Blue Flames

Chapter 32

Amanda, Harvey, Mariano and Kat waited for us in Arthur's suit, a wing that Venus had graciously granted for Arthur's use. A spacious private apartment on the third floor with a couple of bedrooms, a sitting room and a sprawling terrace.

Conversation immediately ceased when Charles and I walked in. Sitting around the opulent sitting room, the immortals stared. Amanda rose and ushered me to the terrace, where she had breakfast laid out for me. A table was set with all kinds of savory and sweet foods. My stomach growled embarrassingly loud.

She closed the french doors behind her, leaving the men with Kat inside while she kept me company and made sure I ate as much as I could. She was quite the mother hen, as I had already known. But her attention was heartwarming.

"You have lost a great deal of blood, you know." she said, pushing back her hair. She was dressed in an airy, white blouse that kept slipping down one shoulder, jeans and, of course, a pair of high heels.

The early morning air felt wonderful on my skin. The sun had just risen and the world was waking up. The gardens below were perfectly green and trimmed, but what caught my attention was the amount of people walking around and going in and out of the woods a small distance away. The same woods where all the fun took place yesterday.

I wondered what would have happened if I hadn't decided to take a long stroll in the woods the night before. A disaster.

"We had some of our clothes brought here," Amanda chatted away, "Arthur is going to be quite busy today here, and he wants you close by since your identity has been revealed. You will be under threats and the object of gossip and unwanted curiosity in all of Europe, or dare I say the entire world. Word travels very fast, nowadays, you know."

"I can take care of myself," I said sullenly after swallowing a bite of a buttery and flaky croissant.

"Of course you can, dear," Amanda said, refilling my glass of juice, "no one doubts that. Although you somehow manage to get chunks of your flesh cut off each time. But you don't have to. Take care of yourself on your own, I mean. Not when there are people who are perfectly willing and eager to offer protection and guidance. You are not alone anymore."

I sighed, but accepted her affectionate scolding words. If there was anyone who could convince me of doing something I was not comfortable with, it would be Amanda.

I looked at the glass separating us from the others. They were discussing something, but their voices were not heard. The glass was hopefully sound proof.

"Amanda?"

"Yes, dear."

I bit my lip, hesitating. But there was no one better than her to answer my questions.

"How does the mating bond work?" I asked. Her eyes widened, a grin slowly splitting her face.

"Oh, dear. He is making a move, then, is he not!" she clasped her hands together, "oh, how lovely! Finally!"

"Amanda," I groaned. Was I the only one who didn't know about this?

"Oh, I'm sorry," she grinned, not looking sorry at all, "but I really am glad!"

She looked through the french doors. Harvey was looking her way with a puzzled smile. They shared a long look before he turned back to his own conversation and Amanda turned back to me.

"You and Harvey have a mating bond, right?"

"Yes, we do." She said, "we are lucky in that regard. Not all immortal partners share a mating bond, you know."

I leaned forward. This was new territory to me. Uncle Robert had never ventured anywhere near the subject, which was understandable considering I was only fourteen when he'd died. Though I didn't know if he would have ever broached the topic should he have lived.