To Love a Vampire - A.K. Koonce Page 0,30
my face.
“I’m fine, Ayden.”
Everyone has stopped what they’re doing and is now watching us intently. Kaino and Shane have even snapped out of it enough to realize something is happening, their eyes moving from me to the representative that has me clasped in his hands.
“I thought I’d never see you again,” he says in a quiet breath.
“Ayden, come sit down. We’ll have plenty of time to reminisce throughout the evening,” a man says from across the table.
Seated next to President Docile is a man who was once my mentor. I blink a few times, trying to grasp on to all the familiar faces of my past that are now here in this community of mystics. Ayden gives me another long look before taking his seat across from me, next to my mentor.
“I’m happy you’re all right, Fallon.” Straight white teeth fill my mentors smile as he beams at me. A black button down shirt is crisp against his chest and he smooths it relentlessly in an almost nervous fashion. More gray hair streaks his dark brown hair than I remember, but his eyes are still kind and caring. “I helped Ayden place flyers through the villages. He was worried about his friend… Everyone was worried. We’ll have to update them of your safety to ease their minds.”
It’s a lie; one I can effortlessly spot. They won’t take time to update the surrounding communities. He continues to brush his palm down the imaginary wrinkles of his shirt.
“Lorde Raske, this is my friend from my village, Ayden, and this is my mentor, Michael. He helped structure my future from a very young age, focusing on my strengths and weakness to find my perfect place in society.” The word future circles my mind. What a waste all that time was. My future isn’t anything like the plans the government mapped out for me.
Lord Raske nods to the two men, his smile genuine as he speaks. “It’s good that Fallon has so many people that care about her.”
My heart pounds, picking up speed as I realize I haven’t had these people with me. I’ve been mostly alone for the past year. A weak smile pulls across my lips, not reaching high enough to touch my eyes or my mood.
A fae in his early twenties, short blonde hair combed neatly back, his shirt tucked perfectly into pressed white slacks walks toward us. He places a heaping plate of green beans down in the center of the table, leaning closely over Kaino’s side, making the warrior fidget in his seat from the fae’s nearness. The wolf’s muscly arms shift at an odd angle to dodge the fae’s thigh that brushes against Kaino’s chair.
Other caterers join us, placing food on the table like decorations. The warm smell greets me, reminding me of how hungry I really am, distracting me for just a moment from the guests seated across from me.
“Please, eat,” Raske says to us all with an excited smile.
Everyone begins filling their plates as instructed, minimal words are exchanged, a feeling of uneasiness begins to thrum through the silence. The president appears to look over the mounds of appetizing food piled around the table but doesn’t make a single move to touch any of it. Pale hands are clasped before her as she sits with immaculate posture.
Luca passes me a look, her elbow leaning heavily on the tabletop, her lips quirking in a smile like she’d rather be anywhere but here.
“How have you been?” Ayden asks, his plate void of any food as he watches me shovel in a heaping spoon full of mashed potatoes.
“I’ve been really good. It’s amazing here. Freeing.” I clamp my mouth shut on the last word. Should I have said that?
I glance to Raske and the president but they’re speaking quietly among themselves, ignoring me entirely.
I relax and give Ayden a small smile.
“How’s Congress? You seem to be doing so well,” I say and my stomach dips as I realize how formal my tone sounds. Not spoken with a lifetime of friendship but with… polite unattached words. Ayden and I are barely friends at all now.
I don’t really know the man seated across from me at all…
I take a sip from my glass and my throat constricts as the ice water tilts from the cup. I lower the drink as I cough, fumeless and pure water is all that I taste. Just water. Glancing into Luca’s drink I confirm that she, too, isn’t drinking alcohol. No alcohol tonight? The one night