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Calliope looked at the invitation, up to her brother’s innocent smiling face, then back to the invitation.
“Oh hell no! You are not taking me to a vampire wedding!”
“Please, Cal,” Theo begged, pushing his bottom lip out in a bid to guilt her. “I need you there.”
Famous last words. Last time Theo needed her somewhere, a ghoul nearly took her eyebrows clean off her face and she missed three days of finals. Senior year was crunch time, and her criminal justice degree didn’t pay for itself!
It was like once Theo got bitten and solved the mystery of his mother’s killer, he was a changed man. Literally, he changed when he became a vampire, but these days he took risks like Apollo. Her brothers might as well have been the same. Except Theo usually had a plan attached to his terrible ideas.
Which made Calliope wonder…what was the catch?
She leaned back against the leather sofa. Her brother’s Nola apartment was nice, funded and furnished by dubious means, but hey, Cal didn’t ask questions about Theo’s monster life and he didn’t comment on the growing number of notches on her arrows. She had three arrows now, with more notches than both her brothers. A real Guild prodigy. Made Mom and Dad real proud. Until she told them monster hunting wasn’t all she wanted to do with her life. Hunting was a side gig. Freelancing paid the bills, let her rent her own shitty NYC apartment and pay tuition. What it didn’t do was land her on the family Christmas card.
“How the hell did you even get this invite?”
This wasn’t the kind of invitation that the Burns family received: gold gilt, fancy calligraphy, black tie. And the last names: Atwood-Fairmont and Davenport. Calliope may have left Savanna behind, but she knew the names of the vampires that forever changed her life.
“Technically, I’m half-Legacy so I’m invited to the ceremony...at Juliette’s request.”
Ah. There it was.
Cal got up and started to walk away. Theo could keep his bullshit and his vampire wedding invitation.
“Wait, wait, wait! It wasn’t just her.” Theo ran after Cal and grabbed her gently by the wrist, turning her back around. “Oliver is going too, and he wants me there with him. He thinks my being there will smooth things over with the family.”
It was no secret that Theo, Oliver, and that witch of his were in some kind of arrangement that involved sharing a single king sized bed. But hey, Cal was an open-minded girl; she was glad her brother had found some peace and happiness in his newfound immortal life.
Juliette Fairmont was a whole other story.
“I was under the impression Oliver and Elinor would rather tear each other’s throats out with their teeth than play happy family on what is supposed to be the happiest day of Elinor’s life.”
“They would. Normally. But they’ve been trying to, I don’t know, mend bridges?” Fat chance. Cal couldn’t help but roll her eyes. Theo didn’t fight it, and shrugged his shoulders. “Prison changed Elinor apparently.”
“Uh huh, sure. Bet.”
“You can come with me and see it for yourself.”
Elinor would be a changed woman when pigs flew and Hell froze over. More reason to ask why Theo would want Cal to attend this wedding at all? It wasn’t like she particularly cared for Elinor Fairmont. She didn’t give a flying fuck if she married this Davenport dude. Honestly he was kind of messed up for even thinking about tying his life to a former (?) serial killer.
But that was a stupid question. She had already answered it for herself.
The reason Theo wanted her at the wedding was none other than Juliette Fairmont.
“You’re really not gonna let this go, are you?”
“I’m really not.” Theo placed both hands on Cal’s shoulders and squeezed. He used to do the same things after hunts, when she had missed her chance to secure the kill and he would say, ‘Next time. Next time for sure’. Cal missed those days more than he knew, more than he could ever know. “Please baby sister?”
How could Cal say no to that?
…
Creatures of a feather flocked together. Wasn’t that how the saying went?
Turned out it wasn’t just Oliver and company who moved to Nola, but the whole Fairmont clan. They’d been living there for a while, hiding out in a new crop of Southern white conservatives, doing their best to blend in and be normal. Of course ‘normal’ to them was insinuating themselves in human politics and living in giant mansions like oil barons. The wedding was held at said giant mansion, and Cal had too much fun gaping at all the ridiculous decor (a sixteenth century tapestry of the creation of Eden? Too on the nose).
They were so out of touch, Cal had to laugh.
“How much money did she have to bribe this man to marry her?” she asked as they slid into their assigned pew near the back. Cal didn’t expect them to get good seats, but damn it was hard to see the arbor where the bride and groom would stand, surrounded by an arch of blooming red roses. Already, their scent hung sickly sweet in the air. None of the other three hundred guests seemed to mind.
“Not him, his family,” Theo said, taking the seat next to Cal. “Vampire men are pretty much useless. It’s the women who do all the wheeling and dealing. Elinor is still a very important player in the chess game called Legacy society, so any family would want to marry into her blood…Loretta Davenport just wanted a little extra incentive as an apology for Elinor’s bad behavior. And as a consolation prize for not getting to be Keeper.”
“Matriarchal and yet misogynistic. We love a double standard.”
As if Cal needed another reason to dislike vampires other than having to sit through their ridiculously fancy outdoor weddings in the middle of Louisiana summer.
Cal picked at an invisible thread on her navy blue jersey dress. She had wanted to wear black, but Theo reminded her that this was not a funeral, not even if all in attendance were technically dead. So navy it was. Now, Cal started to regret wearing something so dark, and so clingy. She was sweating buckets, and the wooden fans passed out as wedding favors did nothing to abate the heat.
Damn vampires and their inability to be affected by temperatures, Cal cursed under her breath.
“Relax,” came a voice from above that was male, but definitely not her brother’s. Cal looked up to see Oliver’s weasel face framed by stringy brown hair. He wore a suit, but it was rumpled. He jumped over her to take a seat next to Theo, talking to her the whole time. “You look beautiful.”
“Thanks.”
It came out flat and annoyed, which was the point. Oliver smiled tightly and pretended not to notice.
“You know who else looks beautiful today? My sister,” he continued casually, tossing one arm behind Theo’s chair and playing with the hair at the nape of his neck. Cal was about to reply that it was Elinor’s wedding day; of course she looked beautiful. Then, Oliver flashed that mischievous smile. “Juliette.”
If looks could kill, Oliver would be out stone cold.
“Hey now,” Theo said, putting himself further between the vampire and his sister. “You know she’s really not that bad, Cal. She helped me find the Legacy who killed my mother, and - “
“Yeah, I know. You’ve told me. Juliette Fairmont is a freaking saint amongst vamps,” Cal muttered, wishing she could sink further into her seat and die. She should not have come to this freaking wedding.
“And yet you’re still set on hating her. What happened…it was ten years ago. I don’t understand,” Theo said and shook his head. He’d grown his hair out longer, curls brushing against his forehead. “Especially because I know you’re still having dreams, Cal.”
Dreams. Ha! More like nightmares. Living nightmares where Calliope was still allowed to see, to touch, to kiss the girl who stole her heart and then crushed it swiftly underfoot. Nightmares that required increasing amounts of drugs to counteract with prescribed dosages that made even the most liberal of psychiatrists shudder.
Drugs, doctors, shrinks. East coast, west coast. Cal had seen them all. None of them could fix her.
The sad thing was, part of Cal still wanted the dreams. She still craved the connection, even when it made her sick, even when she hated herself for it.
I don’t hate her, sat on the tip of Cal’s tongue but she swallowed the words down, bitter as any poison.
“You don’t have to understand.”
Oliver snorted and rolled his eyes. “Don’t be so vamp-phobic.”
“Vamp-phobic? How can I be vamp-phobic when my brother is a vampire?” Cal snapped exasperated. The scowl on her face was deep enough to steer three different ushers out of her path. “Is that even a word? Vamp-phobic?”
“It is now.”
Would this ceremony start already? The sooner Elinor got married, the sooner she could blow this stand.
…
Vampire weddings were much different than human weddings.
There were still bridesmaids on the arms of groomsmen, a parade of beautiful people sauntering down the aisle one after another. The difference was the women wore white and the men wore black tuxes, pretty as swans and thrice as deadly. Cal didn’t know Elinor had so many friends after she pissed off the entire state of Georgia. They just kept coming until finally a single woman in white walked down the aisle.
This was not the bride wearing a gown of white silk, hair half up and spilling over one creamy shoulder, a bouquet of peonies in her hands.
This was Juliette Fairmont gliding down the aisle like an angel sent from above.
Or Calliope’s own personal demon come to claim her from below.
Juliette stood perfectly poised at the edge of the arbor. She had not caught sight of Calliope hidden in the crowd, and for that, Cal was grateful. It gave her time to process what she was feeling, seeing Juliette again in this way.
A small, selfish part of Cal hoped that if she would ever see Juliette Fairmont again, then she would be the one to get the dramatic moment. She, Calliope Burns, would get ballgowns and peonies and soft, swelling music to announce that she was about to crash the former love of her life’s perfect day. Instead, she was stuck in the crowd, unable to look away and helpless to do anything other than move with the crowd.
Her head turned against its will, and from around the corner the bride walked down the aisle - a vision in skin-tight crimson with her father and mother on each arm. Bright red lips curved into a half smile at the sight of her groom. The veil across her face was thin enough to see the scheming in those cruel eyes.
This was not a marriage of love, nor even a marriage of convenience. This was a marriage of power, and everyone seemed to know it.
Another difference was the ceremony itself.
Most mothers and fathers kissed their daughter and passed her off to the groom before returning to their seats. Instead, they walked right underneath the arbor and Margot Fairmont opened up an ornate book sitting on the altar. As soon as the book opened, everyone took their seats.
The ceremony had begun.
“Dear friends, family, esteemed guests. We are gathered here today to witness the union of two Legacy bloodlines. Through this union, Elinor Atwood Fairmont and Thomas Archibald Davenport will build a stronger, larger bloodline to carry future generations forward, ensuring the survival of not only the Atwood name, who can trace its roots to the Garden that birthed our mother, Lilith, but of the survival of our entire species.”
If anyone thought that was too much pressure to place on a literal sociopath and a toolbag with the middle name Archibald, no one spoke up. It didn’t seem to be the kind of wedding where anyone could object.
There were some passages read from the dusty old book, some vows exchanged, rings placed on fingers, more passages. An honest to God snake crawled its way out of Sebastian Fairmont’s mouth and spat out some venom into a cup that both Elinor and Tom had to drink, which apparently meant the marriage was blessed.
And then there was a hand fasting.
Red corded rope studded with gems and gold was wrapped around the left wrists of Elinor and her unfortunately-named groom. They exchanged some words that may or may not have been in Latin. And then, at the very end, they took each other’s wrists, bit down, and drank each other’s blood.
Some woman two rows up cooed. Someone cheered. Oliver faked gagging noises. There were honest to God sniffles from the rows behind.
Calliope was going to be sick.
When both vampires were done sucking each other’s blood, they got to suck each other’s faces. Which, honestly, Elinor looked much less enthusiastic about, but still put on a good show for the many generations of Legacies in the audience.
Margot smiled and raised her hands to the sky.
“With the Emerald Malkia’s blessing, I now pronounce you husband and wife. May you find bliss in eternal matrimony.”
Applause followed the bride and groom down the aisle as they walked away, joined in matrimony for ever and ever unless a snake said it was okay to get a divorce. Seemed a bit unfair for Tom, if Cal was being honest. The snake was Elinor’s father, and he was totally whipped for his psychotic daughter.
Rows upon rows of guests got up to follow the newlyweds into the enormous mansion. The reception would be on the estate grounds, but that wasn’t supposed to start for another hour. Until then, it was cocktail hour inside the lion’s den.
Oliver clapped Theo on the shoulder as he got up and ambled inside, his witch wrapped around his side (where the hell did she even come from??). Their relationship dynamics made no sense to Cal, but Theo didn’t seem to be too upset about being left to follow alongside his little sister.
“What now?” Cal asked, hoping the answer was leave.
“Now, we go mingle.”
…
Inside the opulent foyer of the Fairmont mansion, waiters milled around throngs of sophisticated vampires with glasses of blood and hors d’oeuvres: a collection of foods Cal had never had the money to eat like caviar and snow lobster and bites of rare filet mignon. These waiters were silently followed by women and men in polo shirts with badges of letters like A, AB, O
Blood types.
They offered their arms to any passing vampire, and if the vampire was interested, they took a bite.
Cal turned to Theo, horrified. “These people…they just walk around and let the vampires drink their blood?”
“Oh come on, they’re not slaves,” Oliver said, taking one in his arm and ruffling him by the hair. “They get paid. Handsomely. Tell them how much you love your job!”
The man stammered, caught between Oliver’s embrace and Cal’s wide, disgusted eyes.
“Oliver, go take a lap,” Theo said far more kindly than Cal would have, patting him on the lapel and steering him towards the bar. That might have been the most chaotic choice Theo could have made, but Cal didn’t care. Her brother’s choice in life partners was seriously coming under question.
“Am I the only one who thinks this is fucked up?” Cal asked. She felt like she was losing her mind. “How does the Guild not know about this?”
“Because these people are here of their own volition. It’s totally consensual.” Theo shrugged, as if this was no big deal and Cal was blowing things out of proportion. “And the Guild does know, they just can’t find out who and why because Legacy bites disappear, and the money is so good, no one talks.”
That made no sense. But there they were, offering themselves up to vampires like crazy people. Didn’t they know what Legacy bites could do? That they tied you to the one who bit you? That you’d see them over and over and over again in your dreams no matter how much time and pain separated you?
Who would want all that? Who would go in with eyes wide open and choose it every time?
“Listen, Cal. Relax,” Theo insisted, clearly worried but smart enough not to say it out loud. “You look tenser than when you took on that nest of manticores last summer.”
“How do you know about that?”
“Mom does talk to me, too, you know,” Theo said, aiming for a joke and missing by a mile. “You’re not the only Burns breaking the rules.”
Pain lanced through Calliope’s heart. It was hard enough losing Mom and Dad’s respect when she went part-time Guild. What Theo went through, losing Mom’s trust and Dad completely? That was a kind of soul-crushing pain Cal never wanted to experience.
Once the Guild found out what had happened to Theo, they insisted all contact be cut, and if he reached out again, to kill him on sight. Mom went through months of probation and interrogation for letting him go. When she was released, Dad served her divorce papers. She tore them up and burned them. Their relationship remained, but it was never the same. Maybe Theo was lucky in some way. He only got the best parts of them, not the mess that came after.
“I’m sorry, I just - Is that Apollo?”
Theo whipped his head around and let out a stream of profanities.
So, Cal wasn’t seeing things. That really was her other brother prowling through a room full of vampires with a look on his face like he was about to raise hell. He wasn’t even dressed to blend in: leather jacket and leather pants and probably leather tee shirt to complete the ‘bad boy’ look he’d tried so hard to cultivate after Theo ‘died’.
If he came here to hunt vampires, then shit was going to go sideways. Quick.
What the hell was Apollo thinking?
“Fuck,” Theo cursed. This was not a good sign. This was not a good sign at all. He turned to Cal, a glint of Guild hunter in his eye. “You go left, I go right?”
Cal nodded, and the two went off to hunt their brother.
She crept through the halls, down a corridor, interrupted a couple half way to removing their clothes (not that they cared about having an audience), and scoured three bathrooms. Nothing. Zilch. Nada.
Frustrated, Cal stalked into what apparently was the butler’s pantry and…another kitchen? Here, boxes of food were plated on long, stainless steel carts. A five-tiered cake sat on a stand with a scarily-detailed pair of bride and groom figurines on top, a serpent winding its way around the tiers until its mouth opened at the top. But the best part? That would be the boxes upon boxes of chilled blood just laying out in buckets of ice, waiting to be served.
Clearly, Apollo wasn’t there. But someone else was. Someone Cal backed into on her way out.
“Shit, sorry I - “
“Oh, I’m so sorry - “
That voice.
Both women stopped their apologizing as soon as they realized who they were talking to. Cal’s throat dried. All words died on her lips as she looked into the eyes of Juliette Fairmont for the first time in ten years.
Juliette stood and smoothed her dress. Thankfully none of the blood in her glass had gotten on her dress. It puddled on the ground, and Cal grabbed a napkin from one of the carts and dropped it on the spot so that it would not stain the hem of Juliette’s dress as she moved away.
“I-I didn’t expect to see you here,” Juliette said when she gathered her bearings. She looked spooked, like a deer caught in headlights, reminding Cal so much of the time when they were both young and dumb and Juliette would watch her from across yoga mats and English class and Cal would pretend not to notice.
“I didn’t plan on coming.” That was…harsh. Juliette actually flinched, which made Cal’s stomach sink like a stone in water. “I mean, Theo practically had to drag me here. He insisted on it, actually.”
“He’s done so well. I’m glad that he - I mean, that you both came.” Juliette’s eyes flickered from Cal’s to the ground to around the room and back again. She was trying not to stare, not to linger. Cal knew because she was trying not to do the same thing.
They stood in silence three feet apart from each other in the second kitchen pantry of this monstrous mansion, hundreds of miles away from the first kitchen pantry they ever found themselves in, and yet, the feeling was the exact same. The thrill of anticipation. The sinking, soaring feeling in Cal’s stomach. The wonder if maybe, just maybe, the girl across from her wanted to kiss her too.
“So, have you found a way to kill us yet?”
The rose-colored tinge in Cal’s vision faded.
“What?”
“Last time we…” Juliette shook her head, knocking loose a few strands of wispy brown hair. “You promised that you wouldn’t stop trying to find a way to kill Legacies.”
I know what I said, I just wish you didn’t.
“Well I haven’t,” Cal snapped and crossed her arms over chest. Until she realized how standoffish that looked, and how badly her words came out. “Found a way to kill you, that is,” she amended, arms hanging at her side. Awkward.
Truth be told, she hadn’t put much much thought into killing Legacies for a very long time. Once the initial shock of betrayal faded, there was no reason to. Now that Theo had found peace with his identity as a vampire, she wanted to thank Juliette for bringing her brother back to her.
But Cal couldn’t say that, now could she? Not when Juliette was flashing those puppy dog eyes, so eager to believe that Cal still hated her after all these years.
“That’s a shame.” Juliette’s lips curved into something sad and small, but also impossibly hopeful. “You’re so smart, Calliope. If anyone could have figured it out, it would have been you.”
Did…did Juliette want Cal to kill her? If Cal pulled a stake out right now and stabbed Juliette through the heart, would Juliette just take it? Would that make more sense than this strange, swelling intimacy that had both of them wondering what the hell they were doing?
A blood servant knocked on the door. Cal stepped back, then took three more steps for good measure.
“Miss Fairmont, the bride and groom are waiting for you to make the toast.”
“Of course,” Juliette replied, following the blood servant out into the hall. (It still freaked Cal out that people willingly let vampires feed off them, then kept quiet about it). Juliette stopped in the doorway and gave Cal one last, lingering look. “Enjoy the rest of the wedding.”
…
Cal was not enjoying the rest of the wedding.
The reception was hot and rowdy, Apollo disappeared (without dropping bodies thank God), she was getting eaten alive by mosquitos, and Theo insisted they take the table with direct line of sight to the bridal party. Aka a direct line of sight to Juliette.
Juliette wasn’t exactly the same as Cal remembered. Sure, she was petite and bubbly and a little socially awkward. But she wasn’t cute like she used to be. Cute implied that Juliette was childish, endearing in an innocent way. Juliette radiated innocence now, but in a way that implied she definitely knew how to use it. Her curves were fuller, her jawline sharper, her cheekbones more defined, her lips plumper.
Simply put, Juliette was a smoke show.
And people noticed.
Men and women flocked to her. Most of the vampires in the room hadn’t seen her since her consecration, and the baby Fairmont was a baby no more. Everyone wanted a piece of her. There were even whispers about marriage contracts.
It drove Cal up a wall. No matter where she turned, no matter who she spoke to (not that she wanted to speak to anyone other than Theo), the conversation turned to Juliette Fairmont. If Cal was Elinor, she would have thrown Juliette out. Or killed her, knowing Elinor’s MO. But Elinor was nowhere to be found, and so the younger Fairmont sister got twice the spotlight.
Juliette entertained her beloved fans from the bridal party’s table. There, a long line of suitors casually waited their turn to talk to the maid of honor and bask in the glow of her radiant smile.
Jokes on you, she’s gay, Cal wanted to scream to all the over-eager men ready to take a bite. But Juliette wasn’t acting very gay at the moment. In fact, she was eating up the attention, drinking it down like the blood in her cup.
When did you change, Juliette? Cal wondered. Did you become a monster when my back was turned?
Cal tried to look at away, to look at something, anything else, but someone - Akio Sugimoto, Theo supplied as he watched Cal’s grip tighten on her champagne flute - kept flirting with Juliette. Not that she understood it as flirting. No, Juliette was completely oblivious to the flowers and sly smiles and casual touches.
That vampire had his hand on Juliette’s arm, his fingers stroking down to her elbow, and Calliope lost it.
“Hold my drink.”
She shoved her shit into Theo’s awaiting arms and stormed through the crowd before that rich, handsome creep tried anything else. She pushed her way to the front of the line where she was greeted by a very surprised Juliette.
“Dance with me.”
Juliette looked at Cal’s hand like it might bite her.
“I should really see if - “
“Just dance with me, Juliette.”
All the men glared as Juliette took Cal’s hand and led her onto the dance floor. It was moderately populated; no one gave them much of a second look. When the music started, Cal let Juliette take the lead. Classical dances weren’t much her thing, and they had stumbled into a slow waltz.
Of course, at a vampire wedding everyone would insist on dances that no one in the modern world was alive to know.
The hand at the small of Cal’s back burned. Which was insane, because everything about Juliette was soft and cool and absolutely beautiful. There was no fire, no flames. Nothing devilish or evil or wrong about sharing this dance.
No, it was Cal who was the one bringing the heat. Desire sparked at every place they touched, every place Juliette’s hair brushed Cal’s skin or where their dresses tangled or knees knocked. That stupid perfume Juliette wore in high school and obviously still wore - the one that reminded Cal of waking up on set of Romeo and Juliet with Juliette tucked safely behind her - burned through her nose. That lip gloss - the pinkish tone that reminded Cal of spin the bottle and first kisses and stakes through the heart - gleamed in the low lamplight.
Everything about Juliette was familiar and perfect and maddening and right there.
And Juliette, damn Juliette, she noticed. She cocked her pretty little head to side because she was listening to Cal’s heartbeat and she knew what this was doing to her. And instead of being kind, instead of doing the right thing and walking away, she decided to be a monster. Juliette decided to lean in closer, to wrap the arm around Cal’s waist a little tighter.
Juliette stepped back, turned on her toes and spun, white dress billowing out like a cloud around her ankles. Like something out of a dream. And when she fell back into Cal’s arms, Cal could feel her heart skip a beat, could feel the warm puff of breath sweet from champagne on her cheek.
Dancing was a terrible idea. Why did she ask Juliette to dance?
The music slowed, and slowed, then stopped. Everyone applauded the orchestra and bowed to their partners, eager to try out someone or something new. Everyone except Juliette and Calliope, who were still wrapped up in each other, staring at each other like one move and their whole worlds would end.
Eventually they did have to move (They were attracting attention now. Two women dancing was one thing but two women embracing? That was where old traditionalist vampires drew the line). Juliette stood in front of Cal, biting down on her bottom lip, fidgeting with her hands, and damn if she didn’t look so kissable like that: flustered and confused and so very pink.
“Calliope, I think we should - “
Words were unimportant, not nearly as important as a kiss. Cal licked the gloss from Juliette’s lips, desperate to know if it tasted just like it had back in high school. And it did. Sweet like strawberries ripened with time.
Cal took Juliette by the waist - now it was her turn to burn - and pressed her against the wall, behind one of the extravagant flora arrangements where no one could see her devour the vampire whole. Where Cal could run her hands over Juliette’s body without fear of interruption or judgement.
The flames of desire fanned to an inferno the further Cal went. Her tongue traced along the seam of strawberry lips, and when Juliette relented with a tiny mewl, she pushed her way in and down. She devoured every last flavor of Juliette Fairmont and was still hungry for more.
Vampires didn’t need to breathe, but humans did. Cal pulled away with a gasp, chest heaving against Juliette’s. Her lips were bright red and swollen, her eyes glassed over and luminous. She swayed as she pulled Cal closer with a dopey smile.
“You don’t waste any time, huh?” Juliette joked, and Cal laughed through the kisses laid down Juliette’s throat. “W-we should -“
Cal grabbed the vampire by the wrist and pulled them into the house.
The Fairmont estate in New Orleans was just as, if not more confusingly enormous than the one in Savanna. There were too many rooms with too much ornamental furniture, meant for display and not living. Meaning there was no good place to lay Juliette Fairmont down and blow her mind.
They fumbled through the first floor, making out between hallways and coat closets and dining rooms. Juliette broke a priceless vase, pushing it to the floor and sitting her ass on a table just so she could have Cal between her legs. And fuck wasn’t that a beautiful sight: Juliette Fairmont, needy and desperate from a few heavy kisses.
Whatever they were before, it wasn’t this. Cal hadn’t had this with anyone who meant half as much as Juliette did. But she wanted it with Juliette. She wanted to make the legacy cry, whine and beg, and then she wanted to give her more.
If only they could find a damn room!
“This one, this one,” Juliette insisted, nipping at Cal’s lips as she pulled her towards the next door. It was hard to remember exactly which ones they’d tried already when there was a hundred and forty pounds of clingy vampire grinding against her.
Cal scrambled for the handle at Juliette’s back. She twisted the knob, pushed inside…
…and ran immediately into her brother. Her brother and the bride in the bathroom. Together.
“What the hell - “
Cal and Juliette jumped apart, then back into the hallway where they saw the damning evidence of adultery.
Apollo scrambled to get away from Elinor, but she wouldn’t let go. Her claws were sunk into the meat of his arm, lipstick smeared up the side of his throat, leather pants around his ankles. She glared at both Juliette and Cal with the intensity of a thousand burning suns.
“Get your own room, sweet little.”
Elinor slammed the bathroom door in their faces. There was nothing else to do other than laugh at the sheer absurdity of it all. Cal and Juliette, Theo and Oliver, Apollo and Elinor…both of their families were so intertwined, it was insanity to call themselves enemies.
“Poor Tom,” Cal said as she shook her head, wiping the corners of her eyes. Theo owed her ten bucks. “They won’t last the year.”
“Definitely not,” Juliette giggled, brushing her nose against Cal’s. “Ours will last much longer.”
Something sweet and hopeful swelled in Cal’s chest.
“Oh will it?”
Juliette giggled and nodded again. So shy, so coquettish. Even after a decade, Juliette never lost the innocence of the girl who scooped a bee off Cal’s shoulder.
“What makes you think I’d say yes to you, vampire?”
Juliette placed her hand over Cal’s stuttering heart. Thick lashes fluttered over those rosy cheeks as Juliette smiled, white teeth gleaming.
“You will.”
…
Theo watched his sister kiss Juliette Fairmont from the balcony above, heard them exchange the vampire equivalent of a proposal. He smiled and sipped on a glass of blood. His work here was done.
As he turned away, a heavy arm fell across his shoulder.
“What’s this? Playing matchmaker I see.” Oliver tutted as he took in the view and waved his finger back and forth. Theo hated when he did that; Oliver probably did it just to annoy him. “Someone’s been up to no good.”
“Nothing worse than whatever it was you did to Elinor,” he replied, grabbing that finger and putting it to his mouth, giving it a nip, then a kiss. “And don’t say nothing, because I won’t believe you.”
“Nothing.”
Another nip. Oliver laughed through a yelp and tried to pull his finger away, but Theo wouldn’t let him.
“You’re a menace,” Oliver complained.
“Learned from the best.”
“Oh stop it, both of you.”
Carmen came from out of nowhere and draped herself over her boys. She cocked her head to the side and watched the vampire and the vampire hunter smile at each other, hold each other, kiss each other with sweet abandon. It made her ancient heart sing. She sighed. “Can’t you see? They’re in love.”