Page 3 of Lucas
I decided on the casual approach. “Did you enjoy your three days of holiday?”
“A bit. The library here is in such disarray, I’ll need weeks to straighten it out. I’m surprised Simone allowed it to get so out of order.”
Of course, she worked through her holiday. There were a few humans on staff at Oasis, but how well did Anna know them?
“Well, from what I’ve heard, no one has your experience with the books, so can you really blame her?”
Anna’s head tilted, and a bit of a smile appeared along with a slight blush. “All it requires is a bit of training.”
Another thought hit me. “How are you doing with this lockdown? You’ve lived in Devon’s household for some time, right? You must be used to this sort of thing.”
She shook her head and leaned in, her voice low. “To be honest, I’m a bit terrified. I mean, war is a dangerous game. There hasn’t been an officially declared war in a century. I’m not even sure what that would be like in today’s times.”
“I didn’t think it had been officially declared yet.”
She shook her head. “No. Not yet. Devon will want his allies aligned. And while he doesn’t need Council approval to declare war, he’ll want to have a clear declaration of his intent and grievances. Then he’ll officially put it on paper.”
That did sound pretty serious. Lucas and I hadn’t discussed it, preferring to keep Family business out of our three days together.
I scraped the last bite of oatmeal from the bowl. “Do you have any defensive training? I mean, Devon’s security is pretty tight, but do you know how to defend yourself?” I wasn’t sure why the thought hadn’t crossed my mind before, but what did the other humans do in the middle of a vampire attack?
“There’s a panic room here and at the coast manor. All the humans go there at the time of an attack.”
“What happens if someone gets cut off from getting to the panic room.”
Anna shivered. “Then it’s up to the attacking vampires and their leniency with humans.”
I gulped. “No wonder you’re terrified. Do you have any defensive training?”
“It was some time ago, and it was up to us whether we wanted to continue. I’ve always been more of a book nerd.”
I laughed. “And from what I remember, that saved the House from sanctions when Devon was framed for Boretsky’s murder.”
Her blush appeared again. “That was Cressa’s idea to have Lyra take leadership.”
“And how did Cressa know to suggest it?”
Anna’s gaze lifted to mine, and she sat a little straighter. “It was her classwork.”
I pointed my fork at her. “Exactly.”
She perked up and poured another cup of tea while I jammed scrambled eggs in my mouth in between swallows of coffee.
When I pushed my plate away, I said, “I have to admit. I’ve learned a lot from Lucas and Cressa about vampires, but, I don’t know, it seems like I could learn more. You’ve probably noticed I’m not big on etiquette.”
She snorted but didn’t say anything.
I laughed. “Right? But I’m learning a lot about defensive training.”
She shrugged. “That’s a specialty of the cadre as well as all the vampires in the Family.”
“But it sounds like Devon doesn’t mind if the humans learn it as well.”
She moved her plate an inch to the right and set her fork and knife across the top of it. Even with empty plates, there seemed to be a proper way to place the utensils.
I leaned toward her. “I have an idea. Just listen to the whole thing and then tell me what you think.”
Her expression became guarded, and her brows knit together with suspicion. “Alright.”
