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I scan all around us, trying to find danger where there isn’t any.
The Vampire’s face is unusually pale, her red lips standing out from the rest of her features. She is unnaturally beautiful, almost painfully so, and has the kind of face meant to lure unsuspecting humans to her.
Of course, most laws make that illegal, but not here in the Northern Court. Here, Vampires can play with any humans they find. A Vampire running a bed-and-breakfast is the last thing I expected to see this far north. They tend to keep to their covens.
Nathan shifts on his feet behind me. I can tell that something is making him uncomfortable with the turn of events. The Vampire seems not to notice his discomfort, for she beckons us inside with a wave of her hand. "Come, come," she says, tittering. "I won't bite."
A laugh comes from behind her as a man, ahuman, walks out from the kitchen. I have to tilt up my head to look into his eyes, noting the pair of glasses hanging from his nose. He is built like a lumberjack, his greying hair speaking to his age. "Calitha, love, are you scaring our guests away again?"
"Never, Jeremiah." The Vampress grins at us, her fangs on full display. A shiver runs through me. She continues, ignoring my discomfort. “This lovely Fae couple was just coming in. We've got a pot of coffee on, and my husband here made a lovely beef stew for dinner with fresh bread, if you're interested."
Husband? It just gets stranger and stranger.
"Do you have any rooms available?" Nathan asks, still standing in the doorway. His tone makes it sound like he really hopes the answer is no.
Calitha nods, a grin breaking out on her bright red lips. "I have the perfect one for the two of you."
"Oh, well, I..." I stammer, but Nathaniel puts his hand on my arm. He sighs, resigned, before coming to stand in front of me.
"It's fine, sweetheart. I'm sure we can make it work." He leans in, tucks a strand of hair behind my ear, whispering. "I know how hungry you are, and it's just one night. They seem harmless enough.”
"Okay," I say, biting my lip. "I do love the sound of some warm food."
* * *
Jeremiah undersold his stew.It is easily the most delicious thing I've eaten in months, and I shamelessly help myself to three servings. It is paired with a loaf of homemade sourdough bread, and a rare dollop of butter.
Nathan laughs at me when I ask for a third helping, but he quickly stops when I throw a quickly conjured snowball at him. Playfulness in danger should be wrong.
I should hate this. But instead, I lean into this life. Monsters and death do not surround me, I am surrounded by a warm glow. A warm glow that will extinguish forever if Nathan dies. The thought is so sudden, so heavy, that I can’t put it away. It’s a constant effort not to let the terror inside of me shine through.
After dinner, the Vampress leads us to our room, handing me the key to what she calls the Snow Suite as we climb a set of very narrow stairs. There’s no railing, but we manage to make it to the top floor without incident. Calitha leads us to the end of a long carpeted hall, passing several closed doors.
“We don’t have any other guests at the moment,” she says, “but this is our best room.”
I see where it gets its name when I open the door. The room is a study in shades of white, from the rugs to the ceiling and everything in between. An enormous four-poster bed in the middle of the room is covered in a large, fluffy white comforter and a mountain of six cloud-like pillows. It’s the best thing I’ve seen in months besides Nathan.
Calitha hands us some towels and toiletries before leaving us alone. The room is warm, and despite the oddness of the couple downstairs, I feel safe.
I chuck off my boots and throw myself on the bed, sighing blissfully. "That's it. I'm not moving for the rest of the night."
Nathaniel arches a russet brow. He's standing by the now-closed door, leaning against it. An amused smile dances on his lips. He looks relaxed as he plays with a small fireball. "I'm glad you're happy," he says. “I’ll be honest, I thought you would be more suspicious around these people.”
I shrug and grin at him before grabbing the remote on the nightstand and flicking on the TV. It’s a large-box that is sticking out of the cabinet in the corner of the room. “They aren’t Mer here. They clearly don’t recognize me without a crown. And… I don’t know, I trust them.”
“You have very good instincts.”
I laugh. “I know.” Then I start pressing buttons, clearly not knowing what I’m doing.
Nathan grabs the remote from me and mumbles, “... outdated technology... miss my FaePhone...”
A newscaster fills the screen, but there isn’t any sound. “Of course,” Nathan sighs before running his hand through his hair. “Old TVs are notoriously unreliable.”
I throw a pillow at him and steal the remote back before finding the volume button on the remote. The sound blares to life, drowning out everything else. I curse as I fumble to turn down the volume.
A newscaster's monotonous voice fills the room, drawing our attention.
"...a convoy from the Ice City has been seen making its way to Aqualis. The Fae have heavily guarded the convoy, presumably carrying the Queen herself or her heir. More information on that as soon as we have it. In other news, reports have come in that the Ice Mer King is seeking revenge for the unlawful assassination of Crown Prince Henrick. There is a ten million-dollar reward for the Summer Court assassin, wanted dead or alive..."
