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“Do you need to go after them?” I ask.
Raúl shakes his head. “Not yet. I need them alive. If I go after them now, they won’t stay that way. They’re up to something and I haven’t quite figured out what yet. This will lead to answers, I hope.”
“I hope so, too.”
Raúl takes my hand and we walk inside. “Can we try going outside tomorrow night?” I ask, uncertainly. I didn’t want to take away from his duties. He’s already spent so much time with me, but I also didn’t want to be afraid anymore. Maybe, just maybe, I’ll be able to prove Mother wrong.
Raúl grins. “Of course.”
I wake later that afternoon after a restless sleep. There simply has to be a way to fix this. Going outside. My hair. Everything. Determined, I sit up and stretch. I am tired enough to sleep longer, but my mind runs wild with ideas. The library might have the answers I’m looking for, and it is my first destination when I am ready.
On the way to the library, Raúl catches up to me. He grasps my hand and pulls me into an alcove, one housing a statue of some dead vampire king.
He hugs me tightly. “Penny, oh Penny. How are you today?”
I smile at him, inwardly laughing at his enthusiasm. “I am better now, of course. How are you? Any luck with the two rebel vampires?”
“Of course, that is a given,” he says with a laugh. He caresses my cheek and I watch as his red eye darkens. “My vampire business is fine. But never mind that. What would you say to a kiss?”
Instead of answering, I stand on my toes and press my lips to his. He smiles against my lips before tilting my head, deepening our connection.
Raúl’s lips are soft and warm against mine, and he pulls me closer to him. I wrap my arms around his neck. He responds by pulling me even closer, his hands moving down my body. Everywhere he touches feels like a brush of lightning.
We break the kiss briefly to catch our breath, and I can see the desire in Raúl’s eye. My soul aches for more, and I wonder if he can tell. We resume our kiss with even more passion, and my mind gives way to only feeling. More, I think.
His chest presses against mine, the hardness and strength enveloping me in a cocoon of desire. I yearn to explore every inch of him, to trace the contours of his body with my fingertips. The urge intensifies, compelling me to run my hands along his abdomen, to feel the sculpted muscles beneath my touch.
But just as I take action, my fingertips beginning to dance across him, a voice breaks through the haze of want. It pulls us back to reality, reminding us of the world beyond our embrace.
“Raúl,” says Carmen.
I try to move away from Raúl, my heart pounding, but he holds fast. “Yes, Mother?” he asks.
I cover my face with my hands, unexpected shame at being caught by Raúl’s mother. Carmen bursts out laughing. “Penny, remember what I told you? These feelings are nothing to be ashamed of.” She puts her hands on her hips and faces her son. “However, there is a time and a place for them, and Raúl knows better.”
Raúl sighs and pulls farther away from me, but keeps an arm around my waist. I look up into his eyes, and immediately my mind wanders back to kissing him. For a moment, we stare into each other’s souls, before Carmen speaks again. “I’ll be going now. Please, remember what I’ve said.”
She gives us a sad smile before walking off toward the throne room. I glance at Raúl, concern on my face. “Will she be okay?”
He watches her as well before smiling at me. “She is one of the strongest women I know.” He strokes my head while he stares off after Carmen. “During the rebel attack, she and my father were in an alcove, not unlike this one, and not unlike we just were. He took a blow to the base of the skull, a fatal one.”
I gasp and whip around to stare at Carmen’s retreating back. “Right in front of her? What did she do?” I think if it were me, I would have collapsed in terror.
“She avenged him, then joined the battle. Only when it was over did she take the time to mourn.”
Raúl and I walk toward the library when a man comes running up. He seems familiar, but I’m not sure how. He stops a few steps from Raúl, panting. “Sir,” he says between breaths. “I have news.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
“Henry, take a minute.”
He nods once and does as Raúl asks. He starts again, saying, “Sir, I have news about the mirror.”
My eyes snap to Henry’s, then to Raúl’s, my face etched with worry. Raúl nods encouragingly to Henry. “It is finished.”
I let out a brief sigh of relief and grasp Raúl’s hand. “Perfect,” says Raúl. “Where is it?”
Henry clears his throat and bows. “That is the problem, Sir. He refuses to release it. He says he requires more money.”
