Finding My Way

Chapter 15

By the time we made it to Kaname's room, I was fraught with nerves. I was surprised when he forgoed his office and took us straight to his bedroom. We stand now in the entryway and Kaname seems torn with indecision. Which is very unlike him, I observe. Normally, he's so calm and confident.

After a moment, he pulls me over to his bed and asks me to wait a moment. He quickly exits the room, his eyes determined with whatever decision he has made. Immediately, I walk over to his mirror and check to see how much my outfit has gone into disarray. I've held up better than I thought. My hair is still intact, though I notice twigs and a few leaves in my hair. I brush off my back as best as I can and I'm still trying to pick out some of the smaller twigs in my hair when Kaname returns.

He pauses in the entryway, staring at me, the look of resignation he had upon entering the room leaving his face. I look at his reflection in the mirror, frozen in place. But then, he starts to laugh.

It's the loveliest sound that I've ever heard in my life. I've never heard him laugh before. It makes me feel incredibly light and happy myself. My face breaks into a wide smile and I join him in laughter.

"I'm sorry, Yuki," he says after a moment, the laugh still etched on his face. "This was all my fault. I should have been more considerate."

I wave away his comment. "It was completely worth it," I say, smiling up at him.

He comes up behind me and brushes away some of the debris that I had missed, his hands lingering in places and sending delicious tingling sensations through my body. When he seems finished, I turn around and wrap my arms around his waist, resting my head against his chest.

His hand comes to rest against the top of my head, careful not to damage my hairstyle too much. His other hand traces shapes on my back.

"Yuki, if you want me to tell you the truth tonight, I think we need to be on opposite sides of the room," he murmurs. "Otherwise, I'll do something I'll regret later."

Before I can think better of it, I say, "I'm of half a mind to stay right here, but I'll know regret that decision later if I don't learn the truth." With an effort, I withdraw my arms and retreat to my initial position on his bed.

He strides to the other side of the room and leans against the wall. Slowly, he slides down the wall until he sits on the floor. He leans his head back against the wall and closes his eyes. I wait patiently for him to speak.

"What I'm going to tell you now only covers part of the whole truth. Some truths are too dangerous to be spoken aloud and would be better for you to learn later." He opens his eyes briefly, waiting for me to respond. I nod, not entirely happy with this statement, but I'm going to take what information I can get. For now. He closes his eyes again. "When I left just now, I set up protective wards to keep sound from leaving this room."

He's really beating around the bush. Whatever it is, he doesn't want to tell me. But, I'm so grateful that he decided to finally confide in me.

"Yuki, when we talked earlier, you expressed your insecurities of being unworthy and just a human. The truth is, you've never been just a human." In a flash, he's by my side. Even though he's used his powers to mute all sound going outside, he whispers his next sentence, "You were born a pureblood vampire."

---

"What did she say to you?" a cool female voice says from right behind Zero.

Zero jumps. Cursing himself for letting his guard down, he draws the Bloody Rose and whips himself around to face the one who surprised him.

He's not as surprised once he takes in Seiren standing calmly in front of him. He cocks his head to the side and looks at her appraisingly. He's not sure if he trusts her or not. From what he knows about her, she's Kaname Kuran's lieutenant and spy. He doesn't really trust Kaname Kuran or his motives, but he does know that he cares for Yuki. Any idiot could see that.