Glass buildings lined the street, each one a uniform rectangle with no room for dissent. There were restaurants, bars, shops—all of them busy, the sounds of laugher and happy chatter in the air.
And so many elves. Man, I’d never see such a high concentration of my species before.
“Everything’s so clean,” I said.
There wasn’t so much as a scuff mark on the white pathways and smooth roads.
“An expert team of street cleaners keep it that way,” Elio responded.
For the first time, I noticed the melodic elvish lilt in Elio’s voice—something I lacked. He mostly spoke in the flatter, more clipped Human Domain accent, but with a sprinkle of that charming elvish intonation.
“I’m scared to walk on anything,” I added, the ground seeming fragile.
Elio chortled, then gulped when he realized the vampire king was watching him.
“Shall I take the lead, Your Majesty?” the elf asked, tapping the base of his throat.
“I know where I’m going,” Silvanus answered tersely.
Silvanus seemed grumpier. So, I left him in point alone, walking beside Elio, Medusa walking behind us. I kept quiet, taking in the sights of glass and super-clean stone.
At a T-junction, Silvanus turned right into a narrower street with triangular, pointed buildings—half glass with white stone bottoms. All of them residential aside from two closed cafés.
No awesome bakery, though.
On the left side of the street were ten market stalls, each one selling flowers. Man, the rich cacophony of perfume and floral energy warmed my heart.
I sent my greeting to the sweeties, veering in the direction of a pink-painted stall selling potted white orchids.
A pang of sorrow hit me over Oliver, my fabulous orchid.
Dammit. I missed him millions.
“Hello there.” An elf with the pinkest hair I’d ever seen greeted me.
“Hi.”
“Nice evening, isn’t it?”
“I’ll say. These are beautiful.” Oof. Check me out getting all misty-eyed.
She clasped her hands together, her myriad of bangles jingling. “Thank you. Are you interested in keeping orchids?”
Don’t chat. Move on.“Yeah. Well, I did have one, but I lost him.”
“Him, eh? Poor thing.”
I nodded, inspecting every plant here. They were so happy to be amongst elves, and I’d love to take them all home with me.
Only, I didn’t have a home anymore. My flat was officially out of bounds, Hal having pissed over everything with his betrayal. I mean, I could kick him out, but I didn’t want to go back there ever again. It was nothing but a tainted space now.
What was it like for Hal with Aidan inside him? Was he fully onboard with being the vessel for a deity? Was he suffering, begging for help in some metaphysical prison?
Damn. I hated that I cared, but we’d been through so much. I had to save him because he’d saved me. Been a support for me after Pearl died, and a source of so much physical release.
Save him, then kick his arse out of my life for good. I couldn’t forgive him for selling me down the river like that.
Oh, but you’ll fuck a vampire king?
