Chapter 480: Small Talk
Pannera sent me on my way with Sebastian at my side once more. Only now, when he walked beside me I wondered why he was with me-for me, or because she ordered him to watch me and report back to her?
I hated thinking about him like that. Sebastian was my friend and, if the kiss he offered me was genuine, maybe had the potential to be more. I couldn't bear to live with the idea that everything he did was suspect.
"I have my people placed carefully," he said as we walked, breaking my sad silence. "They will alert me if anything happens, but I can't do much more than that, especially after the sun rises." He slowed his pace a little, bending over me. "I'm sorry, Sydlynn. I should never have allowed you to risk your life to save me when I was host to the essence."
"Water under the bridge," I said. "I just hope you know I'm not angry or anything. About you following orders." The memory of the pain my battle caused was enough to make me wince. "I'm just a little hurt knowing I can't really trust you now."
He stopped me, at my door, turned me to face him while two of Batsheva's vampires watched and waited. "You can always trust me," he said, voice thick with emotion, eyes full of intensity I couldn't identify. Or wouldn't.
This time when he kissed me his arms engulfed me, sweeping me up from my feet as his mouth warmed against mine. Though he had no heartbeat, I shared mine with him as my arms wound around his neck without my permission, the pulse of his blood keeping time with the thrum of each pounding beat.
And then he was gone, the two vampires long vanished, a pair of lunky mortal men coming toward me. One glance at the window showed me the rising sun and I knew, if our timing hadn't been off, it was possible things might have gone much further than I planned.
No way could I make room for another potential boyfriend. Not now anyway.
I went inside, sat down on the first chair I came across and forced myself to breathe. Kissing Quaid was all heat and passion, burning with my demon panting for more. Liam, on the other hand, was gentle but powerful, the deep and endless hum of the earth running through him.
Sebastian was another thing entirely. The sparking spirit magic was a game changer, as though his undead body took on the properties of my living one, creating very close to a perfect match to the vibration of my soul. Yes, I was aware the core of vampirism probably had something to do with it, but she wasn't talking and, as the sun rose and bathed my face in the first rays of morning, I didn't care.
Wow, that man could kiss.
"Was he really so delicious?"
Damn it, damn it! How did I let her get the drop on me like that? Stupid, idiotic-
I lurched to my feet, eyes sweeping the room, finding Ameline reclining in a corner, black cloak set aside, looking odd in blue jeans and a black leather jacket surrounded by the old world. I was so used to formal attire by now, seeing her in casuals added to my disorientation.
"What do you want?" I had my power back, yes. But was it enough to take on Ameline? She'd almost killed me more than once and I wasn't about to trust her as far as I could pitch her out the nearest window.
"You know what I want." Ameline's cold smile reminded me of Pannera. "But I needed to wait until daylight, so we could talk uninterrupted." She stood slowly, stretched, tall, slim body more beefed up than the last time I'd run into her. I saw well-defined biceps as she slid her jacket off, tank top revealing her cut and muscular shoulders. "How have you been, Syd?"
Small talk? She was up to something. "You can't have the essence any more than those vampire Queens," I said. "So get the hell out before I find out what your insides look like scattered on the floor."
She laughed, posed, like some kind of action hero from the big screen, all dark and dangerous. "We both know your power is diminished," she said. "Poor Syd."
Demetrius lunged from the bedroom, snarling and spitting at her, before darting around the furniture and coming to crouch at my feet. She frowned at last, though the expression vanished after a brief moment.
"I see you've traded one dog for another," she said.
"Don't trust her, don't, not ever." He clung to my leg, blue eyes huge and full of anxiety, body quivering with it.
"Not to worry," I said. "Never going to happen."
Ameline shrugged artfully, hands on her hips. "I have no illusions of friendship," she said. "Nor do you, I imagine. But I, too, oppose the Brotherhood. And that should count for something."
Not much. "You're trying to become maji," I said.
"I won't deny it." Ameline brushed back her long, black hair from her shoulder. "Whoever wins the race to evolution will rule everything. You must know that by now."
I didn't. And didn't want it. But she did, so I had to oppose her. Of course.
She took a slow step forward, running fingertips over the wood on the back of a sofa, pausing to grip it in her hands as she leaned toward me. "I need that essence," she said. "But I'm not greedy. I'll be happy with half."
"In exchange for what?" I might not have been very good at the follow through in negotiations, usually declaring refusal outright, but I was learning a few things.
"I help you kill Batsheva." She smiled, straightened, holding her hands out. "Mess cleaned up and we go on our way, leaving us both free to pursue our destinies."
She feels like the undead already. The vampire stilled as my mind agreed. When Ameline connected with me to warn me earlier, I'd felt the vampire in her then. Ask her where the power came from.
I already knew. She'd been working with Yvette's vampires before now.
No, the vampire sent. It's more than that. Ask her.
"What have you been doing with your days, Ameline?" I watched as she continued to drift around the room, keeping her distance, while Demetrius muttered and shook at my feet. "Hunting, maybe?"
"Maybe." She poured herself a glass of wine from the decanter I'd ignored since I arrived and swirled it before breathing deeply. "The vampire magic I've had access too hasn't been enough."
She's the one killing Pannera's people. The vampire sighed. I can't go with her, Sydlynn.
I loved it when we agreed on things.
"I've been siphoning a few of the weaker members from both sides." Ameline took a seat and sipped her drink. "Keeping them at each other's throats." Her laugh was as rich as the deep red wine in her glass. "It's been ever so much fun."
Ameline never failed to remind me of what a pleasant person she was.
"All of that is irrelevant now," she said. "I've been trying for some time to figure out a way to take the essence from you. Now I have an excellent opportunity for us both to benefit." Another sip, a slow wink. "I want to help you kill Batsheva before she gives the clan to the Brotherhood."
"I told you, I'm planning on destroying her," I said. "No help required. Thanks anyway."
Ameline looked like she was going to go on, but shrugged, stood up, set down her glass. "I know very well how stubborn you are," she said. "And when I'm talking to a wall." She returned to her original chair, slid on her jacket and robe without another word. When she was done, she turned to me with that same smile on her face, though her blue eyes were as cold as ever.
"But, I want you to remember," she said, "when the time comes, you turned me down."
Shrug. "Whatever."
"I'll be around," she said, pulling the cloak tightly around her. "If you change your mind."
"Ameline." I took a step forward, a sudden thought making me wonder. "If you want it so badly, why don't you just come here and try to take it?"
Those blue eyes snapped fire a moment before they narrowed just a little. "You're stronger than I am," she said. "Even with your power diminished, your vampire core could take me out easily. Besides," she flared with purple magic, "I want you to admit you are wrong. And I want you to give it up willingly."
Her laughter lingered long after she was gone, while I fumed.
Never going to happen. Even while my mind whispered I should never say never.
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