“I am not nervous, Nikolas,” Isidoro says, his tone harsher. “But yes, the coronation is why I am calling. There will be a slight change, and I wanted to give you a heads-up. It’s too late to resend the invitations, so we’ll leave it a surprise to the rest of the guests.”
Niko leans forward, propping his arms on my shoulders and his chin on my head. “Oh? Now you have me curious.”
Isidoro clears his throat. A pause follows, bleeding hesitation or something akin to it, which is unlike him. “My crowning isn’t the only thing we’ll be celebrating.”
Another tense pause. The suspense is killing me.
“C’mon, Isi, just spit it out. How bad could it be?” Niko prompts, amusement lacing his words.
“Julian and I are getting married.”
I shoot up, headbutting Niko in the process. “You and Julian are…What?”
I can’t believe this.What the fuck? Isidoro and Julian, the son of his enemy, the man we kidnapped whom Isidoro is holding hostage in his mansion in Mexico, on his own in complete isolation. The two of them are getting married at the coronation ceremony?
“We will talk more at the ceremony. This is not something we should discuss over the phone,” Isidoro says cryptically. “It was lovely hearing you both. I’m looking forward to seeing you.”
“Wait, hold on a minute!” I protest, but he just hangs up.
I stare at my phone as if it holds all the answers to the million and one questions now swimming in my mind. Then I look at Niko. “Uh, did Isi just drop on us that he and Julian are getting married?”
Niko rubs his ear, clearing sand off it. “He most certainly did.” He grins. “This one is gonna be interesting.”
Well, shit. I wonder what the heck happened. You don’t just call your friends right before your crowning ceremony and tell them you are also getting married on the same day. Something definitely went down, and truth be told, I’m dying to know exactly what it is.
“Hola, mijos,” Doña Chela calls out, climbing down the stairs with a sun umbrella in her hand and a tray with homemade lemonade and two glasses.
There is a spring in her step that wasn’t there a few weeks ago, and her smile is truly a sight.
“Hola, Doña Chela.” I take the tray from her, holding one glass at a time as she pours the icy-cold liquid. “Cómo estás… hoy?”
She beams at me, patting me on the arm. “Estoy bien!” She pinches my cheeks. “Very good, mijo! Niko is a good teacher.” She snickers, her incisors glinting as they catch the sun.
Like Isidoro, she’s a vampire now. Oh, and vampires don’t fear the sun—that part’s a myth. Her cancer took a turn for the worse a month ago, right around the time we finally settled here. We visited the best hospitals, tried all kinds of procedures, but it had progressed way too much. She had just a couple weeks left.
When we told Isidoro during one of his visits, he offered to turn her into a vampire. We told her everything,and Niko asked her if she wanted Isidoro’s gift. She accepted without hesitation, laughing and saying she always knew there was something off about our peculiar host. Not in a bad way, but in a magical way. Turns out she’s some kind of a shaman. Who would’ve thought?
After I do a bit of speaking practice with her, she retreats into the house and starts on dinner. She insists on cooking for us every Friday, sometimes making traditional dishes and sometimes experimenting with Greek ones. Whichever route she takes though, there are never leftovers.
Alone with Niko again, I straddle his legs, ensuring my dick brushes his. “So…”
He bites off a moan. “This can’t be anything good,” he says, eyebrows knitting together. “What did you do this time? And please, tell me it’s not as crazy as Isidoro deciding last minute to get married to the son of his greatest enemy.”
I poke and trace his abs with one finger. “Why do you say that?” I play clueless, intensifying the rubbing. “And it’s nothing as insane as that, I promise. Have some faith in me.”
He groans. “Really? Have faith? In you, you little devil? I’m not buying it. Every time you have bad news, you try to get me horny first.”
I pop my finger against my lips, thinking. Last time, when I accidentally shot at a gas canister during training and caused the entire truck loaded with them to blow up, I guess Ididgive him a blowjob before confessing it. And before that, when I crashed the boat because I wanted to see how fast it would go, I edged him for an hour before fessing up and allowing him to come.
Okay, he might have a point. There’s a bit of a pattern.
“I promise it’s nothing as bad as the last two times.” I wiggle my ass, getting comfy as I lay my head on his chest.
His eyes shift from the ocean to me, reflecting its deep blue with infinite fondness. “Well, whatdid you dothat’s not as bad as the last two times then?”
I finger his nipple. “Well… Ria called. And I might have invited her over. She’ll be here in a couple hours, and we are taking the yacht around the islands. Then we’ll visit the Amphitheater.”
Niko goes as pale as a ghost. He really isn’t a fan of Ria, but I keep telling him she’s just a little awkward is all. I mean, she’s the daughter of some big shot, so it makes sense, if you think about it, what with how many people must approach her because they want something from her. I’d be wary, too. But once you get to know her, she grows on you.
