7. Seven

Seven

Sunny

Kayden gave me a blank look when I promised I understood why Rainbow was so scared of me.

"I swear, Kayden. David explained it all to me."

Somehow, that made him look more suspiciously at me. "Did he now?"

Giving him my most winning smile did nothing to dampen the sense of disapproval I got from my coven leader. Beside him, Theo huffed a laugh. I ignored him.

"Is something wrong, Kayden?"

He looked like he was praying for something. Patience likely, he did that a lot around me. I was just grateful he was so kind to me. Having been under other leadership before, I knew Kayden was something special. Leaving him was hard. It was bad of me to hope things with the witches didn't work out, so my coven could follow me to Umberwood, though they already explained I was on my own with this one.

"Hmm, I fear David is leading you astray by giving you his advice. Remember, people are stricter about their boundaries than they used to be. What you have been doing is a gross invasion of Rainbow's privacy."

I gaped at him. "It is?!" I was completely aghast. How could I have gotten this so badly wrong?

Kayden sighed from the very depths of his soul. "Sunny, you are the sweetest man and a powerful vampire. A treasure to us in this coven. Could you pretend for a minute you are a vulnerable human—"

"Rainbow isn't a vulnerable human!" I protested.

"Pretend, Sunny," he stressed. "Imagine he doesn't automatically reach for his magic, isn't trained in combat—"

"He isn't?"

"Give me strength," Kayden muttered, before he leveled me with a stare. "No. Your Rainbow collects plants. He's great with animals and knows enough defensive magic to get him out of scrapes, but he's not a fighter."

"How do you know that?"

"Because," Kayden sighed, "there is information in the archives about all the coven witches. For instance, Rainbow required three tries at the familiar summoning before he got his bearded dragon. Rainbow also failed the physical tests necessary for working with the council. His disability—"

"But he's not disabled!"

With his fingers pinching the bridge of his nose like he was staving off a headache, Kayden gave the biggest sigh yet.

"Sunny, Rainbow cannot see color. That is a sight impairment, which is a disability. That's why he wears the glasses."

"Oh, I wondered about them, but no one would tell me why he needed them. So, what do the glasses do?"

He smiled at me. "Your witch is rather clever. He improved upon a spell his mother devised for him. She was the one who helped him see color into his teens. Once he had his familiar and his magic was stable, Rainbow adjusted the spell so he could see an entire spectrum of color he couldn't before."

Pride warmed my chest. My mate was so clever! Kayden caught my smile and returned it with one of his own.

"Now, pretend your mate doesn't automatically reach for his magic to guard himself, and then put a strange person into his house. Someone he's never met has been through his things…" He left the sentence to trail off, letting me come to my own conclusion. This was why I liked and respected Kayden so much. He never treated me like I was stupid.

"Ah," I said, finally understanding the level of invasion. "But I need to protect him."

Yet another sigh from my long-suffering friend. "That's understandable. What did David say?"

My cheeks colored. "He… um… said it was like Twilight. Look but don't touch."

"I'm loath to admit his advice was good. In this instance, though, he is right. Your instincts are strong. You'll just have to learn to step away when you want to interfere. Do not touch his things! When Rainbow accepts you, life will be easier."

"You think he will?"

"Sunny, you are one of the sweetest people I've ever met. He'd be a fool not to fall in love with you. Give him time. Meet him in public and during the day. You'll have to give him time to learn you aren't a danger to him."

"Why would I be?"

"Your witch is afraid of vampires, remember?"

"Oh." I deflated some. The road ahead seemed to be full of potholes. Rainbow would be worth the extra effort needed to seduce him.

"Yes. It won't be easy. Rainbow will be worth it."

"He will."

We made our goodbyes, and I returned to Rainbow's house where I was packing up the things he would deem sentimental, along with the plants he had left behind. Amara had stepped in to "rescue" the plants from me. I'd been over-watering some very sensitive ones which would make Rainbow upset if he learned about it.

Luckily, with having to take a slower road to earning my mate's affections, there was time for me to get all of this to Umberwood with the rest of my belongings. It would also give the suffering plants time to recover. Amara's instructions were explicit. If the rest of the coven didn't need her, she would have likely followed me for the plants alone. She clearly respected Rainbow for his greenhouse. More than once, I'd caught a whispered exclamation of wonder.

Saying goodbye to my friends for the last few decades was bittersweet, but there were too many shifters in Umberwood for them to risk moving any closer. They were also making some headway with the witches. A few more had given us the opportunity to explain the mutually beneficial arrangement. With how weak some of their magic was, there were many who could learn a lot from Kayden.

My vampire friends followed my moving truck to the edge of town and said one last goodbye. We would keep in touch. I was still considered a member, but I would miss their support when I didn't understand things in the modern world. It all moved too fast for me sometimes. I just hoped Rainbow would give me a chance.

I tried to stay away, honestly; I did. After a few days of giving Rainbow space, I knew I had to find my witch and introduce myself.

Rainbow was like a drug to me, and I needed my fix.

The last time I'd been in Umberwood, he was using a realtor to find him a house. My first task, after setting up the delicate plants in the new temporary greenhouse I'd ordered, was to find out his new address from Joanna.

Boy, she did not make it easy! There was all this talk of client confidentiality, she just wouldn't budge on. I ended up using a persuasion on her to get the answers I wanted and then to forget the conversation altogether.

I sort of felt bad about doing that. It wasn't something you did often to a human. Their brains didn't really recover from all the tinkering with their memories. In a situation like mine, she would be fine. Letting go of a few minutes and so soon after they happened usually meant no issues.

Joanna would be fine. Probably. Besides, I had what I came for.

When I got to Rainbow's street, I hit upon my first snag. As problems went, it was a pretty big one. I should have asked for advice. Kayden was always available to me, he said when I left.

Nope. I didn't do that. Didn't wait either. I needed to see Rainbow. It was days since I'd laid eyes on him, and I needed to know he was okay.

He lived right in the middle of a shifter and Were pack. How could he be okay?

His house was simple to spot even before checking for the numbers. Rainbow's house was rundown. It clearly needed a lot more TLC to get it looking as pretty as the surrounding houses.

My nose caught his scent, and keeping to the shadows, I scouted the area. Vampires had a handy trick when they were well fed, which I was, since Kayden made sure I fed before I left the coven. We could mask our scent, something I did as I got closer to Rainbow's house.

Thanks to the overgrown bushes and trees in his yard, there was plenty of cover for me to get close enough to see in the windows.

Judging by the schedule Joanna had in her office, Rainbow had done a lot to the place in just a few days! He was clearly getting ready to paint.

The scent of him was older. He wasn't in the house. Where had he gone?

Taking my chance, I jimmied the back door open and entered into the kitchen. Once Rainbow had finished decorating, this place was going to be so cute! I saw he had samples up and approved of the sunshine yellow in the kitchen. The splash of orange was a choice, but I was sure it would work.

The house was a single story, two bedroom, two bathroom place, with a separate dining room. I could see Rainbow using it as an office.

"Who are you?" a girlish voice asked.

"Oh hello, sorry, I thought this place was empty."

"Are you looking for him? The man who lives here?"

"No. I know he's not home. I just wanted to check he's being safe. Did he bring you here to watch over the house?"

The spirit shook her head. "No. The pack got a necromancer to put me here."

Well, that was kind of shitty, poor girl. "Why'd they do that?"

"I'm supposed to scare off the humans." She gave a careless shrug.

"Oh, do humans not like ghosts?"

"Not really. The man—"

"Rainbow," I corrected the girl. "His name is Rainbow."

"He's really nice. I don't want to scare him. Even his name is pretty." Sweet little thing had a crush on my Rainbow. I understood the feeling.

"Isn't it?"

She smiled, her transparent face becoming briefly more corporeal. "I like you. How come you can see me? Are you a witch like Rainbow? I've seen him do magic!"

"No. Now, don't be scared. I wouldn't harm you and I'm not here to hurt Rainbow, okay?"

"Okay!" She smiled up at me.

"Well, I'm a vampire," I said.

"Like in that film?" she asked guilelessly.

Please, don't mention Twilight.

"Which one, sweetheart?"

"Um… the one with Lestat?"

My mind screeched to a halt. How on earth had she seen that?

"You've seen Interview with a Vampire?"

"Yes? Daddy was angry with Mommy, but Mommy was so tired and fell asleep before she could put me to bed."

"Was he mean?"

"No!" The idea made her upset. Dishes rattled in the cabinets. "Daddy carried Mommy up to bed, then read me a story. I got so sleepy. Then Daddy did. I couldn't wake them up. People came. They didn't see us. They said there was gas."

Lending her some of my power, I wrapped my arms around her in the lightest of hugs. Being undead, I had some effect on the dead. I could see them, communicate with them, even make them solid for a time. We vampires acted like a bridge between the living and dead.

She clung to me briefly before moving away.

"I'm sorry you died that way. If you want, I can try to find someone to help you move on."

"The necromancer said he would do it in a year. What month is it?"

"It's November."

"He said for Christmas he would try. But I have to protect Rainbow now. He lives in the house. I don't want to scare him away. I want him to be my friend!" The girl rattled more dishes with her panic, my presence giving her more energy to manifest.

"What's your name?" I asked to distract her.

"Daisy. What's yours?" The dishes settled.

"Nice to meet you Daisy. I'm Sunny."

"You have a pretty name too!" She lit up with such a beautiful smile.

"Thank you! Well, Daisy, I want to marry Rainbow and protect him always. Will you help me? Then when you know he's safe, you can go find your mom and dad, maybe live in heaven?"

"You promise you'll be nice to him and help me?" She narrowed her eyes at me with suspicion.

"I do."

"Okay, I'll help you!" Spirits were so fickle with their emotions!

"You need to keep this quiet if anyone comes and asks, okay?"

Daisy nodded.

I heard Rainbow's jeep parking in the drive. I'd abandoned my car in another street. It was time for me to leave before I got caught and made a very poor first impression!

"Gotta go, Daisy. Be good!"

"Bye, Sunny!"