Chapter 15 You Can Always Count On a True Friend.
Chapter fifteen
You Can Always Count On a True Friend.
Heidi Coactus
“And what do we have here?”
I turned, recognising the voice of Vladimir Obscurum. He was devilishly handsome. A womaniser like no other. His poor wife seemed entirely unaware of his transgressions. With a smile as blinding and a tongue as charming as his, I wasn’t surprised.
“Vlad,” I greeted.
He opened his arms for me, and I allowed him to embrace me with a kiss to each of my cheeks.
“It’s been a while,” he said.
“Mmm-hmm,” I hummed.
Not long enough. Really.
His charming tongue was entirely verbal. He surprisingly lacked the skills one would expect from a man who had taken so many lovers.
“You seem less than pleased to see me. I thought we had fun.” He winked, and perhaps with his pretty face, those broad shoulders, that fantastic suit, others might melt.
“Perhaps you had fun. If you don’t remember, I was left entirely unsatisfied with your… abilities,” I replied.
He brought his hand to his chest.
“Truly, you wound me. I have had no complaints before,” he said.
“It’s customary to protect the feelings of a man, especially when it comes to his ability to please a partner.
Men are such sorry creatures, so easily spun into a rage born of their own lacklustre capabilities.
I suspect that is why you have been allowed to continue with such an unearned ego,” I told him.
“Are you taunting me?” he asked, smiling like I was simply playing a game with him.
“If I were taunting you, Vlad, you wouldn’t have to ask. You’d know it. I’m simply being honest. You were quite terrible. Such a shame, really, you have a nice body but just don’t quite know how to use it.”
“Are you offering to teach me?” he said, lifting an eyebrow suggestively.
“Sorry, I don’t provide charity,” I replied.
“You are being serious?” he asked, tilting his head like a confused puppy.
“Yes,” I threw my hands in the air. “Are you so dense?”
“There is no need to pile on your insults,” he growled dejectedly, “I merely remember that we had some fun together, and I thought that seeing as we’re both here, we might find some time for extracurricular activities.”
“I could use a boy to follow me around and purchase for me a new wardrobe; the King’s City has some of the best boutiques in the Kingdom, but isn’t your wife here with you?” I asked.
He smiled cunningly.
“I knew we weren’t done,” he said, running a hand confidently through his black hair. “Amelia will not arrive until the day after the opening ceremony; Junior has caught a winter virus, and she refuses to leave him.”
The casual way he spoke of his wife and child was so disgustingly off-putting, the lack of respect.
I felt ashamed of myself for sleeping with him two springs ago; in my defence, I was unaware of his marital status until after the deed.
Still, the shame, coupled with the bad sex, left me feeling less than friendly.
An attractive body did not make up for a terrible character.
“Oh, we’re done, in every way that you care for. But if you’d like to kneel at my feet and yip for treats, I might indulge and allow you to kiss the soles of my shoes,” I told him.
I knew that what I heard during the Summer Ball while browsing the thoughts of my peers, concerning his apparent foot fetish, was indeed true.
“Really?” he questioned internally, and I was shocked at his lack of adequate protection against my gift, especially given the political landscape at this Royal Conference.
“Who have you been speaking with?” he questioned distrustfully aloud, clearly unaware of his thoughts slipping through.
“Don’t worry yourself, Valdy boy; I’m good at keeping a secret,” I told him.
He hummed in thought.
“I suppose your type has to be,” he agreed.
I laughed. Being Coactus was treated with a double-edged blade; some feared that we could read their every thought and, as such, openly distrusted us.
On the other hand, others felt there was no point in hiding anything and found it rather liberating to speak freely, divulging all their secrets. The latter was far rarer.
“What has brought you to the conference early?” I asked curiously, the conference didn’t start for almost a week.
“I could ask you the same thing,” he replied.
“My grandmother wanted to socialise,” I answered.
“I highly doubt that. This Royal Conference is unlike the others, don’t you think?” he leaned closer conspiratorially.
“What do you mean?” I asked, feigning ignorance.
“Oh, Heidi dear, the hands which wield power are changing. Can’t you feel it?”
“I’m afraid not,” I told him.
“There is a nervous energy in the air.” He shrugged. “I suppose Coactus doesn’t have much to worry about, does she?”
“Not as far as I am aware,” I answered, though from my grandmother’s request for espionage, I knew that she was concerned for Coactus.
He smiled.
“Perhaps Obscurum and Coactus could have a closer relationship in the future?” he suggested, taking a step closer as he spoke.
I pushed my hand against his chest.
“What kind of relationship do you have in mind, Vlad?” I asked.
He smiled in a way that made me feel queasy.
“I am a man with many desires,” he told me.
“And yet you are a man that can’t offer my House or me anything which we desire,” I replied.
He grinned in a knowing way.
“That could change soon,” he informed me.
“Change how?” I asked.
He leaned closer to me, ignoring my hand against his chest, and there was nothing I could do to stop a pure blood vampire of Obscurum from overpowering me physically; I could not stop him as he leaned into my ear.
“The hands of power could soon be changing,” he whispered.
I schooled my face before he pulled away and smiled in a way that I hoped was intrigued and not shocked.
“Are you saying what I think you are?” I asked as he pulled away, with a smug grin on his face.
He tapped the side of his head.
“Wouldn’t you like to know,” he laughed.
“Stupid girl,” he thought, and I wasn’t sure if it was a thought that leaked past his poor enchantments or if he was playing some game with me.
“I would,” I answered, smiling seductively. Two could play games.
He grinned and leaned forward again.
“Maybe we’ll see each other around, and I can redeem myself,” he said, his voice low.
“Perhaps I’ll walk all over you,” I teased, and enjoyed the way he swallowed. I had no intention of ever entertaining him again, but I couldn’t help myself; it was too much fun to watch a man squirm.
“Perhaps,” he agreed. “I must go now, but I’ll see you around, Heidi.”
I finger waved to him as he left.
Once he was out of sight, I exhaled anxiously.
Did that really just happen?
Vladimir Obscurum believes the hands of power are changing in his favour.
Was this information for Grandmother or Selene? Both, I decided. But what possessed him to tell me such an incriminating idea?
I wasn’t unaware of how I am perceived. In part, it was by design.
I didn’t want to be confined by my status as heir to my House.
I didn’t want a stuffy future concerned with trade, alliances, and kingdom rankings.
I didn’t want to be treated as such either; there was nothing more boring.
I wanted power to live as I pleased. I didn’t need a husband to command me; I needed a servant husband for me to command.
Yet I couldn’t help but be a little miffed that it seemed I wasn’t simply perceived to be carefree and uninterested in the politics of the Houses, but rather that I was also clearly viewed as mentally incapacitated.
Vlad had to view me as entirely cognitively docile, incapable of harbouring a single dangerously intelligent thought or knowing what to do with one if I had it.
It was the only explanation as to why he would be so comfortable revealing such a ludicrous notion to me. I laughed aloud and gathered the attention of a Borealis servant as they passed, pulling a cart of towels and linen. I listened to their thoughts as Grandmother had requested.
“Obnoxious noble. So many of them this time. Why are there so many of them?”
More than House Coactus and Obscurum were clearly arriving early to the Royal Conference. It was likely that this would be the most highly attended in history.
Perhaps I was wrong to be offended. Vlad was not exactly known for his intelligence.
His extramarital escapades, which I was certain were kept from his wife only because of her standing — no one wanted to upset a Borealis noble — were hardly a secret.
I had learned so, unfortunately, after our own tryst. If Amelia Borealis wished to enact revenge against all those who had slept with her husband, the list would contain a substantial number of eligible noble women.
It was essentially an open secret to everyone outside of Borealis.
Was I a bad friend for not questioning Selene about whether she was aware of the fool that Vlad made of her relative? It had never come up in conversation. I wouldn’t purposefully lie if she were to ask me. Not unless she seemed likely to take a personal grievance against me.
It didn’t do anyone any good to ponder too long on what-ifs.
Life was for the here and now.
And Selene needed me. It was so difficult to find a true friend outside of your House and coven, especially among the noble elite.
Everyone was out for themselves. Perhaps that was what made Selene and me different.
Selene was not concerned with her title and standing because they had always been ensured since birth, which allowed for an easy friendship to form, as neither of us required or wanted anything from the other beyond friendship.
Perhaps not sharing her cousin’s husband’s infidelity did not technically make me a bad friend, but not sharing information which could affect her House and potentially Percy would.