Close Your Eyes, Remember Me (TBF Book 1)

Elijah

Elijah had read the same paragraph at least three times but it would not sink into his head, the words felt foreign in his mind. He could read in four languages but for some reason couldn't make sense of a few lines of text in English, his mind wandering every few seconds. Sariyah had gotten to him.

When Lucia had shown her obvious distaste for him at their first meeting he had made the decision to leave her be until they were married, then they could warm to each other without pressure - the vows would have already been made after all. But Sariyah was persistent in her view that he should 'try harder to win her over' and since traipsing the poor woman into his suite the day before he hadn't been able to hold back the wave of suspicion that perhaps she was right. He wasn't good with people. He put part of that down to his upbringing, having been born into this world as the heir to a multi-million pound dynasty, raised to one day take his place as the head of a clan built up of hundreds of blood-thirsty vampires, his parents were protective and would do anything to keep he and his sisters safe. But maybe... they may have taken it a little far. He knew there were those that gossiped about the fact that he and his siblings rarely left their home, but the truth was they hadn't been allowed out until they were full-grown adults, and by that point they had little interest n the outside world. Eden was absorbed in her art, Alyssa had gotten swept up in her research and Elijah... he was much more shy than he liked to admit. He simply continued to follow the rules he always had, spent his days trying to be a helpful and diligent son.

He didn't appreciate the attitude she'd shown so far but he also knew he hadn't made much of an effort to make her feel comfortable in her new home. As they say, every day is a new beginning and Elijah was ready to make an attempt... orchestrated by Sariyah.

As he had been ordered by his dear cousin, Elijah waited patiently in the drawing room, perched awkwardly on an armchair.

He heard the women before they arrived, and not just because of his super-hearing, the pair were chattering noisily as they approached, thankfully not about him as he didn't expect Lucia had anything nice to say on that matter. They entered side by side but Lucia froze halfway through the door at the sight of him, which didn't do wonders for the self-esteem.

"Oh, hello, Elijah!" Sariyah barked with far too much fake-surprise. "What are you doing here?" Her eyes were overly wide and her smile too bright. Lucia looked between them with a hard and suspicious glare.

"What are YOU doing?" She asked Sariyah. The older woman swiftly ignored her, nodding to him sternly for him to hit his cue.

"I was just waiting for Alyssa, we had plans but it seems she's busy so I suppose I'm not doing anything now."

"Great, you should come with us on our walk around the grounds! Right, Lucia?"

"You got stood up by your own sister?" Lucia raised a brow at him over Sariyah's head.

"I suppose?" He was answering Lucia but Sariyah took the confirmation as being for her.

"Wonderful, let's go!" She led the way without looking back.

~

Elijah looked over Lucia as she trotted along, he could tell she was making a point of not looking at him, but that was okay, he wanted to get a proper look at her uninterrupted anyway. If someone in a meeting were to ask about his betrothal, he should probably be able to describe his future wife. He began to tick off facts in his head as he gazed at her: tall for a woman, black curly hair, black eyes, toned build, lightly muscled, dark complexion... maybe he shouldn't use the word dark after what his mother had said... bronze-skinned? That sounded a bit better but he still probably wouldn't say it out loud.