Page 47 of When Night Falls
“Excuse me?” I ask for her attention before she can leave.
"Natasha," she tells me, allowing me the courtesy of knowing her name.
“Natasha,” I smile gently at her. “Can you tell me, have I done something wrong to upset Rivian?”
“Oh, the prince?” She steps up to me in the way that friends tell secrets to each other. “Between you and me, he is a bit of a hothead. His temperament deceives him just as your mindless thoughts of loneliness betray you.”
Her knowledge of my internal revile shouldn’t shock me. She must be a vampire after all.
I don’t respond to her words, I simply smile as she bows her head at me and walks off down the hall.
That's when I see the bodyguard from earlier—the same one from outside the Gilded Hollow and the one who let me into the castle earlier—standing across the hallway. I believe I heard Rivian call him Kacian.
"You gonna stand around and what . . . watch me?" I ask him with a bit more sass than I should, considering he's been nothing but kind to me both times we've met. But my irritation with the situation grows unnervingly. Rivian should be here to get me settled in. What were all his efforts for if he was just going to leave me alone.
I'd say that maybe he was just in a hurry, and he wanted to give me some more time to adjust, but he'sbeengiving me time. I know I requested it at first, but then when he sent me off back to my house, I was already in a state of annoyance. Now it just feels like he's trying to hold me off for one reason or another and it's irritating.
Kacian nods his head but doesn't smile. "I am your permanent guard, Miss Claire."
"Guard for what?" I give him a stupid look as if I don't need a babysitter.
"You'll need protection." Protection. Well, I guess that makes sense. And I'm somewhat grateful that at least Rivian is willing to provide that to me if nothing else.
"Are you a vampire too?" I ask the tall man. Taller than Rivian, so seeming to be about six-seven at least. But he's also burly with muscles. Definitely intimidating to say the least, with his dark features, thick arms, and tattooed neck.
"Yes." His answer is straight to the point.
"Is Natasha?" I cross my arms.
"No. She is compelled to be here." He doesn't even move when he speaks, his face remains expressionless, and I wonder just how much control he thinks he's going to get away with over me.
"Well, that's women's rights for ya," I say more so under my breath, but I know if he hears me even though he doesn't react.
"How long are you gonna stand there?" I uncross my arms and put my hand on my hip. I’m uncomfortable here, to say the least, I don’t know how to act.
"Until curfew ends." Another monotoned answer.
"Curfewends? You mean start?" I grow curious.
"No, Miss Claire. I meanends. In about an hour." That would be about ten o'clock if my time is right. Who has a curfew that ends at ten at night? Normally curfews start at that time. You know,be home by curfew. Orhave her home by midnight. So,what? Curfew ends at ten at night meaning then I’d get to leave the house? Ass backwards if you ask me.
"Whatever." I roll my eyes at him.
I turn back into the room and smile at him sarcastically as I close the door, leaving him out in the hallway by himself.
I sigh against the door. This is now my life. The only thing preventing this whole exchange from being a complete letdown is the fact that the room I'm supposedly to be confined to is the most gorgeous bedroom I’ve ever stepped foot in.
At first glance, when I turn the lights on, I notice the silky, plum-purple drapery that hangs behind the queen-sized bed in the center of the room against the furthest wall. The bedding is gold, cream, and plum crushed velvet that lays in layers against soft nude-colored pillows.
On either side of the bed there is an expansive bay window with benches that have cushions to match the drapery lining the tops of them.
Beautiful columns with intricate lace designs etched into the frame, the two end corners of the bed that lead into tall ceilings adorned by ivory colored crown molding, centered with the most stunning chandelier that drips with luminescent crystals. I can imagine exactly how the sun catches them and projects tiny little rainbows in the room during the height of the day.
The opposite wall of the bed holds a built-in fireplace and is etched with ornate trim dressed in gold encrusted filigree, seemingly only for a design element and for no real purpose. I can't deny that the appeal and the character of it all is stunning, giving the whole space a medieval yet ethereal effect.
There's a sizable recessed oval mirror framed in gold on the far left wall that sits behind a luxurious vanity. On both sides of the mirror are built-in wall shelves that look to go at least a foot deep. I can't imagine having enough belongings to fill them with;the idea of having all this space seems a little overwhelming when I examine how much of it there truly is.
I wander over to the walk-in closet—I didn't even know it was there at first until it caught in my peripheral—which is nearly as big as the bedroom itself. Similar attributes paint the walls, gold and cream colors mix effortlessly to give it a classical fairytale look all while still seeming to display gothic-like features. There's so much space in here that I wouldn't even know what to do with it. The stuff I brought over—my clothes and my hygiene products—could seriously take up just one of the wall-shelves by the main-room vanity.