellow. What a surprise.
“Didn’t I just say that?” I pulled up an eyebrow and shook my head. “Dumbass,” I muttered under my breath, turning away from them.
“Oi, I was talking to you,” he called, grabbing me by the hood of my jacket. Angrily, I turn around and flash my fangs at him.
“You weren’t talking at all. Now back-off,” I sneered, releasing some of my predator pheromones. If they knew what was good for them, they’d back off.
“Look, the pretty vampire has pointy teeth,” the lanky guy chuckled, using his fingers to make pretend fangs. “Haha, fwook, fwam a fwampire fwoo,” he mocked, dancing around as if he made the funniest joke ever.
Red flashed in front of my eyes and before I knew it, lanky guy fell to the ground. He clutched his stomach in agony, crying under the punch I gave him. Big D choked on his cigarette and hissed loudly. Blue scales scattered over his arm and a whiff of salt washed over me. He smelled like the beach. But not refreshing like Ayra, or even powerful like Devon. No, he had the scent of a trash-riddled beach with rotting seaweed. Not particularly pleasant.
“Hey, no shifting outside!” The pretty dark-haired girl, Zara, stormed outside. "If my father catches you, there'll be hell to pay."
"And
what are you going to do about that?" Skinny snarled at her.
"You wouldn't lay a hand on me, Ryan, and well all know it. Now get back inside."
I was impressed. For someone so slight, she was sure as hell making an impression.
"You'll regret this, Zara," Big D spat at her from his place on the ground. He flipped himself over, grunting as he got to his feet.
"Don't talk to a lady like that," I butted in, stepping in front of Zara and regretting it instantly.
I didn't need to turn around to know she was glaring at me. This really wasn't a woman who wanted or needed saving, and I should have guessed that from the conversation we'd already had.
Oh well.
If there was a way to put my foot in something, then I was going to find it. Ayra used to tease me mercilessly about it.
"Vermin." A glob of spittle landed at my feet, courtesy of Big D. I really didn't have a fan there. I wondered what he'd do if he found out about Ayra's past.
I shuddered. Probably best if no one ever found out. He didn't exactly seem the rationale sort.
Thankfully, he seemed to decide that leaving was the right thing to do.
I turned to face Zara, and was relieved to see my guess hadn't been wrong. She was fuming. Beyond that even.
Least I wasn't losing my touch on guessing people's emotions then. Always a good sign.
"Thanks," I said, offering out my hand again and regretting it instantly. We'd already been here. Why was I putting us through it again. I cringed inwardly, but kept my hand outstretched.
"Errr...you're welcome," she replied, taking my hand and giving it a small shake.
"Not used to men being polite?" I teased.
"I'm not used to men talking to me at all."
What? That made no sense. She was gorgeous. Even if her front tooth was a little crooked. I bet that when she smiled, that tooth made her even cuter than she was already.
"Well then they're stupid," I said lamely.
"What?" She gave a disbelieving laugh.
"I like your face. I don't see why others wouldn't."
"Did you just say you like my face?" She seemed shocked. Though I didn't know. I was sure that was a compliment.