Page 65 of Made in Malice

Soft music filters down the hall as we enter a kitchen that looks like a cross between a witch’s apothecary and a gothic church, but everything is black and gold. There are brass kettles and pots hung from the high ceiling by jute ropes over an island large enough to be a sacrificial altar, but the elegant black stone top only holds a golden sink basin and faucet, along with some crystal vases filled with floating flowers and fresh bouquets.

The large, arched windows highlight the massive stove that is the same color as the aged brass pots, while the fluted cabinet above is black and glass, showing off little bottles of what I’m assuming are herbs and spices and not eye of newt or lizard tails.

“Gertrude,” Nox calls, and an aged woman with coarse white hair enters the room from the side. Her face is lined like a piece of wrinkled parchment, but her skin looks soft and supple.

“There’s a cake,” she begins, but her words die as her watery blue eyes land on me. She blinks hard several times, giving me the impression she’s trying to make sure she’s really seeing what’s in front of her, then wipes her hands down an apron hanging over her sunny yellow dress that kisses the floor. “And whom might this be?” Her accent is thick, but her words are clear.

“Nova. We’re here for snacks.” Nox hauls open a door that I would have assumed was more cabinets, but a light comes from within, proving it’s a fridge.

“The Umbra,” the woman hisses, scandalized. “You let her in the house?” She continues speaking in a foreign language I don’t attempt to label, but I don’t need to know what she’s saying to know it isn’t good.

Lucian actually laughs, which is even more confirmation.

“Gertrude!” Nox scolds, but the old woman doesn’t slow her diatribe.

“Okay, okay, that’s enough,” Lucian finally says, and the woman gives him the evil eye but shuts her mouth. I’m embarrassed for no reason, and it grates on my nerves that I allowed her to make me feel small and unworthy.

“You’d think someone your age would know not to judge someone because of a name,” I chastise, and her eyes pop wide.

Nox starts sniggering, and Lucian looks down at me. “Do you speak Russian?”

“No, but I’m not an idiot either,” I snap back. The old lady lifts her hooked nose in the air and pivots, making her dress flare out around her legs, revealing old brown boots.

“Always surprising me,” Lucian says under his breath, but Gertrude must have heard him, because her head turns in our direction to watch us.

“That wasn’t very nice, Gertie. We like Nova,” Nox censures softly.

“An Umbra?” she whispers harshly with a click of her tongue.

“??? ?? ???????, ??? ?? ???? ???????????,” Lucian states, and something willowy and soft inside me makes my stomach do a summersault, which pisses me off.

“Watch out for cyanide,” Gertrude replies. It’s pretty clear she’s talking about me poisoning him, but I have no clue what Lucian said to her. I’m sure it’s something equally insulting. It’s my own fault for even being here.

I chuckle, but it’s bitter and angry. “I am so sick of people and your judgments. You’d think I’d get used to it since it’s been going on my entire life, but nope, the sheer audacity shocks me every time. I’m too poor, too sick, too dumb, never good enough, and now, I’m too much of an Umbra. It must be nice up in that tower you live in.” The room falls so silent, the ticking of the clock sounds like thunder in my ears, or maybe that’s my heart pounding away in my head.

“I like her.” The old woman sucks in air around some missing teeth, making a hissing sound, then shoos Nox away from the fridge and says, “I’ll pack you something. Get away, get away,” as if nothing happened.

“We like her too,” Nox agrees, moving over to stand near enough that I can feel the heat of his arm brushing mine.

I’m still breathing a little heavily. I expected more of a fight, or for Lucian to start in on me, but he’s just looking at me with a strange expression on his face.

“What?” I finally ask, but it’s slightly hostile.

“We’ll talk about it later,” he tells me like I’m a naughty child who’s in trouble with my dad and he doesn’t want to say anything in front of the other grownups. I blow out a breath that sounds a lot like a raspberry, but neither of us say anything else.

LUCIAN

My fingers twitch with the desire to wrap them around her throat so I can feel the flutter of her pulse kiss my fingertips. I want to lay my lips over hers and claim her mouth, bite her lips while she struggles and moans against me.

Thank fuck Gertie is in the room, or I may have actually acted on those urges. I just don’t know if my lamb would have tried to stop me or rip my shorts off first. Her blue stare is hot, like she was ready for a fight and doesn’t like the fact that it was taken away from her when the closest person to Nox and me did an about-face and admitted to liking her. I’m pretty fucking shocked myself. Gertie doesn’t like anyone. Hell, she barely tolerates me most days, but she’s family. Not by blood, but by loyalty.

“You can just bring it outside when it’s ready. I’ll run back and grab it,” Nox says over his shoulder while hauling our disgruntled house guest out of the room with him. Gertie sends out a blistering line of curses to his back and slams something against the stove.

“Well, go get him and be smart about it. I said I like her, but that doesn’t mean I want her filling his soft head with ideas.” I’m used to her insulting us while caring for us at the same time, so I do as she asks instead of arguing with her like I usually would just to have the upper hand. It would waste time that I don’t have to spare.

I hear her before I see her. “Wait, where are we going?” My lamb is suspicious, and it’s deserved. Nox told her he would take her to the best beach in South Carolina, but I’m sure he failed to mention that it’s off the coast of the island and just so happens to be in our backyard.

“Right through here.” He ushers her toward the wall of glass that shows off the pool we only swim in during the winter and the pool house. Beyond that is the shoreline of Cadieux, with acres of our own private sandy beach. We’ve never brought anyone here. This was our spot away from everyone, but I don’t mind that he wanted to bring her here. I actually quite like knowing she’s essentially at our mercy.

---