Page 145 of Trapped By the Blood Ruby

His expression wiped clean before he released me, backing up several paces. My heart squeezed painfully. “I’ve got a few matters that require my attention. I’ll be in my study.” He disappeared into the room adjacent to the sitting room, partly closing the door without latching it.

I glared at the ancient wood, glared at the man somewhere beyond. Why was he making this so difficult? Was the idea of loving me really so impossible, or was he just too afraid to try?

“Dinner will be within the hour.” Laurent’s voice pulled me from my work. I closed the lid of my laptop, tearing my focus away from a paper on fractional Fourier transforms. My head was spinning with formulas, but in the best way.

Strong hands found my shoulders and began massaging. A moan escaped my lips. His hands were perfection.

“Have you been hunched over your computer all this time?” There was no hint of our earlier conversation in his tone, as if it had never happened.

“Yes,” I grumbled. Since Laurent had his own study, I’d claimed the small dining room. My things were spread across the table. I had packed everything I would need to begin my semester remotely.

“How can you even read that?” he wondered, hands still working the kinks in my shoulders. I glanced at the notes I’d taken, spread across the pages of my open journal. While my writing was neat and precise, to most people it looked like code, a strange foreign language.

“Those are complex exponentials,” I explained. “I found a paper that illustrates the beauty of uniform convergence of Fourier series for continuous, bundled functions. It’s quite elegant, really.” He hit a knot at the base of my neck and I leaned into his fingers. “Anyway, I’m trying to work out the derivation for myself. Authors never include all the steps in papers like this. It’s supposed to be self-evident.”

“I have no idea what any of that means. Your mind is extraordinary, Lily.” He bent and placed a kiss on my forehead. His praise had a burst of warmth flooding me. I almost gave in. Instead, I bit my lower lip and forced myself to stay put.

“I could teach you, if you’d like.” My offer was more a formality, than anything. Me being nice.

He hummed. “While I understand enough mathematics to fumble my way through multi-variable calculus and perhaps even a bit of differential equations, I’ll leave the tricky stuff to you, sweetheart.”

“Calculus is tricky, too,” I argued. “Most people struggle with algebra, and rightfully so.”

“True. But most people don’t have your brain.” Again, I flushed. “Did you want some time to get ready before we go down to dinner? It’s sure to be a grand affair.”

“Oh.” My mind snapped back to the reason he’d interrupted me.

Fifteen minutes later, we were descending into the lower levels of the fortress. It was a maze. I had considered exploring more while Laurent worked, but an email from my professor had diverted my focus. Somehow, the entire afternoon had slipped by in a blink.

Despite the semester only just starting, I was eager to choose my PhD research topic, even if students didn’t usually make that decision until a few years in. The sooner I knew what to work on, the sooner I could start planning for my dissertation, even if that was years away.

“Did you get everything done that you wanted to?” I asked, keeping my voice casual.

“Mostly. I’ve been making arrangements for the coming weeks. Now more than ever, it’s important to solidify my allies as I work to get to the bottom of what’s happening.” His thumb stroked over the back of my hand. “Drazgus’s death threw a wrench in all my plans.”

I hummed. “Don’t you think it’s strange that he was involved in both Zola’s abduction and the attempt made on me?”

“If you’re asking whether it’s a coincidence, then no. It wasn’t. I had an entire plan that began with threatening Drazgus, then discovering all his secrets. So much for that.”

Laurent led me into a large hall, the central gathering place of the fortress. Six long tables were set with elegant gold tableware. Giant chandeliers hung glittering from the ceiling. Unlike earlier when we’d passed through, this room was teaming with activity. We strode down the central aisle. Raised upon a platform was a single table that faced the room, reserved for the lord of the keep.

“Wait, we’re sitting up there?” I faltered but Laurent kept his hand firmly in mine.

“Of course.”

Being on display was the last thing I wanted. I swallowed down my anxiety when I spotted Zola waiting for us. She stood with a few other familiar faces. The high table sat eight. Laurent’s inner circle.

Hassan offered me a grin as we rounded it. The two seats in the middle had been reserved for us. Laurent helped me into my chair and Zola immediately leaned in to compliment my choice of attire—a simple, black, short sleeved cocktail dress.

Now that I had a better view, I noticed the hall wasn’t entirely full. There were a number of empty places. “Are we still waiting on people?” I asked Zola. Her lips pressed flat and she gave a slight shake of her head. It was then I realized why. Laurent’s family was shrinking with each vampire picked off. Had the seats been entirely filled the last time they’d gathered like this? If so, he must have lost at least fifty, perhaps more.

My stomach soured. This wasn’t just Laurent’s family—these were people with centuries of stories, relationships, memories. All snuffed out by whoever was hunting them.

Seeing this made everything feel more dire. Not all of Zola’s children had made it. Some of those chairs belonged to them. Now they’d never be filled again. I reached under the table and grabbed her hand, giving it a squeeze. “Don’t waste your sadness on me, darling. Death is a part of life. They wouldn’t want us unhappy.”

“You’re right.”

Laurent and Marco had their heads together, speaking in hushed whispers. When he finished, he straightened then faced the hall. Silence descended. Several vampires lined the walls, Vittorio among them, waiting to serve.