Quickly finishing her bath, Eve stepped out of the bathtub and wrapped her body with the bath towel. She wore her clothes and dried her hair before tying it into a ponytail. Once she was ready, she stepped out of the room and headed towards Vincent's room.
Eve's lilac-coloured, chiffon dress with floral patterns ruffled as she walked. The servants and maids of the mansion had woken up and begun their day's work, and the sky had started to turn lighter.
She met Vincent on the way, who was dressed in a different set of clothes as he was going to step out of the mansion. She informed him,
"The mark, something is wrong with it when I dip it in the water."
Vincent stared at her with questioning eyes and followed her line of sight. He looked at her hand as she stretched it forward. His eyes slightly narrowed, and he said, "Let us find the closest water here, shall we?"
When Eve saw Vincent start walking, she followed him. On their way, one of the maids carried a tray of glasses of water. He picked up the glass of water from the tray and entered one of the balconies in the corridor.
Away from prying sight, Vincent took hold of Eve's hand by raising it up and in front of him before pouring the cold water on her wrist where his mark lay. When the water touched Eve's skin, the left wing disappeared within less than three seconds, leaving only the right wing and the 'V' in sight.
When the water drained out, a couple of seconds later, the disappeared wing appeared on her skin.
Eve felt worry enter her mind. Her eyebrows furrowed, and she looked up to meet Vincent's red eyes, that continued to stare at the mark he had given her.
"What does this mean?" Eve asked him.
"Either I didn't mark you right, or your body is rejecting my mark when it comes in contact with the element that you belong to," Vincent didn't seem pleased with what he saw. He doubted he had made any mistake when marking her and binding his soul with hers.
"If it wasn't right or my body was rejecting, the mark wouldn't be seen on my skin, would it?" Eve hoped it had nothing to do with a mermaid or siren being incompatible with a pureblooded vampire.
"True," Vincent remarked, running his thumb against the wings on Eve's unblemished skin. He dropped her hand to her side and said to her, "It is fine if the bond didn't work. What matters is that we both love each other."
Eve nodded in agreement. She and he loved each other and wanted to spend their life together.
When Vincent pulled Eve for a hug, embracing her on the balcony, she whispered, "Someone might see us!"
"The servants won't talk about us. They know better than to do something that will cause their deaths," Vincent took a sniff from the top of Eve's head and hummed.
"That sounds comforting," Eve murmured and heard the pureblooded vampire chuckle.
When Eve had seen half of Vincent's mark disappear, she had turned worried. And she let her thoughts out, "Do you know what might be the cause for the disappearance? What if..." she paused for a moment, trying to find a right way to phrase it, "What if there's--"
"There's someone else for you?" Vincent completed the sentence that Eve had trouble finishing.
As much as Vincent didn't want to believe it, there was a possibility, and it would be a lie if he said the thought didn't cross his mind.
It wasn't uncommon for some of the supernatural creatures to mark their partners. But it happened only when the two shared mutual affections and feelings. At the same time, there had been rare cases where one didn't need mutual affection as the person marking had a strong bloodline.
Eve pulled away from Vincent's arms, looked at him, and said, "I hope that's not true. I am happy and content with you."
Now that Vincent's soul was linked and bound to Eve, the possessiveness that had been subtle started to rise at the thought of someone else being on his woman's mind, and he didn't like it one bit. He said,
"I doubt there can be anyone out there who can outrun me and take you from me. It's your birthday today, and you don't have to worry about such things." Vincent kissed her lips and said, "Let us have breakfast together? I would love to start my day with you."
Eve gave him a nod, trying not to worry about the missing wing when it came to the water. She replied, "Let us have breakfast."
Vincent released Eve from his arms, and they returned to the corridors and walked towards the dining room. Before they reached the dining room, Alfie appeared and bowed at them.
"Good morning, Master Vincent and Ms. Barlow," and the butler then wished Eve, "Happy birthday, Ms. Barlow."
Eve smiled before thanking him, "Thank you, Alfie."
Alfie then opened the dining room doors for the pair, who walked inside. Eve was quite surprised to find Viscount, his wife, and Allie, who were already seated at the table. It was because it was early in the morning.
"Happy birthday, Genevieve," Viscount Eduard wished and Lady Annalise wished Eve with a stoic expression.
"Happy birthday, sister Eve," Allie was the next one to wish Eve with her small and cute voice. The small vampiress hugged her.
Viscount Eduard said, "We found out that it was your birthday late last night and thought we would have an early breakfast with you. Also, to avoid having more people join us." The man was talking about Marquee and Marchioness Hooke.
The dining room burst open a moment later, and Rosetta arrived with Eugene behind her. Feeling all eyes on her, the vampiress offered a deep bow and apologised, "Pardon me for my disrespectfulness caused in the ballroom last evening, Viscount Eduard."
Before Viscount Eduard could forgive her with his words, Rosetta raised her head and her eyes fell on Eve. She quickly reached her friend and hugged her, "Happy birthday, Eve! Sorry for not wishing you sooner. Eugene told me only a few minutes ago."
"Thank you, Rosetta. It's fine," Eve thanked the vampiress before her eyes fell on Eugene, who smiled at her.
It seemed like things were turning better between Eugene and Rosetta, Eve thought, returning the smile to Eugene.
"Sister Eve," Allie called Eve, and she offered a big wrapped box, "This is for you."
The young vampiress's thoughtfulness touched Eve, and she said, "You didn't have to give me anything, Allie," but the small girl vigorously shook her head.
"Open it!" Allie was eager to see if Eve would like her gift.
"There's no need to hurry, Ms. Barlow. You can open it once we finish breakfast," Lady Annalise said to Eve. The older vampiress didn't want to deal with the Hookes while having her meal. While everyone took their seats at the dining table, Eve tore the wrapper and noticed it was a book. The book held drawings, and Allie, who had taken a seat right next to Eve, whispered,
"These are Allie's drawings. All of them in one binding for you."
