Possessed hearts - стр. 16

– I'm sure it would," Lady Morgan said with a smile. – I think we'll be seeing those pictures in the best glossy magazines again soon.

– Glossy is not the way… I prefer aesthetics. Maybe in the near future. – I stroked my chin thoughtfully with my fingers, already imagining my own exhibition in the best galleries in the world. But alas, in the present, I'm stuck on the glossy step. But it won't be for long. I promise. It's time to improve my skills and channel them into something truly worthy of a photographer, like reportage photography. Hmm, I'll do that right after I shoot that strangely beautiful Icelandic woman whose hair and eyebrows are so white they made even me marvel. I'll surround her with cold landscapes and icy beauty to emphasise her own. Most importantly, she's not a model at all, just a nurse in the hospital of her tiny village in the west of the island. She'll be the best thing I've ever done. And then I'm going to kill her. Her blood intrigues me. The wind of Iceland seems to be playing in her veins…

– Maria?

I woke up to hear Markus's rather loud voice calling me.

– Yes?" I asked with a smile, not looking at him.

He knew my secret. He had seen me. He could tell Mariszka.

I should ask him. I have to. Tonight. To find out how far the truth about my shitty life has spread.

– I'm going to the airport. Would you like to keep me company? – Markus asked.

I looked up at him in surprise.

He looked at me calmly.

"Obviously, he wants to talk to me about the same thing I want to talk to him about," I thought. There was a reason he'd asked me to ride with him to the airport.

– Yeah, I'd love to. – I got up from my chair. – But I hope we can make it before the gift-giving.

– Of course we will. My son wouldn't forgive me if I missed this momentous occasion. – Markus turned to his mother. – Tell Mariszka we'll be there in half an hour.

– Please don't be late," Mrs. Morgan said meekly.

Markus and I went down to the castle's huge garage. Silently. I waited for Markus to ask me the question, but he didn't say anything. It was only when we approached one of the cars, a luxurious black Jaguar, that Markus looked at me and smiled.

– What did Cedric say? – He asked, out of the blue.

Unexpected, because I was expecting a different question: "So you sleep with mortals?"

That deceived expectation, which I admit was only a relief, made me smile widely.

– You know your brother. He said he wanted to be alone," I said, sitting down in the car next to Markus, who was driving. – I wasn't surprised, though, and everyone should stop being surprised.

– I stopped doing that a long time ago. Cedric can't be changed, that's just the way he is. – Markus started the car engine and we drove slowly out of the garage into the dim light of day.

– And yet I'm surprised at how different you two are," I grinned. – Born into the same family, with only a tiny age difference.

– Yeah, just like you and Mariszka.

The phrase, which Markus said in a rather joking tone, made me fix my eyes on his face. It was like foreplay leading up to an inquisition.

But I wouldn't be myself if I let anyone throw it in my face like a dirty towel washing away my protective mask.

– You mean the fact that I sleep with mortals? – I asked bluntly, but with irony in my voice.