“It looked tasty, and the woman frosting it said it was the freshest thing they had.”
“Oh, nice. I’ll have a piece of that.”
“No meat?” He cocked his head. “What do sea nymphs eat?” He studied her. “You know, I’ve known a lot of sea nymphs, and I’ve always noticed their joy with life, especially in living below the sea. But you seem different.” He paused. “Not as happy. Do I make you upset?”
“What? No.”Well, kind of.“I’m unhappy that a sea witch messed with you and used my face to do it. But most of my issues have nothing to do with you.”
“Oh?” He grabbed a plate and cut her a large piece of cake. Then he cut one for himself.
She watched, curious. “I don’t know a lot about vampires. Do you eat regular food?”
“We can. Most of us don’t since blood is all we need to replenish. But eating human food won’t kill us. We process it and flush it out of our systems in the normal way.”
“Oh.” How interesting. She hadn’t realized they could eat regular food. “So you eat cake?”
“I will this night. I want to know why you like it.” He took a bite, watching her.
Then his expression changed. He looked ill.
She couldn’t help laughing as he spat his mouthful into the sink and washed his mouth out with several glasses of water.
“That’s disgusting.”
“It’s actually delicious. Pretty sweet though.” She blazed through her slice and still felt hungry. Considering all the energy she’d used worrying and magicking him earlier, it made sense she’d need to power herself up again. She stood.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m going to make some bacon and eggs. You’re right. I do need the protein.”
“Sit, sweetheart. I’ll make your food.”
He called me “sweetheart.” Oh stop, he’s bespelled.“You know how to cook?” She sat and watched him move around the kitchen, surprised to see him so capable. “Orion, tell me about yourself.”
“What do you want to know?”
She shouldn’t ask such an intrusive question, especially when he had no choice but to answer. But when would she ever get a chance to question a vampire again? Never.
“Well, what was it like living in Greece?”
He paused for a moment before cracking some eggs and laying bacon down in a pan. He half-turned to watch her while he cooked. “Santorini is where I was born, in the caves below the islands, connected to the sea.” He sighed. “It was so nice there, well, except for the sun. That was a huge downer.” He chuckled.
She laughed with him. “I’ll bet. The pictures I’ve seen are incredible. The sky is so blue, the water almost turquois. And I think it’s the city of Thira where the buildings are white stone with sandy tiled roofs and narrow walkways. It’s like paradise... except for the sun.”
“Truly.”
“Do you miss it?”
He flipped the bacon. “I don’t know. I did when I first got here.”
“Would it be okay to know why you’re here?” Before he could answer, she added, “Would your patriarch be upset if you told me?”
“Varu? Nah. And if he was, he can kiss my ass.”
She blinked. “Aren’t you supposed to be respectful to your leader?”
He chuckled. “Maybe in other clans. In the Aegean, I was part of the Water Cleave Clan, and we obeyed the letter of the law. My father is still the lieutenant there, and our patriarch is still a bit of a dick. Which is to say he’s pretty typical among patriarchs. They command, snarl a lot, and bite you every now and then, but basically they build strong vrykos.”
“So you always have to be tough?”
