I crawled closer to him and sat between his knees, curling into a ball against his chest. The electricity in my hands fired again, and I held them in front of me as David watched.

“I can’t control it—it just happens.” And it scares the hell out me.

“Don’t be afraid, sweet girl—we’ll figure it out.”

You can hear me?

“Yes.” He kissed my hair. “Thank God.”

I looked up at him and grinned mischievously; “God, my dear husband, had nothing to do with what we just did.”

His eyes widened; he slowly turned his gaze from my hands to my eyes. “You heard that?”

“Course,” I said. ‘Why wouldn’t I?”

His answering silence, mixed with the look in his eye, said everything.

“Wait! That was a thought?”

He said nothing more. Just rested his chin on the curve of my shoulder, hugging me to his chest as we watched the sun sneak closer to the treetops.

Chapter 30

Leaning my elbow on the picnic basket, I smiled at the place where we once laid the rug out and spent our afternoon unsure what the other wanted. The flavour of grapes that scented my breath that day he refused to kiss me, when we were so young and I knew nothing of vampires, once again sat on my lips.

“Thoughts?” David said, rolling up from the shoulders to look at me, the sun forcing him to squint.

“I can’t believe I ever thought you didn’t love me.”

He flopped back down, his hands on his belly, his long legs extended out, crossed at the ankles. “I know. It was irritating, to more than just myself.”

I laughed. “Yeah, guess I drove everyone crazy, didn’t I?”

“You wouldn’t be the girl I love if you didn’t.”

I popped another grape in my mouth and looked away from the memory of my old life. Despite today being our last day together until after my coronation, I still liked this life better than my human one. “It kind of sucks,” I said.

“Vampires?”

“Ha-ha. No. The coronation.”

“I didn’t realise we were talking about the coronation.”

“We weren’t. I was thinking about it. I’m just used to you being a part of my thoughts, is all. I forget to tell you exactly what I was thinking.” I smiled.

“Yes. It’s certainly a new experience for me—to have no clue what you’re talking about.”

I shuffled over and sat by his hips. “Well, I was just thinking that it sucks, because my knight, who was really a king all along—” he looked up and smiled at me, “—won’t even be there for my coronation—the most important day of my vampire life.”

“I know. It hurts me, too, Ara. But I’m so proud of you.” He sat up, pulling the sleeves of his black shirt over his forearms, then took my hand. “I want nothing more than to be there when you finally make your oath.”

“Really? I didn’t think you really cared either way.”

“That’s because you don’t know how much this means to me; to be the one married to the queen.” His eyes sparkled with admiration. “Royalty is something which has always been of great importance, not only to myself as a human, but also to my vampire self. I’ve worked for a hundred years to protect and serve my king, and now, I will serve alongside the queen—for all time. I want to be there when you rise to power, Ara, but sometimes we have to accept things we can’t change.”

“So, what you’re saying is…” I looked at the sky. “Life sucks—get used to it.”

“I’m saying; life changes. We don’t always like the things we must endure, but being a part of the world means walking anyway, even when it would be easier to give up.”

As David’s eyes met mine and the warmth of the summer sun was stolen by the shimmer behind his smile, my heart fluttered. “You’re right. I don’t like it, but you’re right.”

He sat back against the rock, smiling, his eyes closed. “I’m always right.”

“Not always.”

His brow arched, his eyes staying shut. “Is that a challenge I hear in your voice, mon amour?”

“Frankly, I don’t think I have the energy to challenge you today.” I laid down, my arms under my head.

“You look exhausted.”

“I didn’t sleep last night.”

“I know.”

“How do you know?”

“Because I laid awake, too.”

“Why?”

He recrossed his ankles the other way. “Arthur.”

“What about him?” I rolled over and laid on my side to look at my husband.

“I don’t feel as though you took me seriously when I asked you to think before you act when around him.”

“I did, David. I know I didn’t make a point of confirming it, but, you know him better than anyone. If you tell me not to trust him, I won’t.”

“I’m not saying that, sweetheart. You can trust him, just be careful before you do.”

“Okay.” I frowned. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

The memory of Arthur, his letters, the things he told me about Jason, filled my mind for a while. David just sat with me, so good at remaining silent when I’d get lost on the train of thought. Part of me wondered if he was reading them, but when I looked at him and he smiled, watching me, I knew he was just letting me follow them myself, see where they’d take me. But the train didn’t go in the right direction this time; it stopped in front of a dark, windy platform, and pushed an uninvited passenger onto my lips in the form of a question.

“David?”

“Yes, my love?”

“I. Uh.” Hm, how to word this? “When Jason took me to the—um, when he was tying me to the chair.” I took a breath. “He told me that the skeleton—the baby—was your handy work. What did he mean by that?”

David sat taller, inhaling through his teeth. “So you know about that, huh?”

“No. I don’t know anything—because you never tell me anything.”

“And I’m not about to start.” He looked away.

“Hey! Don’t do that. I have a right to know if my husband is a baby killer.”

“Ara, please. I don’t want to talk about this.”