Page 52 of Of Shadows and Blood

“Where did you go?” Cedric asks, his face puzzled as he looks at me. Only the left side of his face is dimly lit by the rising moon.

“Go where?”

“Wherever your mind just took you,” he says, still examining my face. “It’s the oddest thing, not being able to understand you like I used to.”

“The way you used to understand Elivienne,” I correct.

Cedric pulls his hand back, making me realize we were resting ours close to one another. I also retract and gaze out at the still water reflecting the darkening sky.

“Same thing,” he mumbles as he gets up and strides to the dock. I sit in the same spot, staring at his haunted figure.

He begins to undress, first pulling his shirt up. I wish I could say I averted my gaze immediately, but that would be a lie. I stare at him for half a moment. His body flexes as the shirt goes over his head. The muscles are sculpted like fine art, something Ma could carve.

Cedric swings his head towards my direction. I turn the opposite way, hoping he didn’t notice my eye goggling. I fear what he is, but I simply cannot fear what he looks like.

“Coming?” he says as he begins to slip off his boots. I stand up, still shaky from the trip over here.

Going to have to get used to that.

The dock goes out about fifteen feet, slightly swaying as I carry myself across its planks. I use this time to decide if swimming with the king of Lux is a good idea.

I already came out here with him. If he was planning on murdering me, this would be a good spot. But he hasn’t murdered me yet.

I stop and stand before him, trying to get a hold of my gaze as it attempts to dip to his bare chest. I need to stop. He is a monster. Deadly and lethal.

“Turn around,” I blurt. “Is it cold?”

Cedric smiles and turns around, working on his belt. As I turn, my eyes briefly catch on a scar below his hairline.

So, vampyrs can be injured.

“This lake is sort of an anomaly. It sits above the earth where it naturally heats. We call it Spring Lake,” Cedric says over my shoulder. I slip my dress off with some trouble, grateful to have loosened the leather strings that crisscross my chest. I still thoroughly approve of my decision to forgo corsets altogether. The servant who visited me seemed shocked with surprise.

“You jump first,” I say, back still turned. “Still no looking until I’m in.”

Cedric laughs, followed with a splash. The water hits my calves.

Warm. The lake is warm.

I plug my nose and jump in on the other side of the dock. It truly is a hot spring, a large one at that. Though, it is not hot, but lukewarm. It definitely beats the frigid early spring air outside. I surface from the warm bath and wade around the wooden structure, careful not to come too close to Cedric. His back is facing me as he stares at the rising moon. Again, my eyes catch on his back.

“How did you get your scar?” I ask, breaking the silence. As if on cue, Cedric reaches back and pets the mark.

“I lost a fight,” he says, turning to face me.

“Vampyrs can be injured, then?”

Cedric shakes his head, facing twisting with sorrow. “Not a true injury. We can bear the scars where we were hurt but no physical maladies follow it. It takes a lot, though, to really leave a mark. But it can happen.”

I consider his words. “Like the body doesn’t want to forget.”

Cedric tilts his head and then nods. “Yeah, I guess that’s a smart assessment.”

“Did it hurt?”

I tread closer.

“Very much so,” he whispers. Our eyes lock for a moment and I swear I can see an ounce of that pain behind his gaze.