Darkly Devoted (Book 1, 2, 3)

DD Chapter 17 - The Things You Find

Chapter 17

"HEY, LETHE," Ashlar called out from across the soccer field. "You want to play a game with us?"

"In a minute," Blake responded. His tone was cordial, even warm, but Vivienne recognized the thread of disdain underneath. He was far from comfortable here, on a high school field yard. Vivienne recalled the oppressive quiet of his corporate house, where the only sound was a single bird chirping from a mile away. Remin's loud, poorly-maintained soccer field could barely be called a sports field. The fences were practically choked with vines, weighed down by advancing shrubbery. As with much of Remin, the wilderness was always on the verge of reclaiming all traces of civilization.

"Come on," Ashlar begged as he appeared with a half-deflated ball under his muscular arm. "Let's see what you got."

"I think he has a boy-crush on you," Vivienne whispered as Ashlar continued to jog in circles around them. He only stopped to place a sloppy kiss on Zissa's immaculately made-up cheek. "Sad, isn't it? Demon slayers of Remin? They can't see that you are a demon even though you're standing here in front of them."

"Demon?" Blake chuckled. The sunlight adored the dimples on his cheeks when he smiled. He was a gorgeous monster in the moonlight, but now Vivenne saw that it was nothing compared to the sun. His hair looked as though it were woven by Helios himself. Here, he wasn't a vampire. He was a beautiful boy, one every other girl coveted as a boyfriend and every other boy wanted as a new best friend. What fools they were. This beauty was the product of Tercel, a boy who had all the gifts of the Nectar, of Black Waters. "How many times do I have to remind you, and I'm human?"

"You still haven't answered my question — what are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same," Blake muttered as his sharp green eyes drifted across the bleachers where a random splattering of Remin students were gathered for their gym period. He didn't need to saw a word. A slight twitch of his eyebrows above his annoyed eyes said everything.

Vivienne was suddenly embarrassed on behalf of her fellow students. They were sitting here in their disheveled clothes, lazing about, playing on their phones, feet up, barely a single alert eye among them. Blake didn't need to say a word. Vivienne suddenly felt as though she needed to defend her mission here to find Satan's Hollow.

"They're not so bad," Vivienne blurted out. "I like it here. It's better than Manna City, at least."

"But it's not Lewisville," Blake added, his eyes suddenly soft and empathetic as though he was trying to apologize. Vivienne wanted to reassure him that she didn't blame him for being the reason why she couldn't return to Lewisville. But she knew if she strongly insisted, she didn't miss Lewisville, those words would only ring hollow.

"It's not. I guess I won't be going to the school dance with Daniel as Allison wanted," Vivienne laughed. Her eyes drifted back to Zissa, who was staring intently at Ashlar. Her arms were crossed firmly over her chest as though she were guarding herself against his infectious joy. "Zissa isn't Allison, but I do have friends here."

"I could take you to the Autumn Dance," Blake offered.

"You're just trying to keep me from wandering into Satan's Hollow."

"There is that," he laughed. Vivienne stared at the ground. The way Blake immediately offered to take her to the dance was suddenly making her uneasy. What was he doing here? Was it really to save his company? Or was Blake here to show her he was more human than vampire?

Vivienne suddenly felt as though she needed space. What were his intentions in enrolling here and befriending her friends? He promised to take her to the dance, and knowing him, he would keep that promise.

But what happens when the dance was over?

What happens when the clock strikes midnight?

Would this dream turn into dust and glitter, to be blown away on the autumn wind?

Blake was here, but only for now. He was eventually going to leave and could return to Manna City. Like a ghost, fading into the morning mist, he came and went at will.

The things you find in Manna City should stay here in Manna City. Allison's words drifted back into Vivienne's mind.

"Lethe, you coming or are you putting on some panties and joining a sorority over there?" Ashlar yelled in a loud booming voice from his position patrolling the endzone. "

"What? The only sorority I see here is your team," Blake retorted to Vivienne's shock. He laughed softly at her reaction.

Maybe Vivienne's eyes were fooling her, but he almost seemed to be enjoying himself. The boy standing before her looked so different from the serious, tragic Prince from the Pearl Tower Masquerade that they might have been two different people. Yes, even Blake had a light and carefree side to him. Who would have thought? Blake dropped his bag by the bleachers and threw off his jacket.

The sunlight was gleaming from each strand of his gold hair. Viviene noticed that the lean muscles of his arms were even beginning to develop a tan. Blake reached over and grabbed her by the hand. She felt his thumb rub her palm while he held her hand as though he was trying to savor the sensation.

"I'm going to go. Save me a seat at lunch?"

Vivienne nodded. "Y-yeah." She bit her lip. How was she supposed to resist this? He wasn't a ghost, a fairy tale Prince, or an aloof CEO.

Here in Remin, he was an ordinary boy, a confidante, a sense of security, and — as surely hers as Ashlar was Zissa's.

Even as all those thoughts rushed through her mind and paralyzed her, Blake leaned over and placed a brief kiss on her lips. It lasted for the briefest of all seconds, but she nearly drowned under the weight of her emotions.

Don't. Fall. In. Love.

Not. With. Him.

Not. Again.

Vivienne's hand reflexively went to the cameo necklace around her neck as Blake joined Ashlar and his boys in the field. He was so heartbreakingly beautiful here, in the sunlight, that for a second she believed this moment could go on forever.