see her better, Garen folded his arms and made ‘kissy faces’ every time he looked over.
Ravensford was a dead man.
He rocked back on his heels, seething with frustration. All he could see was the long length of a slender leg. Although it was a nice leg, one that threatened to sidetrack him with all sorts of intriguing thoughts, he wanted to see her face.
Maria and Marak exchanged vows, a curious blend of the Kyn and human ceremony all rolled into one, but he wasn’t paying attention. How had he missed a woman like that in the court? His mind ran over all the families, trying to recall every distant cousin or minor branch of the nobility.
The ceremony concluded. The congregation stood as the bride and groom made their way back down the aisle. The wedding party took their prearranged places in line to follow them. The only woman he’d ever seen approaching that sort of look was Vixen…his heart stilled in his chest. In fact, his mystery woman was exactly the same height as Vixen, and both were blonde. He turned to look into a familiar pair of green eyes.
His mystery blonde was Vixen.
Chapter Two
The western terrace ballroom had been transformed so magically Vixen’s jaw hit the floor when she walked through the doors. The formal room now looked like something straight out of a fairytale. Swags of white and silver chiffon descended from the high ceilings in loops to wind around the imposing columns. The suits of armor along the walls had been replaced by guards in the shape of cascading floral displays.
As this was a vampire wedding, there was no wedding lunch. Instead, waiters circulated with trays of champagne for the first toast. Another human custom Maria had insisted on. They’d soon switch to serving blood, though. It was the way of things; and the Kyn court, in fact, the race as a whole, took a while to adapt to any change.
A small buffet was tucked away in the corner for the human guests, discreetly out of the way. Some of the older guests, the ones who had been born Kyn, found the sight of people eating distasteful. Vixen took refuge near it. If she’d thought walking into the main hall behind Maria had been bad, with all those eyes boring into her, then the reception was a thousand times worse.
At least in the ceremony no one had been talking. To her—or anyone. Here at the reception it was a different matter. Despite the mingling, only her fellow bridesmaids and the other warriors had bothered to say more than two words to her.
The other bridesmaids were all human. Maria’s mother had been from a seneschal family, so they all knew exactly what Vixen was. She was surprised to discover they were overawed, being in the presence of the infamous Vixen. She appeared to have become a girl power icon amongst the seneschal women, and at least two of them had asked if she’d ever thought of teaching self-defense.
Still absorbing that one, Vixen sat by herself sipping champagne and studying the wall opposite to avoid ‘circulating.’ She also ignored the small group of Kyn women nearby. They were all exquisitely dressed in the manner of the wealthy, and besides, they all eyed her with a mixture of pity and amusement. She recognized them, daughters of the wealthy noble houses, and no doubt all madder than wet hens that Marak hadn’t chosen amongst them for his bride.
Their whispered comments reached her easily. Her knuckles whitened a fraction on the stem of her glass before she relaxed. The last thing she needed was to crush it and spill champagne and blood all over her dress. She ignored the whispers as she had done for years.
“What does she think she looks like?” they began, “Heels with her height? Complexion’s far too pale for that color. Not talked to anyone but the cattle, you can tell she has no breeding.” Adding insult to injury, they finished with, “Don’t know why they invited her, or the rest of those Neanderthals.”
She knocked back the rest of her champagne in one go, not
Ravensford was a dead man.
He rocked back on his heels, seething with frustration. All he could see was the long length of a slender leg. Although it was a nice leg, one that threatened to sidetrack him with all sorts of intriguing thoughts, he wanted to see her face.
Maria and Marak exchanged vows, a curious blend of the Kyn and human ceremony all rolled into one, but he wasn’t paying attention. How had he missed a woman like that in the court? His mind ran over all the families, trying to recall every distant cousin or minor branch of the nobility.
The ceremony concluded. The congregation stood as the bride and groom made their way back down the aisle. The wedding party took their prearranged places in line to follow them. The only woman he’d ever seen approaching that sort of look was Vixen…his heart stilled in his chest. In fact, his mystery woman was exactly the same height as Vixen, and both were blonde. He turned to look into a familiar pair of green eyes.
His mystery blonde was Vixen.
Chapter Two
The western terrace ballroom had been transformed so magically Vixen’s jaw hit the floor when she walked through the doors. The formal room now looked like something straight out of a fairytale. Swags of white and silver chiffon descended from the high ceilings in loops to wind around the imposing columns. The suits of armor along the walls had been replaced by guards in the shape of cascading floral displays.
As this was a vampire wedding, there was no wedding lunch. Instead, waiters circulated with trays of champagne for the first toast. Another human custom Maria had insisted on. They’d soon switch to serving blood, though. It was the way of things; and the Kyn court, in fact, the race as a whole, took a while to adapt to any change.
A small buffet was tucked away in the corner for the human guests, discreetly out of the way. Some of the older guests, the ones who had been born Kyn, found the sight of people eating distasteful. Vixen took refuge near it. If she’d thought walking into the main hall behind Maria had been bad, with all those eyes boring into her, then the reception was a thousand times worse.
At least in the ceremony no one had been talking. To her—or anyone. Here at the reception it was a different matter. Despite the mingling, only her fellow bridesmaids and the other warriors had bothered to say more than two words to her.
The other bridesmaids were all human. Maria’s mother had been from a seneschal family, so they all knew exactly what Vixen was. She was surprised to discover they were overawed, being in the presence of the infamous Vixen. She appeared to have become a girl power icon amongst the seneschal women, and at least two of them had asked if she’d ever thought of teaching self-defense.
Still absorbing that one, Vixen sat by herself sipping champagne and studying the wall opposite to avoid ‘circulating.’ She also ignored the small group of Kyn women nearby. They were all exquisitely dressed in the manner of the wealthy, and besides, they all eyed her with a mixture of pity and amusement. She recognized them, daughters of the wealthy noble houses, and no doubt all madder than wet hens that Marak hadn’t chosen amongst them for his bride.
Their whispered comments reached her easily. Her knuckles whitened a fraction on the stem of her glass before she relaxed. The last thing she needed was to crush it and spill champagne and blood all over her dress. She ignored the whispers as she had done for years.
“What does she think she looks like?” they began, “Heels with her height? Complexion’s far too pale for that color. Not talked to anyone but the cattle, you can tell she has no breeding.” Adding insult to injury, they finished with, “Don’t know why they invited her, or the rest of those Neanderthals.”
She knocked back the rest of her champagne in one go, not
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