Blushing, I reached up and swatted away the rest of my tears, but they wouldn’t stop coming.
“Yeah,” I said, still staring at the statue. “I think I will be.”
***
For the remainder of the week, I was holed up in Aden’s apartment. The base had several sections for housing. The apartments didn’t look too big from the outside, considering they went straight into the earth. But they were a lot bigger than they looked, consisting of around two to three bedrooms. Some, like Aden’s, even had balconies, but those were generally reserved for the higher-ups. For the most part, Aden and Mrs. Knight left me alone, for which I was grateful. I needed time by myself to sort out how I felt about Orion’s death.
I hadn’t heard from Rook or Dezyre. As far as I knew, they were trying to spend as much time together as they could to make up for the years of companionship they’d had taken from them. They said they would take care of Ivan, since they would probably be on Frost’s radar a little less than I would. Though I had a lot of questions for the scientist – and I hadn’t told Aden about him yet – I knew they would have to wait until things died down a little. I couldn’t risk the only chance I had at finding out about my heritage on reckless curiosity.
Leo and Arika had been given an empty apartment. That made me a little nervous, mostly because I wasn’t sure how big an issue Leo’s bloodlust was going to be. Arika hadn’t seemed too concerned, though, when we presented the idea to them. She readily went with him, probably itching for any excuse to get in some alone time.
Back at Aden’s apartment, I was in my old room, stretched out on the bed and relishing the softness of the dark purple silk comforter. Living in the “wilds” definitely increased my appreciation for the good things in life, no matter how small.
I was staring up at the ceiling, lost in thought, when a soft knock came from the door. Figuring it was probably Mrs. Knight bringing up a plate of chocolate chip cookies and milk, I rolled off the bed and strolled to the door.
Opening it, I found Aden standing there, carrying two champagne flutes. He was dressed in a rich blue button-down shirt that made his eyes stand out, and black jeans. His hair was still wet, like he had just stepped out of the shower.
I blushed slightly, looking at him. As happy as I was that he was alive, I hadn’t felt much like talking to him since the Council hearing. I didn’t know if it was guilt over turning Leo or kissing him or what it was, but I couldn’t quit bring myself to face Aden.
Looked like I wasn’t going to have a choice.
“We never got to celebrate New Year’s,” Aden said, smiling softly. “And I thought you could use a little something to relax.”
Admittedly, I wasn’t a big alcohol drinker. Beer was nasty, and wine was usually too dry for me. The few times I’d had champagne, though, had been a good experience. It usually ended up being pretty tasty.
“Sure,” I said, tucking my hair back behind my ear and stepping aside. “Come in.”
Aden walked toward the coffee table and couch set up near the front of the room, across from the TV. He drew up two coasters and set the glasses down on the table before folding himself onto the couch, waiting for me with a slight smile on his lips.
Suddenly feeling very self-conscious, I gently closed the door and joined him, sitting at the opposite end of the couch.
Aden didn’t react to my distance. Handing me my flute, he turned to me. “To surviving another year,” he said, raising his glass. “And to you, for saving my life.”
I gave him a small smile as we clinked our glasses together and drank. The glass was chilled, and the light gold bubbly liquid tickled my throat as I took a sip of its sweetness.
“How are you holding up?” Aden said casually.
I blinked. That was fairly bold for him. My experience had been that he liked to gradually lead into more serious topics, not beat down the door right away. That was Leo’s department.
“Okay, I guess,” I said. I stared into my glass, swirling its contents. Pieces of my brother’s death, which I’d tried to forget about as best I could, flashed through my head. My eyes snapped up, looking at Aden. “When my brother died, he whispered something to me: ‘Find Genesis.’ Does that ring any bells?”
Aden frowned, methodically running his thumb up and down the side of the glass in thought. “I don’t know, but I can certainly look into it. Your brother was interested in the first king’s whereabouts, am I correct?”
When I nodded, he continued. “Then it probably has something to do with that. Genesis does mean ‘the first,’ after all.”
I thought about this, troubled. Orion told me he wanted to find the first vampire because he thought he was the key to unlocking eternal life. Sure, I wanted to know about my ancestors as much as anybody would, but why had it been so important for Orion to tell me that, of all things he could have said on his dying breath?
I had this weird feeling that I was being watched. Looking up, I caught Aden staring at me, eyes narrowed in thought. “What?” I asked.
He looked away. “Nothing.”
I smiled to myself. There’s the wall again.
“How are you feeling?” I asked. I felt bad for not asking sooner. He was the one who had died and come back to life.
He shrugged, as if this happened every day. But I guess for a vampire, it sort of did. “Fantastic, actually.” He grinned. “Or shall I say fangtastic?”
I rolled my eyes, resisting the urge to shove him. “You’re still full of cheesy lines, I see.”
“Only with you.”
His words were quiet, like a caress. My blood heated, and I took a shaky breath, practically inhaling the rest of my champagne. It went down too quick, and I coughed, starting to choke.
Aden chuckled as my eyes watered. “It’s not funny!” I said between coughs, wheezing. “What if that had been serious?”
“Death by champagne? Doesn’t sound as bad as some things,” he said lightly.
I blushed, feeling guilty. “Yeah, I guess not.” It definitely wasn’t as bad as dying via Red Death.
Sitting the glass back down on the table, I tucked my legs beneath me on the couch. “Aden, when you were sick,” I started, meeting his eyes, “did you, er, have any… vivid dreams?”
His eyes sparkled with secret laughter. “You mean like fields of red flowers and sunshine and a beautiful woman wrapped up in my arms? Yeah, I would say it was pretty vivid.”
My jaw dropped a little, and my whole body flushed. “Oh. So it was real.” I don’t know what I was expecting. Some part of me still thought it was probably just my imagination. But it had been so much more than that.
“Sloane?”
My gaze snapped up and my heart trembled. “Yes?” I said a little breathlessly.
Aden leaned forward; his eyes never wavered from my face. “When I was dying, you were the only thing that kept me going.” He smiled, wistful. “You were my sunshine, my oxygen, my soul. Sharing what we did in the field was incredible.”
I couldn’t blink. I couldn’t do anything but stare back at him, taken aback.
“I’d heard of dream-sharing,” Aden went on, “but I’d never experienced it before with anyone.”
“You mean you’ve never made any other vampires besides me?” I don’t know why, but I thought maybe he was joking back in the dream world.
He shook his head. “Only you. I have no desire to share a piece of myself like that with anyone else.”
Those last words punched me in the gut with brass knuckles of guilt. I looked away, no longer able to meet Aden’s gaze dead-on. I didn’t deserve to.
You had no choice but to turn Leo. It was that or lose him.
Somehow that didn’t make me feel any better.
“I’m told this Leo is your best friend,” Aden said casually.
I flinched. Here it comes. The twelve foot elephant in the room.
“We were,” I said, my voice sounding a little squeaky because my throat was so tight. “When we wer
e kids, that is. I’m not really sure what we are now.”
Aden hesitated, his expression clouding over with dread. “I… could feel parts of your emotions whenever you were near him.”
I raised my brow and he elaborated. “The longer two vampires are bonded, the deeper their connection gets. Dream-sharing is only the beginning. Eventually, we’ll be able to feel each other’s emotions, and we’ll know when the other is in danger, where they are, etc.”
“Wow,” I said, blinking. “I didn’t realize there was so much to it.”
A wry smile turned up the corner of his mouth. “You thought it was all parties and bloodsucking, did you?”
“Yeah, you got me. I was hoping quasi-immortality would be one non-stop party.”
He smiled, but it abruptly faded. “Sloane, I need you to tell me something straight.”
I froze. No. No, please ask me anything but this.
He paused, taking a deep breath.
“Do you love him?”
I remembered Leo asking me the exact same question, point-blank, just like Aden was now. I swallowed, stalling so I could form a response. “I have always loved Leo,” I said slowly. “But what we share has always been deep, the kind of love family has. Now…I don’t know.” I sighed hard, embarrassed. “I… we kissed.” Several times, but he didn’t need to know that.
Aden looked like he was trying not to smile. “And did you like it?”
I studied him, my eyes narrowing. “You knew, didn’t you?”
That received a full-blown smile. “I could feel your emotions when it happened and pieced it together.”
His voice was calm. I kept waiting for this explosion of anger or betrayal, but it never came.
He gazed out into the room, his expression thoughtful. “I felt anger, grief, shock, love, but those weren’t the strongest emotions.”
I waited, but he didn’t say anything right away. “And?”
His gaze met mine.
“Loneliness. It was so great, I felt like all the sunshine had left the world, leaving me breathless because I felt so lonely.”
I blinked. That wasn’t what I had been expecting.
I wanted to tell him about my increased bloodlust, how whenever I drank from Leo, I hadn’t seemed to be able to control my sexual drive. Mortifying a topic as it was to discuss, I still wanted to address it. I needed to know I wasn’t losing control of myself.
A knock came from downstairs and we both turned. “Ah, that would be our company,” Aden said, downing the rest of his champagne and getting up.
“Our company?” I asked, also rising.
He walked toward the bedroom door. “Yes. I figured since this Leo is so important to you, I wanted the chance to get to know him.” He opened the door and paused, looking back at me. “That’s precisely why I’ve invited him and his human companion over for dinner.”
I stood there, gaping. “You what?”
Aden was already out the door and bounding down the stairs, a satisfied smile on his face.
I went after him. “Aden, maybe this isn’t such a good idea.” My mouth started watering at all the wonderful smells coming from the kitchen. It smelled like steak sauce and seasoning. Mrs. Knight was an excellent cook. While I’d stayed here, she had made huge meals for us, cooking up enough food to feed a small army.
“Oh, don’t be silly,” Aden said, his hand on the front doorknob. “He is, after all, family now.”
I didn’t get another word in before he opened the door and smiled.
Reluctantly, I stepped into the rectangle of light spilling through the open door.
Leo stood there, hands in his jeans pockets, with Arika right behind him. I quickly scanned her neck. No bite marks. I inwardly sighed. At least that’s one disaster averted. Not that I’d had crazy bloodlust when I’d been made into a vampire, but thinking about what could have happened still made me worry.
Someone had obviously hooked Leo and Arika up with a clean change of clothes. He had on a black Green Day T-shirt, jeans, and Pumas. His hair had been gelled, hanging in perfect, glossy ringlets. Arika had on black tights, a long sleeved, lacy black top, combat boots, a short poufy black skirt, and another corset, only this one was red. It matched the red stripes in her bangs. She looked miserable, like she was going before a firing squad and not out to dinner.
Aden saved me from an awkward greeting. “Hello,” he said pleasantly, extending his hand. “You must be Leonardo. Mind if I call you Leo?”
Leo sized him up, nodding slightly.
A bad feeling gripped me.
“That depends,” Leo said. “Are you Aden? Sloane’s maker?”
“Indeed I am,” Aden said proudly.
Leo smiled. “I’ve been waiting a long time for this.”
Without warning, his fist flew out, clocking Aden clean in the jaw and sending him staggering backward.
“Leo!” I screamed, rushing forward between them. I made to help Aden up, but he was already on his feet, rubbing his jaw.
“Brings back memories,” he said wryly, opening his mouth and closing it with a wince.
I grimaced. He was referring to when I’d accidentally socked him on my first day in his home. Mrs. Knight had snuck up on me – which was a bad move because I didn’t like to be grabbed without warning – and I’d gone into auto-punch mode. Aden, thankfully, had pushed her out of the way, taking the hit in the jaw.
I rounded on Leo, my gaze hot. “What’s wrong with you? Have you lost your mind?”
He pressed his lips together, trying not to laugh. Arika’s expression was nearly identical. “Ah, he’s fine, Sloane,” Leo said, gesturing to Aden. “Besides, he’s a vampire. He’ll heal in, like, .2 seconds.”
“Actually, make that a day or two,” Aden said, coming up behind me. He had stopped rubbing his jaw, but it looked a little swollen. If he was in pain, he didn’t let on as he smiled coolly at Leo. “Though I still think Sloane hits harder.”
That wiped the smile off Leo’s face.
I groaned. Something told me this was going to be a long night.
CHAPTER 29
By the grace of the powers that be, nothing disastrous happened during dinner. Aden seemed to be mildly amused, acting as if nothing had ever happened, which I think he partially did to annoy Leo more. Leo kept shooting glares at him all night, usually while stabbing his fork a little too forcefully into his steak.
Mrs. Knight was all smiles, graciously serving seconds and encouraging small talk. She even managed to wriggle a smile out of Arika, who up until then looked like she was going to face-plant in her mashed potatoes from boredom.
We didn’t talk about what had happened aboveground. I kept waiting for it to come up, but it never really did. Every time the conversation started veering into no-man’s-land, Mrs. Knight would deftly pull it back into another direction. I think that was the whole point of this get-together, to smooth things out between her son and me, and to take all of us “strays” under her wing. I suspected she had more to do with the dinner invitations than Aden.
All throughout dinner, I couldn’t help but stew over what remained to be done. I needed – okay, wanted – to talk to Deyzre or Rook and find out where they had stowed Ivan so I could pick his brains about my long lost grandpa. I also wanted to ask Paris how the vaccine was coming along. Nothing had been said on the local vampire station, or at least, from what I could make out. Reception down here was pretty sketchy at best. It seemed like Frost was keeping the Red Death under wraps, probably in an attempt to prevent mass hysteria.
After dinner, Aden and I walked Leo and Arika to the front door. Soon as the door was open, Arika stepped outside, too eager to get away. Leo lingered behind, his eyes catching mine for a moment.
I had so many things I wanted to ask him. Why he hadn’t come by, how he was handling all this, if he needed anything. Mostly, I wanted to know if he still needed me.
“Thanks, er, for dinner,” Leo said gruffly, looking at Aden.
Aden n
odded. “You’re welcome over anytime,” he said politely. I had a feeling Mrs. Knight said she would nag him to death if he showed poor manners. She was probably lurking around the corner, making sure he said it.
I opened my mouth to speak when Leo said abruptly, “Well, see you around.” Without a backward glance, he turned and ushered Arika down the dirt road.
I stared after them until they turned a corner toward their own block, speechless and a little hurt. Shutting the door softly, I blinked and tried to compose the heat rising in my face. I stared at the floor, at my feet, at anything but Aden.
“That was fun,” he said lightly.
“Yeah,” I said quickly, casting him a too bright smile. “It was great.”
I couldn’t handle the awkward silence that followed. Restless and craving anything that would take my mind off Leo, I started past Aden toward the kitchen, intending to ask Mrs. Knight if she needed any help cleaning up.
“Don’t worry about him.”
I stopped, turning back around. “What?”
Aden sighed and walked up to me, resting a hand on my shoulder. “Relationships between a maker and his or her protégé can be, well, complicated at times.”
I snorted. That was an understatement.
“But maybe what he needs is a few more days to sort it all out, to think about how he fits into our world.” He smiled at me reassuringly. I noted there was a sad look to his eyes, like he was gazing on me for the last time. “I’m sure he’ll be dying to see you soon.”
Before I could ask what the weird look was for, he strolled past me and into the kitchen.
I lingered behind for a few seconds and shook my head. “Men,” I grumbled, joining him and his mom.
I knew something was up the moment I saw their faces. “What is it?” I asked, instantly alert. “What’s wrong?”
Aden lifted a slender finger to his lips, motioning for me to be quiet. He nodded toward the small TV on the countertop.
My gaze followed his cue and I instantly frowned.
Frost was speaking into a microphone before a crowd. It looked like she was in front of the base. Cameras flashed all around as she paused to catch her breath.
Dark Horizons (The Red Sector Chronicles) Page 30
