“What?”
“You didn’t tell anyone about the kiss we shared, did you?” Armando’s gaze was vivid golden fire.
“You mean like my big brother?” Vanora rolled her eyes. “Yeah. Right. Like I really want him to make a big scene throwing you out.”
“And not Alisha?”
“No. No one.”
“Oh.” Armando looked relieved, but also, perhaps, disappointed.
“Well, I did tell my cousin, Felicia, but she told me to stay away from you because you’re bad news.”
The vampire had the audacity to look hurt. “Bad news?”
“She doesn’t know you’re a vampire. She just thinks you’re a friend of Alisha’s that’s way too old for me.”
“I see.”
“According to her, older men are trouble for young impressionable women like me,” Vanora continued.
Armando frowned.
“Or should I say old men. Really old. Ancient.” It was fun to irk him after the countless nights she had spent awake remembering the cold flame of his kiss.
“I get your point,” Armando said, lowering his arched brows.
“Do you?” Vanora sighed, observing the way emotions flitted over his features too quickly to discern.
“Yes. I’m old. You’re young. I’m a vampire. You’re not. We’re definitely not destined for any sort of relationship.” Armando looked completely somber and a little morose.
“You suck,” Vanora decided and trudged toward the house.
“Wait!” Armando caught her arm, spinning her about. “About the kiss…”
“It meant nothing, right? A birthday kiss. That’s all it was. I’m not for you, and you’re not for me.” Vanora said the words far more calmly than she thought possible. Even as she said the exact phrase he had said to her, the sentiment wounded her all over again. The fresh pain made her eyes burn with unshed tears.
Armando lowered his lashes, his fingers lightly holding her close to him. “Yes.”
“So, we’re okay. Friends.” She could still remember the press of his lips against hers and the way her body had responded to his touch.
“Always,” he said, slowly raising his face to stare into hers.
“Then, why the drama?”
The vampire gazed at her for a very long moment. His fingers were beginning to chill her, yet she didn’t try to pull away. “There isn’t any. I just…you were gone for so long. You’ve never been gone that long before.”
“I’m seventeen, Armando. I’m leaving for good in December.” She hated how her heart sped up at the thought of him actually worrying about her, thinking about her.
“I thought maybe you left because of what happened between us. I should have spoken to you afterward, I know that. Made sure things were right between us.”
Vanora sighed. She looked everywhere but directly at him. The warm, humid night air clung to her already sweaty flesh and she yearned for a shower. “Everything is fine.”
“Then look at me.”
Vanora smirked. “Is this a vampire trick? Are you going to try to make me forget that you kissed me?”
“No.”
Swiveling her head about, she gazed into his golden eyes. His power did electrify the air around her, but she didn’t sense it trying to penetrate her thoughts.
“Maybe you should stay closer to home. Not go so far.”
Surprised, she lifted her eyebrows. “What?”
“Roman and Alisha need you.”
Pressing her lips together, Vanora stared at him in confusion.
“You’re very important to them. You anchor them.”
“I have to live my own life.” It was her new mantra, but one she found difficult to utter. Despite her desperate need for independence, she still felt guilt over the thought of leaving her brother and sister behind.
“Of course,” Armando faltered. Shifting his hand from her arm to her cheek, he kissed her forehead, surprising Vanora once again. “You’re right.”
“You’re so weird,” Vanora decided.
Armando laughed, the sound strained, yet somehow happy. “I’ve been called many things…”
“Like what?”
The question unsettled him. Vanora could see it in his expression, but he shoved it away with a wide, fake smile.
“Handsome. Charming. Intelligent. Young.”
“Nah, you’re old.”
“I was made into a vampire at twenty-two!”
“You look older.” Vanora enjoyed teasing him. It alleviated a bit of the tension between them.
“Life was harder then. People guess I’m twenty-six. Tops.” Armando playfully sneered at her.
“Old. So old!”
The front door slammed open and Alisha rushed out. “Snow Pea!”
One second her sister was on the doorstep, the next she had traveled twenty feet and was snuggling Vanora. It was disconcerting.
“Hey, sis. Did you miss me?” Vanora asked, drowning in her sister’s embrace.
“Oh my God! Did I ever!”
Alisha swept Vanora toward the mansion entrance, Armando trailing behind them. Vanora glanced over her shoulder and mouthed at him, old.
35
Alisha was feeling human again. It was a relief to be warmed by the love she felt for her sister, and to once more feel grounded in the foundation of the family. Though she hated to admit it, during Vanora’s absence, she had been disconcerted by a dark, predatory coldness that had seeped into her soul. Without Vanora to focus her on the mundane, everyday aspects of human life, she had slid fully into the world of the vampires. They had visited quite often in Vanora’s absence. The entire atmosphere of the house had altered with their presence. Even though the vampires were following Roman’s Laws, their internal darkness called to hers in a way that was frighteningly unnerving. Whenever she was around the others for too long, Alisha felt the hunger within her stir. Her senses became heightened, and she started to regard the world around her with a predatory gaze.
She’d been shaken to the core just a few days before when she’d been club hopping with Sheila and Alexander. As Alisha had been sipping her drink, she’d unconsciously and casually identified two people milling about in the pulsating lights as suitable prey. They both had been alone, stank of desperation, and clearly hungered for any sort of attention. She’d been unnerved to see that Sheila and Alexander were watching the same two people.
“Back in the day, that’s what we’d call easy pickings,” Sheila joked, a slow, wicked grin on her red lips.
It was then that Alisha was horrified to realize her sharp teeth had unsheathed. She’d hidden her mouth until they retracted, but the event frightened her. She hadn’t realized how much Vanora grounded her until that moment. Now that her sister was home, she felt much safer and calmer in her own skin. The predator inside of her was still alert, but the gnawing hunger had retreated to a dull throb.
Besides, there was much entertainment to be had with the return of her sister. Alisha was curious about the peculiar tension she sensed around Vanora and Armando. At first, she thought she was imagining it, but then she noticed how deliberately they ignored one another during the course of the conversation.
Settling deeper into the chair she occupied in the family room, Alisha watched Vanora showing off her vacation photos on her digital camera to their brother. The siblings sat side by side on the couch, while Armando sat a safe distance from Vanora on the armrest, leaving a whole cushion length between them.
Alisha found it all very suspicious.
“So who are all these kids?” Roman asked, pointing to the screen.
“Those are friends of Felicia’s that visited one weekend. She wanted me to meet them before I move to Austin in December.”
“All these boys are her friends?” Roman sounded just like a dad, much to Alisha’s amusement.
“Boys?” Armando arched an eyebrow.
“Yeah. Boys.” Vanora cast a definite side eye in Armando’s direction. “It was ab
out half and half. That’s Felicia’s new boyfriend. He’s dreamy. His name is Juan Carlos and he’s from Mexico City. That boy next to him is his even cuter brother.”
“I want to see.” Alisha thrust out her hand.
Vanora scooted around the coffee table and showed Alisha the image on the camera. The young man in the picture was very handsome. “Oh, he’s a hottie. Did he show any interest in you?”
“I hope not!” Roman sputtered. “She’s too young!”
“I’m seventeen!”
“Yeah, she’s seventeen!” Alisha agreed.
“How old is this boy?” Armando asked in a very neutral tone.
“Twenty-one,” Vanora answered.
“Too old,” Roman declared.
“I agree,” Armando chimed in.
“You don’t get a vote,” Vanora said darkly to Armando, brushing past him to sit next to her brother again.
Alisha smirked. Her little sister was definitely jabbing at Armando, but Roman was too obtuse to realize it. The frown lines on his face said it all as he glared at the screen of Vanora’s pink digital camera.
“I’ll call Uncle Nicolau about this boy tomorrow.”
“Oh, God, Roman.” Vanora rolled her eyes. “It’s not like I had sex with him.”
“Good!”
“Though if I did, it wouldn’t be any of your business,” Vanora continued.
“I’m your fa-brother!” Roman glowered.
Vanora giggled. “Will it make you feel better if I said he was a bit of a jerk and I didn’t like him?”
“Yes. If it was the truth.” Roman fretfully studied Vanora’s face.
“It’s the truth, Roman.” Alisha slung her legs over the armrest of her chair and grinned at him. “Vanora obviously has eyes for someone else.”
Both Vanora and Armando looked at her sharply.
“What’s that boy’s name? The one from school, Vanora?” Needling Armando was almost as much fun as needling her brother.
“There’s a boy at school?” Armando arched his eyebrows.
Vanora rapidly blinked at Alisha, confused, then caught on. “Oh, him.”
“Much better. Age appropriate. Plus, you’re leaving in December.” Roman irritably looked through the pictures on the camera.
“There’s a boy at school?” Armando inquired in his oh-so-casual tone.
“Uh huh,” Vanora lied.
“Uncle Nicolau let you wear a bikini?” Roman sounded horrified.
“Have you seen the Speedo he wears to the beach?” Vanora rolled her eyes. “Felicia loaned me that one. That was for the night swim we had on the Fourth of July.”
Roman muttered under his breath. Alisha knew Roman was struggling with the concept of Vanora actually being a young woman. “I want to see it, Roman. Hand it over.”
Roman gave the camera to Armando, who took a second to look at the photo, before passing it on to Alisha. Biting her bottom lip, Alisha tried not to burst out laughing. She could see why Roman didn’t like the photo. The bikini definitely revealed that Vanora was a young woman with a slender frame that was nicely rounded in all the right places.
“Get me a print of it. I like it. I want it for my photo album.”
Vanora grinned, reclaimed her camera, and playfully stuck out her tongue at her brother. “See, Alisha likes it!”
Armando remained perched on the armrest, arms folded over his chest, eerily still and thoughtful.
“You’re encouraging her!” Roman protested.
“She’s seventeen, Roman. Seventeen! I lost my virginity at seventeen!”
“I didn’t need to know that, Alisha!” Her brother looked completely chagrined.
“You’re just lucky she hasn’t been into dating before. She’s gorgeous and soon a lot of young men are going to start noticing. If they haven’t already.” Alisha met her brother’s glare defiantly.
Armando didn’t move a muscle.
“I should tie you up and keep you in the attic,” Roman grumbled, but he nudged Vanora with his arm affectionately.
“One day I might even have…dum dum dum…a boyfriend!” Vanora laughed at her brother’s discomfort.
“I’ll eat him,” Roman decided. “That’s what I’ll do. I’m a vampire. I’ll eat him.”
“Yeah, go all Dracula on him. Uncle Nicolau says we’re related to him anyway.” Vanora snuggled into her brother’s side. She looked child-like next to him and the sight tugged at Alisha’s heartstrings.
“By marriage. Not direct descendants.” Roman looked peeved. “Nicolau loves to throw that little bit of family history around.”
“Was Dracula really a vampire?” Vanora asked Armando pointedly. “Did you know him?”
“No. He was mortal and the Turks killed him.” Armando shrugged slightly. “Bram Stoker didn’t actually base his vampire on Vlad Tepes originally. It was a last minute change before publication. Or so I heard.”
“Was Stoker a vampire?” Vanora poked Armando.
“No, no. He was not.” Armando seemed amused by the line of questioning. “Now another ancestor of yours was a vampire.”
“Don’t bring up Elizabeth Bathory,” Roman growled. “We’re related to her by marriage as well. Not a direct descendant.”
“And she’s dead. The hunters killed her long ago,” Armando said, shrugging.
“Uncle Nicolau says our family could claim the Romanian and the Hungarian crown if we wanted to.” Vanora yawned, looking very bleary-eyed, but was obviously having fun riling her brother.
“There are several families that could,” Roman said dismissively. “Our family decided it was best to keep a low profile. Far too much conflict.”
“Is that why your family changed its name?” Armando asked.
That perked up both Alisha and Vanora.
“Our family name changed?” Alisha gave Roman a questioning look. “Really?”
Roman sighed, pressing his fingers to the bridge of his nose. “Yes. A very long time ago. And no, it wasn’t Dracula. We’re related to Matthias the First, a Hungarian king. His sister married Vlad Tepes. Later our branch married into a Wallachian family and altered the name. It’s a bit of a soap opera.”
“So what was our original name?” Vanora appeared as keenly interested as Alisha. On the Welsh side of their family, they were descended from farmers who happened to have the sixth sense. Their Romanian side was wealthy, aristocratic and shrouded in a bit of mystery.
“Corvinus,” Armando said to Vanora. “Matthias Corvinus of Hungary. He pushed back the Ottoman Empire invasion of Eastern Europe. Not a history to disrespect.”
Roman shrugged. “The past is the past. It has nothing to do with the present. Besides, our family is descended from the wrong side of the bed, so we were denied the throne after Matthias died. Our family was thought to become extinct, but we are descended from a secret child that was hidden away.”
Alisha liked the sound of that. “Oh, scandalous!”
“Very,” Roman smirked. “But there’s a reason we never claimed our legacy. Nicolau loves to talk about it, but I respect the decision our family made to keep ourselves apart from the political intrigues.”
“Though it does explain why you’re a natural leader,” Armando said teasingly.
Roman waved his hand dismissively. “I’m no prince, but Vanora is my princess.”
“Your sleepy princess,” Armando pointed out.
Vanora’s white lashes fluttered as she fought to stay awake. “Do I get a tiara?”
Alisha climbed out of her chair and reached for her sister. “C’mon. Time for you to go to bed. You’re not on vampire time.”
Vanora groaned but held out her hand to Alisha.
Tugging her sister to her feet, Alisha snuggled her. “So good to have you home.”
“I’m glad to be home. I can’t wait to sleep in my own bed!”
Roman stood and hugged his sister, kissing her on both cheeks. Alisha felt a pang of sorrow at the sight. Roman had seemed even more lost
than she had in Vanora’s absence. Alisha couldn’t imagine how he’d react to Vanora permanently moving out of their home and lives to establish her own home and life.
Alisha scooted her sister past the pensive Armando and winked at him. His reaction was priceless. He looked flustered.
“After I get Snow Pea to bed, I’ll be back down.”
The sisters trudged up the stairs to Vanora’s room. Roman and Armando had carried Vanora’s things up earlier, but her younger sister ignored the prospect of unpacking and fell face first onto the bed.
“So tired,” Vanora’s muffled voice said.
“Too tired to tell me what’s up with Armando?” Alisha asked coyly.
Vanora’s head snapped up. “Uh, what?”
“Don’t play innocent with me. You’re both acting really weird.”
Rolling onto her back, Vanora let out a long, exaggerated breath.
“So? Spill it, Snow Pea.”
“You know I have a crush on him. I’ve had it forever.”
“Yeah, but tonight’s the first time I realized it might be going both ways. It must be a new development because Armando never acted this way before.” Alisha sat on the edge of the bed and leaned toward her sister. She was a little unnerved by the idea of Armando, a dear friend, actually having interest in her sister, but tonight Alisha had realized what maybe Armando already had noticed: the truth. Vanora was a young woman now.
“You think so?” Vanora sat up, her purple eyes wide with surprise. “Really?”
“Yeah, but he’s like four hundred years old.”
“He was changed when he was twenty-two.” Vanora’s tone was slightly defensive, but also had an edge of defeat to it.
Alisha gently combed her fingers through Vanora’s hair and gave her sister a small smile. “I have no idea how age affects vampires. I’m forever twenty-two, too. I’m supposed to be dreading my thirtieth birthday this year. Yet, here I am frozen in time.”
“Do you feel different? Like older inside?”
“Yes and no. I mean, I have seven more years of life experience under my belt, but I…” Alisha faltered. It was hard to describe, but in some ways, she felt unchanged despite everything that had happened. The woman she had been when she had died was the woman she still was. “I’m the same, but I’m not. I can’t explain it. But in four hundred years, will I still be who I am tonight? I don’t know.”
Vampire in the Night: In Darkness We Must Abide, #1 Page 22
