“Oh, everyone knows about that.” Moretti flippantly waves his hand. “Don’t be a child. There are no secrets in this community. He is a disgrace, but his sister, on the other hand… exquisite. I am looking forward to her arrival tonight.”
Nino runs his fingers through his coppery hair—a clear sign to Haruka that his friend’s stress level is climbing higher.
“Before tonight,” Moretti says, focusing on Nino, “had you even heard of any of the vampires at this table—aside from me, of course?”
Nino glances down the length of the table before offering a polite smile. “No, signore, but—”
“What knowledge do you have of the art world? Did you research prior to this dinner? You have contributed nothing to our conversation—”
“Amore, please.” Lilliana speaks up once more. “He is a very delicate creature. Remember the trauma he has experienced.”
“Delicacies aside, why does he not know our art history?” Moretti asks, lifting his wine glass toward Nino. “It’s our culture, for God’s sake, and it isn’t as if you haven’t had plenty of time alone to research.”
Moretti starts to sip his wine, but abruptly stops, the liquid sloshing in the glass as he leans forward. “Have you heard of da Vinci? How about listing three works of his? Can—”
Haruka quickly releases the knot of his aura from the center of his body, extending the strength of his essence outward to cover the occupants of the dinner party.
He’s had enough.
Twenty-Five
It takes much focus on Haruka’s part, but everyone at the dinner table is suspended in time except for Nino. He has successfully circumvented his energy around his friend beside him so that he remains unaffected.
Nino cautiously turns to look at him with his bright amber gaze. Haruka frowns, unable to mask his discontent. “Nino…”
“Yeah?” Nino’s voice registers much higher than usual as he discreetly scans the table.
“Why is he treating you like this?”
Nino nervously glances around again. “Can they hear us? You froze me before, but I could still hear you.”
“That is because I left your consciousness intact, but I have not done that now. I try to avoid impeding creatures in totality because it disrupts their awareness of the passage of time. Why is Signor Moretti speaking so discourteously to you?”
Nino closes his eyes. “I haven’t… You know I don’t have an official societal role. Along with that, I haven’t formally engaged with our aristocracy at all since I was little. So on the rare occasion that I go to these things, vampires are either resentful of me for not engaging in society or they pity me. It’s just how it is. I think Lina wants me to do these things more so it’ll get better. But I don’t know if it can at this point.”
“Where is she?” Haruka asks. She’d been invited to this dinner because of her passion for the art world. The two of them are technically here to support her.
“She had another interview today and it turned into a dinner thing. She’s been apologizing to me all night via text.”
“I understand,” Haruka says patiently. “But he cannot disrespect you. I will not sit here and allow this to continue. What shall we do about it?”
“I’ll—I can say something…” Nino frowns. “Shit, he’s older though—and he’s a bigwig in our society.”
Haruka reaches over to gently grasp Nino’s hand against his thigh beneath the table. Nino immediately flips his palm up, lacing their fingers together. Haruka gives his hand a firm squeeze.
“There are ways to assert yourself without being disrespectful,” says Haruka. “You expressed yourself well toward Gael when you spoke on my behalf at the bonding ceremony. The same action is appropriate here. You can voice your general discomfort with Moretti’s candor, for starters?”
Nodding in agreement, Nino sighs. “Alright, I’ll tell him.”
Haruka is about to pull the heavy weight of his aura back inside his body, but he hesitates. “Can you answer his question? Do you know three works by da Vinci? If possible, please list more than three.”
Nino scrunches his nose in playful consideration. “Hm… how about that one statue? The thinking guy?”
An affectionate warmth pulses in Haruka’s heart, making him smile. Something about the moody white lighting of the atrium makes Nino’s honeyed features glow. He looks handsome and bright in a layered mustard sweater over a subtly patterned navy blue dress shirt. “That is The Thinker by Auguste Rodin,” Haruka says. “And he is French.”
Nino considers. “Okay, how about the other naked guy? David?”
“That is Michelangelo.”
“The Sistine Chapel?”
“Also Michelangelo.”
“Dammit. Wait. One more. What about the one where the fingers are touching?”
Haruka laughs. The sound of it echoes through the silent space. “That is The Creation of Adam and also by Michelangelo. It is unfortunate that Signor Moretti is not quizzing you on him.”
Nino shakes his head, exasperated. “Alright, just tell me.”
“Mona Lisa, The Last Supper, Vitruvian Man, Head of a Woman, The Baptism of Christ.”
“I’ve heard of some of those. You want me to name all five?”
“I do,” Haruka says, sneering at the motionless older vampire. “Confidently.”
Nino holds on to his hand tightly as he rolls his shoulders. “Alright, unfreeze them—Wait.” Haruka pauses, feeling the burn behind his irises as he waits. Nino grins. “Should you break his baby toe?”
“He deserves a ruptured spleen.”
