“We could have, but I would rather truly share my meal with you.”
“You don’t mind?” Eleni asked with genuine curiosity.
I shook my head with a smile. “Not at all. I actually prefer the taste of cooked dishes. And as I am sure you have noticed, Morrech is a very talented chef.”
“Morrech seems talented at pretty much everything!” she replied with sincere admiration.
“He is,” I conceded with a hint of pride. “But see that you don’t grow too fond of him. I would hate to have to eat him out of jealousy.”
She burst out laughing while shaking her head at me.
“Leave the poor male alone!”
“Fine, fine,” I retorted with fake reluctance before sobering. “So what happened in the swamp?”
I hated the troubled expression that flitted over her face. The fact that she didn’t answer right away but took a few bites first made me realize that she had likely experienced something truly serious or traumatic in connection with that location.
“I was born in a cult called the Harbingers of Aeshua,” Eleni said at last, a haunted look flashing through her beautiful green eyes. “They believed that mortals could ascend to immortality and maybe even divinity through sacrifice. My mother—orat least so she claimed to be—was the cult’s Oracle, which essentially doubled as its leader.”
“I do not believe I’ve ever heard of that cult,” I said with a frown. “But I had indeed seen some troubling images from your youth.”
She shuddered, a mix of anger, helplessness, and horror flashing in quick succession over her features.
“Then you may have seen that everyone in there was hungry for power, especially her. Although I cannot prove it, I was conceived during a ritual impregnation almost like what we were witnessing with Elliot and Sienna in the crematorium. The difference was that Mother fucked demons and powerful mages.”
I nodded slowly, remembering scenes where a woman was being defiled in every possible way by a series of demons. They were on top of an altar surrounded by cultists who were chanting.
“She would hold those sex marathons for the five or six fertile days of her cycle,” Eleni continued with a grim expression.
“Why multiple marathons?” I asked with genuine curiosity.
“The ritual sought to combine as many powerful seeds as possible,” my mate explained. “If it succeeded the baby would be born with phenomenal magic.”
“It would appear that they succeeded,” I said, waving at her. “From the moment we met, I realized that your abilities by far exceeded those of your peers. It surprised me all the more that you didn’t pursue all the rituals and other tricks arcanists use to enhance their powers.”
Eleni gave me a stiff nod. “You could say that. As I was more powerful than most, I got to live. But all the weaker babies were sacrificed.”
I stiffened. From her memories, I had seen many disturbing scenes. But based on her emotional state in many of them,they could have been vivid nightmares rather than reality, if only based on the fact that her mind lacked the clarity that an awakened state displayed.
“How do you know?” I asked, my voice dangerously low.
“They made me watch,” she replied in an obvious fashion, looking at me as if I should have known. “Didn’t you see that?”
“I thought they were nightmares?! Your mind was blurry!”
She shrugged. “Although I can’t prove it, I believe they frequently drugged me, especially when I was to witness some of the more horrible rituals to keep me docile or at least more compliant.”
I fisted my hands over the table, my claws extruding and pricking into my palms. If any of those wretches were before me right now, I would tear them to shreds. It wouldn’t be fast and quick as I would revel in drawing it out. Maybe I’d even use my mystifying powers to trick their bodies into lasting well beyond what nature intended.
“My earliest memories hovered around the time when I was three and a half years old. They would bind me to a cross while I watched.”
I never realized when I shot to my feet, rage burning in my gut. “They touched you?!”
She gave me a tired smile and shook her head before gesturing for me to resume my seat. My blood still boiling, I forced myself to rein in my fury and settled back down in my chair.
“No. I was to remain pure in order to become Satan’s bride once I turned fourteen.”
“But why make you watch?” I asked, confused.
