Dinner With a Vampire (The Dark Heroine #1)(123)
Author: Abigail Gibbs

Again I just nodded. I couldn’t do anything else; I didn’t trust my tongue as a knot of nerves squeezed its way through my gut.

‘That is settled then.’ He took a step forward. ‘He also asked my permission to court you.’

I seized up. Frozen, like a wide-eyed rabbit in headlights, I held my breath, waiting for his next sentence. I knew that if the King said no, that meant no, Heroine or not.

‘My son is quite devoted to you, My Lady, quite devoted, and I have known that for some weeks now. I have no shame in admitting that it was therefore a great evil of me to try and prevent such an attachment from forming.’

I loosened the tiniest amount, but inside, I was begging him for a straight yes or no answer – the rest could come later. He, on the other hand, seemed intent on explaining himself first.

He clutched his hands behind his back, beginning to pace between his spot near the door and the bed. ‘Rumours began circulating about the Heroines months ago, long before you came to us. Those that believed the Prophecy, myself included, knew that the time was coming and that the first Heroine would be found sometime in the next decade or so. Although I never expected it to be this early,’ he added in an undertone, speaking to himself more than me. ‘Long ago, in the time that the Prophecy was written, my wife had a most extraordinary experience—’

‘I know,’ I interrupted. ‘She met Contanal.’ He froze mid-pace, looking quite astounded. ‘I read your wife’s letter to Kaspar. It was an accident. It was how I found out about being tied,’ I admitted, feeling sheepish and trying to make my voice sound apologetic.

‘You know about that?’

‘I know about it all. I know you knew the Prophecy was coming true and acted out of love for your family, and to protect me and the Kingdom. I understand now.’

His eyes couldn’t find any one spot to settle as he absorbed that information and I watched in utter astonishment as something extraordinary happened: he held out his hand for me to shake.

‘I lost my temper, My Lady. I punished you and Kaspar for events beyond your control. And for that I am deeply sorry.’

His hand never dropped in all the minutes that I allowed to pass, and I knew that his determination was how he showed his sincerity, because Kaspar did the same thing – he never gave up. So I reached forward, and I forgave him.

A gale whipped up, passing the windows which shook in such a violent way that I could see the frames vibrating and one of the French doors burst open, springing back on its hinges and slamming against the frame, letting the fierce wind in. I jumped and clutched my chest in surprise, breaking our handshake; the King’s abruptly hunched shoulders relaxed and he pulled both doors shut, pulling the drapes straight again.

He sighed and he was back to his explanation. ‘And then in the early hours of yesterday morning, we were alerted to the fact the borders between this dimension and the first had been reopened, quite out of the blue. Athenea utterly denied involvement, claiming that it had been the first Heroine. Yet just a few hours later, the guards notified us that two Sage had entered the three mile border around Varnley, and were headed towards Varns’ Point. Immediately, I ordered the lighting of the beacons to call the council, but it had the reverse effect. Only minutes after the beacons were lit, I received a note.’

I averted my gaze as he pulled something from an inner pocket of his jacket – a crumpled piece of paper, which he passed to me. I took it, smoothing out the folds.

‘Do you recognize the hand in which it is written?’ I watched as he retreated to lean against the bedpost, looking every bit the picture of his son. I blushed, realizing what I was thinking and quickly redirected my attention to the note.

It was crumpled, but scrawled across the centre of the sheet was a message, short and to the point:

Michael Lee struck bargain with hunters for Carmen’s death. Lee girl knows. Pierre will confirm.

It was not signed and I didn’t recognize the handwriting: it was scribbled and half-joined, like it had been written in a hurry. It was unsettling to know that I was holding the same piece of paper that whoever had betrayed me held. It was more unsettling that they had specifically mentioned that I knew. They must have anticipated what would happen to me once the King found out about my father’s involvement, which meant somebody didn’t want me around. I swallowed.

‘No,’ I answered, handing it back.

‘Sadly, you are not the only one,’ he sighed. ‘It did occur when I first read it that it was a hoax, but the dates of when your father’s party was elected into government and the time in which my wife visited Romania correlated. Pierre confirmed it within the hour and the rest I am sure neither of us wishes to voice.’ Even in the relative gloom of the room, I could see his eyes were tinged with pink and as he caught me looking, I turned away, pretending I hadn’t seen.

‘But you are a Heroine, and it does not do to dwell upon that which has been. I told Kaspar that I have no objection to his courtship of you, although I recommend you keep it a private affair at least until December. I see that you have given Eaglen orders concerning your father, and I am most grateful that you intend to remove him from our company until we leave for Athenea.’ He bowed, but stopped when he reached the door, turning back with the first true smile I had ever seen on his lips. ‘Welcome to my Kingdom, Lady Heroine.’

Just twenty-four more hours of being human.

SIXTY-ONE

Violet

The cold wrapped itself around my skin, caressing my sides and shoulders like hands. Drops of rain bounced off the stone of the railing in front of me as I took shelter in the alcove beside the main entrance. Like tiny shards of shrapnel, they ricocheted in all directions, some hitting my shirt, flecked with damp; I caught others in my outstretched hand, turning it, watching, mesmerized, as the drops raced across the curvatures of my palm and fingers before eventually plummeting to the ground. Puddles were forming on the grass, reduced in patches to mud as the rain fell as hard as when it had started, six or seven hours before.

‘In a relationship with a girl I would have been an idiot to let go yesterday. A girl who breathed life into this place. A girl who made me feel again. How natural.’

I wrapped my arms around my middle, imagining his arms around me, his touch, his breath …

I shivered, more from the temperature than anything else, but I savoured the feeling. I wanted to remember how the night air felt cold, and how my toes curled so they wouldn’t touch the frosty stone, and how each drop of rain on my skin felt like it left an icy burn behind.