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“Really well, actually. The morning just breezed by. At this rate the incursion will be here in no time.”
Sunny’s bottom lip disappeared between her teeth and I instantly regretted my phrasing. “I’m sorry, Sun. I know seeing Titus has to be really hard for you.”
She nodded. “It is. I try to keep my distance as much as I can, but as the king’s assistant, I’m required to make an appearance at every incursion.”
“Jeez, that sucks, Sun. Do you maybe want to resign from your position, just temporarily? Then you won’t have to follow any stupid rules because of it.”
She sighed into her champagne flute. “It’s not a bad idea, but the king really does need me there. I’m in charge of the catering and rental equipment, plus all the temporary hires to beef up security report to Rory and me. Believe me, I’ve thought about it. It just not possible though.”
“Can you tell me about past incursions?” I asked, hoping to get her mind off the subject of Titus and back on to what she actually seemed to enjoy—her work.
I was mistaken.
Sunny’s complexion paled to a sickly gray. “The last incursion was when he killed Odette in front of all of us,” she whispered.
I sucked in a breath. “I’m sorry, Sun. I was trying to distract you with work, not bring up even more bad memories.”
Sunny nodded, gaze locked on her lap. “It’s not your fault, Eden,” she murmured and topped off my champagne flute.
I sucked the whole thing down and poured myself and Sunny another.
By the time we’d finished eating, we’d also finished off the entire bottle of Italian sparkling wine and were both giggly. “How much better are your senses than mine?” Sunny asked on a whim.
“Eh, if I had to guess, I’d say…” I replayed her whizzing through the apps on her tablet, fingers flying, but not quite blurring. “I’m probably twenty-five percent faster than you.”
She nodded, deep in thought. “I don’t think I want to die for a twenty-five percent return and an addiction to blood,” she whispered.
“First of all, I support your decision, whatever it may be. But don’t let my blood addiction tip your scales because you probably won’t rise addicted to blood. It happened to me because my circumstances were really fucked up.”
“Yeah. I know. Honestly, I just don’t see myself as a vampire. I never have.”
I nodded. “Well, we’ll just have to get you the best skincare routine out there. That way you won’t look like an old hag next to me.”
That earned me a giggle followed by a pretend dirty look.
“We’ll figure it out, Sun. Whatever you want to do, we’ll figure it out,” I promised.
Sunny squeezed my hand and nodded.
Thirty
Just like before,the afternoon sped by in a blur, and before I knew it, I was in front of BDD, getting my first lesson in vamp cloaking.
Except B looked tired, haggard even. The shadowy tinge of stubble along his blocky jaw and bloodshot eyes aged him at least ten years. “Is everything okay, B?” I asked before getting started.
He let out a long sigh and pulled his hand through his hair, messing it up. “Yeah. The week leading up to incursions are always tough on us.”
“Can I do anything to help?”
He gave me a weak smile. “Afraid not. The teams and I are practicing maneuvers. We practice until we can’t fail.”
“Maneuvers? Like military ops?”
BDD nodded. “It’s hard on everyone.”
“I guess you don’t have a mate to drink from to freshen up?”
“Uh, I—” B’s face screwed up in a combination of embarrassment and shock. “Um, made vampires don’t usually get mates.”
