A Fall of Secrets (A Shade of Vampire #15)(15)

My father stood up, holding the music sheets in his hands. “Then why don’t we give these a little practice?”

I leapt at his suggestion. “I’d love that.”

We left my mother in the kitchen and headed back to the music room, both taking a seat on the bench in front of the piano.

He took out the first music sheet and placed it on the stand. I began to play. I managed to get through the entire piece without a single mistake, despite not having played this particular composition for at least a year.

When I’d finished, my father was beaming. “I still remember the first music lesson I gave you when you were six. It’s hard to believe you’re the same girl.”

“Caleb’s pretty awesome with instruments, too,” I said, running my hands along the keys.

“Yes.” My father smiled down at me. “I’ve heard him play.” He cupped my face in his hands. As he stared down at me, I could have sworn that his eyes moistened slightly. “I’m proud of you, Rose. I’m so, so proud of you.” He leaned down to plant a kiss on my head. “And I want you to know that… I approve of Caleb.”

I raised a brow. “Really?”

His jaw tensed and even though he looked almost pained to admit it, he nodded, keeping his eye contact steady with me. “I’m not sure there’s anyone in this world whom I could see as truly deserving of you… but Caleb’s a good man. I can’t deny that.”

This was the first time that I’d heard my father outright approve of Caleb. He couldn’t have known how much it meant to me. I flung my arms around his neck and buried my head against his chest. He pulled me onto his lap and cradled me like a baby.

“Thanks, Dad,” I croaked.

We cuddled for a while longer, then I slipped back down onto the bench and continued to play the next piece. I played mostly solo, but for a couple of pieces, my father played an accompaniment.

The rest of the time passed quickly, and before I knew it, it was time for my mother and me to leave for the Vale. We bade goodbye to my father and entered the elevator. On reaching the ground, my mother offered to carry me on her back. Although I was taller than her, since she was a vampire, she was strong enough to carry me and run at the same time without problems. But I shook my head, realizing that she didn’t know about my newfound speed.

“I can run fast now, perhaps as fast as you. Shall we race?”

My mother looked surprised, then grinned at me. “Let’s go.”

We began whipping through the trees and I was amazed that I could almost match her speed.

“I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised,” she said. “Your father never did lose his speed… I still wonder what caused this change in you though.” She cast a sideways glance at me.

I shrugged. “It just happened soon after I saw Dad spouting fire.”

“You’d never seen him do that before, had you? Perhaps it sparked something in your subconscious.”

“Maybe… It’s just strange.”

We had already reached the Vale after barely a few minutes of conversation, so our voices trailed off as we prepared ourselves for what we were about to do. We reached the town square and stopped outside the bell tower. I looked at my mother, who was motioning to begin climbing it. I caught her arm and held her back.

“Mom, I should do this. I’m responsible for… this situation.”

I didn’t give my mother a chance to argue as I began climbing up the ladder. I reached the bell at the top, grabbed the rope and began swinging it wildly. My eardrums ached, as they always did when ringing this giant bell. But I didn’t stop ringing until the square was filled with people. Some of them had clearly just climbed out of bed after a night of partying down on the beach.

I cast a brief glance down at my mother before clearing my throat. “Firstly,” I began to yell down, “all of you who are not single ladies can go back to bed. I need as many single girls as possible gathered here in this square. If there’s anyone you don’t see here, please go and fetch them now.”

I was met with a sea of confused faces, but I was relieved when they did as I’d requested. About half an hour later, the square was filled with I guessed just shy of a hundred and fifty women—a small fraction of those we had on the island, but they were enough for now. There were only a hundred dragons, after all.

Some of my classmates down below smirked and waved at me. I smiled and waved down at them as I caught their eyes.

“So, ladies,” I continued. “You are all single and looking?”

A couple of women shook their heads and shouted, “Not looking,” but most were nodding.

To those who did shake their heads, I said, “Those who aren’t interested in dating, please leave the square. This doesn’t concern you.”

The few who had shaken their heads left the square.

“Right,” I muttered. Since most of the humans had not even witnessed the dragons firsthand—they had been inside the mountains throughout the battle and the dragons had all left soon after the battle had ended—I proceeded to explain the arrival of the dragons, my managing to win them over, and their reason for staying on the island.

Once I finished my story, I was met with stunned silence. My stomach dropped, and for one horrifying moment, I thought that nobody was going to step forward and volunteer.