The Vampire's Bride

Chapter 25

Evelyn woke to Luca's arms wrapped around her waist, his face pressed into her hair. She sighed quietly. Why did he have to be a cuddler? She let her eyes move to the dead fire, the room now only lit by a single candle they had managed to find.

Evelyn closed her eyes again. After Adelaide had had them rushed back, she had thrown everything on the desk to the ground. The assassin had shattered anything she could get her hands on in anger.

Her fingers curled into gentle fists. Iris couldn't die. Not before she apologized for everything that had happened, not before she hugged her sister and swept her far away where they could both get by in peace. Evelyn figured she could tolerate Jason being there, or even Luca as well. If they came back with Iris' head, Evelyn swore to herself that she'd take Adelaide's in retribution.

"What are you thinking about?" Luca asked quietly, his breath hot against her neck. Evelyn raised an eyebrow in annoyance and shoved him away from her, sending him tumbling off the edge of the bed.

"How fucking unbearable you're making the bed with your furnace of a body," she snapped, hugging a pillow close to her chest.

"Sorry," Luca apologized, sitting back up next to her. Evelyn huffed and shook her head. "Are you worried about Iris?"

Her fingers clenched at the silk of the pillow uneasily. Iris was an excellent swordswoman in a fair fight, but against trained, ruthless demons, Evelyn wasn't so sure she'd be able to hold her own. Her stomach turned at knowing the demons wouldn't give her sister a quick death.

"You can admit that you're scared, Evelyn," Luca said quietly.

"If I admit it, then I will feel fear. Refusing to speak of it makes it easier to ignore," she lied, looking back at him. He leaned back against the pillows and stared at the canopy.

"What do you think-"

"Stop. Stop asking questions," Evelyn snapped, sitting up and glaring at him. "Just stop, Luca. You can't help me feel any better."

The prince pressed his lips together and sighed, closing his eyes once again.

"As you wish," he said.

Evelyn grimaced at the silence that now hung in the air between them, resigning herself to huddling against the pillow once again. She heard Luca give a quiet sigh of boredom and groaned, rolling over to look at him. She found him looking back at her and smiling slightly. The smile caught her off guard, sending her pressing into the pillows like a vampire cringing away from the bright light.

"I don't know what is going to happen to us," Evelyn admitted softly. "She's terrifyingly unpredictable. She could have us married or have us executed depending on her mood, and whether or not Iris is killed."

Luca developed a sick expression. He eased himself down onto the bed, lying across from her.

"Do you like dogs?" He asked her.

"Where in blazes did that question come from?" Evelyn asked, raising an eyebrow. Luca shrugged slightly in response.

"Just trying to get to know you. My father keeps hounds," he explained.

"I love dogs," she admitted after a few seconds of debating whether or not to tell him. "And cats, and birds."

Luca smiled at her, nodding.

"Now you ask me a question," he told the assassin.

"Um..." Evelyn murmured. She played with her fingers, searching for something personal to ask him. In all honestly, she wanted to embarrass him. She wanted to make him squirm and regret this game he was playing. She didn't want to get to know him. She didn't want to get attached to him. People like Luca died at the hands of people like Adelaide.