Page 35 of The Child of Rue Royale
It’s her. The beautiful woman whose life I saved inside of Nightwalkers the night Cassius called me. Marlowe. She pushes her curly black hair behind her back as she chews her lip.
I look around the room, overwhelm pounding into me because the last time I saw it was through the cracked door with all the baby things thrown on the floor.
But now it’s pristine, the bassinet sitting next to the bed. A changing table in the corner, diapers and wipes stacked on top.
“Oh,” is all I can manage to say as Chantal comes in behind me. I place Aven’s carrier on the bed, noticing the new dresser that’s put together along the wall, and next to it, Marlowe folding a pile of baby clothes. “Oh,” I say again, sitting on the bed, my hand covering my mouth.
Marlowe gets up, concern on her face as she looks back and forth between Cassius and me.
“She’s fine,” Chantal says, coming to my side.
It’s so much to take in. The completed room, Marlowe, whom I’ve never properly met folding my baby’s clothes, and Cassius with a screwdriver in his hand.
“Marlowe and I wanted to help,” he says, placing the screwdriver on the nightstand. “When it comes to putting things together, you want a vampire involved. Much speedier. It was done in almost minutes.”
I crack a smile, deciding not to tell him I could have used my powers to do it, but I didn’t, did I? I was too paralyzed to do anything.
So I simply nod, tears falling down my face, wishing I didn’t appear so weak the first time I’m meeting Marlowe, at least when she’s conscious.
I swallow the tears away as Chantal extends a hand to Marlowe, introducing herself.
“So nice to meet you.” Marlowe nods, confusion wearing upon her face.
“I’m sorry, it’s just… I haven’t slept in here yet. I haven’t been able to come in. So it’s just…a lot.”
“Oh, my God. I’m so sorry,” Marlowe says, and Cassius gives me that look. That look of mutual pain. The one we share all too often.
He moves toward me, his face determined. “We’ll get it out. Where shall we move it to? The spare room?”
“No,” I say, looking at Chantal and raising my hands. “No. It’s fine. I think it’s best, actually. The three of us can’t fit in Chantal’s room.”
“We can make it work,” Chantal offers, but I shake my head.
“No, it’s time. It’s okay. Thank you so much for putting it all together.” I walk over to the tiny diapers and run a hand along the velvety changing table cover.
“Marlowe washed everything in that special baby detergent. It’s quite ridiculous. We didn’t have anything like that two hundred years ago, and—”
“Cassius,” Marlowe warns, eyes squinting, telling him to shut up. “It’s not the 1700s anymore.”
That makes me smile and then laugh, the surprise of someone actually putting Cassius in his place and him listening. “Oh, Cassius. Have you met your match?”
With a smile on his lips, he can only nod. “I have. The perfect match.”
She rolls her eyes, but when they look upon each other, a fire is exchanged, a devotion I recognize so deeply I sit back on the bed.Chantal notices and raises her eyebrows, but I just wave it away, gathering my strength. The bed feels like it could perfectly eat me up.
“Oh, he’s so precious,” Marlowe says, her long legs bending as she looks at Aven in his carrier, sound asleep.
“Isn’t he the cutest? My brother’s twin.”
I force a smile, nodding in agreeance because the ache of it is too much. But I close my eyes and see him coming back to me, walking up to me. Holding me. One day. One day.
“Well, I’m sure you’re fatigued. Since you can’t go to the first check-up during the day hours, I’ve arranged for a nurse practitioner to be here tomorrow to take care of whatever they take care of for new babies, I don’t know.” He looks irritated when he says it, but only because it’s something new to him. “I have emailed her all the instructions. But mostly, absolutely no light until further notice.”
“Okay.” I sigh. “When should we conduct our tests?”
“I say keep him away from light for the first few weeks, then we can try sticking a toe into the faintest ray of light. And then we pray. I don’t sense a desire for blood, and I would feel it. He’s satiated by your milk so far, so that’s a good thing.”
“Yes, he’s nursing like a human baby.” I nod, though it’s panic-inducing. If Aven is part vampire and requires darkness or blood, raising him will seem near impossible. But not something I couldn’t handle.
