Chapter Twenty-Three
Leonora
The night air was cool, the scent of bonfire smoke thick, and I was pretty sure that there was a marshmallow stuck in my hair.
“Why are we even eating these?” The pink marshmallow had melted from my proximity to the fire and I grimaced as I tried to pull it free from one dark curl.
“Because they're delicious,” Emerson said, a tiny bit of drool slipping down her chin around the five mallows in her mouth.
Novalie shook her head. “Nope.”
We'd needed to escape court for a few moments of semi-normalcy and air that wasn't stale. It was hard to keep track of time underground, bonfire night had come around fast. London wasn't typically what I would consider to be a peaceful place, but in the middle of the night, by the heat of the fire, I was feeling surprisingly at ease.
“You good?”
I blinked, Novalie’s voice stirring me out of my reverie. The flames were still visible behind my eyelids when I laid back on the ground. “Yeah, just enjoying being out here.”
Leaves rustled and Emerson settled beside me. “It's like a whole other world down there.”
“A bitey, bloody world,” Novalie muttered.
“Full of uninvited and unexpected interlopers,” I added and a scoff on the other side of the fire pit made me grin.
“Oh, come now, cousin. It's not all bad. You have to admit that court has a little something you can’t help but love,” Rath said and Novalie sighed.
“You know literally nothing about me,” I pointed out and he made a sound of protest.
“Well, that's what girls’ night is for, is it not? Why else would I be invited?”
“Not,” I said firmly and brushed some stray ash from my nose. “And I didn't invite you. You saw us leaving and followed us here despite my protests.”
“You have a truly wonderful sense of humour, cousin. Unlike your bitch of a mother.”
“Amen.” Novalie grinned, prodding the fire to keep it burning steadily.
“Did you ever meet my father?” Considering Rath was as old as dirt, he and Cal had likely crossed paths, though that didn't mean he knew who Cal was to me.
“Sadly, no. A shame, if their proclivities hadn’t produced you, I wouldn't have believed anyone could be sadistic enough to bed Elowen.”
“Burn," Emerson muttered and I rolled my eyes.
“You really hate her, huh?” Novalie popped another marshmallow in her mouth and immediately grimaced when she chewed, like she regretted it.
“Not really.” Rath sighed and I sat up to look at him, intrigued. “Elowen is a bit like a beaten dog—hard not to kick her when she's already down. Plus, she just makes it so easy.”
It was an interesting take for sure. I'd only really thought about my mother as a duplicitous, murdering bitch. The prospect that she was small potatoes to a vampire like Rath…
“How old are you?”
Novalie gasped. “Nora, that's super rude. Buy the guy a drink first.”
“Indeed,” Rath murmured, amusement thick in his voice.
“I thought you came to girls’ night to get to know each other better,” Em said and I nodded vigorously.
“Yeah. What Em said.”
Rath rolled his eyes. “Old.”
“First world war?”
“Seen it.”
“French revolution?”
“Vive la résistance.”
“Cleopatra?” Novalie chirped and Rath spluttered.
“I said old, not ancient.”
“Did you ever meet the royal vampires? Their line was supposed to date back to the first vampire, right?”
A sudden tension filled the air, a hum of frisson that felt similar to my own stormy magick, prickling my skin.
“Yes. I met them.” Rath said nothing else and I had the feeling I'd overstepped somehow.
“Do you know what happened to them?” My voice was quiet, not that it would matter to anyone gathered here.
“Does anyone?” It wasn't really an answer but I let it slide, for now.
“What about their mages? The guards?”
Rath stood so suddenly it almost felt like time skipped a beat. “I think that's enough questions for one night.”
Before I could say anything else, he was gone. Fucking vampires, conveniently vanishing in the middle of conversation.
“That was... strange,” Emerson said, breaking the silence that had fallen.
“Yep.” Novalie stood and kicked dirt on the fire, extinguishing it as I sat up and brushed any remaining leaves from my hair. “Dude's totally hiding something. For a centuries old vampire, you'd think he would have learned some subtlety by now.”
“I don’t think I have the energy to solve another mystery right now.” Emerson yawned. “We don't need to chase him down, right?”
I shook my head. Rath was a problem for another day.
“A quick blood orgy will perk you right up.” Novalie grinned and I couldn't help laughing at the fed-up expression on Emerson's face. “Okay, fine. Bath and bed?”
“Couldn't have said it better myself.”