Page 133 of Vampires of Eden

The dark inky tension in my chest melts. I relax back in the chair, just a little. “Huh. So I’m not a complete fuck up after all, is what you’re saying? In a nutshell?”

Oliver smiles. “Not a ‘fuck-up.’ Thank you for helping to give me this life, and for respecting my decisions.”

It’s as if the air in the room has been cleansed. More breathable. A dark miasma dispelled. Or maybe my lungs are less constricted? I’m not sure. The relief of it is rosy and good.

Playfully, I raise the envelope with two fingers. “Is this Aries’s money? Because I’m not keen on taking his fucking?—”

“It’s not, you jerk,” Oliver spits, scrunching his nose. “I knewyou were going to ask me that. Iknewit. You can’t help yourself, can you?”

Smirking, I fold and tuck the envelope into the pocket lining the inside of my jacket. “Maybe I can’t. I’m gray, remember? Gotta stay morally gray.”

“Whatever,” he says, still smiling as he flickers his eyes over me in appraisal. “You are not gray. Where are you headed tonight? This suit is… well, frankly, the color is beautiful. You look great. You’re always smartly dressed, though.”

“Thanks. A banquet, you know.” I wave a hand. “Just a drop in the bottomless bucket of Eden banquets.”

Oliver chuckles. “Say that three times fast.”

“How long are you hanging around town?”

“Just a week. You won’t believe this, but I’m staying with Thomas.”

My eyes do indeed widen at this news. Oliver’s older, paler and waif-like brother exists as a kind of ghost hovering along the outer edges of Eden’s aristocracy. Rarely attending events or showing his face. He’s mated with Lord Cameron Ashford—a wealthy and established purebred who also keeps a low profile. As a couple, they’re pretty mysterious. I don’t know much about either of them. “Really? And he’s… alright?”

“Yeah, he’s alright,” Oliver says. “Really alright. I’m relieved.”

“I’m glad to hear it.” Casually, I glance up toward the clock on the mantle beside us. Oliver catches the subtle shift in my attention and stands.

“I’m sorry—I know you have places to be and I barged in here. Thank you for talking this through with me.”

I stand as well and straighten my jacket. “Maybe we both needed this. Thanks for coming to see me. Are your travels going well? And the photography?” We walk toward the door together and Oliver’s tenor pitches higher from his excitement.

“Everything is excellent. I managed some incredible shots in Thailand and Hong Kong—like someone better thanmetook them. But Sylvie is a great mentor. I’m so glad you set me up withher. We’re heading to Japan next and I’m really looking forward to it.”

The sheer joy in his voice and overall being is infectious. A stark contrast to his temperament when we were existing together in our forced bonding arrangement.

That thing Raphael told me to lay down? Somehow, it feels as if it’s finally resting. “I’d love to see your photos,” I tell him. “When are you going to open another social media account?”

At the doors to the sitting room, he pauses. “I don’t know, but… if you’re really interested, I’ll text you once I have a website of my portfolio set up? I’m going to start working on it soon. Social media gives me anxiety so a website is better.”

Oliver once asked me if we could be friends. The hurt of our break-up was raw and throbbing at that time, like a gash I was desperately trying to nurture and stop from bleeding out.

Back then, the answer felt like hell no.

In this moment, though?

“Yeah,” I say, pulling the door open for him to step through. “Text me the link when you have everything finalized. I promise I’ll respond.”

He chuckles. “Great, I will… You seem contented, somehow. Calmer.”

“Do I?”

Oliver nods, looking me over once more. “Yeah, much more so than before I left. It’s nice. I’m glad.”

“His Royal Highness, Prince Alexander Ethan Kendrick!”

The herald’s voice echoes across the moodily lit hall. Vampires pause, turning their attention toward the arched double doors and black carpet as I step inside.

Tonight’s banquet is being held in an old modified medieval church comprised of gray stone walls, towering stained-glass windows and a high, echoing ceiling. Above us, crystal orbs oflight in varying sizes glow warmly in seductive jewel-tones. The space is dim, but the hanging fixtures cast rich hues of light and color across every surface and attendee. Violet, emerald, magenta and cerulean. Like being on the inside of a kaleidoscope made of stone and glass.