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"He makes it easy. I've never met a man so clean," she scoffed, like his cleanliness annoyed her.
I giggled and she winked at me, setting a perfect plate of eggs benedict in front of me. I inhaled the deliciousness.
"Hand-carved maple ham, of course. But the secret…is my mother's recipe for tomato jelly, God rest her soul."
She made the Catholic sign across her chest and forehead, glancing up at the ceiling before directing her attention back at me.
Ares rolled his eyes and sipped his drink. Glancing at his coffee cup, I realized there was blood in there, and I gulped a bit, even as heat rushed through me. I couldn't help but wonder…how would it feel if he drank from me?
All right, pushing those thoughts aside, I took a bite of the eggs benedict, immediately wanting to fall at her feet and worship her for how freaking amazing it tasted.
"I can die happy now,” I moaned. "I found it. The perfect eggs benedict."
They both laughed at me, not realizing I was actually pretty serious.
I inhaled her breakfast, and she promised to make it whenever I wanted.
Then it was time to go. We waved goodbye to Marcia, who was whistling as she cleaned up the dishes, and then we walked outside.
The air smelled so clean. And there was the mild scent of apples in the air strangely enough. When I pointed it out, Ares smiled. "I'll let you in on that secret at lunch time. You're not going to be disappointed." He took my hand casually as we walked, and I marveled at how perfect everything seemed. We meandered the streets, the stones under our feet glimmering under the sunlight. Ares explained to me how they'd decided they wanted something other than asphalt, noting that everything had been carefully designed to look aesthetically pleasing.
"Well, you succeeded, because I don't think I've ever seen a town so pleasing in my life," I said, admiring one of the shop’s window sills, full of vibrant purple blooms.
Townspeople came up to us often, not shy at all about talking to Ares. I noticed the young woman we passed stared at him like he was something of a rockstar though, and I couldn't help the flicker of jealousy at the way they were looking at him like they could eat him alive.
There was a large open area in the center of the town, with a fountain and a flagpole. There were children everywhere, throwing footballs, playing tag, just eating lunch while sitting by the fountain.
"This is where the school-age children have recess and eat lunch," he explained as a couple of them raced towards us.
"Will you play, will you play?" they pleaded, pulling on the dark blue shirt Ares was wearing that I couldn't help but notice outlined every perfect muscle in his body.
Ares glanced at me, a question in his gaze.
"Go ahead," I said with a laugh. His answering smile made me wish I had a camera, so I could capture it and keep it with me forever.
I watched as he played tag with them. Except the rules seemed a little bit different. Ares was always “it”, and he was allowed to use his vampire speed to tag all of them. I realized they were playing freeze tag, because after he’d tagged them all, there were just a bunch of still, giggling children all over the square like someone had come in with a magic spell to hold them all in place.
It was hilarious to watch, but I found myself rubbing my arms around my chest, staring out towards the mountain where we'd entered, just imagining the Fae Queen or Alistair's father coming to attack this place. I’d only been walking around for a couple of hours and I'd recognized the magic of it. There would be any number of people…or creatures, who would want this place for themselves.
"Everything all right?" Ares asked suddenly, appearing beside me. His curls were wind tossed, falling in his face, and he was practically glowing with happiness.
"Everything's perfect," I assured him.
I continued to watch as he played with the kids until their lunch break was over.
I couldn’t help but think of how my mother would've liked this place. She’d always loved the sound of children playing. A pang of longing hit me as I thought about the small white stone that marked her grave. Alistair had kept his promise at least to take me to where she was buried. I’d tried to say goodbye that day, but most days, it still didn't feel real that she was gone.
"Your eyes are sad, my love," he murmured, taking my hand in his and bringing it to his lips. I shivered at the sensation, but this time…the shivers were the good kind.
"I was just thinking of how much my mother would've loved this place," I murmured. His eyes flashed, and for a moment he looked guilty.
"Ares…what aren’t you telling me," I scolded him, my insides tightening in dread.
"What did Alistair tell you about your mother?" he asked, leading me over to the now empty fountain. There were other townspeople walking around everywhere, but they were keeping their distance at the moment, like they recognized we were about to have a serious conversation.
"He told me she’d fallen ill soon after I was captured, that there was nothing they could do to save her." I took a deep breath. "Was that not the truth?"
Ares sighed and shook his head, still holding onto my hand. "At some point after you escaped him, he got you back. And when you escaped again…she was killed."
