‘Your sentiments will change when you have grown accustomed to our ways, which will happen in time. And time you shall have, Miss Lee …’
I slowly opened my eyes to see Fabian gazing down at me, a curious lopsided smile playing on his lips. His eyes were the clearest of blues, so clear it put the sky to shame, the deep blue waves of the sea becoming weary as they admitted defeat compared with such a perfect colour.
How cheesy, my voice muttered in a dry tone.
‘What are you thinking about?’
‘I’m thinking about how amazing this is,’ I lied. ‘This whole ball. It’s just incredible. All these people … I feel like Cinderella.’ I laughed, unsure of what else to say. To my relief, he chuckled.
‘This is nothing. You should see some of the balls later on in the year,’ he cooed.
We stopped whirling and the music changed to something more dulcet and melancholy. Within seconds, we were dancing once more, slower this time, and I was forced to concentrate on my steps for a few minutes.
My eyes began to wander, watching the spectacle around me. Lyla glided past, her partner, an extremely attractive teenage-looking vampire, quite clearly staring down at Lyla’s chest. He seemed to like what he saw. I flushed red when I caught her eye. I liked Fabian – as far as vampires went he was one of the nicer ones – but she liked him in a much different way. And Lyla had been nice to me during my time here – I didn’t want to mess that up.
The King danced in the centre with an extravagantly beautiful vampire. Her long, light brown hair fell down to her waist, pin straight. Her angular jaw was set in a controlled line, aloof to everything around her, including the King. He too shared that same indifference, hardly glancing at the woman in his arms.
My eyes continued to roam. They settled on Sky and Arabella, who wheeled past us at that moment. They stared deep into each other’s eyes, as though they were the only two people in the room. I averted my gaze, uncomfortable. I felt as though I should not intrude on their moment. A tiny pang shot through me.
That’s what Fabian and Lyla should have.
I refused Fabian a third dance, claiming thirst and escaping for water.
I stumbled towards the refreshments table, grabbing a glass of water. I downed it, closing my eyes as the cool liquid ran down my parched throat. I didn’t dance much after the second dance, preferring to sit near the edge of the wall with my drink, wary of the lustful glances coming my way. At every passing opportunity I would talk to a vampire I knew, clinging to them until they decided to join a dance. Fabian had long disappeared, dancing with almost every young vampire in attendance. But I earned myself considerable attention despite my cowering, not least because every few minutes, Fabian’s eyes would search around the room until they rested on me, making sure I was okay.
I would often see Kaspar or Sky looking my way too: brief looks, checking to see if I was still here, still alive; every time I turned, Eaglen or Arabella would have their backs to me, seemingly having an animated conversation, but I knew their full attention was devoted to me. Whenever an unknown vampire approached me, a Varn would miraculously appear, initiating a conversation, sweeping them away in seconds. I spotted a few humans amid the sea of deadened skin, but they too were passed around in their own protective circles, shunning anyone unknown.
A group of choirboys walked out and began singing, hallowed voices echoing around the room. I watched them for a while. They were so young, most not even ten. Their sweet, youthful faces were untainted by the horror of life, their mouths opening to reveal the voices of angels. Tiny fangs were visible and my face fell. How can something so angelic, be so dangerous? Those children would grow into monsters and would kill when they were older.
‘It is beautiful, is it not, Miss Lee?’
I jumped and promptly wheeled around to see a young vampire standing there, with the deepest blue eyes imaginable and a most dazzling smile.
‘Ilta, you scared me,’ I flustered, feeling the surge of adrenaline course through my chest.
‘I am deeply sorry; I did not mean to startle you.’
I brushed his apology off. ‘It’s fine, I should have been paying more attention anyway.’ I shook my head, turning to look at him. His smile wavered.
‘You should not have come here, Miss Lee. You are never safe around vampires; you are intelligent enough to know this, are you not? But I fear you underestimate the danger of this night.’
The voices of the choirboys became shrill and unnaturally high-pitched, filling every arch of the ceiling. I nodded my head uncertainly.
‘To be here, Miss Lee, amongst so many thirsty vampires, many of whom have not eaten in many days due to their long, arduous journeys, well … I thought the King would have better sense than that. But no matter, you are safe among some, and I like to consider myself one of them.’ He smiled that charming smile and I could not help but feel my heart leap. Kaspar should take notes. ‘May I ask, Miss Lee, for this dance? And perhaps the one after?’ he continued, sweeping down to take my hand, bowing low.
‘Of course,’ I curtsied.
He took my hand and led me into the large space in the centre, where couples were dancing an extremely slow, ornamental dance. I vaguely recognized it from my lessons, and began turning on the spot, seeing that the other girls were doing the same.
When I returned to hold, he placed a cold hand on my cheek, cradling my head until I faced him once more. I shifted my gaze, uncomfortable with his unmoving stare. I stared at his chest and noticed he was wearing a deep red shirt, and around his neck was an ornate chain, hung with something that looked horribly like a vial of blood.
‘Do not be shy, Miss Lee. For I know you find our allure most irresistible; an allure you despise so very much. It is not something to be hated, but accepted as the dire, underhand ways of nature.’
I nodded glumly, shame washing over me as I realized that was probably the truth.
‘No matter. Do not let me upset you. Let us change the subject. I have heard so much about you, dear Violet, but you never ask much of us. Do you not desire to ask me a single question?’
I thought for a moment. ‘Where do you come from? Your family, I mean.’
‘My family,’ he chuckled. ‘What an extensive subject you have landed upon. I come from Romania, although my family has residences all over the world, as do most powerful families.’ A smirk played on his lips. ‘We were one of the few not to flee when the slayers overtook Romania, many centuries ago.’ The pride in his voice was unmistakable, though I did not find the feat so impressive. Sky and Jag also lived in that part of the world.