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Erianna tilted her head. “So you do like coffee?”
“It was the delivery of the coffee,” I explained, and smiled. “I was still lying down.”
“I’m only around Anna,” she told me as she dragged the armchair next to my bed, tensing the muscle in her bicep. “Sometimes I forget your reflexes aren’t like ours. I’ve done it to her too.”
“How long has she been here?”
“Since she was seventeen, and she’s adopted a lot of our habits, minus the blood,” she said with a grin, showing off her elongated fangs.
“How was she captured?”
Her eyebrows knitted together. “Oh, sweetie, no. Anna was orphaned and abused in her kingdom. Zach found her and brought her here because she wanted to come. It’s quite the love story.”
My nose wrinkled. “Love story?” I thought about what Gwen had said to Sebastian regarding his mortal tastes. “Is she with Sebastian?”
Her laugh tinkled in the room. “Gods, no, but she’ll get a laugh out of that. She’s Zach’s wife.”
I almost choked on my coffee. “Wow. I didn’t see him as the type who would take a wife, let alone someone so”—I mulled over the words—“sweet, while he’s so….”
“Stoic?” she finished with a hint of a smile. “Surprisingly, they work well together. She brings out a softer side to him.”
“I’d like to see that.”
“He likes to pretend he doesn’t have a soft side.”
It was odd how mortal she seemed, more so with each interaction. I wished I could hate her like I did the others, but while she had the fangs of a monster, her soul didn’t feel that way. Breathing in wisps of coffee, I opened myself up to touch her energy. There was little darkness there, mostly compassion, a healthy dose of pride, and now a lingering of confusion. When I opened my eyes, she was arching a thick, black brow at me. “What are you doing?”
“Oh, yeah, it’s nothing.” I paused. “I can feel people’s emotions sometimes.”
Her eyes widened. “That’s interesting.”
“I block it out mostly, but I can let it in when I feel like it. Sometimes I can’t help it, like when I’m overwhelmed or in shock. When I found out Astor died, I couldn’t switch it off for a few days.” I looked into the deep brown cup. “Thank the gods I didn’t have to leave my house and be around people. Being locked inside had never been such a blessing.”
She blew out a tense breath, leaning back in the chair. “Why were you locked in your house in the first place?”
“My mom was protecting me against those who’d want to take me.”
She stuck her tongue against the inside of her cheek, pushing out her dark skin. “Who did she say wanted to take you?”
“Vampires mostly. Only the guild knew about us.”
“The Guild for the Protection of Mortal Beings, yes, they’re infamous, even in Sanmorte.”
“That’s the one. My mom worked for them.”
“I know.”
I leaned forward. “You’ve heard of my mom?”
She nodded but didn’t elaborate. I knew she was famous within the guild, but not enough that vampires would know who she was. “I never even told you her name. How do you know who she is?”
“Sebastian was tracking you before the attacks happened. He saw your mother and found out basic information about her.”
“Right, that makes sense, I guess,” I said, but I wasn’t entirely convinced. Still, I wasn’t about to call the only vampire I liked in this house a liar. “So,” I said, thinking back to Anna. “Why is Anna serving me like a maid?”
“It was Seb’s idea. He thought you’d prefer to be around another mortal, and he asked her if she wouldn’t mind.”
“That’s considerate.”If not a little disconcerting, I pondered. “Why is he being nice to me? I’m assuming, based on what you said yesterday of his reputation and the way the vampires in the den reacted to him, that he’s not normally known for his kindness.”
