Rosko, Mandy - Night and Day (Siren Publishing Classic ManLove) (11 page)

Urged on by the force of his words, Cedric leaned down and kissed him.

Chapter Eight

When Silus arrived home, the birds were chirping in their nests, and the black East had transformed to a mix of purples and navy. ’Twas more difficult slinking back onto the grounds now as opposed to the ease in which he had left them. His father had ordered the guards to be doubled for fear a sun sprite would come during the day. So it was during the day that more men and werewolves patrolled the property.

Silus had been forced to hide within the shrubs, like a common thief, waiting for his chance to slip past unnoticed.

Unfortunately, when he finally made it to his door and stepped inside, locking the coming dawn out, he sensed he did not quite get by unnoticed.

“Where have you been?”

He sighed, but really, he should have predicted this. Perhaps ’twas for the best that his father was here. At least now Silus did not have to seek the man out.

“Do not continue to give us your back!” Wiktor snapped. “Turn and face us.”

Us?
Ah, his mother was gracing him with her presence as well. Silus turned, and indeed, there she was, skeletal thin arms, with heavy jewels hanging from her wrists, crossed over her flat chest. She dressed in her usual fashion, as though she were about to attend a ball. Wiktor stood tall—as tall as he could stand—with his hands behind his back.

“Good morning, Father.”

Wiktor hissed. “There is no such thing. Last eve you spoke of an… illness,” he said, not stomaching that his son had been alone with a sprite. His mother, it seemed, still did not know of that.

When Silus told them where he had been, he would be fortunate to still consider himself their son.

“As you can see, I am in perfect health.”

“Then you spoke an untruth to us,” Ariadne said, a curl in her heavy red lips.

Silus winced. A vampire’s word was always his honor. Always. To have to admit to speaking a lie pained him. “Aye.”

“To what do we owe such an offense?” Wiktor demanded. His neck was tight, as though he struggled to hold back a tempered scream in the presence of his wife.

Silus stood a little straighter. “I have taken a mate.”

Both of his parents’ eyes widened. Wiktor actually smiled. “My son, had I known you had chosen your female—”

“Not a female,” Silus said, clenching his fists and hating himself. He did not expect much forgiveness for interrupting the vampires who had given him life, particularly, after he had given them his back and admitted to speaking a lie. He could expect even less forgiveness after he told them who he had claimed.

Wiktor’s face puffed out and turned red. His mother’s jaw dropped, revealing gleaming fangs.

“I apologize, but there can be no mistaking what I am about to say.”

“Whatever it is, it had best be of the utmost importance,” Wiktor said with a snarl. “Male or female, this disrespect is not to be tolerated.”

Silus nodded. He was not ashamed of Cedric, so he would not fidget or sigh when he told his sire the truth. “Indeed. Again, I apologize. However, you must know that my chosen mate is not a vampire.”

Wiktor raised a brow. “A human? Well, should he be of moderate wealth and willing to submit to our ways, any damages brought on by your…preferences, could be brought down to a minimum. Certainly this is not just cause for your rebellion.”

“He is not a human either, Father. He is a sun sprite, the sun sprite who fled my bedchamber on my centennial.”

He waited a beat for them to take in the news. Their explosion was hardly unexpected.

* * * *

It was barely an hour after dawn, and Silus had long since left him for home. Already Cedric missed him and was feeling apprehensive about letting his family know just why he’d been fighting the marriage extra hard lately.

He owed a different sort of explanation to Ben. When he gave it, his friend actually clapped his shoulder. “I gotta say it,” he’d said. “I don’t really like the guy, but so long as you’re happy, even if it’s with him, I’m glad for you.”

Cedric had sighed, immensely grateful his friend understood his decision.

Because Ben was Cedric’s guard, if Cedric got himself disowned over this—who the hell was he kidding? He
was
going to get disowned—Ben could potentially find himself out of a job if his parents didn’t feel like reassigning him. But his longtime friend didn’t seem to care about that. Either that or he was hiding his fear very well and was secretly sweating over his list of qualifications to be a bodyguard.

Ben was great at what he did, but he’d done it with Cedric for so long that if his parents gave him the can and denied him a reference, he could really and totally be fucked.

Cedric didn’t want to cost Benny his paycheck, but the man just kept on smiling. It looked real and felt real, but there was just something a little off.

“You’re serious?” Cedric asked.

Ben surprised him by pulling him into his arms and hugging him. Cedric couldn’t remember the last time they’d hugged. It was a little long, and slightly awkward, but eventually they slapped each others’ backs and pulled apart.

“Just don’t let something happen that makes you miserable for the rest of your life.”

Cedric couldn’t even form an answer to that. He was just too… touched.

Ben had offered to stick around while Cedric broke the news to his ill fiancée and parents, and while it was appreciated, he didn’t want anyone holding his hand while he did this. He’d always hidden behind Ben’s happy attitude and strength, and he’d had enough. He needed to face his next challenge head-on like a big boy.

They’d be upset, but they’d also get over it. Without him, of course.

Eventually Ben bade him good luck and disappeared to search for other duties when the shit hit the fan.

Cedric showered, shaved, dressed in his best, and went down to the breakfast room. He was the first one there and decided he might as well eat. He helped himself to his favorite dishes, scrambled eggs, bacon, and brown toast, along with freshly sliced Royal Gala apples and strawberries with whipped cream for dessert. He ate in silence as he waited, fully aware this was going to be his last meal in this house.

Though it was stalling and cowardly, he couldn’t entirely help it. It just wasn’t done to throw such terrible news at one’s parents first thing in the morning.

No sooner had he licked the last of the cream from his thumb did both his mother and father come in, his aunt Sheila trailing behind them. The three looked as though they’d been awake for hours already, even though it was the early morning. There were no sleep bags under any eyes, they were perfectly dressed, and the women’s makeup had been expertly applied. Each had to always look great, even amongst the family.

Already Cedric was starting to remember just how much he wanted to get out of here.

He rose to greet them. He placed a gentle kiss on his mother’s hand—he still couldn’t look her in the eye—shook his father’s firmly—even though he still hated the old bastard—and because the situation called for it, what with her daughter being ill, he kissed his aunt on the cheek.

Her blue eyes sparkled a little at the warmth, which he figured she above all would need. Not only was her little girl sick, but he would be breaking the engagement this very day.

“How are you, Cedric?” Sheila asked as she took a seat. His mother had already taken the liberty of plating some toast and jam for the both of them. They poured their own teas from the kettle on the table.

Though he’d finished his breakfast, he sat down with them. “Very well, thank you.”

“Your cough is gone, then?”

Oh, right, he’d been faking sick.

“The throat feels fantastic,” he said, aware that his father was staring at him.

His aunt was only half a sun sprite from her father’s first marriage to a wealthy human girl—a fact most knew instantly upon introduction because of her name. Had she been full blooded, she would have been given a name with a softer
S
sound, but instead had been given a name with the coarser
Shh
—but she cared very deeply for the traditions of her people. Because Cedric was about to break one of those traditions, he felt it was she who would take the news the hardest, second only to perhaps the bride herself.

The bride. Fuck, Dacielle would have to be the first to be told. It was her, after all, who was most emotionally invested in this union. She didn’t want money or position. Just him.

She’d have to know before the rest of the house did. It was only fair.

By the end of the day, she would be in tears, and her mother’s kind, human blue eyes would be staring at him with hatred. His own mother would take her side out of sisterly affection, and that left only his father to calm the airs for them. Cedric wished it wouldn’t be so. His old man probably still hated him from yesterday.

Wait till he found out who Cedric was breaking the engagement for. He was going to bust a nut.

Actually, that might be funny to see.

“Cedric, you look as though you’ve eaten something terrible,” Cyricus said from behind his coffee cup. His golden eyes were hard, searching, as though he’d sensed Cedric’s thoughts.

Cedric cleared his throat. “No, Dad, the meal was delicious. I’m just thinking of poor Dacielle up in her room.”

His mother put her hand on Sheila’s shoulder, as though she were the one who was ill. “The doctor came and said she merely has a terrible cold. But she should be right as rain in time for the wedding tomorrow. I know that, despite her brave face, her heart must have been breaking for every day we delayed.”

Cedric inwardly groaned. Her heart would break even more very soon. “I’ll visit her.” Not to keep her company though.

Two out of three faces brightened up.

“Good idea!” his mother said. “You two have always gotten on well. Your company will definitely cheer her up.”

“Cecelia,” his father said, “remember she needs to be resting. Dacielle needs to be in prime condition for the wedding night.”

Jesus Christ, why not just come right out and say it? He wanted her in prime condition for fucking.

Cedric stood from the table just as the chills came down on him. He needed to leave before his father started giving him tips on getting his cousin pregnant on the first try. “I won’t stay long. We’ll just talk.”

His father narrowed his eyes, as though judging whether or not talking could be harmful to the health of someone with a cold. Whatever. Dacielle was a big girl, and cold or no cold she needed to hear the truth from him.

Finally, Cyricus waved his hand in a shooing motion. “Very well, but don’t excite her.”

“And don’t get too close either, dear,” his mother said. “You don’t want to catch what she has and get sick again.”

Cedric left the room just as other guests who’d been invited to stay started coming in. His heart sank a little as he escaped them. In all likelihood, that was to be the last time he’d ever have a semi-carefree breakfast with the three of them in the same room.

Though Dacielle’s room was a guest room, because of the wedding preparations, she’d been staying in the house long enough to have personalized it a bit. Though all guest rooms were spacious, each with a queen-size bed, a connecting bathroom, and neutral colors that were neither too male nor too female, she had already moved most of her things inside and really princessed it up.

Cedric knocked and waited. A strong voice on the other side bade him to enter.

And there she was, to his shock appearing healthier than ever, propped up in bed amongst her mound of stuffed animals and pink pillows with one of those thick manga books in hand. His little cousin.

Well, not exactly little. She was a plump girl, pretty in the face and of fair hair, with eyes the golden color that marked her as a sun sprite. She looked innocent and carefree just lying there. Cedric loved this girl, but not in the way his parents wanted him to.

God. She’d only just turned eighteen two weeks ago, and yet the wedding preparations had been going on for months already. Though she was legal, in human and sprite senses of the word, judging by the
Jonas Brothers
poster on the wall and the stuffed, glittery unicorn she held as she read, legal didn’t do anything for maturity.

She turned up to look at her guest, and her eyes and skin glowed with pleasure. Cedric actually gaped a little. “Dacielle, they told me you were ill.”

Her mouth tightened as she rolled her eyes sarcastically, the glow fading. “I sneezed more times than were proper the other day. As expected, a panic started, and a physician was called for.”

Cedric couldn’t believe it. Was this a good thing or a bad thing? If she was in perfect health, would she be able to jump up and attack him when he broke off their engagement? Or would there really be no risk of her succumbing further into illness when he broke the news if there was no threat of illness to begin with?

“You’re not sick, then?”

“I am,” she sighed, “just not a lot.” Dacielle pointed to her bedside dresser, where, beneath a pink kitten lamp she’d brought from her own house, sat a tissue box, pill bottles, and vapor rub. “I’m to take all of those to keep it from getting worse, but they say I’ll be good for our wedding tomorrow.”