Lucidia eyed the floor to ceiling bookshelves and opted for his liquor cart, plopping down on an overstuffed leather chair next to the fireplace. She nursed a glass of painfully expensive scotch, taking liberty with the definition of one ‘serving’.
It was an hour until he graced her with his presence.
He walked inside, turning towards her with his burning gaze, and strolled over.
“Ah, Lucidia,” he said pleasantly.
She looked at him with a serious expression. She took no part in his whims, a custom that he’d gotten used to, but seemed to push nonetheless.
He walked past her, and out of view, pouring himself a drink. A moment later, his arm came down from above her, topping her glass off with an even bigger amount than she’d enjoyed earlier. She raised it slightly in a ‘thank you’. Darian sat on the purple clawfoot sofa, arms spread out on either side, and studied her face.
“Todd mentioned that you were in a rather impatient mood the other day,” he put out.
“Yes. Thank you for the gesture, Master Darian.”
He waved a hand and smiled at her. “Don’t bother. I don’t believe I’ve ever heard you utter the words ‘thank you’ and truly mean them.”
She shrugged and turned to watch the fire.
Darian shifted, creeping towards her and running a finger up her toned thigh. Even with the leather riding pants, her skin crawled. She remained entirely still. “Are you happy here, Lucidia Draxos?”
She quirked an eyebrow.
He put a finger under her chin and turned her face, so that they were locking gazes. His voice was low, a murmur. “Because I want you to be happy. I hope that you know that.”
“You want me to be happy like a cat wants its mouse.”
This elicited a soft laugh from him, and the corners around his red eyes crinkled slightly, but in a tense kind of way. “You are more daring than your other strongblood friends. It’s one of the things I love about you. And I suppose you are correct. The mouse is to the cat as the cat is to the dog, yet there are many places at the table for all creatures to enjoy.”
She pulled away from his hand, and he brought it back to the couch arm, drumming his long, pale fingers on the velvet. “You perplex me.”
“I’m actually quite simple.”
“Yes – simple and loyal and dreadfully brooding.”
She shrugged again.
“You were very loyal to your father.”
She kept her expression frozen, the same blank, unreadable mask it always was. “He broke the law.”
“I’m not a monster, Lucidia. I understand that the law means nothing in comparison to the ties of family.”
“Why are we talking about Kenzo?”
“Because I want you to know something: when I sent you after him, I wasn’t trying to be cruel. I was quite taken by you, as we all were – it was an intentional move to preserve your position here, at court. The other vampires are not so forgiving of rebellion. They like to think that the sins of the father are damning to the child. But I saw value in you. By bringing your father to me, you proved to all vampires that you were loyal to us, and not to Kenzo. And here you are, esteemed and feared by all, in the east wing, under my protection.”
“Thank you, Master Darian.”
He smiled softly, in resignation, and changed the subject. “What do you want?”
“Personal time. A week, two at the most.”
“For what?”
“A personal matter,” she repeated firmly.
“Is it something I could assist you with?” he asked kindly.
She didn’t buy the act for a moment. There was something bothering him about her cold, calculated demeanor. Something that had caused him to try even harder than normal to crack through her hard shell.
“Why are you so interested in what I want?”
“Because I want you to be happy.”
“Bullshit.”
He raised an eyebrow. “You have a sharp tongue.”
“Bullshit, Master.”
He smiled. “I am just taking stock of my loyal subjects, seeing where honor is due. There are dark clouds looming on the horizon, and the ties of power are shifting more and more with each day. You have worked hard and faithfully for me, and I wish to repay it in full, in whatever way pleases you. You shall have your personal time, for whatever matter it is.”
She downed the rest of her drink, nodded, and rose. “Thank you, Master Darian.”
Robin
They’d been driving through the back highways of Utah for an hour when her eyes began slipping shut. Her head was still swimming with thoughts of vampires and even though she felt silly for even considering it, she’d be lying if there wasn’t a part of her that believed Reykon. He’d lied to her the first night to achieve his goal. Since then, he’d been painfully, brutally honest in a matter-of-fact way. He didn’t seem like the kind of person to toy with her mind just for its own sake.
But still, vampires? That was a leap.
She drifted off into a thick sleep, sun reflecting off the burnt-orange rock formations and warming her face.
When she woke up, she found her eyes staring at the leather interior of the door, rather than the window she’d fallen asleep to. Reykon must have lowered her seat back. She glanced down to her hands, finding the zip ties cut, and that terrifying black bracelet back on. With a frown, she propped herself up and glanced around. They’d pulled over on a gravel shoulder. There were no other cars around, but rolling hills, with sparse, yellow grass all around them. In the far distance, she saw a cattle fence and a ranch, complete with a silo.
She spotted Reykon through the rear-view window, leaning against the trunk, talking on his phone.
Robin raised her seat up and got out, walking on stiff legs and squinting in the sun. The warm rays felt
