Page 24 of Of Fate & Forbidden Desire

With a cheery ding, that was the complete opposite to how I was currently feeling, I stepped into a lift filled with so much gold, that it could only be described as ostentatious. The gold numbers on the buttons gleamed in the soft light inside the lift. A full floor to ceiling mirror, with gold framing, showed how bedraggled I looked after spending hours in a car. The floor itself looked like white marble with gold veins. The ride up was so smooth I didn't even realise we'd moved until an overly perky woman's voice announced our floor.

Dina gave me a small encouraging poke in the back as the doors slid soundlessly open and my feet refused to move. Every self-conscious thought I'd ever had flooded my mind, telling me I wasn't good enough to be in a place like this. Flashingher an unamused look, I finally convinced myself to step out of the lift and into a cream hallway with a thick soft carpet.

“There are two suites on this floor, the one we'll be staying in for now and one other that's currently empty.” Dina explained as she walked towards a pale wood door.

“Right, so we essentially have this floor to ourselves,” I confirmed, needing to fill the quiet hall with some sound.

“Yes, so you can relax, while I go speak with the Elders.” Dina gave me a reassuring look, as she slipped a key card into the device next to the door.

“I'll try,” I told her, while resigning myself to the fact that this was now my life, I might as well attempt to enjoy it.

A small beep signalled the door unlocking and when Dina pushed it open, my mouth dropped to the floor.

“You'll catch flies if you keep your mouth open.” Dina laughed, making my mouth snap shut, as she stepped inside with me following. “Through this door you'll find a fully stocked kitchenette, and that door over there,” she pointed to a door on the right handside of the room, “is your room, where you'll find a connecting ensuite bathroom.”

I zoned out at the words “your room” and found myself already moving towards where she had indicated. Carefully opening the door, I stumbled a little at the size of the massive king sized bed. It was big enough to fit three of me in it with extra room left over.

The duvet was navy blue, and when I ran my hands over it I found it was made from the softest cotton. Each pillow, and there were too many to count, had the hotel's insignia embroidered on them in silver thread. The room itself was decorated in cream walls and a deep blue carpet that I could already feel my feet sinking into. There was a tall wardrobe and a tall chest of drawers with five drawers. Far too much space for the meagre collection of clothes I'd managed to ram into a bag; they’d all fit into two drawers, tops.

“Dina!” I shouted wondering if my clothes were still in her car.

“Yes?”Dina answered, making me jump as she appeared behind me. “Sorry,” she said contritely as I turned with my hand pressed above my heart.

“Erm, it's ok just not used to that little trick yet,” I told her honestly referring to how quick she could move.

“What did you shout for?” she asked brushing over the subject.

“Oh, yes, what will happen with my clothes?” I asked, remembering why I'd called her.

“A member of the staff will bring them up for us,” she answered as a bell tinkled through the rooms, “that's probably them now and some food I ordered for you.”

I slowly followed behind Dina as she went and answered the door, letting in four staff members. One held my bag and Dina's suitcase, while two others pushed in matching silver trolleys with silver covered dishes on them. The fourth person held cutlery and…were they cloth napkins?Gosh I've really gone up in the world, I thought as he laid them out on a small table next to the window.

“I didn't know what you would want so I ordered a few different dishes for you to choose from.” Dina said sheepishly, as she took our belongings from the man who'd brought them up.

“And what happens to the dishes I don’t choose?” I asked, hating the idea that they would go to waste.

“They'll be donated to a local shelter, Miss.” My server stated, “We are proud to support our local communities and dislike unnecessary food waste.” He explained further, pulling out a chair for me.

“Wow, that's fantastic.” I was stunned; many human establishments weren't as helpful with their waste.

“Right, enjoy your meal, I'll be back soon.” Dina said, putting a dampener on my good mood that was slowly returning.

“Where are you off to?” I asked, sitting at the table.

“To speak with the Coven and update them on what happened in York and…” shetrailed off.

“And me.” I filled in, nodding at her when the server placed one of the silver domed dishes before me and lifted the lid.

Chapter Ten

How can leaving one person spark such fear and uncertainty? -Dina

Giving Charleene one last look and hearing her sinful moan as she tried the soup I'd picked out for her, I couldn't stop the small smile from gracing my lips as I closed the door softly. Turning my thoughts to Coven politics, that I'd thankfully been away from while hunting the rogue, I felt my mood turn sour. I hated having to navigate the factions and all the gossiping. I was much more comfortable being out hunting than dealing with the simpering fools who never left the Coven or Hampstead's borders.

My foot tapped silently against the hallway carpet as I waited not that patiently for the lift. I'd only been away from Charleene for mere seconds, minutes at most and I felt ansty. She'd had a lot to deal with in the last forty-eight hours, and I found myself worrying about what all of these revelations were doing to her mind. She'd grown up a human, and had the narrow mindedness that automatically rejected any hint of the supernatural. Then add to that, the fact that she didn't want to come here. I kept waiting for her to break.

She consumed my thoughts as, on autopilot, I rode the lift back down to the lobby and stepped out into the weak autumn sunlight. Noise bombarded my sensitive hearing as folk called to one another in greeting, or held their own conversations. The odd human or two stopped, raising their phones and snapping pictures of what they thought was an abandoned mansion, instead of the hotel Vitae Aeterna. After the Scottish and English witch hunts, the witches had developed their glamour magic, to cleverly hide us all from humans. There was a fundamental difference in a supernatural's DNA given to us by the Fae that had created our races. The witches'glamour recognises those genes, allowing us to see the truth that humans couldn't.

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