“Willa, my favorite niece, I’ve been meaning to talk to you,” Cuddy’s booming voice interrupted. “Julia and I have been talking about the design for the bakery."
“You have?" I asked. “And what pray tell have the two of you been discussing concerning the design of MY shop?"
"Pink,” Julia said innocently
“Excuse me?"
“You said you wanted to go for a more vintage look. The 40’s or 50’s art deco look?" she rattled on oblivious to my horrified expression. “So we were thinking a nice bright pink for the walls."
"I hate the color pink."
“Nonsense, nobody hates the color pink,” Julia laughed
"Well let me be the first person to line up for the ‘I hate pink crusade’.” I said
“Hi everyone,” Oliver said, “What are we talking about?"
“The new color for the bakery,” Julia said brightly
“My utter hatred for the color pink,” I answered. “Does anyone else want to join the club?"
Oliver just smiled before he leaned in and said to me quietly. “Willa, I need to talk to you privately. Would you mind if we found a quiet place to talk?"
"Of course not,” I said taken aback. I had no clue as to what Oliver would have to say to me in private, but I discreetly followed him out of the room. I glanced over to the corner where I noticed Mathias and Winifred were speaking in hushed tones.
Oliver led me into a small sitting room down the hall that I affectionately had dubbed the ‘Lilac room.' Soft lavender walls accented by framed artwork of lilacs and hydrangeas hung in small groupings around the room. Cream colored sofas with lilac throw pillows accented the extremely feminine room.
"What’s up Doc?" I asked jokingly
"Willa,” he began solemnly. “I’ve been in the lab for the past few days. You remember you came in last week, and we drew blood to analyze it?”
“Yes." I said as my heart began beating frantically. Oh God, he found something. I have cancer, was my first thought
"I’m going to try to explain this very simply.” Oliver said leaning forward on the couch and clasped his hands. “Your blood is poison."
"Come again? Poison? As in it’s riddled with poison and I’m going to be taking a dirt nap soon?"
"No,” he chuckled. “I ran tests, experiments, so to speak, and it was odd. I took a small drop of your blood and merged it with the blood of the Rau and the Guardians. Every time I had the same result. Your blood cells attacked theirs and effectively killed them."
"That’s impossible." I breathed.
“It’s not something I have ever heard of or seen before in all my time as a healer. I ran multiple tests, and I concluded that between your fire and your blood, you are a vampire repelling being, in every way, shape and form."
I sat in utter disbelief. There was no way Oliver’s tests were correct. If that were the case, Mathias would be dead right now, and we would be burying both him and Serena.
"Willa?" Oliver asked perplexed. “Are you all right? I know it’s downright shocking but in a way it’s remarkable. Your blood is unique, magically even. No harm can ever come to you by a vampire."
I did the only thing I could think to do as I sat there frozen in shock.
MATHIAS! I yelled in my head.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Mathias was in the room in a blink of an eye. His head moved back and forth while his eyes scanned for any threat.
What? What’s going on? He yelled in my head
I just sat there, unable to form any complete sentences, out of my mouth or in my head.
“Mathias? What’s the matter?" asked a befuddled Oliver
Winifred hurried into the room and looked around the room. She seemed startled that Oliver and I were sitting there but looked even more worried when she took in Mathias’s face.
“Mathias, whatever is the matter? You took off in such a rush,” she asked concerned
“Forgive me. I thought I heard something. I was mistaken." he said smoothly.
Winifred nodded at him before turning her attention to us. “What are the two of you doing?"
Since I was still a mute zombie, Oliver took the reins and spoke for me. “Willa and I were having a discussion regarding her recent blood work."
Are you all right? Are you sick? Mathias asked
“No, that’s not a problem.” I muttered, drawing my grandmother’s and Oliver’s attention.
“Has the party moved in here?" Uncle Cuddy asked as he walked in with a confused expression. Closely behind was the rest of the family, including my parent’s.
“What’s up Willy Dilly?" asked my dad looking concerned.
“Same old, same old, just when you think it can’t get any weirder…" I answered
“What’s going on?" Cecily asked as she sat beside me
“Willa, since I’m sure this falls under the Doctor/Patient confidentiality rule if you don’t want me to say anything yet..?" Oliver asked
“No, it’s fine. We’ll have to tell them at some point." I said
Oliver quickly explained about my blood and what had happened during the tests that he ran. I listened as he gave a more detailed explanation to my family with one ear though. My mind was swirling with questions that I knew I couldn’t ask or explain. I had to figure out a way though. Mathias had drunk a great deal of my blood when he had fed on me before we went on our rescue mission. The thought of him being sick or even him not being sick was of the utmost importance in my mind.
“Wow, you are a badass, Willa." Jeremiah said in wonderment
“How is this possible?" Cecily asked
“I’m not sure. The human body is a miracle to begin with; throw in some magical properties of both the Fae and the Gypsies, and obviously you and Cormac created something very special." Oliver stated
“A weapon,” Julia said almost confused
“What dear?" asked Aunt Gussie with a befuddled look.
“She’s a weapon,” Julia repeated with a dazed look on her face. “She was created for a few different reasons. Her blood though is the key somehow."
“Julia what do you see?" Winifred asked as she came to stand beside her and put her arm around Julia’s shoulders.
“It’s vague, but somehow it all ties in with, the Rau, the witch, and the Fae Lord."
“The Rau, The Witch, and the Fae Lord it just doesn’t have the same ring to it like ‘The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe’.” I said
That brought everyone’s attention back to me. Only instead of looking at me like a mental patient, they all cracked smiles. All except Mathias. He was staring at me with his hooded eyes.
“Oliver." Mathias said. “There was an incident...”
What the hell are you doing? I asked in panic
“What sort of incident?" Rhoswen asked
“When Willa and I were interrogating the Rau prisoners, I pricked Willa’s finger with a knife to draw her blood. It was over dramatic of me, but I wanted to torture them a bit."
“Go on Mathias." Winifred said
“After I pricked her finger, I licked her blood off of the knife,” he finished
Everyone gasped, except one person, my Father. He just looked at Mathias with curiosity and vague disapproval.
“Mathias, how could you? Willa’s blood hadn’t been tested. You, more than anyone, are aware of the rules about waiting and now look? You could be sick.” Winifred said worriedly
“Obviously it was not the smartest thing to do. To be honest though, I really did not experience any difference in tasting her blood, only a very small charge." he answered smoothly
“That’s very curious Mathias,” Oliver said. “I only used a very tiny drop of her blood in the testing. Almost immediately the blood cells attacked the others, of the Rau and Guardian blood alike. We should go to the hospital right away to draw some of your blood so we can do more lab work."
Mathias nodded. “I agree. First I would like to brief the Guardians. Word had gotten around
about Willa and her fire. It needs to be addressed as well as this latest development."
“Absolutely,” Cormac said. “We wouldn’t want anyone mistakenly drinking Willa’s blood."
Oh fuck, he knows. I don’t know how I knew that, but I did. I could tell by the tone of his voice that my dad realized something was up between Mathias and me. By the surprised look that came and went over Mathias’s face he was aware of it too.
“Cormac," Gussie laughed. “No Guardian is going to attack Willa and feed off of her blood. That is ridiculous."
“Ridiculous as it may seem, I believe some form of conversation is in order,” Cormac said so sternly his internal blue light started pulsating
“Goodness Cormac, calm down, darling." Cecily said
“I agree Dad. The whole blue light special thing you got going on right now is unnecessary,” I added
“We’ll see about that.” he said curtly
“I’m a little beat, so I’m going to head out. Oliver, all you need to do is just call if you need to take more blood from me." I said as I stood up to leave.
“I will. Thanks Willa." Oliver said
“Fantastic idea,” Cormac said suddenly cheerful. “I’ll escort you home."
I let out an inward groan. “Great."
I’ll be over later. We need to talk. Mathias said to me
Yeah, that would be an understatement. I answered wordlessly
We said our goodbyes to the family and the rest of the mourners and Guardians still gathered in the other room. My father and I walked with Cupcake in silence down to the parking area. Maybe it was all in my head or just my guilty conscience but I could sense the questions and anger reverberating off of him.
I drove home slowly. I wanted to prolong the start of this conversation for as long as possible. When we pulled into my driveway, both of us got out of my golf cart stiffly, even Cupcake seemed aware of the tension filled atmosphere.
I opened the front door and went right into the kitchen to go about making hot chocolate with a shot of Irish cream whiskey. I figured we both may need this by the time we got through our conversation.
I set down the steaming mugs on the coffee table and sat while I waited for him to start.
“I realized it the other night, the night you came back from London, that something was up,” he started saying. “When I looked up and saw him standing in the bathroom doorway, he looked like he was in pain as well. I tried to convince him to leave when you were in the shower. I told him to go home, that your mother and I would take care of you, but he flatly refused."
Cormac came over from standing by the windows and sat next to me on the couch. “Well with Mathias, it wasn’t a very long argument. So we left you under his watchful eye, and when we got home, it hit me. All these little things started to add up, and quite frankly I was pissed."
I glanced up at him in question. What the fuck did he have to be pissed about?
“What the frick did I have to be pissed about?" he echoed my thoughts. "Well, when your daughter falls in love with someone you kind of want to be there to witness that. To be the one she talks to you with or cry on your shoulder when she’s upset or confused. You just want to be a part of that, and I wasn’t."
"Dad...” I started
“No. You're old enough to live your life and do as you choose,” he interrupted. “But I guess I’ve been feeling a bit left out lately. The house, the bakery, this rescue mission, all of those things you decided and didn’t tell me or even let me weigh in on with my opinion."
“You didn’t have too obviously but you've always come to me, whether it is for advice or just to chat. These past few weeks I have seen you grown leaps and bounds. Your different somehow, more serious, more emotional. Not that I wouldn’t expect you to change slightly but still I’ve missed you and now your heart doesn’t belong to me anymore does it?”
Tears pooled in my eyes, and I all I could do was just shake my head.
"You’ve had boyfriends before but Mathias is different. Are you in love with him?" he asked
“I don’t know." I finally choked out before letting out a nervous laugh. “It’s complicated, one moment I find myself falling madly head over heels and the very next minute I find myself wanting to kill him."
Cormac laughed. “Sounds like love to me Willa. I assume from your reaction earlier that Mathias has fed from you and not just from a speck on a knife either."
‘Why do you think that?" I asked cautiously. I promised Mathias I wouldn’t tell anyone. I was also somewhat protective of him. I didn’t want anyone, especially my dad, to think less of him.
“Knowing you, if you found out your blood was like poison to vampires, you would be dancing around and calling yourself the Terminator while singing some kooky song."
“I have no idea what you're talking about dear father of mine. That doesn’t sound like me at all. Although, anything by AC/DC, would probably be appropriate,” I smiled
Then I realized something. He doesn’t care. My father doesn’t care if I swear like a sailor or try to seduce a vampire. He loves me no matter what. So I started telling him everything from the moment Mathias, and I met to the time a few minutes ago when I shouted for him in the Lilac room.
I glossed over a few details though, no matter what, he was still my dad. No father wants to hear about his daughter’s sex life or overactive libido.
He let out a big sigh and took a sip of spiked hot chocolate. “What is it with this family? Do we all fall in love with the one person we shouldn’t?"
“Dad, do you know anything about this whole, vampire, true mate thing?"
“Ah, yes. Well, communicating with each other through your mind and sleeping together are classic signs. The blood thing though?" he shook his head. “That I have no idea. It could be one of the more obscure signs or it could be something else entirely."
“So either way I’m screwed." I said. “I’m already bound to him in some crazy, cosmic, cheesy romance novel way."
"Yes, unfortunately, I believe you are,” he answered. “I only say, unfortunately, because if I know Mathias, he probably likes the idea about as much as you like going to the dentist."
“Hey,” I said, lightly punching him in the arm. “My problem with going to the dentist is on an entirely different level of irritation. One stubborn, enigmatic, vampire with a giant stick up his ass I can handle. At least I have seen glimpses that he does have a sense of humor and a soul. One dentist who doesn’t even want to give me Novocain when he replaces my filling? What kind of sick, sadist fuck does that?"
“I told you not to have that candy apple at the fair,” my father laughed
“That’s what makes it even worse, it wasn’t even worth it. I should have stuck with the fried dough."
We sat and finished our hot chocolates. We laughed and reminisced about the past and talked seriously about the bakery. There was a lot of work that needed to be done and things to order.
Finally, my dad stood up and went to leave. He gave me a big hug, which I gladly returned. I was so grateful that he came over, and we talked. Even though, my relationship with Mathias was far from resolved, it felt good to finally talk to someone about it.
I had just closed the door when my cell phone dinged, indicating an email. I smiled when I saw the address. [email protected]
Heyyyy Girlfriend,
The folks and I are all settled in, and yours truly has been given a hero’s welcome. Everyone thinks I saved you guys, so play along ok?
I talked to my future husband, and he gave me your new digits and email. Sorry about that Serena chick. If I know you and I’m pretty freaking sure I do, you're blaming yourself.
Well, I’m here to tell you chica, get over it. Buck up. What’s done is done. You need to move on, and I’m not just talking about the new bakery...love the name, by the way, hello summer job!
I’m talking about recreating your life there. You can't. You have to at some point say goodbye to who you were an
d embrace who you need to be. You're not just Willa anymore. You’re Princess Willa.
Not for nothing but if I had the real deal title in front of my name, I would be using it all the time!
It’s not just a silly title; it’s who you are, and what you bring to it.
So bring it bitch!
I’m out. Have to go and take a good long snooze.
See you in a few months... ‘Go Willa, It’s your Birthday. We’re gonna party like it’s your Birthday’!
The Skye Trilogy: Isle of Skye, Isle of Night, and Isle of Dawn. * Bonus: Scrumptious Skye Confections Cookbook* Page 32