by Anna Santos
“How does she act?” I asked.
“It’s like he puts a damper on her personality. She’s different—less happy and more worried.”
I pondered over his words. That didn’t make me happy at all. But she had assured me that she was happy with him. Was she lying, or does she not understand that she’s changing?
“Look how she is right now. How happy she is.”
He motioned his hand to his daughter, and I took hold of her sparkling image with my eyes. It was true that she was smiling while talking to her cousin and Sean. She had a glow that made me feel happy.
“In fact, I don’t know why you’re at the older people’s table,” he said, staring at me, amused. “You should be there, talking to them, not here listening to an old couple ranting.”
“I don’t think Aria likes me much,” I said, unsure why I shared that with them. She had every reason not to like me. “She didn’t like seeing me at the Louvre. I bet she wouldn’t even have come if she knew I was going to be there.”
“Nonsense!” Her father chuckled. “She’s just not used to having someone else who knows more than she does.”
I stared at him, curious.
“You impressed her. She let you show her the Louvre, didn’t she?”
I nodded.
“She even asked you questions, didn’t she?”
I nodded again.
“She never asks anyone anything. She’d rather learn things by herself, and few people actually outsmart her.”
Her mother joined in on the conversation. “True, she can be a bit of a smartass sometimes, and she’s often taken for a know-it-all because she… She’s clever and likes to learn a lot of things. She’s a great kid, but she’s shy. I’m even surprised that she found herself a boyfriend. She normally runs away from guys.”
I chuckled at her words. At least at her last few words. She was shy and smart. I liked those qualities of hers. She would lose the shyness with time, but I didn’t mind that either. Maybe her shyness towards me was because she liked me a bit.
“And she has no idea how pretty she is,” her father mumbled. “I don’t want some pretentious guy to break her heart. She deserves someone who loves her for all that she is.”
“Now, now, Daddy, let the girl have fun,” Mrs. Davis said, caressing her husband’s arm as if she were calming him down.
“I’ll give the boy a chance,” he said. “But she’s growing up too fast!”
His wife agreed, pondering it for a while. “Do you remember the time she asked you why fireflies glow in the dark and you gave her the romantic explanation and when she found out the scientific explanation, she had to rub it in your face?” Mrs. Davis asked her husband.
He nodded and chuckled.
“And the time she told James that dragons were imaginary beings and he couldn’t ask for one as a pet for Christmas,” Mr. Davis remembered.
I laughed at his words.
“Her cousin was disappointed at not being able to have a dragon for a pet!”
“No, the cutest was when she was six and told us that the moon was following her at night and she was afraid to sleep with the window open,” her mom said as I listened to her attentively. “You had to make a drawing, a bad one, might I add, and explain to her that the moon wasn’t following her; it was just that the moon was so big, it looked like it was moving.”
“She also experienced a stage where she thought that everybody was a robot.”
“Yes, and she asked me if I could program you to give her more candy because you were always warning her that her teeth would fall out if she ate too much of it.”
“The worst part was when she argued that if her baby teeth were eventually going to fall out, why should she be careful with what she ate?”
“She was a handful,” Mrs. Davis stated while cleaning her eyes. She was laughing so much that they had watered.
“What’s going on over here?” Aria asked, coming to our table with her hands on her hips and staring at us in suspicion.
“Nothing, cutie pie,” her dad mumbled. She looked shocked by his use of the nickname. “We were telling Philippe how cute you were when you were younger. Like two years ago,” he added to remind her that she was young, she was still their baby.
Aria rolled her eyes at his words and shook her head to let her dad know she didn’t like his comments and that they were sharing her private life.
“Did you also tell him how you ruined my birthday last year when I asked you to get a mime and you hired a clown instead? He made those silly balloons in the shapes of animals and wanted to paint my face,” she reminded him, leaning down and pointing her cute nose at him with blame in her eyes.
“Oh, hush, the kids loved it,” her father declared.
Sighing deeply, she looked at the ceiling as if begging for divine intervention.
I seriously doubted his words. It had probably been embarrassing for her since she’d been turning seventeen the year before. It was a funny story nevertheless. She caught my smile and met my gaze, making my heart slow down.
“They may seem friendly,” she said to me, pointing at her parents, “but they’re really evil dragons in disguise and they can make your social life miserable.”
“I thought you said that dragons were imaginary,” I teased her.
She opened her mouth in disbelief. “See what I mean?” She pointed a finger at her parents. “Dangerous dragons in disguise, telling people about my early innocent years to embarrass me. Besides, dragons aren’t real… I hope,” she added.
I laughed since I understood her doubt.
“There’s nothing to be ashamed about, honey,” her mother said.
“Please stop,” she pleaded, and they nodded, even if I was sure they wouldn’t stop.
“Is he coming or what?” Gabby asked from afar.
“Wait,” Aria screamed back.
“Ask him already,” she replied.
“What’s up?” I asked, staring at Aria, who sighed and sent me a look.
“They want to play pool, but we need another person, you know, to play and–”
“Sure,” I answered before she finished the sentence. “Am I on your team?”
“Yeah, I guess so,” she mumbled, shrugging as if it were no big deal. “But if you cheat, I swear,” she warned me, pointing one finger at me and making me smirk at her. I had to love her audacity.
“What?” I dared her to finish that sentence.
“I’ll feed you to the non-existent dragons,” she said, smirking and spinning around to get back to Gabby and Sean’s side.
Cute, I thought to myself. And funny.
“See, she’s terrible at asking for help,” her dad said, amused by our banter. “Go have fun with them. We’ll stay here trash-talking her boyfriend.”
“George!”
Her parents’ voices became a distant sound as soon as I started to head Aria’s way. Playing pool was not my idea of having fun. But if it meant that I could spend a bit more time next to her, I would play pool and act friendly. And try not to cheat, which was nearly impossible since my senses were sharper than humans were. The only human there was Gabby, so Sean would most probably cheat without meaning to as well.
Chapter EIGHT
CEDRIC
I paced back and forth in my office at William’s place. It had been a long day and it would be a longer night. I was waiting for my 10 o’clock appointment, trying to put my mind at ease about my problems with Aria.
She was upset with me because I didn’t have time to be with her and her family. We had exchanged some text messages after dinner when I’d finally found time to give her some attention. She was insistent on me going with her to a nightclub, even though I’d specifically asked her to give up the idea and go back home. She was being stubborn about it. I wasn’t in the mood to pick a fight with her, but I didn’t have time to go partying either. I had significant matters to resolve and appointments to keep. I had a booked agenda that day and having to endure Ari
a’s parents’ evaluation was something I hadn’t planned but had managed to find time to do.
“Why aren’t you answering your phone?” Camille walked in unannounced, and I turned around to face her. “This is the third time I’ve called you today. Aria’s called you twice already.”
“I couldn’t pick up the phone before. I had to give orders to my men and I had strategies to discuss with my allies,” I informed her, since she was so keen on knowing what I’d been doing all day. I didn’t know what others thought it took to be a prince and a leader; however, it wasn’t a walk in the park. I had crucial things to do, things that decided the fate of my royal subjects. “I arrived from the other realm a short while ago. So I’m sorry if I’m not picking up my phone, but I really don’t have time to indulge Aria’s tantrums.”
“Well, we were worried about you,” Camille said, looking rather annoyed by my answer to her question. I wasn’t in the best of moods. I had an exhausting day, and I was upset by having to be away from Aria. It wasn’t like I didn’t want to be with her—I simply couldn’t.
“She was worried about you,” Camille continued. “Couldn’t you find some time in your busy schedule to talk to your future queen?” She was being sarcastic, and I wasn’t in the mood for that.
“I answered her messages. She answered me back. We had a difference of opinions, and she told me that she’s with Philippe at one of his restaurants. Forgive me if I’m not jumping with joy right now at the notion that my mate is spending time with the guy who tried to kill her.”
“Oh, she told you. Hmm…” Camille relaxed her face. She was trying to find the best words to defend Aria’s behavior, no doubt. “It wasn’t her fault.”
“I know.” I crossed my hands behind my back. “I’m not saying it was. I’m mad she didn’t tell me sooner. I would have sent someone to get her.”
“Her parents are there with her.”
“Her parents are rather useless when it comes to protecting her from that creep,” I said, pointing out the obvious. “She claims he’s being friendly, and that makes things even worse.”
“Well… Hmm, at least, he isn’t trying to kill her…again.”
Camille always tried to see the bright side of things. But it wasn’t working for me.
“No, he’s trying to win her over and take her from me.”
“So why aren’t you going there to join them and try to see how Aria feels about what he did? You know perfectly well that Aria will have to deal with Philippe’s existence. He isn’t going to get out of your lives entirely. He’s the vampires’ leader. You’ll have to endure his presence in meetings and at parties. Aria will see him a lot. The best thing you can do is to acknowledge his presence and the competition between you two over Aria, and fight for Aria’s love and attention. Spending the afternoon taking care of your royal duties is pointless if you don’t win Aria’s heart.”
“I wasn’t expecting…this.” I gestured around not pointing at anything specifically but talking about the situation in general. “I can’t turn my back on her for one minute without him using my absence to find a way to see her. I’m also mad because she could have told me sooner. She claims that I would have gone there and… Well, of course, I wouldn’t let her be in the same place as him! I don’t understand,” I muttered, pacing again, talking more to myself than to Camille. “I’m beyond upset!”
She sighed.
I glared at her. She wasn’t helping at all. I wasn’t mad at her, but she wasn’t making me feel any better.
“You need to trust her more.”
I paused. She endured my gaze, and I eventually breathed out. There was no use in trying to intimidate her. I wasn’t going to be mad at Camille for voicing her opinion. I knew I was being possessive and neurotic about Aria. I was afraid of losing her. I had waited for her for so long, and now that I had her, I didn’t want anything or anyone trying to take her from me.
What hurt the most was that I knew she didn’t understand why I tried to protect her. She didn’t comprehend the price that came with my curse and my title, even if she claimed she loved me. It had been lonely—it had been painful all those years that I had to wait for a suitable soul to complete me and make me happy. I had every reason in the world to be afraid of losing her because her former soulmate wanted her back.
“She’s my only family now,” I mumbled. My voice shattered because thinking about my parents and my sister hurt.
“Yes, I know. But you must understand that you aren’t her only family.”
“I know that. But I want her all to myself. I don’t want to share her. Not yet. Not before I know for sure that we’re…staying together forever. I’m giving her my heart and soul, Camille.”
Camille squinted at me. “She’s giving you her heart and soul, too. Stop being like this. Trust her a little.”
“I’m trying. I really am. I’m here pacing around. Holding myself back…when I wanted to go get her and…keep her safe. Still, I have other matters to take care of. I have responsibilities. She’d be furious at me if I didn’t let her have some fun.”
“I’m glad you understand that you need to be tolerant about her freedom and need to spend more time with other people.”
“I know that!” I grumbled. “I know that,” I spoke softly this time and sighed. I was a nervous wreck and needed to calm down. “I try to be tolerant.” I stared at Camille. “But I’m scared. I’m allowed to be scared, am I not?”
She nodded.
“Sometimes, I think she doesn’t fully understand what I’m asking from her. She still holds on to her human life as if she’ll be able to continue to have a normal life after our final bonding. She won’t. I can’t have a normal life either. I’m the prince, and we’ll be the rulers of our people. We’ll both have responsibilities, duties. We can’t be selfish. We need to give up a part of ourselves to make others happy. I’m aware that she’ll have to give up on a lot of things, but I had to give up things, too. I’d be ecstatic if I didn’t have the weight of my kingdom on my shoulders. But I do, and I’m not going to run away from my responsibilities and hide the sacrifices we’ll need to make from her.”
“You’re too stressed.” Camille rested her hand on the chair. “Is something bad happening?”
“I had a long talk with the British rulers. Charlotte’s parents were extremely tiring. I tried to be nice to them. But they’re delusional if they believe I’ll give up Aria because they think there’s a slim chance that their daughter and I have a suitable bond. Besides, I’m falling for Aria. I don’t want Charlotte.”
“They asked you to break your bond with Aria?” Camille sounded shocked.
I gave a curt nod.
“What did you tell them?”
“Aria’s mine and I’m in love with her. They can go and look for another candidate for their daughter somewhere else. I also expressed my rage at the selfish request. Things are messy now. They’re upset. I’m upset. Charlotte is a spoiled brat, and I’m sick of this.”
“I’m baffled,” Camille said. “That was selfish of them!”
“They’re only thinking about what’s best for their kingdom. But I couldn’t care less about what’s best for them. Their daughter isn’t my problem. Their fate isn’t my problem. I need to take care of my subjects. I won’t give up on Aria because they want me to. They don’t rule over me. I’m simply livid.”
“That’s completely crazy. I would never have thought that angels could be so…selfish.”
“They are. But I’m selfish, too. Aria is the most important thing to me now. She’s my future queen. She’s my everything, Camille. I won’t give up on her. My kingdom has been without a queen and a king for more than fifty years. If I die without leaving an heir, it’ll be a catastrophe.”
“William is the next in line,” Camille reminded me.
“He doesn’t have a mate. He isn’t looking for one, either.”
“True.” It was her turn to cross her hands behind her back and pace in front of me.
I leaned back against my desk, sitting down and trying to relax.
“Aria was a blessing for us all.”
“I need her. She’s perfect, and I’m falling hard. I’ll be crushed if…she chooses Philippe instead of me.”
Camille’s stare lingered on mine. “Then you’ve got to fight for her love. Philippe is her ex-soulmate. They have chemistry. You need to stop putting your job before your love life. Your royal subjects will have to wait. Breaking your curse and giving your full attention to Aria comes first.”
“I know—thanks for pointing out the obvious. However, I couldn’t ignore the meeting with the king and queen of London’s angels and gargoyles. That meeting was scheduled well before Aria’s parents showed up.” My tone was a bit too harsh.
“I understand, but, you have to see that Aria’s parents are important to her, so you need to win them over.”
“I’ll need your help with that.” I remembered the dinner planned for the following night.
“How come?”
“Aria’s parents are invited to dinner tomorrow at our home, and I need your help with it. Do you mind taking care of it? I don’t know what to prepare for them.”
“Of course, no problem. Do you want us to leave the house when you and Aria receive her parents?”
“No. I’ll introduce you as my sister. Make sure the angels stay away from the house while her parents are there. I need to make them happy because having them against my relationship with Aria doesn’t help my plans. So, will you take care of things for me, little sis?” I begged, making puppy eyes to convince her.
She laughed, and the tension seemed to disappear between us. Camille reminded me a lot of Lilly, my real sister. She was kind and sweet like her.
“Of course, I’ll take care of everything. And, Cedric, I know they’re just human, but please make an effort to keep Aria happy and win her parents’ affection. Her human side will always love her parents and care for them. And she won’t need to be apart from them right from the start.”