“Why?”
“To watch.” She closed her eyes, smiling. “Sand as white as snow and waves made of pure violence. It’s tempest meets tranquillity.”
“It’s just as violent when there’s no storm, too,” Mike said sternly, his eyes clearly saying ‘don’t encourage her.’
“Mike? Will you take me down there today?”
“Nope,” Morgaine cut in. “He’s under strict recommendations to leave you alone until tomorrow.”
“Recommendations? By who?”
“Me.” She puffed her chest out, then laughed. “All we’ve heard this entire week is I can’t wait to show Ar the barracks, I can’t wait to show Ar the training hall, I can’t wait—”
“Point taken.” I propped a hand between her and her rant.
“If he takes you down to the ‘beach’, you’ll end up at the barracks.”
“Where are they—and what are they?”
“That’s the living quarters of the knights. They’re over the eastern quadrant of the manor—still on manor grounds. Not quite far enough to be part of Lamia, but—”
“Wait, what’s Lamia?”
“The village.”
“The houses you saw on the way in,” Mike added.
“Oh, okay.” I nodded and looked upon the forest of trees, all so green and thick, shading what I could only imagine were a hundred great spots to take one of those books from the library, then sit and read all day. The trees became thicker and taller the further inland they went. “Well, I love it here already,” I said after a few deep breaths of the pine-scented ocean air.
“You’ll love it even more when you see your wardrobe and your bathroom.” Morg stole me away from Mike, who followed, groaning.
Across from my bed, the sitting room had a homely look to it; there was a throw rug over a settee, and a fireplace set below a giant mirror. I pictured winters, snuggled up in that settee by the window, listening to the rain, reading a book.
“Okay, behind door number one,” Morgaine said and pushed it open. “Is your bathroom.”
The light was out, the curtains drawn, so all I really saw in the giant space was ceramic tiles and a giant bath in the nook of the window, facing the front of the manor. “Nice.”
“Yep,” she said, then closed the door and dragged me to the second one. “And behind door number two—”
I didn’t even need to hold my breath—my body did it for me. White shelves covered nearly every wall, with clothes hanging from rails in between. There was a full-length mirror and a few fabric-covered squares I could sit on to tie my laces. I smiled, seeing the empty side of the wardrobe—David’s side.
“So, you like?” Morgaine said.
“No.” I shook my head. “I love.”
“Good. Now, all your stuff has been unpacked for you.” She walked over and opened a drawer, showing the sweater I packed this morning. “And those clothes we picked out of that catalogue are all here, too.” She propped her hands on her hips, shutting the drawer with her shin. “You’re all set to be queen.”
“Great,” I said and stepped out of the wardrobe. “But…after a nap.”
“Point taken.” She moved away from me and linked arms with Mike. “Come on, Soldier, time to let this princess sort her head out.”
“If we leave her until she figures her head out, Morg, it’ll be the turn of the century before we can return,” he said.
“Hmpf!” I looked at the pile of pillows on my bed and considered ditching one at his head.
They just laughed among themselves, closing my door behind them, leaving me standing alone in what felt like an empty space.
A clock on the wall in my sitting room kept the pace of my heart. I stood there, one foot on the corner of a Persian rug, the other on the hard wood floor, imagining myself in this space—seeing my days, seeing moments I might spend with David, which made me think about our fight.
I pulled my phone from my back pocket and checked my messages and emails. Nothing. He was still mad at me, I knew it, but I didn’t quite understand why. I mean, yeah, Mike and I had to be here, together, but that just didn’t explain his “I don’t know what it is, but something’s different” comment. Or whatever it was he said.
“Hi, David. Got here okay. All is well. In case you care,” I texted, but deleted the last line before pressing send, then wandered over and slumped down on the settee by the giant window, where I spent the better part of the afternoon in my own head. Never a good place to be.
Chapter Two
The only real sign that my body had made the change from the weak, human girl I was to the strong, Lilithian vampire I was becoming, was the smooth skin under my wedding band. Sharp snaps of electricity weaved around the tips of my fingers, making them warm, making anything I touched hot or sometimes, if it was alive, dead. Flowers, grass—they wilted under this blue light I could summon from within me, but my skin, despite my wedding band becoming almost red when I used this power, did not melt. And I always felt like it should; like I was pouring acid over glass, right above my hand; as if I’d escaped a punishment I knew I deserved. Power of this magnitude always had a consequence. David had even made me take my engagement ring off—afraid the electricity would reflect off the cut angles of the diamond and shoot something I hadn’t intended to. But, it was more likely he was afraid I’d lose it. I wasn’t sure how much he paid for it, but when I found the receipt one day, he all but leaped across the room to stop me looking at it.
I hugged my knees to my chest, sitting on the settee, and smiled, remembering that moment; he was so human then, jumping around the house, holding that receipt out of my reach, with a big smile on his face. He could’ve just run, vampire style, since I didn’t know I was a vampire then, but he chose to play keep-off, the human way, because he liked the playful flirtation—with me. He liked me. Wanted me.
I flicked the light from my fingers again, sending it into the fireplace, where it flamed blue against the lighter-fluid on the wood there for a second then flickered away to embers.
The stress of worrying about David, worrying why he hadn’t texted me back, was making my flame weak, my shot less powerful, and the headache I got from using it more severe.
“Amara?”
I lifted my head from my knee and looked over to my bedroom door. “Oh, hey, Morgaine?”