Page 20 of Vampires of Eden

“What?” I say, caught off guard.

He points with his worn, ashen sponge. “Why are you still in that same corner? It’s been an hour and a half since you got here. I’ve done this entire wall in that time, and now I have to do half of yours.”

“I’m sorry,” I say defensively. My chest tightens and my spine tenses once more. “This is my first time doing this, so I wanted to be careful.”

“That’s nice. But you’re not much ‘help’ if I still have to do most of the work,your highness.”

We stare at each other. His pale, frustrated eyes bore into mine and that strange sensation of electric goosebumps rushes up my arms and makes me step back. “You could relax, you know. Just, chill out.”

“Why are you here?” he asks, point blank. “Is this some kind of experiment for you? Oliver dumped you and hurt your feelings, so you thought you’d take a sabbatical from the upper hills of Eden to lick your wounds and see how the lower-ranked vampires live? A taste of the ‘simple life’?” Daniel scoffs, looking me over. “Yet another arrogant purebred doing whatever the hell you want.”

The air in the room hollows out. Like I’ve been shoved over the side of a towering building and now I’m hanging onto theledge with my fingertips as I stare at him, wide-eyed from disbelief.

I expected this shit from Ashwin when I walked into that dinner and poker game last week. Mentally, I was prepared for it. My guard was up, because I know that crowd and how they operate. The undermining, teasing and antagonism. I’ve grown up with that, so my armor is always ready. Dealing with it is second nature.

This? I was not prepared for.

Not at all.

Blinking, I don’t say anything as I turn, then leave the bathroom. The tumultuous sea and black clouds of my humiliation and disappointment rush back in as I walk toward the kitchen.

There was no reason for me to do so, but I had imagined that this house… that this environment would be a refuge. Somewhere I could lay that armor aside and just breathe for a while.

Maybe Daniel is right and I don’t deserve that. Who am I with all my privilege to want that from these vampires? Fuck me.

“Hey.” I peek inside the kitchen. The air is warm and wafting with cinnamon, sugar and definitely butter. “I’m taking off.”

Roland balks at the counter. He’s wearing bright yellow oven mitts with daisies all over them and a matching apron. “What? You can’t leave. The croissants are finally ready—it took me two days to prep them!”

“I apologize. They smell wonderful, but I think I should go. Thank you for letting me come today with such short notice.”

I’m not welcome here. The last thing I need is another hostile environment.

Sensing the electric rush against my arms, I turn and see Daniel standing in the hallway just outside of the bathroom. He stares at me, inscrutable, but I look away and back toward Roland and Kathryn’s confused expressions. “Thanks again.”

Before the darkness overtakes me, I stalk through the hallway and out the front door.

CHAPTER 6

Daniel

Huh.

That isnotwhat I was expecting.

“What was that? What just happened?” Kathryn’s face twists in confusion as I walk toward the table and pull out a chair. I plop down from exhaustion, but then lift my head, feeling the intense weight of Roland’s stare.

“What did you do?” he asks, narrowing his amber eyes.

I shrug. “I might have… expressed some strong opinions. As I’m known to do.” I didn’t think he’d shrink and run away like a wounded animal, though. That was a surprise.

“Aw Danny, you promised us that you’d behave yourself.” Kathryn’s disappointed expression almost makes me feel bad.

Almost.

“Why the hell is he here?” I ask. “We can all admit that it’s weird, right? This high-societyroyalEdenpurebred spending his day sanding a bathroom wall? It’s fucking absurd. He does not belong here. Someone needed to say it.”

Eden purebreds don’t slum it with ranked vampires in their free time. They don’t do home improvement projects and they don’t insist that you drop honorifics.