Page 93 of Of Shadows and Blood

“No, just so mesmerizing,” I admit. This room feels raw and beautiful. Compared to the dark fanciness of Lux, this one room is adventure and warmth wrapped in one.

“I’m glad you think so,” a voice behind me says. I jump, turning to see who I assume is the king, with two women on his arms. While he has youth about him, with warm chestnut hair and a tan, I wonder which species faces me now. Baron looks up to Cedric, sizing him up. His stature is much smaller than Cedric’s, but what he lacks in size he makes up for in energy.

The two stare each other down and I swear you could hear a pin drop in the silence. I thought they were friends?

Cedric suddenly appears behind Baron and in a blink, the two are wrestling in laughter on the floor by the fire pit. One second Cedric is being pinned by Baron and the next, Cedric is diving from the loft onto the cushions scattered along the floor. The latter apparates to the former’s landing spot and continues the fight.

Vampyr.

One of the women Baron entered with leans over to me. Her taffeta sleeves brush my own velvet dress. “These two are a handful together,” she whispers.

“They’re like this all of the time?” I ask back, shocked that she isn’t around just for certain needs.

“You should have seen them at our wedding,” she says through giggles, grabbing the other woman.

Two wives?

What Garreth was referring to, Cedric sends back down our bond.

“I’m Hera and this is Från, consorts to the one choking his friend out with a scarf,” she says nodding to the rulers on the floor once again.

Cedric and Baron look up at us three and sure enough, Baron has Cedric’s neck wrapped around with a silk scarf. The men are laughing crazily, out of breath from their tussles. I’m having a moment trying to sort through the scene in front of me. Cedric has more friends? The dark, brooding king who keeps things clean and to the point in his kingdom actually has fun? My mind can’t wrap around the notion.

And Baron, the king, has two wives. That man must be the happiest in all the continent. They’re stunning in the way an immortal is, but tenfold. I feel immediately small next to them.

“Liv, I am so glad you agreed to come,” Baron says as he paces back over to us, dodging a pillow being thrown at his head by Cedric.

I laugh at the quickness of his movement. Baron takes my hand in his and pulls me into a deep hug. Pulling back, he says, “I know you don’t remember us, but we were all great friends. It is nice to meet you again.” He smiles greatly before turning to Cedric and saying, “Let’s get this party started then, shall we?”

I let Cedric lead me into the conversation pit. He knows of my ailment?

Baron is a very close, very caring friend. We consulted some of his personal cess when you were first injured. A risk, yes, but it was hard to keep it a secret from him. I have no reason to believe he would use this against us.

Jarring to hear him refer to me as Liv.

He’s very respectful, Cedric finishes. We get comfortable on the pillows and cushions around the fire pit. Baron and his wives snuggle close drinking wine deeply while he and Cedric catch up. I can’t help but listen to the two revel in their memories together.

Baron’s wives, apparently, were some of my closest friends. I can’t help but to smile at them and wish I knew what that must have felt like, to have close female confidantes.

An hour and five bottles of wine pass when more guests arrive, all from Baron’s court. Everyone here has a healthy glow to them. Maybe immortality doesn’t have to look like walking death.

Our newest additions are generals in Gruyere’s army, the royal seamstresses, a messenger Baron took a liking to and some women Från and Hera invited. Everyone is so welcoming and fun.

The best part about this gathering is I get to see Cedric live. He’s a young man here, excited and loud with the boyish characteristics he surely puts away when he has to be King Cedric.

During a deep conversation he’s having with Baron and the two generals, something about borders again, he looks at me. Not just a glance, he loses focus on his friends to just look at me. I look back. He raises his wine to his smiling lips, nodding as a sort of toast that I return from my cozy nest on the floor.

A small breeze pushes my hair back when I notice an arm around my shoulders. I look to the hand now twisting my icy blonde hair between his fingers.

“Well, hello,” I say, hiding my smile with my glass. It’s hard to get used to the constant apparating.

“Enjoying yourself?” he whispers in my ear. I nod, sipping again. His hand takes the glass from my hands, setting it on the ledge of the pit. He turns his body to face me, pushing his hand on my shoulder to do the same.

“Drunk, are you?” I say, looking at the king before me. His fingers are still in my hair and his eyes search my face.

I swallow.

“Just a little bit,” he whispers, removing his arm to make the gesture with his hand. His lip is pouty and the face he’s making causes me to erupt in laughter. I can feel everyone’s eyes on me as I’m snorting and reeling back from the stupid face he just made – a king made.