Ivy couldn’t believe that she and Olivia were leading their father and grandparents to the least vampy place on earth. But at least her whole family was in one place. It hadn’t been too long since it had just been Ivy and her father. Now, she was part of a big family. I could definitely get used to this, she thought. A little girl on a tricycle passed them on the sidewalk, and her bright blue helmet swivelled as she stared at Ivy’s grandparents. They looked better prepared to attend a gothic ball than take a stroll outside on the blistering asphalt. The girl stopped peddling, her jaw dropping open. ‘Excuse me.’ The little girl peered up at the Countess. ‘But are you a queen?’ Ivy snorted. Her grandmother did look a bit – ahem – formal for an afternoon stroll. Grandma chuckled. ‘No,’ she said, smoothing her dark velvet skirt. The fullness of it jutted out from her hips, making her appear majestic and grand. ‘But you’re awfully sweet to think so.’ With a mischievous smile on her face, Countess Lazar dipped into a long, low curtsy, so graceful that Ivy would never have guessed her grandmother was more than five hundred years old!
