Chapter 62
Nix
Volik groans when my phone alarm goes off.
The sound is faint, coming from inside my bag somewhere on the floor, but it’s still too loud to ignore.
I start to move, but Volik grunts, presses a palm to my chest, then rolls across the mattress to find it himself.
He mutters something about cheese, and I smile.
Then my lip catches on my fang, and my eyes pop open. Because I have fangs.
Sitting up, I watch Volik find my phone and silence the alarm.
I watch him, in the dark. Because there are no windows in this room. And the lights aren’t on. And… I should not be able to see right now.
Climbing out of bed, I pad over to the open archway that leads into the bathroom.
Ignoring the little voice that reminds me I’m totally naked, and Volik’s body is total perfection, I flip the light on.
Even though I can apparently see in the dark now, I want to see this part in full light.
The bathroom is stunning.
Carved stone floors, walls, ceiling. The pin lights in the ceiling fill the room with a warm glow.
To the right is a door that must lead to the toilet.
To the left, a long, clear pane of glass covers most of the width of the room. The open part acts as the entry to the shower beyond. A large showerhead hangs down from the tall ceiling. And a wooden towel rack is attached to the wall beside the opening.
Ahead of me is the vanity. The stone jutting out of the wall is carved to create the long countertop holding two sinks. The storage below is cut from the same rock and fitted with wooden shelves that match the towel rack.
It’s beautiful.
Not cold or stark or anything you might think a cave-like house would be.
Except when I stop in front of the sink, I’m looking at stone.
Not a mirror.
“I have another room with a hot tub, of sorts, if you ever want to soak,” Volik says from behind me as he enters the bathroom.
I turn to face him. “You don’t have mirrors.”
He lifts a shoulder. “Nyet.”
“Is that because…?” I let the rest of the question hang, thinking of old tales and thinking they have to be wrong.
Volik shakes his head as he walks toward the shower. “I am a physical being. I have a reflection.”
I can’t help it. My eyes dip.
Yes. Yes, he is a physical being.
“Vampires do not have mirrors because they can be turned into portals.” Volik reaches into the shower and turns the handle, causing water to fall from the ceiling in a steady stream.
I stare at my mate. “Did you say portals?”
“Da.” Volik faces me.
I lift my brows.
He smirks.
I roll my eyes. “Cool. I definitely don’t have any questions about that.”
“Good.” He strides over to a cubby carved into the wall and pulls two huge fluffy towels out.
“Volik.”
“Da?” He hangs the towels on the rack.
When he glances at me, I put my hands on my naked hips.
He smiles. “What is your first question, Mate?”
I purse my lips, then feel the tip of my fangs pressing into the inside of my lip and relax my mouth.
“Okay. So… portals are real.” I nod, accepting Volik’s word as truth. “And that’s like… some sort of swirly vortex that goes from one place to another?”
“More or less.” Volik gestures for me to enter the shower first, then guides me under the stream. “Druids are the only ones with the power to create portals. It is how we, Alts, travel the world. How we have been traveling the world for centuries.”
I let the warm water soak through my hair as I try to recall all the articles I’ve ever read about vampires. And not a single one comes to mind about a vampire on a plane.
Volik pulls me back out from under the stream, and I keep my eyes closed as he lathers something amazing smelling into my hair.
“How… Like, are they stationary? Or can they be made anywhere?” My mind is so close to exploding with this information that I can’t focus properly. “And is that what you call it? Making one? Or do you put it there?”
Volik chuckles, and I open my eyes.
My eyes.
Just like that, I remember the reason I was looking for a mirror.
My heart rate jumps. “Volik…” I struggle to keep my tone even. “Are my eyes…?”
His throat works on a swallow as he dips his chin.
Holy…
Volik places a hand on my shoulder and turns me toward the glass wall. Then he uses his other hand to wipe away the steam.
I hold my breath.
And I step closer.
The reflection isn’t perfect. But it’s enough.
I lean closer to the glass. And into my pure black eyes.
“Holy shit,” I whisper.
“Are you…”
My heart rate jumps again, but this time I know it’s from Volik.
“I’m not upset.” I reach for him. And he twines his fingers with mine. “I just didn’t know.” I use my other hand to wipe away more condensation. “I didn’t know this could happen.”
“I did not know either. Not for sure,” Volik whispers beside me.
Staring at myself, I slowly open my mouth.
I felt them. Already cut myself with them.
But seeing them…
I carefully tap my tongue against the tips of my fangs.
“Does this mean…” A new type of hope flares inside me, but I can’t make myself face Volik as I ask it. “Does this mean I’ll live longer? Longer than a typical human, I mean?”
The weight of this question has been sitting on my heart since we first touched.
And not for my sake, but for his.
Dooming Volik to the fate of a mortal mate, rather than someone like him…
Volik moves so his body is behind mine. “I believe so.”
He wraps his arms around me, and I watch our blurry reflection as he dips his head and presses a kiss to my wet hair.
Then he makes a sound and wipes a palm over his mouth.
I snicker, the heaviness of the moment lifting as I realize he kissed the shampoo.
Huffing, Volik keeps his hold on me and steps us both back under the water.
I let Volik move me around. Rinsing my hair. Applying conditioner. Rinsing again. He makes it all feel amazing, and I promise myself I’ll pamper him like this next time. When I’m not so overwhelmed with everything.
Volik pulls me back out of the water, and I watch him squeeze soap onto a soft sponge-looking thing.
“So.” I heave out a breath and put my personal transformations aside. “Portals are real. They are used for travel. And mirrors have something to do with it?”
Volik hums as he sets the soap down. “Da. A druid can make a portal anywhere. They open and close them at will. But they can also put a portal into the surface of a mirror with the destination in another. A long time ago, they were common. I myself have never traveled that way, but it is now believed that only a few remain.” My eyes slip closed as Volik works the sponge over my shoulders, across my breasts, then down my stomach.
“They are not as convenient as a standard portal. But if I had a set, we could put one in the house and one in your classroom, and then you could walk back and forth between the two.”
“Handy.” My voice comes out quieter, my focus torn between what Volik is telling me and what his soapy touch is doing to me.
“Very.” He lowers to his knees so he can smooth the soap down my legs. “But even though few remain, we do not take chances.”
I think this over.
It feels like a lot of superstition is still involved, but it’s also smarter to play it safe.
“What about public mirrors? Cars, bathrooms?” He grips my hips and turns me, then drags the sponge up the back of my legs.
“Any mirror can be used as a portal. But the portal is only as big as the mirror. So a side mirror on a car could not let a person through.”
I picture some enemy popping out of a mirror in a public restroom.
Then I wonder if vampires even use toilets. Or if there’s something else behind that door on the other side of this bathroom. Which then makes me wonder how I’ve gone all night without having to pee. Which then makes me wonder…
“Do you pee?”
Volik’s laugh is loud in the shower stall. “Da. Would you like to watch?”
I start to say no, but cut myself off.
Fingers pinch my butt cheek. “Freaky Mate.”
“I don’t want to watch you pee.” I swat his hand away as I turn back to face him. “I’m just a curious person.”
He just smiles at me. “We can eat and drink as humans do, but our bodies consume more energy, so we have much less waste. And if our sustenance is blood, then there is hardly any waste. Speaking of.” Volik lowers his face so it’s close to mine. “You consumed my blood last night. How do you feel?”
Oh. Right.
I think about his question, taking stock of my body.
My muscles don’t ache.
My core isn’t the least bit sore.
I gingerly feel my gums with my tongue.
The first words I spoke were a bit muffled, like the way I sounded when I wore a retainer as a kid. But already, it feels like my mouth is adjusting and my voice is back to normal. I just need to focus on not poking my lip.
Holding Volik’s concerned gaze, I answer him with the truth. “I feel amazing.”