“What will you do tonight?” Lilith asked, flopping onto the stool next to mine and using her sleeve to pat her face.
I shrugged, accepting the cup of water Noah offered. “The music shop, then I need to send off this month’s letter to my family.”
I also needed to send a letter to my brother—anactualletter instead of the farce I sent to our parents.
Lilith pursed her lips in a way that made her look exactly like Jules. “But you’ll keep enough for yourself to buy a new dress, right? You said last week the lace cuffs on your velvet one were all but disintegrated.”
Discomfort squirmed through my stomach. She was right, I did need to buy a new dress—more than one, to be honest. I bit the inside of my cheek, and Lilith sighed heavily. “I don’t understand?—”
“You don’t have to,” I snapped, shoulders hiking toward my ears.
Her hand wrapped around my forearm. “But Iwantto, Addie.”
Shaking her off, I stood and pressed my fingertips to my eyelids. Lilith’s obvious concern sapped the ire from me and left only a bone-aching weariness in its wake. “I am saving a little for myself each month. Perhaps next?—”
“Next?!” Lilith cried.
“Lils, enough,” Noah snapped, his hand curling around my shoulder.
I sighed, dropped my hands with a slap to my skirts and stared out the window. Our little apartment sat on one of the oldest streets in Oylen. I stared at the ancient metalwork adorning the building across from us, my knuckles bleached white where I gripped my dress.
“Are you not at all concerned?—”
“I am,” Noah cut across Lilith.“AndI also respect there are aspects of Adrienne’s life that I will not understand, as I have not lived it alongside her. It is not our place to judge.”
Heat crept up my throat and over my cheeks to burn the bridge of my nose. Lilith huffed, grabbing her shawl. “Fine. Fine,” she muttered, taking a few steps toward the door before turning around and planting a kiss on my cheek. “I love you, you know.”
I sighed, resting my temple against her forehead. “I know. I love you too.”
That was Lilith. Desperate for information. Though her temper might flare at times, it was always in the name of those she loved. I did not begrudge her frustration, though I would have rather crawled into a nest of venefica than explain why I could never afford new clothes. Risqeu lan Serang paid me enough that I should have been able to cover my half of the rent, food, and any other simple provisions I required.
But I’d been going without for long enough that it did not feel like a hardship.
After another huff, Lilith rose to her tiptoes to kiss Noah’s cheek as well. He returned it with asmackbefore she glided out of the apartment and onto the street. We were quiet for a time as we watched her mane of curls bounce toward the river, burnished by the setting sun.
“She means well,” he murmured, shaking my shoulder.
I nodded, patting his hand. “I know.”
He pressed a kiss to my hair. “Enjoy tonight. Perhaps Monsieur Belovuk will allow you to play his new pianoforte for a time.”
My lips twisted into a smile and I nodded. “Perhaps.”
Chapter Nine
Cavera lan Aiyah was a lovely little music shop nestled between two small parks close to the Rachay and the river market. It was built in the old style with ornate metalwork bordering the windows and large glass door, the metal gilded as it would have been centuries ago. I came to Cavera almost every week on my day off as a little treat to myself.
“Serang lan nauth,Mademoiselle Valois,” Monsieur Belovuk greeted me as soon as I stepped through the door and the small bell above chimed.
I opened my mouth to greet him, but my words faltered as music filtered through the store. The male gave me a knowing smile, ruffling his thick mustache. “Do not worry, my dear, I am sure he will not stay long. He only wished to test out the new model my alpha installed last week.”
My nod was small but I returned his smile. Monsieur Belovuk was a Lycan within one of the wealthiest packs in Oylen. He appeared to be in his late forties, but he’d admitted on a slow night that he was nearing two hundred. His alpha, Monsieur Richard Belovuk, rarely hovered on the shop floor, but I knew he and other members of the pack, including their daughter, visited throughout the day and evening to ensure he was safe.
I slipped through the bustling shop toward the back where the instruments sat. At first, Monsieur Belovuk had been a bit cross with my patronage, as I’d lingered for longer than necessary and never purchased a thing. But the third time I’d visited, I’d given in to my desire to play the gorgeous pianoforte for sale. It’d drawn a bit of a crowd and he’d seen an increase in sales that evening. After, we’d struck up an acquaintanceship.
The original pianoforte had been sold to a vampire gentleman only a fortnight prior and I’d been devastated to find out it was gone. Monsieur Belovuk had gone so far as to send me a note a few days ago saying a new one had come in and my fingers itched to play. But when I made it into the quiet room where the pianofortes sat, I stumbled to a stop.
Lord Azad sat on the dark wood bench, his velvet half cloak draped artfully across his back, head tilted toward the keys. He rocked in time with the hauntingly lovely music pouring from the instrument. I could not help but watch, a tendril of heat unfurling through my chest and snaking through my bones at his expert playing, even as embarrassment burned my cheeks. There was no way I could play now, not on the heels of this immortal. And what if he was to hear?
