My Midnight Moonlight Valentine (My Midnight Moonlight Valentine 1)

He nodded. “I was there with my father and elder brother, Ulrik, as wars always attract vampires. It is the perfect excuse to feast, acquire land and power, as well as grow one’s family.”

“What did you gain?”

“There are those who can listen; I shall tell you later,” he said, and I remembered the other vampires.

But I was going to his family’s home, and I knew nothing about the people there. I wanted to know while we had the chance. The desire to talk and to question without any prying ears built in me. If only we hadn’t left the butterfly wings Taelon had given us.

“Are you doing something?” he questioned, and then he sniffed. “I smelled magic.”

I did, too. It smelled like fresh air in the countryside, valleys, trees, and the smell of grass. I just didn’t realize it was coming from me until I reached up, and my hands were glowing gold.

“Silence is golden.” The voice spoke to me.

Sitting up, I touched the top of the pod, and like a drop in still water, the light rippled throughout the pod, encasing us both. The light shimmered and then just held still.

“What are you doing?” he questioned, amazed at the lights above us.

“I think…No, I’m pretty sure I just made us silent. Or what I mean is,” I thought back to Daiyu’s power. “I made it soundproof, so others can’t hear us.”

When I met his gaze, he was torn between joy and exhaustion. “I thought we agreed to be careful until we reached Ankeiros.”

“It’s not like it comes with directions,” I said, looking to my hands, the gold glow now fading, but the power still all around us.

“You seem to know how to control it very well,” he replied, laying back down and watching the golden ripples of magic above us.

“I don’t know how I know,” I muttered laying back down, too. “I hear a voice. This time it said silence is golden, and I just knew what it meant.” I shifted over onto my side to look at him. “So, are you going to tell me about your family now?”

He gave me a look.

“What?”

“You did this,” He pointed to the magic above us, “Just because you could not wait a few hours to speak of my family?”

“It wasn’t on purpose.”

“Hmm.”

“It wasn’t, but now that it is here, why not make the most of it?” I smiled.

He did not return it. “Daiyu is right, your gift is terrifying; for there is no stopping you from achieving your desire, is there?”

“I have no idea.” I shrugged not wanting to think about it. “Please tell me about your family. I’m going to meet them, and I don’t want to feel like an outsider.”

“Don’t you wish to hear it from them yourself? All of my family loves telling their story, with the exception of my mother…”

I leaned in closer to his face. “You are my teacher, so teach me about your family.”

The corner of his lips turned upward. “How do you expect to pay for this lesson?”

“I thought I was paying with my company?”

“For your company, I shall tell you everything you wish to know of me and historical events, but of my family, out of respect for them, I should not be so cheap with their pasts,” he said, now fully grinning at me.

“I thought you said they would tell me anyway.”

“Very well, you can wait,” he shrugged, closing his eyes and crossing his arms over his chest.

I waited, but he was so still, no longer breathing, I truly thought he’d gone to sleep. Leaning closer, I kissed the side of his cheek. It was still smooth from when he had shaved for the ball, and I hoped it didn’t magically return midflight.