protect this place from attack, and we give them a place to live. We guard the palace by day, and they by night. So far, it’s working out.
But there’ve been a few close encounters over the years.”
“What do you mean?” Caitlin asked.
“I mean, a human fal ing for a vampire, or vice versa.
People almost getting turned. That’s a big no-no for Aiden.
If that happens, they’re out. It’s always a source of tension around here. We can be friends, but we can’t cross that line. Which is fine with me. Al the guys I like are human anyway. But that’s not true of al of my human girlfriends.
Some of them set their eyes on a vampire, and just won’t let it go, if you know what I mean.”
Caitlin thought about that, and remembered back to when she was human, and she knew how they felt.
“Anyway, al your kind do is train al the time anyway. They spend the whole day on the training ground. Every day it seems like they’ve got a new weapon to try out, or some new skil . It’s fun to watch. Us royals gather around, and watch you guys square off. It’s probably the greatest entertainment around here.”
They walked down a set of grass steps, across another formal courtyard, and approached a low, marble building, set back from the rest of the palace.
“That’s where you guys live,” Lily said. “I trust you’ve seen worse accommodations?”
Caitlin was in awe. It looked like a miniature palace. She couldn’t believe she’d be staying here.
In the fields al around her, she saw dozens of vampires training, sparring with bamboo swords, their click-clack heard from yards away.
She suddenly had a pang of worry, as she wondered if Blake were among them. She was going to ask Lily, but was afraid to hear the answer. That was the last thing she wanted to deal with right now. As it was, her heart was stil hurting over Caleb, wondering if she’d made the right decision to leave.
Lily stopped before the door, and faced Caitlin. “Wel , this is far as I go,” Lily said.
Caitlin stepped up and gave her a hug. “Thank you,” Caitlin said. “For everything.”
Lily hugged her back.
“I’l see you soon,” Lily said. “After al , humans and vampires always feast together. I’l save you a seat next to mine.”
“I’d like that,” Caitlin said.
*
Caitlin surveyed her room, taken aback by its opulence.
Other rooms she’d stayed in, like the one in Pol epel, had been beautiful but simple—medieval and stone, almost monastic. This room was the opposite. It was huge, grand, ornate, decorated with a rug and drapes and a chandelier and mirrors and a vanity, and a huge four-poster bed.
Everything about this room was oversized, overdone, piling opulence on top of opulence.
Caitlin didn’t necessarily mind. After being on the run for so long, after sleeping in one place after the next, she appreciated being in such a quiet, comfortable place. She certainly could get used to living in a palace. It just felt so foreign to her, as if this were al a dream. She tiptoed through the room as if she were in a museum, afraid to touch the shining oak of the bedframe, or the perfectly smoothed silk linens on top of it.
Ruth, on the other hand, had no qualms. She happily wagged her tail as she ran about the room, smel ing everything.
Caitlin made her way over to the huge dresser in the corner. It had a shining, white marble top, with golden drawers. On top of it, there had been laid out already several sets of clothing options for her. She could not believe it. Each outfit was more beautiful and extravagant than the next. There was a long, formal gown, in a black silk; there was the Versail es version of casual clothing, which was just a slightly shorter gown, but which stil looked formal to Caitlin, in a light blue, with yel ow buttons.
Then there were al sorts of hats. And beside these, there was what looked like a training outfit.
It was made of a material she had never seen, like a thin leather, al -black. It looked like a skintight battle uniform, padded, with long pants and a tee shirt. Caitlin recognized.
It was the sparring gear of Aiden’s coven. It was lightweight and durable, and al owed her to fight, and at the same time, it managed to look elegant, with its shiny black coat and high col ars.
Caitlin immediately pul ed off al