I stand unmoving, her words echoing in the silence.
Then, I feel her beside me.
Ione.
Looking down at her, I see the mirth in her eyes, the unwavering defiance that sets her apart from all who came before. Her eyes are not dull and lackluster from duty. She finds entertainment here…with me. That's the difference, she wants to be here.
“Have you ever been in love?” I ask her.
The question hangs between us, though I do not know if I am prepared for her answer.
Chapter nine
Love and Death? No
Ione
"That'sanoddquestionto ask me considering the situation at hand." I say, raising an eyebrow at Athy. "To answer your question and not assume you're an incestuous bastard, yes."
He sighs heavily, snatching my hand to lead me from the forest. "She is my twin, not my lover, you mistake me for one of you rabbits. Your males would procreate with the wind if it hardened their cocks." He spits.
"Ok, just making sure, but I can't argue with you there." My mind is still reeling from the fact that I was talking to a werewolf. An honest to goodness, real-life werewolf. Pinch me. She was very sweet too, and answered what questions I could ask her. Yes, her change is affected by the moon, no she doesn't feast on human flesh, yes they are highly allergic to silver, and no vampires are not their mortal enemies. I have to know more.
"Do you hear me rabbit?" Athanasius pulls me close, intertwining his fingers in mine. "What are you thinking about in that small brain of yours that's so interesting that you ignore when I'm speaking?"
I hate him. Truly. "Delilah. She's so interesting."
He rolls his eyes and continues to lead as we exit the forest. "You will have plenty of time to talk to her in five days."
"Wait, what?" He lets go of me as we approach the car. "Five days?"
"My siblings will come to our home. We will discuss how to free ourselves by killing the last mage." He pulls on the door handle. "Make this open."
"No, no," I'm not sure I heard him correctly. First, he said our house, second he said in five days. He continues to pull the door handle. "Stop you'll break it."
"Then open it." He snarls.
"Answer me."
"Open." He tugs the handle. "The." Once again. "Door." He pulls it twice.
If I give into him, he'll think he can do whatever he wants. If I hold out, he might really break the door handle off and there where will we be?
My sister didn't raise a bitch.
"Let go of the damn handle or I'm going to slap you so hard you'll taste the salt on my palm." He narrows his eyes, but what does he do? He takes his hand off my damn door. "Good, so you can listen, now—"
What I didn't expect was for him to cross the area between us, pick me up by my shoulders, stand me in front of my car and invade my space. His chest is very close to mine, Athanasius is leaning into my face, and just as I try to lean back, his hands shoot up around my neck.
"You try my patience on a level that would make even the greatest stoic snap." His thumbs rub against my cheeks. "Every time I say something, you have a rebuttal. When I want to speak, you always have to have an answer." His nose bumps mine, as he opens his mouth, his pointy fangs are showing. "What if all I want is a 'yes, master,' 'of course, Athanasius,' 'on your word, my lord.'"
He's not squeezing hard enough to hurt me, I think he wants to scare me but I'm a kinky bitch. He's staring into my eyes, his lips are wet, mouth slightly agape and I can see his tongue moving about in his mouth. There's a piece inside of me screaming to say something completely diabolical.
As a child, I was never good at stopping my intrusive thoughts. I've learned to tone them down as an adult, but you know—call of the void.
So as Athanasius growls softly, I press my body back into him and flick my tongue. "Give me your worst, Daddy, make me scream."
"Crazy woman," He backs away quickly, but the evidence is plain between his legs. He's hard, and he's blushing. "Wanton creature, don't try to tempt me."
