Page 9 of Until the Heart Stops
As grateful I am for this beautiful gift, I cannot in good conscience accept it. This is far too much, especially from what I assume is a stranger or at the very least someone who will not reveal their identity. I am afraid I cannot pay you for these extravagances and fear for what it is you might want in return.
You have made it quite clear you know of my struggles and I ask you, sir, to refrain from any more humiliation by sending me such gifts. As your companion does not seem inclined to take the parcel, please inform me of how I can best return it to you.
Thank you,
Mlle Lilith Searah
The female vampire frowned. “Oh, well, that’s disappointing but there’s always hope for the future.”
I rolled up the parchment and pressed my thumb to the edge, the small bit of my blood left from where I’d opened the wards sealing it shut. Her nostrils flared and a feline sort of smile curled her lips.
“Better,” she said, snatching the roll from my hand. “It was a pleasure to meet you, little witch.”
“And you, my lady,” I replied, knowing better than to ask for her name. If a vampire didn’t offer it, they weren’t likely to.
She turned back to Noah with a slight nod. “Vyenur.”
The corner of his beard twitched and he leaned forward, resting one large forearm on the table. He perused her the way she had him and, when he tilted hishead to the side, her pupils dilated. His magic slipped across the air and, though I couldn’t quite feel its effects, it was clear she could, even dampened as it was by the potion. Her pink tongue slipped across her full bottom lip.
“Asteya lan serang,” he murmured, pressing his fingers to his mouth.
It was an ancient goodbye, one not usually used in casual companionship.Beauty and blood, it was usually said to one who had just given their blood to another. The female vampire blinked dazedly a few times, the parchment crinkling in her grip before she vanished in the next moment.
I cleared my throat. “Care to explain?”
He shrugged. “If she can ogle so can I.”
Before I could question further, Adrienne bounded up to the booth, a bright smile on her face and chattering about Eamon’s ball tomorrow.
But all I could think of was the necklace sitting in the silver box and how it was I’d found myself in this mess.
His answer came onlya few hours later.
Noah had finally retired for the night, pressing a kiss to my brow and ducking in to say goodbye to Adrienne. The night had been quiet until Henry appeared in a swirl of his dark blue roquelaure and wild curls.
“Mademoiselle Searah, light of my life, goddess of my dreams,” he exclaimed, grabbing one of my hands and pressing his lips to the back of it over and over. “It is a pleasure and a privilege.”
I laughed, tugging my hand from his grasp. “It is wonderful to see you again, my lor?—”
“Henry,” he corrected with a shudder. “You know how I feel about that.”
He was perhaps the strangest vampire I’d met. Most tended to be on the serious side, having long lost their humor. Eamon had held a bit of his softness through the centuries, but he was a rare one too.
Movement caught my eye behind him. Callum waited a few paces away, silver walking stick tucked beneath his arm, dressed in an exquisite outfit of black and the deepest green I’d ever seen. He was not looking at me, but at the silver pocket watch in his hand, the chain draped between him and his velvet waistcoat.
“How may I be of service this evening, Henry?”
He pursed his lips before withdrawing a scroll from the inside of his breast pocket. “I believe our mutual friend has a message for you.”
I blinked, my attention sliding to Callum behind him, who was now impatiently tapping his toe across the cobblestone. “You know him?”
Henry shrugged, leaned against the counter and traced the exposed wood grain with the tip of a finger. “Perhaps.”
For a brief moment, I wondered if the vampire in question was close. But when I looked again, Callum was in conversation with one of the pretty Lycans a few stalls down, locks of his blond hair slipping from the ribbon at the back of his neck.
So, no, it wasn’t him.
“You lot with your mystery,” I grumbled, taking the parchment and breaking the seal.
