I'm Just a Nameless Side Character in a Vampire Romance Novel

Chapter 37 - The Third Bite

I stopped at the entrance to my room, staring at the closed door of Eclis' once again. A lot of things had been weighing on my mind since we had that horrible morning together, but I had thus far avoided seeing him. The days were marching by all to fast, my dresses were already made, and I'd memorized everyone I would meet as well as every event I'd expect to participate in while at the capital. Our palace was in a rush to prepare me for my trip and all it had been all I'd been able to think or talk about recently. The only thing I hadn't faced was the awkwardness I'd left behind in that dining room.

"Would you like to visit the Duke?" Poor Maybella was stuck holding the door open for me while I zoned out staring at his room.

"I think I might." She smiled which was an odd reaction, but I didn't ask about it.

Maybella walked across the hall and opened the door for me. She gasped, before quickly bowing to Eclis. He was sitting in his parlor watching me enter unannounced into his room. He caught us both by surprise, it took me a moment to react. "Are you meeting someone today?" There would be no other reason for him to be sitting in his parlor wasting time like this. Eclis was a workaholic, through and through. I'd expected to find him in his study, instead of here. I entered his room and Eclis dismissed Maybella with a nod leaving us alone together.

"It's been a while." He looked like he was in a bad mood. His red eyes were hard and cold but nothing like our first day 'practicing'. When he looked at me, they softened almost imperceptibly.

"Has it? It's only been a couple days since we ate together."

"Sit with me." His voice was at odds with his appearance. It was soothing. Pleading. I didn't realize I was standing awkwardly behind the couch. Stiffly, I sat. The furniture felt hard, like it was rarely used and brand new. Tea was already prepared and waiting for us on the table. It surprised me to see Eclis personally pour our cups.

"Who are you meeting with today? If this is a bad time? I can come back later." He had to lean in to pour tea in my cup and his scent was mixing with the aroma. It was pleasantly intoxicating. He smelled spicy, musky, and earthy all at the same time. It reminded me of one of my favourite incense.

"It's never a bad time. Jazz, come see me whenever you wish." His eyes met with mine and some of that coldness had ebbed. "What have you gotten up to these past few weeks?"

"What do you mean?" Even the way this man sat spoke volumes to how confident he was. His attractiveness commanded the attention in the room, I was finding it hard to look away.

"A lot has happened for you since you've come here. It's been quite a while since we just talked." His eyes never left me. Not when he poured the tea, nor when he drank from his cup. My breathing became slow and steady. The longer I sat her the stronger his scent seemed to be.

"Yeah. It has I guess." My head felt foggy and drinking the tea didn't seem to help it either. Was I just really tired today? "Oh. Michael's research has come to its conclusion. It seems an awakening is our best course of action, short of risking untested experiments." I sighed, "But we won't have enough time to do it."

"I wouldn't be in a rush to face an awakening if I were you. Not that I question your resolve, its just, I've done one before. It's... Not something I'd do again." His mood was changing. He was still on edge, but the coldness was no longer there.

"You've done one before? Can you do it more than once?"

He raised a brow, "Yes. I have. Why do you ask if you can do one more than once? Did Michael suggest something like that?"

"No... In the novel you choose to do it again, in order to have enough strength to fight off Tyrra's invasion." My face grew somber, "Duke, my actions have changed parts of this story already, but I'm afraid that we are still marching towards war, and I don't have the power to stop that. You do. You really need to take my memories of how this novel unfolds."