Wanderlust (23 page)

“You’d be surprised how important it is to work out your arms as well,” she said, her accent thicker than normal as she struggled to find a reason why playing soccer would build upper body strength. Thankfully, Eli stepped in.

“I’ve heard that,” he said, and Addie seemed satisfied--popping a chocolate-covered biscuit in her mouth and looking out at the scenery. One day, we wouldn’t be so lucky. She would catch on eventually, and we needed to get our story straight before that time. It was for her own good. It was bad enough she was in danger just by being around me. Learning my secret would only make matters worse for her.

We sat there a while longer just taking in our surroundings. The locals. The tourists. The cats. So many cats. Those few minutes of silence were some of the fondest of my life. It was like, for the first time in my life, I had a true appreciation for all of the blessings the world had to offer--flavors, scents, sights, sounds…all of my five senses were being tickled by the activities taking place around me. The experience was overwhelming.

And, just like that, it was over.

“We better get going,” Chip said. “Sylvie will be looking for us soon, and we mustn’t keep her waiting.”

Addie gave me a knowing look, and I arched my eyebrows in response. Chip was right--you must never keep her highness waiting. I was sad to leave the little ledge, but, it was time to move on. There was still so much to see.

“Lovely,” Chip said, taking one last long look at the passing gondolas, the sweet sound of the gondoliers singing love ballads to their guests as they drifted along. “I never tire of it.”

We all nodded our agreement before rejoining the hustle and bustle of the crowded city streets. No doubt it was tourist season. Kiosks lined every square of the sidewalk in high-traffic areas so that the locals could peddle their wares--scarves, Murano glass works, limoncello--to anyone who would give them the time of day.

We arrived at the hotel to find Sylvie sunning herself on the balcony. I never tired of the knowledge that vampires, under the right circumstances, could spend all the time they wanted in the light of day. However, it often took years for a vampire to build a tolerance to the severe burns the sun’s rays could impart on their skin. Sylvie was long-since immune to its effects. Given the clothing--or rather lack thereof--that Chip preferred, she had built a tolerance quite quickly since she was, presumably, turned fairly recently--less than two or three years ago was my guess.

“You’ve returned,” she said, pushing up off her chaise longue. She wrapped a long, silk sarong across her body and pulled her shades down on her nose. “I have exciting news.”

“Tell me why we’re doing this again,” Eli said while Addie knotted his necktie and patted it gently in place. He tugged at it lightly and grimaced. “Ouch. That’s too tight. I can’t breathe.”

“Quit being such a baby,” Addie said playfully. Eli turned quickly and petted her cheek gently.

“A little help over here, please,” I shouted over my shoulder. Chip was working diligently to wedge me between the whalebone of the corset Sylvie insisted I wear, but it was going to take another set of hands to weave the lace through the eyelets and secure me inside.

“Absolutely,” Eli said, turning swiftly to make his way across the room where I was dressing behind a silk screen. “Always happy to help.”

“Eek,” I shrieked. Considering I was bare down to my skivvies, there was no way he was getting anywhere within five feet of that screen. Luckily, Addie knew me well enough to interpret my squeal and stepped in just in time.

“Uh, I don’t think so, Eli,” Addie said, placing her hands on his broad chest and giving him a light shove. “I can handle this one.”

I peeked my head around the edge of the screen to watch the scene play out, and I was just in time to see Eli wink at Addie in response. Odd. Addie gave him a stern glare before turning away to skip in my general direction. That’s right…skip. I wasn’t sure what I had just witnessed, but I was certain I wasn’t meant to see it. I pushed the thought out of my mind as soon as Addie was at my side.

Once I was secured inside the corset, I stepped into an enormous hoop petticoat, and then an over petticoat with a thick, intricately embroidered hem was placed over top. Already, I felt like I was wearing an extra 50 pounds of cloth, and I still had to put on the divinely elaborate silk dress. Sylvie had brought us each a selection of at least a half-dozen dresses from which to choose our attire for the evening. I had no doubt they were all authentic originals that had been handcrafted by the finest designers of an earlier era.

I was normally neither here nor there about fashion, but once again, Sylvie had put me in a position to be awed and inspired, so I took the opportunity to immerse myself in the once-in-a-lifetime experience being presented to me. And, while all of the gowns were ridiculously outstanding, I knew instantly that one in particular was made just for me--even though I knew it hadn’t literally been.

“That’s it. That’s the one,” I said, pointing at an emerald green gown in the center of the rack.

“It’s perfect,” Addie said, nodding her head in agreement. She quickly replaced the dress she had been examining back on the rack, and grabbed the green gown instead. She held it against my chest and examined me closely. “With your red hair and milky skin, it will be stunning.”

She was right. She always was when it came to these things, but I had a different reason for wanting to wear this particular gown. The fabric from which it had been fashioned was the exact color of Chaseyn’s eyes. It reminded me of how much I longed to hear his voice and to resolve our issues.

“Ah, I see you have found it,” Sylvie said as she stepped into the room. The sound of her voice snapped me back to reality. Wearing a regal scarlet gown, she was a exquisite vision.

“Hmmm? Found what?” Addie asked innocently, though I had already clued in. I kicked myself for not thinking of it earlier. Now that I had gone to all of the effort of putting on the dress there was no time to change my mind about wearing it, but, knowing what was coming, I most definitely wanted too.

“He had it made for me some time ago for a costume ball we had attended--much like the one we are attending tonight,” she said, ignoring Addie entirely as she fumbled with one of the flounces of my skirt. “I’m sure you can guess why he chose this color.”

I nodded. I had never felt like a fool before for taking her hand-me-downs, but this was different. This dress had been a token of Chaseyn’s adoration for her. Standing here now, I felt like an afterthought. Like I was his consolation prize. It was also a reminder that, despite the fact that she had been nice to me the past few days, Sylvie was not my friend. She knew I would be enamored with this dress, and she wanted to cause me pain. Tears stung my eyes, but I refused to let them fall. I wouldn’t give her the satisfaction.

She left the room without uttering another word. She’d said enough.

Addie fussed a bit more with the layers of silk and brocade before turning her attention to adorning me with a number of high-end jewels. There was no way these baubles were fake--Sylvie wouldn’t allow that. Chip clipped up my curls, leaving a few stray tendrils to frame my face. Admittedly, I looked like something out of a Victorian fashion show, but it didn’t raise my spirits.

When Chip and Addie were done primping and prodding, I swapped places with Addie so that she could get ready for the big event. She had chosen a sky blue ensemble with a sweetheart neckline that did a fair bit of justice to her ample cleavage. With her long blond hair and big blue eyes, she looked like a fairytale princess.

“What are you wearing tonight, Chip?” Addie asked, noting how Chip was still wearing cut-off jean shorts and an oversized t-shirt. “We have to leave in 20 minutes. You’ll never have time to get ready now.”

“You’d be surprised,” I muttered under my breath,

“What was that?” Addie asked.

“What? Oh, nothing,” I covered, hoping Chip would come up with some form of rational explanation for why she would be able to pull of a complete transformation in under half-an-hour.

“I’m not coming,” Chip finally said. I breathed a sigh of relief--both because I was getting a bit tired of being around her knowing she didn’t really like us all that much and also because no explanation would be needed.

“Oh, no. Why not?” Addie chirped.

“I have some friends here that I haven’t seen in ages, and I’m going to spend tonight with them. I should have told you earlier, but I knew you wouldn’t mind,” she explained, giving Addie her brightest grin.

I had a feeling something more was going on, and the thought sent a shiver through my spine. For the past two days, Sylvie had been assuring me that the plan she and Balthazar had made to keep me safe on our travels seemed to be working out well, but I knew there was always a strong possibility that could change at a moment’s notice. As soon as Addie stepped out of the room to “powder her nose,” I dashed to Chip’s side.

“Fine,” I said, doing my best to hide the fact that her words stung. I didn’t like her much either, but it’s always hard to hear someone confirm that they don’t like you.

“Fine,” she replied, and stomped away.

I still felt uneasy about the entire situation. Chip was hard to read. She didn’t like me much, so it didn’t come as a surprise that she didn’t want to spend any more time with me that she had to, but I got the feeling there was something more going on. If she wasn’t going to tell me what it was, I would just have to remain on high alert all night long.

Sylvie chose that moment to return. Eli was at her side. It was impossible not to notice how extraordinarily handsome he looked decked out in his formal attire.

“Wow,” he said under his breath when he caught sight of Addie and I in our gowns, though I noticed his eyes lingered a little longer than they should have at the plunging neckline of Addie’s dress. Who could blame him? She was a vision to behold, and he was a teenage boy. “You two look amazing.”

“You don’t look so bad yourself,” I said. That’s when I realized he was carrying something in his hands. “What’s that you got there?”

“Here,” he said, handing Addie and I each a small package.

“What is it?” Addie asked, a huge smile across her face. That girl loved receiving gifts, regardless of what they were.

“Couldn’t tell you,” Eli said, holding a third, very similar looking, package up to his ear and rattling it in an effort to decipher its contents by the sound it made. “Sylvie just asked me to carry them here and give them to you guys.”

“Well, go ahead. Open them,” Sylvie said, making a wide sweeping gesture with her arms. The woman lacked modesty in the extreme, and stood there smiling in a way that said she was truly proud of whatever it was we were about to reveal when we opened the packages.

Addie was the first to tear through the simple white wrapping paper, but Eli was close behind. I paused from peeling at the edges of the tape securing the gift wrap to take a peek at what was inside their boxes.

“It’s amazing,” Addie whispered as she examined the object closely, carefully rotating it in her hands.

“Cool,” Eli conceded.

Our masks. Of course. How could we go to a masquerade ball without them? I should have known. We had passed what seemed like a million mask shops throughout the day, but we hadn’t gone inside a single one--a nearly impossible feat for anyone who has ever been to Venice. Eli and I had little interest in them, and Chip had been fairly vocal about the fact that she thought they were silly. Because Addie had been to Venice a half-dozen times before, she had collected her fair share of them in the past. So, we avoided the shops.

Sylvie had a knack for selecting just the right mask to compliment our personalities, despite the fact that she had known us all only a few short days. Eli’s was masculine and colorful. It had an exaggerated nose and several long, pointed pieces extending from the top, bottom, and sides. Each point ended in a bell that would jingle with every move Eli made--perfect to remind us of his overwhelming presence.

Addie’s was elegant but bold. Sapphire crystals and saltwater pearls adorned every inch of the faceplate, and a few well-placed feathers accented the area above the eye holes, while a massive display of handcrafted flowers encircled every inch of the entire faceplate. The mask had a handle so that she could hold it to her face rather than strap it to her head. Perfect because she would definitely want people to take notice of the effort she had put into her makeup.

My own mask was simple and understated, though no less magnificent than the others. The base was a painted gold plaster that had been overlaid with a swirl of feather-like gold plating that started beneath each eye and extended in a looping detail off the side and up to the brow. Yellow and white glass beads and sequins formed an intricate pattern between the eyes and along the top of the nose. It would cover only the upper portion of my face and fasten in back. Amazing.

Like Addie’s mask, Sylvie’s had a handle so that she could lift it to and from her face. It was a full piece that looked as though it had been made from the finest red lace. As with everything that Sylvie wore, it was utterly and completely perfect for her.

“We leave in five minutes,” Sylvie said as she turned to exit the room. “The boat will be waiting at the dock off the main room. Don’t be late.”

“Why does she seem so much older and more sophisticated than our friends?” Addie asked. “I mean, what is she, like 20? That’s only two years older than us, but she talks like she’s so…I don’t know…worldly.”