Dhampirica

XXII

THE MORNING SPENT TRAINING WITH Lord Dante was quiet and uncomfortable. After their heated conversation yesterday evening, something bitter had wedged between them. Lord Dante refused to meet her eyes, and Yvanna was equally unwilling to meet his. So, they trained quietly, wrestled by thoughts they could not say aloud.

Yvanna spent the rest of her morning idling about in the library, whilst Lord Dante was holed up in his bedroom, his door notably closed and uninviting. Sometime around 10:00AM, Soren knocked on the doorway and informed her that she had a visitor.

Puzzled, she set her book down and quickly stood up. A visitor? she wondered. For me?

She made her way downstairs and opened the front door, finding an unpleasantly familiar face. Lord Luciano leaned against the doorframe, wearing the same artificial smile. He was dressed in a silk shirt, fitted pants, a trench coat, and boots so shiny they looked like they had just been removed from their packaging. They probably had.

"Hi there," he chirped, eyeing her through the large black frames of his shades. Yvanna spied the shadow of a bruise beneath his glasses.

She sighed heavily. "If you're here to apologize, I wouldn't worry about it. You can tell Lord Dante everything's fine." She started to close the door, but his boot flashed out, jamming itself between the door and the frame.

"Wait wait wait," he said, the smile dropping from his face. "I really think I should apologize to you anyway. Otherwise, I won't hear the end of it from him."

She crossed her arms. "Fine. Apology accepted. Not that you need to apologize anyway. You're a noble, after all."

"Yes, you're quite right about that," he grinned. "But Dante tends to hold grudges, so just to be safe: my sincerest apologies, dhampirica. It was very inappropriate of me to kiss you so publicly. I am riddled with remorse."

"You don't seem very remorseful."

He smirked. "Well, I'm not, really. I was trying to prove a point — a rather successful outcome, wouldn't you say? Dante was definitely off-kilter after that."

"Congratulations, my lord. That was very well done of you," she returned, her voice lacking all the enthusiasm in the world. She did not want to discuss her noble's bizarre behavior that night whatsoever — especially not with him. "If that's all, then..." She tried to close the door again, but he kept his boot firmly in place.

"Wait, wait — honestly. Do you treat all nobles like this? I'm still trying to have a conversation here."

Yvanna bowed her head. "My deepest apologies, my lord. Please forgive my rudeness. I will go fetch Lord Dante, so you may report my behavior and he can punish me appropriately."

Lord Luciano tipped his head back, groaning. "My god, you're insufferable, aren't you? There's no need to be so dramatic. I'll leave now, since that's what you clearly want. Tell Dante I apologized, won't you?"

"Of course."

"Tell him I did it sincerely," he emphasized, and removed his foot.

Before Yvanna could properly close the door on him this time, she heard Lord Dante walk up behind her. "What's this about sincerity?" he asked once he was standing next to her. "Hey, Luca. I wasn't expecting you yet. You've apologized, I take it? I hope it was genuine."

Lord Luciano smiled, but it held no pretense this time. "Of course, Dante. You know me — genuine feelings and all."

Lord Dante opened his mouth, appearing to be about to offer some kind of critical remark, when he stopped. Frowning, he leaned forward, reaching out to grab Lord Luciano's chin. "Wait, what happened to your face?"