It takes effort to resist the urge to laugh.
Aerial glances at me mischievously and then gestures to a nearby chair. “Well, let’s not waste any time. I’m on my lunch break.”
“Is Merlin bossing you around again?” Darius asks. With the deadbeat tone, I can’t actually tell if he’s joking or not.
Until Aerial bursts into giggles. She holds her gut for a second, leaning on the back of the chair with her free hand to keep upright. “I mentioned my apprenticeshipone timeand you just won’t let it go that I met someone famous.”
“I’ve met plenty of famous people. Thank you very much,” Darius retorts.
“Accidentally biting one of the Beatles doesn’t really count,mon cher.”
My gaze flits between the two of them. They have some serious history. Should I be worried about this?
Darius touches the small of my back. It once pissed me off to feel him do that. Now, it puts me at ease.
Anxiety follows me to the chair. I feel like a true lab rat now with Aerial and Darius hovering over me with that studious look.God, just strap me up and take your measurements already, will you?
When Darius taps my chin once, I straighten my posture. Aerial giggles lightly and rests her hands on either side of my face. I feel claustrophobic for a second until I spot Darius peering over her shoulder. His eyes are wide as well as his pupils, but it’s not a frightful look. It’s like he’s imploring me to relax.
Or maybe he’s just doing that weird thing vampires do when they want to remember something for a long time.
Hell if I know.
“Don’t worry, Amber,” Aerial assures in a voice as soothing as the sight of lavender fields. I blink lazily at her. “This is just like an MRI without all that loud, clunky noise. The Historical Society has its own tech—and that’s me.”
She places her thumbs on my temples.
“Take a deep breath. Let yourself drift into a clear ocean. That’s it….”
Sleepiness sneaks up on me. I allow my eyes to close, feeling like that’s okay to do. I’m not sure how I’ve managed to get so comfortable. Maybe it’s her voice with that chamomile tea quality, the comforting warmth lulling me into a state of pure Zen.
“Think of Jasper and only Jasper—” My previous vampire appears easily. “Do you see how he holds out his hand? Take it.” I tangle my fingers with his as I have often done. He leads me toward a set of double doors. “Let him show you around….”
Light flashes when the doors part. Jasper takes me down a long hallway, pointing to doors along the way. He opens some of them. He blocks others. He’s my guide in the very mansion where I stayed with him, in the streets that overflowed with tiny markets run by tiny circles of bloodbags. We traded what we could in those days. We provided support as we could, too.
Time sped up while we walked to my old cottage. It stands against the violet dusting the horizon behind it, dusk settling like a brush on canvas preparing to darken the surrounding fields.
Tessa and Seline stand in the doorway. Tessa looks worse for wear but she’s forcing a smile. She’s always done that for me. She takes me from Jasper and bows respectfully. We always had a good relationship with Jasper. He never did any harm to me.
But…
“Amber, wake up now. Come back,mon cher.”
That voice.... It’s like silk.... It sounds so familiar….
“Amber.”Thatvoice is rich like Islay scotch. It’s tinged with something I can’t quite place. “Come along, little viper. Don’t get lost.”
“Seline,” I whisper. “Oh, Seline... why did you do that?”
The words leave me instinctively. Darius appears. He’s holding me like Aerial was just holding me. He squints for a second like he’s waiting for me to do something else. I blink.
That seems to satisfy him. He nods curtly, stands upright, and then does a quarter turn. “I should get to my books.” He points to the table on the other side of the long room. “I have a lot to write down.”
Aerial appears with a gentle smile. “I’ll be sure to pull her the rest of the way. Go on, Darius. I’ve got her. I promise.”
Darius hesitates. It’s not often I get to see such an impressive and powerful vampire do such a thing. And it’s entertaining. And it’s slightly shocking. And it’s somewhat arousing.
I blink again. One more spared glance seems to send Darius off to his table. I hear some books clunk around and then the rustling of pages.