“Thank you. This doesn’t… negate everything else. I’m not yours.” She paused, and her stomach grumbled again. “I mean it. Thank you.”
An irrational bolt of delight went through me at the fact that something I did made her happy.
Why did I care so much about what she thought?
Luna moved to the bed, and once she was sitting, I placed the tray beside her. She lifted the dome—carved of wood, instead of the silver she’d probably been used to in Ipotha—revealing a tray laden with a cup of dark berries, a platter of bacon, scrambled eggs, and fried potatoes.
Picking up the fork, Luna prodded the food carefully, as though she were looking for something. Her lips pursed as she speared a potato and lifted it to her nose, sniffing.
“Is there a problem with the food?” I asked after a moment. “I can send for something different. I know you were having bland food while you were sick, but I thought you might appreciate this more.”
She looked up, her cheeks coloring as she studied me. Seeing her flush made all my muscles tighten, and I decided I would do anything to make her do that again. Preferably during activities that required less clothing.
“It smells so good, and I just… I wasn’t aware that you… ate. Food, I mean. I know you eat… drink… blood.” The last word escaped Luna’s lips with a gasp and her hand came up to her neck, cupping it, as though I needed further proof of what she was talking about.
Raising a brow, I took the opportunity to sit on the mattress beside her, making sure to keep some space between us. She stiffened but didn’t pull away. I took that as leave to continue.
“You’re right.” I eyed her neck. “I don’t eat… food.”
We couldeat, of course. But all food fell on our tongues tasting like ash and it had no nutritional properties.
Gods, I was so hungry.
This seemingly never-ending night only exasperated my growing hunger. Thoughts of drinking from Luna had haunted me since the moment she first spilled it on the night of our Tethering.
Having her in my room for the past two weeks was causing all sorts of thoughts to run through my mind. The deer’s blood did nothing to appease my appetite. I had a feeling the ball tomorrow night would only make things worse.
“That’s what I thought.” Luna cleared her throat, rubbing her neck before gesturing to the plate of food. “So, how do you explain this?”
“The humans need to eat.” I lifted a shoulder. “So do the elves, werewolves, and various shifters that call Castle Sanguis their home. Mother employs a contingent of cooks to take care of them. The food you ate while you were ill was just the tip of the iceberg of what they can do.”
“I suppose that makes sense,” she murmured, still poking at the plate. At this rate, it was going to go cold before she ate it. “I wonder if Julieta—wait.”
The fork chinked as Luna put it down. “Is Julieta alright? Where is she staying? After the… scene earlier, she disappeared.”
“You mean after I accused you of trying to kill me?” I asked.
Luna’s eyes widened, and she nodded.
“Sorry again about that, by the way.” I sighed, running my hand over the Binding Mark on my wrist. “I’m sure Julieta is fine, but I’ll have someone check on her.”
“Thank you, Sebastian.” My name was soft on Luna’s lips, and something within me twinged.
She lifted the fork, placing the food on her tongue. The moment the spiced potato went into her mouth, her eyes widened. A soft moan left her, and the sound went straight through me. I shifted, wishing I had a cup of blood to take the edge off as I ran my tongue over the tip of my fangs.
Luna ate with vigor, and I watched her carefully, planning my words out in my head. When she was done, I took the tray and placed it near the door before returning to my seat on the bed and clearing my throat.
“How much do you know about vampires?” I asked.
Rubbing her neck again—I was definitely going to have to tell her to stop doing that, because it was gods-damned distracting—Luna raised a brow. “Not much? I did some reading, but I know what everyone in the Four Kingdoms knows about vampires.”
“Everyone? I wasn’t aware that knowledge of my kind was so well spread.”
In fact, I knew it wasn’t. Vampires were notoriously secretive. Most people didn’t realize half the abilities vampires had—and we wanted to keep it that way. That was one of the reasons I’d been surprised when Mother allied with Ipotha. She did not enjoy working with others.
“Well, mostly everyone.” Luna pursed her lips, and the action was even more distracting than the neck rubbing. “We will have to account for people who have less access to education than others, or ones like Marius who are too young to have full access to knowledge.”
This wasn’t the first time I had heard her speak of this “Marius”, and my interest peaked. I would have to ask her about him at another time.