Total pages in book: 105
Estimated words: 99700 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 499(@200wpm)___ 399(@250wpm)___ 332(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 99700 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 499(@200wpm)___ 399(@250wpm)___ 332(@300wpm)
“Trial and error. A lot of trial and error,” Dante said, looking exhausted even at the mention. “I did a lot of research. Went to some shops for obscure supplies. Burned myself thousands of times.”
“Does it always work? How long have you been testing it?”
“All summer,” he told her. “I’ve been tweaking it here and there, wanting to see if I could improve it just a little bit more each time. I especially wanted to see if I could get it to be more waterproof.”
“But you’re still all covered up,” Pandora said, looking at her brother’s absurd outfit.
“When I started here, I may have kind of told them I’m a little allergic to the sun.”
“Not a lie, really,” Pandora said with a laugh.
“Exactly. But I can’t just be like, ‘Oh, hey, by the way, I’m not allergic to the sun anymore,’” he said. “And it really isn’t completely waterproof, which wouldn’t be so bad if I was sure I would always get a chance to reapply, but things can get crazy around here sometimes. I mean, not so much right now.” He waved at the pond, empty, save for a set of kayakers. “But in the summer for sure.”
“This is so cool, Dante,” she said, sticking her hand out again, feeling the comforting warmth the sun supplied. Without all the burning flesh and bursting into flames. “How difficult is it to make? And how obscure are the supplies?”
“It’s a lot of work, but it’s doable. Worth it, at least. Some of the supplies are harder to find than others, but none of it is stuff I would run out of.”
“So, what is your plan? Just keep this for yourself, so you can try to live more of a human life?”
“Originally, yes.”
“But?”
“But now I’m wondering if there is maybe a market for it. Not for every vampire,” he rushed to add. “I don’t think it’s right to take away the only protection humans have. But for vampires like you and me. Ones who don’t want to feed on humans. There’s more of us than you’d think.”
“How do you know that?” Pandora asked, always having felt very alone in her desire not to eat humans.
“There’s some forums for vampires like us. Ones who don’t want to use humans like that, who wish we could all coexist peacefully.”
“You want to see about marketing this product to them?”
“It’s risky,” Dante said. “There’s always the chance of it falling into the wrong hands. I just … I feel bad for everyone like us who can’t live the lives they want because of what we are.”
“I wonder …” Pandora said, trailing off as her mind wandered.
“Wonder what?”
“I wonder if maybe you could … spell it?” she said.
“Spell what?”
“The sunscreen. Could the product have a spell on it that would make it so that, I don’t know, anyone with the wrong intentions can’t use it?”
“I have no idea,” Dante said, frowning. “But it’s an idea, isn’t it?”
“You could try to find a witch. Bring the plan to her. See if she could help you out. Maybe for a share of the profits or something to make it worth her time. Or … when I get my inheritance – if we can pull this off – I can invest.”
Dante’s eyes brightened. It was the first time in a long time he’d looked so hopeful. “I can look into it. There’s got to be a witch somewhere who could make that kind of spell.”
“Until then, I expect one of these,” Pandora said, waving the stick at her brother. “I mean, Victor already thinks I get horrible sunburn.” She indicated her umbrella. “And terrible circulation. And a garlic allergy. But it would be nice to have this just in case of anything … unexpected.”
“Only a few more weeks to go, right?” Dante asked.
“Yeah, the past few have kind of gone by in a flash,” Pandora said.
Things had been back to normal, she supposed, with Victor. She went to work. He showed up to study, work, and drink his macchiatos. Sure, they talked more these days, since they had a lot of planning to do for the future.
Not just the wedding, but things like life after the wedding. They’d both been doing a lot of flat-shopping online, trying to find a place close to uni for him, but also Luna Bean and the bookshop Pandora hoped to open. So they would sit and pore over the options on her breaks, then talk about how many bookshelves they’d need, what colours they’d paint the walls, all that stuff.
Admittedly, it meant there was a lot of daydreaming going on for Pandora. Imagining their lives together. Making coffee and tea in the morning. Sitting in the living room at night, each reading their books.
Did those dreams also veer off into fantasies, ones where they might brush each other as they flipped pages, where one, then both of them might lean in, kiss, touch, head to one of their bedrooms, and make their fake marriage a real one? Yes, yes, they did.