Page 33 of A Dream of Stars and Curses

Well, that doesn’t help. The last thing I need to add to this delightful mental image is his tongue on my skin.

It’s probably for the best if I stop asking questions. I can’t fault him for answering honestly; I’m the one who keeps digging herself a deeper hole.

‘Alright,’ I say. ‘I’ll just tell them I’m here with you.’

Which is very true and shouldn’t lead to anything embarrassing.

Leverett smiles and offers me his arm. I comply because it would be more awkward not to and hook my arm through his.

‘Then let’s find Anton and introduce you.’

I feel privileged as I walk towards the house through the gardens beside Leverett. Anton must have a whole team of gardeners on the job—I suppose with a property this size, he needs to. Even the fastest vampire could probably get it all done, but why would they want to? Constantly? My and Bonnie’s garden is tiny, certainly by comparison, and we can’t be arsed to keep up with the weeding. If we could afford a gardener, we would totally hire one.

There are a few shrubs carefully trimmed to look like gargoyles, which is a nice touch, and the lawn was recently cut back because there isn’t one blade of grass out of place, but there aren’t that many flowers. Just a few bushes here and there, some roses and some... I’m not sure. Like fashion, flora isn’t my strong point. Their petals are more intricate than your regular round-ish shapes, though, and the yellows and reds are vibrant, like they’ve soaked up every single ray of sunshine that’s ever kissed them. The whites are almost paradoxically bright, like snow under the summer sun. I barely recognise the herbs Kate has told me about, and I don’t see any sage or peppermint. I do see some rather large lavender bushes, though, and smaller patches of what might be rosemary. The bees must love this place.

And, of course, the house itself is massive. I know there are bigger, but to me, this is a palace. How many bedrooms does this place have? Four? Five? More than ten? How many bedrooms does a mansion need? I don’t remember if Leverett said if Anton and Saif have a family. For all I know, they do have children but they moved out several hundred years ago. If I had that many spare bedrooms, I’d definitely turn at least one into a library. It’d be a crime not to. Maybe knock down the wall between two bedrooms and turn them into an even bigger library.

A girl can dream.

‘What do you think?’ Leverett asks with a chuckle. ‘You look awestruck.’

‘I think this is the biggest place I’ll ever visit.’ There’s a zoo near me that has a mansion on the grounds. This manor reminds me of that, so I can always go there and relive tonight that way—or pretend to, anyway, in a pale comparison of tonight. ‘Please tell me there’s a library in there and Anton would let me use it?’

Leverett is about to answer when someone else swoops in, clasping Leverett’s arm with one hand and giving me a huge grin.

‘I most certainly would! Leverett, my old friend, it’s good to see you again. And you must be Esta.’

I find myself grinning, too. It’s hard not to—Anton’s energy is infectious. And he did just say he’d let me use his library.

Leverett clasps Anton’s arm in return. ‘My friend, it hasn’t been that long this time. May I properly introduce you to Esta?’

Anton winks at me and holds out his hand. ‘It’s a pleasure,’ he says even before I take it.

He’s not what I expected. He looks younger than Leverett, but didn’t Leverett say they’re roughly the same age? Or maybe I’m remembering it wrong. It’s more likely, though, that Anton drinks blood regularly, while Leverett doesn’t. Leverett did say it’s slowly kil—

But I don’t want to dwell on that. Not when tonight is supposed to be fun.

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