“I won’t tell anyone.”
Her grandmother laughed, lifting her hand she held her pinky up. “Promise?”
Rubbing her hands on her gown, she wrapped her little pinky with her grandma’s. “Promise.”
“Promise.”
Lanias’eyes opened slowly to see the ceiling overhead. It didn’t take her long to recognize the room she’d been given by Alek. She must have pushed too hard causing the magic to lash back. In all fairness, the healer had told her to be careful, but shehad instead used everything she had to assist Alek in taking down that true one.
The sound of soft breathing had her turning her head to find the source. Alek slept next to her; his face completely relaxed. Something about seeing such a powerful Vampire vulnerable did something to her chest.
Lanias wasn’t sure of what to make of the man next to her. Sometimes she was sure she had a clear idea of who or what he was. The reveal in moments like when he’d confessed that his Queen had been killed by her father, or now sleeping like a child. She saw a vulnerable side of him that told her more than anything else that he may trust her more than she thought.
The fact he had any trust confused her.
Why did he believe she was worthy of it?
Even now she could blurt out that she was the daughter of Eris. Yet she feared what his reaction would be. Would he look at her as he’d looked at Fabian. His eyes cold and full of hatred, and if his goal was to kill her father would it upset him to know she was sure that had already happened.
So many pieces intersected and crossed in their lives, she didn’t know where to begin unraveling it all. With non-human Beings, it was natural if things came full circle. When you had a few people that lived longer than a few centuries it was bound to happen at some point.
Lanias lifted her hand toward his face. She wasn’t sure she could reciprocate the same amount of trust that Alek showed her. It made her nervous to think he’d already seen her at her most vulnerable.
“Have you finished staring?” He suddenly asked capturing the hand she’d reached out toward his face. Those moon-colored eyes took in her features, “If you haven’t, we can remain here a little longer.”
She felt her cheek turn hot and looked away, “I thought you were asleep.”
“Oh, so if I was asleep, you’d have continued being a voyeur, good to know.” He chuckled, rising. “If I had known that sleeping next to you would make you fall for me. I would have done it sooner.”
She turned her head once more, sending a less fond glare his way. “You would have been skewered. I’d have hated to ruin one of Tiller’s toys. I only wanted to ensure what I was looking at was real.”
He didn’t bother covering his nude chest and seeing it Lanias found herself to be impressed. Alek was built well, his smooth skin covering a ripple of muscle that made her think he still worked out. The way he’d moved during his fight with the True One had been with all the grace of a warrior. Emphasizing his vampiric heritage, revealing his familiarity with fighting that had exposed to her that at some point in his long life he’d needed to fight to survive.
“Were you a warrior in the past?” Lanias winced at her badly worded question. He hadn’t yet released her hand and brought it to his lips with a mischievous look coming to his face.
“At one time long ago in my life, I was. Of course you know vampires tend to live very interesting lives. I wasn’t the type to luxuriate in wealth from decade to decade. I enjoyed working with humans and playing in their empire games.” He laughed, “Some lead to my “death” others won me favors and treasure.”
Lanias observed him thoughtfully and then asked. “Just how long have you been alive?”
Alek lowered her hand. “That question is a very human one. It’s not something I expected from you.”
She shrugged, not feeling embarrassed but a little insulted.
Comparing her to a human, really?
“I’ve always been curious about it. I mean humans enjoy the Vampire existence for your immortality and looks. But from the day you become what you are, you’re no longer a player but an observer in this realm. This makes me curious about your thoughts. If you see humans having changed much over time or have Beings always been this way?” She rolled to her side and looked up at him. “Some of your kind resent time, while others seem to enjoy it.”
He snorted, “It’s not enjoyment that you’re seeing. It’s acceptance It’s them acknowledging that even they don’t live forever. And when they realize their mortality within the mask of immortality, things become precious once more. Those that continue in despair generally arrange to run toward death. They struggle to accept that even for a Vampire there is death.”
“Death is inevitable for everyone.” Lanias whispered.
“For humans, life is like a long blink. They open their eyes to life and close them in death. For my kind it’s like a long never-ending walk,” Alek said.
“Occasionally we’ll stop to admire a wilting flower here or there but eventually we move on until suddenly there isn’t any more pathway, left to walk on.”
“And for Surrem it’s a brush of wind against the cheek,” Lanias asked.
Alek’s expression stiffened.
