A Shade of Vampire 80 A Veil of Dark - Bella Forrest Page 0,60

felt in that moment. Inhaling, the image came into better focus. God, he’s gorgeous.

“That,” he whispered.

“I guess… I guess we’ll find out?” My voice sounded a little too squealy. I’d never met someone who made me feel like this, and it was a constant work to adjust and adapt, as the circumstances of my emotional existence shifted.

He chuckled softly, then looked at the fire. “You can stay down here with me if you’d like.”

“Sounds better than sleeping alone up there,” I replied, meaning every single word.

I hadn’t been in any serious relationships before. My career had taken me all over the world and across dimensions. I’d met interesting people along the way, and some had stirred me—but none had had the impact of Kalon. He was utterly different, and he kept me on my toes, my heart always jumping with him, my spirit beaming… my mind dancing and swirling.

Tonight, it was just the two of us on this sofa, in front of the fireplace. We didn’t know what tomorrow might bring, but we did know the Darklings posed an existential threat. There were secrets that no one wanted us to unravel. There were holes in my memory. There was fear nestling in my chest.

But tonight, there was only Kalon. Only me. Only the fire burning slowly, consuming the wood logs and delightfully crackling and spurting its amber sparks once in a while. Tonight was ours.

And as I lay on the sofa, tightly wrapped in his arms, I knew it was where I belonged. He watched me close my eyes, his embrace holding me firmly in place. Our bodies matched, curve by curve, line by line. Our souls were in sync, as were our hearts.

We welcomed the dream together. We’d figure everything else out tomorrow.

Sofia

When morning came, Derek and I went back to the grand salon, as Danika and Acheron had invited us over for breakfast. The place looked even more beautiful during the day, just as I’d suspected. To my surprise, oversized awnings had been pulled over the terrace, making it the perfect place to sit, even for vampires.

The ocean breeze swept through the room, the glass doors wide open.

Servants had already brought pitchers of blood on a silver tray, which they’d left on the table outside. Seated in one of the white chairs and reading another history book was Thayen, all alone. Derek smiled when he saw the boy, a glimmer of admiration persisting in his deep blue eyes.

“You really like him,” I said.

“What’s not to like? He’s barely eight, and he’s already smarter and wiser than most of the people my age,” Derek replied. We stood in the middle of the grand salon, watching him.

“Danika and Acheron have done a fine job with him, don’t you think?” I asked, leaning into Derek. He put an arm around my shoulders, pulling me closer. With everything that had happened so far, I welcomed the comfort of his embrace as the sole cure for my anxieties regarding Visio.

“I wonder how much of him is Danika, and how much is Acheron,” Derek said.

“That would involve drawing some conclusions about each of them, separately, then matching them against Thayen,” I said.

Derek thought about it for a moment. Nodding, he gave me his thoughts. “I think Danika is perfectly fine with blood slaves, even if the Darklings supply them. She didn’t seem too pleased yesterday with her son’s opinion on the topic, despite her approval. She cares too much about the elites’ support.”

“And she would do nothing to potentially harm those relationships,” I continued. “Yeah, I saw that, too. She’s rather shrewd, isn’t she?”

“Potentially dangerous. I don’t trust her as much as I used to,” Derek replied. “Ever since the Zoltan situation… I don’t know, I would’ve expected a stronger reaction from her. A Darkling had infiltrated their government, after all.”

“Whereas Acheron is fuming,” I said. “I think he was wary of upsetting the elites, too, but he comes across as more genuine. Maybe I’m wrong?”

“No, you’re not. I saw the same in him. This willingness to do good. To be a better parent for his son, too, even if it means banning the blood slave trade—because we both know it’s the only way for them to stop the Darklings from raiding villages for blood slaves.”

I sighed deeply. “Right. Make the elites fearful of punishment, and the Darklings won’t have clients to sell their blood slaves to.”

“Out of the two, I see Acheron pushing forward with such a measure. I figure we’ll hear more