Chapter 12

Chapter 12

I was tired of him being right all the time.

Laboring for several more hours, I cleared quite a bit of the brush that covered the fountain. The stack of weeds and vines was getting tall, but this part of the garden was looking much better from all my efforts. The sun had risen, and that’s when I felt it; nausea. The higher the sun moved into the sky, the worse I felt. It was as if a fever had broken out. I had been laboring all night and hadn’t had an issue with overheating but the moment the sun came up; I felt sick.

Apparently, my days were gone, and the nighttime was going to become my new home. At least I was going to be avoiding sunburns, I didn’t get them too often thanks to my tanned skin but now they wouldn’t even be a concern. It’s the small things I had to be thankful for.

I wiggled into the freshly clean sheets, letting the smooth fabric rub across my body. I had little for sleepwear and wasn’t about to sleep in the fine dresses he’d given me. If he entered at night again and saw my nude body, that’s his own fault for invading my space. I knew it didn’t matter if I wore anything or not, if he was determined, he’d do what he wanted. I knew that from experience. Being nude would definitely surprise him though, I’m sure. I felt my cheeks flush again at the thought. The smirk he gave me, and the words he mocked me with were all I could think about as I drifted into slumber.

If I had any dreams, I lost them by the time I awoke. Another pile of clothes rested on my desk when I sat up. He had been in there again. Pulling my quilt up tightly to my bare chest, I let out a huff as I realized he had likely seen me sprawled out with nothing on. I was going to have to get used to creepy nightly visitors, apparently. I probably should try to hunt down some type of nightgown to cover myself from his nightly visits. It would be the proper thing to do. Part of me, a deep part of me that never thought about such a thing before, kind of wanted to tease him so. I didn’t know what was coming over me. Every other man before him repelled me. I wanted nothing to do with them. I was shown early on that men couldn’t be trusted and yet…

At least he was offering me new clothes. This time the dress was more simple and could get dirty if I continued to clean and dig in the garden. He probably had seen how filthy I got and knew I needed something more practical.

Slipping into it, I took a deep breath, preparing myself to see him again. Straightening my posture, I pulled the door open. The candles were already lit and darkness had fallen. There against the rails was just empty air. He must have decided to leave me alone today. My stomach lurched and grumbled. The tension dropped from my shoulders as I looked down at it. I’d have to find that kitchen he spoke of. A girl could only live so long on dried meats and fruits.

As I reached the first floor, I noticed my pile of vines, weeds, and sticks was missing. At some point, he had hauled them off. The cart was missing as well. All but the ingredients were stacked against the pillar furthest from the fountain. I wondered if he had used the cart to haul off the debris or if he actually carried it away.

Following the archway he had brought the cart through, I was determined to find the kitchens. I hadn’t ventured that far the previous day; I had no idea where it led. Several doors opened to meeting halls or more rooms for storage. A large dining hall sat off to the side with elaborate doors signifying its importance. There was another door on the opposite side, likely to be the formal entrance. I wondered what kind of dinner parties they would hold there. I could share that I was good at climbing walls at one of them if he ever hosted any. The idea of Altyr laughing and entertaining guests made me roll my eyes. He probably just told them how horrible they were for needing to eat human food and everyone would leave grumpy.

There was a large wooden door at the end of the archway, I assumed it was how they brought goods into the castle. There were two double doors nestled next to it. Pushing them open I saw the large kitchen. The ovens were facing the exterior wall, their chimneys able to expel the smoke I was likely to cause right out the edge of the castle. I saw the ingredients stacked on the large counter. Altyr was probably unsure where they went himself. I doubt he ever spent time in this room even when it was active and full of people.

I found some cast-iron pans and got some eggs cooked. It didn’t take me long to find some of the aged sets of salt. Everything else was too old to be of any use. I didn’t know what to do with the flour and I wasn’t the best cook. Baking bread wasn’t something I could even do. I’d just buy it from the baker around the corner from my home. If I provided him with various herbs, I’d often get a loaf for free here and there. Now I had to bake it myself. My list of professions was growing as I added Baker to it.

“I’m afraid I won’t be able to help you in here.” His velvety voice made me jump in surprise as I was preparing to eat.

With his arm braced against the door frame, the stretch of fabric showed the defined details of his torso. He snuck up on me again. Sparking to life, the warmth in my chest flared as my eyes drunk every inch of him. He was a tall, muscular man with the handsome face woman would pull hair and fight over.

“I didn’t expect you to,” I said as I set my plate down.

“Honestly, I don’t think you’d expect anything from me seeing as how you knew nothing of my kind.”

“Am I just a lucky mistake that you’re trying to repent for or do all of your servants get this kind of treatment?”

“Only the pretty ones,” he said with a wink.

Taking a deep breath, I straightened my back. He wasn’t being horrible to me, he cleared the debris, and he’s been leaving me clothing and food. I was going to at least attempt at being kinder to him after he went out of his way to get me things. “Thank you for the eggs.”

He nodded to me briefly. “You had quite the pile of debris. It took me longer than I thought it would to remove it.”

“Well, you ordered me to fix your garden so I’m—”

“I didn’t order you.”

I swallowed hard at his quick interruption.

“I just thought,” in an instant he was standing right next to me, looking down at me as my eyes widened in surprise, “since you lost something you did for a living that you might want to have some semblance of normalcy in your life.”

I felt his hand brush against my cheek causing them to flush. “I… I mean…”

He cracked a smirk and I saw the fang, reminding me that this was a vampire in front of me. “You can stop working on it if you want. You humans have mercurial personalities, I swear.”

“Well it’s not like I’m going to disobey a man who nearly killed me,” I mumbled in response.

He dropped his hand from caressing my cheek and I felt an instant cooled void in my being as he turned back and away from me. “Do whatever you want, Sylvia. You can clean, you can garden, or you can waste your days floating in the baths. It doesn’t matter to me. I thought you might enjoy the gardens, but I was wrong, apparently.”

Then he was gone. The kitchen was empty again and I was entirely confused at his actions. He kept touching me and invading my personal space. I didn’t know if he was doing this to unnerve me or what but all it was doing was causing my cheeks to flush. His brief presence had caused the hole in my chest to swell with warmth and as he left it was immediately cold and hollow again. I shook my head and brought my attention back to the meal before me. At least, I had a hot meal to fuel me.

Filling my growling stomach, I returned to the garden while mulling over his words. He was right, again. I was enjoying the work I was doing there. My mind wandered at the thought of what the garden could become. He was so quick to cut me off when I said he commanded me. I thought he had ordered me to do this, but now, now I think he may be trying his best in some weird and twisted way to help me survive this new life. He was not very good at communicating his thoughts and I didn’t know the man long enough to know how he behaves normally. How was I supposed to know he wasn’t actually ordering me to be his live in gardener. We’ve only just met.

For hours I toiled at pulling weeds, cutting limbs, and cleaning the garden up. I was determined to finish clearing it that evening. When I took a break, the cold ache deep in my heart wasn’t present. A twinge of warmth was there instead. Altyr had to be near.

I was unsure if he knew I could feel the pull, feel the warmth. Hollows were usually unconscious or at least had very little awareness from what they said. The magical pull could be normal, but no one was able to discuss it with a vampire if they weren’t even sentient. If he didn’t know I could feel it, I could use it to my advantage. Trying to be as inconspicuous as I could, I stole looks around the courtyard. He wasn’t on the lower floor. Scanning the balconies above, I spotted his silhouette. I noticed he put on a well-tailored vest and also noticed his way too tight pants this time. Lurking above, he was watching me work.

The intense look he gave me made my cheeks flush again. I could feel my breath catch as I cut my eyes away, hoping he hadn’t seen that I had noticed him. The connection between us pulsated, intertwining itself around my heartbeat. Every time I caught him looking at me, I couldn’t help but feel this way. Men had looked at me with leering gazes before, but this was different. I didn’t know if it was because he wanted to kill me or if he wanted to… take me. I let out an annoyed huff.

There was an entire castle to clean, and he was busy watching me work in the dirt. Flicking my hair back over my shoulder, I tried to appear as if I accidentally found him up there in as obvious of a way as I could manage. Our eyes locked and he held them, not turning away. The warmth grew even more in my chest, spreading its webs through my body as his gaze penetrated my senses. I knew what that look was now, it was that same predatory look I had fallen victim to so many nights ago.

The connection was severed and he turned away, walking back into the darkness where I couldn’t see him. His actions were a complete mystery to me. He’s either offering me things out of kindness, insulting me, or looking as if he would eat me. I wasn’t sure if his behavior was indicative of all vampires or if he was just strange in his own ways.

The cold pushed in as the night progressed, and I didn’t feel his presence again after that. Part of me craved him, craved the warmth he offered. Another part of me definitely noticed how tight the pants he was wearing were and how handsome he looked in them. I shook away the thoughts with a laugh. I didn’t know if it was the loneliness, the trauma, or the magical connection we had, but the desire needed to go away.

Dawn approached and I didn’t want to chance the sun and its crummy feelings this time. This became my routine for the next few days. I’d awaken to new clothes, the weeds would be taken away, I’d make myself something to eat, and I’d get back to work on fixing the garden. There were new items for me almost every day, new plants, new tools, and even some stones for the pathways. I even managed to bake some passable bread. I’d occasionally find him watching me, our eyes locking every time before he disappeared.

I knew he was doing something around the castle because I’d find discarded linens or broken furniture that he was in the process of moving. I wasn’t alone in preparing for the incoming guests, I just never physically saw him doing any of the cleaning or moving. He was truly a mystery. Every time I did manage to catch him lurking above while watching me, I wondered if he was just taking a break from his own chores. It was odd that his choice of a break was to creepily observe my gardening. He rarely spoke to me and when he did it was brief. There was no more invading of my space or even barbed commentary coming from him. I would be gifted with goods and that was it for our interaction everyday. He left me alone.

By the seventh day, the garden was completely clean. I was prepared to get the many plants he had been leaving me into the ground that evening. My day didn’t start the same though, throwing off my new morning rhythm. There were no new clothes waiting on the desk. I must have exhausted his supply and I finally needed to do some laundry. Exiting my room with an arm full of dresses, I noticed him actually standing in the garden, marveling at the rosebush I had trimmed and shaped. Tossing the clothes down the chute, his head raised to see me. He didn’t walk away, but simply waited for me to join him.

Descending the steps with caution, I slowly made my way to join him. The eyes of a hunter were watching his prey walk right into a trap. I took a few awkward steps to meet him.

“Good… evening… sir?”

“Sir? That’s the most respectful you’ve been this entire time.”

I shrugged my shoulders and relaxed my posture. “Not all of us have bad manners.”

“Humans don’t deserve good manners.”

I gave him an irritated stare and jump as he let out a sharp laugh.

“Your rosebush looks better than I thought it could.”

“It’s strange to hear you compliment me.”

Ignoring my snark, he motioned toward the rest of the garden. “You’ve done a good job clearing it out. I wanted to thank you for your efforts.”

I squinted my eyes at him.

The smirk crawled across his face and I saw the flash of fangs for a moment. “I’m trying to be nice.”

“I see that. What I don’t understand is why? You’ve hardly talked to me in days.”

“Going days without talking is normal for me.”

He started to walk away as if that behavior was okay too. I jumped in front of him while placing my hands on my hips. “Stop doing that.”

“I have nothing else to say.”

“Well, I have a lot to say!”

“Clearly.” He stopped and motioned for me to continue.

I could finally speak with him and my mind betrayed me. Every word I wanted to say fell right out the back of my head. I just stared at him, unable to form the words I needed.

“Don’t be coy now,” he said with a hint of amusement dripping from his words.

I shook my head away in frustration. “I’d appreciate it if you would stop lurking around. You can come talk to me. Unlike you, I don’t bite.”

“Oh, she has jokes now!” A smile crawled on his face. He was in a good mood today and I wasn’t about to cause it to disappear.

I pointed toward a heavy stone bench he had left at the edge of the garden."I do appreciate you dropping things off but, I can’t move that on my own. If you would just talk to me more, I would let you know where to place these things."

Without hesitation, he walked toward the bench. He didn’t call me a name or refuse to do it, he just obeyed.

I had spent quite some time trying to push and pull that heavy beast of a bench to no use. I only managed to move it a few inches. He simply walked up, wrapped his arms around it, and lifted it like it was just a bag of feathers. Looking at me expectantly, I had to shake myself to attention and point toward the large tree near the center of the garden.

With little effort, he carried the stone bench over before plopping it down beneath the bushiest of limbs. If we could enjoy the sun, it would have been the perfect site to hide in the shade. Pushing it around a bit, trying to position it just right, he nodded before sitting down on it.

He patted the seat next to him, inviting me to join him. I wasn’t entirely sure this wasn’t another strange trap of his. I squinted my eyes again.

“I won’t bite…” he let out a laugh at that and added, “not unless you want me too.”

I raised my head to look down my nose at him, not letting the suspicion drop. Taking careful steps to join him, I lifted my dress up to give me the freedom I needed to sit next to him with ease. My dress pillowed around me as I plopped it on the bench.

“We do need to talk, there is something I actually really want to know about you,” he said when I finally sat next to him.

Placing his hand on my knee, I felt that heat that tethered us together. His touch was like nothing I had ever experienced, the connection between us was strong and full of life. Rubbing his hand across the top of my leg, my breath stuttered in my chest. I didn’t know what it was about this man that had me acting in such a way, but every time he was close, I couldn’t help but wish for him to touch me more. The only thing I wanted at that moment was for his hand to move higher on my thigh, caressing my leg until he would reach further toward my core.

Licking my lips, I said, “and… what would you like to know?”

I saw that crooked smirk crawl on his lips, showing off that corner fang again. The fang of a predator.

“How do you know the Lightbringer Commander?”

The bottom fell out of my heart in surprise and I let out an audible gasp at the question.