Chapter 214: A Date with a Vampire.
The green diamond on Celestine’s finger flared the instant I flipped the switch, a single spark of cold fire in the light.
My couch. My apartment. The door I’d left locked.
She sat like the room belonged to her—brown hair swept back tight, head tilted just enough to bare the long line of her throat. Eyes closed. Not sleeping. Waiting. The black dress clung to every curve, one leg crossed over the other, perfectly motionless in the shadows she’d been breathing since she’d slipped inside.
I froze in the doorway, muscles locked tight, heart hammering once against my ribs before I forced it down.
She’d picked the lock. Or walked through the wall. Either way, she’d been sitting here in the dark, waiting for me.
"So you stayed another night," I said, voice low.
Her eyes opened slowly, heavy-lidded. She uncrossed her legs with deliberate, liquid grace and rose. "Yeah."
"Didn’t expect that." I crossed the room, boots nearly silent on the floor, stopping just short of arm’s reach.
A small, knowing grin curved her lips—the kind that said she held cards I hadn’t even seen. "We both know I’m not here because you asked."
"We?" I sank onto the couch, leaving a careful foot of space between us. "I don’t know shit."
She watched me, hands resting loose in her lap, the green diamond flashing again as she shifted. The room didn’t scream threat. Not yet. But the air felt charged, like the moment before lightning.
"Long day," she murmured. Not a question. She already knew what had gone down at CGI.
"Yeah." I rubbed the back of my neck, the day’s weight still clinging to my shoulders. "Why are you here, Celestine?"
"Don’t be so serious." A soft laugh slipped out of her, but her eyes stayed sharp.
"I am serious."
She stood without hurry and drifted to the window. The curtain whispered aside. Capital night-lights bled across her face, catching the faint emerald glow of her ring and the sharp edge of her cheekbone. For a long moment she just stared out, shoulders deceptively relaxed.
"How long do you think Carrise has gone without being touched?" she asked, back still turned.
"Tell me."
"Two hundred years." She let the number drop like a stone, then turned to face me. The light carved shadows under her eyes. "What are you, Abram?"
[Celestine Vale. Vampire.]
[Curiosity is a woman’s weakness. Ask her out.]
She walked back toward me, each step silent, reading my face the way she had that night outside Vale 2. She stopped directly in front of me, close enough that I caught the cool, faint scent of her skin.
"You knew she was a vampire," she said quietly. "And you knew she was a Vale." Her head tilted, eyes searching mine with clinical intensity. "Didn’t you."
"Yeah." I held her gaze. "Is there something wrong with a man choosing what he wants?"
"Nothing wrong with it." Her voice stayed soft, almost gentle, but her fingers flexed once at her sides. "But Carrise isn’t just anyone. She’s four hundred years old. She’s loved before—more than once." A flicker of something raw crossed her face. "Every man she ever loved... didn’t make it."
The words landed like a blade pressed flat against skin. Not quite cutting. Not yet. The system stayed silent. This felt more like a warning from someone who had skin in the game.
My jaw tightened. I could feel the pulse beating steady in my throat.
"Why are you telling me this?" I asked.
"I want you to stay away from her." Her eyes didn’t waver. "Carrise ran from home. They’ll find her eventually. When they do, being close to her won’t be healthy for you."
"I can stay away," I said. "She won’t."
Our eyes locked. The truth sat between us, naked and undeniable.
A muscle jumped at the corner of Celestine’s mouth. She gave a small nod, then lowered herself back onto the couch, crossing her legs again like she’d earned the right to stay.
"That’s what I can’t work out." Her voice dropped. "How has she not hurt you? We don’t... operate the way you do. Any closeness is a temptation. But the way she talks about you..." She studied me, almost hungry. "There’s something different. What are you?"
[Right timing. Make a move.]
I leaned in slightly, voice low. "Seems like you’re very interested in me."
Something softened in her expression. Her fingers tightened on the cushion.
"Why don’t I take you on a date?" I asked.
A surprised laugh broke out of her, sharp and genuine. "You’re joking."
"Dead serious." I didn’t blink.
Her throat worked. "When?"
[Tonight. We don’t have much time.]
"Tonight."
She was on her feet in an instant, the cool mask slamming back into place. "Nice try, Abram." The dress whispered against her thighs as she headed for the door, shoulders stiff.
The system had been right—she responded to dominance. And beneath the polished control, I’d seen it: that sharp little edge every time Carrise’s name came up. The specific feeling of a sister who had been alone for a very long time, watching someone else find something she hadn’t. This was the only opening I was going to get.
Three strides. I caught her hand at the door.
Her skin was ice against mine. She spun, resistance flickering through her wrist but no real force behind it. Her breath hitched—once, sharply. Pupils blown wide. The pulse at her throat fluttered visibly beneath pale skin.
"Celestine," I said, voice rough.
"I’m a vampire, Abram." Her voice came out thinner than before. She looked up at me, chest rising and falling in shallow, unsteady pulls. The way a woman breathes when she hasn’t been held like this in a very long time—and part of her doesn’t want to hate it.
"I’m just looking at a woman I want to know better," I said.
Her breathing deepened. Cheeks flushed with the faintest color. "Carrise is my sister," she whispered, the last thread of defense.
[Potential mark. She loves that you see her as a woman, not a creature.]
"Yes, she is." I brushed my thumb slowly across her knuckles, feeling the cool, smooth skin. "And I still want to know what’s behind all of this. The tough girl. What’s underneath."
"Abram—"
"Please." Soft. Firm.
She stood frozen, eyes locked on mine, a war playing out behind them. Seconds stretched. Then her shoulders softened by a fraction.
"Okay." The word came out on a shaky exhale. "Where are we going?"
"Anywhere you want," I said, not letting go of her hand.
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