Yes, the gemstones fascinated him. Something about their brilliance and resilience made his heart thunder. He loved to play in their colors, their shininess singing to him as he gloried in the riches spread before him. They had more wealth than either would ever be able to spend, thanks to an absent father who bequeathed the fortune to them. A father he had never known and might not ever know if she insisted on keeping her silence.
With a swell of anger and frustration, Sebastian swept the stones off the table, their delicate clinks surrounding them like raindrops from a new rain.
Ezra Smythe, his mother’s butler, lover, friend and guardian, stepped forward and soundlessly began to retrieve each one. Sebastian’s sharp gaze went to the man crouched at his feet, and a snarl lifted his lips. The silver-haired man wasn’t vampire, nor could Sebastian determine his origin in all the years the trio had lived together. Another damned mystery that neither would resolve.
Aurora didn’t seem to harbor any feelings for Ezra, yet neither hid the fact that they coupled often. On occasion, her cries at being pleasured could be heard echoing through the halls. During those times, Sebastian would quietly leave the house and wander the estate grounds, regardless of the hour of night or the season.
He would never deny her a chance at companionship, especially considering the length of their vampiric lives, but this flaunting behavior only fueled the whispering. Couldn’t she at least strive for some discretion? Not allow servants and visitors alike to witness the unladylike inclinations.
Their enigmatic relationship haunted Sebastian. Often.
For what must have been the hundredth time in his life, he shouted at Aurora, “Is it him? Is Ezra my sire?”
She jumped to her feet, and the flash of fire burning in her eyes singed his heart. “Why must you know? Why must you question me time and time again?” Aurora’s incisors were bared, her pale face ever more fierce because of it. “I will never speak of him to you. Never. Not to you, not under threat of torture, not under the weight of love. Your father is my secret and burden to carry until I leave this earth.”
“So you embrace what is said about me? You?” Sebastian’s throat was tight with emotion. He hated this. His life. This not knowing. With forced reserve, he said, “I called you a whore, and you didn’t flinch. I’m not so strong.”
“You are that strong.” Her own voice softened. Aurora lifted her hand to his chin and held it beneath a firm grip. “He expected nothing less from you and he knew your potential. I’ve never met a more powerful man than your father. It is not a taunt to be called his son, Sebastian, but praise. You are his glory. I know this for a fact. He left you all of this because you are his legacy and one day, you will grow into it and realize it to be true.”
“When?” He shuddered because he needed to hear the words again. He both resented and clung to the words that brought him closer to a man he’d never known. Any little snippet.
“I don’t know when. You...you will have to be patient. Learn your lessons. Grow your father’s legacy and be his pride.”
Sebastian slowly sat. “The smaller topaz would fetch more than the larger one.”
A small smile curved Aurora’s lips, the sudden change in topic handled with elegant smoothness. “Why?” she asked softly.
“Because the larger one is flawed with inclusions. The smaller one is more pure.”
“Very good, my son.”
She frustrated him to hell and back, but Sebastian loved her. With reluctant admiration, he watched her dip in a small curtsey before turning to leave.
“There is a reason beyond stubbornness that forces her to keep your father’s secret.”
Sebastian turned to Ezra, who on every other occasion would be trailing behind his mother. That he stayed behind for even a moment spoke volumes. “What do you know of it?”
He shrugged. “Less than her. More than you.”
Sebastian’s eyes narrowed. “Keep talking.”
“Your father appointed me to be your mother’s...companion. And it is all I will say of him and the matter, other than to advise that if you really want to know more about him, you’ll have to seek him out on your own. Without her assistance.”