“Now that you’re done with party planning what do you plan on doing tonight?” Jade asks, waggling her eyebrows.
I laugh. “I don’t know, the lords have been just as busy as us. I’ve barely seen them over the past few days.”
She stands, and Carden follows suit. “Well, I wish you luck in your pursuit of a good time. In the meantime, Carden and I are going out on the town. He promised to show me some of the local clubs.”
My chest aches when I realize that there’s no way I could come out with them. Not only would it be unsafe now that every vampire in the country knows about my blood, but it would also be pointless and painful. They’re obviously going out on a date, and I’d just be a third wheel if I didn’t bring my lords. Or at least one of them, but I don’t really see them as the club type.
“Alright, have fun!” I reply, fake excitement lining my voice.
She smiles and pats my shoulder before walking out the door, Carden trailing after her like a lovesick puppy. He’s so totally into her, but I have yet to notice whether or not she returns his feelings. Either that, or she just doesn’t show it in front of me. Is she afraid of how I’d react? Hell, I’d be after witnessing my breakdown from a few days ago. I snort while shaking my head. What a mess. Instead of dwelling on it, I stand, deciding to do what she suggests.
Pursue having a good time.
Time to coax my lords to spend the night with me. It’s true that I’ve barely had time to see any of them, leaving me aching and wanting without them. That all changes tonight. I’m done waiting for them to show up at my rooms. They’re going to come to me in our giant couples suite. That is, if I can find where in the hell it is. I’ve been searching for it for over an hour. There are no secret passageways off the main hall here, and it’s not in any of the rooms nearby. I’m about to give up the search when Eden walks by. An idea lights in my head and I snatch her hand, pulling her closer.
She yelps in surprise before her eyes focus on me. “Good lord, Blair. What do you need? And why are you sneaking around in the shadows? You’re making yourself look suspicious.”
I shrug sheepishly. “I’m looking for the royal suite. Do you know where it is?”
“Yes, but I’m not sure why you’d need to get in there tonight. . .” she trails off, cheeks coloring with the realization of what I’m intending to do there.
Embarrassment floods my chest, and a crimson blush climbs all the way from my neck to the roots of my hair. Maybe asking her and alerting her to my plan was a horrible idea. Will she think I’m a total horn dog now? And do I really care if she does or not? I wring my hands in front of me, watching her with all my focus, trying to get her to buckle and tell me where it is. Eden looks me over, that shocked expression still on her face before she grasps my wrist and tugs me along.
“I’m only going to do this on one condition,” she says, conveying Scarlet’s no nonsense tone perfectly.
“Anything,” I reply.
“No one can know I was the one that showed you, say that you found it yourself or another servant showed you. Scarlet would kill me.”
“Done, my lips are sealed.”
We fall silent as she rushes me through two hallways and down a set of stairs before coming up to a familiar dark hallway. It’s almost identical to the one in Michael’s castle. The walls are carved with symbols I don’t quite understand, interlocked with flowers and vines all the way down. Once we get to the massive double doors Eden stops, releasing me. I run my fingers along the carved doors, marveling at the intricacy of the pattern. I’ll have to ask the lords about it later. They must know what it all means.
“This is as far as I’ll go, any farther and they’ll know my scent. You have to go in by yourself,” Eden murmurs, rubbing her arms.
I give her a weird look. “Are you cold?”
“No, there’s an odd feeling in the air here. It makes my skin crawl. You don’t feel it?” She asks, giving me a quizzical look.
In truth, the closer we got to the doors, the more at ease I felt. Being in the castle tempers my nerves, swipes away my doubts and inhibitions. It might be the curse, or it might be destiny, or a little bit of both but either way I was meant for these men, meant to be here. Even if I explained to Eden, I’m not sure she would understand. Would it be better to lie?
“No, I feel. . . fine,” I finish lamely.
“Uh-huh,” she replies, clearly knowing that I was omitting some information. “Alright, I’m gonna go. Good luck.”
“Wait!” I stop her, pressing a quickly scribbled letter into her hand. “Have this delivered to them, please.”
She gives me an exasperated look before nodding and bustling down the hall. I turn toward the grand doors, running my hands along the wood once more. It takes me a few minutes to build up the courage to open them. When I do, they emit a loud ominous creaking sound that makes me cringe. This time there’s no fire lit in the fireplace, no vanilla scented candles burning to make the space inviting. In fact, it looks like no one has been in here in months. Dust covers every surface except for the bed. It’s the only thing that looks pristine, as if it’s spelled to never become dirty or aged.
I have a lot of work to do before the lords arrive, so I kick off my heels and bustle over to the fireplace first. There’s a hefty stack of wood there that I use to start a meager fire, and it lights up the space nicely, making it ten times more inviting. I warm my hands for a minute before going into the bathroom looking for a rag. Taking one from the closet, I wet it with sweet smelling soap and wipe down every surface in the room. It leaves behind a pleasantly sweet odor, and I smile when the fire light shines off the newly polished tables. Even if they show up now before I’m completely done, it’s presentable enough that they’ll be pleased.
I throw the rag on the ground in the corner of the bathroom after wiping down the porcelain as well, leaving it sparkling clean. Next, I take the lighter and walk around both the bathroom and the sleeping quarters to light the candles. They smell of fresh pine and snow rather than vanilla, and I breath it in, shivering when it heightens my desire by reminding me of Raphael. For some reason, over the course of my cleaning spree I’ve become more and more turned on. As if even being in this room makes me dripping for them. If that’s the case, I might be certifiable.
Shaking off the pointless thoughts, I march into the bathroom and turn on the tap. Warm water gushes out, filling the tub quickly as I throw in rose petals and dump some sweet smelling bath salts into the water. Just as I finish, the grand doors creak open again. I bustle out of the bathroom and stop in my tracks in the doorway when I see all four of them standing there, marveling at my work.
“You did all this?” Uriel asks, walking to the fireplace to throw on another log.
“Yeah, I guess I just wanted some time alone with you,” I reply while looking down at my toes.
Raph walks up to me, tilting my chin up to meet his mouth. We kiss, our lips melding together so perfectly that I sigh into his mouth, my limbs trembling with barely restrained desire. He pulls back, growling with approval when he inhales the scent of my already raging desire. The sound of the water still running brings me back to earth. Before he can pull me into bed I rush back into the bathroom, turning off the tap just before the tub overflows with water. The others follow me, crowding into the room and inhaling the scent of my desire mixed with the bath salts and candles. Their eyes fade to deep crimson, fangs elongating as they step forward while shedding their clothes.