Prologue
Arran
“Hello, old friend,” Calla says fondly as I meet her at the base of the island’s main hill. Intricate earrings dangle from the small goblin’s large ears and I give them an appreciative glance, much to her delight.
“Good morning, Calla.” I hold my forearm out for her and she reaches up to wrap her long fingers around my wrist, then we slowly make our way up toward The Dancing Daisy.
“Do you remember the last reopening ceremony we had for the bookshop?” Calla asks, seemingly in need of small talk.
I’ve never been good at idle chatter, but I appreciate her subtle attempt at jogging my memory. As Starry Hill’s second-oldest resident and the one creature who has an ever-present finger on the town’s pulse, Calla always tries to keep me up to date, and I assume this is her way of reminding me of the lineage of the shops.
Not that I can forget. I’ve never forgotten even one creature who has set foot on my island.
I stare at the old ribbon-cutting shears in my free hand, thinking back to the countless openings and reopenings they’ve been a part of over the past almost four hundred years. “When Lochan and Lucille took over from his parents at The Daisy? Aye, of course. It was mere decades ago.”
“Time moves differently for you than us,” Calla remarks as I help her up a particularly large stone step when we pass Second Street.
“Don’t I know it.” I rub a hand over my head, but quickly bring it down again, not wanting to disturb any of the special sunscreen covering my entire body, including my freshly shorn hair.
Getting used to lathering myself up with the unexpectedly light substance has been odd, but the effect has been welcome after four centuries of not feeling the sun on my skin.
When Tilly, Starry Hill’s new human nurse, first introduced me to vampire sunscreen I made a fool of myself by slathering my whole body with the entire bottle’s contents and looking like some type of ghoul, much to the town’s amusement. Not that they said anything directly to me.
I’ve since learned the proper application technique, though I try to use the product sparingly, only making use of it on special occasions—such as today.
A sizable group of all kinds of creatures is gathered in front of The Dancing Daisy, excited energy rolling off of them in tangible waves as they wait for the yellow door to open.
I hover at the back of the crowd while Calla officially welcomes Eleanor to town. The shy human gives a heartfelt speech about what The Dancing Daisy means to her and all her plans for the bookshop.
While she speaks, my gaze roams over to Shinsu where he watches Eleanor with such utter devotion it makes the corner of my mouth almost tip up into a smile.
A similar look of affection passes between Bodin and Tilly as the orc pulls his wife to him and cradles her growing stomach. Ren grins down at Maisie, his tail wrapping around her legs, and soon all I see are happy couples in the crowd.
A longing of some kind stirs inside me, but I quickly push that unwelcome feeling down.
I’ve given up on love a long time ago, and I’m not about to change my mind based on a fleeting breath of loneliness.
Eleanor catches my eye as she concludes her speech with our town’s slogan. “Starry Hill—and The Dancing Daisy—welcome all.”
That’s my signal to go forward and hand her the shears for the ribbon-cutting portion of the ceremony.
I hate being the center of attention, even if it is for less than a minute, but it’s a duty I’m happy to be part of today. It’s my first daylight ceremony ever. Past events used to be scheduled for twilight hours so I could attend, but now that I have access to vampire sunscreen, there is no need to delay until sunset.
“Congratulations, Eleanor,” I say while I shake her hand. I pass her the antique shears then step back into the crowd so she can share this moment with Shinsu.
When I come to a stop in a quiet, shaded corner, I fold my arms across my chest and take stock of all the creatures present.My eyes fall on a dark-haired human woman who has so much life shining out of her, it almost takes my breath away.
I recognize her as Tilly’s cousin, Audrey. She visits Starry Hill from time to time for events, but she’s never shown any interest in living here. That might be a good thing because those bloodred lips and astute eyes have an almost intimidating quality to them, like she’s looking for her next challenge.
Likely feeling my eyes on her, Audrey looks right back at me. Our eyes lock. Part of me wants to flee. Another, curiouser part of me wants to stay, wondering what she sees when she stares at me like that. There is zero fear in her gaze, even though I’m fairly sure she’s aware that I’m a vampire.
Audrey’s eyes rake assessingly over me, stripping me almost bare while I stand fully clothed. My brain momentarily flashes to a thought of what she would look like underneath all the bravado, but the thought melts away as the corner of her mouth tips into a little smirk.
This woman is dangerous and it’s better to avoid her like the sun.
I don’t wait to get my shears back, and as the gathered creatures funnel into The Dancing Daisy, I disappear down an alley, speeding back to my castle, where I can wash off my sunscreen and hide in its safe shadows until sunset.
Audrey’s crimson smirk follows me for the rest of the day, taking up unwelcome space in my head, forcing me to imagine all sorts of scenarios that might transform those lips into other expressions.
