Chapter 18
Chapter
Eighteen
Iwoke up to someone trying to open the door. My body was blocking it. Okay, mostly my wings.
I tensed up to try to move and then gave up and collapsed back under their weight.
A swirl of smoke brushed around me and then coalesced into the Scholar, my guardian.
“Katriana, what are you doing? Never mind. Libby found a marvelous text that has depictions of wings strikingly similar to yours. Do you mind if I turn on the light? Have you been lying here in the dark all night? Interesting choice.”
“My wings are too heavy.”
“Or you’re too weak to lift them. I’m thinking the latter is more likely. When is the last time you drank blood? You know there is a direct correlation.”
I rolled my eyes and then summoned the will to push myself to my feet.
I dragged myself and my wings over to the adorable kitchen and got a blood bag out, drinking it without looking at him.
I was old enough to take care of myself.
Except sometimes I wasn’t. I collapsed at the table and he sat down beside me, pulling out an excellent ancient tome that smelled dusty and emoted rotting corpse. Some books were like that.
He opened it up to a page that depicted a truly horrific beast, with enormous eyes like a giant fly, and wings he had wrapped around himself like a cloak. The wing claws were as large as his head, and his mouth was very wide, with sharp teeth.
“It’s called a Gurdobo, and it is the most fascinating creature.
I’ve only seen two in all my years. I use the term see lightly.
More like sensed. The wings are something like invisibility cloaks!
Isn’t that marvelous? We’ll have to see if yours work that way.
It would be quite an advantage for you.”
I wanted to slump over the book and cry at the idea of having more monstrous tendencies, but Libby would absolutely murder me if I got one of her ancient tomes water or blood damaged. “Great. I always wanted to be even more horrifying than I already am.”
“The Gurdobo isn’t monstrous. It doesn’t even kill things, just eats what’s already dead.
I wondered how your existence was possible.
I’m alive because dragons can enchant practically anything, having a lot of leeway between reality and the possibilities, but vampires do not, and your mother was human.
However, when I did her autopsy, I noticed that she had raised levels of certain factors that led me to think she may have been injected by something to help her survive the pregnancy.
” He gently caressed the drawing in the book with his pale fingers.
“This ancient creature can breed with vampires as they’re already on the cusp of death, you see? ”
I blinked at the picture, and then up at him. “So these wings aren’t really for flying but for invisibility? And they just go around eating dead bodies like a vulture?”
“Crows and ravens are also carrion eaters. You like birds, don’t you?”
I sighed heavily and then let my head thump down on the table.
I couldn’t cry in case I damaged the book, but I could emote rotting corpse.
That was certainly a vibe. “Those are goth birds. I’m not a gothic vampire princess.
I’m a pastel vampire princess. I want a cute chickadee or a happy bluebird. What are those yellow ones?”
“There are a lot of yellow ones. At any rate, no, I believe the wings are fully functional for flying, but it’ll be easier to glide with wings that size than to beat rapidly. Shall we do a flying lesson?”
He smiled encouragingly, and it was so sweet that he tried.
I almost said yes, but no way I was going to show Richard or any other angels my carrion wings.
That was going to be a fun conversation.
‘I eat dead people.’ I’d have to carry around toothpicks all the time to get stray rotting meat out of my teeth.
I forced a smile. “Maybe after the show is over. I need to finish one experiment before I begin another.”
He nodded soberly and then closed the book and started for the door. When he was almost there he paused and then turned back to study me thoughtfully. “Katriana, I wonder if you could consider ways in which I could have been a better guardian.”
I stared at him, blank for a second before I thought he might be feeling insecure or something. I smiled brightly and waved my hands in denial. “You were great. No complaints here.”
His expression was seriously concerned. “You see, Libby is considering having children, and I thought I should examine my efforts and see if they could be improved.”
I leapt from the table, delight eclipsing everything else. If the scholar was having a child, that would make me its sibling! I’d be such a good sister. I’d take the child to the zoo and we’d buy ice cream and not pet any lions. Unless no one was looking. I’d teach them all about societal norms.
“That’s so exciting! When is she due? Is she having a baby shower? Do you need someone to throw it? We could have it in an orangery, with orange for the theme and color, because it’s gender neutral!”
He tensed up, looking like he’d been hit by a truck. “That’s very generous of you. I’ll be sure to relay the information to my precious heart in the future should she, in fact, choose to conceive a vampire/dragon infant in her delicate frame.”
“Ah. She’s not actually pregnant yet. Just thinking about it. That makes sense.” I tried not to feel disappointed and failed. “You’d be a great dad. Families are really cool.”
He frowned at me then slowly nodded. “I don’t know much about family.
To be honest, when I took you in, it was for the experimental possibilities more than the sentimental ones, but I truly came to love you.
You are utterly lovable. I can’t imagine anyone not adoring you once they came to know you. ”
And now I had a lump in my throat. “Thanks. I really, really appreciate you saying that.”
After another moment’s pause, he came back to the table, held out a hand until I took it and then he pulled me into a solid hug. He patted my back beneath my wings. “There, there, little sun-born vampire. I’m sorry I don’t give you enough hugs.”
I sniffled, but didn’t cry. I didn’t need more blood tracks down my face. “Hugs are weird for dragons.”
“And vampires, but truly, weirdness is exactly what I am.”
I snickered and then pulled away to beam at him.
“Thanks. I’m feeling solidly better, promise.
And I wasn’t really all that sad even if I was lying on the floor.
It was just that the wings were heavy, and I was weak from the lack of blood.
But I’ll do better about keeping up my blood bags. Promise!”
He slowly nodded. “That’s what Mitt is here for, but he seems to be distracted lately.
At any rate, enjoy your day, and I look forward to seeing you on the show this evening.
Libby and her friends have been watching it together, and they have very strong opinions about who you should vote off tonight, and who you should finally give a red rose to.
” He flashed a mischievous smile. “But you seem to enjoy disappointing your audience. Good. Vote for yourself.”
He left me alone with a more settled soul.
So what if I was a carcass-eating monster with invisibility wings that wanted to proclaim themselves to the world?
That was kind of weird that they were so excited about coming out in public if they were shy to the point of disappearing.
I definitely needed to get to know my wings better. But not today.
When I got to the castle, I walked past Hallie, who was frowning in deep thought, probably about the truth of the soul, barely nodding at me, and then Richard grabbed my arm and dragged me into the side hall. He pinned me to the wall, looked left and right and then focused on my face.
He blinked, suddenly realizing how close we were and took two steps away, raising his hands in surrender. “Sorry. I just need to talk to you. You didn’t answer my messages, so…”
I shook my head and straightened up, putting my internal organs back in their proper places.
Specifically my heart which had lodged itself in my throat upon such close contact with my good friend.
“I need to get to the study so Pearly White can interview me about the duets. I don’t have a lot of time today. Sorry.”
“Maybe lunch? I can make a picnic and we can…”
I shook my head and edged away. “It’s going to be a quick protein shake lunch while I prep for the voting.” I couldn’t control myself around him, and I wasn’t going to make things more awkward between us. He just looked so perfectly pastel prince-like, even in borrowed clothes.
He leaned against the wall and nodded. “Right. I just thought I should give you a heads up about the wedding.”
“You mean that they want to use fake flowers? I know, it’s shocking, but they’ll last longer, and with the tv show pre-recording most of the final episode, it—”
He shook his head, tight. “No, the one that happened yesterday. My dad married us. That’s what those congratulations were about. It seemed weird, but I didn’t…”
A spinning cyclone of despair and absolute rage ripped through me until I was the one pinning him to the wall, squeezing his shoulders too tight and growling at him. “We aren’t married!”
He nodded, but still relaxed, like he didn’t see me as a threat.
“It’s crazy. The most I can figure is that he married us so that I can understand what it feels like to be coerced against my will.
Like I did with you and the binding. He probably considers it illegal, and he doesn’t like when I break the law.
He thinks it sets a bad example.” He rolled his eyes, like this wasn’t the most epically horrific thing in the entire world.
I couldn’t marry someone I was in love with if he wasn’t in love with me!
That would be torture, and I’d invade his space all the time, and it would ruin our friendship.