I quickly looked away, brushing my hair behind my ear, hoping no one had noticed, but of course, everyone did, and laughter broke out immediately.
“Careful, my ladies. She’s a jealous one.” Matias snickered, coming over to stand beside me. “I only moved to welcome my beloved Theseus, and she blinded me.”
“I did not!” I gasped.
And being the drama king, he fell to his knees and clasped his hands as if he were praying to me. “Spare me, oh great vampire-witch, for I know not what I speak. I am but a poor weak, humble vampire—”
“Enough with your play before she truly does blind you,” Hinrik replied, yanking him by the ear and giving me a wink as he pulled him away.
“Come, I shall introduce you to those of whom are worth noting. The rest of the lot are as foolish as Matias, like the Slander sisters over there,” Theseus said, leading me away.
“Hurtful, as always, Prince of Night!” they snapped in unison. “We are the Larmare sisters.”
Theseus ignored them, taking my hand and leading me forward.
I had noticed since I entered, my worries and concerns seemed to vanish slowly. This was a party—well, actually, it felt like a wedding reception, and we were the couple thanking everyone for coming. It was familiar. It was fun. Drinking and talking and watching Theseus be a bit of a jerk to people, and all of them seemed just to accept it. Even still, though, he talked with everyone with ease. Unlike in Montréal, where he did his best to keep me away from the other vampires, he was relaxed here, more of himself, and I wondered how many sides there were to this man that I had now hitched my eternity to. Would we fight a lot? Would we spend all of our days talking? How many more of these balls would we go to together? Would we see all of the world together?
My mind was a mess of so many things, but I knew one thing was certain—I was happy. I never realized how alone I had felt until Theseus was here, and now I had this massive family, a connection with people, a freaking kingdom of people meeting me.
“Come, let’s dance,” Theseus said, pulling me closer.
“Didn’t you learn from the last time? I’m not very good at this,” I said, but he wrapped his hand around me and pulled me closer to his body.
He stared down at me, the corner of his mouth turned up slightly, as his hands slowly slid down my back. “I shall teach you.”
“Are you sure it’s simply a dance you want?” I asked, eyebrow raised, as his hand landed on my ass, and he leaned closer.
“What else could—”
He stopped as the thick, sweet scent of anemone flowers reached our noses. I knew that scent, seemingly so familiar, but I wasn’t sure how. A frown covered his face as he stood up straighter.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, also noticing that most of the other vampires were amused, except for Rhea, who glared at the entrance with hate that had her nails digging into her hand as she balled her fist.
“I told you she’d come,” Atarah muttered to Arsiein.
“She truly lacks any shame,” Arsiein shook his head as he drank.
“And this is what we truly we came for.” One of the Larmare sisters actually giggled.
“Who is this she everyone already knows about apparently?” I asked Theseus, now slightly annoyed.
His jaw was set, and he looked at me.
“Well?”
“Orspina,” he answered.
And I remembered when he’d told me that name. My head tilted to the side as I turned to see a woman with white skin who seemed to glow in the night. She had golden hair that reached almost to the back of her knees, on top of which rested a crown made of vine and gold leaves and even fruits. She wore an ancient white Greek dress that dragged on the ground, covering her feet entirely as you could not see them. Her big eyes were bluer than the sky, and her face was like that of an angel. The scent of the flower was coming from her.
I looked back to Theseus. “Orspina, as in the wife who betrayed and killed you?”
He nodded but said nothing.
“You didn’t think to tell me she was still alive?”
“I seemed to have blocked out that horrid memory,” he said with a sheepish grin as I glared at him.
“Harsh as ever, Theseuakis mou,” Orspina spoke in the most gentle voice, breaking into our conversation.