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CHAPTER SEVEN

B eing a vampyre meant that emotions and feelings were heightened, and Lucius found that spending time with Tavia in close quarters made him think many inappropriate things.

But she had set the boundaries, and he would not cross them, no matter how much he desired to kiss those pretty lips.

Instead, he would shop for her and gift her anything she wanted, hoping to appease her.

He kept trying to justify his feelings, thinking that all that time locked in a coffin had made him highly vulnerable and emotional. Yet, something about her drew him in, captivated him .

It could be that she was simply the first female he had seen in a hundred years, and that was what he told himself.

Walking down the steps, he left the home, heading into the Golden City. He had another coin purse in his pocket and plenty to spend.

The first thing he would do was get some outfits and find out about this grand ball.

The best way to do that was to get a new suit.

It had been a long time since he had returned to the Golden City, and it took him a while to remember exactly where the tailor's shop was.

Eventually, he found it nestled in the fae quarter.

The bell jingled as he entered and found the tailor adjusting someone on a pedestal.

“Be with you in just a moment,” the tailor said, and Lucius nodded, heading over to the suits.

He had plenty of clothes in his wardrobe at home, but he would need something spectacular for this ball—assuming he could get tickets, which would be another interesting task.

He perused the different outfits, examining the colors and brocade vests. He found a black top hat and placed it on his head—it suited him quite nicely .

The bell rang again, and the patron the tailor had been attending to left.

“Can I help you, sir?”

“Ah, yes,” Lucius said. “I'm hoping to find something to attend the masquerade.”

The tailor's eyes widened—a sure sign that anyone attending had plenty of coin to spend in his shop.

“Well, it's a masquerade. Have you thought about what you want to wear?”

“I haven't, but I'm up for suggestions.”

The tailor looked Lucius over from head to toe.

“Hmm,” he said. “Silver fox.”

The tailor raised a finger. “I have just the outfit.”

He rummaged through a few suits and then pulled one out. The vest was a shiny silver with black threading. It didn’t look particularly spectacular, though it was of high quality.

Before Lucius could ask how this outfit would be appropriate, the tailor opened a drawer and pulled out a silver mask.

The mask was edged in black, designed in a clear foxlike style. It would cover the top part of his face— simple yet extravagant.

“It's perfect,” Lucius said, taking off his jacket as he tried on the suit.

Once he was finished, he asked the tailor, “I need to get another ticket for a friend. Do you know where they’re selling them? I was gifted one for me and my wife.”

The tailor tapped his chin. “Well, you could try the jeweler.”

Lucius nodded, took his package, and headed out.

He continued shopping, picking up various snacks, foods, and drinks. He visited a boutique, and described Tavia's height, size, and curves to get her a few outfits.

When his arms were full of bags, and he didn’t think he could carry any more, he stopped at the jeweler.

The jeweler was helping other customers, so Lucius perused the cases. His eyes stopped on a glittering gem—a topaz, almost the exact color of Tavia's eyes.

It would be exquisite on her.

But would she accept it?

He doubted she would, but if it was part of her outfit for the masquerade, she might.

When the jeweler was finished, Lucius pointed to the jeweled necklace. The jeweler’s eyes widened, and he tapped his fingers. Lucius could only imagine how much he was about to spend. But money could be earned and replaced—and that was one thing Lucius had plenty of.

His mind drifted to Tavia, wondering if she was taking the bath he had drawn for her. When his thoughts shifted to imagining what she would look like in the tub, he tried to shake the image away.

Would she be in the bath when he returned? Would she be sleeping?

He tried to remove her from his mind, but it was becoming increasingly difficult.

He found her attractive—not just her beauty, but her innocence. Her seeming lack of conniving ways baffled him, given that she was a thief.

The jeweler unlocked the case and removed the necklace. The gemstone was in a teardrop shape, circled by diamonds, but the diamonds were small enough not to detract from the beauty of the sparkling gem.

“I’ll take it,” Lucius said .

He didn’t need to buy the necklace—he had already gotten her a perfect costume for the masquerade—but he wanted to. He didn’t question why.

When the jeweler told him the price, Lucius didn’t hesitate, dropping all the golden coins needed.

“One last thing,” Lucius said, suddenly remembering why he had come here in the first place. “The tailor mentioned you might have tickets to the masquerade?”

“Only a handful left. Some of us merchants were given a few in case we had any high-paying guests. While it is a celebration, it’s also a charity ball.”

“Oh, they’re taking donations?”

“Yes, a donation for the Brotherhood. With the Magi Council a bit in shambles, the Brotherhood has been working to keep the peace. They’ve expanded to guarding areas, sweeping the lands for monsters and darkthings. You know how it is.”

The jeweler took out two golden tickets.

“You said you and your wife?”

Lucius nodded. “Yes.”

The charity ball for the Brotherhood .

Lucius had been asleep for a long time. The Brotherhood had always been a secretive sect working in the shadows.

He was surprised to learn they were the ones who had captured him, and that Hacinda, the fae he had been besotted with, had been working with them to seek out the twisted and the corrupted.

Which, now that he was a vampyre, he was considered to be.

“Thank you,” Lucius said, dropping the coin for the tickets and slipping them into his pocket.

There were a few more things he wanted to buy, but the sun had already disappeared, and stars speckled the sky. Breaking his promise to Tavia wasn’t worth gathering the remaining items on his list.

He shuffled back to his home, balancing all the bags and boxes in his arms

When he returned, Lucius was surprised to find the fire lit, Tavia wearing his robe, and sitting on the couch, reading a book.

Her legs were crossed, and just a sliver of her pale skin showed.

Suddenly, Lucius forgot how to think and how to breathe as he watched her.

Her hair was wet, pushed back to reveal her pointed ears at just the right height .

She glanced up at him with a warm smile.

“I see you enjoyed the bath,” Lucius said, placing all the packages on the floor.

“The best I’ve ever had,” she replied, closing the book and setting it on the table. She shifted into a sitting position, and as she did, the front of the robe opened just slightly, revealing the faint V of her chest.

“I’ve brought you something to change into, something more comfortable—but you’re welcome to stay in that robe,” he offered.

She hugged the robe tightly.

“It’s extremely comfortable,” she said with a contented sigh.

“Are you hungry?”

She nodded.

“Good, sit. I’ll make you something to eat.”

“You cook too?” she asked, her voice tinged with curiosity.

“Well, considering I’ve had no servants, I didn’t really have a choice.”

She stood, arms folded, keeping the robe closed as she walked. “Why is that? ”

Lucius stepped away from her, her floral scent making his thoughts spin. She was far too beautiful in that robe—especially since he knew she wore nothing underneath.

He grabbed the bag of groceries and placed them on the counter before lighting the oven.

“My art collection is in my estate. At one point, very early on, I had servants—until one of them stole something meant for a client. It almost cost me my entire career.”

He bent down and called a flame to his fingertip, lighting the oven. Then, he filled a pot with water and placed it on the stove. Meanwhile, Tavia began unpacking the groceries: carrots, onions, celery, and lamb wrapped in brown paper. Moving around him, she opened drawers, searching for something.

“Knives are in there,” Lucius said. She nodded, took one out, and immediately began cutting the carrots.

“Don’t you ever get lonely?” she asked, focusing on her task. She moved the knife expertly, chopping the carrots in one swift motion before gathering them in her palms and dropping them into the pot.

When she leaned across Lucius, he caught a whiff of her floral scent and desperately tried to step away, but the small kitchenette offered little space.

Boundaries, he reminded himself. Do not cross them.

He busied himself by unwrapping the lamb and held out his hand for the knife. She handed it over and stepped back, watching him.

“My work kept me busy,” he said, cutting the lamb into small pieces. “I worked and traveled a lot, and when I needed comfort, I found it.”

He avoided elaborating on the many relationships he’d entertained or the fact that he had a wardrobe for any potential female guests, which spoke volumes. Yet, he had only spent significant time with one female, one with whom he’d shared his secret—a mistake that haunted him.

When the lamb was ready, he handed the knife back to Tavia.

“You can chop the onions,” he said.

She took the knife and began chopping as Lucius heated the skillet. He scooped out a slab of tallow from a jar and tossed it into the pan.

Once turned, Lucius no longer needed food, but he found he missed the act of cooking.

“Here,” Tavia said, her eyes watering from the onions .

“Thank you,” he replied, adding the onions to the pot and the lamb from the skillet.

He stirred the pot and asked, “Tell me about your life before thieving.”

“There’s not much to say,” she began. “My parents have an old cottage in the woods, far from any village.”

“Is that where you found the squirrel?”

Wiley lay curled by the fire, snoozing peacefully.

“No, we found each other about a month ago.”

“And the thieving?”

She paused, and Lucius shook the skillet before emptying its contents into the pot.

“I had to get out of there,” she said. “They’re so isolated, and they don’t even care.”

“Well, maybe they want to be isolated,” he suggested.

Tavia frowned.

“I don’t know. They say they prefer the quiet life, but everything is always broken. Nothing is ever new. They certainly don’t have chocolate lying around the house,” she muttered, folding her arms and leaning against the cabinet .

Lucius stirred the pot. “This is going to cook for a little bit. How about I make you some of that hot chocolate you love?”

She nodded and sat at the table, tapping her fingers across the wood.

Lucius turned on the kettle, retrieved the chocolate squares, and placed one in the bottom of a mug.

“So,” he continued, “you turned to thieving to give them a better life?”

“Yes,” she admitted. “That cottage is falling apart. It leaks. There’s only so much they can do. Any time we need to go to the village, it takes forever. Do you know what that’s like when there’s an emergency?”

Her voice wavered at the end, and he knew there was more to the story.

“What happened?”

“My father got sick,” she said. “He was always the one to go to the village, never my mother or me. Nothing in my mother’s garden could heal him.

He had this awful cough and fever, and we needed stronger medicine—the kind only a medic in town would have.

My father refused to let my mother go, and they fought.

While they were fighting, I took whatever coin we had and ran off. ”

“At first, I got lost, but I found it. My father had taken me once when I was very little, and I remembered the way.”

She took a deep breath.

“When I returned with the medicine, my father wasn’t even conscious. That medicine saved his life. If we’d lived closer, where it wasn’t dangerous to travel to town, he would have been fine. But their stubbornness, their isolation, almost cost my father his life. And for what?”

The kettle whistled, and Lucius removed it from the heat, pouring the hot liquid over the chocolate square. The fresh cream would need to be eaten all tonight since his ice box was most likely not functioning.

Scooping a large amount of cream onto the drink, he topped it off with a sprinkling of chocolate shavings.

Lucious admitted he may have gone overboard with all these extra delights, but after spending decades in dust and darkness, he was ready to splurge.

“Be careful; it’s hot,” he said as he placed the drink on the table and sat across from her.

“Thank you,” Tavia said, cupping the drink and blowing on the top, which was only cream. “You didn’t need to buy all this. ”

“Of course I did,” he replied with enthusiasm. “My savior deserves every lavish gift available.”

Tavia leaned over and sipped the drink, her expression relaxing into a comforting state, as if all the burdens of the past had dissolved into that cup of chocolate.

“If I am forced to eat and drink all of this, I won’t complain. I’d hate to offend my gracious host.”

The lightness in her words flattered him. It was the first time he had seen her relax and joke—and it was absolutely enduring.

Not wanting to press her for more details about her life, he began sharing stories of all the eccentric clients he had interacted with over the years.

Tavia ate and laughed, all while wearing his robe, and Lucius felt utterly foolish for how smitten he was.

He reminded himself that it was the decades-long captivity that made him ravenous and nothing more.

Yet, with every twinkle in her eye, Lucius longed to see more.

And suddenly, he was questioning what was more important—his missing artifact or his life—because the last time he trusted a pretty female, it had been his end.