The Vampire's Court

Chapter 60-Welcome to The Pack

Seraphine, still fuming from the argument with Dimitri, stormed into the kitchen with one goal in mind—food. Something to calm her racing thoughts and settle the fiery frustration boiling inside her. She scanned the shelves and countertops, her hands brushing through cabinets, but there was nothing in sight.

Her brows furrowed. "Is there seriously nothing in this kitchen?"

"Feeling peckish, are we?" A voice came from nowhere.

Seraphine jumped, spinning around quickly but seeing no one. "Who said that?"

"Up here."

She looked up, and there, standing on the ceiling as if gravity was merely a suggestion, was Andrei. His coat and shaggy dark brown hair hung toward the ground—or what should've been the ground—as he casually bit into an apple. His sharp eyes twinkled with amusement as he chewed, a smirk playing at the corner of his lips.

"Figured, since you know and all, I didn't have to make some kind of quick getaway," Andrei said through a mouthful of apple, still leaning comfortably against the ceiling as if it were a normal place to stand.

Seraphine stared at him, her annoyance briefly forgotten in her confusion. "How are you—"

Andrei strolled along the ceiling as if it were a perfectly reasonable thing to do, making his way to the archway before dropping down smoothly to the floor, landing with the grace of a cat. "Mikael's house has an enchantment," he explained casually, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. "It provides whatever the guests need so they don't bother the staff from their duties. Especially during the day, while they're sleeping"

He knocked on the archway three times, and almost immediately, fruits, cheeses, and pastries appeared on the kitchen island in the center of the room, materializing out of thin air. Seraphine blinked, slightly taken aback but far too tired to be surprised at this point. Everything in this world was strange, and she was beginning to just accept it. She walked over to the island and picked up a pastry, biting into it without a second thought.

The room fell quiet for a moment, the only sound being the crunch of the apple in Andrei's hand and Seraphine's deliberate chewing. The silence felt thick, as if Andrei was waiting for something.

Finally, he spoke up. "So, judging by the books I found in that garden... you didn't just find out about us, did you?"

Seraphine paused mid-bite, looking at him cautiously before shaking her head. "No. I've known since you three went to France the first time." She hesitated for a moment, a sheepish smile pulling at her lips. "I... um... kind of broke into Dimitri's room, then I found the portraits."

Andrei raised an eyebrow, his smirk widening into a full grin. "Broke into his room, huh? Ballsy." He took another bite of the apple, the mischievous glint in his eye growing. "Between you and me, I told him to get rid of those portraits. The man doesn't need reminders of how handsome he is hanging all over his room. I swear, I think he likes looking at himself a little too much."

Seraphine laughed, shaking her head as she popped a piece of cheese into her mouth. "I honestly wasn't expecting all the portraits of him. It was a little..."

"Ridiculous?" Andrei finished, grinning widely. "Oh, trust me, Gabriel and I roast him about it constantly. The man spends way too much time in front of the mirror."

Seraphine smiled at that, feeling her earlier frustration begin to ebb away. Andrei had a way of making everything feel lighter, even in the middle of all the chaos surrounding them. "Does he really?"

Andrei nodded, feigning seriousness as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Not as much as of late but, ten, twenty years ago? Absolutely. I mean, wouldn't you if you had cheekbones like his?"