“Here’s the family history then, share it with anyone other than Aylesbury, and your life won’t be worth—”
“—Living. Always with the threats. Aren’t you meant to protect your mate?” I roll my eyes at him as he starts to pace back and forth, I can tell I’m aggravating him.
“I’m a hybrid like you, I’m a quarter demigod, a quarter Fae, and half Lycan. Lykos is half Fae, half God, and my mother was full Lycan. Raven is my half-sister born to my mother and a Lycan father, so she’s full Lycan. As far as I’ve been able to tell, any power I got from my father just made the Lycan in me stronger. It’s why I can be any beast I want to, it’s also what makes me more animal than other Lycans. Lykos is one of the reasons I don’t trust the Fae.”
Well that explained a lot more about his reaction to finding out I was part Fae.
“So, that’s why you look different when you’re in Faerie. Is this what you should look like, do you use a glamour normally?” I stand and stop him from pacing.
“I only look like this here,” he says quietly. “Are you going to use this to deny us some more?” he asks, brushing my hair off my neck and leaning in to inhale.
I sigh as I feel his lips brush against my neck. I realize what he’s doing, so I push him away and start backing up. He follows me, stalking me like a predator. I back straight in to the bookcase behind me, and his arms cage me in on either side of my head.
“Don’t do this, Bastian,” I say, watching him warily.
“I don’t know what you mean,” he says with a smile, and a predatory glint in his silvery eyes.
“You’re either distracting me from being pissed off at you, or you’re hoping to get laid. Neither one is going to happen right now.”
He moves in closer. Hell, I could feel myself giving in already.
“We mate now, Rozen will know, which means I die,” I tell him.
“Fuck!” he grates out, then smashes his arm through the bookshelf at my back, sending books raining down on me. He quickly grabs me and pulls me out of the way.
Lykos walks in and eyes the mess. “Why would you do that?” he shouts at Bastian.
“Because I felt like it,” Bastian shouts back, as Aylesbury comes in to survey the destruction. He arches a brow at me like it’s my fault.
“You can fix that before you leave. You’re going to have to stay the night anyway, there’s no way you’ll get past the Formorians now. Tools are outside,” Lykos says, before walking away.
“Is a Formorian what I think it is?” Aylesbury asks Bastian.
“Yes.”
They both exchange grim looks.
“What are they?” I ask.
“You don’t want to know, Red, you don’t want to know,” Aylesbury answers.
“But I obviously do,” I say, following Bastian and Aylesbury out of the room.
“Let’s just say they are Fae killers, and leave it at that for now.”
“But we’re both part Fae.”
“Yes, we are.” Is his only answer.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Having no choice but to stay for the night is great. I don’t think Bastian thinks so from the looks he keeps throwing at Lykos. It does give me some much-needed time away from Rozen. Thankfully, Lykos mostly stays out of our way, which I am pleased about. He is just like Bastian, right down to the attitude, and it is hard enough dealing with one of him let alone two. Aylesbury tells Lykos he’ll cook something to eat in thanks for not having to go back in the dark. Something about these Formorians has really scared him.
So, whilst Aylesbury cooks, Bastian fixes the shelves, and I stack books ready for re-shelving. We are all mainly silently going about our tasks. I am purely silent because I can’t stop wondering what will happen to me once Rozen has the stone. I’m not sure how expendable I am. I know Rozen has referred to someone else a few times, and so has Bryn. I figure this someone is pulling the strings. I just hope they want me alive no matter what I deliver to Rozen.
“Dinner is ready,” Aylesbury shouts from the kitchen.
Bastian turns to me and takes the books I’m holding out of my hands, placing them down on the floor before shoving me gently towards the kitchen.
The kitchen is all oak and granite, and again looks nothing like the archaic Fae homes you usually find in Faerie. On the huge wooden table Aylesbury has piled enough food to feed an army. It always shocks me how much food men consume, and I’m not one of these women that just eats a leaf from a salad and is done. There is a huge bowl of salad, a roasted meat of some kind, creamed potatoes, bread, and fruit.
As I sit down, Bastian starts piling food on my plate, he stops when I start eyeballing him.
“What?” he asks.
“Don’t you think it’s up to me to pick what food goes on my plate?” I tell him.
“Here we go again,” Aylesbury exclaims as Lykos watches the interaction quietly, whilst piling meat on his own plate.
“All I’m saying is, I have my own mind, and that includes choosing what food I’m going to put on my own plate,” I say to the both of them, rolling my eyes.
“It’s the animal instinct,” Lykos says around a mouthful of food.
I arch a brow in query.
“It’s a mate’s job to provide for their partner,” Lykos tells me.
Bastian ignores the whole conversation and continues to pile food on my plate. He hesitates when he comes to the meat and looks at me, gaging my reaction. I shake my head.
“So, how’d you end up half mated to a Human then?” Lykos asks Bastian.
“She’s only part Human, and it was an accident, kind of,” he replies as Aylesbury grins at me.
I grin back then flash through all of my forms then back to the Human in me. I don’t let on about the Vampire element though, cause, so far, that is just an anomaly found in my blood.
“Fascinating. You don’t see many Nymphs or people that can change forms like that,” Lykos comments, then carries on eating
“It must be a family thing; my brother can do it too,” I comment.
“Any magic from your Fae or Nymph sides then?” Lykos asks, sounding truly interested.
“None, other than the shifting. I didn’t know Nymphs had magic too?” I say, pushing my plate away. Aylesbury reaches out and takes what’s left, scraping it onto his plate. Bastian growls at him so I smack him over the head.
“Of course they do, depending on the type of Nymph. They can feel the nature around them and use it to help them. For example, a Wood Nymph will be able to use the trees around her as guards, knowing who is in their territory. Vines and various things like large thorns can be used as weapons,” Lykos explains.
“Interesting, but I don’t have any of that. I’m starting to think I was seriously duped in the genes department.”
“When you were dying you made all the trees around you start to die,” Bastian says, looking at me.
“And I’m just hearing about this now because?”
“We just figured it was because you were part Wood Nymph and they were reacting to you, but it could be that you were using magic to suck the life out of them and give yourself life in return,” he muses.
I roll my eyes at him. “Really doubt that, I have zero magic. While there are abilities out there that would be absolutely epic, I think I’d rather not have them. After all, with great power comes great responsibility. And let’s face it, if I had the power to suck the life out of things to feed me, then you’d have died the minute I met you.”
Lykos smirks at me like he knows something I don’t. I glare back until Bastian begins to growl again, so I push away from the table and start to ferry plates to the sink.
“Leave the dishes, I have someone come in to do that for me. Now, there are only two rooms with beds in or the couch, feel free to fight over who sleeps where. The doors to those rooms are open, all the rest are locked. I won’t be here when you leave tomorrow,” Lykos tells us, then simply walks out.
“I take it he won’t
be saying goodbye to his son then?” I ask Bastian.
“No, he’s a prick like that,” Bastian confirms.
They really do have a strange relationship, but then who am I to judge. I start to move through the rooms to reach the stairs when Aylesbury runs past me shouting “Dibs.”
I sigh and follow him up, Bastian can have the sofa then. The door closest to me is open so I walk through it to find a double bed in a massive room. One whole wall is a window looking out onto the Faerie landscape that’s lit by starlight and twin moons. There is no other bedroom furniture, just an opaque glass wall that hides a bath and toilet. All of it looks like it should be in a penthouse apartment somewhere posh. Lykos definitely has taste, even if he is lacking in the furniture department. He must not get enough visitors to warrant putting in a closet or a chair.
I take off my trousers, then climb into bed still wearing my top half. I lie awake for hours listening to Bastian finishing off rebuilding the shelves he broke. Once I stop hearing him shuffle about I start to drift off to sleep.
Chapter Twenty-Three
At some point in the night I think I feel Bastian climb into bed with me and pull me close, but when I wake he isn’t there. I wonder if I just dreamt it because I subconsciously wanted him to come and get into bed with me. This mating is playing havoc with me at the moment. It is like I want him but I’m trying my hardest to think of any reason for it not to happen.
The smell of cooking rouses me to full alertness in a matter of seconds. A smell that disturbs me, and also makes me drool, bacon. I have a quick wash then slip my day-old clothes back on, before racing downstairs. Aylesbury is already eating his weight in food while Bastian cooks even more eggs and bacon on the stove.
“It’s a good job he can cook. If he didn’t, I’d wonder how you’d both survive together,” Aylesbury comments, then helps himself to another pile of bacon.
“I can cook,” I say indignantly.
“If that’s true, Red, then can you tell me what you last cooked and how long ago it was?” he answers as Bastian comes to sit at the table, placing a plate of eggs and toast in front of me.
“Toast and a few months,” I answer, then pinch three slices of bacon from Bastian’s plate. He arches a brow at me. “I refuse to think about what this is, so don’t comment, just let me enjoy the salty goodness.”
He grunts in answer and starts to shovel his own food into his mouth.
Once we are finished, Aylesbury pulls a jar out of his back pocket that has a small amount of thick red liquid in. He pulls the top off and holds his wrist over the top. It is blood again, it’s a good job they let me eat first. The thought of drinking the thick liquid is making me feel a little off. The last two times I’d ingested blood I wasn’t really in my right mind, but this time I am fully aware of the disgusting act that is about to take place.
Bastian reaches for Aylesbury’s wrist and, in the blink of an eye, his finger has morphed into a vicious-looking claw which slices through Aylesbury’s skin. His blood drips into the jar, then he grabs a towel and holds it to the cut to stem the flow while Bastian rips into his own wrist. When I say rips, I mean he digs the claw in and keeps ripping it in and out, so enough blood comes out before he heals. It is rather disturbing to watch directly after breakfast.
When he is finished he hands me the jar. “Drink.”
I hold my lips together and shake my head.
“If you don’t drink it, you’ll only make it another couple of hours before the pain kicks in.” I give Bastian a dubious look. I think I’d rather be in pain at this point. “If you don’t put that jar to your lips in the next three seconds, Aylesbury will hold you down while I pour it down your throat.”
I narrow my eyes at the threat. “Fine,” I tell him, and pick up the jar, trying not to watch the thick red liquid as it sloshes around.
I bring it to my mouth, and as the metallic liquid hits my tongue I shudder. I’m about to pull the jar away but Bastian’s hand covers mine, holding it in place, and at an angle where I have no choice but to carry on gulping it down.
Once it’s all down, I wipe my mouth with the cloth that Aylesbury passes me. I can still feel the taste and lingering thick liquid in my mouth. Aylesbury notices that I look like I’m about to throw it all back up again and quickly shoves a piece of orange in my mouth. As I suck the juice out of it, the horrendous taste in my mouth is quickly replaced with the tang of the delicious fruit.
After that, we grab some food for the road and begin our journey back to Vyr. Elias is safely tucked away in my bra. At first, I barely feel it tucked away between my breasts, but as we travel back the way we came, its weight grows heavier with each passing minute. We’re all silent, and I wonder if Aylesbury and Bastian are wondering about my impending doom too. I hope whatever they have planned happens soon. I have no idea what Rozen’s going to do to me when he finds out he can’t use the stone and that I’ve finished his task.
The trip through the portals is tenser this time, especially now I know there are Fae killers waiting in the darkness. I don’t think I’ve ever clung to Bastian so hard before. Once we make it through, Aylesbury’s face is even more ashen than it was last time. His eyes wide with what I assume is fright. The curious part of me wants to go back through with night-vision goggles so I can see what all the fuss is about, but even Bastian seems wary of what waits in the dark here.
The rest of the journey goes by without calamity, but once we arrive back at The Black Hall I find myself reluctant to leave.
Aylesbury senses this and says, “You can stay here, Red, you don’t have to go back there yet.”
“I’d really like to, but for every minute the stone is in my possession and not Rozen’s, I ache more and more.” I wince, holding my hand to my head, the pain has been slowly building the closer we got to Vyr and to Rozen.
A pair of arms wrap tightly around me from behind and Bastian’s voice rumbles close to my ear. “Stay, we’ll take care of everything for you.”
I pull away from him, not wanting to surrender to the feelings he stirs in me lately.
“I can’t. Right now, he’s literally the only one that can stop this pain building. Look, whatever you’re planning needs to happen really soon, once I go back, I’m not sure I’ll have long left,” I tell them both.
I turn to Aylesbury and throw my arms around his neck.
“I’m so happy you didn’t die,” I say to him, my voice muffled as he pulls me in and squeezes me just as tight.
“As much as I like that you’re finally acting like the sister I’ve always known you are, this is a little weird,” he tells me, pulling away.
Bastian moves to stand almost between us before saying. “I’m not overly keen on all this touching you’re suddenly doing either.”
“No one cares what you think,” I say back to Bastian with a scowl.
I turn to Aylesbury and smile before punching him in the gut. I can’t have him thinking I’ve gone completely soft. I scowl again at Bastian before turning and walking toward the gate, when Bastian catches up to me. He tries to pull me to him, but I stop him with a hand to his chest.
“Don’t make this harder than it already is, Bastian, just let me leave,” I tell him, taking a step back and reaching for the gate.
He grunts and lets me go.
Chapter Twenty-Four
I quickly make my way back to Rozen’s. As I reach the door, its ripped out of my hand from the other side. Before I can work out what is happening, I’m pulled through the door and pushed up against the rails of the staircase. Rozen’s furious face is inches from mine. His hands fisted in the front of my shirt. He’s pressing me so hard in to the rails the wood is biting into my skin.
“You had them arrested!” he roars at me.
“If you’re talking about the evil twins then, yes, I did,” I say. Maybe I shouldn’t antagonize him while he’s this riled up.
His eyes flare with more fury. I’ve never seen him this mad before, and I’m sure
I am about to make it a lot worse. He pulls me away from the door and moves to my back, grabbing my wrists behind me. He starts propelling me towards the basement that’s accessed under the stairs. I struggle until he hits me over the back of the head. My vision swims and my legs give out, but that doesn’t stop him. Thankfully, I don’t black out.
He half drags, half carries me through the basement door, even when I start to struggle again, he doesn’t let go. We go down wooden steps that sound like they are going to give way under our combined weight.
Once downstairs, he handcuffs my wrists and attaches me to a chain that hangs from the ceiling. It is just high enough that my body is almost fully stretched, but I can thankfully reach the floor. I watch as Rozen moves about the basement collecting things. He then moves back over to me and starts to bend slightly. I take the opportunity in front of me and wrap my hands around the chain above, holding on, and lifting up my legs to wrap around his neck.
I hang from the chain, the muscles in my arms screaming at the overexertion. Rozen straightens instantly, throwing me off balance. I quickly lose my grip on the chains, my feet drop back to the floor, my arms jerking, as the chain pulls me straight again. If my feet hadn’t have landed on the floor I would have easily dislocated my shoulders.
He moves straightaway to secure my ankles to the floor. I make it hard for him by flailing my legs about, but he just grabs my lower leg firmly and fastens me in the cuffs, a lot tighter than was necessary.
“What are you doing?” I ask him, practically grating the words out.
“I’m punishing you. You have completely fucked up. I needed Bryn,” he says it like he’s now calm, but his actions tell me he is far from it. “Bryn was a major player, taking him out of the game has made my plans a lot harder.”
He pulls a very large chunky knife off a rack at his side and saunters over to me. As he reaches me, he grabs my shirt and uses the knife to cut the fabric away from my arms. A cut on either side from shoulder to wrist and the shirt flutters to the floor. He then moves in front of me and takes the knife to my vest, cutting each shoulder strap and then each side until, it also, drops to the floor. He is very careful, the knife hasn’t once touched my skin, which is odd, considering he wants to punish me.
Sacrifice Page 13
