"What?" Anthony gawked, echoing Ben's gasp.
"What?"
"I don't think I like your tone," Johanna stated, her polite smile cracking like a thin layer of ice over a pond. So far, she has been doing a good job keeping everyone above water.
"I don't like secrets between family members."
Panic whizzed through Anthony, his heart racing. He couldn't let Nino stay here. He couldn't abandon his duties to their coven back home. If he stayed, Ben would stay and this place was crawling with vampires that wouldn't see Ben as a person, but a snack. Neither of them could be put in danger of encountering one of those mutants.
"Nino, this is really a misunderstanding," Knox said. He raised his hands like two white flags. "You can trust me with Anthony. I've already given Dante my word-"
"Well, you're not talking to Dante. You're talking to me."
"Okay, cool it, macho man," Anthony said, wishing he could curse him out. He grabbed Nino's arm and yanked him backwards. "I need to talk to you. Outside. Now."
He dragged Nino through the door and tossed him into the hallway. "What are you doing? Don't mess this up for us."
Nino crossed his arms, putting on the defensive like they were kids and Nino had just broken Anthony's bike that he wasn't even using. Anthony couldn't let his emotions take over. He couldn't let Nino see how scared he was. "I don't see why my being here is such a problem," Nino said with a shit eating grin. He was in full brat mode and Anthony had to hold himself back from tackling him to the ground and rubbing that smile right off. "We're going to be a family. They should get used to all of us together. Matter of fact, why don't I call everyone."
"No," Anthony hissed. "You're being ridiculous. You didn't come back to stay here longer than today. You or Ben and you can't keep Ben here. Think about how dangerous it is for him here."
"I can multitask, Anthony. I can worry about you and him at the same time."
"But you don't have to."
The door opened and Ben joined them in the hallway. Nino dropped his arms with a sigh. "You're okay to stay here, right?"
Ben was taken back. "Absolutely not. All my stuff is back home. Nino, I like my stuff."
"We can get your stuff."
"That doesn't matter. It doesn't matter what I think. This is about Anthony. Anthony-"
"Anthony doesn't want Nino here," Anthony finished the sentence and Nino sighed again.
"I'm calling Dante," Nino said. "Come find me when they want to show us to our rooms. We're all sharing one," Nino added. He pulled out his phone and stormed outside into the gardens.
Anthony shook his head. "He's lost it."
"He's..." Ben said, trying to come up with the words. "He loves you."
"Sure," Anthony said. "But you, tell me why he's doing this."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, you know him best. You've only known Nino for five years, but you know him best. What's his problem?"
Ben smiled a little in that ooey-gooey lovey-dovey way. His eyes followed the trail Nino left behind as he said, "He spent a lot of time with humans, Anthony. I think it's made him soft. You all are all about business, legacy, and duty. Humans are creatures with big hearts. He's your older brother, Anthony. He's worried about you and honestly, he probably still feels guilty about leaving the family for so long. He probably wants to make up for lost time."
Anthony fidgeted, pulling on his own clothes, the diamonds on his new ring dragging the cotton. "Well... that's nice and all but..." Anthony softened. Ben didn't know this, but Nino used to be his best friend. Before their parents died, Anthony and Nino did everything together. Now, he barely saw Bianca or Dante. He was closest with Mathew, but now they weren't talking.
"Can you talk to him?" Anthony asked Ben. "I'm pretty sure Johanna already hates me. I don't want to cause any more drama."
Ben nodded. "I'll see what I can do."
Ben followed Nino outside. Anthony meandered to the window, watching as Ben approached Nino from behind. Nino was sitting on a bench, talking into the phone. Ben put his arms around Nino's neck and rested his cheek on top of his head. They melded together in an instant.
Anthony sighed and touched his ring. He wanted to say only a week ago, Ventura felt like a strong unit, like pieces of a puzzle falling perfectly into place. Now, Anthony took himself out. He felt "other" like they weren't all the same anymore. Like the name Ventura suddenly didn't mean anything at all.
The door opened again, but this time it was Knox. He glanced back and forth, making Anthony sigh. "Don't worry. You're safe. I sent Ben after Nino. Hopefully, that human will reign him in."
"I think I like Nino even less as a brother-in-law than an ex-fiancé."
Anthony snorted. He couldn't help it. Quickly, he covered his mouth and cleared his throat, trying to play it off as a cough.
"How are you feeling?" Knox asked.
"Flustered. Like I'm a kid again and my older brother is being a brat."
"No," Knox said. "I mean, how are you feeling health wise? Are you still in pain? Are you still thirsty?"
"Oh, uh..." Anthony took a breath. He hadn't taken stock of his situation since leaving the shower. "I'm definitely better but I've felt better."
"We should get you checked out sooner rather than later," Knox declared and tapped Anthony's shoulder and motioned him to follow. "I need to introduce you to Beatrix. She's our in-house witch and the person responsible for making the antidote."
"So, is there a cure?" Anthony asked, rushing to keep up with Knox's long legs and quick stride. Accidentally, this was a quick tour of the castle too. Anthony would never complain about the speed. His biggest pet peeves included: loud chewers, people that think they're above gossip, and slow walkers. This marriage had a chance.
The more Anthony saw of this castle, the more he was convinced the interior decorator was last alive in the 19th century and they had way too much money to play around with. Knox walked right up to an offensively big portrait of Johanna and the King, Edwin. It was obvious Knox got his looks from his mother.
At least in this painting, Anthony had yet to meet him in real life, Edwin had warm brown hair and a matching thick beard. Everywhere his wife was soft and round, he was all sharp angles and hard lines, like looking at the personification of night and day of the spring versus the winter.
Knox pulled the portrait open like it was a door and led Anthony into a spiral staircase downward. It was all stone from floor to ceiling with medieval lanterns lighting the way.
"If this leads to a kinky dungeon, you have to warn me first," Anthony said.
Knox glanced behind his shoulder, the edge of lips pinched into a smirk. "Do you ever think about what you're going to say before you say it?"
"Not if it's funny." Anthony smiled.
Shaking his head, Knox turned back around, continuing their descent. It started out soft, but it became clear someone was blasting pop music the closer they reached the bottom. At the landing, a large wooden door was cracked, until it swung open and Anthony threw his arm across Knox like a seatbelt, pushing him against the wall. A geyser of white light blew right past them, striking the stairs and bouncing high enough to disappear upstairs. Anthony's skin prickled from the light, threatening to crackle and burn.
He let out a breath. This castle was definitely trying to kill him.
"You know I'm a vampire, right?" Knox said like Anthony needed the reminder.
"I know," Anthony said in a similarly curious way.
"I can take care of myself."
"I know," Anthony agreed again, not sure why this guy was picking a fight with him. Knox just sighed and breezed past Anthony for the door. Anthony's stare lingered on him. They've only met for a few hours, and it still didn't feel real. Seeing him was like catching an actor outside in the wild, like an out of body experience.
"Beatrix, what was that?" Knox demanded upon entering the room. "You nearly fried us alive."
"Nearly!" A woman echoed back. "Nearly fried you. If it did, I wouldn't be getting this lovely scolding."
Knox sighed. "What was that?"
"I'm playing around with controlling sunlight..." she explained as Anthony crept into what looked like a workshop stuffed inside this cave. Instead of plants, there were mushrooms in planters and instead of animals, there were bugs in glass cases with roaches winking at him. It felt odd seeing a laptop opening on the large wooden table in the center of a mortar and pestle, small bubbling potions on burners, and other mysterious jars of ingredients. The far wall staged a couple of caldrons, all of them going while several fans whirled in every corner.
"You work for vampires and you're playing with sunlight?" Knox asked her, the irony dripping from his mouth.
"I'm on vacation," Beatrix stated, fanning herself with a red fan larger than her arm length. This woman had obviously lived a good amount of life, her dark hair highlighted with rivers of silver. She had a soft face, lined with wrinkles around her big brown eyes and a smile.
"You won't have a job at all if you end up killing the heir to this coven."
"You're so dramatic." She waved off his worry, when she finally noticed Anthony. "Oh, who's this?"
"Beatrix Hare, this is Anthony Ventura, my fiancé."
A smile broke out across Beatrix's face. "Oh, the new fiancé. So, you agreed to your brother's sloppy seconds? You must be a good son."
"You'd need parents for that." Anthony offered his hand and her grin widened as she accepted the handshake.
Exasperated, Knox dropped his arms onto his hips. "This isn't a social call and honestly, you're both getting on my nerves." Anthony scowled at him for that. He wasn't allowed to complain about Anthony's lack of filter if he was just going to say stuff like that.
"Anthony was bitten by one of the mutants," Knox said.
Beatrix sat up straight, a thrill passing her eyes. She really held no expression back. "Really? When? Where?"
"Today and in the forest-"
"No, where was he bitten?" She yanked on Anthony's arms, untangling them as she brought him closer.
"He," Anthony spoke up. "Was bitten on his shoulder."
As soon as he said it, she yanked at his clothes, untucking his shirt. "Hey!" Anthony yelped, grabbing her wrists. "Watch it. Buy me dinner first."
Obviously, Beatrix wasn't listening. She pushed his blazer off and Anthony just sighed and relented to her pulling. She helped him out of his shirt and tossed it at Knox. "Today you seem perfectly normal." On the last word, Knox obviously had to hold back a laugh and Anthony feigned like he was going to kick the prince. "I don't remember making extra potions."
"You didn't," Knox said. "My mother used the last one on me."
"You were bitten too?"
"No, she overreacted and mistakenly gave me the potion."
Beatrix leaned in closer to Anthony and loudly whispered, "You'll find the prince is a mama's boy." Turning back at the prince, Beatrix's brow narrowed. "So, what did you do?"
"I figured the potion was fresh enough in my veins, so I had Anthony bite me."
"Fascinating, like the opposite of sucking the venom out. Interesting. Anthony," Beatrix asked him, "How do you feel? Any difference? Many cravings?"
Anthony glanced at Knox, wondering if he should keep his desire to rip Knox's neck open, how he wanted his blood more than anything. Anthony just nodded. "I just feel peckish already. My appetite seems to have changed and... and the wounds are closed but I can still feel them. They're pounding."
She hummed. "I'll add this to the top of my list once I get back."
"Get back?" Knox echoed.
"I told you! I'm on vacation!"
"This takes precedence over your little vacation. Anthony needs help. We're out of antidote and we're no closer to finding an actual cure."
Beatrix shrugged. "If you're so worried about it, I'll leave you a list of ingredients I need. Gather them up and I'll make you buckets of potions. I actually think observing Anthony and the effects of the bite might be good for research."
"I'm not an experiment."
"No, but you're property of the Lavigne family now, aren't you?" Her dark eyes pinned Anthony right into place, cutting right through every defense he had ever made. "You're not a thing loved by his highness. You're a tool. As am I."
"Don't listen to her," Knox said, but he wasn't as convincing as her. She believed what she said with her whole chest. Knox was just being nice.
"What do you expect us to do in the meantime? He's obviously struggling."
Beatrix smiled again, standing up. "You'll just have to let Anthony continue to bite you. Think of it as bonding between a new couple. Nothing unites two people more than one of them keeping the other alive."
"Where are you going?" Knox asked as she passed him.
"I'm off to find Milan. I expect he's close by. I'll bend a little and gather some evidence in the forest and bring it back for further study, but honestly, I need to finish packing. Good luck with this one," she told Anthony. "He doesn't listen. Besides, I figured you two might want some alone time. That bite on his back looks angry. He needs help."
She closed the door behind her, leaving Anthony half naked on the table and Knox madder than Anthony had yet to see.