“You think I would take a Celestial witch’s memories at face value? Where is it that your old High Priestess got sent to for fucking around with memories? Toledo was it?”
Her bravado falls, and a deep sense of unfamiliar guilt hits me. The last time I felt true guilt was when I made the decision to change Samantha, but even then, it was short-lived when I saw how suited she was to the immortal night.
“I could save you from the council,” I tell her, the lie easily falls off my tongue. She’s not on council radar and never will be. As long as I roam this earth, Ember will be safe. I’ve protected her from the shadows, and now I can help her protect herself whether or not I can slither my way into her heart.
“Why?”
“Purely selfish reasons. I find myself in need of a witch as of late.”
Her hand grips my wrist, but she doesn’t tug me away from her face.
“I won’t do anything illegal for you,” she says and I smile so hard I can feel it around my eyes.
“Rather rude to suggest I’d have you do something illegal. I mean, you are the one who just staked a vampire,” I whisper the last part, slightly covering my mouth like it’s a dirty secret. That’s when she pulls my hand away and I let her.
“If I refuse?”
“Then you hedge your bets with the vampire council. They’re very into punishing witches.”
What the fuck am I doing? Throwing eight years of restraint down the drain and letting my obsession and some ridiculous prophecy win. I shake the thought away. It’s not a prophecy, it’s a fact. I knew it the moment I tasted her blood all those years ago.
I peek at the column of her throat, wondering if she tastes any different with age. I make a promise right then and there I won’t taste until she offers it to me. The delicious thrill of a challenge has me fighting down excitement I haven’t felt in decades
Her chest rises and falls. It’s only a moment, maybe a figment of my imagination, but I swear I can scent her arousal.
“How long would you need my help?” she asks, and it takes me a second to get back to the conversation.
“Six months,” I reply, throwing out an arbitrary number, hoping that it’s enough time to make her like me. If that delusion isn’t a possibility, at least it will give me enough time to give her the skills she needs to protect herself from my kind.
“I won’t hurt anyone. I won’t use dark magic. I’m not one of your lap dogs doing your bidding.”
Have I smiled this much in the last century? I’m unsure.
“Alright.”
“Alright?” she questions, shocked that I won’t have her do evil deeds for me.
“I won’t use you for nefarious purposes,” I tell her, and she looks skeptical. If I can get her to agree to this arrangement, I can kill two birds with one stone. “In fact, I hope that I can help you elevate your magic. I’ve come across a great deal of artifacts that most witches would kill to get their hands on.”
Take the bait, let the promise of stronger magic entice her.
“Why should I trust you?”
“I’m the better choice over the vampire council, and I’ll agree to all your terms of what you aren’t willing to do.”
“I won’t harm anyone,” she says.
“What if they are trying to harm you or someone you care about?”
She purses her lips and adjusts in her seat. “I suppose that would be a different situation. I won’t do anything that would endanger my coven, either.”
“I think it’s best if your coven isn’t involved at all. You know, the punishment for staking a vampire is vast. I think the last witch who did it was nearly drained,” I say, another lie. Theykeep falling out of me so fucking easily. Whatever I need to do to get her to agree, I will.
“I’m not at your beck and call like one of your undead minions, either,” she says.
This…this one part doesn’t sit right for me.
“Your nights will be mine if I choose so. The daylight is yours.”
