Blood & Lust [Book Two of The City of Eternity Series] [✔]

2.20: Affinity

The air in the room had become slightly harder to breathe.

There was this feeling of indignation that had swallowed everyone around me, each woman now swarmed with a tense rigidness. Violet had peered over her shoulder with frustration on her face, fixing her gaze on Tilda with an eyebrow raised. She was clearly less out of the loop than I was, the words Tilda had spoken not being a surprise to her.

The feeling was shared with the older woman at the sink who was currently gripping a plate in her hand tightly - the very edge of it - The image left me to imagine upon hearing Tilda's choice of words she'd been startled enough to almost drop it.

"Out," Elyria had said sharply, not turning to look at Tilda as the command was spoken only a moment after the error was made. The way she'd spoken to her was entirely different to the way she'd approached Dom; while just as glib, it had this scathing edge to it; a personal touch of disappointment. This hadn't helped settle the nerves that had bubbled up in my throat.

Tilda didn't hesitate, a flush appearing on her cheeks as she hurriedly took the cloak up in her arms and scampered from the room. The two women left in the room avoided looking at me; I couldn't tell if this was a desire to avoid the conversation or simply a hint it was not one I should desire to have.

Either way, I decided not to take any semblance of the hint, turning to look at Violet and taking a firm grip on her arm.

"Revolution?"

Violet didn't respond to the question, simply staring at the back of her grandmother with somewhat hopeful eyes; those purple orbs gleaming under the chandelier above us.

Elyria, who seemed to have been blindsided by the situation, ignored her granddaughter's silent pleas; but not completely. A slow, steady hand had risen from the sink and pointed towards the dusty blue door on the opposite end of the kitchen.

An action that had confused me but had not been lost on the middle child that sat by my side. With a disgruntled scoff, Violet had risen from her chair and ushered me to my feet and back out to the gloriously luscious courtyard that lay steps from their homes.

I didn't have the time or intuition to stop and demand answers from the dark-haired beauty. Even when she'd taken us into the depth of the greenery in the centre, and sat below the outrageously large tree in the middle the words seemed lost on me.

I'd stayed standing in front of her, arms crossed tightly over my chest, desperate to keep my resolution; I would not drop the topic until I had every answer she had to give. The slight smile on her lips told me she was perfectly aware of that too.

"The revolution huh..." She had mused, shuffling into the log she had perched herself on and leaning back to look up at the leaves, "I find it difficult to believe you aren't aware of the growing tensions..." She had said, a hidden giggle behind each word which quickly swallowed down when she'd seen the irritation crawl over my face, "Forgive me. The tensions that have already grown that are culminating in a war that could rival its predecessor. Which as you know, is the war that created Eternity in the first place."