Belle Morte Bites (Belle Morte 4.3)

Valentine's Day: Part One

Modern Day (set before Renie and Edmond's wedding)

I sat on the bed I shared with Edmond, excitement bubbling in my chest. Fifteen minutes ago, he'd told me to wait here while he went to get something, and I was getting antsy.

This was the first Valentine's Day that we'd properly share – the last one had been lost in the chaos of everything that had happened last year. But things had settled now. An improved version of the donor system had been put in place, vampires had full human rights under the law, Roux and I were becoming accustomed to our new lives as vampires, and Edmond had proposed to me at Christmas.

I glanced at my emerald engagement ring, and a rush of warmth filled my chest. It felt like a lifetime ago that I'd first come to Belle Morte, anxious and defensive and determined not to succumb to my attraction to Edmond Dantès.

Now I was going to marry him.

Who could've predicted that?

My vampire hearing picked up the sound of footsteps moving quietly outside the door, and I sat up a little straighter, waiting for Edmond to come back in. But he didn't.

Instead, a small red envelope slipped under the door.

My heart skipped a metaphorical beat.

Because vampires were so weird about modern technology, donor applications were still made using paper forms that had to be posted in. When a donor was accepted to a vampire house, they were sent a red envelope containing their acceptance letter. Last year, I'd received one.

The year before, June had.

It felt strange to see a red envelope now, even if it was a different shade of red.

I climbed off the bed and picked it up.

Inside, was a square of cream card, and written on it, in Edmond's neat, italic handwriting were the words, I have always imagined that Paradise will be a kind of a library.

It didn't sound like something Edmond would say, so I assumed it was a quote by some writer or philosopher that I'd probably never heard of. But what did it mean?

I peeked out into the hallway, but the north wing was quiet. Everyone was probably downstairs, helping set up the Valentine's Day charity dinner that Ysanne had organised. When she'd first announced it, I'd assumed that everyone in the house had to be involved, but Edmond had immediately told me that he had something else in mind.

For weeks, I'd tried to weasel some more information out of him, but he'd remained frustratingly tight-lipped. Now, with evening drawing in on our first Valentine's Day, I'd expected to finally find out what he was planning.

I looked back down at the square card in my hand.

Belle Morte's library was where Edmond and I had spent so much time together, back when I was a donor, when we were getting to know each other, and even though the dynamic of our relationship had shifted to a much more equal footing, the library was still one of our favourite rooms in the mansion.

Should I assume that Edmond wanted me to meet him in the library?

I pocketed the card and headed down the hallway.

The library was empty, and I frowned as I shut the door behind me. Where was Edmond?

I scanned the room again, in case I was just being really blind, but no. Crammed bookshelves and plush sofas surrounded me, but there was no sign of my fiancé.