Chapter 16

ROSE

Selene hadn’t changed, of course.

She, her husband Orion, and their son James were all dressed in modern clothes. I knew she hated modern clothes; she’d always preferred eighteenth-century fashion.

Orion hadn’t changed either. His hair was just as black, his skin dark brown, and his eyes black with a glint of red. He was eyeing Eleanor hungrily.

I moved to pick her up, taking care that she didn’t drop her new journal.

Now that she understood what we were, I knew she’d be afraid. I could tell by her wide green eyes that she was confused and frightened. I squeezed her.

James moved to see her. He’d changed. The last time I’d seen him was his four-hundredth birthday. He was fifty years older now.

He’d inherited his father’s dark skin and curly hair, but his eyes were light blue and his hair light brown. He grinned at Eleanor flashing his sharp teeth. I stepped back.

“Don’t worry. I won’t hurt my new cousin—pleasure, Eleanor. I’m James, but you can call me Jamie.” He held his hand out, his expression warm and friendly.

Eleanor glanced at Aric for a split second, then grinned and gripped James’s hand.

“Nice to meet you,” she chirped.

James looked overjoyed. Selene moved to place her hand on her son’s shoulder.

“Eleanor, I’m Selene, your mother’s big sister. This is my husband Orion, and you’ve met my son.” She smiled.

Eleanor looked a bit scared, but she smiled anyway.

“I’m Eleanor, and this is Aric and Eloise and the twins, their names are Phoenix and Venus. And Auntie Aleesha was here a little while ago. And Uncle Angus shouldn’t be very far. And Demetrius is just there.”

She pointed around the room. Selene burst out laughing. She faced me.

“She’s brilliant. I see you in her baby sister.”

I smiled back. “I know.”

“Why don’t you come sit down?” Demetrius suggested, flanking me and pointing at the table.

Selene, Orion, and James sat down rapidly. We crowded around the table. I sat next to my sister, setting Eleanor on my lap.

“I’m afraid we have a few ground rules here,” I announced, gazing at Selene.

She met my eyes with a smile. “Oh?”

“We’re on a diet. Because of the press, we’re going slow. I’m afraid we only have baggies,” I continued.

Orion frowned, but Selene and James just seemed worried.

“Because of the press. You not planning on moving for a few decades?” Selene suggested.

“We haven’t decided anything yet. We were planning on staying here until the twins turned four hundred,” I replied.

“That’s understandable. I guess you wanted to raise Eleanor here too,” she glanced down at Eleanor, who was fidgeting.

“Yes,” I answered curtly.

“So, how did you get her?” Orion asked from across the table. His eyes fixed on Eleanor. He smiled at her.

She shrank back. She was afraid. I cleared my throat, and his dark, glittery eyes met mine.

“I found her,” I told him. “Her parents were dead.”

Eleanor gripped my dress, creasing it, but I didn’t mind. I held her closer, pressing my lips against the top of her head.

“Interesting. And why didn’t you kill her?” Orion continued. Eleanor whimpered. I glared.

“Orion!” Selene scolded him. She scooted in her chair so she could lean over Eleanor.

“I apologize, child, for frightening you. We’ve all been very rude, barging in and scaring you. Of course, we just wanted to meet you. I’m very sorry,” she stroked her dark curls.

Eleanor hesitated, then smiled. “It’s okay,” she replied meekly.

Aric cleared his throat and stood up. “Excuse me, but I think it’s time Eleanor had something to eat.” He eyed me slowly. “I’ll get her something. Mother?”

He leaned over; his arms outstretched. I handed him Eleanor gratefully. She gripped herself to his chest, curling her small fingers in his shirt.

“I’ll see you soon,” I promised. I had hoped to be able to speak to Eleanor about being a pureblood vampire, but it would have to wait.

Eleanor nodded. “See you!” She waved as Aric carried her out of the room. I heard her telling him how scary Orion had been.

I turned back to the table where Orion was smiling at me.

“Thank you for frightening my daughter,” I hissed at him.

“You’re welcome,” he purred back.

“Okay, enough.” Selene cracked her knuckles. She faced me, slowly scowling.

“I have a few bones to pick with you, little sis. But to start with”—her head whipped back to Orion—“stop scaring the child! We didn’t come here to eat her!” she hissed.

Orion leaned back in his chair, lowering his eyes slightly. I noticed James grinning, and he winked at Eloise. She blinked at him for a few seconds, then raised her brows critically.

“Why did you come here then?” Demetrius asked coolly.

Selene eyed him with a small smile. She flipped her glossy blond hair back and beamed.

“Curiosity,” she answered. “I ran into Lady Mcnoxnoctis a few years ago. She mentioned you adopting a human child. I had to see her for myself.”

I leaned back in my chair. The twins were staring at James with wide admiring eyes. I flicked my finger. They felt the movement and quickly turned away.

James was a lovely-looking boy, but not good enough for my daughters. I noticed him staring at me with an annoyed expression.

“So now you’ve met her. What do you think?” I asked my sister, truly curious to see what her opinion would be. When we were younger, she’d always be backing me up in my delirious adventures.

Selene glanced around the table and smiled. “She’s pretty, for a human. Beautiful even. Interesting eyes, great potential, I’d say. Great smelling blood too.”

She looked at me, her eyes widening. “She smells ~really~ good, Rose. Even if she wasn’t living with vampires, she would be a target.”

I ran my fingers through my hair, annoyed.

“Rose will protect her,” Demetrius said.

“I’m sure,” Selene replied immediately, and her hand fluttered toward me. She patted my shoulder for a few seconds then drew back.

“Rose, you’re a wonderful mother, I’m sure all your children will back me up on this, and I’m sure Eleanor loves you. I mean, she knows, right?”

“Aric told her today, which was why she got so frightened. She’s not used to being considered food,” I answered coldly, casting a glance at Orion. He looked away.

“I see. Rose, I’m not worried about Eleanor, she seems great, she’s friendly and looks like a lot of fun. She’s reminded me of you when you were one hundred. Exactly like you.”

I smiled slightly. “I hope that’s a good thing.”

“It’s a wonderful thing!” Selene beamed. “But it’s also a bit dangerous. You had a few close calls. She’s not as strong as you are. But I’m not worried about her. Rose, what will this do to you when she dies?”

There was a long silence in the room. I could hear Aric and Eleanor downstairs. I could hear Eleanor’s pencil and Aric’s breathing. I could tell how his head was turned, that he was listening.

I had always tried to deny the fact that I would lose Eleanor one day. I had never thought about it, always just skimmed the surface.

“I don’t know,” I answered honestly.

“Then find out. Because I don’t want this happening again.” Selene’s voice was hard, her expression cold.

“You should hear what purebloods are saying about you. They’re never going to forget this, Rose. So be sure of yourself!”

“I’m sure, Selene. I love her, like my own. I’m her mother, and if I leave her, she will die. I want her to have a long, happy life. I don’t care the consequences that will have on my life.”

Selene smiled slightly. “Always so stubborn.”

“She’ll never change.” Demetrius smiled at me encouragingly.

“Why don’t we change the subject?” Eloise demanded, flipping her thick curls back and leaning over the table, flashing James her low neckline.

Selene frowned and glanced at me. “~She’s not mine,~” I mouthed. Selene smiled.

“Exactly, Mother, there’s another reason we’re here!” James encouraged. His eyes never left Eloise’s chest.

Selene cleared her throat, and his gaze moved up. She frowned at him. Orion just looked amused.

“Another reason?” I prodded.

“Yes, well, we’ve just bought a house in France.”

“A castle, actually,” Orion corrected.

Selene nodded in agreement. “It’s really big, and it’s usually open for tourists, but I know how dangerous that would be. The agent said we’d need to fill the rooms to stop the tourists.

“Rose, we haven’t lived under the same roof since you ran away with Demetrius. How would you like to live in France again?”

I glanced at Demetrius. He shrugged one shoulder.

“I guess we’ll have to discuss it a little. But it would indeed be good for Fairbanks,” I replied.

“Where is it?”

“In Poitiers. Well, near Poitiers,” Selene answered, nodding, “It’s a lovely place.”

“French people taste like wine!” Venus exclaimed, taking on a very strong French accent.

“And they call you ~poupée~!” Phoenix added in the same accent.

“Maybe you shouldn’t bring the twins. They’ll get drunk drinking all that wine in the frogs’ veins!” Eloise cried. The three girls collapsed into giggles. I smiled at them.

“Frog twins!” Eloise hollered, snickering.

“I think that’ll do,” I said, giving the girls smiles. They all quieted down grinning. “It’ll be great to live with you guys—more exciting at least!”

James winked.

“It would. We still must discuss it, though. See what Aric wants to do, and Eleanor.” I glanced around the table. Everyone had quieted down. They all looked very serious.

“Eleanor will be coming too, remember. Are you prepared to live with a human?”

“We’ve decided to stay here for a few days to test it. Then we’ll go back to Indonesia and pack. We should be moving into the castle in a few months.”

“You don’t want to live there and have tourists coming in during the day, do you?”

“I don’t like people I don’t know in my house,” she replied curtly.

“I know.”

“We’ll give you an answer before you leave,” Demetrius promised.

“Good, now, I’m thirsty. How about some caribou?” Orion suggested standing up and placing his big hands on the table.

“Limit yourself to caribou,” I warned him.

“Don’t worry,” he winked at me as Eloise, James, and the twins all stood up to join him.

“Good hunting,” Selene called. We watched them marching across the floor, James already placing himself between the twins. Selene sighed.

“Hey, can I go?” Aric appeared at the top of the staircase carrying Eleanor.

“Yeah.” I smiled, holding my arms out. Eleanor was wide awake, staring at Selene.

“Thanks.” Aric smiled at Eleanor before rushing off to join the others. I stood up, cradling Eleanor in my arms.

“Did Aric get you something to eat?”

“He got me a muffin,” she beamed.

“Chocolate?”

“Yup,” she giggled. I noticed Selene smiled. She met my gaze and winked.

“I’m going to go and find Angus and Aleesha. I’ll be back before morning,” Demetrius told us, disappearing out the large cathedral doors.

“You have a good life here, baby Sister,” Selene commented, looking around the cathedral.

“I have a great life! Most of it happens downstairs. You’ve been here before?” I led her to the staircase.

“Once, when you got married here. But I never went inside. Remember, you and Demetrius locked us all out to have your honeymoon in peace. We had to race for shelter.”

I giggled. “Good times.”

“Hmm,” she agreed as we descended.

I led her to our family room. Eleanor’s drawing pad was open. Next to her new journal, glue, scissors, and pencils were scattered around the coffee table.

She squirmed out of my arms, jumping to the floor and rushing over. Selene and I sat on the couch. Eleanor kneeled in front of us, already busy drawing.

“Do we have an artist?” Selene asked, leaning over to see Eleanor’s art.

Eleanor leaned away, showing us her drawing of Aleesha, modified slightly with sharper teeth and more blood. Selene arched her brow at me.

“Eleanor’s been drawing everything she sees since she was one. Haven’t you, darling?”

“Uh-huh,” Eleanor agreed, bending over her drawing again.

“Is that Aleesha?”

“Yes, we had an incident a few days ago. Unfortunately, we now have a lot of scary Aleesha drawings.”

Eleanor giggled.

“It’s well done, though. Can I see some others?” Selene persisted. Eleanor handed Selene her drawing pad.

Selene flipped it open, and her eyes widened as she stared at the drawings of fairies, mermaids, horses, and members of the family.

“Hey, this one’s great!” Selene held it up for me to see.

It was a copy of one of the paintings in the stable, Demetrius’s favorite. She’d done it for him. It had me and the children just after the twins were born.

I had been close to death. The twins had almost drained me, almost killed me. Pureblood twins had never been heard of before. No one thought it was possible.

We proved them wrong, but I almost died. The picture showed how weak I was but also so happy. I didn’t like the painting much, but Demetrius was crazy about it.

“I remember that time,” she added in a quieter voice.

“How old is James?” Eleanor asked, suddenly staring at Selene with wide eyes.

“Four hundred and ninety-eight, almost five hundred.” She smiled.

“Wow.”

“Yeah.” Selene smiled. Eleanor beamed back at her. “How old are you?”

“Five.” Eleanor held her hand up to show Selene her five fingers.

“Cool. Five is a great age. I remember when I was five. But I was a lot smaller than you!” She giggled to herself.

“Can you remember Mother when she was five?”

“Of course! Noisy, nosy creature! She was always getting into my business!”

I grinned at her. Eleanor turned around completely. She leaned against Selene’s knee. I could tell she was intrigued.

“Mother says she was a good kid,” Eleanor told Selene.

Selene burst out laughing, and she shook her head at me.

“I was!” I defended myself.

“Oh yes, when our parents’ backs were turned. Your Mother was always getting into trouble because she was always getting dirty.”

“Everything was dirty when we were born,” I reminded her.

“Not our family. We’re always clean, except for you. Your mother had a habit of falling into the mud.”

“I wouldn’t say falling. I have a very good balance,” I smiled.

“Jumping then,” Selene smirked. I rolled my eyes at her. Eleanor laughed, pushing her curls behind her ears.

“Tell me more about Mother!” she insisted, poking Selene’s knee. Selene blinked at her a nodded.

“Sure.” She glanced at me. “She’s wonderful!” she told me, so low Eleanor couldn’t hear.

“Don’t be so surprised.” I arched my brows at her. Selene nodded in agreement then turned back at Eleanor.