Naela peeked her head through the door a few minutes later. Oh, great, could this day get any worse? “Your cottages are ready. The guys are waiting out front.”
Dazed, I followed her. She led us through the village until we reached a row of houses about a half mile in. Three identical huts sat nestled in some pines, backed up against a small stream. Each one was made of stone and had a narrow door with two small windows. They were quite charming but I was too soured from my experience so far to appreciate them.
“Guest housing,” Vance stated.
I nodded, still not saying a word. I walked inside and found a single room with a wood-burning stove, a full-sized mattress on wooden slats, and a small, three-piece bath towards the back. It was odd to me that they had indoor plumbing and electricity here when everything else was so simple. Was that a modern convenience created by magic, I wondered. I certainly wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth.
Leo glanced around the cottage. “The window coverings are sheer. Is there somewhere I can procure something more protective from the daylight?”
“No one told you about the sun?” Naela asked.
Leo tipped his head to the right. “I’ve barely spoken a word to anyone since our arrival. Your people have not been so…welcoming.”
I felt sad for Leo. He really was being treated like the redheaded stepchild and it made me love him just a little bit more. He had to have known what he would be subjected to when he decided to accompany me.
I felt a twinge of empathy coming from Naela as well. “I’m sorry about that. Sometimes, we can get a little closed-minded when it comes to vampires. It’s an instinct I think, after what happened. That doesn’t make it any less reprehensible, but I feel the need to explain. Give them time, they’ll come around.”
Leo nodded. “What is it that I need to know about the sun?”
“Oh, that. Our sun is different here than on Earth.”
“Different how? Do I need to make extra preparations?”
Naela shook her head. “No, that’s just it. You needn’t worry about any preparations. Our sun can’t harm you.”
“What?” Leo and I shouted in unison. Well, that got me out of my funk.
“How did I not know about this?” Vance fired off at the same time.
Naela faced Vance. “Very few vampires have roamed our land. On occasion, the elders would work with a vampire that they deemed…useful for their special talents. But once they realized that vampires could not control their thirst around the Fae, they prohibited any from entering. A vampire has all of their strength here yet none of the weaknesses they face in the human world. That’s why we prepared the tonic. We needed insurance.” She faced Leo. “You’re the first to pass through in over two hundred years.”
Leo looked awestruck. “I can roam around in the daylight? With no harm whatsoever?”
She nodded. “None.”
“I haven’t seen the sunrise in over five hundred years,” he whispered. “My love, will you watch it with me? At dawn?”
I wiped a tear away from my eye. “Of course, Leo. I’d be honored.”
“Fucking fantastic,” Vance mumbled.
Naela gestured between the three of us. “What’s the story with you guys? Do you have some hot ménage thing going on?”
“NO!” all three of us shouted at once.
She narrowed her eyes at me. “Well, then what’s the deal? I can feel how possessive they are over you.”
I shrugged. “It’s complicated.”
“Does Thylus know about this…complication of yours?”
“Why in the hell would that idiot care?” Vance growled.
“Uh, because he’s her fiancé.” The duh was implied in her tone.
“Her what?” both men shouted.
Naela cringed. “Hey, don’t shoot the messenger!”