There’s something important I want to teach you
From the large open windows in our spendy-looking condo on the outskirts of town, you could see the gothic city in all its majesty. There was even an ornate balcony to overlook it—if the sun wasn’t out.
Inside, it was similar to Riftan’s old apartment—small but luxurious. There was still a loft, but instead of harboring a bedroom, it held an extra room that Riftan suggested using as a study. Below it, there were the two bedrooms, each similar in size and both with their own attached bathroom. Our bags had been dropped off, and there was no one around to be seen, which led me to wonder if those who had been thralled were now off and on their merry way.
Before the sun rose, the automatic blinds had drawn themselves over the tall windows, shielding the room from natural light. If it weren’t for the prominent silver clock on the wall, determining the time of day within would have been impossible.
I poked around the condo until that clock indicated that it was around eight in the morning. Riftan was less curious, forgoing a look around for a spot on the couch, where he thumbed through a journal. He gave me space to explore, but by the time I was admiring the soil of the potted plants by the TV, Riftan was watching me over his pages instead of reading them.
“What?” A smile crept onto my lips as I straightened up.
“This little condo can’t be so interesting.”
I shrugged. Anything new was interesting to me.
“Go to your room and get some rest, will you?” Riftan prompted.
“Why? It’s only eight in the morning?”
“Because we are going out tonight and I want you to be rested.” He dropped the journal onto the large oak coffee table in front of the couch. “Besides, you need to adapt to sleeping during the day. You’re a night dweller now, after all.”
“Fine.” Though I found it unlikely that I could sleep under the cryptic pretenses of our pre-planned night out, I went to my room. Even if I couldn’t sleep, I could unpack and settle into my new home. By the sounds of it, we’d live there for a while, so there was no sense in feeling like a stranger in that room.
As night fell over the sky once again, the automated blinds rose, and my room was illuminated with the moon’s gentle glow tickling every darkened surface. The subtle white light spreading from the tall windows provided a strangely serene awakening, unlike the sun’s piercing rays, which I was accustomed to waking up to for the last twenty-three years. Back in Riftan’s Creswell apartment, I mostly slept at random times—whenever I was too tired to face anymore of my senses for the day. Riftan kept the blinds drawn whenever I slept, so I hadn’t adjusted to this rising with the moon thing yet. Thankfully, Prague’s alluring nightlife assisted that passive alarm. It whispered through my thick-paned windows, beckoning with the gentle songs of humanity laughing, shuffling, clinking, and singing from the streets, nearby bars, and local apartments, where people were settling down for dinner.
Out in the kitchen, leaning against a dark marble countertop, I found Riftan pouring a glass of red wine. Intricate hanging pendants cast him in a radiant glow, spotlighting his dapper attire. He’d swapped out his dark jeans for dress pants and a grey button-up shirt rolled up to his elbows. Though his dark, ear length hair was typically tossed and parted somewhere off to the side, this time it looked to have been combed back loosely—some sort of product holding it there—and in the back, his waves were brushed out and laid flatter than usual.
With a glance, he questioned me, “Why aren’t you dressed? Didn’t I say we’re going out?”
I examined the casual shorts and tank top that I’d gone to bed in. While in the presence of someone like Riftan, who I had admittedly adopted a minor crush on, I should have been a bit more mindful about how I dressed. But, given the confidence I’d adopted from my transition, clothing very rarely crossed my mind. Ever since being turned into a vampire, I felt nothing but stunning in my looks. My entire being had been upgraded—appearance and all.
Whenever I looked in the mirror, I had to stop and stare at the way my skin shone like a porcelain doll lit from the inside—void of the smallest blemish or pore. My hair also glowed like golden fibers of silk and my eyes were brighter than when I’d been human—like literal emeralds shoved into my eye sockets. Standing there in my lousy shorts, my legs gleamed like they’d been layered in body oil. I looked like a freaking celebrity—so yeah, maybe I’d been a little lazy about the way I dressed, but I could do that now because my vampiric resplendency made up for it.
When Riftan slid the glass of wine across the counter, I took a seat and his beverage offering.
Looking over him, I finally answered his question. “Well, per usual, you didn’t give me any detail as to what, when, or where, so how was I supposed to know that I needed to fancy up?” Taking a small swig of the wine—without sniffing it—I was pleased by the taste that once in my life may have been described as astringent.
“It’s Sagrantino,” Riftan noted without question.
I’d tasted Sagrantino before and detested the bite of it. In fact, I’d never been much of a wine drinker in general, even when I had to fake it in front of Johnny’s family.
“But,” he continued, “In terms of ‘what, when, and where:’ out, as soon as you’re dressed, and wherever you want.”
“So, I suppose since you’re all dressed up, then I should be too?” He’d made me pack for this occasion, so I shouldn’t have been too surprised—as I wasn’t.
“Yes. But hurry up, I’m getting bored of waiting for you.”
“Okay, fine, I’ll need a minute to choose what to—”
“Wear that black dress I saw you pack.”
I could feel my cheeks redden at his request. He’d been right over my shoulder when I was packing my things, but I didn’t think he’d paid such close attention. “Which one?” A lot of my dresses were black because once upon a time I’d been a natural red head, and black was by far the easiest color to style with the hue of my hair.
Since dating Johnny, I’d dyed my hair blonde, as that was what he preferred. I never did let go of my affinity for a little black dress though, even if I never planned on going back to my natural color.
Riftan answered with a little smile. “The one with the shoulder things.”
“The off-the-shoulder dress?” I corrected.
He beamed from ear to ear. “Yeah, that’s the one!”
“If you say so,” I mumbled, turning away to hide the scarlet on my face. With that, I took my glass of wine to the bedroom, where I changed into the dress he’d suggested. It was slim and short with a slit on the thigh. The off-the-shoulder sleeves draped tautly against my arms with a regal sweetheart neckline. It was by far one of my fancier dresses and I’d planned on saving it for future outings—not necessarily our first night in town. But if that’s what Riftan wanted, I would oblige. Especially since I’d never had a man take an interest in what I wore except to say, “That dress makes your ass look like a rare cut of meat,” which was regrettably one of Johnny’s favorite lines—whatever that meant.
Since I was already so dressed up, I decided to wear my posh matching black heels and some minimal but sparkly gold jewelry.
When I came back out into the main room, Riftan took me by the hand and spun me in a circle, bearing me his cheeky fang-filled smile. His voice draped a soft tone from parted lips, “You look breathtaking, love.”
The only breath taken was mine when he’d said that so casually. The way the endearment “love” rolled off his lips so skillfully would probably have put any ordinary girl in a coma. My stronger, more resilient, vampire body was still weakened to near oblivion. Whether the word was meant for me specifically or simply a figure of speech, I couldn’t help but feel gooey inside. With my mind a useless pile of mush, I merely grinned in response.
Riftan paid no mind to my sudden stupor and led us out into the night hand in hand.
Instead of taking the car like when we’d arrived at our condo, we walked out the front exit and onto the cobblestone sidewalk. Glowing streetlamps were the only source of light overhead, since the sun had set almost an hour earlier. Under the shroud of night, the streets still hummed with activity as night owls walked alongside us and taxis zoomed through the narrow street.
Leading the way, Riftan never strayed from his express route through the city. Seeing that he seemed confident in the direction we were headed, I stayed quiet and content with my hand wrapped in his.
When we stopped outside of a lively-looking social club with glass windows and an array of go-lucky patrons, Riftan turned his attention to me. “How do you feel? Nervous?” he asked.
I shrugged. The number of voices from inside hummed at a low volume, all conversing at different speeds about diverse topics. Fiddling with my skirt in my free hand, I gave him a small fib. “No, I’m fine.”
Raising his brows and giving a satisfied nod, Riftan held open the door and motioned me inside. Sound funneled out the open door to meet me before I’d ever taken a step. The glass-fronted building had done wonders for killing the level of noise between there and the streets. My immediate urge was to turn tail and run, but I bit back on it and stepped into the madness.
That little social club’s volume was nothing compared to what I’d experience in a dance club, or even a karaoke bar. The music was relatively low—for nightlife—and everyone inside had their wits about them. Those who spoke in groups did so at an appropriate volume, and to any mortal, it may have been considered an Arcadian establishment. Patrons all dressed in their best and fit in impeccably among the chic silver aesthetic that sprawled from the backlit glass bar to the glimmering crystal chandelier over the dance floor—which was really the center seating area sans a couple of tables. It resembled the kind of place you’d find trust fund kids and corporation owners out on trysts with their mistresses. That being said, I was glad this was our first stop. It was the right amount of mildly hectic to ease me into my sensitive senses.
“Come, get a drink with me,” Riftan offered, making his way to the bar and adding, “It’ll help you relax a little.”
Am I really wearing my emotions right out on my sleeve?“Thanks.” I took a seat, and he ordered me a drink I’d never heard of. He’d been correct thus far about what tasted good to my new tastebuds, so I didn’t question it. “Have you been here before?” I asked, wondering how we’d meandered right to the place.
“No. I haven’t been in Prague since 1943. I came here off a recommendation from a friend.”
“You seemed to know exactly where it was.”
“Yeah, this is the same building as a bar I’ve been to many times. So, you could say I have been here, but ‘here’ was slightly different back then.”
“Got it.”
The bartender returned with two small glasses full of dark liquor, plus four shot glasses of something clear.
“Why’d you get shots?” I complained.
“I told you. It’s so that you can relax a little.” He took one of the glasses and passed it over before passing two of the shot glasses as well.
“Riftan, you don’t know me that well. I most certainly am not a ‘relaxed’ drunk.”
“Oh please, you were drunk three separate times on the flight over here; I know exactly what kind of drunk you are.”
“This establishment doesn’t seem like the kind that would tolerate my kind of drunk,” I insisted.
“Good. That will be all the more fun.” He beamed, resembling a boy asking to go play with his friends. More so when he added, “Come on, Leanne. Won’t you have some fun with me?”
There was not a single cell in my body that had the strength to say no to that. “Ugh fine.” I kicked back both shots, and he did the same, as if finally getting permission to do so.
Not minutes later, he was beckoning me toward the small dance floor in the center of the social club. Had it not been for the pleading look in his eyes, welcoming me to oblige, Riftan may not have convinced me so easily. But, as it was, he was hard to deny.
More people had flooded onto the floor than when we’d first arrived. Merely swaying in the heap had us bumping into multiple bodies. That may have been torturous without a distraction as significant as Riftan pulling me close, buffering the clump of humans around us. He didn’t show any hesitation in dancing a little dirty with me, putting his hips on mine and swaying slowly until I could feel every curve of him pressed against me.
Lightning whipped up my spine, kickstarting my heart, making it thrum like it did for no one but Riftan. It threatened to pound out of my chest—luckily, loud enough to cover the sounds of other human forms in the mass. Conforming to him, I welcomed the panic that stirred in my abdomen every time he drove his hips into me. Eventually, I was giddy for it, completely disregarding the other people in the room and using every ounce of my brainpower to feel the way he molded against me.
After multiple songs, when the shots had already set in and ebbed, we took a break and made our way back to the bar. I was giggling like a bubbly schoolgirl and Riftan, likewise, wasn’t shy to show his fangs even in a crowded room full of mortals.
At the bar, Riftan took a seat and dragged my stool closer to his. “Okay, now that you’re comfortable, and coming down from your drunkenness a little bit”—Riftan grabbed me by the chin, pulling my gaze to focus on his—“there’s something important I want to teach you tonight.”
“Okay,” I breathed, still flighty from moments before.
“It’s by far the most important thing you’re going to learn, and it’s the first real thing I’m going to teach you.” His tone was low, furrowed brows denoting a new seriousness.
Stifling my enthusiasm, I buried my smile to the best of my ability and nodded, attempting to match his tone. “Okay, Riftan, tell me what it is already!”
“I’m going to teach you how to feed from a living person.”