Blood Thirsty

Ch. 29: I'll race you there

Everything that needed to be done was done. No one expected anything from Anthony, except to walk down the aisle. He was dressed in a well-tailored black suit with classic tails, a bright white undershirt, and matching gloves. He wore a silver family crest for the Ventura, attached by a small string of pearls and a diamond strand to the Lavigne crest.

Anthony pressed his hand over the symbols, closing his eyes as he tried steadying his heart. This crest, the silver crescent moon given to him by his father, his grandfather, and all the Ventura's before him. The cold metal couldn't be farther than the feeling of his parents here.

He never asked much about their wedding. Anthony had seen pictures, but he couldn't remember them now. They were smiling, Anthony thought. He assumed. No one was more in love than his parents.

"Anthony?"

Anthony's eyes popped open to see Bianca all dolled up with her hair up in a sleek bun like an old movie star. Her make-up made her look airbrushed with a dark plum lip that matched her long, billowing chiffon gown with sleeves that had a train as long as her dress. Diamonds shaped like raindrops hung from her ears and her necklace sat like morning dew on her collarbone. Amazing someone could just go through life and just be so beautiful.

"Anthony, what's wrong?" She asked.

Purposely taking deep breaths, Anthony didn't answer. He asked, "What was your wedding like?" Anthony had to ask as they eloped somewhere in Europe and disappeared for three years in the haze of their honeymoon.

Bianca's lips pulled into a smile, and she glanced at her husband for just a moment. Gabriel stood apart in his dark brown suit and tie that matched his wife. He was fussing with his hair in the mirror, which Evie was copying. Bianca said, "It was intimate. Short. Our witness was a random village woman who made my bouquet."

"Just one person?"

"Well, and the priest."

Anthony could hear the crowd outside and it was making his body shut down.

"Evie!" Snapping his fingers at Evie, motioning her over. At attention, Evie hopped off her chair and hustled to him with her little emerald, green gown flouncy around. Her long brown curls were flopping everywhere, only held out of her face by a thick headband.

"What?" she asked as he bent down, holding onto his knees and looking at his niece very seriously.

"I need you to go out there and count the crowd."

"Okay!" She saluted and bolted out of the room.

"No, Evie!" Ben called, running after her. "That isn't going to help your uncle!"

"Ben!" Nino shouted and, in this chase, he was third in line. "Don't leave my sight! It's you against every vampire outside this room. Ben—!"

They disappeared and Anthony let out a breath. He had that fraying panic feeling again when things started flying out of his control. If there was chaos, if there was wildfire, Anthony wanted to be the spark that started it. Out of the eyes of his siblings, Anthony took off his engagement ring and slipped it into his pocket.

"Oh, no," Anthony said, touching his naked finger. The remaining Ventura all perked their heads up and Anthony had to bury down his need to blurt out laughing from this trick.

Mathew was by Anthony's side in a millisecond. "What? What is it?" Mathew styled his hair back, highlighting the sharp edges of his face. If he wasn't careful, he was going to break a couple of hearts today without even trying.

"My engagement ring," Anthony said, "It's not on my finger."

Turning pale, Gabriel straightened like a man who had lost his engagement ring before and barely lived to regret it. "What? Where did you have it last?"