17.
Heather
“ H ere I thought I had been keeping a princess in the tower…”
“Oh!” With all the dissociation I hadn’t heard Magnus come in. When I fully come to my senses, I realize I’m half-shifted again. In the mirror, I catch a glimpse of my milky green eyes and claws that have torn the fine silk sheets strewn around the bed.
Great.
“Get you a girl who can do both,” I groan, wrapping the blush pink dressing gown tightly around my body. Earlier, I stumbled back up to the tower after realizing it was too weird to remain in the vampire king’s bed. I know it’s only been a few hours since, but after the haze of sleep, my body craves a cup of morning coffee. “Did you want something?”
“I believe you requested a date in the mortal realm.” He crosses the room and pulls the chair from the vanity, so that he can sit across from me where I’m reclined on the bed. “Forgive me for saying so, but you seem to need a little more time to get ready.”
“Right.” I roll my eyes. I’m not nearly as shifted as before—just a few feathers and the opalescent eyes—but for the mortal realm, yeah, it’s probably a little much.
I close my eyes, breathing in.
“Holding my hand seemed to help last time,” he says, trying to put his hand in mine. “If you’d like, I could—”
“It’s because I was thinking about him ,” I interrupt, clasping my hands together. I fight the urge to apologize but can’t bring myself to do it. Moth would help me make sense of all of this. He’d call me beautiful, he’d—
“Ah, it makes sense, thinking of the prince would help you change back to the form he knows and loves,” he says. “You really are remarkably beautiful.”
“If this is the part where you do an evil monologue telling me that Moth doesn’t love me anymore or something, save it,” I snap, stepping behind the dressing screen and slipping out of my dressing gown. Considering the wardrobe for a moment, I select a more modern baby blue shift dress with dramatic puffed sleeves that hits above my knees. “He does. You suck. The end.”
“A lovely start to the evening,” he says, offering his arm. “Shall we finish this?”
“Absolutely.”
My plan was to get Magnus to take me to the diner near the cabin. Unfortunately, even with how out of touch he is, he does in fact know what a low-budget diner is and insists that, if the date in the fae realm was too much, this would be too little. I hate to admit that he might be right. Sheer desperation may be clouding his judgment, but he knows I’m plotting something by wanting to come back home. Which is why we’ve been seated silently since our server brought water and a menu.
“Squirrels.” He says the word so softly I’m sure I must have heard him incorrectly. I mean, yeah, we’re on a balcony but I don’t see any trees—much less squirrels.
“What?”
“You asked what kinds of things I like.”
“When I was setting up your dating profile?” I ask, and he only nods in response. “And, sorry, your answer is … squirrels ?”
“Yes.”
“I don’t hate that.” I shrug, making a mental note to add ‘fan of squirrels’ to his bio as a conversation starter. That is, if I can ever get my phone in working order again. A little bit of quirkiness never hurt anyone. Who knows, maybe a hipster with a pet squirrel and a heart of gold will come up on his feed. I swear there was a cute bookstore girl that came across my socials ages ago that had the exact same—
“Heather?”
“Yup, sorry, just mentally matchmaking.”
“I wish you wouldn’t.”
“Why?”
“Because it’s something I should have never agreed to.” He looks off, his mouth slightly open as if he’s debating on saying something. He clamps it shut with a shake of his head. Finally, he takes a piece of paper out of his pocket; it’s creased and messy with splotches of ink.
Magnus – 25 – Male – Leo
A Vampire King looking for a queen.
Has a fondness for the Hurdy Gurdy, a strong cup of almond tea, and squirrels.
“A start, as you said— something honest .” He looks bashful. “If I manage to get another cellular device, I will continue to workshop it. Though, I still do not know what to look for.”
“Then answer that question I asked you in the Dragonfly Court,” I say, taking a sip of my drink and hoping I can maybe get a real answer from him for once.
“Which one?”
“Describe your dream partner to me.” I say it with the seriousness of a quiz in a teen magazine, but he exhales, thinking for a long moment before his mask slips back in place.
“Why would I bother when I’m sure I’m staring her in the face?” Magnus has that same sly smile, but there’s something in it that doesn’t reach his eyes this time. We’re both so tired.
“Humor me here,” I press.
“Fine. Beautiful, good sense of humor, not afraid to stand up for her morals—someone who would fight for me.” Maybe, just maybe, we’re starting to get somewhere.
“See, that’s how you know we’re mismatched.” I shake my head.
“Hmm?” Magnus murmurs, his eyes fully locked on mine.
“All I want to do is fight with you ,” I reply. Somehow, at that, we both laugh.
“Perhaps I am looking for a bit of that as well.” He runs his fingers through the length of his red hair. “Someone to keep me in check—someone like you. That would be enough.”
I look at him seriously. “But don’t you think you deserve more than just enough? Magnus, you should want everything.”
“I have you.”
“You don’t. And even if you did,” I sigh, resting my head in my hands, “it would never be reciprocated.”
He bites his bottom lip, his fangs worrying the skin. “What is it about him that’s so different? Tell me, why does that brute get to be your ‘everything’ when I am right here?”
“The whole ‘I love him’ thing is a big one.”
“Yes, but why?” He says, fully exasperated. “Why him and not me?”
“He sees all of me.” I sigh. “The good, the bad, hell… the really bad. I act before I think. I trust so easily, and it gets me into trouble. Case in point: my present company.”
He raises his glass in a cheer, and God, I resist the urge to push him off the balcony and into the street. Let’s appeal to his better sense—assuming he has them at all.
“All of that and he still loves me. Plus, he makes me feel safe—physically and emotionally. I can just be with him. I don’t think I’ve ever felt that with anyone else.”
“He makes you feel all of that?” he asks, his gaze suddenly fixed on the bubbles rising from the sparkling water he ordered.
“And more.” My heart aches just thinking about him.
“And one of those potential suitors from your broken cellular device could do the same for me?”
“It’s worth a shot, isn’t it?” I ask. “Especially if you find something that’s mutual.”
His eyes glitter for a moment as if thinking about the possibilities.“Then … if I was to find someone, we could go on a double date instead of a fake one.” God, it would be cute if it wasn’t so short sighted.
“Oh, Moth is still absolutely going to kill you,” I say, and even though it’s probably an exaggeration, Magnus isn’t coming out of this unscathed.
“Not if he can’t find us.”
“Then how exactly are we going to do this emotionally mature double date?”
“You will have to sort out the details of having me spared of his rage.” He smirks.
“You’re ridiculous.”
“You could feed my ego every once in a while, you know,” he grumbles. “As wonderful as it sounds to be truly seen, I would not mind a compliment.”
“Then we’d better find someone else.” Preferably someone who doesn’t mind a few dozen red flags.
The server brings our order, and while it’s less impressive than the beautiful spread from the restaurant in the Dragonfly Court, it’s allergen-friendly and the portions are huge. Considering I’ve been eating like a bird the past few days, I dive in.
“How is my performance this evening?” he asks, an earnestness to his voice as he leans in. “If I were to date a mortal, would I do well?”
“Yeah, totally,” I say between bites because, honestly, I’m too exhausted and hungry to give him any more attention—and this is the most pleasant night we’ve had together. He beams regardless, and I watch him bite into the appetizer I ordered for us to share. As much as I’m enjoying the honesty, I’m hoping the roasted garlic hummus gives me the upper hand in whatever happens next. Though, I’m still not totally sure of the rules on all this vampire stuff.
“Why did you decide to do it?” I ask. “Like, I understand you thought you were going to save me from a life of misery or whatever, but why? You learned everything from my clothing size to my dietary restrictions. You were lonely. I get it. We met and I was cool and interesting and—”
“Stunning.”
“Okay, yeah.” Flair up or not, I did look incredible that night at the ball. “But what I was going to say was, I was new—”
“That wasn’t it,” he says, cutting me off. “You helped me—I thought that meant you wanted to be together.”
“People just help sometimes…”
“I haven’t found that to be true in anyone—apart from you and Gil,” he says bitterly, his fingers tapping along the table before he stills them around his water glass.
“Then maybe you need more experience.” I cringe, expecting him to reply with something gross and flirty.
Instead, he hums thoughtfully to himself and nods in agreement. The silence that stretches between us is not comfortable, but not exactly awkward either. I eat my food and watch the human couples walk by, holding hands and giggling to each other. Some are obviously on first dates, and others seem like they’ve been together for years.
“We are not going to fall in love, are we?” Magnus’s voice finally breaks the silence.
“Not in a million years.”
“A ‘no’ would have sufficed.”
“Honestly, I don’t think I could be clearer in this situation,” I say, and despite all of this, I laugh.
“Then,” he says, rising from his seat, “the party tomorrow will be our last together. After that, I will say the words.”
“You’re serious?” I shake my head. “Why not break the deal right now?”
“The selfish desire for your company one more night—plus, couldn’t you annoy the court just a little more for good measure? I want to assure that you’re not missed.”
“Fine,” I agree, knowing I shouldn’t. “But you know you owe me, right?”
“I will be in your debt for an eternity,” he says, his lips spread in a genuine smile. The terrible thing is … I believe him.