It might be a good idea to show her this sooner rather than later, before Audrey goes back to the city. Perhaps tomorrow night I will suggest a tour and have the turret be its grand finale.
Feeling emboldened, I venture to ask, “Any other ideas on things Audrey might like? Or something that would make her more comfortable in the castle? I’ve never had anyone stay this long with me.”
“Never?” Ren asks gently when the table grows quiet.
I don’t confirm verbally, but understanding settles around the table like a heavy blanket. I hope it’s not pity I’m experiencing from them, because I’ve never wanted anyone to live with me.
Until now.
Probably sensing the turn in mood, Nori taps the table twice and draws attention back to her. “I can think of something. How well is your kitchen equipped? Do you have anywhere to keep food there? Something to help Audrey with if her blood sugar is low?”
“What?” I’ve never seen Audrey eat at the castle. I always thought she preferred going out and having her meals with others who consume the same type of food that she does. In the many conversations we’ve had she’s never even mentioned having any kind of special requirements for anything.
“Audrey is diabetic and needs daily insulin to survive,” Nori explains. “She has to monitor her levels constantly and time hermeals and injections or else she can get sick from her blood sugar being either too high or too low.”
“That seems… inconvenient,” Shinsu remarks.
“Burdensome,” Ren echoes.
Is this why Audrey’s blood smells different at times? I’ve detected shifts in her rosy scent at various times of the day, but never attributed it to anything specifically. Could it all be related to her health and her blood sugar levels?
Like a veil has been lifted from my eyes, I’m seeing a whole new side of Audrey. She’s someone who puts others first, prioritizes their well-being, and doesn’t expect the same in return.
While Audrey can sometimes act cavalier, it pains me that she didn’t even mention her daily struggles to me. How can I help her if I don’t know pertinent information that will keep her healthy? How can I provide her with a safe home when I don’t even have the tools to provide for her basic needs?
Leaning forward in my seat, I ask, “What else should I know?”
Bodin lays a heavy hand on my shoulder. “Ask her. Audrey isn’t someone who’d like others to talkabouther, she likes to be talkedto.”
Nori suggests, “It could help if you knew what to look out for if she was ever in danger with either her blood sugar levels being too high or too low.”
“True,” Bodin agrees before he goes on to warn me. “Audrey doesn’t like being defined by her ‘broken pancreas’ as she calls it, so tread carefully.”
I scoff at the thought. “Audrey can’t be defined by one thing if she tried. She’s too wonderfully complex.”
Wide-eyed silence follows my statement before there’s a change in topic and we finally begin playing Knights & Castles.
Chapter 14
Audrey
After a very full day, I get back to the castle and head straight for the living room—or parlor as Arran calls it—and flop onto the leather couch. I instantly put my feet up and relish the quiet of the castle that has become so familiar to me now.
Since smut club, I’ve been keeping myself occupied by going around the island and chatting with different residents, learning their Arran stories. It’s been wonderfully eye-opening. Arran is the master of moving in the shadows, caring for each Starry Hill creature without being obvious about it.
So far I’ve learned that he never asks for anything in return, never boasts to others about anything good he’s done, and it’s kind of giving me some very complex feelings.
Realizing that Arran’s not only a very attractive vampire who happens to know his way around female anatomy, but that he has a good heart that he hides behind his castle walls, makes me like him a little more than I planned on. Plus, he’s a pretty great conversationalist too. And he cares for my dog.
Luckily I’m not someone to get actual romantic feelings for anyone, but I can imagine that if that were to happen, that it could be with someone like Arran.
It would never work between us though. Despite me living in Cape Easton, and him never leaving the island for any reason, I wouldn’t know how to deal with aging.
If Arran stayed looking thirty-two forever, and one day I’m old and wrinkly, I don’t think I’d be able to handle it. I’d never expect Arran to find me attractive like that either. So, entertaining thoughts about anything beyond whatever is going on between us right now is futile.
Thankfully, I’m not the only one who sees all of Arran’s good qualities. Starry Hill has a strong appreciation for their laird too—even if no one has officially given him that title here—but no one seems to know how to show it.
That’s where my new project comes in. Arran isn’t the type of creature who’d want a kind of ceremony for himself that would thrust him into the limelight, but I have an idea of something that might work.
