If you’re not able to act as Adrian faithfully, then I reserve the right to cut our meeting short and never speak to you again.
I will be waiting for Adrian by the well soon after sunset, in two days’ time.
If you don’t want to meet me on these terms, I will in no way begrudge it. Just pass a note along to Brett for me rather than visiting me again across the water.
Sincerely,
Mona.”
Fuming, I flipped to the next page.
“Adrian Angelis: lover of Irina Petralia” was the title of the character description. I still had no idea whether this man was even real, or just Mona’s concoction. His name and that of his “lover” sounded ridiculous enough to make me assume the latter.
What I read on the following pages made my eyes sore. Paragraph after paragraph of sickly sweet descriptions of a man I was now certain could not exist in real life—only in the witch’s frenzied imagination—covered every inch of the parchment.
“His eyes are the color of the sky on the first day of Spring. His eyelashes are dark, thick and curved at just the right angle to accentuate the shape of his eyes. His lips are soft as cushions, not too thick and not too thin. Just perfectly kissable. His thighs are—”
What nonsense is this?
I stopped and rubbed my temples for a minute before continuing. I decided to skip over the paragraph-long description of Mr. Angelis’ thighs, hoping the next part would be less nauseating.
Unfortunately, I didn’t find any semblance of relief.
“Adrian is a brave man in every sense of the word. He’s the type of man who risks his life for the woman he loves. He’s virtuous and seeks truth in all circumstances, always standing up for what he believes in. He’s the kind of—”
I skipped to the next section.
“He was orphaned as a child. He has no brothers or sisters. He was raised by a kind family of witches. Although he had a rough start in life, he always speaks gently, and he never lets his past affect the way he treats other people. He doesn’t blame his past for—”
I tossed the papers on the floor.
She can go to hell.
I’d already made many degrading concessions in trying to convince the witch to consider me a friend, but this had stooped to a whole new level. I had no idea what kind of childish game she wanted to play, but I would have no part in it.
Although I was aware that I might be throwing away my last chance to win the witch over, I simply wasn’t willing to pay her price. Furious, I ripped up the sheets of parchment and tossed them in a corner. I left my room intending to leave a note with Brett informing her of my decision.
But just before reaching the ogre’s cave, a thought struck me. I stopped.
Why do I need to give her this message?
I will just go tomorrow evening as myself.
If she objects, to hell with her.
I ripped up my note and threw it into the bushes, then returned to the tunnels. I was glad that she had set our meeting after two days. It gave me some time to cool off after her letter.
As nightfall approached on the second day, I dressed and left my room. As I emerged from the forest and approached the well, Mona already stood there.
Only, this wasn’t the Mona I knew.
She stood wearing a deep blue satin gown, her braided blonde hair cascading down her shoulders. Pearl earrings hung from her ears, complementing her heart-shaped face. Her face… it looked different. I didn’t know what she had done to it—I could only assume she’d applied some kind of makeup—but her eyes looked more defined, her lips fuller. She positively shone as she stood waiting for me in the moonlight.
I stopped, staring at her, stunned. I had no idea where she could have even gotten hold of such a gown in these parts.
I cleared my throat.
“Good evening, Mona,” I said, finding my legs again and walking toward her.
“Irina,” she said, looking me in the eye.
“Irina?”
“My name,” she replied.
She didn’t mention she was going to play Adrian’s lover.
“Shall we take a walk, Adrian?” she said, smiling up at me.
I nodded and was surprised when she slipped her arm through mine as we walked toward the wall. Though she withdrew it as soon as the vampire guard came into view, becoming Mona as she asked him to let us out. But as soon as the door closed behind us, resuming her role as Irina, she held my arm again.
“It’s a beautiful night,” she whispered, looking out at the ocean. “Thank you for asking me out.”
We walked in silence along the beach, and as we did, I couldn’t help but keep glancing at her when she wasn’t looking my way.
I walked in front of her, stopping her short. I reached one hand under her knees and the other around her waist and swept her off her feet. Carrying her in my arms, I looked down at her face again for a reaction, now barely inches from my own.
She was blushing, but more importantly, she appeared comfortable with my action, indicating that while Mona would have likely slapped me, I hadn’t overstepped Irina’s boundaries. So I continued forward. Now that she was closer to me, the subtle scent of her sandalwood perfume was more noticeable. For that I was grateful, because it helped take my mind off her blood.
“This dress is a little awkward to walk in,” she said.
With each step I took, I was keenly aware of the shape of her body against mine. Every curve seemed accentuated as I carried her close to my chest, her arms wrapped around my neck. I had expected her to start asking questions, but she remained quiet, apparently enjoying the view as I walked through the shallow waters.
“I want to show you something,” she whispered.
She tugged on my shirt for me to lower her. I placed her on the sand. Lifting the hem of her dress with one hand, and catching hold of my hand with the other, she pulled me further into the water. She continued leading me forward until we were waist deep, her dress billowing around her. My eyes widened as she reached for her gown’s buttons and slid out of it, but I breathed out when I saw that she wore a vest and shorts underneath. She swam to a nearby rock and laid her dress on top of it. Following her lead, I did the same with my shirt.
I followed her as she swam further into the waves. The winds were high this evening, the ocean more turbulent than usual. While I was strong enough to barely notice the difference, Mona struggled against a stubborn current. I swam up behind her and caught hold of her waist, turning her to face me and pulling her into my arms. She looked up at me questioningly.
“Climb onto my back,” I said.