Draven chuckled softly, the sound causing a pang of frustration to course through me.
“Do not laugh at me,” I protested, attempting to push him away.
“Is that the only reason?” he asked, pulling me closer into his chest. “My heart, are you jealous that I danced with your friend and not you?” His voice dropped an octave as he whispered into my ear. “Do you wish to dance with me now?”
“In the garden?”
“If you are worried about the cold, I will hold you close. The cold will not touch you,” Draven reassured me, taking my hand and placing it on his arm while his other arm slid around my waist. “Close your eyes,” he instructed, and I complied.
He began to guide us in a slow dance around the garden. Without the music, the dance felt surreal. Although the way he held me and moved with such grace made me feel weightless, as if I were floating in the air. The worries and frustrations of the evening melted away, replaced by the melody from the ball as we danced beneath the moonlit sky.
“I like Vail,” Draven said after a moment, breaking the silence.
“I like her as well.”
“I know you do. I am well aware of how much she means to you and how you feel she is the only family you have left.”
I felt my cheeks warm.
“That is why I asked her to dance with me. I wanted to ask her something.”
“What did you ask her?”
“I asked her to allow me the permission to marry you,” Draven planted a kiss on my forehead.
I stopped dancing, my breath catching in my throat as his words sank in. “Pardon?” My heart pounded in my chest; my hands felt damp with shock.
Draven bent down on one knee before me. “Rosalia, will you marry me?” He took my hands in his, kissing my palm, and then placed a silver band topped with two pearls into it.
TWENTY-FIVE
January 15, 2010
The sound of someone banging on the bedroom door jolted me awake. Groaning, I turned to find the door ajar. I pulled the blankets over my head, hissing at Vail, and shielding myself from the harsh fluorescent light spilling from the hallway.
“Get up,” Vail threw my jacket at me.
“No, I want to sleep in.” I rolled under the covers, stretching my legs. “The sun just set.”
“You’re helping me tonight. We are going to see Vladimir,” Vail said.
“Vlad the bad?” I said, poking my head out from under the covers.
“Don’t call him that. But yes, Vlad.”
Vladimir was a very old and well-known Vampire on this side of the country. He lived a couple of hours away from here and ruled a dark Vampire coven. All Vampires either knew his name or feared it—or both. No one willingly went to see him, but of course, Vail was going to do just that. She always took whatever steps were necessary to find the answers she wanted.
I’d heard stories that Vladimir used to be a fortune teller. One day, he encountered a stranger who asked about theirfuture. When Vladimir revealed the truth, the stranger was not pleased. In a fit of rage, they turned him into a Vampire. For centuries, he wandered the shadows under the thumb of his master. Tired of living in someone else’s shadow, he killed his master and claimed power for himself.
“Yes, I sent a letter to him asking for his counsel, and he responded. We are seeing him tonight,” Vail said.
“Tonight?” I thought of Connor. I was left feeling weightless after our date. Sharing parts of my life with him made me feel more like myself, even though there was still thatonemajor secret that I would never tell him.
“Yes, so get dressed. I want to be home before the sun rises.”
“Okay,” I grumbled, getting out of bed and stretching my arms above my head.
“Also, you should have a shower. You smell like Connor. I don’t think it’s a good idea for a Vampire to head into the mecca of Vampire dens smelling like a human.”
