My jaw ticked as I imagined her crossing over into his dreams as I knew she’d done before but it wasn’t out of any mistrust on her part. It was more that I didn’t trust him. In my absence he’d convinced her to let him feed from her and I shuddered to imagine what other perverse desires he might have aimed at her.
Callie had told me that he was willing to give her a divorce but I wasn’t going to hold my breath until he did it. It was easy enough for him to promise her the moon while he was away from his castle and any way of delivering it. If he truly set her free then maybe I’d try to alter my opinion on him as I’d been forced to do with his brother but until then I was happy to hold on to my animosity against at least one of the Belvederes.
Callie mumbled something incoherent and rolled off of me, turning her back on me as she rearranged herself in her sleep.
I missed the warmth of her body against mine as soon as it left and I shifted towards her, pressing my chest to her back as I draped my arm over her. I’d been wearing a black t-shirt before we came to bed and she’d pulled it on alongside some underwear to sleep in. Though it had been a little small on me, it grazed her thighs when she wore it. The soft material tickled my skin as I moved my body closer to hers.
I didn’t bother to try and get back to sleep. Ever since I’d woken from the slumber that my mother had put me in for a thousand years, I’d noticed I didn’t need as much sleep as I used to. I guessed I’d banked some extra for myself in all of that unwaking time. But I didn’t want to risk rousing Callie by getting up so I stayed in the bed. Besides, there were worse places I could be than laying beside the woman I loved.
I thought about what she’d revealed to me of my mother’s death. Though it had opened up a lot of painful truths, it felt a little like cutting into an old scar. I’d known that she was dead the moment I’d awoken from my slumber and I’d carried my grief with me from that moment.
Finding out about Valentina’s involvement in it didn’t change the fact that she was gone. It only gave me an answer I’d never sought to have. And yet another reason to hate my betrothed.
“You’re frowning so hard that I can hear it,” Callie murmured and I chuckled in response, dipping my mouth to brush a line over her neck.
“I’m sure you could cheer me up if you want to give it a try?” I offered.
She rolled in my arms, looking up at me as I propped my head on my fist so that I could admire her properly. I didn’t think there had ever been a time when I was just content to sit and stare at a woman. But Callie was no normal woman. She was the one that I’d been waiting for and if hers was the only face I could ever look upon for the rest of my life then I would die happy.
“What are you thinking?” she asked.
My gaze slid from her face, skimming over the baggy t-shirt which concealed her figure and she hit my chest playfully.
“Forget I asked,” she said with a laugh.
“You didn’t let me answer yet,” I protested, catching her chin in my grip so that I could kiss her.
Before my lips could meet hers, she snatched my hand and propelled herself on top of me, pinning my wrist to the pillow beside my head. I tried to reach for her with my other hand but she caught that wrist too, pressing it to the bed and using the strength of her gifts to hold me there.
My heart pounded with desire as she leaned down until her lips almost met mine and her golden hair fell around us, blocking out the world.
“Magnar?” she breathed seductively and my arousal grew at the sound of my name on her lips. I’d never tire of hearing her say it; something about it just had me undone. It was like she claimed me with it, marking me as her own and I never wanted to be anything but hers.
“Yes?” I asked with a smile as she pressed me down even harder and I found I quite liked relinquishing control to her.
“I’m going for a shower,” she whispered.
“What?”
Callie laughed as she sprung from the bed and she raced across the room before I could fully comprehend what had just happened. The door banged shut between us and her laughter carried down the hall as she ran for the bathroom.
I got up swiftly, hounding after as I tried to decide whether to curse or laugh.
But as I pulled open the door to our bedroom, I spotted Chickoa walking down the hall.
I stilled, unsure if it would be too rude of me to ignore her in favour of continuing my chase. I glanced along the hallway and Callie laughed at me again as she headed into the bathroom, closing the door behind her. The sound of the lock turning made me bite my tongue with frustration.
“You’re Magnar, right?” Chickoa asked with a faint smile and I was forced to accept defeat as I look at the vampire before me. “I was just bringing you these.” She held out a bundle of clothes and I accepted them with a word of thanks.
“Finding things to fit Callie was easy enough but you’re a bit harder to cater for,” she said apologetically. “My husband was a big man but you’re…”
I laughed as her eyes travelled over my muscular body. “I’m sure I’ll make do. Thank you.”
“There’s another bathroom at the far end of the hall,” she added. “If you don’t want to queue for the shower - I’ll get you a towel.”
I gazed towards the door that Callie had closed between us and sighed in defeat as I let Chickoa lead me in the opposite direction. The next time I got that girl to myself I wasn’t going to let her go so easily.
I emerged from a hot shower, begrudgingly accepting the fact that some of these modern ideas weren’t all terrible. I wrapped a towel around myself as I looked in the mirror at the bite wounds I’d received while in Valentina’s clutches. I was pleased to find that the ones on my neck had healed over and my gifts had made a lot of progress with the two I’d received in her bedroom just before our escape. I wanted every mark she’d inflicted on me banished from my flesh.
I grazed my thumb over the tattoo above my heart, the old habit finding me again as I imagined it carved from my flesh. Her death would remove the stain of the ink from my skin and I couldn’t wait for that day to come. I wanted no part of me to be tied to her and I would celebrate wildly when my body was free of that mark.
I pushed the bathroom door open and found Fabian waiting for me in the corridor. I had very little to say to the parasite who wished to steal Callie from me but I wasn’t going to turn away from him if he wanted to cause some conflict over it.
“Did you want something?” I asked as he failed to move aside.
His eyes dropped to take in the tattoos which marked my flesh and I folded my arms as I waited for him to halt his assessment of me.
“I want many things, Savage, but it would appear that just wanting something isn’t always enough to mean I can have it.”
“I think Callie has made her feelings about you and I clear enough, if you think that you might convince me to give her up then you’re deluded-”
“I’m not foolish enough to believe you would do any such thing for my sake,” he replied irritably. “I just came to warn you.”
“Warn me?” I laughed. “I’d have to fear you for any warning you made to cause me a moment to pause.”
“You’d do well to fear me,” he replied darkly. “I would have killed you in our battle if it wasn’t for my brother pulling me back.”
“Well if it’s a rematch you’re after then I’d be happy to oblige,” I growled.
“It’s not,” he replied icily. “As much as I might like that I don’t think Callie would appreciate it.”
“Since when have you cared what she wanted in all of this? You weren’t so bothered about her feelings on it when you dragged her down the aisle. And I’m sure if she hadn’t escaped you that night you wouldn’t have been interested in her views on being taken to your bed either,” I snarled.
Fabian’s gaze darkened and I could tell he was fighting the urge to bite back at me.
“Things have changed since then,” he replied eventually. “And now I
only want her to be happy.”
“Then stay away from her and I’m sure she will be,” I replied. “Every foul thing that has befallen her has come down to your actions or was as the result of your rule. So take yourself out of the equation if you wish for her happiness.”
I made to walk past him but he shifted to block my path. Adrenaline tingled through my veins as I looked down at him. He was tall but I’d never met a man I didn’t have to look down on and I could tell the fact irritated him as he raised his eyes to meet mine.
“I don’t know what she sees in you, Barbarian,” he hissed. “But if you’re what she wants then I won’t stand in your way-”
“It would make no difference if you tried. Which you should have figured out by now. Or do you want to send her another poem to be sure?” I taunted.
Fabian bared his fangs at me and I laughed in his face.
“If you ever do anything to hurt her then your death will follow swiftly,” he growled. “And if she ever wants a real man-”
“Then I’m sure she’ll look for one with a heartbeat.” I shoved my way past him, slamming my shoulder into his and he was forced to let me by or resort to violence to stop me.
I headed back into the bedroom I’d shared with Callie and pulled on a pair of jeans before moving back out into the corridor and making my way downstairs. Fabian had disappeared and I hoped it might be a permanent deal but I guessed that was just wishful thinking.
The smell of food led me to the kitchen and I found Julius devouring a huge plate of eggs at the breakfast bar while Chickoa cooked some more. Callie was sitting at the long dining table on the far side of the room with an empty plate before her and she smirked at me as I entered the room. She was still wearing the black t-shirt she’d stolen from me and had tied a knot in it revealing her naval. She’d paired it with a pair of black jeans which hugged her legs and I eyed her appreciatively for several seconds. She bit her full bottom lip as I continued to stare at her and my heart rate picked up a little in response.
My stomach flipped over as she looked at me like that and I wondered if I’d ever get past the excitement of the feelings she roused in me.
“Are you hungry?” Chickoa asked warmly as she noticed my arrival.
“Always,” I replied with a smile, forcing my attention away from the girl I loved.
Callie had told me what Fabian had done to Chickoa and I actually found myself feeling comfortable in the presence of this vampire. She’d never chosen this life but her beliefs had trapped her in it after she was turned. I could respect that even if my own beliefs would have demanded a different path from me in her position. I was also warmed to her by the knowledge that she’d shot Fabian upon his arrival at her house.
“Here you go.” She passed me a heaped plate and I accepted it as my stomach growled.
“You didn’t have to cook for us,” I said. “I’m sure it’s not something you’re used to doing often.”
“It was,” she replied. “I used to love cooking for my husband and my human friends... at least I did until most of them were killed in the Final War and the rest were gathered up and forced into the Realms,” she muttered.
I glanced at Julius awkwardly and he shrugged as if the mood hadn’t just darkened considerably.
“And I’m just glad to have use for the eggs again after so many years,” she added.
“Can’t argue with that logic,” Julius said brightly as he shovelled a forkful into his mouth.
The back door opened suddenly and I looked up as Fabian, Miles and Clarice all stumbled in. The sight of the Belvederes still sent the hairs raising along the back of my neck and I stiffened as I tried to shrug off the desire to defend myself. The situation we found ourselves in was anything but natural for me and as hard as I was trying to adapt to it, I was still struggling with the world altering fact that I was no longer aiming to kill these creatures with every decision I made.
“Sorry,” Clarice muttered as she slid into a chair opposite Callie. “We were going to let you eat in peace but the sun came out so...”
“So your undead flesh began to wither under the light of the truth,” Julius supplied with a smirk.
“Yes. And I’m forced to endure the torture of your company again in place of the sunlight. Which may mean I’m actually worse off in here,” she replied but her tone was more teasing than irritable.
Fabian quickly dropped down beside Callie and I took a seat at the breakfast bar with my brother rather than entering into any petty competition with him for her attention. I knew her heart and I wasn’t about to give in to the bitter taste of jealousy over some parasite who didn’t know how to take no for an answer.
I started on my food, sighing in satisfaction as I filled my stomach. My night with Callie hadn’t been entirely restful and I almost felt like I needed more nourishment after my so-called rest than I had done before it. Not that I had any complaints about that fact.
The stool beside mine slid back and Miles dropped into it silently. I didn’t look up at him but I could feel his eyes on me and it sent a prickle running over my skin.
“I’ve been thinking,” he said when I made no effort to address him.
I glanced at my brother before turning towards the vampire but all I got in return for my efforts was a raised eyebrow as Julius maintained his devotion to his meal.
“Did it cause you some difficulty?” I asked as I turned towards the vampire I’d dedicated my youth to hunting.
“Not as much as usual,” he replied with a smirk. I wondered if his boyish demeanour was put on or if there really was some level of childish naivety to this creature who had walked the Earth for over a thousand years.
“And?” I asked, wondering why he’d felt the need to single me out for the discussion of these thoughts he’d been having.
“And a long, long time ago, I almost faced you at the top of a mountain,” he said, smiling as if that was some kind of fond memory between friends instead of the brutal hunt I remembered.
“I recall you running away like a babe in need of his family,” I replied flatly.
“Well that’s my point,” he said enthusiastically. “We never did face each other and now that we’re all friends-”
“We’re not friends,” I replied and my voice was echoed by Julius, Clarice and Fabian at once.
Miles laughed as he looked between all of us.
“Well now that we’re all united against Valentina and the gods then,” he said. “I thought it might be time that we find out how a match between the two of us would have gone.”
“I was there too,” Julius said before I could respond. “So it would have been Magnar and I against you alone. I’m sure you would be dust now if that battle had occurred.”
“Well you weren’t Blessed Crusaders then,” Miles countered dismissively. “So I highly doubt it. But maybe releasing some of this pent-up tension is just what we all need.”
“What are you suggesting?” I asked with a frown, though I had a feeling I knew and I was doubtful that it was a good idea.
“Spar with me,” Miles said. “Spar with all of us. We can find out once and for all which breed of the gods’ creations are the strongest.”
I glanced at Julius as I wondered if I should even entertain his offer and I could see that my brother wasn’t entirely opposed to the idea.
“The whole point of us resting here a few days is so that we can heal,” Callie reminded us. “What good will kicking the crap out of each other do us?”
“She has a point,” I said and Miles’s shoulders sagged in disappointment but I smirked as I continued. “So we’ll need rules.”
Miles looked up at me with a huge grin and bounced in his chair with excitement. “Okay. No blades,” he said.
“No teeth,” I replied.
“No broken bones,” Julius added.
“And no ripping off limbs,” Clarice said. I turned to look at her in surprise, a wild kind of excitement building in my chest at the idea of testi
ng my skills against these creatures.
“And no dick punches,” Julius added, pointing at Callie accusingly.
“I didn’t know I was playing,” she replied but I could see that same hunger in her eyes as I was feeling. Playing at fighting was part and parcel of being a slayer and my blood sang with the prospect of it.
“You’re not,” Fabian replied tersely. “I’m not going to stand by while you attempt to take on-”
“You don’t tell her what to do,” I growled. “But feel free to sit this one out yourself; I doubt I’d be able to hold back on killing you anyway.”
“The clouds are back!” Miles said excitedly before he could respond. “Let’s do it now.”
I released a dark laugh as I pushed myself to my feet and followed him outside. “Well don’t forget you asked for it.”
“I could take you any day, Clarice,” Julius's voice carried to me from outside.
I jolted upright in bed and Erik rolled over beside me with a groan. I hurried to the window, pulling back the curtains to reveal a cloudy sky hanging above the lawn below. The slayers were flexing their limbs, sizing up Miles and Clarice before them.
“Oh shit!” I gasped, throwing on some jeans and a white shirt before running from the room.
I darted downstairs with a flicker of panic inside me, skipping steps as I propelled myself faster.
I threw the front door open and all eyes swung to me on the porch. “Please tell me you're not fighting again,” I begged, though the looks on their faces didn't hold any of the anger I'd expected to find there.
“No, we're sparring!” Miles announced excitedly.
“Which I think is bullshit,” Fabian grumbled. He was sitting on the porch steps below me with a miserable expression.
“No one's going to get hurt,” Callie promised me, a smile lighting her features. “Well...the vampires might meet the wrath of my fists, but that's all.” She giggled and I gazed between the two groups with a bubble of excitement growing in my chest.
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