Page 13 of A Vampire's Pain
“Gabriel never involves Dominic in his games,” she said. “And certainly not me.”
I looked at her confused.
“You think he did it to be … nice?” I asked, hoping she would say yes.
She shrugged though and didn’t really confirm it or not. I couldn’t help but search the crowd, looking for that handsome hybrid. I found him further away, talking to the king, and not looking at us, yet I couldn’t stop looking at him. He was very intriguing, and it had my heart beating strangely fast, just from looking at him. He was not at all as I had imagined, but then again, what had I imagined him to be like? I had never thought much about the hybrids. I just knew my brother worked closely with them, yet he didn’t put the same trust in every one of them.
“Do you like him?”
“What?” I asked and looked at the queen, who must have seen the way I was watching Gabriel from afar.
“You’re staring at him.”
“I …”
“It’s fine if you like him. There is more to him than meets the eye, but just don’t get your hopes up. Gabriel never stays interested for long,” she said.
I sighed, already knowing this, and looked at the ground in front of me.
“Doesn’t mean there aren’t plenty of fish in the sea.”
I chuckled a little and then shook my head, pushing that feeling of disappointment away.
“I came to meet you. Not someone else,” I said.
“And I feel very honored, but I don’t really understand why I have caught your interest,” she said.
“You just … you impress me. You fought back against the council. You told everyone you didn’t care what they thought of you and that you would not let anyone separate you from the one you wanted to be with.”
Her cheeks grew a little redder, and it was clear I was making her feel a little embarrassed.
“Sorry, if I am making you uncomfortable,” I said.
She shook her head.
“No! Not at all, it’s just … not that simple.”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“Well, I didn’t manage to fight back the council on my own. Really in the beginning I wanted to be far away from Dominic. I only wanted to concern myself with … well, myself. I didn’t want to be brought into this fight. I just wanted everyone to leave me alone, so I could finally live the life I wanted to live.”
“What changed?” I asked.
She smiled and turned her eyes to Dominic and Gabriel further away. The third hybrid had joined them now, but he was standing quietly by their side.
“They changed me,” she said and looked at me.
I looked back at her but was a little confused.
“They?” I asked. “Not just the king.”
She shook her head.
“Gabriel became my first real friend,” she said. “And Ace … well, Ace saved my life.”
I looked at her shocked.
“Dominic might have given me a reason to fight, but they all gave me a home. A family. Something I had not had in a very long time and what I had forgotten what felt like. They are the reason I am where I am today, and I am so grateful for it,” she told me.
