Read Online Shadowstorm (The Shadow World Book 6) by Dianne Sylvan - Free Book Online
Authors: Dianne Sylvan
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purple, the exact color of his eyes, with a black cloak; his hair blended into the velvet so it looked like he was wearing a hood. He had the bearing of a king, and if Nico brought to mind a wild creature in the forest, Kai made her think of the trees themselves, regal, casting shadows over everything around them. She wondered if he was capable of slouching. “Yes. The ruling council of Avilon has decreed no vampire may set foot in our realm…not even one that is also Elven. He can never go home again.”
“Oh my God.” Nico already hated what he had become, and knowing his friends and family did too... “How could they do that? I thought he was loved by his people.”
“He is. That love is the reason they make no objection to my coming here—not that they could stop me, now that I have the Gatestone. But it is an old, old fear that drives them. Vampires were instrumental in the near-extinction of our race. They were paid by the human authorities to hunt us down, and because we are apparently quite a delicacy, they murdered us by the hundreds. The human world itself terrifies my kind.”
“Your kind, but not you.”
Kai smiled. It was the first time she’d ever seen him smile; it made the distant, untouchable neutrality of his face seem almost human…and it made her heart skitter through her chest in a way she didn’t like. “I fear very little.”
“You’re obviously not afraid of me,” she observed. “A lot of people are.”
Something she could only describe as a sparkle appeared in his eyes. “No, I am not. I confess I find you fascinating.”
Miranda had to look away from his steady gaze, and to her horror she realized she was blushing. “Oh?”
“Well, you, and this…whatever this is.”
She realized he was indicating the Bösendorfer. “Don’t Bards play instruments where you come from?”
“I play six,” he said. “Some are similar to those—” He gestured at her row of guitars. “But this enormous musical box is strange to me. Its sound drew me to you just now.”
Miranda recognized the look on his face. It was, in fact, fascination, but with the piano, not her. Thank God. She’d seen musicians get that same keen-eyed interest over new instruments at music stores, and seeing it in Kai made her opinion of him shift a bit. Dick he might be, but he was a musician, and she couldn’t resist sharing a little. “It’s simpler than it looks,” she said, standing up and lifting the piano’s lid. “It’s just hammered strings.”
Kai gazed down into the piano’s inner workings, eyes lighting up when she played a bit of the chorus of one of her songs. Then his eyes shifted to her hands, absorbing, analyzing, and cataloging everything about how the instrument was played. It reminded her very strongly of how David learned things in seconds that would take other people weeks.
She explained the pedals, and the black keys, and to her own surprise found herself scooting over. “Try it.”
His eyebrows shot up. “You would let me touch her?”
Miranda shrugged, trying to downplay the impulsive suggestion. His wonder at it made her face heat up again. “Sure, for a minute.”
He sat down. A familiar scent—trees and cookies, like Nico. She’d asked Nico once why he smelled like that, and he’d looked at her like she was crazy. Kai’s presence, however, was massive and ostentatious, where Nico tried to make himself seem as ordinary as possible. The twins had apparently taken what made them different from the other Elves and gone in totally opposite directions with it. She could imagine how their people would adore them both even as they feared their potential darkness.
Kai’s hands, which she could only describe as elegant, lightly pressed a few keys, the touch practically reverent. He looked up at the music stand and frowned at the pages she’d propped up there. “Your system of notation is very different from ours.”
“How so?”
“Well, it is horizontal, for one
“Oh my God.” Nico already hated what he had become, and knowing his friends and family did too... “How could they do that? I thought he was loved by his people.”
“He is. That love is the reason they make no objection to my coming here—not that they could stop me, now that I have the Gatestone. But it is an old, old fear that drives them. Vampires were instrumental in the near-extinction of our race. They were paid by the human authorities to hunt us down, and because we are apparently quite a delicacy, they murdered us by the hundreds. The human world itself terrifies my kind.”
“Your kind, but not you.”
Kai smiled. It was the first time she’d ever seen him smile; it made the distant, untouchable neutrality of his face seem almost human…and it made her heart skitter through her chest in a way she didn’t like. “I fear very little.”
“You’re obviously not afraid of me,” she observed. “A lot of people are.”
Something she could only describe as a sparkle appeared in his eyes. “No, I am not. I confess I find you fascinating.”
Miranda had to look away from his steady gaze, and to her horror she realized she was blushing. “Oh?”
“Well, you, and this…whatever this is.”
She realized he was indicating the Bösendorfer. “Don’t Bards play instruments where you come from?”
“I play six,” he said. “Some are similar to those—” He gestured at her row of guitars. “But this enormous musical box is strange to me. Its sound drew me to you just now.”
Miranda recognized the look on his face. It was, in fact, fascination, but with the piano, not her. Thank God. She’d seen musicians get that same keen-eyed interest over new instruments at music stores, and seeing it in Kai made her opinion of him shift a bit. Dick he might be, but he was a musician, and she couldn’t resist sharing a little. “It’s simpler than it looks,” she said, standing up and lifting the piano’s lid. “It’s just hammered strings.”
Kai gazed down into the piano’s inner workings, eyes lighting up when she played a bit of the chorus of one of her songs. Then his eyes shifted to her hands, absorbing, analyzing, and cataloging everything about how the instrument was played. It reminded her very strongly of how David learned things in seconds that would take other people weeks.
She explained the pedals, and the black keys, and to her own surprise found herself scooting over. “Try it.”
His eyebrows shot up. “You would let me touch her?”
Miranda shrugged, trying to downplay the impulsive suggestion. His wonder at it made her face heat up again. “Sure, for a minute.”
He sat down. A familiar scent—trees and cookies, like Nico. She’d asked Nico once why he smelled like that, and he’d looked at her like she was crazy. Kai’s presence, however, was massive and ostentatious, where Nico tried to make himself seem as ordinary as possible. The twins had apparently taken what made them different from the other Elves and gone in totally opposite directions with it. She could imagine how their people would adore them both even as they feared their potential darkness.
Kai’s hands, which she could only describe as elegant, lightly pressed a few keys, the touch practically reverent. He looked up at the music stand and frowned at the pages she’d propped up there. “Your system of notation is very different from ours.”
“How so?”
“Well, it is horizontal, for one
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