38. Cassandra Walker
“What about this one?” I asked my younger sister as I came out of the dressing room of The Bridal Collective for what felt like the four-hundredth time.
Naomi was curled up on one of the white couches in the bright space, holding the glass of non-alcoholic prosecco one of the bridal attendants had given her.
The Bridal Collective was the only store in Silent Hollow worth shopping at.
There were other shops, but none of them were as elevated as this one.
It normally took months to get an appointment, but I was pretty sure Alyssa was a witch or something at this point.
She always managed to get me exactly what I wanted, no matter how tight the timeline.
So, here I was, hoping to say yes to the dress with literally only one day left to get this particular task done.
Gnomes tilted her head to the side, her blonde hair tied back in a sleek, elegant bun at the nape of her neck.
She was in loose black pants and a matching black turtle neck that covered her from wrist to chin. It was a far cry from the bright, floral sundresses she used to wear before she and Cal had been kidnapped, but I supposed it was normal to explore different styles, especially at her age.
She was in her first year of college, and what better time to try to figure out who you wanted to be?
I’d have been less concerned about the drastic change in style if it weren’t accompanied by weight loss, dark circles under her eyes, and the fact that it looked like she’d completely given up on upkeep when it came to dying her hair.
Her dark roots had grown out to the point that it felt like she might as well just dye her hair back to her natural color if she wasn’t going to maintain it, but every time I asked her if she wanted to go to the salon together, she just brushed me off.
“I’m not sure… how do you feel about it?” she asked, refusing to tell me whether she liked it or not until I gave my opinion.
I think it was so she didn’t accidentally tell me she hated something I loved, which was sweet of her, but I needed a real opinion here.
“I don’t know. I feel like a cream puff.” I sighed, plucking at the massive amount of tulle flowing from my waist.
Naomi snorted.
“You hardly look like a cream puff. That’s an Oscar de la Renta. You look like a princess.”
I sighed.
I’d told the bridal attendants to bring me this type of silhouette for exactly that reason. Theo always called me princess, so I thought it would be nice to try to look like one for her, too.
At least for one day.
But it just wasn’t me.
It also felt a little over the top for our tiny, intimate wedding in Fairview Funeral’s Garden.
“Why don’t we try another silhouette?” Gnomes suggested, waving over our bridal attendant.
I nodded, still staring at myself in the mirror, swishing the massive skirt around the podium as I tried to imagine what Theo would think if she saw me in something like this.
I knew she always thought I looked good, but I wanted her jaw on the fucking floor when I walked in, and this just wasn’t going to cut it.
“She’s coming back with some more options,” Gnomes chirped happily, and I glanced back and smiled at her.
“Thanks, Gnomes.”
“You got it.”
Stepping down off the podium, I wandered over to one of the mannequins in our private viewing room.
This one was wearing a bridesmaid dress. It was beautiful. The pattern was bright and perfect for an outdoor garden wedding.
It would look great on Naomi.
Not for our wedding. Ours would be too casual for something like this.
But for Cal and Ryan’s?
It would be perfect.
I glanced back at her to find she was staring at the bubbles in her drink, looking uncharacteristically down.
“Hey, have you thought about what you’re going to wear for Cal and Ryan’s big day? I’m helping Ryan plan, and I think florals and lilies are going to be the theme. Look at this.”
Naomi glanced up at the bright dress and her expression tightened. I watched her throat roll, and she shook her head.
“Nah. Not for me.”
I frowned. “What do you mean, not for you? You used to love florals. I know you’re doing this all-black artsy thing now, but you still wouldn’t want to wear something like this? Not even for a wedding?
Naomi opened her mouth to respond, but before she could speak, she was interrupted by a commotion outside our viewing room.
“Sir! Sir! You can’t go in there! That room is privately booked! Oh my god; Maria, what should I do? He’s not listening!”
We both stared as the door swung open to reveal none other than Vox Moretti.
He was standing in the doorway of the bright white bridal space, and it looked like the prince of freaking darkness had taken a wrong turn on the way to hell.
He ran a hand through his bleached white hair, and his silver eyes took stock of his new surroundings like he was searching them for potential threats.
Both Naomi and I rolled our eyes.
Our attendant rushed in, telling him that if he didn’t leave, she would have to call the police, but Vox just ignored her and stepped deeper into the space.
His heavy combat boots were somehow silent on the rustic wooden floors, and his worn-out shredded black jeans looked like they shouldn’t even exist on the same planet as the bright white couch he helped himself to.
He fell with almost supernatural grace onto the opposite end of the couch Naomi was perched on, and she glared at him as he threw his arms over the back of it, making himself comfortable.
“Ms. Walker, I’m so sorry!” Stella, our attendant, was yammering, but I waved her off.
“It’s okay. We know him. Gnomes, you didn’t tell me you were inviting Vox. Thought this was supposed to be girl time.”
Naomi narrowed her eyes at the silent assassin, and her expression told me that she hadn’t invited him.
“Must have slipped my mind,” she gritted out.
Vox just stared at her, looking mildly amused.
I sighed, shaking my head.
“Whatever. Just ignore him, I guess. Anyway, back to the dress. You sure you don’t want to try it on while we’re here? I think it would look amazing on you.”
Both Vox and Naomi glanced over at the mannequin I was referencing, and the energy in the room somehow got even more awkward.
“I’m sure,” Naomi said quietly. Her face was beet red now, and she was staring at the drink she still had clutched in her lap.
Vox was frowning at the dress, his molten eyes flicking from the mannequin to the now tense and clearly irritated Naomi.
To my surprise, he slid closer to her. Reaching out to curl a finger under her chin, he turned her head to face him.
She allowed him to do it, which surprised me. She was usually pretty snarky when it came to Vox… But again.
She’d been off since the kidnapping.
I frowned, feeling like I was intruding on something extremely intimate as they stared at each other for a long, tense moment.
He raised a dark eyebrow at her, then tilted his head toward the dress, stroking a thumb softly across her jaw.
“No. I don’t want to,” Naomi whispered, and Vox looked… sad?
His expression seemed to almost break, and his lips pursed into a tight line at Naomi’s response.
I’d never seen him look anything other than amused or annoyed before.
This whole situation was weird.
Also… I wasn’t super sure how I felt about him touching my little sister like that. She was only nineteen, and he was… well, we were pretty sure he was almost thirty. He didn’t speak and refused to even write notes or learn to sign. So, none of us knew much about him.
Even his texts were usually just emojis, and he only responded if he felt it was necessary… which wasn’t often.
“Alright, enough,” I snapped. “Get your hand off my sister.”
Vox slowly turned his head to face me. The sadness faded from his face, replaced by a snarky look of contempt.
The corner of his mouth kicked up, and instead of taking his hand away from Naomi, he slowly and deliberately stroked her jaw again, as if daring me to tell him he couldn’t.
My blood began to boil, and I was about to tell him exactly what I would do to him if he didn’t get his hand off my fucking sister, but Naomi beat me to it.
“Vox. Stop,” she ordered softly, and immediately his hand fell away.
He even slid back to the other side of the couch, giving her ample space.
My gaze darted back and forth between them, and I felt my brow furrow in confusion.
‘I smell violence,’ my demon purred, stretching lazily in its cage. ‘The vampire reeks of it. Bet you he would let me kill someone.’
‘Quiet.’
“What’s going on between you two?” I asked.
Vox smirked, and Naomi shrugged.
“Nothing. He’s just been… around a lot lately.”
“Like he’s stalking you?” I snapped.
Vox nodded, but Naomi shook her head.
“I don’t think it’s like that. He’s just been checking in on me a lot. I don’t mind… I mean, I did at first, but there have been a few instances where–”
“Okay, I have a few more options for you! I think you’re going to love the Valentino…” Stella sang, sweeping into the room with armfuls of new dresses for me to try on. I was pleased to see there was a lot less tulle and much more silk in this pile.
“Come, dear, let me help you get out of that dress, and we’ll try something less ballroom…”
Still frowning, I allowed Stella to usher me out of the viewing room and back into the changing area.
What the hell was going on between Vox and my sister?
‘You have your hands full with your street fighter. Let the vampire take care of the gnome.’
‘It’s not like you to trust someone else to protect one of our people. I don’t like him touching her like that.’
My monster shrugged and examined one of its talons in my mind’s eye.
‘There are few more dangerous than the vampire. He’s a better friend than foe. I don’t know if even we could kill him.’
I rolled my eyes in irritation as Stella helped me step into a beautiful, silk dress that felt like pure luxury on my skin.
‘Of course, the one time I might actually want to kill someone, you disagree.’ I sniffed, though I was being facetious. I had no interest in killing Vox. Annoying as he was, he was too useful to dispose of.
My monster let out a rumbly laugh and curled up in its cage, settling in for one of its naps.
‘My role is to protect you, Cassandra. Not encourage you to try to hunt those that will likely kill you first.’
‘You’re insufferable,’ I snapped, but my monster didn’t reply.
It went to sleep, and I didn’t hear from it again for the rest of the day.