Liminality by Cassandra L. Thompson

Author:Cassandra L. Thompson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Quill & Crow Publishing House

* * *

Cahira

Paris, 1751

* * *

Dusk settled around the parlor of the mansion, casting a pink hue onto the polished, white marble floors. Dan stood next to her, visibly uncomfortable in the fine clothes she’d stitched for him, his high collar and the long, ruffled sleeves of his shirt obscuring his tattoos from view. She’d blushed despite herself when she’d first seen him in his latest guise, the tightness of the new clothing exaggerating his brawn, while his shorn hair and cropped beard revealed the appealing ruggedness of his face. She had swallowed, reminding herself who he was—and who she had chosen to be—and pushed any intrusive thoughts out of her mind as soon as they filtered in.

“Are you two married?” asked the woman seated on the loveseat as she fluttered a delicate fan. Her entire ensemble projected exaggerated elegance, from her powdered wig to her billowing pink dress, to the daintiness of her high heeled shoes, adorned with delicate bows.

“No,” Cahira replied quickly.

“How wonderful,” the woman purred, scanning the length of Dan’s body with her eyes.

“Henri told us that you know a man named David,” Cahira interrupted, trying not to reveal her annoyance.

She smiled. “Straight to business, eh? I like that quality in a woman.” She leaned over to ring a tiny bell with the tips of her fingers. A trim butler appeared instantly in the doorway. “Please tell my brother and Henri they are needed in the parlor,” she instructed before turning back to face them. “My name is Angelique Delaroux and if you haven’t noticed by now, I am un vampire, as I believe you are becoming, Monsieur Daniel.”

Dan grunted, but Cahira could tell he was surprised by her attention to detail. Neither of them had spoken the words aloud, but as he slowly started keeping nighttime hours and barely touched his food unless it was raw, they both realized what was happening. Somehow, for reasons they could not explain, he was being restored to the creature he was right before he died.

“And you, my sweet mademoiselle, have been whispered about for decades. She who commands the earth and its power.” The vampiress smiled once more, her pink lips sliding across her pearly teeth.

Cahira was speechless, feeling vulnerable as the exposing words hung in the air.

Angelique rose to her feet. She was as short as Cahira and very slight, her eyes a radiant blue that reminded her of her mother’s. Wisps of dark hair peeked out from the hairline of her wig, grazing smooth, porcelain skin that didn’t need the heavy power and rogue it had been dusted with. The closer she drew in, Cahira could see black blood running through her veins, the slight edge to her teeth when her lips lifted around them. She smelled strongly of powder and roses. “My, aren’t you a delicious little creature,” she murmured as she apprehended Cahira more closely.

Her gaze moved back to Dan, and she studied his face with squinted eyes. She frowned. “I must tell you something before I introduce you to my brother,” she told them, devoid of her playful smirk.

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