by Eve Newton
Remiel makes a frustrated howl and I look back at him with regret. “Next time, blondie,” he snarls at me. “You won’t get this choice again.” He throws his hand out and it sends me flying across the library to bang my head painfully on the bookcase behind me. Fuck’s sake. I wish that would stop happening. How is he more powerful than me? I get to my feet instantly, before anyone can reach me, but he has disappeared, taking the growing headache with him as the magick drops as well.
“Liv, you mustn’t let him affect you like that,” Xane chides me and I brush him off me.
“I wasn’t,” I snap at him, stepping back. “I can’t get around that fucking barrier. I was trying to get him to drop it so I could kill him.”
“Oh,” he says and looks sheepishly. “You looked so…” He waves his hand about.
“Yes, so he would buy it,” I say, arms crossed again but now in restraint of not punching something. I cast a glance at the others, who all look relieved I wasn’t about to run off with him to some dreamland. “I’m not stupid,” I sulk, now slightly offended even though I have given them every reason to doubt me. “I know Fraser is dead.”
I feel a pop behind me and then a faint Scottish burr, “Oh now, I beg to differ.”
Chapter 17
My heart drops like a stone as I turn to stare right at Fraser. A real Fraser, not a fake one. He peers at me curiously as I gape at him and then at her. Other Liv shrugs and says, “When he found out about you, he wanted to come. Besides, you wanted to see him first. And I had to come to return these.” She holds up my belongings that I lent her. “Nice digs, by the way. Didn’t have to come very far at all.”
“You live here too?” I say dumbly and she nods.
I look back at Fraser and note that Cole and CK have come to stand on either side of me, clearly not trusting me not to grab him and Astral off somewhere, never to be seen again. He is silent as I take in his appearance. He is very different from the man I remember. His face, while still devastatingly handsome, is hard with a cruel edge to it. His eyes are the same peat green, but evil lurks in them. His Hugo Boss black suit and shirt are impeccable, and he looks like a million bucks in it, but it just looks wrong. All wrong.
“You came looking for me?” he asks as I just stare at him. “I’m quite flattered.”
I have no idea what to say to him. I remain standing there like a mute and think that might be preferable. At least I would have an excuse not to be speaking. He steps closer to me and my breath hitches. I can feel Cole and CK tense up and their anxiety makes me even more anxious and I suppress the shiver that threatens to go down my spine.
He cocks his eyebrow at me and then takes in everyone else. They are all staring at him in much the same manner as I, and he smirks.
“Seems my presence here has ruffled a few feathers. I take it they know who I am?”
I force myself to speak, “You shouldn’t have come.” I turn to other me. “You shouldn’t have brought him here.”
“You came looking for him first. I thought you wanted to see him,” she says, confused.
I shake my head. “No, I changed my mind. He isn’t my Fraser,” I state the obvious to his amusement.
“I am not anybody’s Fraser,” he says with a twisted smile and I gulp. She was right, he really is mean and cruel. “Although, I might make an exception for you.” He steps even closer, so I have to tilt my head right back to look him in the eye. “My victims aren’t usually as powerful as you, but I would still have fun trying to break you.”
I reel back as his evil words resonate through my head.
“Fraser,” other me warns him.
He turns to smile at her. “Oh, don’t worry, my love. You know that I will always love you, but she is something special, so sweet,” he turns back to me and CK growls at him. Fraser reaches down to take my face in his hand.
CK grabs his wrist before he can touch me. “Lay one finger on her and I will end you, whether you belong to another world or not,” he threatens.
Fraser turns back to other me and says, “Yes, I can see why you want what she has. He is so protective. Clearly in love.” He sighs. “Too bad, sweetheart,” he says to me. “But I know which battles to pick. Maybe when you have thought about my offer you might reconsider. You know how to find me. It would be better for you to come to me anyway, less interruptions,” he says with a mild look at CK, ignoring Cole completely. “And if you are a really good girl, I might even pretend to be the one you love.” The evil smile only grows wider as I breathe in sharply. CK twists his arm behind his back and shoves him back to other me. “Get him out of here and don’t bring him back. If I kill him here, you won’t be going home again.”
She nods and with a quizzical look at me, pulls her charge towards her. “Just when I thought I was starting to understand you; you throw a surprise at me again. I thought you would be happy to see him.”
“No, not him. He is nothing like the man I knew,” I croak.
“Well, I did tell you that. Maybe it’s best you see for yourself.” She grabs his arm and with a wicked grin at me, he turns to his sire, enveloping her in his arms and they pop back out of existence.
“What the fuck was that?” I yell at no one in particular. “Why did he come here? Why did she bring him here to me?”
No one can answer me, and I am feeling exhausted and ragged. I Astral off, leaving them all staring at me and go to the clearing in the woods that Lincoln and I found yesterday. I kick my shoes off and feel the damp grass under my feet. It feels cool and that to me is strange.
“Go away,” I say as I sense CK’s presence behind me. “I am really not in any mood to speak to any of you.”
I rub my shoulder as I get that strange prickling sensation again and he sighs. “Aefre, don’t sulk with me, my love. It is not an attractive quality.”
I spin to face him. “Sulking? That’s what you think I am doing?”
“Well, isn’t it? Sulking at me for allowing a Hunt, at your charge for killing, at your boy for standing up to you? Fake Fraser offering himself to you? At her for bringing him to see you?”
“None of that is even hitting my radar at the moment,” I snarl at him. “I have some thinking to do. Please leave.”
“Thinking about what? I know you know that the Fraser that turned up here is not a man you could love. If you had any thoughts that it was, you would have kept him here,” he says so matter-of-factly, I want to punch him.
“Of course, I know that,” I say quietly, and he has the grace to look apologetic for brushing it off so easily.
“I’m sorry, Aefre. For everything. I wish that I could make it up to you somehow.”
“Just leave me for a while. And tell everyone else the same.” I turn from him again, still rubbing agitatedly at my shoulder.
He doesn’t say another word as he Teleports off and I breathe out. I know his callous attitude is only in response to his jealousy, but it doesn’t make it hurt any less.
I sit in the middle of the clearing and meditate. I couldn’t say for sure for how long but a good few hours. I feel mighty better about things when I rise to my feet, picking up my shoes in the process. Remiel (it seems strange that he has a name now) was right about one thing. This whole shying away from my Power is tragic. I am tragic. Every time I grab the bull by the horns and take control, something comes along and knocks me on my arse, and I end up back at square one. Well, not this time. I stalk out the woods to a brewing storm. It has gone quite dark but only from the clouds and a wind has picked up. I make my way over to the wall at the side of the steps up to the terrace and sit. I enjoy seeing Mother Nature at work. Maybe this is a sign. A sign that I can be just as Powerful, just as foreboding. I feel it rise in me and I know I am not letting go of this feeling. Not ever again. Almost as if it was waiting for my resolve, the wind dies down and I sense Devon hovering.
“Come to yell at me some more?” I ask him.
He comes to sit next to me on the wall. “No,” he says defian
tly. “I was worried about you; you’ve been gone awhile. I’m sorry for the things I said.”
“No, you aren’t,” I say. “Everything you said, you have been dying to say for years.”
“Well, maybe. I could have been a bit more tactful,” he admits, and takes my hand.
I smile. “Since when did we need tact?”
“So, you aren’t mad at me?” he asks hopefully.
“Oh, I’m mad all right. But not about what you said. You had no right to leave me out of the plan. I know I left it to you to handle and I was wrong to do that. It is not your responsibility. It is mine. Cole is mine and I apologize for leaving it to you. But don’t ever blindside me again like that. Not about something so important. Okay?”
“Done,” he says easily and grateful that I am not about to issue a sire-like smackdown. “Things are changing so much, aren’t they?”
“Yeah, you can say that again,” I say.
“I’m making another one,” he ventures cautiously, and I turn to look at him now, fairly sure what he is going to say.
“I’m going to step up and be a sire to Jess,” he says, and I nod briskly. I knew it was coming after what he said before.
“I thought you might. Are you sure? Only a few short weeks ago you were adamant it was not going to happen.”
“Yes, I’m sure. A few weeks ago, everything was fucked up. I have clarity now.”
“Don’t let it change you,” I say, suddenly worried for him. “You are…”
“I know. Being so serious and grown up.” He chuckles, “I’m not changing, Lizzie, or not for the worst.” He puts his arm around me, and I lean against him, finding comfort and reassurance in his familiar embrace. “I want to say that this doesn’t change anything between me and you, but I feel it’s been used already,” he smirks at me.
“Damn right, it doesn’t. If it does, I’ll have something to say about it.”
“Good,” he says with a beam. “I love you,” he adds quietly and stands up. “I’ll leave you to your pensive thoughts.”
“Okay, baby. I love you too,” I say as he steps back, and I am left alone again to consider his actions. Christ, there are so many changes. Will I ever be able to keep up?
I don’t get left alone for very long as now it appears everyone wants a word with me.
Next up is Sebastian.
“Hey,” he says as he sits. “You up for a bit of company?”
“No,” I say, still annoyed with him for his part in the Hunt.
“Too bad, Queenie. I’m not leaving.”
“Suit yourself,” I say then sit in silence and wait for whatever it is he wants to say.
“Can I ask you something?” he says eventually.
“Sure,” I say uncertainly.
“If it turns out that we are destined to be together, will you…erm…will you, you know…be with me?”
I turn to face him, and he is looking slightly flushed. “What are you asking me exactly?”
He takes a deep breath. “Will you choose me?”
Taken aback, I stare at him. “Seb, I don’t want to choose now. Never mind over something that might not happen. Besides all that, I have already made a promise which need to be kept.”
He nods sadly. “But promises were made to be broken,” he says quietly.
“Not this one.” I take his hand in mine. “I love him. You know that.”
“Yeah. It’s epic. The stuff of legends. I get it,” he says resentfully.
“Seb…”
“It’s okay, I should have already known you would choose him.”
We sit in silence again. “It’s not about choosing. When we are married..."
“I can offer you something that he can’t,” he says.
“I know. But it doesn’t work that way.”
“Feed from me,” he says suddenly.
“What, right here? No, Cole would blow a gasket if he saw us.”
“Not the Vampire way. Do it the way you want to, the Dragon way.”
I hesitate, wanting to take him up on his offer, as I am feeling a bit lacking in the energy department.
“If you won’t feed the Vampire way properly then do this. For me.”
“For you?” I frown.
“Livvie, you are my Queen, my sibling, and my Princess Fae-pire,” he says with a sidelong smile. “I want you to look after yourself and I want to look after you. I know that our sire has issue with this, but I don’t. Use me.” He turns to sit sideways on the wall and holds out his hands.
I know he is playing dirty, deliberately offering me something he knows I want and that our sire finds distasteful.
“You don’t play fair,” I accuse him.
“Why should I?” he asks with a shrug. “No one else around here does.”
Well, I can’t argue with that. Everyone has an angle. Even Lincoln. Nothing is innocent or what it seems, there is an undercurrent to everything that everyone does, myself included, and I am tired of it. I want something pure and honest. This doesn’t even come close to falling into either of those categories but just for now, I can pretend that it does. That he is doing this for the well-being of me and not as some tool to one-up our sire.
“I know what you are thinking,” he says, and I curse my face. “And while the appeal of giving you something he won’t is alluring enough on its own, the mere fact that I will be giving you something to make you stronger, a part of myself that you need,” he drops his voice to a husky whisper as he leans in closer, “that is far more enticing.”
Oh, my. My heart skips a beat and I blink at him to bring my thoughts back into focus.
“Come Tuesday, you will give me everything I ever wanted,” he whispers. “It is the least I can do to give you something you want. I owe you everything. I will forever be yours.”
Oh no. Not again. “Seb, don’t say things like that.”
“Why not? It’s true.”
“Just don’t, please.”
He sighs. “Liv, I am not so stupid that I will pledge my undying love to you and swear to be faithful to only you. That isn’t who I am. I will love our time together and cherish every second, but it won’t be the only thing in my life. Everything you will do for me, that we will do for each other, is special and it means everything to me. I will be yours, if you want me. Until then, I won’t be making any changes. So, I can say things like that to you and you don’t have to get your lacy knickers in a twist about it, okay?” he adds with a lascivious smile.
“How do you know my knickers are lacy?” I ask wickedly and he laughs.
“You don’t strike me as the sensible cotton underwear type. But I look forward to finding out for definite in a few days.”
“Maybe I will surprise you,” I say a bit haughtily and he shakes his head before I add, “Maybe I won’t be wearing any underwear at all.”
His lips part in desire and he draws in a breath. “Don’t be a tease,” he murmurs as he takes my hands and sits upright. “So, are we doing this?”
“Yes,” I say, eager to get my hands on his Faerie energy. I don’t feel too much in the way of a boost from his blood like other Vampires. It is more than the average Vampire, yes, but the one time I took his energy, it was pretty incredible. I close my eyes and breathe in deeply. He laces our fingers and I pull, feeling it leave him and enter me, swirling up through my arms and into my chest and then spiraling off all through my body. I am fizzing all over and I open my eyes. My magick wind has picked up and is whipping around us, my hair floating against the flap of wings from my Dragon, who clearly approves of this method of feeding. He is smiling at me, the sweetest smile, and I slowly let go of his essence as the wind dies down. Fuck me, I feel like I could fly. Without the use of my Dragon form.
“Bloody hell,” I whisper, and he grins.
“I am pretty sure that no one else can give you that.”
“I think you’d be right,” I say, refusing to let go of his hands just yet.
“Am I interrupting?” CK says
, Teleporting in next to us and staring at my flyaway hair and our linked hands.
“Liv was just feeding. The Dragon way,” Sebastian says with a smile at me.
CK sighs but has the good sense to remain silent.
“I will leave you now but remember this: whenever you want.” He leaps off the wall and saunters off, clearly having gotten something out of the experience as well, but what? I will have to try and remember to ask him.
“You have an arrangement to take his energy?” CK asks casually, hoisting himself up onto the wall gracefully.
“Not really. He offered, and I accepted.”
“You said that it was an intimate thing,” he says, almost accusing.
“No more than the bite,” I say patiently. No point in snapping at him as it will only get his back up.
“Oh.” He pauses, “Aefre, I am sorry about earlier. I know after Fraser you were feeling out of sorts and I was harsh with you. I was worried about what his showing up here would mean for us.”
I take his hand and he squeezes tightly. “I know. You don’t have to apologize or worry about it. After other Liv and I spoke the first time, I had changed my mind about wanting to find him. I couldn’t bear to see my memory of him tarnished with a cruel and evil version of him. It hurts like Hell to know that she wasn’t lying, but I have no interest in him. He isn’t the man I loved.” I leave out the part about me itching to get to my own past Fraser and bring him here to me.
He smiles at me, but it looks a bit forced, so I add, “And even if he weren’t an evil Lance-a-like, I would still never leave you. I love you.”
He smiles again but this time it is real. “I love you too. Gods, I have missed you. Our little dalliance earlier has left me incredibly frustrated.”
I snort unattractively to his amusement. “You are frustrated? What about me?”
“Yes, I can imagine you must be. I will have to make it up to you on Tuesday.” He stiffens slightly as he remembers what Tuesday also brings but forces himself to relax.
“Well, if I recall,” I say, ignoring his body language to his relief, “I am still to owe you a proper seeing to, having you completely at my mercy.”
