I tip my head back, meeting his deep blue eyes. The emotion in them makes me want to step away—or throw myself at him. Both options seem equally appealing. “What?”
“You. I want to help you understand what you are—who you are—so that perhaps one day, you will accept what I feel for you.”
* * *
Sin
Zoe has not said a word since we left the Bureau. At least she had already agreed to stay with me, and we’d stopped at her apartment after lunch for her to pack a few of her things.
As soon as we arrive at my home, however, she excuses herself to the guest room, and moments later, I hear a single sob before there is only silence.
Fuck. Human emotions are not one of my strengths. To give myself time to think, I call the building’s concierge and instruct him to have a pizza delivered within the hour, then open a bottle of red wine, pour two glasses, and set them in the living room where we can look out over the whole city. I need to be able to see the sky.
“Zoe?” I call. “I am having food delivered. Will you join me so we can talk about what happened earlier?”
She stands in the door, stock still, a tear glistening on her cheek. Even upset, exhausted, with bruises darkening on her neck from Velma’s attack, and bags under her eyes, she is beautiful. “Do you have any answers?”
“I have…theories. Some of which you may not want to hear.” I offer my hand, prepared to scoop her up in my arms and hold her until she hears me out, but, resigned, she places her delicate fingers in mine and lets me lead her into the living room.
“You really do have more money than you could ever spend, don’t you?” Zoe muses as she curls up in one corner of the couch and stares out over the city.
“An advantage of being as old as I am. Investing in a few key technology companies at their inception has proven very lucrative. I also own a successful human nightclub in the Mission District. Prior to meeting you, I would often find a willingdonorthere when I needed a meal.”
“Prior?” Her voice holds a hint of uncertainty that I very much dislike. As if I could ever feed from another again.
Picking up the wine that probably cost more than two months’ Bureau salary, I take a healthy sip. She is not ready to hear my declaration of…what? Love? Lust? Devotion? Even I am not certain. I do not think she is ready to hear any of what I have to say, but now that my memories are starting to return, I cannot keep this secret any longer. “You are a mystery to me, Zoe. I have been aroundothersall my life, and you…make no sense. There is something so very familiar about you, yet until this morning, I could not put my finger on it. You are an unknown.”
“Great. I’m cafeteria mystery meat.” She gulps down half the wine before her eyes widen and her cheeks flush. “Shit. This is expensive.”
After a wave of my hand, I drain my glass. “I have more. If you want to get drunk, it might as well be on something of quality.”
Satisfied, she drinks it down, and I pour us both a second.
Shame is a powerful emotion, but I push it aside for her. “When I first saw you at the crime scene, I was quite rude to you.”
“Understatement of the year,” she mutters.
“Perhaps. But I had my reasons. I did not understand what they were at the time. I do now.”
For too long, I stay silent, until Zoe nudges my shoulder. “I’m waiting, Sin.”
“I had so few memories of my time as Thorn's prisoner,” I say softly. “I did not even know how I managed to break free and take him and Regina to Hell. Not until today.” There are only inches between us, and I reach out to brush a knuckle along her cheekbone. “One of Thorn's last victims looked very much like you. The same eyes. The same spark of curiosity. The same biting wit.”
“I don’t understand,” Zoe says. “Are you saying someone in my family—six hundred years ago—was Thorn's victim?”
“I do not know. She may simply have the sameother-nessthat you carry. Her name…she was called Genevieve. I did not help Regina capture her. You see, Genevieve was hunting Thorn on her own. She intended to be taken, to let herself be tortured and brutalized so she could find a way to end him.”
“But none of the women ever escaped,” Zoe says, shaking her head. “Why did this Genevieve think she could do it?”
“She believed she was immune to Thorn's mind control. Regina captured her, but the others who fell victim to the Fae’s spell would remain almost catatonic for hours. Sometimes even a day after Thorn caged them. This gave him ample time to invade their thoughts, to discover their greatest fears. Genevieve recovered only minutes after being locked in her cage. I was on guard duty, and she offered herself to me.”
Zoe’s horrified expression grips my heart in a vise, and I rush to continue. “Not for sex. She offered to feed me so I would have the strength to help her.”
Relief smoothes the lines around her eyes and lips. “And…did you?”
“It took much convincing. Too much. But yes. I fed off her energy—freely given—and I started to fight back. I wanted to free Genevieve that moment, but she refused my aid. ‘There is only one way out for me,’ she said. ‘I must end him once and for all.’”
The doorbell chimes, and I curse under my breath. Zoe needs food, but I do not want to be disturbed. Not now. With every word of my tale, I fear I will lose my resolve. With every interruption, that I will not have the strength to continue. “Stay hidden,” I say sharply. “I would prefer no one—not even those I trust most—know you are here.”
