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“You sure you wouldn’t like it?” She jumped when Draven’s breath and gravely timber caressed the shell of her ear. “You are the embodiment of that sucker. Spicy on the outside, sweet on the inside. I wonder…”
Flora turned around when he didn’t immediately continue, only Draven was no longer standing behind her. He was inside the store, and she’d almost swear he’d never been behind her at all. But she could still feel the tickle left from his breath.
Draven’s lips tugged into a seductive smile, and Flora’s mind couldn’t help but reel.
What did he wonder?
They each filled far too many bags with sweets, and by the time they were finished it was late afternoon. They decided to head back to the bed and breakfast to freshen up and get ready for dinner.
The sun was low in the sky, just enough that its rays shone down the street and warmed Flora’s face. She closed her eyes, embracing the heat on her skin mixed with the cool breeze that whipped around them.
“Enjoy it while you can.”
She popped her eyes open and glared at Draven. He loved to egg her on, and she loved to play into his hand. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
They walked far enough behind Mateo and Kade that they wouldn’t hear her, and it made her wonder if they knew about the little agreement Draven and she had made. “If I turn you, this might be the last time you get to enjoy the sun like this.”
“Plenty of vampires go out in the sun,” Flora scoffed, unimpressed that he would say just about anything to get her to agree not to be turned. “You’re in the sun right now.”
He tipped his head in her direction, his tousled brown hair falling slightly onto his forehead and his eyebrows cocked like he expected her to read his mind. “I am, but my father is a King…”
His voice trailed off and the pieces fell into place.
“I wouldn’t be a royal vampire.” The weight of her words sank in. She’d known in the back of her mind that she wouldn’t be a daytime vampire.
“You wouldn’t. The sun would be too much for your delicate skin. The light would refract in your eyes and burn what wasn’t meant to see the light of day.”
It was easy for her to forget the reason why parties were held in the evening at the castle or why the halls were nearly empty during the day. The majority of those who lived in the castle were royal and even if they weren’t, the castle had windows that blocked the rays so it was a non-issue.
But it would be for her when she was turned. There would be no more rides with Shadowfell in the height of a spring day. Or picnics during the late summer sun. The darkness of night would be her playground.
“And it’s not just the sun that will turn against you. The wind will no longer caress your perfect porcelain skin. For a time it will feel like needles piercing every inch of you. The birds will no longer sing, they will scream and the candy you just bought will be bland.”
He was trying to use vampire knowledge to scare her, but she knew better. “You and I both know that doesn’t last forever.”
“True. What is forever, though, to an immortal being? Twenty years is still a long time for someone who has just been turned. Twenty years is just shy of your lifetime now.”
Flora stopped walking and spun on Draven. She swallowed hard past the knot in her throat. None of this was new information to her. Being turned was what she needed to do to remain alive. To rid the world of a monster. “Why are you trying to scare me, Draven?”
He took a step toward her so that with every ragged breath, her chest touched his. His emerald gaze studied her and when he spoke there was nothing but empathy in his voice. “I’m not trying to scare you, Flora. I’m saying these things so you’ll understand what it is that will happen to you. It won’t be exactly like your life in the castle. Those vampires were centuries old and royal. They’ve never known anything else.”
“Neither have you,” she spat, tears rimming her eyes. Their day had been magnificent. For the first time ever she had felt almost normal, but of course he had to go and ruin it.
“It’s true. I was born with all my senses already attuned to my body, but I’ve met newly turned vampires. I’ve seen the ways a transition can go wrong. I’ve met fledglings who were left by their sires to fend for themselves.” Draven reached up and wiped the tear that fell down her cheek. His eyes softened and when he spoke she sensed a hint of regret in his tone. “I don’t want you to ever face any of that. You are not meant for our kind.”
Flora should have pushed his hand away. She didn’t need her feelings clouding one of the biggest decisions of her life. But her traitorous heart ate up every word he said. She leaned into his calloused hand, thankful at least her words didn’t betray her. “You don’t know the first thing about me, Draven. And even if you did, we both know you wouldn’t leave me to fend for myself. Neither would Callum.”
Draven hesitated for a bit, and she thought maybe she’d taken a step toward him seeing things from her point of view.
Wishful thinking.
Draven leaned in and with an elongated fang, nipped the sensitive flesh on the lobe of her ear. “I protect what’s mine, Flora, never forget that. But I would rather not have to protect you at all.”
