by Eve Newton
Even me. I don’t feel so well after that comment. What others, and how many? I am going to have to ensure no more funky rituals take place as I just cannot give my attention to anyone else.
“I must go now. I will see you soon, my dear.” She leans forward to kiss both my cheeks and whispers, “A female Dragon and a male Demon are the most powerful couple the Realms can produce. More so than two Dragons. If you choose him, be prepared to lose the ones you love.” And with that piece of actual motherly advice, instead of all this cryptic bullshit, She steps back and transforms to the black crystal Dragon She arrived as and takes off, whipping the air around me.
Xane is next to me in the bat of an eye and asks, “Well? What did she say? She looked pissed.”
“She wasn’t best pleased. Told me I had to suppress my Vampire self and be more Dragon.”
“She’s not wrong,” he says mildly.
“Hey! My Vampire self is the whole reason we were together earlier. If I become more Dragon, I can assure you there are others closer to the top of the list than you.”
He looks affronted at that, but it’s true. Especially after Tiamat’s remark.
“Do you really believe that? After what we shared? Everything I know you feel for me because I feel it too?” he asks.
“Xane, I feel it. Believe me, I do, but I just can’t do this. I am betraying everyone I love, who loves me.”
“I love you,” he says earnestly.
“No, you don’t. You don’t know me. You can’t possibly say that.” I am desperate to make him understand.
“I love you,” he says again, cupping my face with his hand. “We belong together. Do you know how unbelievable we can be together? I will take you to heights you never even knew existed.”
“I know that. But I am in love with four men. I am not adding a fifth. They won’t understand.”
“You think that now. Our bond is stronger than that of your Vampire bonds. You won’t be able to be without me as I won’t be able to be without you.”
I run my hand through my hair in the universal sign for agitation.
“You will see,” he says with confidence. “I will let you go for now, but you will see that we can’t be apart.”
“Take me back,” I say wearily.
“You take us. You should be able to now that Xerxei has made her appearance. Oh, and don’t think that my parents will overlook that. You will be hounded day and night until you concede.” I have to smile. “You will tell them?”
“Of course. My mother will be over the moon,” he says. “You don’t know it yet, but you have set your course.”
“Humph. We’ll see. I would ask you to keep what is between us, between us?”
“So, you admit there is something between us. It’s a start,” he says smugly.
I shake my head at him. “You are too confident. Give me your hand.”
“You aren’t going to say goodbye to the family?” he asks, pointing over my shoulder at the gathering mass of ‘family.’ They will be most disappointed,” he adds.
“Fine.” I stalk over to them and focus on Xanthe and Xerxes. “Thank you again for your hospitality. I do hope that my mother’s visit didn’t cause too much consternation. Rest assured Her ire was directed at me and not any of you.”
“Is She upset because you won’t marry Uncle Xane?” a boy, of about the same age as Xaria, asks.
Oh, for fuck’s sake! What is it with these kids?
I smile genially at him. “No, She isn’t upset. She had some things to tell me that I needed to know. I don’t get to see Her much,” I say, kneeling down in front of the boy. “It is easier for Her to come here than to Earth.” I have no idea if that is true, although I wouldn’t rule it out.
“Oh,” he says. “Do you like living in the Earth Realm? I think it is better here,” he says with confidence.
“I do. My family is there.”
“But you are a Vampire. They don’t have families,” he says with a frown.
I hear Xane snicker behind me, as I reply, “I do. I have seven people there that I love and who need me.” Okay, so I want to choke on the ‘love’ part. Jess may be a part of my family now and I pretty much hate her, but even so, she needs me now and Sebastian? Well, maybe we can sort out our issues. Clearly, he means a lot to CK so by proxy he means a lot to me.
“What is your name?” I ask him.
“Xanthus,” he replies shyly. Of course, it is. I cast a quick glance up at Xane with a knowing smile, who just shrugs.
“Well, Xanthus. I am Xerxei. I am pleased to meet you,” I say to his absolute delight. I have to say there is nothing quite like an excited child. I find myself in awe of him.
“You are one of us! I knew it!” he yells. “Did you hear that, Grandpa? She is one of us!” He whacks Xerxes in his enthusiasm.
He takes it with good grace as he glows at me. “Yes, I heard,” he says quietly. “You know your Demon self?” he asks me.
“Yes,” I say, standing to face him.
“Welcome, child,” he says as he embraces me, and I flounder slightly before I hug him back.
“You are here. I have waited so long, and you are here,” he says in wonder. I have no idea what he is talking about.
I look at Xane at a loss and he twirls his finger, pulling his face at me. Oh, I remember what he said about a daughter named after him. Oh, crap. What have I gotten myself into this time?
Xanthe pulls me to her and whispers to me, “I knew you would come. I waited, all this time. I knew you would come but wouldn’t be mine. Not mine by blood, but mine by family.”
Aww, crap.
I couldn’t be further up shit creek without a paddle if I tried.
I pull away and Xane just grins at me. “Come.”
I say to him, “I need to get home.” He nods and with a hesitant wave to the crowds, I manage to Astral us back to Xane’s office.
“Nicely done,” he says. “You will make a great Demon yet.”
“Huh. Not if my mother has anything to say about it,” I grouse. "I have one more question.”
“Okay? Shoot.”
“How come you are Demon Overlord? Your father is clearly in his prime still, so why you?”
He looks annoyed, embarrassed, and insulted at that question, all at the same time. “You don’t think I deserve it?” he asks.
“No, I never said that. I just wondered how it came to pass that you are, and he isn’t. You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”
“There comes a time when a leader needs to be challenged. I was ready to take over, so I challenged him and won.”
“You took your own father in a duel?” I ask incredulously.
“Yes. It is our way.”
“And he doesn’t hold a grudge?”
“No,” he says as if I am stupid. “He expected it of me. Maybe not quite so soon, but still,” he says proudly.
Well, a proud male of any species, is still just an arrogant son-of-a-bitch. I have learned that these last few months.
“I will bid you adieu. I have to go and check on my…”
“Entourage?” he interrupts me wickedly.
“My boys,” I emphasize, and he shrugs.
“Be sure to remember what your mother said,” he reminds me, and I want to hit him.
“Be sure to remember what I said. What happened between us, stays between us.”
“Of course,” he says with ease. “I don’t like my private life spread all over the place. Even though I am now taking myself off the market.”
I close my eyes in frustration and say, “Xane. Don’t be so ridiculous. You cannot wait for me.”
“I have no intention of waiting. You will come to me. You won’t be able to stop yourself.”
“I will be halfway across the globe in less than a month, I will forget you,” I say unconvincingly.
“Then I will be, too. Make no mistake that I will follow you. I, too, can run my billion-dollar empire from an iPad in Europe.”<
br />
Beg pardon? Billion-dollar empire? What other pies do you have your fingers in? And how do you know I will be in Europe?
“How do you know I will be in Europe?” I ask with suspicion.
“I assume that halfway across the globe is, in fact, Europe,” he says.
Smartarse
“I need to go,” I tell him dismissively.
“I will come and find you later.”
I glare at him and stalk out.
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED FORTY-ONE
I find Scott hovering, clearly waiting for me. He looks relieved when he sees me. “What’s up?” I ask, walking to the elevators.
“I don’t know if it is of any relevance, but yesterday your Demon friend had a curse on him. I believe he cast it on himself but today it was gone. I seemed to pick up on that it had something to do with you.”
Of course it did. He is such an arse. He knew we would end up in bed together and probably even about the whole Demon reveal. His choosing me wasn’t a spur-of-the-moment thing. I just hope I cursed myself in time.
“Thank you. It’s quite helpful to know. I think I know what it is regarding but it is a good thing that I know that he lifted it.”
Scott nods at me. “Happy to help.”
“We are going to have to extend our stay. See what you can do about rooms. Anything else?”
“Okay, done. Probably stuff you already know by now. His intentions and what not.”
“Yes, I know,” I sigh.
“Liv,” he pauses.
“Yes, Scott?” I get off on the floor that says ‘Gym’ and he frowns but follows me.
“Be careful,” he says.
I nod and my phone goes off. It’s Cole. Finally.
He nods back and heads back towards the elevators. I say to Cole, “Hey, baby.”
“Hey, what’s going on? Are you okay?” he asks in a rush.
“I’m fine….”
“Thank god. I got this blunt message from Constantine and it freaked me out. I have only just picked it up to call you,” he interrupts me.
“What did he say?” I ask, curious despite the pressing news.
“He said, and I quote, ‘There is news, call your sire.’ And he hung up.”
I grimace at his lack of tact. CK’s, not Cole’s. Call your sire indeed. He is so far in denial he might as well be in Egypt.
“Cole, we have had a bit of a situation. Just let me get this out without interruption, okay?”
“Okay,” he says, now warily.
“Jess tried to kill herself, so Devon was forced to sire her to save her. He couldn’t let her die.”
“Oh. Shit. She tried to kill herself? Man, that’s just…why would she do that?”
“Because she wanted Devon to sire her and he refused. She forced his hand.”
“Whoa. I knew she wanted to but that’s just insane. How’s he doing?”
“Not good. He doesn’t want this. But there’s more.”
“More? That doesn’t sound good.”
“I told him that I would take responsibility for her. He will stick around but I will teach her.”
“Oh? Why would you do that? It’s not your responsibility. It’s his,” Cole says.
“It isn’t if he doesn’t want it. I will take the burden from him.”
“Liv. You have too much going on already,” he complains. “This is too much.”
“I know, baby,” I say softly. “But I am not going to let Devon deal with this on his own. Not when it is partly my fault.”
“Your fault? Why is it your fault?” he asks, worried.
“The building is behind wards. Xane has them set up to stop spells from being used in the casino. That means all magick is set to fail. Even siring. I, however, am once again immune due to my Queen status and as he drank from me, a lot, Corinne said that it elevated his own status and the wards ignored him.”
“He drank from you, a lot?” he asks. “What is that supposed to mean?”
“It means a lot, okay? More than normal. Point is, if it weren’t for me, it would have failed.”
“But then she’d be dead!”
“Exactly.”
“Liv!” he says, scandalized. “What are you saying? You’d rather she be dead than turned?”
“I can’t say the thought hasn’t crossed my mind,” I snap at him. Everyone is always so judgy. “Remember when I told you about the correct way of doing things? Like we did? And how perfect you were when you woke up?”
I can sense his glow down the phone at my words. “Yes.”
“Well, this is the exact opposite of that. It was attempted suicide, Cole. It couldn’t be worse if we had planned it. She will wake up a monster and Devon is not prepared to deal with it.”
“A monster? Is that not a little harsh?” he chides me.
“No, Cole. You don’t understand. Bad intent makes a difference, coupled with the fact that she will be a Lesser Immortal. She will be nothing like you.”
“I see,” he says. “It’s going to be that bad? I suppose this means then that you won’t be coming with me to Miami,” he adds sadly.
“Oh, baby, no, we’re still going, all of us. To Europe as well. I am not sacrificing being with you to play keeper to some silly little girl who thinks this is all a game. I can assure you of that,” I say firmly.
“Good,” he says, relieved. “I was worried there for a minute.”
“Don’t be. I love you. I miss you. I can’t wait for all of this to be over and we can be together again. All the time. You are not working again after this. I forbid it,” I order him with a smile.
He chuckles. “Yes, ma’am. I had already thought that I would retire after this. I am no longer interested in being in the Industry. And, I think that it is probably best to shy away from the public eye. I have already ditched most of my friends, so I don’t think it will come as any great shock when I drop off the grid. You will have to keep me, though, in the life to which I have become accustomed.” He snorts to show he is joking.
“Always, my love. You don’t have to drop off the grid completely, Cole. You just must keep our secret. That’s all.”
“I know, but it is easier this way. I find that I no longer have anything in common with them anymore.”
“Yes, I can understand that. When all of this is over, I want to take you away. Far away. Just the two of us.”
“Hm, how far?”
“Very far. Where no one can find us.”
“Too bad we can’t stay there for very long though,” he says sadly.
“Don’t worry about that. Leave it to me. There may be concessions on my part, but I will deal with the fall out.”
“Fall out? No, Liv. Don’t risk it if it is going to cause a rift again.”
“It won’t. Don’t worry about it and I will sort it. You just keep thinking of where you want to go.”
“Is New Zealand far enough away to stop everyone from interrupting?” he asks sarcastically.
“No,” I giggle.
“I didn’t think so. I should go now. I will try and call you later. Are you expecting her up anytime soon?”
“Tomorrow probably, or the day after. We are staying here until she does. It unfortunately means all of us will be coming up to Toronto on Saturday. But they will all be under strict instructions to leave us alone unless there is an emergency.”
“There’s always an emergency,” he grumbles.
“Goodbye, my love. I will speak to you soon.”
“Bye, I love you.” He hangs up.
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED FORTY-TWO
I quickly make my way to the ladies’ locker room and disrobe before I jump in the shower. My mental note to always go via the shower is working, it seems. I hastily dry off and get dressed again. I put the pant suit in a locker and magickly pull out a backless halter top and black leggings. Slipping my Louboutins back on, I head back upstairs.
Pushing the door open, I enter the suite, suddenly weary. I look at the clock: it’s only
1 PM. Christ, it feels like midnight.
I stop dead when I see Sebastian. He is standing uncertainly in the sitting room. “Hi,” he says.
“Hi.” I stay where I am by the door.
“I’m not going to bite,” he jokes badly, but I move further into the room anyway.
“I am here to apologize. I was an ass and I’m sorry as to how I treated you and how I disrespected not just you but your other men as well,” he adds formally.
I come closer and see an array of gifts on the sofa. He sees me notice them and says, “I brought gifts. One for every letter of the alphabet.”
“I can see that. They are all lined up nicely in a neat little row.”
He cringes. “Sorry about that remark. Please know that is not what I think of you. I was only saying it to hurt you.”
I cast my eye over the variety of gifts, and I’m impressed he went to so much trouble. I was only half joking when I mentioned bringing presents.
I chuckle with delight as I see lined up in fourth place is a cuddly black Dragon. I pick it up and smile. “Thank you. This is very sweet,” I say to him and he smiles. I look down the row and under ‘V’ I find a pair of plastic Vampire teeth, the kind that kids use on Halloween. I snicker as I pick them up. “Couldn’t think of anything else? I hardly have a use for them.”
“They are decorative.”
“Thank you, Sebastian. I accept your apology and while you didn’t need to go to this extent, I appreciate the effort.” I step forward to hug him and he accepts.
“Friends?” he asks cautiously, picking up the ‘F’ present which is the Friends DVD box set.
I laugh with delight. “Yes. Just don’t try any more shit on me. I will kick your arse.”
“Don’t I know it. Christ, woman, you are strong. You did flatten me earlier,” he complains.
I laugh a proper laugh now and we are at ease again.
“Everyone happy again now?” CK says, coming out of the bedroom.
I nod and cross over to him, still holding my cuddly Dragon. I kiss him and turn back to Sebastian. “Do you mind excusing us? I need to talk to our sire.”