“Oh,” he says flatly. He is a bit miffed that she feels she can’t share what is about to happen to her with him. “When you get back, the Trial will end,” he says suddenly. This is pushing everything forward by weeks, months even, but enough is enough.
“What?” she asks, startled, and takes her hand back as she spins and starts to pace. “Already?”
He nods briskly, ignoring the stab of guilt at the lie. “Yes, the Houses need to resolve this, and the date has been set for the end of the week.”
“The end of the week?” she repeats. “Wow, that’s in five days. I didn’t expect this.”
“You will be required to attend and, Xerxei,” he says, “you have to do what you can to prove your loyalty to me and to Dracul.”
“I will,” she says, still taken aback by the suddenness of this news. “Just tell me what I have to do.”
Oh, yeah, sure, he thinks. If he tells her now what she must do, she will probably run a mile. Especially if she has time to think about. No, surprise is key here, so he shrugs and says, “We’ll come up with something.”
She nods and accepts that and then turns to the door as Cole bursts in. “Lincoln just called, he found…” Cole stops abruptly as he sees him standing close to Liv, and he
sidles just that bit closer. It is petty of him, but he loves to upset this Vampire. He wants Cole to ask questions to his wife about their relationship. He wants that doubt lurking there and if he could do it himself, he would tell all, but that would leave him without Liv as she would never forgive him. So, he subtly sows the seeds and hopes that the Vampire’s natural paranoia nourishes them into a forest of evergreens.
As expected, Cole strides forward and gently pulls Liv back a few feet. Xane smiles at him condescendingly and asks, “Lincoln found?”
Cole glares at him and turns to Liv. “He found Devon, who found Cade. We need to go now. Constantine said he would take you if you are still, uh…” Cole glances at him and Xane frowns. What does Cole not want him to know?
Liv flushes and he gets that she still doesn’t have any Powers. He also gets now why Tiamat thinks she is too weak to be impregnated. He is relieved to say the least. He is sure now that she will be left alone. This time.
“CK will have to take me,” she says quietly, and Cole touches her arm softly. She steps into his embrace and Xane knows he has been dismissed. Even their Blood Magick bond is no match for this maddening Vampire tie. It has to go, that’s all there is to it. His wicked side rears its Demonic head and he leans into her and pulls her mouth to his with a hand on the back of her neck. He kisses her, with tongue just to shit stir, and then releases her. She stumbles forward having lost herself in the kiss and it pleases him as she flusters and clears her throat. He winks at her and Astraports out, determined to find Sven and make sure this Trial ends on Friday.
With a bang.
Chapter 12
Stevenage, England, September 2013 – Liv
Ignoring Cole’s look, I grip CK’s arm and he Teleports Cole and me to wherever Devon, Lincoln, and Cade are. When we land, it turns out we are in a filthy apartment that looks like it needs burning down. Devon is straddling Cade on the floor with his hand at his throat. Cade is doing nothing to fight him and I must wonder if he even can.
“Devon!” I shout at him. “Get off him.”
“No,” he shouts back me. “He did this to you. He left you for dead with that monster. He betrayed you, he doesn’t get to walk away from that.”
“Devon,” I say again and this time I go to him. He is throttling Cade and I can’t have that. I put my hand on his shoulder and he shrugs me off.
“Don’t,” he says. “Do not try and distract me.”
Christ, I am seriously losing my touch today. I hear Cole stifle his snicker behind me but ignore him as I try again. “Dev, sweetie. Let him go. He is my charge; you have no right to do this against my wishes.” I might not be good with the distraction techniques today, but he will not outright defy me. “Let him go,” I order him again.
He howls in frustration and with a final squeeze, he lets Cade go and gets up. He is furious and I brace myself for a lambasting, but he just shakes his head at me and stalks off into the other room. I look down at Cade and he is gray and gaunt and looks so close to death, I am surprised he is still alive. I kneel next to him and he turns from me. I expect it, but it doesn’t mean it hurts any less.
“Please leave us,” I say to my husbands and Lincoln. They hesitate, about to argue, but go when I shoo them away. “Cade,” I say softly. “This has to stop.”
“Go away,” he rasps at me and struggles to sit up.
I gently push him back to the floor and force him to look at me. He looks so sad and so lost it breaks my heart. “If you hate this so much, why not end your own life?” I ask him. It sounds unduly harsh, but I must wonder why he chose to give me up to break our tie. Revenge, I suppose.
“Don’t you think if I could, I would have by now,” he spits out at me.
I close my eyes. I guess it would be a difficult decision to end yourself. I make a choice and open my eyes. I breathe in deeply and say, “Do you want me to do it? I will take out your Faerie Silver and stay with you, if that’s what you really want.” I don’t want this for him. I want him to accept what he is now and move on with his life, but I can’t force him. I see that now.
He shakes his head and holds his wrist up. His contradicting actions confuse me, so I just stare at him for a moment until he slits his wrist open and shows me that his Faerie Silver disc is no longer embedded in him. My eyes dart straight to the window, where the curtains are wide open, letting in the sun, bathing us in bright light.
I sit back on my heels in shock. “What?” I ask in disbelief. “How?” I grab his wrist and stare at it, expecting somehow to see the Silver in his slowly healing wound.