16. Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Sixteen

Bronwyn

"Iwas engaged to be married once."

I look up surprised as I take in the large stack of books on Sofarynn's desk and the bookkeeper sitting behind them, her eyes dark and far away. The large chunk of bread in my mouth keeps me from asking what she means, but as she continues, I realize she wasn't waiting for my response anyway.

She seems to be lost in a different time. A different life.

"To a blacksmith, if you can believe it." The corners of her lips turn up in wistful memory. "He was the first person here to show us kindness—my brother and me— when we first came up from the deserts oh so long ago. He opened his house to us even though we were complete strangers. I didn't stand a chance; I fell hard for his heart."

"He sounds lovely," I say finally swallowing my bite.

"He was raising his daughter's son as his own. There wasn't a soul he wouldn't help. I felt like the luckiest girl in the world when he asked for my hand."

"What happened to him?" I ask, a little scared of the answer. It's clear that Sofarynn and this blacksmith did not work out.

"He died," she states flatly. "I killed him in my ambition to discover a new magic. A powerful magic. One that I never had any right wielding." She shakes her head bitterly.

I feel myself stiffen. Does she know about my ambitions? Is this a warning to back away from trying to get that spellbook?

"What are you getting at?" I demand, resting my hand on my chair. My head is screaming at me that I should run.

"I've heard of your relationship with that boy," she says. "I'm sure it's spread through the whole academy by now. I just wanted to impart some of my wisdom to you."

I find myself blinking mutely. Does she think I'll get Wilder killed? He's a big boy, not to mention a vampire. I'm sure he can look out for himself.

"Treasure him for as long as you have him," she says. "You never know if your love will be cut short."

I have to resist the urge to snort. I've already spent too much time with Wilder. Something coming between us and cutting "our time short" would be a mercy at this point. But it would hardly further my cause to tell her that. So, I just smile and nod and hope that it looks like I'm taking what she said at heart. I set my bread down. "You know what, I just remembered, I promised Wilder I'd spend some time going over spells with him before our next class." It's a lie of course, but I suddenly feel exposed under Sofarynn's scrutiny.

I push to my feet, edging away before I quickly slip out the door. I hurry through the sunny courtyard. It's been quite sunny of late, usually the clouds hide the sun half the year so to have so many sunny days in a row is quite strange. I wonder what the vampires here think of it, but then I remind myself that it doesn't matter what these vampires think of anything.

The only vampires I should be concerning myself with are my father, mother, and sister. Not Wilder, not Professor Morozov, not any other vampire who may be hiding in the shadowy recesses of this city of stone.

The sunlight gently caresses my skin with warmth. I don't often wonder what it will be like when I become a vampire like the rest of my family. It's a certainty but one that is far in the future, especially since father is leaving the choice up to Natasya and I on when we are ready for it or not. But I find myself wondering what it will be like to never feel the sun again.

Someday its rays will harm me, they will not be welcome any longer. This will restrict my travel and my freedom in a sense. But my father has been a vampire for many years and my sister for far longer. They never allowed this state to get in the way of their ambitions. My mother became a vampire somewhat more recently; she held it off until she saw the first signs of aging.

She was worried that it would affect her ability to run the inn, but she seems to have settled into her new vampiric state.

So why should I be worried? Just because I'll never see the sun again?

I'll be gaining so many other things.

And yet somehow, I can't seem to find that thought very comforting. Perhaps I'm more like my mother than I give credit for. While I'm young, I feel immortal. It isn't until the first bite of age begins to ravage me that I'll go running to father and ask him to turn me.

But until then I just feel like running. I'm not sure from what. The future? My responsibilities to steal that spellbook? Sofarynn's allegations that I could destroy Wilder? Or the completely false accusation that I helped to create that I love him?