Page 17 of Vampires and Violas (A Vampire’s Guide to Gardening #2)

16

Noah walks into the kitchen and eyes my plate full of cucumbers, radishes, carrots, and celery. As he frowns at my breakfast, I pick up a slice of cucumber and pop it into my mouth, chewing thoughtfully.

“That’s a lot of vegetables.” He opens the fridge and sets his blood on the counter. Unlike mine, which is packaged in medicine bottles, Noah’s looks like a bottle of red wine.

“It is,” I agree.

He pours a small juice glass of blood. “Are we getting close to intervention territory?”

“Probably not.”

“Is there a reason you’re binging on bunny food?”

“I’m trying to decide what I can live without—you or this cucumber.”

“I’m offended it’s even a contest.”

“I really like cucumbers.”

“It’s not like you have to choose right away—or at all.”

“You weigh the pros and cons of a relationship in your way, and I’ll weigh them in mine.”

He downs the blood and then rinses the glass, fills it with water, and chugs it, too. When he’s finished, he turns back. “Perhaps you’re overthinking it?”

“I didn’t think about pros and cons before I started dating Kevin and look how that ended up.”

“I hate that I have to point this out, but I’m not Kevin.”

Noah sounds more offended about being compared to my cheating ex than a vegetable.

“Do you think I need to learn how to use a gun?” I ask, changing the subject.

Noah nearly fumbles the bottle of blood as he returns it to the fridge. “I’m sorry. I think I heard you wrong. It sounded like the flower farmer said she wants to learn to use a gun.”

“Everyone had some kind of weapon last night except me,” I point out. “Doesn’t that make me vulnerable?”

“Sophia didn’t have a weapon.”

“She has fangs. Don’t those count?”

“No.” He closes the fridge and then leans against it, crossing his arms as he contemplates me. “How about this—if you can master a stake, I’ll teach you how to use a gun.”

“This isn’t a negotiation, and I don’t need your permission. I’m a grown woman—I can sign myself up for a concealed carry class if I want to.”

He snorts, smiling. “All right, grown woman. We’ll go to the shooting range when I get off work tonight.”

“We can’t tonight. We’re meeting Sam’s sister, remember? And I didn’t say I wanted to. I asked if I should. ”

“You’re right—it’s your choice. But if you don’t think you’d be comfortable with one, then no, I don’t think you should. However, if you want to learn self-defense, I would be happy to teach you a few things.”

“Including how to use a stake?”

“Yes.”

I think about it while I eat another piece of cucumber. “Okay.”

“Are you worried about what Larissa said?” he asks.

With everything that happened last night, it slipped my mind until I was in bed. But then I remembered that someone was watching the house, and it was like Ethan all over again.

“A little,” I admit. “Who do you think is hanging around this time?”

“It’s hard to say. It might be someone watching you. It might be someone watching me. For all we know, it might be someone watching Cassian.”

I ponder that, thinking about everything Sophia said last night, realizing that’s likely.

“It’s a little surreal to think he’s a big, important prince,” I say. “To me, he’s just the house cat who started hanging around and never left.”

Noah frowns, looking out the window over the sink. “He took to you awfully quickly, didn’t he?”

“You really don’t have to worry about him. It’s never been like that between us, probably because he’s in love with Sophia, and I am—” I stop myself abruptly, looking at my nearly empty plate.

“You what?” Noah pushes away from the fridge and stands across the island, watching me.

“I’m not into large age gaps,” I say lightly, backpedaling for all I’m worth. “Several hundred years is just too much for me.”

“I don’t think that’s what you were going to say.” Noah smirks. “I think you were going to say you love me.”

“ Like you , maybe. I haven’t known you long enough to make such a big declaration.”

“But I’m wearing you down.”

“Don’t you need to go to work?”

He glances at the clock on the microwave. “I will as soon as Cassian gets here.”

“You mean my babysitter?” I wrinkle my nose, not liking that we’re back to this.

“Just until we figure out who’s been watching the house and why.”

“Oh…joy.”

Mildly disappointed I’ve eaten all the vegetables, I grab a yogurt from the fridge and prepare to head to my office. “I’m going to get to work. Don’t forget about tonight.”

“I won’t,” he promises. “Have fun with your flowers.”

“Have fun catching bad guys.”

Not terribly eager to start working, I look at my phone as soon as I sit down at my desk. Realizing I missed a text from Olivia, I call her.

“Hey,” I say when she answers. “I’m calling you back, as requested.”

“So…how was Denver?”

We texted back and forth a few times yesterday, but this is the first chance we’ve had to talk since Friday.

“It was great. But I have bigger news, and I’m not sure how to share it with you.”

“Uh oh,” she says. “Should I come by?”

“No, Cassian is on his way, and I kind of need to tell you this before he gets here.” I slip in my earbuds so I can work while we talk.

“What is it?” she asks, suddenly solemn.

“We met Cassian’s ex last night.”

“The crazy one?” Olivia gasps.

“She was…different. But not exactly crazy. And Livi…I think he’s still in love with her.”

“What’s she like?” Olivia asks excitedly. “Is she a criminal overlord? Or…overlady…. Overperson? Was she gorgeous? Did she wear black leather and scowl a lot?”

I frown at my laptop screen as I log in. “You’re not upset?”

“I was never serious about Cassian,” Olivia reminds me. “I just think he’s yummy. We had this conversation, remember?”

“I know, but you guys had that date.”

“I like him a lot, but I don’t think we really click romantically.”

“Because you’re in love with Max?”

“Probably because he’s in love with his ex-girlfriend,” she says wryly.

“In love with his ex-fiancée —they were engaged.” Even though I shouldn’t gossip, I can’t help myself. “Apparently, she broke a vampire law, and he was supposed to kill her. But he let her go because he loved her.”

“Oh my gosh,” she swoons.

“I know. It’s romantic, in a violent sort of way. But to be honest, I’m a little uneasy about the whole situation. This woman is involved in all kinds of vampire politics, and things are messy with the recent assassination.”

“Some guy came by while I was visiting Cassian. He mentioned the assassination, too. I stayed in the other room, but I overheard some of the conversation.”

“Who was it?” I ask.

“I didn’t catch his name. Some big blond man with a northern European accent. I only saw him outside the window as he was leaving. He didn’t stay long, and it was obvious Cassian wasn’t expecting him.”

“Did he sound like he was from Denmark?”

“Hmm, maybe. Yeah.”

“It must have been Jorgen, the head of Marilyn’s husband’s house. She said he was looking for him.”

“How surreal is it we know an actual vampire prince?” Olivia says in a hushed whisper. “Piper, our lives have gotten so cool.”

I laugh, and then I hear the doorbell ring.

“Hey, I need to go,” I say. “Cassian just got here.”

“Call me if anything interesting happens, okay?”

“Will do.”

I hang up and then open my emails. Cassian and Noah are talking downstairs, but I know the vampire will come up to say hello when Noah leaves for work, so I don’t bother to join them.

As predicted, as soon as the door closes again, footsteps sound on the stairs.

A minute later, Cassian pokes his head into the room. “Hey.”

I pull my eyes from my laptop screen, looking at the vampire over my shoulder. “I’m not sure how I feel about Noah leaving me with a murderer.”

He rolls his eyes and enters the room, sitting in the extra dining room chair that somehow made its way up here. He leans back, balancing on two legs. “Sophia exaggerated the situation.”

“Did she? So, you weren’t going to kill her?”

“I was supposed to, but I didn’t . Surely that counts for something?”

I raise a brow, refusing to answer that.

Cassian sighs. “That’s how it was when Nicolau first enacted the laws about transmission, before he created NIHA. If the head of a line discovered one of his progenies made another vampire, we were supposed to execute them and their creation.”

“Noah told me.” I swivel around in my chair to give him my full attention. “But it’s just as awful when you say it.”

Cassian watches me with his dark cat eyes and knowing smile, looking tired. “It’s shocking that vampires can be brutal, isn’t it?”

“How late were you up last night?” I ask, turning back to my computer.

“Late.”

“Did you and Sophia make up?”

“You almost sound like you’re shipping me with a criminal, Pip.”

Ignoring the nickname, I grin. “I love that you know what that means.”

“I don’t know what to do with her,” he says heavily. “She’s my responsibility, but she’s impossible . ”

“Healing sick people isn’t exactly wicked, Cassian.”

“You can’t save every injured baby bird who falls out of their nest. There comes a point when you must let nature take its course.”

“How long were you two together?”

“Four years before I turned her. Then only about a year after that.”

“That’s not very long in vampire time.”

“It is when her name is engraved in my heart.”

“Cassian, that’s actually sort of sweet.”

“Like a fiery, scorching, indigestion-causing brand.”

“Less sweet.”

He smiles. “How about you and I ditch all this and run away to Fiji? I have a place there, you know.”

“Tempting, but I actually want to talk to you about that business deal you wanted to make.”

Cassian perks up, letting the chair drop onto all four legs. “I’m listening.”

Nervous, I tell him what I’m picturing—what I’d like my business to become. He nods, at least pretending to be interested.

“I have no idea how much all that would cost,” I admit when I’m done. “I don’t even know where to start. But what do you think?”

“I think it’s worth moving forward to the next step.”

“Really?” I sigh, relieved. Then my smile fizzles. “And what is the next step, exactly?”

“I want you to start looking at land—get an idea of how much it might cost, since that will be a significant investment. I know several people in construction. I’ll talk to them and see if they can give me a few ballpark figures and some time estimates. We’ll know more when we have some solid numbers. Let’s plan to meet about this again next month.”

“Really? You’re going to think about it?”

“I don’t see why I wouldn’t.”

“It’s going to cost a lot of money.”

“I could buy you all of Glenwood Springs if you wanted.” He tilts his head slightly. “Do you want that instead?”

“Uh, no,” I say, slightly disconcerted. “But thank you for humoring me. Even if this doesn’t go anywhere, I appreciate you not patting me on the head and sending me on my way.”

“Who did that?”

“Every bank in town.”

He shrugs. “Financial institutions don’t have the flexibility to follow vision, no matter how brilliant it might be.”

Needing to change the subject before my heart overflows, I say, “So, did Noah tell you we have someone new watching the place?”

“He did.”

“I’m sorry you have to babysit me.”

“There are worse tasks. Besides, what’s a conservator for?”

“There’s broth downstairs if you want it.”

“Is that your polite way of telling me to go away?”

“Yes. I need to finish up these emails.”

“Fine.” The handsome vampire stands, stretching. “I have a few business calls to make anyway. I’m thinking of investing in a new garden nursery.”

I smile as he goes, and then I get back to work.

A few hours later, I wander downstairs. Cassian’s in Noah’s usual spot at the dining room table, staring at his laptop.

“What’s Noah doing today?” I ask, stirring blood into cranberry juice because I don’t feel like making a smoothie this afternoon.

“He didn’t say,” Cassian says absently.

“Did Sophia give you any information after we left?”

He looks a touch uncomfortable, but he shakes his head. “No.”

If Noah doesn’t have any new leads, he’s probably at the office. Hanging out with his new plant.

“Oh, get over it,” I say to myself.

“Excuse me?” Cassian asks, lowering his reading glasses.

“Not you.” I’m just about to take a sip of my juice when I pause to scrutinize the vampire. “Why are you wearing glasses?”

“Oh, do you like them? I ended up getting a pair.”

He slides them back on and poses thoughtfully. The frames are thin black wire, and like everything else, they look good on him.

“The lenses don’t have correction,” he adds. “They’re just a fashion accessory.”

“It must be dull living so long.”

“Does that mean you like them or not?”

“Yes, I like them.”

“Good.” He looks back at his computer and then promptly scowls again.

“What’s the matter?”

“Vampire politics. Jorgen is hounding me to meet with him.”

“Olivia mentioned someone came by while she was visiting…” I say, hinting heavily.

He shoots me an amused glance. “Yes, that was him.”

“Is he still pushing for you to claim the…dukedom?”

“Dukedom?” he asks, amused.

“I don’t really know the technical term.”

“We usually just call it the throne.”

“Oh, right.”

“And yes. He is.”

“If he’s so passionate about it, why doesn’t he do it himself?”

“He has a dark past—a Viking, you know. He’s reformed, but with that sort of history…” Cassian shrugs.

“All you princes are pretty old, right? Don’t most of you have bloody pasts? You didn’t have medication until recently.”

“We managed.”

He looks uncomfortable, which I find intriguing. “How?”

“Well, first off, you didn’t let yourself get hungry. Bloodlust is the root of the madness, so if you kept yourself on a schedule, you were fine.”

“Why do you need the medicine then? You’re good at taking your blood, aren’t you? And you’ve had two centuries to form a solid habit.”

Cassian removes his glasses like they’re bothering him now and gives me his full attention. “I can answer your question, but you won’t like it. I don’t even like it.”

I pull out a dining room chair and sit across from him. “I can handle it.”

“We consumed human blood.”

“Noah already mentioned that.”

“Yes, but did he tell you human blood curbs the madness?”

I open my mouth to respond…and then close it again.

“Technically, animal blood and the synthetic prescription meet our bodies’ needs. But…neither one is as complete. They’re not as satisfying, I suppose.”

“So, when Archduke Nicolau banned vampire creation, he basically banned human blood at the same time? You can’t feed if you can’t, you know, bite. ”

“Not yet—that came later. At that time, civilized vampires already consumed donated blood. Many houses had donors, along with nurses in their employ who could draw from them.”

“Ew,” I whisper. “You kept humans like milk cows?”

“I’m afraid so.”

“All the pamphlets, all the printouts, everything I received from my doctor and NIHA say the prescription and animal blood are sufficient.”

“Of course they do. We don’t want baby vamps going out and snacking on humans, do we?”

“So, they’re basically lying to everyone.”

“Hard to imagine a government institution would do that, right?”

I laugh. “Noah said you were the one who pioneered the research—that thanks to you, we have the synthetic blood and the medications.”

“If you’re going to live a long life, you might as well have a mission.”

“Maybe you should be our archduke, Cassian.”

“Don’t start that.”

Smiling, I walk back into the kitchen. “I don’t know. Perhaps you should think about it. Your Grace has a nice ring to it.”