Page 36 of House of Blood and Roses: Vol. 1

I finish my meal and get to my feet.

"Where are you going?" Bastian asks.

"I'm taking Pip for her morning walk and then I'm heading to the library, if you must know."

He narrows his eyes at me. "You can barely read."

"Neither can you," I throw back at him. "But I'm choosing to do something about it."

"I don't know why you'd want to do that," Bastian responds.

"Because I want to learn more about the place we've ended up in, Bash. I want to survive, and that means learning about life at court and vampire politics."

"There are better ways to learn." He leans back in his chair and swills the blood around his cup.

"Perhaps, but I intend to use all ways that are available to me."

He only raises an eyebrow in response, which I take as an indication that the conversation is over.

"Come on, Pip, let's go for a walk."

My dog jumps to attention and trots along beside me as I sweep out of the room, already planning my day and my trip to the library.

TWO

The moment I step into the library, I feel a sense of peace that I don't get anywhere else in the castle. Not even in my room with Pip. The only thing that would make this better was if my dog could come with me, but I'm still unclear on which part of the castle Pip is allowed in and which she isn't. There were dogs at the Golden Moon ball when I arrived, but I haven't seen very many around since.

I push that thought to the side and head up the stairs, taking each step as quickly as possible until I'm at the top. I pause for a moment to regain my breath.

"If you run any faster up the stairs, you'll make all the blood rush to your head," Linc says.

I spin around, and as he says, my head feels a little dizzy. I lift my hand to press it to my temple. "Then it's a good thing that I can just drink more of it."

He laughs. "I'm not sure that's how it works, but if you're thirsty, I can order you some blood."

"I'm not thirsty." I frown. "Is it even thirsty?"

He shrugs. "We drink blood, so I guess that would make it thirst. But it's not really a feeling that's like either thirst or hunger."

"Hmm, I see what you mean," I agree. "But I'm good with tea."

"Ah, you've gained a fondness for it."

"Maybe it's just the company I've been drinking tea with," I respond.

Linc leans forward. "That's almost flattery, Beatrice."

A small thrill goes through me at the sound of him saying my name. "Not almost," I counter. "It is flattery. Our meetings here are always the highlight of my day."

"If I were a cruel man, I would say something vague that implied I felt the same but didn't actually say as much."

"And considering you're not a cruel man?"

We're standing so close together that I can feel the heat radiating from his body and feel his breath against my skin. Or maybe I'm imagining it because I want to feel close to someone.

"I look forward to our meetings," he responds. "I've wanted someone to discuss history with since I arrived here."

"Oh." I look down, trying not to feel too disappointed that all he sees me as is someone to discuss his interests with. But there's really no reason for me to feel bad about that when I've barely known him for a couple of weeks and our friendship is merely a case of accidental proximity.