Page 16 of Until the Heart Stops
“Mademoiselle Searah?”
Callum stood a few paces back, dressed in his usual dark velvet, hand wrapped around the silver-tipped walking stick.
“Lord Auguste,” I murmured, pressing my fingers to my lips and dropping into a curtsey that felt befitting of his station, knowing who his maker was now.
Before I could rise, he was there in front of me, hands curling around mine to draw me back to my feet. “Please, I’m not worthy of such an honor.”
Immediately he let me go and took a few steps back, running a hand through his hair, loosening the strands to fall around his face. I nodded, drawing the shawl closer around myself. Those eyes narrowed as they caught the movement.
“Oh, this was a gift.” I cleared my throat. “From our mutual friend.”
He hummed, attention sliding across the fabric as if it had offended him. A muscle in his temple twitched.
I started in remembrance, hand flying to my skirts. “In fact, would you mind very much delivering this to him?”
Callum stared at the letter for a long moment. A muscle jumped in his jaw as he took it and slipped it into the inside pocket of his waistcoat. Silence lengthened between us as his gray eyes flicked back and forth across my face.
“What are you doing here?” I asked when awkwardness seemed in danger of chewing me up.
He blinked before gesturing behind him. “There is a…proprietor here of a very specific blend of blood I prefer.”
“Ah,” was the only answer I could come up with.
Synthetic blood had been created over a century ago as an invention of the Covenant and a handful of loyal human witches in their service. Over the years different vendors had been given the alchemy to create it, allowing them the opportunity to craft different blends like one might for wine. But one had to apply for such a license and, to no one’s surprise, those who had owned blood dens previously were never given the honor.
I gave him another curtsey, though not as deep. “Well, I will not keep you, my lord.”
With a sigh I turned away, only for his voice to stop me. “Is your shop not open tonight?”
Rolling my lips together, I paused. He had taken a step forward and I caught the movement of his arm dropping back to his side, as if he’d reached for me.
“No, I’ve closed it for the night and I…” I trailed off.
Callum took another step closer, the barest of furrows appearing between his brows. “And you…?”
I cleared my throat, letting my gaze wander over the stalls around us—the dried flowers, the gleaming phials of blood received my admiration rather than the perfection of his face. “And I did not want to be alone.”
My fingertips unconsciously touched the ruby clasped around my throat, dragging it back and forth across the chain. He was silent so long I wondered if I’d offended him with my honesty.
“I quite understand the feeling,” he finally replied so quietly I had to strain to hear him.
Nodding, I let the necklace fall when his attention fixed on it the same way it had upon the shawl. But I did not want to ask him if he knew the gentleman who continued to send me things for fear it might ruin whatever tenuous understanding was growing between us. For once, I contented myself to merely look at him as he did me.
It was not a stretch to assume Callum Auguste had been picked for his beauty when he’d been made. Even without the perfection the blood created within its host, I could see an echo of the man he’d been before his transformation. After all those centuries he retained a softness in the bow of his lips and a faint silvery scar sliced through his brow that must have been very deep when he’d been turned. That, or it had been created after. But the only thing that could scar a vampire was venefica venom.
Again, I could not help but think of Amayah and herDeimos. My heart ached for the goddess we all worshipped, though none as fervently as the vampires. Here before me was a creature I could gaze upon but never touch, never allow myself to want. I could understand why she had given up everything for a moment in his arms.
But I was not a goddess and I had nothing to offer but my life and my magic. It did not feel like enough.
We stared at each other for longer than was perhaps appropriate before his shoulders relaxed a fraction. “Would you allow me to accompany you?”
I scraped my teeth across my lower lip, weighing each word before I spoke it. “I am grateful for the offer, my lord, but I would not want to waste your time, as I wish to wander for a little longer before I walk home.”
Instead of giving me a quick bow and vanishing as he usually did, the corner of his mouth tugged up. His tiny fraction of a smile made my heart twist.
“Yes… Yes, I know,” he answered.
My mouth popped open in surprise. He had not been offering to accompany me home but through the market instead. I might have made a small sound of agreement, but I nodded all the same.
