A Violet Fire (Vampires in Avignon #1) - Kelsey Quick Page 0,106
can’t afford to.
Soon, the morning introductions will begin for the rulers of Cain. That is, all of them and their cabinets will get together and go over the matters to be presented regarding Abethos—all of the political stuff that suddenly no longer interests me. At that time, we will make our move. When Thelor comes to retrieve me for phase one.
A soldier steps into the holding room, followed closely by Anaya. My gaze naturally drops to her neck which is sporting a freshly applied arument bandage beneath her crimson ribbon. My eyes trail back up and I meet her gaze. For a moment all is silent and tense until I give her a little nod, which she reluctantly returns. I don’t care anymore. About anything from that life.
“Seems Lord Zein has quite the appetite today,” Ceti says a bit loudly, grabbing the attention of one or two of the other gossiping supply attendants. “Go on,” she says to me, pushing me toward the soldier that dropped off Anaya, who I assume to be Thelor. He turns to walk out and I jog after him.
Like I anticipate, we end up turning left at the first junction—leading us toward the hallway with the storage room—instead of toward Zein’s quarters. It’s happening. I clench my sweaty palms. Soon, I will be out of this place. Out of the world of vampires. Out of the grasp of Zein and his lies. There is so much pressure to wade through that I can barely breathe.
“Okay, we’re here,” the soldier states as he opens the door to the storage closet. But the voice doesn’t belong to Thelor.
“Castrel?” I ask after a moment’s surprise. “Where’s Thelor?”
“We had to change a couple things at the last minute. There are obstacles only he can remove. Hurry, inside.”
I exhale sharply and walk into the dark room, nearly tripping on a crate at the back before I turn around. Castrel shuts the door and all is empty black until he lights the lantern from above, illuminating the grimy supplies and walls. Castrel takes two steps toward me and reaches around his head to take off his mask. His face is covered by the same thin layer of gray dust as Thelor’s from the night before, broken up only by sporadic streams of sweat. I guess my confusion is evident because he answers my unasked question.
“It’s the preserved crushed skin of dead vampires,” he says a bit too nonchalantly.
“Pardon?”
“It’s a Mezzanine trick. Covering your body with this will convince even the most sensitive of vampire noses that you’re one of them,” he enlightens, undoing the rest of his armor. “They won’t be able to smell your human scent. But it has to be reapplied often to maintain the effect.”
I hold back a gag as well as a gasp. The vampire dust is surprising, but the view of him stripping down is totally unexpected. I have never seen the completely stripped anatomy of a male human, nor vampire. That truth becomes so very clear as the sight of Castrel throwing down his armor and revealing tan and taut skin is completely and totally foreign. Thankfully, he only unrolls the leather unitard down to his waist, where he retrieves a small metal canister from a hidden belt. It takes me a moment to shift my focus from his body, and when I do it’s because his sharp, hazel-green eyes find mine. I’ve been caught.
He smiles a bit, and I think I can make out a bit of red beneath the dust on his cheeks before he turns around, chuckling. “Um, sorry. I forget about these kinds of things. Didn’t really have to worry about it back in the day, huh?”
A rush of nostalgia washes over me as Castrel uneasily side steps around one of the metal shelves to partially shield himself from my gaze.
I force a laugh, turning away. “Yeah, not really.”
Surprise tears sting my eyes. I wipe them away and say, “I’m really, so happy that you’re alive, Castrel. I thought about you nearly every day after...” I trail off.
The sound of him clearing his throat reaches my ears. “Me too.”
We sit in silence, staring at our own walls for a moment when he changes the subject, walking over to me.
“You will need to put this on, too.” He gestures to the dust. “We have to get ourselves to the loading docks at the base of the two towers. Ceti and the others are going to meet us there.”