Of Fangs And Fury

Chapter Four

Caderyn

Standing in the empty greenhouse a second night in a row, I feel foolish. Granted, when Lara didn’t show last night, I’d gone looking for her and a servitore explained she’d fallen asleep in a reading chair, and she helped her to bed. But now, a whole day later, and she hasn’t even spoken to me.

About to give up hope, I run my palm over the iron table and sigh. Without my permission, my mind goes to the first female I ever was infatuated with, the first girl Tahir ever courted. The whole famiglia knew there was no way she was ever going to marry into the famiglia, no way she was ever going to become Queen because she had her own kingdom to oversee. I suppose that’s why I had hope… having given up my right to the throne when Tahir reached Maturity, I had a lot more freedom. Or so I thought.

Tall, skinny, pearl skin, midnight blue hair down to her waist, a perfect daughter from Palace Of Lazuli. When I overheard Mother and Tahir discussing how he was going to end his courtship, I saw this as a perfect opportunity to confess my feelings. She’d always been so kind to me, was never afraid to be alone with me, I could even make her laugh… boy, was I young – was I naïve.

She laughed that evening, that’s for sure, thinking Tahir had told me to do it as some sort of joke. But when I didn’t laugh with her, she became concerned, even a little scared.

I close my eyes. What am I doing?

But then I hear it, softly in the distance, “Cade?”

Quickly following the path to the main door, I ask, “Lara?”

When she sees me, she beams, “Hi!”

I take her hands into mine and look her over carefully. Tonight, she is wearing very similar pants to before, though in brown wool, with a cream blouse that’s fitted to her body. Her hair is in the same bun, everything seems in order. But I still ask, “Are you feeling okay?”

She looks down. “Yes…?”

“When you fell asleep so early last night, I became worried.”

Her hands slip out of mine as she laughs, one landing across her chest, “Oh! That… I need more sleep… because of the whole half-Human thing.” She nods for us to move farther into the garden, “If I push myself too hard, or don’t balance food and blood well, I can just nod right off.”

Folding my hands behind my back, I keep stride with her. “And today? Are you feeling better?”

“Yes, thank you. I found I mistook my days… yesterday is when I should have had my dose of blood again.”

When she looks up at me and notices the confusion, she explains, “The recommended dose of blood for a Pure-blood Vampire is a glass a day. Now, some Vampires like to indulge and have more blood fewer days a week. But even that is too much for me, I need about two glasses a week, both of which I have in one day. Any more or any less and it’s likely I’ll get sick.

“When your brother offered me blood yesterday, I thought I still had a day or two. Packing and traveling got me all turned around,” she laughs nervously.

Then she claps her hands together. “So, yeah! What about you? How are you feeling? Any side effects?”

“Not that I know of.”

“Good, please let me know if that changes.” The seriousness of her face fades and she looks around. “How big is this place, anyway?”

“As big as the front courtyard, I believe.” I slouch to her eye level and point, “We can even go up there if you’d like.”

It takes her a moment to see the second-story walkway. “Oh! Yes, I bet it’s beautiful from up there.”

I hold my palms out, “Wait here and I’ll turn off the lights.”

Her eyes as green as the ivy around us stare into mine. There’s a trust I’ve never seen from anyone before. She nods, “I’ll be here.”

I want to brush my fingers across her rosy cheeks, but instead, I back up, “I’ll be right back.”

She leans against the closest railing, her gaze drifting away from me and into the flora ahead. The closest switch to cut off the gas and kill all the lamp light is near the table I’d been waiting by, just next to the door that leads to the servitore path to the kitchen. It takes a few moments but then the lamps go off one by one.

Given the silence of the greenhouse, I can hear her gasp from afar. Looking up, I see what she sees, the magic little orbs floating, twisting, flickering like stars across the glass ceiling. When I come back to Lara’s side, I steal a moment to look at her. Che anima meravigliosa.

Her palms are pressed together as if in prayer, sitting lightly on her chest. Her head is tilted so far back that her neck elongates, from her beautiful collarbones straight to the tip of her chin. Her expression is of pure wonder, and it fills me with pride that I could deliver unto her such a moment.

Delara

Legs through the railing, Cade and I sit on the second-story walkway and look out across the greenhouse. We’ve spent so much time discussing literature and philosophy, the history of his famiglia and their rule. In all his questions of my schooling and work, he seemed as genuinely curious as a first-year. When magik comes up, we both talk about it with disdain. I couldn’t help myself from ranting about how calculated and proven science is far superior that herbal remedies passed down from generation to generation.

The fast and intense conversation ebbed and flowed, now settling into the peaceful quiet. As my feet softly swing, I rest my weight on my hands behind me. There’s natural moisture in the air that reminds me of rain, but from this height is pleasantly cool instead of muggy.

“So…,” Cade’s voice is deep.

I turn my head in his direction, though my eyes are closed. “Hm?”

“Now that we’ve walked the entire greenhouse, I’m curious… what is your favorite flower?”

“Lavender.”

“Really?”

I peek at him, “Yep. It helps me sleep.”

He smirks, “Now, that doesn’t sound very scientific to me.”

I giggle, “I know… but it does. I had a window box of lavender outside my bedroom at home. Then, when it became too cold to grow, I would crush it and boil it down to add to wax, to make scented candles.”

“Before we leave, we should cut a few stems for you then.”

I look over to see him eyeing the ceiling. His profile is so strong, so tense, I wonder what he could possibly be thinking about. But then I notice him roll a shoulder and try and adjust his position. Gods, he’s probably in pain sitting like this.

I reach my hand up to the railing, “Why don’t we stand for a while? My hands are starting to hurt.”

He nods and lifts with me. As I stretch my spine, he moves to lean on the back railing. He squints for a moment then points, “Oh, look at that, it’s a full Moon.”

Next to him, I can’t find it, so I slid in front of him. Resting my shoulders square against his chest, I’m then able to follow his reach. “The first full Moon of the year! How beautiful.”

Caderyn

What do I do? Holy s**t, what the f**k do I do? I look down to see the top of Lara’s head. What would Tahir do?

While she’s comfortably leaning against me, I slowly wrap my arms around her.

In response, she exhales happily. From what I can tell, her eyes are still on the Moon. My heart is thudding in my chest so hard I swear my torso is shaking. Nervous, I try to breathe really shallowly, so as not to disturb her. I close my eyes, enjoying the embrace.

But then, I feel her little hand around my wrist, and think she’s going to break us apart. I open my mouth to apologize. Instead, her hand curls around my arm, her fingers brushing up and down my skin.

Even though she says no words, I understand what she means. She trusts me… she trusts me and feels safe. As I focus on the soft caress, I realize I can never, ever let anything happen to her.