Total pages in book: 119
Estimated words: 112849 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 564(@200wpm)___ 451(@250wpm)___ 376(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 112849 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 564(@200wpm)___ 451(@250wpm)___ 376(@300wpm)
“You said you were born in Finland,” I muse, tracing my fingertips over the scar that his knife had left in his chest. The mark was almost gone now. By the time the sun comes up, I’m pretty sure there will be no trace of it. “What year was that?”
“Technically it was the Kingdom of Sweden at the time. Early 1700s. When the Russians took over.”
“And…who were you?”
He cranes his head to look down at me and smiles, holding me closer to him. “I was me. Valtu Aminoff.”
“You weren’t a count then.”
“No, I was a peasant,” he says. “Far less glamorous.”
I try to picture him as a peasant and suddenly I have a vision so clear it’s like I’d seen it with my own eyes. There’s something so damn familiar about him too, seeing him in breeches, a white shirt, surrounded by a wheat field that it takes me a moment to realize I’m not actually in the past.
I blink and bring myself back around. “So…what was it like back then?”
He exhales, his fingers playing with strands of my hair. “It was hard. Punishing. There was some room for pleasure and beauty but in general, life was not meant to be enjoyed, only endured.”
“Some today would argue that hasn’t changed.”
“Unlucky ones, I suppose,” he muses. “Not that I didn’t have my fair share of endurance. A lot of my life was…less than favorable.”
“Were you married?”
“I was,” he says. “Only twice, though.”
“Vampires or human?”
“Humans,” he says. “At first I didn’t know any better. I was adopted, back in the day. I didn’t know I was a vampire. I wasn’t raised as one.”
That’s news to me. “You’re kidding…”
He gives his head a shake. “Nope. So I got married to a woman in my small village. Ana.”
“What did she do when she discovered you were a vampire?’
“She never got a chance to. She died during childbirth.”
“Oh,” I say to him, feeling awful. “I’m so sorry.”
“Don’t be. It was a long time ago. I cared for her, but I didn’t love her. Back then you didn’t marry for love, not most of the time. You did it because the woman was pretty or had good genes and the man had money or land. There was always an excuse, always a reason for it. Love was an afterthought. And anyway, for me it was the first loss of many.”
“So if that was your first wife…”
What happened to your second?
“I was in love with a woman I met shortly after Ana died. I never got a chance to marry her though. She also died. And my wife after that, a century later? She died too.” I feel his eyes on me and I glance up at him. He gives me a soft, melancholy smile. “When you’re in love with a human, it always ends in death. It’s a hard thing to accept but it’s the way our lives are.”
Meaning, there might be a reason why he hasn’t told me he loves me. He won’t let himself love me. And why would he? Why let love in if you know it’s going to end in death and heartache, something you’ll have to live with for a literal eternity?
“Oh,” I say softly. “So I suppose it’s better you stay with vampires. They aren’t going anywhere.”
“True.” He makes a huff of amusement. “But vampires are still difficult people to be with. If I ever met a vampire I could love, things might be different, but I haven’t.”
“You’re picky,” I tease him.
“Yeah. I am,” he says, giving me a squeeze. “And I’m glad. Because you’re here.”
“A human,” I point out.
“I know,” he says, his eyes taking on a sad sheen.
I need to change the subject. Talking about death and lost loves doesn’t feel right. Even though I’m curious to know more, I don’t want Valtu to have to dwell on the sorrows of the past.
“So do you not hang out with other vampires, or…?”
“They are the only ones I hang out with,” he says. “Believe it or not, but you’re the exception.”
I suspected that but didn’t know for sure. I can’t help but feel flattered. “So where do you hang out? Where do you meet them?” I ask, trying to get him to give up more info. If I can get him to start talking about Saara and Aleksi, that would be a good start.
“We always find each other it seems,” he says. “Helps that we have a club.”
“Vampires Only Club?”
“No, humans can join too…but there’s a, how shall we call it, a fee?”
“Okay, tell me about it…”
“I could show you.”
“Really?” I honestly didn’t think he’d want to bring me to the Red Room, though I suppose it’s only fair if other humans are able to go. “Wait, what’s the fee?”
He clears his throat. “If you don’t mind paying the fee.”