Page 58 of When Night Falls
I hear a rough sigh leave Troy and I hate knowing that I was sloppy.
"I've got this." Troy rolls her eyes as she walks past me to the woman.
I watch carefully as she grabs the girl by her shoulders and looks her dead in the eyes.
"You will forget everything you just heard from either of us. You're going to go back and find me a black wedding dress for my friend here and you're going to sell it to us free of charge." Troy speaks to her in slow calculated words, making sure that everything sticks the way she intends it to.
"I'll be right back," the woman says to her almost robotically.
That strikes a memory.
The way my father spoke to me that night, like he had no control over his actions.
Because Rivian compelled him to leave me alone.
Something warm tickles my belly and I can't ignore the way it makes me feel to think about how he really did save me from him.
"Thanks," I say to Troy, feeling like a complete ass but also, overthinking the fact that she called me her friend just now.
"No worries, but next time, please watch what you're saying and around who. Compelling people gets tiring sometimes." She flops back down on the chair behind us.
"Does it?" I raise my brow at her.
"Honestly, everything gets tiring as a vampire. If I’m being honest. Don’t get me wrong, I do love doing anything I want. But sometimes I find myself wanting more out of a life that is meant to last forever." I would have never guessed that someone as lively as Troian would be experiencing feelings like that, not loving her life to the fullest.
“I feel that,” I absentmindedly agree with her and this causes her to look over at me in pity.
But if I’m being honest with myself, everything she listed off sounds more intriguing to me by the minute. I'd be able to get anyone to do anything I wanted.
"Good because after the blood bind, it's all yours." She pulls her phone back out and scrolls through whatever social app she pulls up, not hiding the fact that she just pulled my thoughts from me again.
"Blood bind?" That’s the second time I’ve heard of that. “What is that?” I ask.
This causes Troian to sit up in shock and looks at me dumbfounded.
"You mean Rivian hasn't talked to you about the blood bind?"
"Rivian and I don't get along half the time, Troy." I shrug my shoulders feeling slight defeat.
"Well, I'm not going there. You'll have to ask him."
It’s hopeless. All I want is to be able to understand this life I'm about to be married into. For fuck's sake, can anyone just do me that favor?
"This is the only black dress I have." The sales lady comes back with a dress that literally takes my breath away.
It's pure black from head to toe. The corset bodice is a strapless neckline with detachable sleeves that puff out in a sheer mesh material and cuff at the wrists, leaving the shoulder area completely exposed. The rest of the dress flows out with tulle, creating dimension and volume. The train stretches out a good twelve inches past the hem of the dress which drops all the way down to the floor.
It's fucking stunning.
"I'll take it," I tell her as I hand her my card. I know Troy told her to give it to me for free, but I can't in good conscience succumb to that kind of entitlement yet. Plus, my money probably means nothing to the Society so I might as well use it while I can.
"Are you sure you want to do this Lucynda?" Troian stands up next to me and gives me a look of concern. She might believe in something as silly as wearing a forbidden color to a wedding,but until I start getting treated like someone who belongs to this kingdom, I'm going to do things my way.
I give her a glance, a plea to not say anything to Rivian. I want him to see my dress for the first time when I walk down the aisle. I want him to see just how devastating his future wife can really be. I want him to feel so fucking sorry for ever doubting that I can be anything more than just a means to power for his stupid Society and then I want to see the look on his face when he realizes that I want nothing to do with him.
I grin at Troy and then at the lady holding my dress who seems to be waiting for my answer.
"More than anything."