Golden Hood (Midnight Empire: New Dawn Book 1) by Annabel Chase

Author:Annabel Chase [Chase, Annabel]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Red Palm Press LLC
Published: 2022-11-02T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eleven

The first thing I noticed about Poco was the deep purple color of her hair. Her skin was relatively smooth with little signs of aging, although she had the poise and general air of a wise woman.

“Poco, I’d like you to meet my friend, Aster,” Bear said.

Poco seemed more interested in my offering than me. “I see you brought flowers. How kind.”

I handed her the bouquet of wildflowers. She buried her face in the petals, sniffing each one. It went on so long I started to feel like I was intruding on a private moment.

Finally, she raised her head from the bouquet. “Thank you for the introduction, Bear. You may leave us now. Solange will have a meal ready for you and your friends.”

Bear folded his hands in a prayer position and bowed slightly. “We’re very grateful for your hospitality.”

She waited until he left to continue talking to me. “Come and make yourself at home.”

The cabin was cheerful and compact. There was a kitchenette in one corner and a small table with two chairs.

“Can I offer you a drink?” she asked.

“Water would be great.” I felt like half the dirt between here and Fairbanks had ended up in my mouth.

She pulled a pitcher from the refrigerator and poured a glass of water. “Do you know what I miss the most about the world before the Eternal Night?” she asked, carrying the glass over to me.

“You were alive then?”

“Oh, yes. I’m older than I look.”

“How? You’re not a vampire.”

“Fae blood.”

I started to laugh, but the expression on her face gave me pause. “You’re serious.”

She nodded. “Everyone thinks the fae were a mythological species, but it isn’t true.”

I definitely fell into the category of ‘everyone.’ “Shouldn’t you have wings or pointy ears?”

“I’m not full-blooded fae. The effects get watered down over generations.” Poco turned to fill a vase with water and then removed a knife from the drawer. Slowly and methodically, she chopped off the ends of the stems.

“That’s too bad.”

She dropped the flowers into the vase and began to separate them from each other.

I guzzled my water in an effort to quench my thirst. “What was your life like before the Great Eruption?”

She looked at me with a puzzled expression.

“What?” I asked.

“You’d be surprised how few visitors ask me about it. They only want to talk about themselves, what I see for their futures.”

“To be fair, that’s the reason they come to see you.”

“That’s why you’ve come, isn’t it? Yet you still want to know.”

“I find the past interesting.”

“As you should. It informs the present.” She inclined her head. “More water?”

“If you wouldn’t mind.”

She retrieved the pitcher and refilled my glass. “I was a florist then. I had a beautiful shop in San Francisco, California. We created arrangements for weddings. Handmade bouquets for brides and bridesmaids.” Her exhale was filled with longing. “Flowers made everything better. They elevated otherwise mundane moments to something special.”

“What were weddings like then?”

“It depended on the couple. Some were extravagant affairs with ice sculptures and a live band.

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