I thought about the card Chelsea had drawn.Justice.I imagined the card in my head. A woman wearing a crown sitting on her throne. A sword in one hand, scales in the other. I shuddered at the images coming to mind of what Desi was doing to her.
“Something new happened in there.” I changed the subject. “Desi and I were talking to each other in our heads.”
“Oh?” Ludovica raised an eyebrow and rested her blood-stained hands in her lap. She was still covered in Jonathon’s blood. “Just you two?”
I shrugged. “I think? I don’t know. Try to talk to me. Think something at me.”
She scrunched up her nose and stared hard at me. We sat in silence for a solid minute before she slumped and frowned. I shook my head. “Nope. Just us, I guess.”
“It comes back to you two sharing blood, I think. I find it so odd that your blood tastes good to each other. You guys share a bond that I’ll never understand,” she laughed. “I wonder if what Chelsea said was true, that Magdalena will be mad about the bond. Oh well.”
“I’m not giving him up,” I said firmly.
“You did before,” she accused.
“Yeah? So?” I shot back. “And he left me for dead thirty years ago, right after I turned. We’ve both done shitty things to each other. I think we’ll be fine.”
“Will you? He’s worried about you, you know. Why do you act normal in public but won’t let him touch you in private?”
I raised an eyebrow. He told her about this morning? I wasn’t entirely sure how I felt about that. When I stayed silent, she threw up her hands. “Look, I get it. What he did, I don’t know if I could forgive that. Even considering it was the candy that caused it.My candy. You have every right to feel how you feel and act like you do. But, talk to him about it.”
“Fine. Fuck it,” I muttered and reached for the door handle.
“What are you doing?” She sat forward.
“I’m going to talk to him about it.” I opened the door and put my foot out onto the ground.
“You think this is an appropriate time?”
“Will there ever be a good time for this?”
The look on her face told me, no, there wouldn’t be.
I climbed out then and shut the door. I glanced back and waved as I headed back into the spa.
Elevator music still played in the dimly lit building. Thankfully, there was no one working tonight. Ginata— or, I guess, Chelsea, made sure that we were alone. For what? I wasn’t entirely sure now. I wasn’t sure who to trust anymore. Was everyone working for this high priestess?
The floor was cold on my bare feet. As vampires, we were cold in general, but still, I shivered slightly with every step on the tile. My breathing became deep and labored as I tried to think of what to say to Desi. What could I say to the man who hurt me deeper than anyone else ever had?
I found the hallway to the bathhouse and started down it slowly. I listened for screams, crying, or anything, but I heard nothing. Had he left? Inside, I found Desi standing with his hands on his hips, shaking his head, and staring at a very dead vampire woman.
I glanced at the body. It was covered in blood, which was not surprising, considering the only way to kill one of us was to remove our heads. Hers was resting in her hand, reminding me of Shakespeare. I was glad that her eyes were closed. She almost looked peaceful.
I sighed, and that alerted Desi to my presence. He turned quickly and blinked. “I thought I asked you to wait in the car.”
I steppedtowardhim. I couldn’t miss the blood. Between Chelsea and Johnathon, it had flooded the floor. I looked at Desi as I moved slowly. He was drenched. When he had first come for me, he had red on his chest, but now, he was bathed in it. From his head to his toes, it looked like he’d showered in the blood of his enemies.
“You’re dirty,” I said.
“You’re getting there.” He looked down at my naked feet. “Scout, what are you doing here?” he sighed.
“I think we should talk.” I reached him, brought my arms up, and rested them on his shoulders. The movements were jerky and almost forced, which he noticed.
“You don’t have to do this.” Out of habit, his hands went to my hips. “Seriously, I know we have a lot of things to work through. It doesn’t have to be tonight.”
“But I want to. From the sounds of it, our future might be pretty busy.” I stared into his beautiful eyes. The only part of him that wasn’t red. My hand went to his cheek, and I took my thumb and rubbed some of the blood away. “Kiss me.”
“Why?” His voice came out croaked as if choking back his own high emotions.
