Flickering his eyes to the side, Haruka briefly considers. “One hundred and one.”
Nino holds his palms up, apprehension set in his amber eyes. “Okay, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean any offense—”
“You have cast great insult unto the House of Hirano.”
Nino freezes, blinking. Serious. “I’m so sorry, I—”
Haruka smirks as he reaches to pour himself another glass of wine. Registering the jest, Nino sits back and runs his fingers through his hair. He closes his eyes in a broad smile. “Jesus.”
“You will be flogged forthwith and sent to the dungeons.”
The golden purebred laughs openly, the warmth of it filling the dimly lit kitchen.
Six
The following morning, sunlight pours in through the guest bedroom window like soft lamplight—yellow and with a distinctly hazy quality. Nino lies perfectly still in bed, blinking with his back against the fluffy down bedding. He calmly assesses his surroundings in the tidy room.
He is in another purebred vampire’s house.
For the next three days, he’ll be researching the process of bonding.
Then, he’ll travel to East Sussex to oversee an archaic ritual at Hertsmonceux Castle.
“What the living hell am I doing? Whose life is this?”
Nino takes a deep breath, inhaling the rosy, subtle scent of his new purebred acquaintance. Haruka’s essence saturates every space of his home, which is comfortably nestled between a thick forest at the front of the estate and a wide, open moor at the back. The exterior is comprised of gray stone and white trimmings. It looks like something from a wholesome Christmas fable. Except the halls aren’t decked and there’s no mistletoe.
He doesn’t know how all of this will work out, but he’s here. No turning back. His brother was right. Nino left home with the intention to grow and become more independent, and a perfect (albeit weird) opportunity is staring him in the face. He needs to make the most of it. He will.
Nino gets out of bed, dresses casually in jeans and a warm sweater then heads downstairs. He needs coffee. After being blessed by Asao with a cup, he carries it back upstairs to find Haruka already in the library.
Asao had given Nino a brief tour when he’d arrived yesterday evening, but seeing the impressive space in the daylight is vastly different. The rest of Haruka’s house is cozy and fairly modest, but the library is much more extravagant.
It’s filled with natural light and the walls are lined with dark-oak bookshelves crammed with literature. One area features a cushioned bay window that overlooks the open expanse of the moor. The ceiling is high with warm, modern light fixtures and there’s a black, spiraled iron staircase leading up to a second floor full of books.
Once upstairs, a path lined with the same decorative iron railing wraps around the perimeter of the hollow room. For a touch of character, white candlesticks are mounted in antique-looking sconces strategically placed along the bookshelves.
Haruka is sitting at a handsome cherrywood desk. A wall of colorful, weathered book spines is perfectly arranged behind him. His cable-knit sweater is deep burgundy. When he looks up at Nino, the color reveals subtle flecks of red in his rich brown irises.
“Good morning,” Haruka says.
“Hi.” Nino moves toward him, feeling tense. Their conversation during dinner the previous night was surprisingly easy. They talked about everything from current events in the news to their favorite musicians. Haruka had gone on at some length about classic jazz, particularly John Coltrane and Red Garland.
The reality of being in a stranger’s house still creates a jumbled mess of nerves in Nino’s stomach—like he’s stumbling along blindly in unknown territory or a dark room. At any moment he could easily fall flat on his face.
“Did you sleep well?” Haruka asks.
“I did, thank you. The bed was soft and the room is nice. Everything in your home is so clean and organized.”
“That I cannot take credit for.” Haruka smiles, a certain warmth in his expression. “Asao is the instigator of any tidiness you observe. Left to my own devices, perhaps things would be more… spontaneous.”
Nino laughs, scratching the back of his head. “Is ‘spontaneous’ a euphemism for being messy?”
Haruka grins as he stands from his desk. “To each his own. Do you desire breakfast?”
“No, coffee is good. I’m fine.”
The stately purebred moves toward a small, beautifully crafted live-edge coffee table near a sofa in the middle of the library. There is a thick manuscript bound in tawny leather on the table’s surface.
“If you need something, please do not hesitate to let me or Asao know,” Haruka says, standing beside the table. “I am grateful that you have decided to join me in this antiquated endeavor. So I truly wish for you to feel at ease while staying here.”
“You don’t need to say thank you… I should be apologizing to you. It’s something I should help with anyway. I’m sorry I initially refused. That was selfish of me.”
“Tabula rasa.” Haruka bends to pick up the oversized manuscript. “The slate is clean. This reference guide will help prepare you for the ceremony.”
After quickly placing his coffee cup on the table, Nino takes the reference from Haruka’s grasp. It’s heavy and stuffed to the brim with yellowed pages. Nino moves around the low table to plop himself down on the soft couch. Once settled, he runs his fingers across the embossed leather. The material is cool and smooth underneath his fingertips.
Lore and Lust
Hirano Hatakemori | Hirano Hayato | Hirano Haruka
Evidence and analysis of vampiric bonding.
Cases collected starting Kennin 1201, March 22 to Shōwa 1973, December 23.
“Lore and Lust?” Nino reads. He looks up at Haruka from the couch. The purebred is seated back at his desk. “A little tongue in cheek for an ancient vampiric reference book, no?”
Haruka shuffles papers atop his desk. “Not so ancient. I finished compiling it in the 1980s. And the title is my father’s doing. He was… indisputably coquettish.”
