by Ivy Sparks
I nuzzled her neck, my teeth skimming the skin, taunting myself with the idea of piercing my fangs into her. All I wanted was to sink myself in and claim her. The idea of it made me shiver. My pants felt uncomfortably tight and I knew if I didn’t stop these thoughts soon, I was going to throw her down on the table and ravish her.
I pulled away. I needed to think about work. I didn’t go in today and I was sure there were hundreds of messages wondering where I had disappeared to. My gaze wandered back to her neck and I nearly groaned seeing the bruise forming where my mouth had been. I stopped myself from licking it, but the animal inside me enjoyed knowing she was marked as mine for a few more days. I ground my forehead against it, inhaling her sweet scent.
She was going to be my undoing.
Ellie turned toward me. “I’ve never seen you like this,” she said, her voice like music to my ears.
“Like what?” My voice was barely my own.
She shrugged. “So… touchy.”
“You don’t like it?”
She smiled and I felt the world brighten underneath it. “No, it’s just different.” I buried my head back into her neck, rubbing against it. I needed to get away before I did something stupid. “Are all Adonians like this?”
“Only with their mates,” I whispered.
“Their mates?”
My heart stopped as soon as the words left my mouth. What in the eleven hells of Lucious was I thinking? I hadn’t planned to voice this so soon. I didn’t have a plan, which I mentally kicked myself for. “Yes.”
She nudged me away from her neck. “What does that mean? Like soul mates?”
I couldn’t look at her. I leaned back in the chair. “Yes.”
Ellie fidgeted in my lap. I wondered how she would take the news. If she found the idea of being fated to me forever disgusting.
She stared back at me, her eyes alight, her mouth twitching before she broke into a fit of laughter. “You must be joking.” She smacked her leg and I held her waist to keep her from falling off.
I wish I was. “No, I’m not joking.”
“You believe in that stuff?”
I shrugged. “I didn’t before. Now I do. Many Adonians swear by it, that there is a fated mate out there for every individual.”
Now all the humor left her face. “How do you know it’s really real?”
It appeared that for humans, the concept of fated mates was relegated to fairy tales. “I just feel it, deep within me. You know when you know.” I felt stupid saying the words, but it was the truth. The way she smelled, the urge to be next to her. The primal need to protect her with my life against any and all harm, for the rest of time. I just knew.
She looked away. “That’s what my mother used to say about my father. Before he left.” She shook her head. “Love fades eventually.”
“But fated mates don’t.” I held her close, kissing her neck. “We are destined to be together, even in death. I will always be connected to you.” She shook her head at me and I pressed on, “It’s how I found you when you were sick in town. This sudden pull urged me to your location. I had the feeling of aching and worry, without even knowing what was happening, despite being miles away.”
“But I’m human.”
“Yes, you are.”
She opened her mouth, pausing a moment before asking, “So how does that work?”
“I’m not so sure.” My lips skimmed her collar bone. “I just know you are always on my mind. I am forever yours, Ellie.”
Ellie turned in my arms, resting her forehead against mine. “I’ll take that.”
I chuckled and wrapped my arms around her, allowing her to claim my mouth.
Ellie
Vorian left only an hour after that, peeling himself away as if it were the hardest thing leaving me behind. I touched my forehead, remembering how he nuzzled me goodbye.
It was interesting being with an Adonian. He was so affectionate, unlike the other men I’ve messed around with. He came off strict and severe most times, but somehow, after getting him into bed, he became caring. As if I were his everything.
I sat next to Dravak in the lab afterwards, working on some new technology the Zhora family business planned on taking to market in the next few months. It was hard to think when my mind was on a certain someone’s lips.
Soul mates, he had said. Destined to be together even in death, he mentioned.
Was it all a load of crap?
My father made vows. I remembered him telling my mother how much he loved her. I remembered when I was young, perhaps eight, waking up to him and my mother dancing in the living room while listening to music on the Orion radio. I remembered him kissing my mother every time he came home from work, saying how he would like to make a better life for us, telling my sister and me how much he loved us.
Yet that didn’t stop him from leaving us for a better life. I could still see him now, packing his bags, my mother crying, sitting at the table while holding Lyra. I was watching, hoping he would notice me standing in the corner, hoping he would turn, look at me, and realize he could never leave us behind.
Never leave me behind.
He was destined to be my dad forever. It still didn’t stop him from leaving. Men always said things they didn’t mean to get their way.
I love you.
You’re the only one for me.
I only have eyes for you.
You’re the most beautiful woman in my life.
You’re my mate.
All complete crap and I heard it all. I’d been with men before. When I was in my teens, I used to believe in love, used to believe maybe a guy would be different and I could find someone to share my life with. To grow old together with. Yet, there was always someone better. They always turned out to be like my good old dad. Eventually it was just better to have one-night stands, to get my carnal needs met and move on, rather than stay and get hurt.
I leaned back in my chair, staring up at the lamplight, completely giving up on whatever it was I was working on at the moment. Rachel was in love with an Adonian. She loved him, but had to keep it secret. What was that like, loving someone who didn’t publicly acknowledge you? Did he have another wife? Rachel was beautiful, intelligent, with curves and grace. If an Adonian was hiding her, what would Vorian do with me?
If he were my mate, would he eventually up and leave for an Adonian female? For someone who could love him publicly? Would he hide me away and keep another for events? I wasn’t beautiful in most people’s eyes. I was short with a bad attitude. How could he ever choose to be with me?
But I guess life mates were destined to be, not chosen.
Or was he just playing me like all the other men in my life?
I sighed and glanced over at Dravak, busy in his work, his visor on while he tapped on the computer. The wings Vorian was working on the night before were spread out on the table next to Dravak. I swung out of my chair and strolled toward it. I stroked the metal work, the details were so beautiful. Vorian said they were for me.
I recalled the image of the prince and princess dancing together at the royal palace, swooping and circling around each other in a delicate display of their love. At the time I wondered what it would be like to have such love for one another to create a ceremony for everyone to enjoy.
But then there was Vorian, making wings so I could fly with him… so I could be with him. Obviously, he cared for me a bit more than I was giving him credit for. I smiled, thinking of him nuzzling my neck, teasing me, touching me gently. He was definitely different from the boys on the Orion.
“Miss Ellie,” Zoe called from the elevator.
I turned, quickly, covering the wings. I didn’t want Zoe seeing me eyeing them. I didn’t want her telling Vorian. Somehow it embarrassed me. He told me he was always thinking about me. I didn’t want him to know the same was true of me, always thinking of him.
“Yes, Zoe.” I smiled, striding toward her and walking passed Dravak, who completely ignored us. I guessed there w
as still a little tension between him and Zoe…
“There is a package for you,” Zoe said, ushering me into the elevator and pressing a button for the doors to slide shut.
“A package? Who’s it from?” I immediately thought of Lyra. My dear baby sister Lyra sending me a letter demanding me to return home, or possibly sending me some sort of powdered soup to keep my energy levels up.
She was always fussing over me. But it couldn’t have been her. How would she know where I lived? Last time I saw her, I only gave her the vaguest of answers as to where I was going.
“The name said Ly… Lyyy… Lyra?” Zoe said, wrapping her hand around my elbow. “I put it in your bedroom.”
“Lyra?” But how? I tugged Zoe, running back toward my room with her and slamming open the door.
The package sat on the table. It was big, black, and wrapped with a silk red ribbon. Where would she have gotten a ribbon like that? And how did she know where I was?
My sister was resourceful, but not that resourceful. I stared at it, not knowing exactly what I expected. I wished she were here. I wished she was the package; to have my baby sister with me once again, watching late night movies, dancing together, listening to her read or tell a story she heard in school. Anything to see her once more.
“Well, go on. Open it,” Zoe urged. “I’m curious what this Lyra person sent to you.”
I pulled the ribbon, hesitant. There was a strange smell coming from the box. Like iron and something rotten. I flipped open the sides and peered into the box, my eyes trying to make sense of what I was seeing.
I screamed. My hands shook, my whole body trembled. I couldn’t get the image of it out of my mind.
“What?” Zoe asked, grabbing my hands and holding them gently. “Calm down. What is it?”
I pointed at the box. I couldn’t form words, couldn’t get the image of it out of my mind.
“What?”
I shook my head. Zoe turned around and edged closer to the thing, gasping and covering her mouth when she saw the creature inside. It was some sort of small furry rodent. The poor little creature’s throat had been slit. A piece of paper rested on top of its lifeless body, and written with its blood was a message:
You’re next, human whore.
Chapter Thirteen
Ellie
You’re next, human whore.
The bloody message, the carcass with blood soaking the bottom of the box… Neither image I could escape. My body shook, even when Zoe pulled me to her, wrapping her lithe arms around me, stroking my head as if I were her child. I couldn’t stop shaking.
It wasn’t the poor creature, or the message. It wasn’t the thought of someone toying with me, someone threatening me. It was worse than that. No matter how I tried to think around it, or how I tried to close my eyes to it, I couldn’t ignore the words written there on that package. An idea wouldn’t leave me, making my blood run cold and my trembles worsen. And that was the fact that whoever it was who sent this package knew my weakness.
I peered over Zoe’s shoulder, my gaze meeting the bloody message again. My body felt numb as I reread the words over and over.
You’re next, human whore.
Sent by Lyra Harris.
The person who sent this threat knew my sister’s name. They possibly knew where she lived, her schedule, what she did for fun. They definitely knew she was the most precious thing I had in my life. Was she next? I gazed at the box, imagining a week from now, finding a much bigger one on the balcony, filled with a very different carcass. I imagined myself peering into the box, seeing my sister’s wide-eyed blue eyes, her mouth parted in a scream.
My hands smacked over my ears and I screamed. I crumbled to my knees, my body sinking to the floor, taking my heart with it. The shrill pitch echoed.
“It’s okay,” Zoe whispered, stroking my hair away from my face. “You’re all right.”
But I wasn’t all right. Whoever sent this package was disgusting and dangerous, doing that to an innocent creature, defiling its body. They could possibly go after my sister. I needed to leave. I tried to stand, but my legs wobbled underneath me, making me stumble. I needed to see my sister. I needed to know she was okay and nothing had happened to her.
I needed to go back to the Orion, the place I had been so relieved to escape.
I stumbled again to the door while Zoe hovered around me. “Do you want me to get anything?”
I pointed toward the box, not daring to look at it. “Get that thing out of here.”
Zoe nodded vehemently, stalking toward the package. “Of course.”
The door slammed on Zoe’s exit. Even after the box’s departure, I still couldn’t stop seeing it. The blood. The words. My sister’s name. I stared at the room around me, wondering how I could have remained here for so long, how foolish I was to think she’d be safe long enough to graduate and escape that place.
How long had it been? Two weeks. Three? Here I was, enjoying the fineness of life while my sister was being hunted by a freak. I slammed the doors of my wardrobe open. I shoved the hangers to the side, trying to find something I could wear that wasn’t so delicate.
I tore out a red dress, scoffing before throwing it on the floor. I grabbed a yellow dress, a pink dress, a long blue gown, all thrown on the floor. I found gowns, gowns, and even more gowns. Nothing suitable for the Orion. Why was everything so nice here? Where were my old clothes? I couldn’t possibly wear any of this. I couldn’t let my sister see me like this.
I pulled out one dress, the black sheath one I wore to my first dinner with Vorian. I recalled his blue eyes watching me, his head tilting as he smiled. I remembered the way he smelled, like a fresh breeze on a chilled morning. He tasted the same when his lips were on mine. Those gentle, soft lips when they kissed my neck, my breasts…
I threw the dress on the floor, disgusted with myself. It didn’t take much for me to forget my family, to forget my sister.
I was no better than my father.
I pulled out another dress that I wore reading on the balcony, another I wore to the royal palace, another from a dinner with Vorian. I pulled more and more dresses out from the wardrobe until everything was on the floor around me and nothing was inside.
I screamed and stomped my foot. None of this would do. None of this was good enough. What would Lyra think if I showed up in riches while she was left to eat broth and scraps? I couldn’t go to her like this. I couldn’t let her know I abandoned her for a better life.
Zoe was in front of me, holding my hands. I didn’t even hear her return. I looked around, seeing the dresses in a pile encircling me. “You are all right,” she whispered. “Nothing is going to happen to you.”
I sniffed. “I can’t have any of these dresses.” My voice was shaking.
“You don’t have to.” She led me toward the table, sitting me down on the cushioned chair.
“I can’t go to her like this.” I motioned to the dress I wore, a long purple gown hanging off my form, exposing my shoulders with gold lining. I loved this dress this morning. I wanted Vorian to see it on me. I wanted him to think I looked pretty. Gazing at it now, all I wanted to do was tear it off.
Zoe looked confused. “Go to who?”
“Lyra,” I sobbed, pushing myself away from Zoe and standing. “I can’t go to her wearing this.”
“Go to her?” Zoe followed me back to the wardrobe, now completely devoid of clothes.
I knelt down, searching the pile, wondering if I had mistaken a long blouse for something else. “Yes, I must go to her. What if… What if—”
Zoe grabbed me and shook my shoulders. “Ellie, you must calm yourself. Nothing has happened to Lyra.”
“How do you know?” I yelled, grabbing her by the collar. “How do you know she is all right when we are here and she is there? How do you know her throat isn’t slit like that poor creature’s?”
Zoe bit her lip and sighed. “It’s going to be okay,” she said, pulling me into her arms. Something came over
me. A bubble burst within me and all the tears I held on to from the past overwhelmed me. Tears from when my father left, tears from when mother died, tears from the men who stole my tools, from the first boy who broke my heart, all of them were coming out now as I held onto Zoe, sobbing into her.
“I just need to know she’s alive,” I sobbed, allowing the tears to consume me as Zoe stroked my hair.
Vorian
I knew things were not well when I saw Zoe on the balcony, her small form pacing back and forth as I flew in to land. Her black robes were rumpled and her hair haphazardly pulled into a bun behind her head. She paused when she saw me, holding herself straight as a pole, her hands in front of her as if she needed a request granted. I landed, knees bent and wings expanded, slowly pulling them back in as I stood. Her eyes never left mine.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, sniffing the air. Last time Zoe stood before me like this, Dravak had caught the lab on fire. However, I smelled nothing burning.
“It’s Ellie,” Zoe said, her hands tightening around each other.
I tapped into the pull, feeling Ellie, but everything was calm. She didn’t seem to be in any danger. I stared at Zoe, tilting my head, waiting for some sort of explanation, but she didn’t budge, didn’t move to say anything more on the matter. She winced, her lips tightening in what looked like discomfort, but still she didn’t say anything.
“And?” I growled.
Zoe sighed, finally looking away, biting her lip. “Today…” She paused, her eyes squinting at something in the distance. I followed her gaze to a black box on a table. “There was a package. It upset Ellie.”
“What was it?”
“Something very upsetting.”
I strode toward the box, but Zoe’s hand on my shoulder stopped me. “You don’t need to see it. It’s very… grotesque.” I shrugged Zoe’s hand off my shoulder, stalking toward the package. Who would send something to Ellie? Rachel possibly? But the ambassador wouldn’t send anything terrible. They seemed to get along well. So what could—
