Page 218 of Cherish

She cuddles closer, thankfully, and I bury my face against her hair and just breathe her in for a minute, taking comfort from her for what’s coming next.

Eventually, though, she pulls away with a quizzical look. “So why’d you want to meet here? Do you have something going on?”

“You could say that.” I take her hand and tug her gently toward the door. “I’ve been working on something for quite a while. Today seemed like the perfect day to share it with you.”

There must be something in my voice, though, because the laughter goes out of her eyes, and she studies me for several seconds like she’s trying to figure out what’s going on inside my head.

“You okay?” she asks.

“Yeah, of course. Everything’s tickety-boo.”

“Every time you say that, it’s a surefire sign that everything is not actually tickety-boo,” she answers with an arch of her brow.

She has a point, but it’s not like I’m about to admit that to her. She already sees too fucking much.

I settle for taking her hand and urging her gently down the hallway to the main room we portaled into all those months ago. It was the first one I had completely remodeled. Maybe that’s why it’s my favorite. Or maybe that’s because of what I plan on using it for.

“Close your eyes,” I whisper to her when we get to the soaring white arches.

“Is this another one of your paint sample things?” she asks skeptically. “Because I really don’t feel like I’m up for a fight about the different shades of white we could paint the west wing of the Vampire Court, not after spending the last hour looking at a hundred and twenty-seven half-eaten shoes.”

“A hundred and twenty-seven?” I shudder. “Jesus, that’s brutal.”

“You have no idea.” She shudders right along with me, though I think we’re traumatized about different things.

“Can I open my eyes?” she asks, the second I get her into position.

“Yes,” I answer, then immediately regret it when a fucking wrecking ball full of nerves slams into me. Why the shite did I think today was a good day to do this?

I look at anything but Grace as I wait for her reaction, but when she doesn’t have one, I finally force myself to meet her eyes.

“What is this?” she whispers as she traces the letters on the sign with her index finger.

“Vega Academy,” I answer.

“I can see that.” She turns to face me, wrapping her arms around my waist like she somehow already knows what this means to me. “What is Vega Academy?”

“It’s nothing yet. But in a few weeks, it’s going to be a school.”

“A school?” Her eyes go wide. “Like Katmere Academy?”

“Yes,” I answer. “And no.”

She lifts her brows. “Well, that helps me out quite a bit.”

“I don’t want it to be for the kids of the elite, not the way Katmere Academy is. Here, anyone can come no matter how little or much their parents make. I love teaching and I love kids, and I realize there’s no better healing for this Vampire Court—or for me—than to create a place where learning and knowledge flourish.”

I hold my breath, waiting to hear what she thinks. Thankfully, she doesn’t make me wait long.

“I think it’s the most beautiful idea you’ve ever had,” she tells me.

“Yeah?” I search her face, looking for some sign that she hates what I’ve done. But there’s nothing there besides support and love and a quiet understanding that makes me feel bloody itchy.

Because Grace always sees too much.

“I actually have a present for you,” I tell her in order to get that look off her face. “You want to see it?”

“A present?” She sounds half intrigued and half wary. Not that I blame her. This is the Vampire Court, after all. Bad shite happens all the time.

---