Chapter 57: Chapter 57

LENORE

Killian had said it like it came to him naturally. Like he'd thought: this would make Lenore comfortable so this was what would be. Simple.

It didn’t come off as simple to me though. It was a thoughtful gesture and I found it endearing.

My lips curved into a smile, and the fact that I constantly did that—smiling—around him popped into my mind just as one of the waiters came back to set two burgundy leather binders in front of us. Killian shot me a wink before picking up his binder and I did the same.

“Wow, the prices are missing,” I blurted out after I opened it and Killian snorted, making the corner of my mouth twitch. The only type of restaurant I’d been to was the diner in the pack, but I knew restaurants that didn’t list their prices were basically saying if you have to ask, you can’t afford it. I didn’t necessarily have to ask though—my father was a terrible person, but he made sure that if he died all of a sudden, all four of his children would be able to live comfortably for a very long time. “...Are we splitting the bill?”

He lifted his gaze from his menu, his brows furrowed, and I couldn’t help but laugh at the expression on his face.

“I’m kidding,” I said and he slightly shook his head, a small smile on his lips, before I returned my attention to the menu.

…Eyroyal Romeo. That sounds good. My gaze dropped to the little text beneath the dish which proudly announced: with human or animal blood.

My brows shot up. Oh! Uh… I shifted my attention to the top of the page, pressing my lips together when I saw this was the vampire menu. Of course.

I looked up at the waiter, wanting to ask for the human menu because surely Killian wouldn’t have brought me here if they only sold vampire food, but my question died in my throat when I found him staring at me rather intently. I couldn’t even tell if he was pissed or just seriously confused as to why the prince was having dinner with someone he—probably— considered a blood bag.

Not knowing if I should say something, I shifted my focus to Killian, only to see him staring at the man just as intently. But where the man looked pissed or confused, Killian looked like he was contemplating something—something that definitely wasn’t in the man’s favor.

A noise of alarm which sounded almost cartoonish escaped him and I knew he just realized Killian was staring at him. If he didn’t look so terrified, I would have laughed.

“Forgive me, Your Highness!” he said in a rush, bowing so low he was practically folded in two, and my brows raised before I faced Killian again. His malevolent glare was still burning into the back of the waiter’s head.

Uh— “Killian?”

My voice seemed to snap him out of it, and he blinked before jerking his gaze to me. I tipped my head to the side, raising my brows even more, and before either of us could speak, the other waiter rushed over, practically pushing the bowing man away from the table with her hips.

“My sincerest apologies, Your Highness. He’s new here. He absolutely didn’t mean to offend you,” she said, her expression slightly twisted with discomfort, and it took me a moment to realize she was human.

Seeing humans in the city didn’t surprise me—most, if not all, of the maids in the palace were human. What surprised me was the fact that she seemed to be his superior, and I couldn’t help but wonder how she’d managed that. Vampires were hierarchical after all, and they didn’t like it when someone they considered lesser held more authority than them.

The woman then cleared her throat and put on a professional smile. “I’ll be looking after Your Highness and the lady tonight. Please let me know if there’s anything not up to standard.”

“Leave us,” Killian stated, dropping his binder on the table, and it was impossible to miss the relief that washed over her face.

“Yes, Your Highness.” She bowed—not as deeply as the other man who still hadn’t risen by the way—before they both backpedaled from the table.

…Wow.

I wasn't going to pretend I didn't understand why they reacted like that—Killian had elicited the same reaction from me just a couple of days ago. But the fact was any vampire would have gotten that reaction from me. It just happened to be Killian who was the prince of the people I was terrified of.

The waiters’ fear, however, was strictly because it was Killian and I couldn't help but wonder what kind of reputation he had among his people.

I wanted to ask. The main purpose of this date was to know each other better after all and I already knew he was no angel, so there was no point in dancing around the topic. “Why—”

“Most of their fear of me stems from their fear of my father,” Killian stated and it took me a moment to process his words. “He’s not known for having a kind heart, and people figure the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.”

Oh. That made sense.

“And the rest?” I asked since he’d said most, and he drew his bottom lip between his teeth.

“I’ve done… some things…” He contorted his face, worried my opinion of him would change, but then I gave him a reassuring smile and he blew out a harsh breath. “I’ve done a lot of things, but people have heavily embellished the stories. They’ve practically made me out to be an urban legend.” He looked annoyed as he said the last part and I couldn’t stop the short laugh that escaped me.

That made his expression relax.

I’d heard some stories about him back in the pack, and they honestly did sound a bit embellished. Even Wayne who rarely spoke on things that didn’t concern him had said that makes no fucking sense when he overheard some people talking about how terrifying members of the vampire royal family were during a communal dinner.

I flipped to the third page of my binder and thankfully, there was a menu for humans there. Killian didn’t pick his binder back up, so I asked, “Have you decided?”

He shrugged. “I’ll have whatever you’re having,” he replied and I dropped my gaze back to the binder, pressing my lips together.

“Any allergies I should keep in mind?”

Killian snorted at that while I grinned, still going through the menu. Most of the options sounded wonderful, but I didn’t want to spend all night deciding what to order, so I quickly decided on the entree. All that was left now was the appetizer.

“Do you?” Killian asked and I looked up. “Have allergies.”

“Not that I know of. We could start off with oysters,” I said, setting the binder on the table. “I haven’t had them before though, so we might make a discovery in a couple of minutes.”

I truly hadn’t had them before, but it had been a joke—the make a discovery—and if my tone didn’t convey it, my expression certainly did. But Killian’s expression instantly fell like I just threatened him with serious bodily harm.

“Uh, the apricot-glazed bacon spirals doesn’t sound bad. We could start with that instead,” I added when several seconds passed with that expression still on his face, and he quickly nodded.

What was that about?

“Good idea.” He then motioned at the waiter to come over with his eyes still fixed on me before giving me a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes.

The waiter came over as fast as she could without running and left the same way after I gave her our order.