I do not feel better after church.
Sitting down with Grand-mere Celeste for supper, I fidget in my chair, trying to figure out how to tell her my plans for tonight.
“What’s wrong with you girl? You have ants in your pants. Stop squirming and tell me whatever it is that has you all worked up.” I suck in a deep breath.
“I have a date tonight,” I say quickly before I lose my nerve.
“A date? A date with who? On a Sunday night? At night?”
“Yes, tonight, at night.” I hang my head, hands in my lap and mumble out, “With Sebastien Malvani,” like I’m a child who broke the rules. I am genuinely worried about her reaction though. Life is hard for everyone and especially Grand-mere. The vamps are a touchy subject we generally avoid.
“Who? Speak up Elina,” she tells me sternly.
“I said with Sebastien Malvani,” I repeat, peeking up at her through my lashes while I wait for her response. With that, Grand-mere Celeste gasps out loud and clutches her chest with a look of horror. Something in her expression pulls at me. I can’t read the emotion in her bottomless brown eyes but it’s almost like a memory, one of dread. This is going as well as I had expected. After about a minute, she recovers her wits and gives me a weak smile.
“Well, if that isn’t something. A Blood Raven taking you out. Are you sure that’s safe?”
“No, not really. He’s been coming into the bar for a few weeks and, I don’t know, I feel like I need to go through with this and see what happens. Sarah thinks that if things go well, maybe I could be in a position to do something. He is the heir after all—that has to mean something, right?” Another gasp.
“The heir? Like, Marcus’s heir?”
“Yes, I looked up the family tree last Sunday and he’s Marcus’s nephew—the only male in the family line under Marcus. Marcus has some brothers but I guess he passed them over.” Maybe I could ask Bash about it one day.
“Bash? You are quite familiar with this man. I don’t feel well about this but it’s your choice and your life. You can’t stay here with me forever.” She gazes at me sadly, her mouth turned down, her hand still over her heart. She’s wrong—I can and I will.
“I’m going up to get ready, he will be here soon. I promise to be careful Grand-mere, and I will be home tonight. Please don’t worry about me.” I drop a kiss on her cheek and head up the stairs to get ready for the date I did not want and am scared to go on.
One long, very hot shower later, I’m getting dressed. I have no idea what I’m supposed to wear since he didn’t tell me where we are going, but it’s probably a safe bet he is wearingblack dress pants and a black button down. Pulling on black jeans with rips in the knees, I decide I need to add a jacket. I laugh softly to myself as I look at my outfit in the mirror, fluffing my curls before heading down the stairs.
At exactly 8 o'clock, a black sports car pulls up to the curb in front of the house and Bash unfolds himself from the driver seat. Interesting, he struck me as the type to have a driver.
Walking out the front door, I extend my hand as he waits at the bottom of the stairs. A feral grin on his face.
