“As for you,” he continued. “You might offer your blood to me for all of the wrong reasons,” he continued. “Drinking your blood would bind you to me, and that, darlin, is a permanent thing.”
“But if I offered?” I said, a hint of pleading slipping into my voice.
“I would have to be certain,” he said. “It’s a different life, a complicated life. Unless I was convinced you understood the responsibility, I wouldn’t accept. Vampires don’t share, Olivia. We don’t compromise, and we’re not very patient.”
I wasn’t ready to let him drink, but being stubborn by nature, his lecture was igniting a challenge within me.
“Then why are we doing all of this?” I asked.
“I can see I got your back up a bit,” he said. “Don’t mistake my intentions. I want to be with you, Olivia. But after 180 years on this earth, I have had my share of heartbreak.”
He meant it. I felt his sadness, really, his disappointment. To be alive for almost two hundred years must have meant a few bad relationships. I nodded, and kissed him gently to convey I understood.
William quickly dressed and dropped me at my house. I would have invited him in, but I knew Elsa might be there and I really needed to get to work, so we said our goodbyes. As I walked in the door, he sent me a text asking me if I would join him in two nights for a paddleboat ride at Stow Lake. It was so old-fashioned and romantic, I accepted right away. Unfortunately, my exuberance at being in the midst of a full-blown romance ran straight into a wall of disapproval standing in my kitchen. Elsa was there, decked out in black leather pants with an actual silver dagger stuck in one of her boots. Lily was standing next to her.
“Lily, what are you doing here?” I asked.
“Elsa texted me when you didn’t come home last night,” she said, looking sheepish. Being a mother hen did not suit her at all. I turned to face my housemother.
“What’s this all about, Elsa? What did you think had happened to me?”
Elsa was angry but also relieved. I’m not sure what she thought had happened to me, but she was experiencing real relief that I was home safely. I hadn’t told either of them where I was going. I didn’t want company, and I had not wanted anyone to try to talk me out of being with William. Looking back, my secrecy was probably impractical.
Elsa didn’t reply, so I posed another question. “I suppose you both want to know where I was last night.” Two heads nodded in unison.
Elsa spoke first, “Why didn’t you leave word where you were going?” Lily looked pensive, as if she knew bad news was coming. She was worried about a conflict between the three of us.
“I should have left a note, or texted one of you,” I said. “But can I ask why you were so worried? What did you think happened to me?”
Elsa didn’t want to tell me exactly. Her fury was dying down a bit, but she continued to restrain herself. “Olivia, you are the only human agent working at the Council and you’ve been the target of a demon attack. Gabriel, errr, I mean, you report directly to the director. Anything could have happened to you. There are plenty of people who would be interested in your talents and connections.”
It sounded reasonably plausible. I wasn’t alone anymore. I was a part of a team. “Look,” I said raising my palms up in surrender. “I am sorry. I should have checked in. Next time I will be more considerate.”
Lily was relieved. Fairies didn’t like conflict. But Elsa wasn’t finished. “Are you going to tell us where you have been?”
“I was with William,” I said, my chin up slightly in a defiant pose. Now we were back to two against one. Lily and Elsa were exchanging glances that spoke of serious handwringing.
“You spent the night…with a…vampire?” Elsa asked.
“Yes and no,” I said, resenting the tawdry emphasis. “I slept at his house, as in a pillow and a blanket, not with, you know, him.”
Lily was craning her neck to get a good look at mine.
“No, he did not drink my blood.”
This was met with more raised eyebrows and sideways glances.
“Really. He did not ask, and I did not offer.” This caused them both to calm down, but I resented the image they had painted. “I need to take a shower and