“If I had realized this was a celebration, I would have made something more than simple roast!”
“It’s perfect, Mom,” Duval said. “Especially since we’re all finally here.”
He may have hoped to include Aurora, but all he succeeded in doing was singling her out. All eyes turned toward her, and she saw the uneasiness behind each one. Nudging at her food, more than anything she wanted for the floor to open up and swallow her.
“Yes, quite.” Her father’s voice was guarded. “So good of your sister to join us—especially with so much good news to share.”
“My job is going well too, you know.” It was as if Kelly had spoken through her lips. More than just an edge of defiance rode on her breath and it seemed to hang in the air like a bad smell.
“Well, I’m sure being a junior investigator isn’t all that taxing. I expect the barest effort makes a difference.” As always, Thersites’s tone was just a hair warmer than pure dismissal.
“It’s more than the barest effort, thank you. He may have joined the Assembly, but don’t forget that Rhys worked for the Judiciary for free for two whole years before even getting a low-level job. I got it right out of OCU.” It was a fit of pique, but if she was going to regret the night, she might as well go full bore.
“That’s true,” Rhys said weakly, his gaze bouncing between his parents, no doubt wondering how far he could go to support her without incurring their disapproval.
“Pish.” Wisteria sniffed, waving a hand. “Rhys spent those two years working hard and learning how to become a real necromancer.”
Another shot straight to Aurora’s heart, like she’d somehow jumped the line and didn’t deserve her position. Sure she was a junior but she was barely out of school. What the hell did they expect of her?
Language.
But she was too angry to heed her good sense as she blurted out, “Despite what you may think, I have powers. I controlled a vampire without even trying. That’s got to count for something!”
If Aurora had expected them to be impressed, she was sorely mistaken. Her brothers dropped their gazes to their food while her parents exchanged a look. Finally, Wisteria broke the tense silence.
“Yes, we heard about that little fiasco,” she said calmly, setting her fork down gently, which could only mean she was angry. “Vampires are undead, Aurora, so no, it doesn’t count for anything. Other than being a bad friend. You really should apologize to the poor fellow, you know.”
As gentle as the tone was, it caught Aurora hard in the throat. Even though Wisteria made an excellent point—Aurora was still trying to figure out a way to make it up to Nathan—her mother’s scolding shut her down, just as it was meant to do. She stared at her plate as if her gaze might split it in half and swallowed nothing but her voice until she was finally able to go home.
Five
Eager feet carried Aurora away from her parents’ house and through the center of Othercross on her way back to Hollow House. Her silence for the rest of the meal had been profound in her ears but seemed completely lost on the rest of her family. Her obstinance had only served to make her feel more at odds with the world.
However Duval had managed to hector her into going, her presence had been superfluous to the point of agony. There was no question she loved her family, but Aurora vowed to herself that she wouldn’t darken that door again until she had something truly dazzling to share.
Whenever that might be.
Safely across her own threshold, she felt the house breathe a sigh of relief at her return. At least someone wanted her around, even if it was a creaky old building. All she wanted to do was sail up the stairs, yank the covers over her head, and count the seconds until she finally succumbed to sleep.
But other obligations tugged at her. The floor fairly vibrated under her feet with Nathan’s presence. She owed him an apology, just as her mother had said. To be fair, she’d already given him several, but he was clearly still pissed off. Obviously, more prostration was in order; now she just needed to find out how much.
Crossing through the kitchen, she pulled open the door and looked at the stairs petering down into the darkness. She’d only ever engaged with her vampire roommate in the common areas, so the prospect of violating his privacy felt very real. Still, maybe meeting him on his own turf was just what was required.
Gulping down a deep breath of the dank basement air to steady herself, she padded down the stairs and into his domain.
“Incoming,” she called softly but loudly enough to be heard.
“Oh. Hey.”
Ryan Glittermist was just coming out of a door when she caught sight of him. He looked surprised to have company. He couldn’t have been more surprised than her. Suddenly all those mysterious, knowing glances thrown around between him and Nathan cracked open to her.
“Um, hi,” she offered. “Hope I’m not intruding or anything?”
“Nope, your timing is perfect. I was just leaving.” He pulled one of his fabulous jackets over his shoulders, flapping his wings to get everything settled just right.
“Honey,” he called through the open door behind him, “put a cauldron lid over your junk or something. You’ve got company.”
“Oh, yeah?” Nathan’s voice was guarded.
Ryan gave Aurora a shrug, squeezed her arm, and headed for the foot of the stairs. A couple steps up, he turned to her.
“Hey, thanks for the show last night. I’ve never seen him cut loose like that. It was fun.”
“I’m still paying for it,” she groaned.
“Oh, whatever. He’s not as scary as all that. Plus, I’d say the debt has been paid.”
He waved his fingers at her and flitted up the stairs. Aurora stood for a moment in the dim of things and then looked at the door leading to Nathan’s inner sanctum.
“All right,” he called. “I’m decent. Which one of you is it?”
“One guess,” Aurora said, stepping into the doorway.
He lay sprawled back across his bed, the sheets pulled haphazardly across his waist. In another time, she might have been scandalized, but so little about him excited her in any genuine way. Sure, acres of well-sculpted man flesh was a sight to behold—if only she could work up any actual attraction to him. Not that mattered, obviously.
Nathan made no effort to move or even smile. The deep reserve in his face told her she was still on the very outskirts of his good graces; inasmuch as anyone ever entered that sacred realm. Beyond Ryan, that is.
“I just wanted to apologize again. I’m not exactly sure what happened.”
“You made me dance around like an idiot in front of half of Othercross. That’s what happened.”
“Yeah, um…” She shifted uneasily from foot to foot. “What I mean is, I don’t know how I did it. It wasn’t intentional. I swear. I’d really like to find a way to make it up to you.”
Nathan’s eyebrows shot up, suddenly interested in what she had to say. “Make it up to me? And what exactly do you propose?”
He had her there. Beyond an apology, she hadn’t really considered what she might do. Caught without an answer, she stood under his gaze until he huffed out a breath and sat up.