Chapter 8

ROSE

I watched Eleanor play in the snow. It was dawn, and the sun had come up over the mountains to cast its orange glow across the valley.

I sat in the chapel, bundled in heavy clothing. My eyes were covered with a black transparent piece of Victorian lace. Even under all my clothes, I could feel the sun’s heat burning through my limbs.

Eleanor was even more bundled up than me. I was amazed she could move in all the clothes I’d wrapped her small body in. She jumped around in the snow, screaming and laughing with delight.

Six months ago, I’d discovered that if I kept her nocturnal, she had a high risk of getting rickets. Since then, I took her outside for dawn and dusk so she could get some vitamin D.

Unfortunately, she never seemed to understand why I refused to leave the cathedral and play with her.

She was starting to spend more and more time outside, staying out later, and she understood that I wouldn’t come and get her.

I watched her jump in the snow. She turned around to face the cathedral window and waved eagerly at me.

I smiled. I couldn’t help it. Her light brown skin looked so warm and healthy in the sunlight, and her wide, white grin and sparkling eyes only proved how happy she was to be outside in the sun.

She jumped up in the air and screamed with delight as the snow beneath her crunched. She leaned down to pick some up in her hands and tossed it above her head, then watched it fall back to earth.

Her thick dark brown curls were full of melting snow.

I checked the time on my small pocket watch. It was seven. The latest Eleanor had ever stayed up. She must be exhausted, yet she was still full of energy, enjoying the sun to the maximum.

She looked illuminated, dancing and squealing. It was something I could never enjoy with her.

My human daughter. I spent every second with her, protecting her. In the whole cathedral, I was the only one to ever speak to her, but I could never share the sun with her.

She faced me, grinning, then yawned. I smiled and waved her in.

Eleanor hesitated, then nodded and shuffled toward the two front doors of the cathedral. I skipped to open them for her, hiding behind the doors and letting the rough sunlight in.

Eleanor appeared. She turned to me as I closed the door behind her.

“Are you cold?” I asked her, leaning down and picking her up in my arms. Eleanor wrapped her legs around my waist and pressed her face into the neckline of my soft fur coat.

“Tired,” she whispered, yawning again. I smiled.

“I can see that.”

In two seconds, we were below ground in our family living room. Demetrius was sitting on one of the sofas, reading a small white book. I could hear my children sleeping in their rooms.

“It’s seven,” Demetrius growled at me as I pushed the large wooden door of Eleanor’s room open.

“You could have gone to sleep if you didn’t want to stay up so late,” I answered sweetly. Demetrius snorted.

I entered Eleanor’s room. Over the years, we’d added a large marble fireplace, floorboards, a door to her bathroom, which had been filled with a bathtub and a small toilet. Her wardrobe was full of old clothes.

I moved through her room and sat her down on the small dressing table Phoenix had bought in the 1800s but had never used.

I felt Demetrius move to the doorway of Eleanor’s room, watching me. I pulled off her thick boots and tossed them next to the blazing fire. Eleanor peered around my shoulder to stare at Demetrius.

They only ever stared at each other, neither showing any emotion.

I pulled her coat off, then her three sweaters and two long-sleeved shirts, then her undershirt.

I was going to pull her white nightgown over her head, but she turned to me and took the undershirt out of my hand gently.

“I can do it, Mother. Demetrius is waiting for you,” she said in a small voice. I turned to face Demetrius slowly, glaring. He shrugged, then jutted his chin toward our room.

“I’ll be right back to tuck you in,” I promised Eleanor, pressing my lips lightly against her forehead. She smiled and nodded. “Hurry up!” I grinned, then left the room, closing the door behind me.

Demetrius was waiting for me in our room. I frowned at him from the doorway.

“She’s getting smart,” he commented, flipping his shirt off. For a second, staring at his seductive bare chest, I couldn’t remember why I was pissed. I shook my head.

“Because she has a lot of time to think,” I replied. “You do realize you haven’t said one word to her all her life.”

“I’m pretty sure I can handle it for another fifteen years,” he replied. I hissed at him.

“I don’t like this part of you.”

“I’m not sure I’m enjoying this part of you!” Demetrius arched his brows, shifting his head toward Eleanor’s room.

“Ugh, Demetrius, I don’t want to have this argument today. I’m going to tuck her in, and when I come back, I want you to be asleep.”

Demetrius waggled his brows at me. I rolled my eyes back and left the room.

Eleanor was just pulling her small body up into her bed when I pushed the door open.

“Ah, you’re not in bed yet!” I gasped, rushing to her side and grabbing her. She giggled as I twirled her around then dropped her on her bed. She rolled up into a ball, still giggling.

I scooped her up again and stuffed her under the thick covers. She wrapped up in them, pressing her face into the warm pillow.

I kneeled next to her bed and kissed her forehead gently, trying to ignore the sweet scent of her blood. She stared at me with her wide green-blue eyes and smiled.

“Can I have a story today?” she asked, her face glowing with hope. I smiled and stroked my fingers down her warm cheek. She shivered slightly but kept grinning. I drew back and nodded.

“Where did I leave off?”

“King Henry had just met Anne Boleyn.”

I nodded, smiling. “Of course. Anne was a beautiful human. But she and I didn’t get along at all.”

I smiled. “She was small and dark, like you, and smart. I can remember when she first appeared in court, the king was mesmerized.”

I hadn’t gotten too far into the story when Eleanor’s breathing became calm and steady. I stood up slowly and added a few logs into her fireplace before leaving her room.

Demetrius had ignored my warning and was wide awake when I got back into our room. He watched with a smirk as I got changed and slipped into bed.

“Sleep,” I ordered as he wrapped his arm around my naked waist. He pressed his lips against the back of my neck and chuckled. “I’m serious. I’m pissed at you right now,” I warned him.

“Rose, I told you I wanted no part in this folly.”

“Eleanor is not folly; she’s my daughter, and you are my husband. And Demetrius, why won’t you speak with her? She loves you.”

He snorted. “How could she love me?”

“Because she’s innocent, and she doesn’t know how stupid it is to love you.”

He drew back slowly, then placed his hand on my shoulder and pulled me onto my back roughly. He leaned over, staring down at me. He looked hurt.

“Rose, I don’t love her. She is human.”

“So you’ve been saying for the last three years,” I sighed, squirming under his weight. He stayed put, leaning down on me until I couldn’t move at all.

“I don’t want her to love me. I don’t want her to love you!” he snarled.

“And how are you going to stop her, Demetrius?” I asked, scowling back at him.

He sighed, collapsing to one side and freeing me. I turned to face him, propping myself up on my elbow.

“Listen, I’m not asking you to love her. I know that for you, that seems impossible. But talk to her. Don’t you think you’ve had enough staring competitions already?”

“What should I say to her?” he asked, looking annoyed.

“Anything,” I said before thinking again. “Nice. Anything nice.”

He arched one brow. “Anything nice,” he echoed. “But I don’t want her talking to me.”

“Grow up, Demetrius. Why are you so afraid of liking her?”

“I’m not afraid.”

“You look afraid!”

He glared. “I don’t want to be her father. I don’t want her around my wife. I just don’t want her taking away what we’ve always had.”

“Aric and the twins never did. So why should she?”

“Because she’s human.”

“You’re jealous of her!” I exclaimed, slightly amused.

Demetrius blinked at me, then shrugged. “You spend so much time with her, I only ever get you at night, and you’re always exhausted.” He looked sad.

I blinked at him. I hadn’t been expecting his answer.

“Demetrius…” I paused and nuzzled my face into his shoulder. He wrapped one arm around my bare back and pressed me against his body.

“Maybe if you spent time with us,” I suggested in a small voice. Demetrius didn’t answer. He pressed his lips against my wrist and pulled away slowly.

“You should sleep. She’ll be up early tonight.” He rolled away from me. I stared at him as my heart tightened. Pressing my body against his, I closed my eyes, falling asleep immediately.