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Here, they could be who they were without hiding.
The merest breeze kicked up around them. Blair glanced up to read Kaien’s features, but his attention was fixated on a house ahead of them. Falling in step beside him as they strolled toward Nina’s home, Blair’s lips quirked.
“You couldn’t have teleported us inside, perhaps?”
“I would never teleport directly into my sovereign’s home uninvited, Blair.” Soft admonishment laced his words. “Sister or not, that would be rude.”
A laugh escaped from between her teeth, but she made no further comment. Interestingly, Kaien’s hand remained locked around hers. And Blair didn’t mind in the slightest.
In fact, the unexpected gesture warmed her in a way that had nothing to do with the weather.
Kaien’s long strides ate up the ground between their teleport location and Nina’s home. Unremarkable, her sire’s dwelling didn’t stand out among the others. It wasn’t pretentious, nor obscenely large. Immaculate red brick colored the outside of the charming two-story home. Four white columns gathered around the front door, and the white-lined windows were bracketed by black shutters and were perfectly symmetrical around the front façade of the home. Manicured bushes hedged the front, though Blair knew such sculptured landscaping was more likely the cause of Nina’s people and not the woman herself.
Nina had never been attached to material things. The only reason she’d kept the home at all was because her people had built it for her after her previous cottage had fallen to ruins.
Blair subconsciously tightened her grip on Kaien’s hand. And when his dark eyes shot over to her in question, she frowned. What was with her today?
A knock on the door.
The only warning Blair had before being tugged into a constricting hug was the sound of footsteps on the other side of the door. Immediately enveloped in a sickly-sweet bubble-gum scent and crushed against pink cotton-candy-colored braids, Blair let out a startled laugh.
“Blair,” Celeste’s shrill voice practically blew out her ear drum as she readily returned the fierce hug. “Nina said you’d be dropping by!”
“Did she?”
Pulling back with her hands resting on Blair’s shoulders, Celeste pursed her full lips. Today, they were colored a fierce grape purple. “Said you had something the share. Big news, maybe?”
A whimsical woman, Celeste’s radical color scheme and quirky nature defied the stereotypical immortal. Petite and curvy, her fiery personality had a tendency to grab you by the throat and suffocate you with love … whether you wanted it or not.
Blair raised her eyebrows expectantly at her friend but said nothing in return. It was only then that the Raeth woman realized Kaien stood stoically beside her.
“Oh, hey big man.” Celeste shot them a dazzling smile before beckoning them inside. “Nina’s on the phone with Dracula.”
Blair’s forehead crinkled in legitimate confusion. “Who’s Dracula?”
“Drake,” Kaien supplied from beside her, his expression tight.
Closing the door behind them, the man brought up the rear as Celeste companionably bumped Blair’s shoulder, her violet eyes probing her for more information.
Blair said nothing, miming pulling a zipper closed over her lips. Celeste scoffed but didn’t pry. The trio walked into the comfortable living room where they could hear Nina’s placating tones sounding over the silence.
“Worry not, fledgling, she’s here now.” A pause. “Yes, I’ll be certain to inform her.”
Nina nodded to them in greeting before her gaze dropped to the floor, listening to whatever lecture Drake had intended to give to Blair. Even at this distance, she could hear his raised voice on the other end.
“Yes, of course. Until tomorrow.”
With a beep, Nina disconnected the line and fixated on Blair. “The council has been quite worried over you, my love.”
A fleeting stab of guilt rolled through her. “We didn’t have a cell phone at the cabin, and Kaien, well, through no fault of his own, was in recoil.”
“They’ve made certain that I convey to you the depth of their despair.” Nina inclined her chin. “I’ve retrieved your cell phone. You may want to give Lucius a call before he locks you up in his dungeon and conveniently forgets the key.”
“Tie up old Blair?” Celeste’s girlish giggle broke Blair’s morbid thoughts. “That’s like trying to cage a feral cat.”
“Feral cat?” she grinned. “I won’t take that coming from a Powerpuff girl.”
“Hells yes!” Celeste grinned, showing her perfectly white teeth as she bounced up and down enthusiastically. “Bubbles all the way!”
