Page 42 of The Vampire Castle in the Sky

“Do not forget your place, Camilla,” Hector snarled, his mouth drawn into a ruthless line above his fangs. “You might not think of me as your sovereign yet, but Iaman Aventine, and you are inmyCastle.” His fingers pinched the hollow of her throat, making her red lips part for air. “If you disrespect my wife again, Iwillmake an example out of you, and if you think I’m afraid of it starting a war, then your arrogance has not only blinded you but has also turned you into a fool.”

“Hector,” warned Espen, his fist closing around the handle of the meat knife.

Collette, following the path of my gaze, put her hand over his. “I think we all had too much of Thea’s wine,” she said steadily.

For a moment, everyone was still, poised and vigilant like soldiers waiting for their general’s command.

At last, Hector drew his hand away from Camilla’s throat.

The first ounce of breath she regained she spent on a dark, deranged laugh. “Look who finally grew some spine.”

Hector’s brows lowered, his eyes black as the night. “This is not a joke, Camilla.”

“No, but it is not a threat either,” I interjected before matters escalated. I forced myself to stand, my heart to quieten, my tongue to voice words of honesty. “I will not lie to you. I am a stranger to your world. More than I thought. More than I want to be. So now I have to ask for your patience, not only towards me but also towards Hector. He and I are a family, and since you too are a family, I’m sure you can understand why he’s so protectiveof me. Please, let’s not allow one unfortunate moment to ruin our evening.”

“But the Castle,” Dahlia’s frightened whisper pierced the tense silence that followed my perhaps poor attempt at diplomacy. She looked up at the darkened, frost-covered ceiling, bracing herself against the cold. “Is it mad at us?”

As I gazed upon their ashen, thunderstruck faces, I finally grasped the Castle’s hold over vampire society. Over the years it had become so much more than a symbol of power. Vampires were cursed and therefore godless creatures. They could not enter sacred ground. The Castle, which was a hallowed place in its own star-stricken way, was the only exception. It was their temple and their god.

Good, I thought, smiling at all of them, even at Camilla, who not only didn’t appear to be insulted by Hector’s attack but seemed disconcertingly bored with all of us.Let them be too scared to try and take what isn’t theirs. Let Camilla be alone in her irreverence.

“Of course not,” I chimed, just as the ice thawed and warm light dazzled over the room. Tall crystal glasses popped into everyone’s hands, and the long table between us was exchanged for a smaller, round one covered by a fountain of sparkling wine and tiered cakes spangled with pearls. I slipped my glass under the fountain, soaking my glove in the pale liquid before raising it high in a toast. “The night has only just begun.”

Slowly but surely the tension melted away, shifting into quiet laughter and excited sighs as the ceiling exploded into a shower of fireworks, golden sparks descending over us in petals of light.

At the far edge of the hall, a podium of magical instruments emerged, and music echoed all around us, notes pure and flowing as a river stream. The rush of the melody swept the golden dust from the floor and formed phantom silhouettes thatbegan to dance in the air under the ever-shifting light of the fireworks.

Hector touched his hand to the small of my back, his hard face coming into view. He brought his cheek next to mine, his mouth to my ear. “Are you okay? I’m sorry if she scared you.”

I shook my head, speaking just as quietly, “I’m fine. But you know better than to make threats like this. It isn’t like you to be so impulsive.”

“She touched you.”

“She’s messing with me.”

Hector leaned back, holding himself with such dignity you’d think the gods were watching. Gently, he caught an escaping curl from my forehead and brushed it away. Then his fingers wandered lower, to my jawbone, his thumb resting on the dip under my mouth. “No one messes with my wife,” he said. “No one but me.”

I had no idea if we were pretending anymore. I just knew that here, in this magic-dazed room, Hector Aventine was mine, and I was his.

He cocked his head to the side, his warm fingers lingering on my face. “Your gaze is very intense, Lady Aventine. Do you see something you like?”

I glanced far behind him at the framed glass running with water. “Yes, Lord Aventine. My reflection in the mirror. I think I like myself swathed in velvet and pearls.”

“I like you always,” he blurted out, then bit his lip, blood flooding his cheeks. “But I believe you know that already.”

Suddenly, the music swelled, and all the noise around us got drowned in its buoyant rhythm. Even the golden phantoms in their dust-made finery seemed to twirl higher in the air, demanding our attention. Or perhaps daring us to join them.

Hector bowed at the waist, extending one hand toward me. “May I have this dance?”

I recalled every single time I had to beg and prod and taunt him for a single spin, and I couldn’t help but laugh as I surrendered my hand to his. “Took you ten years to ask.”

His eyes shone like ambers as he reached for my glove. It was still damp with wine, and he pulled it off me carefully, taking the time to tug loose each finger before letting it slip to the floor.

“I didn’t realize you were waiting,” he said, and without removing his gaze from mine, he raised my bare hand to his mouth, turned it around, and pressed a soft kiss on the inside of my wrist.

In Lumia, if you kissed the inside of a woman’s wrist, it meant you wanted to marry her. My whole body kindled as I realized it. My heart, my soul, my bones—nothing remained unlit.

With a hand at my waist, he brought me closer and plunged us into the rhythm. Alexandria and Lance joined us as well, then Collette and Espen, their elegant silhouettes spinning amid the increasing haze of the phantom dancers. After that, I stopped being aware of my surroundings.

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