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“It is a very nice choice,” the shopkeeper dared to say.

Maria shoved her selection toward him. “I shall take this one as well. ”

Looking pleased with the double sale, the shopkeeper quickly began to fold the coats into long, white boxes.

I became aware of Adem at my side and gave him a curious look.

“Prepare yourself,” he whispered.

The door opened and Lady Astir stepped through the doorway. Clad in a beautiful white coat with white fur and gold accents, she was the very epitome of beauty. Her long gold hair was looped around in an ornate design and her thick wool hat matched her coat to perfection.

“Countess Dracula!”

“Lady Astir, how lovely to see you,” I said, trying not to appear anxious.

Maria looked positively startled at Lady Astir’s appearance. The fallen angel’s height and imposingly handsome countenance can be somewhat intimidating.

My surprise deepened when I saw two women were in Astir’s wake. One was Katya dressed in a sophisticated outfit of deep green and the other woman was dark and exotic and dressed in red attire. The smile on Katya’s face broadened as she saw me and her pink tongue darted out between her lips to lick them.

I wanted to slap her.

“That is Saadat,” Adem murmured in my ear before he took his place at my side.

I barely had a chance to look at his wife before Astir was upon me.

“I am so pleased to see you. ” Lady Astir made a great show of kissing me on both cheeks, before regarding my companions. “And who are your lovely friends?”

I quickly introduced Maria and Laura. I was frantic to escape the shop and Lady Astir. Nothing good ever seems to come of my visits with her. She’s always a harbinger of some terrible news.

“Lovely to meet you, Lady Astir. I don’t recognize your accent. Is your husband Hungarian?” Maria was obviously attempting to be courteous, but her voice slightly trembled.

“No, he’s not. Oh, that is a lovely coat. ” Astir said with admiration as the shopkeeper carefully folded the blue coat into a box. “Preparing for the winter, I see. It will be a terribly cold one. I feel it in my bones. ”

“You have bones?” The words escaped my lips before I could stop myself.

Astir laughed with delight. “Some would say that is all I am made from. My height and all that. ”

Laura watched what was tra

nspiring around her with great interest. I could see that she was studying not only Lady Astir, but her two silent companions. Katya’s ruby lips and sparkling eyes were dangerously seductive as she watched me pay for my purchase. Laura’s gaze kept flicking back and forth between us.

“Are you a close friend of Count and Countess Dracula?” Maria’s pallor was a bit pale and I could see her unease.

“Oh, we’re quite close. Aren’t we, darling?”

“Of course, Astir,” I answered, not daring to provoke the creature. She was in one of her moods and I did not dare aggravate her.

“That is a lovely coat. It will look wonderful on you. ” Astir smiled down at me and I was unnerved to see the tension about her mouth.

“It’s for me,” Laura said. She seemed unsure of the undercurrents swirling about her, but she was a bold young thing and not about to be intimidated. “The countess was kind enough to purchase it as a gift. She is a kind and good friend, you know. ”

“For you? Really?” Astir’s eyes slightly narrowed, then she laughed. “How kind of her. You will certainly need it with the winter so swiftly coming. In fact, I believe it will snow tonight. The sky looks ominous. ”

Gathering up the packages, Maria lifted her chin and charged toward the door. “Come along, girls. It’s growing late. We must hurry to the cafe if we wish to be home at a decent hour. ”

Laura followed in her wake, but said in a courteous tone to Astir, “It was lovely to meet you. ”

Ashamed of Maria’s rudeness, yet relieved that she was adamant to depart, I laid my hand on Astir’s forearm. “It was a pleasant surprise to see you here tonight. ”