his voice neutral as if he was describing a piece of furniture. “He made me kill, forced me to feed
from humans... he wanted to make me into a monster like him.
“I finally stopped and I started feeding from animals to sustain myself, but he wouldn’t leave me be.
He couldn’t use his powers to control me like when I was human, so he found other ways to torture
me.
“The morning I left him, I was determined to die. I couldn’t stand living like that...”
There was a pause, Frankie’s voice still calm and his expression flat, but Snod could feel a ripple of
agony in the bond. He squeezed Frankie’s hand hard.
“But I didn’t die,” Frankie continued. “I lived, and I couldn’t believe it. So I spent every second
running from him, trying to suppress the bond between us. I told him I would never be his again. I’d
rather die.
“Since going into the sun didn’t work, I decided to starve myself. Weeks I went without feeding,
wandering in the woods, delirious and slowly dying. I remember collapsing by a tree, and I was so
happy because it was going to be over soon.
“But a woodsman found me. He tried to help me. He thought I was sick. His young daughter was with
him...” Another coil of pain. “I killed them both. I drained them of every drop because the hunger took
away any control I had. I had never known a bloodlust like that, and I was terrified.
“I tried calling Terrell. I didn’t understand what had happened, I needed his help... he asked me if I
was ready to be his again. I said no, that I only wanted answers. That’s when he told me to never
summon him unless I was ready to be his once more. He would never come, even if I was dying,
unless I vowed to be his lover.”
“That’s why he’ll never come,” Snod realized, the last piece of the puzzle clicking into place. “No
matter how many times you summon him...”
“Because I would rather die than ever be taken in his bed again,” Frankie said, unable to soften the
bitterness in his tone.
“He hurt you,” Snod said quietly, his words framed more as a statement than a question. The answer
was obvious.
“It was all a very long time ago,” Frankie replied, smiling as he tilted his head to kiss Snod’s cheek.
Snod turned to catch Frankie’s mouth, pulling him up onto his chest, hands fanning over his back as
they kissed.
