Total pages in book: 123
Estimated words: 115432 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 577(@200wpm)___ 462(@250wpm)___ 385(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 115432 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 577(@200wpm)___ 462(@250wpm)___ 385(@300wpm)
“My vampires of Ankeiros,” Rhea spoke. “I present to you, Druella Thorbørn, the newest member of our family, mate of our son, Theseus. I believe some of you have already begun to call her the vampire-witch. I must say that we Thorbørns truly do know how to pick them.”
There were a few snickers, but it was drowned out by boisterous applause.
I was not expecting that at all.
“Hello, Aunt!” a green-eyed, blond-haired vampire hollered before being locked in a headlock by Melora, causing him to laugh.
A tray was bought up to me with a glass of blood. The smell of it so close to my nose made me reach out and throw it back down my throat. I had no idea when I had last eaten.
“Apparently, someone has been keeping his mate so preoccupied she could not even spare a second to eat,” a group of males said, snickering at they watched me and my…poor manners?
“I do not deny it,” Theseus replied, throwing his glass of blood down his throat with just as much speed and vigor as I did. His words caused all of them “Ooh” and “Ahh” at us. “Though can you blame me? Do you not see how beautiful she is?”
I huffed in surprise though I couldn’t help but smile. The once silent hall was now alive with laughter and conversation, all of which was about us. One of the groups, being the same group of three females, I was sure I had seen in Montréal.
“And so ends the reign of the heartbreaker.”
“What happened to all that intending talk in Montréal?”
“As if she could deny him for much longer.”
“I’m quite surprised she could hold out as long as she did.”
Déjà vu.
“You all truly are the worst gossips I’ve heard,” Theseus said, shooting them a look that only made them smile at him.
“Don’t mind us. We are just tending our broken hearts since you can’t—” The glass in her hand shattered, and the blood inside stained her hands, dripping to the ground.
I quickly looked away, brushing my hair behind my ear, hoping no one had noticed, but of course, everyone did, and laughter broke out immediately.
“Careful, my ladies. She’s a jealous one.” Matias snickered, coming over to stand beside me. “I only moved to welcome my beloved Theseus, and she blinded me.”
“I did not!” I gasped.
And being the drama king, he fell to his knees and clasped his hands as if he were praying to me. “Spare me, oh great vampire-witch, for I know not what I speak. I am but a poor weak, humble vampire—”
“Enough with your play before she truly does blind you,” Hinrik replied, yanking him by the ear and giving me a wink as he pulled him away.
“Come, I shall introduce you to those of whom are worth noting. The rest of the lot are as foolish as Matias, like the Slander sisters over there,” Theseus said, leading me away.
“Hurtful, as always, Prince of Night!” they snapped in unison. “We are the Larmare sisters.”
Theseus ignored them, taking my hand and leading me forward.
I had noticed since I entered, my worries and concerns seemed to vanish slowly. This was a party—well, actually, it felt like a wedding reception, and we were the couple thanking everyone for coming. It was familiar. It was fun. Drinking and talking and watching Theseus be a bit of a jerk to people, and all of them seemed just to accept it. Even still, though, he talked with everyone with ease. Unlike in Montréal, where he did his best to keep me away from the other vampires, he was relaxed here, more of himself, and I wondered how many sides there were to this man that I had now hitched my eternity to. Would we fight a lot? Would we spend all of our days talking? How many more of these balls would we go to together? Would we see all of the world together?
My mind was a mess of so many things, but I knew one thing was certain—I was happy. I never realized how alone I had felt until Theseus was here, and now I had this massive family, a connection with people, a freaking kingdom of people meeting me.
“Come, let’s dance,” Theseus said, pulling me closer.
“Didn’t you learn from the last time? I’m not very good at this,” I said, but he wrapped his hand around me and pulled me closer to his body.
He stared down at me, the corner of his mouth turned up slightly, as his hands slowly slid down my back. “I shall teach you.”
“Are you sure it’s simply a dance you want?” I asked, eyebrow raised, as his hand landed on my ass, and he leaned closer.
“What else could—”
He stopped as the thick, sweet scent of anemone flowers reached our noses. I knew that scent, seemingly so familiar, but I wasn’t sure how. A frown covered his face as he stood up straighter.