Mirror: Book One of the Valkanas Clan (38 page)

It took another hour before I was finally able to flop down on my own couch, book in hand, and begin to unwind. Ava was back at her place, Beckett and I were settled back into ours, and Tom had finally finished fussing over my apartment a few minutes before, making sure there weren’t any nasty booby traps waiting for me anywhere. I could tell he’d hoped for an invitation to stay the night, but I wanted some time alone more than anything right now.

“Well,” I amended, as Beckett jumped into my lap.
“Alone time except for you, of course.”

I scratched him under the chin, adjusted the pillows behind his head, and settled in with my Jane Austen book. I had a stack of unread vampire novels by the other side of the couch, but for once a classic comedy of manners seemed far more appealing to me than a supernatural adventure. Funny what a few days could
do.

I found the novel so soothing I was actually unsurprised when I looked up to see Marielle sitting at my dining room table, a look of contentment on her face.

“Ever heard of knocking?” I asked wryly, too tired to be genuinely irritated.

“You’re almost better than my tree when you’re at peace,” she murmured, ignoring me.

“Speaking of your tree, I’m pretty sure Damian and Valerie have it. I bet they’d be willing to give it back to you.”

“Really?” she arched an eyebrow gracefully. Between her and Valerie, I was starting to feel downright frumpy. “That would spare me a bit of trouble.
And what about my horn?
Would they be willing to give that to me as well?”

I decided not to comment on the fact that she’d referred to it as hers already. As much as Damian might try to persuade Valerie otherwise, I just couldn’t see her giving it up completely. And as much as I knew I should probably leave it up to them to sort out, I couldn’t help myself: I had to try to pave the way.

“Uh, about that—Valerie is also desperate to have children, so I think she was hoping—” Marielle cut me off.

“Really?
A vampire?
I hadn’t considered that. Does she truly think it will work?” I was relieved to notice that she seemed more curious than angry. Maybe I could back off and let them sort it out. I did, after all, have homework to grade. Besides, I really didn’t want to think about her question—that whole baby vampire thing still
creeped
me out.

“You should really talk with her. She wants to share; that’s about all I know.”

“Share?”
Marielle
laughed,
a gorgeous genuine laughter that immediately cheered me and deepened my sense of relaxation. I wondered if everything about her—her beauty, the amazing effects of her smile and her laugh—existed in order to elicit or intensify the emotions she needed to survive. I also wondered what my reaction would be if I were to ever meet a male Light Elf. Unconsciously, a pleasurable tingle thrilled through me at the prospect, and I was glad Tom wasn’t nearby to hear the tenor of my thoughts. Even though we had only just begun dating, I was pretty sure he’d be jealous.

“Sharing with a vampire,” she mused. “It could make for an interesting story to tell my children.”

She laughed again, and disappeared, the echo of her laugh hanging in the air even after her body was gone, leaving me to feel like Alice with the Cheshire Cat.

“Actually, I do rather feel like I just came back through the looking glass,” I told Beckett.

Beckett jumped up and sauntered over to his food bowl, meowing at me plaintively. Pouring his food and grumbling about how his appetite never changed reminded me just how drastically mine had I wasn’t an Alice after all—there was no leaving this side of the mirror for me.

Though the phrase “Mom, I’m going to be a writer” was purportedly her first complete sentence,
Mirror
is Noelle Ryan’s debut novel; she’s currently hard at work on her second. Noelle currently lives in Florida with three cats, a parrot, and a very patient husband. You can find out more about her by visiting her website, NoelleRyan.com, where social media fans can also find a link to her
facebook
page.