The Vampire And His Lady (Silver Hills #2)

Chapter 25

"You look like you've seen a ghost. What happened to your nap?" Persephone asked Thornwood, walking in carrying a bag filled with salt shakers and placing it next to him. The others had left to get supplies the moment after they'd broken into the shut cinema.

Ezaryth was convinced Screen A was the place where the portal resided. Thornwood found it ridiculous the thread between worlds lived in a cinema of all places.

Thornwood debated telling the girl about Diana's visit, but he decided to keep it private. If it was the last time he saw, he wanted it to be special, not something spread around by loose lips.

"It's hard to sleep with a task like ours lying ahead," he grumbled. "Is Genevieve any brighter?"

"If by brighter you mean shouting at shop assistants and telling me I'm useless, then I suppose she is. A lot brighter, in fact." Persephone curled up in the chair, dark hair falling in her face. "I already miss my baby."

"I miss her too," Thornwood admitted. "I missed her the whole time I was in Buxley. It all seemed so much more simple last summer when we all got along for a bit."

"Yeah..." Persephone looked off, a dreamy haze in her chestnut eyes. "Simples never for forever though. You have to fight for the things you love sometimes."

"When did you grow so wise?" He asked. She had always been wise though. Had drawn out the connection between him and Diana long before the others realised, and she'd had the wits to use it to her advantage as well.

She clicked her tongue. "Motherhood is transformative."

They sat in silence for a few minutes and, when the others still didn't come in with the rest of the stuff they needed, he told her, "I find myself thinking about you and the situation you were put in. You gave up a brilliant future for a life full of danger and a child you never asked for. Sometimes I feel sorry for the Persephone Smith who dreamed of college parties and frat boys."

She scoffed. "I never dreamed of either of those things. And it was an easy trade, really. Some people really don't want to be mothers, but I found that I did. I sacrificed prestige for love, and for some that would've been the wrong choice. I guess I just got lucky."

"You truly have no regrets. You don't think you could've done better?" Not that it was any of his business. He just felt like he wanted to make sure that Persephone- that his cousin- was content with her life. That happiness could be find amidst the storm they lived in.

She just tilted her head and looked at him curiously. "Perhaps I could've done better. But I also could've done worse."

At that moment Ezaryth and Genevieve burst through the door, their arms also filled with bags.

"Let's summon this guy and get out of here," Genevieve hissed, practically chucking her bags at Thornwood. He frowned at the mess of supplies in front of him- candles and chalk and lighters- and raised an eyebrow.

"What am I meant to do with all this?" He asked.

Ezaryth sauntered forward and grabbed a candle. With a click of his finger, he set the wick alight, a devious smile playing on his lips. "You, my friends," he said, "watch and learn."

~

Unfortunately, Thornwood had to sit next to Genevieve in the chalk summoning circle. They also had to hold hands, much to her disgust.

Persephone grasped his other hand, her fingers smooth and warm where Genevieve's were a hazard of pointed nails.

"I'll chant," Ezaryth told them. "You just concentrate on putting your energy forward."