Chapter 7 #3
“Seemed like it was a teachable moment. Don’t force me to give you another lesson,” I warned. I wasn’t prepared to give one, and adrenaline would be my only asset. I was tired, emotionally drained, and without adequate weapons.
Seething, she stepped back. Her eyes swept over me, scanning for potential concealed weapons that could deliver on my threat. My hoodie had the potential to store a number of things that could be dangerous to her.
“I don’t like you!”
“Whaaaat? News to me. You hide it well. Oscar-level performance. Honestly, I thought this was the beginning of us becoming besties. Oh, the stories we could share about our blossoming friendship. We’d tell them about you being a complete monster to me and how I had to tame you by breaking your fang.
And we’d laugh at the absurdity. Now we don’t have that.
This rejection stings. How will I go on? ”
Her seething growl was cut short when she noticed the woman who’d sidled in next to her. Anna spun, shooting me a scathing look before marching away. I couldn’t parse out if her quick exit was from the threat of losing a fang again, or the new arrival. Regardless, I was happy to see her go.
The House of Hollows’s unofficial princess gave me a small wave before crushing me into a hug. Darby had been a vampire long enough for her to understand her strength, but I suspected she was one of those people whose hugs were always like receiving a spinal adjustment.
When she stepped away, I moved several more feet from the vampire traction device.
She was dressed in a billowy off-the-shoulder burnt-orange midi dress that complemented her rich golden russet-colored skin.
The Afro Brazilian vampire’s thick waves were twisted into a fat bun.
I imagined the crown that belonged on it as the presumed princess of the house and the reason there were only five houses now instead of six.
The Hollow’s undeclared princess was aggressively cute: round nose, winged sharp cheeks, and emotive molten acorn-brown eyes.
“Give her time, she’ll get over it,” she signed.
“No need to lie. I recognize when I’ve earned a life-long enemy,” I responded.
She offered me a tight-lipped smile.
“Things could be worse,” I signed.
Her eyes widened at my hands as they continued to move.
“Your signing has improved. A lot,” Darby signed. Her smile widened.
“Of course,” I signed and voiced. “Because I’m her,” I boasted.
My brag earned her smile folding into a cringe-grimace. It was a staunch reminder of our six-year age difference that at times seemed like decades. Making me feel older than twenty-six. She looked at the grimoire on the console then examined me again.
“Something bad happened?” she signed.
I was racing against time and had to translate a demon spell, figure out how to use it, and hope that the fates were on my side. And I had an asshole shadow god to contend with.
Before I could tell her I’d have to catch her up later, she signed, “If you need help, let me know. Go.”
Grateful for her ability to sense my urgency, I waved goodbye and snatched up the grimoire. Darby was on me with that haunting vampire speed, giving my hand a squeeze a lot gentler than her hugs. “I like that you learned ASL. Much appreciated,” she whispered in my ear.
Her appreciation always held a level of gratitude that pushed away all the images of violence that resurfaced when I was with her. And sometimes the guilt that seeped in for being the initiator of it.
I nodded. It was advantageous to be multilingual even if it was limited to knowing how to apologize when I needed to and recognizing and speaking words of threat and violence.
Living so close to a major city like Chicago, I encountered vampires from all over the world, many of whom continued to value their origins and first language.
“He’s lovely, isn’t he,” she signed before I could get out the door.
There was something in her expression that I couldn’t place.
Then she signed, “I think it’s serious.”
It took a moment to realize her comment was about the man from earlier.
Understandably, Darby had trust issues. But there was more to this.
Jealousy? Fear of change? It struck me: a partner.
She enjoyed her position and the benefits that came with it.
If Corrine took a mate, it would change the dynamics of the house.
Like the House of Knight, there might be two Elites.
Although it wasn’t official that William was considered an Elite, it was widely known.
I suspected Darby wanted that role and believed by default it would go to Corrine’s new mate.
“Once it passes the six-month mark, then you can worry. For now, it’s just a situationship like the others,” I signed.
She rolled her eyes and grimaced. I returned the look, heading out of the house with the sound of her gentle laughter behind me.
Corrine’s help was limited to giving me the grimoire. I wondered if Darby would rescind her offer of assistance if she knew a demon spell was involved.