Page 4 of Lore and Lust
“Second,” Asao continues, “poor kid barges in here and she can’t even handle you. ‘Pull your aura.’ Yeah, right. Did you need to fully subjugate her?”
Haruka takes a deep breath and scratches the back of his head. “No… However, she startled me and I’m out of practice. You came quickly—were you listening?”
“Yeah. I heard you when she first came into the room. They have my bedroom so damn far away that it took me a while to walk over here. This place is creepy.”
Haruka yawns. It has been a day. “I am grateful for your unique ability.”
“You’re not grateful for it when you’re trying to sneak wine from the kitchen in the middle of the night.” Asao smirks.
Haruka breathes a laugh. “True.”
“What the hell should I do with her?”
There is a knock on the bedroom door. Haruka smirks.Ask and you shall receive.He focuses and sniffs. “Perhaps the young manservant on the other side of the door can help?”
Sitting down hard on the bed, he watches as Asao grapples with a peacefully sleeping Amelia. The freckled manservant timidly peeks his head into the room. He’s dumbfounded as Asao speaks, staring past him to uncomfortably gawk at Haruka on the bed. Soon, Asao awkwardly hands Amelia over to him and shuts the door.
“You’ve had quite a few admirers tonight.” Asao grins, walking toward the bed as Haruka settles back down. He pulls the sheets up to make himself comfortable while his manservant sits along the side. “It’s a good thing she was second-gen,” Asao continues. “What if she’d been higher ranked?”
Haruka closes his eyes, mumbling against the sheets. “What if you help me pack up the house?”
“Haruka.How long are we going to do this? Ignoring your true responsibilities and stifling your nature? You’ve avoided talking about this for yearsnow… This whole mess started with Yuna. Your bond—”
“Asao,please.” Haruka turns to look at him, imploring. He’s exhausted from rapidly pushing his aura outward, annoyed about the upcoming bonding ceremony and frustrated that he has irresponsibly procrastinated over the start of a major cultural document. The last thing he wants to do is have a heart-to-heart about the ghosts of his unfortunate past.
“My apologies, your grace,” Asao says stiffly. “Do you want me to stay here with you while you sleep?”
Haruka shifts his head against the pillow, his body and mind rapidly shutting down for the night. He has overexerted himself. “You don’t have to.”
“Need I remind you that the vampires of the Oxford realm are nocturnal?”
Perfectly still, Haruka opens his eyes. Blinking. Considering.
“That being said,” Asao goes on, “everyone will be awake whileyouare sleeping.”
Haruka turns to meet his manservant’s eyes. There is a distinct moment of pause before Asao grins and points. “I’ll sleep on that couch in the corner.”
“If you think it is best,” Haruka says, closing his eyes with a grin. “I will not argue with you.”
Three
Using his innate powers takes a heavy toll on Haruka, so he sleeps late into the next day. By the time he wakes up, gets dressed and wanders into the dining room in search of table food, it is late afternoon.
Practically everyone in the duke’s estate is asleep due to the nocturnal mandate. The house is eerily quiet.Full of sleeping, old-fashioned vampires,Haruka ponders.Like a crypt.Only a skeleton crew of attendants oblige Haruka and his manservant with a late lunch before his departure.
When they’re done, Asao stands from the table with a look of conviction set in his square jaw. “Let’s get the hell out of here before these weirdoes wake up.” Haruka agrees wholeheartedly. Soon after, they quietly leave the Duke of Oxford’s home.
They reach London at sunset. Haruka stares blankly out the window as they drive, watching the orange-and-pink gradient of the early evening sky.
“Is your awareness of this purebred growing stronger as we get closer?” Asao asks from the driver’s seat. “I hope this address is right.”
“Mm. The duke says that his business is located in Camden Lock. That information corresponds with my innate sense of him.”
“He owns a bar, right?”
“Yes.”
Asao sighs. “Alright. We’ll have to walk when we get near that area. I don’t think I can drive down the market streets.”
