Chapter 29
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
PARIS
The luminous glass buildings really put the glimmer in Glimmer City.
Wow.
We arrived on South Point, the highest hill at the southern tip of the city. It offered an incredible view of the metropolis, even hinting at its heart-shaped design.
“So pretty,” I whispered, moving toward a fence at the edge of the steep hill.
An array of glass structures jutted from the earth. Tall, short, square, cylindrical, pointed. Gleaming, iridescent, nestled between a network of clean, white roads and pathways, some green spaces sprinkled between them.
Luckily for the folk here, the closest frostbrood nest was fifty miles away.
Thank fuck.
I couldn’t see the stars in the skies here, since the light was too overpowering. That was city living, I guess.
Silvanus came up beside me. “Isn’t it?”
I nodded, taking in the scene further.
Man, it felt good to be out of the Human Domain.
The tallest building, a glass tower spiraling into the sky, looked like it’d been cut from an orange peel. Three beams of light rotated from its tip, reminding me of windmill blades.
I’d seen windmills once when I’d been on the run. On the edge of some farm in the Human Domain we’d been forced to hide in.
Of course, this was only the south side of the city. It spread out to make the shape of a heart, ringed with hills and many patches of woodland. Some of those woods were home to the famous Glimmer Apples—the sweetest fruit in Quintrealm.
Mental note: Grab some before I leave.
Although I’d never been to the capital city of the Elf Domain before, I’d done plenty of reading about it. You know, because these were the lands of my people. And out there in east was Elmwhisper Woods, my place of birth.
My skin prickled, a light breeze rippling in my hair. A sign? A welcome back to my homeland?
One day I’d go there and learn more about my origins.
Maybe even meet my parents.
Whoa. I wasn’t so sure about that. My heart might implode. Anyway, meeting them without Pearl didn’t seem right.
They’re probably dead, anyway.
Man, I could be so fucking morbid.
“I didn’t think I’d come here again,” Elio said from behind me.
Who gives a shit? I kept that to myself, eyeing more of the city, the flora around me saying hi.
“Hello, sweeties,” I said.
Elio went to say something, but held back.
I didn’t care that he’d be receiving the same greeting. This wasn’t a world where we shared the joy of flora and bonded over all things elfy.
If he tried it, I’d pitch him down the hill.
“Vaughn’s house is down there,” Silvanus said. He gestured at a path to my right.
There wasn’t much atop this hill other than an oak tree and three benches, all angled to face the city. The view in the other direction was pretty dark, aside from a road carving through rolling countryside and woodland toward the coast.
Medusa walked to the edge of the path, taking a peek over the edge of the hill.
“Pretty steep,” she said.
Silvanus joined her. “Watch your step. Follow me.” He took point.
I followed, bumping into Elio.
“Sorry,” he muttered, stepping back.
Silvanus blurred between us, his back to me. “Stay away from him.”
Whoa. The threat in his tone almost got my knees knocking.
“It’s okay,” I tried.
Elio moved further back, trembling.
“We just bumped into each other.” I put myself between king and thrall. “Honestly, it’s nothing.”
Check me out standing up for the prick.
Check Silvanus out being all protective of me.
Hmmm. I kind of liked it. Especially the way fury swirled in his eyes like ruby storms.
But this wasn’t the time or place to swoon.
No swooning allowed!
I held up my hands, moving from side to side to draw his attention. “Leave it, Silv.”
The storms died in an instant. He blinked, focus back on me. “What did you say?”
“Nickname debut,” I responded, offering him a smile. “Official debut.”
His lips curled upward, his face lighting with joy. Man, it only made him more handsome.
“You called me Silv?”
“I did.”
His smile widened.
So cute. For a vampire king.
“Now can we go?” I pressed.
He lifted his right hand as if it to touch my face. His expression was wistful, enticing, and inappropriately timed.
What was with him and hills?
But he dropped his hand, the smile going with it. “We’ve wasted enough time here.”
Throwing Elio a pointed look, he returned to his lead position and ordered us to move.
Me and the other elf walked together side by side.
“Are you okay?” I asked.
Why the sudden concern when I’d just been thinking of lobbing him down a slope?
Damn. Clearly, I possessed a pretty solid conscience.
“Y-yes,” he responded, his voice painfully tense.
Probably sucked to hear me use a nickname with the king. The guy already saw me as a replacement, and that would’ve only thrown fuel on the fire.
“He—”
“Please don’t talk to me.” He cut me off.
Rude. “Fine.”
I went on ahead, Medusa moving to take up the rear. She nodded at me, giving the thrall her own dirty look.
Fuck him. If he wanted to be this way, then he could rot in his own fucking sadness.
The steep path slicing through the lush green was dizzying, but the handy guardrail reassured me. I used it as we descended, passing under glittering glass streetlamps, moths fluttering around their lanterns.
About halfway down the hill, the path split, branching left and right. Silvanus took the left one, which hugged the hill in a curve until it reached a tall gate guarded by two vampires.
They bowed to the king.
“Did Vaughn ask you to come here?”
“Yes, Your Majesty,” one of them answered. “We’re here to keep watch for you. Lord Vaughn insisted.”
My senses registered more vamps beyond this pair, out there in the night watching us.
I shuddered, stifling the instinct to kill every single one of them.
I moved up to Silvanus’s side. “Always good to have a backup.”
“Indeed.” He didn’t sound happy.
The guards opened the gates, allowing us through. On the other side, the path continued, ending at a glass porch sticking out of the hill—and another two guards.
Medusa spoke to them this time while Silvanus waited for them to open the door.
My fingers twitched. Should I pat him on the back for reassurance?
Why would I do that?
Once the door opened with a beep from a keycard swiped on a panel fixed to the porch’s right side, a guard handed Medusa a spare card and left us to it.
Backup was one thing, but Aidan was another. Reality slithered back in now that the initial awe from the city had subsided.
I drew luck down my chest, taking some huge gray concrete steps down into the house.
We have to beat him.
The décor of Vaughn’s holiday home was all gray concrete with splashes of white-and-chrome. Super clinical and terribly modern. Too many clean lines for my taste, with no plants in sight, although I felt their energy from somewhere in the house.
Not even a bookcase. Ornaments would be a sin in this place.
Even the sofa and the chairs in the living room looked like hell for the butt cheeks.
Dammit. What couldn’t the lord own a cozy cottage?
Oh, well. Better than a kick in the balls, I guess.
The living room was the biggest space, followed by the kitchen. There was an indoor pool on the east side of the house, blue-and-purple lighting illuminating the water, sealed away from daylight like the rest of the house.
“Take five minutes to prepare,” Silvanus said. “Then we will head into the city proper. Choose a bedroom in case we must stay over.”
“Noted, sugar,” Medusa declared.
I went to follow her and Elio down the corridor linking the living room to the bedrooms and bathrooms on the western side of the house.
The king stopped me.
“What’s wrong?” I questioned.
“I want to talk to you.”
Elio glanced back before he vanished out of sight.
“Oh? What’s up?”
He smiled, his body taking on that vulnerable mortal vibe again. “What do you think?”
Is it too hot in here? “Of the house?” I nibbled my bottom lip.
“Yes.”
“Not for me, but we’re not here for fun.”
He chuckled. “Likewise.”
Man, his chuckle was cute. “Is that all you wanted to talk about?”
“No. I want to ask you if…” He licked his lips, clearly nervous.
The vampire king was nervous around me? After everything that’d gone down between us? Wow.
You’re just the same!
“If you want to sleep with me again,” he said quickly, his voice cracking slightly at the end.
I swallowed a laugh while my own nervousness stirred and my cheeks flushed.
Please don’t turn cherry red! “S-sure.” I answered a bit too quickly. “Erm, I mean. It really helped last night. Last…day? Whatever.”
He nodded. “Regardless of where we are at sunrise.”
I nodded back, scratching my neck.
“We can take the master suite if it’s free,” he added, removing his shades.
Damn. Damn. Damn. My brain lurched, my insides a tangle of anticipation. This bewilderment didn’t suck, setting free a flood of endorphins.
“Come,” he said, leading the way down the concrete corridor of high ceilings and bare walls.
Didn’t Vaughn believe in any sort of decoration? Pfft. And I thought I was an elf with basic tastes. At least mine had some color to them.
With knots in my belly, I followed him to a door at the end of the hall, three steps leading up to it. Counted to three, then entered.
A huge bed sat in the center of the white-and-gray room, its sheets crisp and black. Behind it was a panoramic window with a sliding door overlooking a garden filled with a rainbow of flowers, moonlight spilling in from an aperture above.
“That’s where you were hiding,” I spoke, giving them a little wave.
Their colors brightened, and so did my energy.
I went to the window, looking up at the sky. “I guess this is the same special glass?”
“Yes. And this bed lowers into a pit,” the king answered. “There’s a bathroom here.”
I faced him as he pointed at a closed door.
There was also a sofa in the room, a TV, and a white coffee table. Nothing else.
I put my bag down beside the bed. “Are you sure you want to sleep together?”
He didn’t answer, coming closer. “How are you feeling?” He placed his hand on my right shoulder.
“Rattled, but sweetcream.”
His brows knit together. “That bastard. I can’t believe he had the audacity to touch you again.”
Man, he really was upping this protective vibe, huh? “I think I’ll live. And it’s not the first time, is it?”
His right hand perched on my other shoulder. “He is pure filth.”
Kiss me. “Yeah. And then some.”
His right hand slid up my neck, his fingers splayed. So strong yet soft, and so warm.
Just kiss me.
Want swam in his peepers, all scarlet and amazing. I knew that look, saw it many times since being in his presence. It set sparks skimming across my skin, each one aiming for my groin.
For a moment, I thought about planting a kiss on those luscious lips. To break the rising tension, to taste him again, to reward him for caring so much about my safety.
What the fuck? Reward him? I didn’t think so.
I backed off, the temperature suddenly plummeting without him so close.
“So,” I rasped. “What, erm, shall we…set off?”
It took him half a minute of staring, making me squirm, until he answered. “Yes. Meet me in the living room in five minutes.”
And just like that, he left the bedroom.
Whoa. Close one there. We didn’t have time for funny business, even if my body screamed at me for not dishing out the lip action.
Yeah, well. The body could take a damn hike.
Five minutes. Enough time for a smoke.
Fishing my mistrock cigs from my pocket, I sparked up and took myself into the garden.
“Hey, sweeties,” I said after the first blissful drag of vanilla smoke.
Lucky flowers, not having the bother of lusting over vampire kings. Unless they did. Unless they endured their own floral dramas we weren’t privy to.
Angst in the flowerbed.
Broken hearts and broken stems.
“Man, you’re such an idiot,” I told myself.