Vampire Debt - Supernatural Battle (Vampire Towers #2) - Kelly St. Clare Page 0,99
stepped around the wrestling vampires to continue on, stopping short when I discovered Neelan behind them.
Face smoothed of any emotion, he offered his arm.
Walking to him, I studied the vampire closely.
He relaxed as I took his arm.
“Thank you, Neelan. Grass stains on white aren’t ideal.”
“No, and it would be a shame to ruin such a beautiful dress,” he replied, clearing his throat.
Uhm, charming much?
I couldn’t recall Neelan ever being nice to me, so I didn’t respond in case it was a trick.
We crossed the small bridge, and I took in the bubbling creek lined with lilies on each bank.
Picturesque was a weak word for the romantic landscaping.
A long table occupied the apex of the curving lawn across the creek. Candles in tall holders and string lights surrounded the table, illuminating the space and lending a lilting glow. More candles were spaced out along the white tablecloth at random.
The occupants quietened as we neared, and my heart thumped faster. Neelan directed me to the middle of the table and gestured at his father.
“Miss Le Spyre has arrived, Father.”
The king remained mute, and the queen hissed from the opposite end of the table.
“Welcome,” he forced out. “Sit.”
I curtsied, thanking my grandmother for forcing me to learn. “Thank you, King Julius. Good evening, Queen Titania,” I said, curtsying to her afterward. Who the fuck knew if that was correct protocol?
She beamed back, and I sucked in a breath at her heart-stopping magnificence.
“Welcome, Basilia. Thank you for choosing to come.”
Choosing? Sure.
“Where’s the birthday boy?” I asked. Everyone else was present.
King Julius snarled. “My heir is no boy.”
“Father, it’s a human colloquialism, not an insult.” Safina gestured to a seat on her left, and I squeezed Neelan’s arm before untangling myself.
I did my best to ignore the king’s unveiled dislike as I settled on the high-back seat. This was feeling more and more like the Mad Hatter’s tea party.
“Kyros is inside getting more wine,” Deirdre said to me. “But it doesn’t take this long to get wine, so I’d say he’s delaying because you arrived.”
Francesca grinned into her glass of water.
Cocking my head toward the house—an enticing vision at the bottom of the hill—I tuned into Kyros.
Anticipation. Nerves. Dread. Frustration.
Weirdly, we both felt about the same tonight.
“My lady.” Lionel snapped into existence on my left. “I apologise for not properly greeting you earlier.”
Kyros’s brothers were in that kind of mood tonight.
“Sir Lionel,” I answered. “Fear not the mode of your greeting. Sir Neelan filled the position with sufficient aplomb.”
I evaded his attempts to take my hand, whacking the vampire in the rock-hard stomach when he wouldn’t let up.
“You wound me.” He took the seat opposite Lalitta.
That’d be the day.
Gerome and Rory took their seats in the middle without teasing me.
“Any news on the nightclub?” Gerome asked.
I shoved the gift bag between my feet, feeling more and more uncomfortable about the present. “Settlement was a few days ago. The builders are in there. I’ll reopen in a week.”
“New theme, huh? What is it?”
I lifted a shoulder. “New name too. If you score an invite to the opening, you can see both for yourself. Or read about it the day after.”
He scowled, and I smirked despite the relentless and heavy stare of the king boring into the side of my face.
“I’ll get an invite, won’t I, darling? Parties are our little thing.” Rory winked across the table.
I frowned slightly. “The bar won’t have any mirrors. Not sure it’s your scene, Rory.”
Francesca snorted and then glared at me.
Lalitta waved from the queen’s end. “You look absolutely incredible, Basilia.”
The entire table chose that moment to peruse my outfit with a critical eye. I steeled myself against fidgeting, inclining my head. “Thank you, Lalitta. You look beautiful too. Is that the dress from when we went shopping?”
She flushed. “Yes, it is. I wasn’t sure you’d remember.”
My nerves swelled and confusion filled me before I realised the emotions didn’t belong to me.
Safina rose to her feet. “We may need to rearrange the seats, Miss Le Spyre.”
I stood and eased around the back of my chair, lingering there, half my mind occupied with the slow hardening overcoming Kyros.
Crap, what did that mean? Was he still mad at me? Or was he about to be a jerk because his dad was here?
I shouldn’t have come.
“Son,” the queen exclaimed. “Look who has come.”
Like he didn’t already know.
“Yes, Mother. I felt her arrive.”
My back tensed. Had Safina warned him I was coming? The dread within him intensified, but I hadn’t sensed any shock yet.