“Many. I think you would like her, actually.” He strokes his beard thoughtfully. “Crimson and I are planning a strategic conference with some of the other vampire and magical leaders in the region. You should come with us.”
Suddenly, the world feels so much bigger. But do I fit into it? As soon as the excitement fills my chest, it’s tinged with that somber feeling from before.
“Perhaps, if Crimson would like me to come,” I reply. I can’t help thinking about what she said last night, about not wanting my help. Is it too much, too fast?
“You don’t need her permission to do everything,” the other vampire replies. He scans my face and seems to read my mood accurately. I wonder how old he is. He doesn’t seem quite like the other vampires. There’s something more measured about him, something gentler.
“I’m happy to serve her,” I answer, putting the book back on the shelf.
“She’s lucky to have you,” Murad answers. “You seem like a bright young woman.”
I smile at him, but the smile is tight, and I’m not able to meet his eye. I’m not good at accepting compliments, and Crimson’s wordskeep ringing in my head.
The other vampire takes my chin gently in his hand, raising my gaze to meet his. “What’s troubling you, Paige?”
Discomfort rises inside me. I’ve never had someone ask me about my feelings so bluntly. He watches me patiently as I collect my words. One nice thing about vampires is they don’t ever rush you.
“I…I like Crimson a lot,” I confess. “And I know it’s only been a few months, but we’ve gotten so close already. Everything seemed like it was going so well, but now…it feels like she’s pushing me away.”
“Ah,” Murad sighs, and crosses to a nearby couch. He pats the seat beside him, and I sit down. I thought I would feel awkward and vulnerable after sharing with him, but he looks thoughtful about what I’ve said. I appreciate that he takes me seriously, even though I must seem so young and naive compared to him. He leans closer to me. “Crimson…she’s a complicated vampire. Most of us are. The world is very different now than how it used to be, and the magical world even more so.” He pauses, as though considering what to share. “Crimson’s Creator was a villain, plain and simple. He was devious, cunning, and could be quite cruel, at times. He forced Crimson and his other progeny to do things that were very…damaging.”
“What sorts of things?” I whisper. I hate the idea of anyone hurting Crimson, but I want to know.
Murad shakes his head. “The details aren’t important. But you should know that she’s had a difficult existence. It doesn’t excuse her from her actions, but perhaps it will help you to understand her better.”
“Thank you for telling me,” I answer, genuinely. “I’m still so new to all of this…”
“You’re doing very well. And…” he pauses again, running his hand slowly across his beard, as though he’s trying to decide whether to share something with me. “There’s something else you should know about Roslyn Night.”
There’s a dark note in his voice that makes my chest tighten. I lean forward nervously.
“It’s not something you should heed too seriously,” he says with a frown. “But it may be impacting your relationship, and so you have aright to know.”
“What is it?” I’m so curious I could burst.
The candlelight flickers gold in his dark brown eyes. “There’s a prophecy, foretold by the Artemis witches. That Roslyn Night will drink from a living human. A human she’ll fall in love with. A human who…will be her undoing.”
“‘Herundoing’?” I repeat, confused. “What does that mean?”
“Those are the exact words of the prophecy,” Murad sighs with a shrug. “You know how prophecies are…well, I suppose you don’t. But they tend to be…very malleable things, and they never turn out quite how you think they will. That’s why I wasn’t sure whether to tell you, but I think it’s important for you to know.”
I nod, trying to process this information. But I feel more confused now than ever.
“I don’t believe that Crimson takes the prophecy seriously,” Murad says. “And you shouldn’t either. But if she’s keeping you at arm’s length, it might be because she doesn’t want to be perceived as having a weakness.”
“I…would be her weakness?”
“As I said, I wouldn’t put much stock in prophecies,” Murad answers, cryptically.
My mind flies, trying to put everything together. Suddenly, it feels like too much. And everything I’ve been carrying starts to unravel.
“I don’t see how I could be her weakness,” I reply, a note of sadness in my voice. “The human in the prophecy…there’s no way it could be me. There’s nothing very special about me. I’m not even a nursing student yet. Before this, I worked in a coffeeshop. Crimson is a three-hundred-year-old vampire king, and I’m just…Paige.”
“Perhaps being ‘just Paige,’ is much more than you think it is.”
I shake my head. “I don’t know. She’s so strong, so powerful…what couldIpossibly offer to her?”
“There are many types of strength. You may possess a sort of strength that Crimson lacks,” he replies, giving me a pointed look.
