CHAPTER 6 #2
Ava, who had been eavesdropping closely while putting away canned vegetables in the pantry, hurried over. “Oh my gosh, Princess Serafina.” She dropped into the deepest curtsy she could manage while holding canned green beans. “And to think, you’ve been my healer this entire time?”
Sera laughed. “Well, I’m not much of a princess anymore. I left that life behind, so just Sera is fine.” She turned to Dani. “Let me know if you aren’t feeling better by tomorrow and I’ll give you a vitamin shot.”
And with that, she disappeared in a swirl of smoke.
There was a knock at the door, announcing another delivery.
“I’ll get it,” Ava said brightly, eyes sparkling at the thought of more presents.
A courier handed Dani a long garment bag containing the red silk dress she’d worn to the auction house.
When she peeked inside, she saw the torn fastenings at the back had been expertly repaired.
There was also a large white box from one of the boutique shops, housed on one of the fanciest streets in the sector.
Ava reverently traced the scrolling gold script.
“Oh, Dani. It has to be from him. Open it, won’t you?”
She reached for the box, but now her stomach was starting to hurt. The food had been one thing. This was starting to feel like something… else. Something far more dangerous.
With trembling fingers, she lifted the lid and pulled back the layers of gold embossed tissue paper. Inside were three fine winter coats. Hers was a rich, sumptuous red wool.
“It’s beautiful,” Ava breathed. “Oh, I’ve never seen anything so gorgeous. Don’t you just love it?”
“It’s the finest coat I’ve ever seen.” Dani had to admit, the coat was sleekly elegant, with a silk lining and perfect tailoring.
“It had to cost a fortune,” Evan grumbled, poking through the layers of tissue, and lifting out a black coat.
Dani could see she was preparing to refuse the gift, until she saw the faux-fur hood and A-line skirt.
The effect gave the tailoring a gothic edge that was so completely Evan she felt sure Serafina had offered a hand in picking it out.
“Oh, I love it!” Ava squealed in delight when she pulled her white wool coat from the box. It was just a little big, with room for her to grow into it, and had a little fur-trimmed muff to match.
A second box held new winter boots for all of them, warm blankets, soft wool mittens and matching scarves, and even a bed for the cat.
Ava twirled in a circle, holding her new coat to her chest. “Are you going to marry the prince, Dani?”
The question shocked her out of the daze she’d found herself in, staring at their living room covered in gifts.
“No, Ava,” she said, slowly shaking her head. “That’s not how it works.”
“But Prince Alexander was so nice. He sent food, and all of this other stuff. He’s nothing like how he acts on TV.”
Dani and Evan exchanged a look.
“Prince Alexander is going to marry a vampire,” Dani said gently. “Someone from the aristocracy. Probably Lara Cavalieri.”
“Loveless political matings are the norm,” added Evan. “It’s what cooled off the conflict with the fae and has helped drive the werewolves back for the past thirty years.”
“But he sent you all this stuff. Why would he do that if he didn’t want to court you?”
“And that was very generous,” Dani said carefully. “We can make this food stretch all winter if we’re careful. But Alexander is still a vampire and I’m still a human. The laws haven’t changed.”
“You called him Alexander.” Ava’s chin quivered stubbornly. “You do like him. And he could turn you.”
Dani’s heart ached for her. Of course when Alex had shown up on their doorstep, looking all dashing, when all the gifts had started to arrive, why wouldn’t her little sister have begun to hope?
“The royals don’t get to choose who they marry,” Evan said again, stowing the last bag of rice in the cupboard. “Their matings always serve some strategic political purpose.”
“The king married a commoner,” Ava insisted. “The queen was his sanguine before he turned her.”
“And that’s part of the reason he outlawed human-vampire matings.
She never recovered from the change. It eventually killed her.
” Dani crossed the room, hugging her sister tightly.
“You’re very sweet to want the best for me.
I’m fine. I promise. Now, you need to eat breakfast, check your blood sugar and get ready for school.
If I don’t leave for the factory soon, I’ll be late. ”
After taking the fastest shower of her life, she dressed in plain trousers and the long-sleeved uniform shirt that was required on the distribution center floor.
Before she could stop herself, she took a picture of Cinder curled in her new cat bed by the hearth.
Dani: I can’t thank you enough, both for what you did for me last night, and also for making sure I got home safely.
Dani: Cinder says she cannot decide which she prefers more, this bed, or the box it came in.
Immediately, three dots appeared.
Alex: I always wanted a cat. There are swans on the royal grounds, but they’re rather mean.
Dani: You’ve never had a pet?
Alex: I realized from a young age how dangerous attachments could be, that anything I showed affection for could be injured or taken away as punishment for my lack of compliance.
Alex: And now you see why my brother says I should never be allowed to text before I’ve had at least three cups of coffee.
Dani: Cinder can be quite a diva and rarely graces us with pictures, but I’m sure she wouldn’t object to being your virtual cat.
A second later, a cat emoji appeared.
Alex: And you’re welcome, by the way. It was my pleasure to be able to do something nice for you all.
She’d just started to tap out a response when her vision went blurry.
Blinking, Dani shook her head, frowning down at the screen.
It cleared slightly, but not enough to read their message exchange.
She swore under her breath, hoping she wasn’t getting a migraine right at the start of her shift.
Pocketing her phone, she hurried into the other room where Ava was getting her books for school.
“Don’t forget your lunch.” Evan handed out two bags, one for her and one for Ava.
“Thanks. Do you mind walking Ava to school today? I’ve still got a bit of a headache and I’m running late for my shift.”
“Ava, wait for me downstairs,” Evan called, lowering her voice when Dani reached the door. “I need you to make sure this package goes out. Sector Three.”
Evan passed her a small rectangular parcel no bigger than a phone.
Dani slipped it into the front of her bra.
Regular mail was searched. The shipping center where she worked was owned by Cavalieri Industries.
Communication between sectors was always monitored and only bootleg devices could be used to text without messages being intercepted.
“I’ll try. It depends if I’m being watched.”
Evan nodded. “Be careful coming home tonight, okay?”
This was accompanied by a meaningful look.
“Is something happening?” A chill skated up Dani’s spine.
“Just don’t let them hold you late for any overtime. Get back home before curfew.”
Which was answer enough.
Alexander splashed water onto his face. With a sigh, he hung his head over the marble basin in his bathroom, waiting for his heartbeat to slow.
All morning, he’d felt jittery. It had to be a reaction to the previous night’s feeding.
Abstaining from directly drinking from a sanguine’s vein for three years, then restarting without advanced time to prepare had been a shock to his system.
Reaching for a towel, he dried his face.
As he closed his eyes, an image of Dani appeared, draped across the divan.
Blonde hair spilled over her shoulders in soft waves.
He shook his head to try to clear his thoughts, and those gray storm cloud eyes stared down at him in the moment just before he’d bitten her, vulnerable, trusting him.
Damn it all.
Her blood was in his veins and now she was all up in his head, driving his imagination wild.
He couldn’t stop picturing what it would have felt like to have her small fingers trace the bones of his face just before he kissed her for the first time, shy and wanting.
He longed to feel those hands draw his shirt up over his head, hear her breath catch, see her pupils grow dark with desire as he explored every inch of her skin.
Not with the fear that had been there last night.
Not because they had a contract, or because he was the prince, which he sensed with absolute certainty would be the one thing that would make him less appealing to Daniela Girard rather than more, in contrast to practically every other woman in the sector.
No. Just once, he wanted to know what it would have felt like to have her touch him because she wanted to.
Alex dug his fingers into his temples. He was giving himself the migraine of the century. He needed to stop thinking of Dani this way, desiring her.
He’d gotten used to taking his monthly meals from a bag.
With contactless donation, the risk of addiction was much lower on both sides.
Sanguines who gave blood remotely didn’t take vampire venom into their bloodstream.
Vampires who chose contactless feeding still ingested the sanguine’s blood, so there was still that instinctive draw to take, the craving that every vampire felt pulsing in his blood when he needed to feed.
But since venom never entered the bloodstream of the sanguine, the drive to possess was greatly reduced. Addiction rarely formed on either side.
He was having a reaction after taking Dani’s blood. There was no point in denying it. He was feeling things he shouldn’t be feeling. But the temporary arousal, the possessiveness that all vampires experienced just after feeding—these urges were normal and would pass over the next few days.
For now… he needed to work some of this excess energy off. Grabbing his gym bag, he went outside to meet Dante.