Page 64 of The Vampire Curse
Lawrence rolls his eyes and looks away, not acknowledging her remarks. My temper flares, and I open my mouth to respond in kind, but Victor beats me to it.
“Do not worry your pretty little head, Lady Moore, you are a vampire, and she is but a human.” He waves a hand. “Nothing of consequence.”
I’ll be damned to the Otherworld if they think I’ll continue standing here, allowing myself to be insulted.
I spin on my heel and march out of the room and down the hall, fuming. The smell of flowers is thick in the air.
One of the glass doors is ajar, letting the warmth and fragrance permeate the hall. I hadn’t realized it had subtly filled the music room. My nerves were too frayed to notice.
I have only been in this area of the manor a handful of times. A shiver runs down my spine as the memories of my last visit come rushing back. The scars on my arms tingle with the phantom pain pulsing through them.
I can remember the sound of the unsteady staircase creaking and feel it swaying as it damn near fell apart from under me. If I had been any higher, I would have broken something… or worse, died.
“What are you doing out here alone, little bird?” Cassius asks.
I clench my jaw. I despise the nickname he has deigned to bestow upon me. I am no bird. Not any longer. And no amount of beautifully woven promises can ensnare me.
I turn away from the glass doors and face Cassius.
“I won’t stand there and allow myself to be insulted, even by vampires.”
He doesn’t seem offended. He tilts his head and contemplates what I said. “I suppose one cannot find fault in that.”
He moves to stand at my side and gestures toward the atrium.
I shake my head and put a little more distance between myself and the doors, moving back toward the music room.
“Have you given any more thought to my offer?”
My steps falter. It wasn’t a dream then. Cassius had made me the offer to take me from Alaric.
Something cold brushes my ankle, and I let out a squeal, quickly moving to the side. A snake coils, watching me and hissing.
I look between the two of them, my palms pressed flat against the wall at my back.
Cassius smirks, his green eyes drinking me in and enjoying the fact that his demon startled me. He bends down and reaches out his arm. The snake wends their way up and settles around his shoulders.
I push away from the wall and stomp up to him until we are almost chest to chest and glare.
“Snakes don’t bother me,” I say. “I just don’t walk around houses expecting them to brush against my legs.”
“How well do you understand the relationship between vampires and their demons?” he asks. He strokes the demon’s head with a finger.
Some things I’ve figured out on my own, but I don’t want to appear ignorant.
“I know you are demon cursed,” I say with a wave of my hand as if I couldn’t care less about the topic. “And I know your pet is your demon.”
Cassius scoffs and rolls his eyes. “In a very basic sense, you are right.” He lists his head to the side, narrowing his gaze. “Would you like to know?”
I open my mouth to say no. But that is a lie. I do want to know, and I believe the vampire in front of me will tell me everything because whether or not I am afraid is of no consequence to him. Instead, I nod.
“There are three types of vampires. Elizabeth Fairfax, our queen, was the first. She is an entity unto herself and the mother of us all, and thus she and her demon are the most powerful. Then there are the vampires—like me, Lawrence, and even our dear Alaric. Still quite powerful, but not compared to her.”
He pauses and I jump in. “What does that have to do with being cursed by demons?”
Cassius frowns. “Patience, little bird, patience. I was just getting to that.”
Cassius offers me his elbow, and after a slight hesitation, I slip my arm through his. We walk up and down the hall, not entering the atrium but also not returning to the gathering.