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“No, it bothers me when I ask dumb questions,” she said flatly, and I kept the desire to laugh suppressed. “What’s with Ysa’s sunglasses? I’ve never seen a vampire wear them at night.”
“Probably because you haven’t met any two-thousand-year-old vampires.”
Danni’s eyes widened, almost silently whispering, “Two thousand?”
I nodded. “The older we get, the more sensitive we are to light. As old as she is, even indoor light is too much for her.”
“Wow, I had no idea. None of the vampires in Fire and Fluorite ever mentioned that,” she said, thoughtful in her response. It was less awe, and more sympathetic. “What about you? How old are you?”
“Three hundred and twelve.” I watched her response carefully, but she didn’t react. It wasn’t as impressive as two thousand, but I had at least expected some sort of reaction. She gave none. “Sunny days are bothersome, but overcast and cloudy days are much easier for me to handle.”
“So if that’s the case, do you like being outdoors at all? Or do you prefer being inside?”
“I like both.”
“That’s not a fair answer.”
“Why not? Some activities are better suited for the indoors. Sex on a beach isn’t what it’s cracked up to be.”
She snorted. “I wouldn’t know, but now that you mention it, I don’t think it sounds like a great location for that, either. I don’t like sand in places it doesn’t belong.”
Between her thighs. Under her breasts. In the crook of her neck. Buried in the slick folds of her . . .
“Do you have any family?” she asked. Glancing at Nova, a slight hint of sadness crossed Dannika’s features. I swallowed a little harder than usual, ignoring my hardening erection as thoughts of Danni that I shouldn’t have been having continued to surface. If not for her line of questioning bringing that to a halt, I’d be in another strained position—one I couldn’t blame on just having woken up.
I hesitated to answer, and her eyes quickly met mine when I didn’t speak immediately. “I did. They’re gone now.”
“All of them?” Her voice lowered, not to a whisper, but to a softness. It was empathy. Understanding.
I cleared my throat. “My father and sister, yes. My mother might as well be. She remains in Rome. While our family comes from Greece, she couldn’t bear to reside there. After their loss . . . well, she moved to Rome and won’t leave the Blood and Beryl palace. My brother is an asshole, and we don’t speak anymore.”
“I lost my father too,” she said quietly, reaching to the necklace she kept hidden beneath her clothes and toying at it absentmindedly. “During the Great Sacrifice. I never knew him.”
“It would seem we have something in common.” I rubbed my thumb over my beryl ring, flashes of my past sparking emotions I didn’t need to feel in this moment. I needed to push it down. It did me no good here. Guilt would be wasted on something I couldn’t change.
“It’s a shitball thing to have in common with someone,” she commented. “Like, possibly the worst club you could join.”
A humorless laugh escaped me. “I couldn’t agree more.”
She huffed, shaking her head. “My sister was right,” she whispered, and she smiled softly to herself while she looked at the rug.
I tilted my head, curious. “About?”
“I’m a Debbie Downer,” she answered, bringing her gaze up. “I always find a way to darken the conversation.”
I shrugged, gesturing around the décor in the room. “Vampire. I like the dark.”
She snorted, giving me an appreciative smile. I could very much say I didn’t like seeing her that sad. Something in my chest tightened at the sight.
“Realities are sometimes dark, Danni. History is dark. Anyone who says otherwise is trying to sell something in an attempt to rewrite it to their narrative. You don’t have to put on a happy face for my or anyone else’s sake.”
She stayed quiet, but nodded in agreement.
“Do you miss them?” she asked, surprising me with that question. No one, not even my second, had ever asked me that before.
“Every day,” I admitted. “I won’t keep you from your family.”
“Ha,” she barked. “You won’t, but Mathis will. You don’t know him like I do. Shade is his second, and he offered me an hour to get my things, but they came for me immediately. They assaulted my sister and tore apart my home the moment she entered pack lands. He just wants me dead or mated to Markus.” She crossed her arms, sitting back in her chair.
