Back To You

Chapter 22

"My sister wishes to meet you tomorrow night," Mathias casually mentioned to Emilia as they were cuddled together on the mountain of pillows Emilia had snuck into the cave over the years. As he expected, Emilia bolted upright and turned to look at him in horror. "What? Why?!"

"She is curious about you," he chirped, "as I am sure you are of her too."

'Not at all!!' Emilia thought, somewhat horrified.

Mathias burst into laughter. "Oh, Emi, my love! You should see the expression on your face."

She smacked his shoulder hard before throwing a pillow at him.

Mathias bit his lip to control his laughter, placing the pillow back neatly in place before turning more serious. "Emi, it would mean the world to me if the both of you got along nicely. I know you distrust any vampire excepting me, but could you give my sister a chance?"

Emilia saw the pleading look in his eyes and did not have the heart to say no. "The things I do for you," she pouted while resigning herself to the unfortunate meeting.

He gave her a brilliant grin of appreciation, "Thank you, my most favourite witch in the entire world!"

"You mean your only favourite witch in all the worlds," she giggled before Mathias silenced her with a kiss.

As Mathias predicted, the meeting between the two women was more frigid than a cold winter snowstorm. They pretended to be civil for his sake, shaking hands, but Emilia had her haughty look on while Lannetta sniffed disdainfully.

"I have heard great things about you," Lannetta icily said, not a trace of emotion on her face.

"As have I," Emilia replied, staring daggers at the vampire princess.

Mathias stood by meekly, beads of sweat beginning to trickle down his neck as he continued watching them pretend to get along for another fifteen minutes until he could no longer handle the stress and prematurely ended the rendezvous.

Emilia watched the siblings leave, Mathias promising to meet her in another five days before practically dragging Lannetta through the portal back to Tilrigen. Five days of life without Mathias meant five slow, lonely days with no one to talk to, no warm hugs and tender kisses. She let out a dejected sigh that echoed softly in the now empty cave. Having nothing else to do, Emilia took a slow walk back to the mansion. The streets of Onirique were deathly quiet, but it was no surprise considering how few inhabitants actually stayed in the city.

At Mathias' urging, Emilia had tried but failed at finding out how exactly the vampire king had ended much of the city's population. Not even her father knew anything. All that was known was that death had come instantly, leaving no trace on its victims. Countless accounts described how many of the victims had crumpled to the ground while going about their day doing mundane things; while eating a meal, mid-walk while strolling in the park, or merely reading a book. The incident piqued Emilia's curiosity, but unfortunately, she had exhausted what little sources of information were available, mainly in the city's library archives.

The walk home was uneventful, but as she neared the main door, she was surprised to see her father leaving their home.

"What are you doing out so late at night?" He immediately asked, a stern look directed at her. "I could not sleep and decided a walk would do me good," quick-thinking Emilia said and then curiously added, "Where are you heading so late at night?"

The usually austere Paul shocked her with a rare smile, "The war council has some good news to discuss. When the time is right, I will enlighten you." He patted her hair gently before heading out, saying over his shoulder, "I will be late. Do not wait up for me."