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“Ethan? Why do you ask that?”
“When you are silent, you see more than those who speak.”
I cross my arms. “Hmm, that’s a very vague answer. But no, I don’t think the vampire loves me.”
“You are wise to think that. Creatures of his age are not insusceptible to love, but they do not love in the way a human needs to be loved. Only a human can love a human like that.”
I send him a wry look. “Okay, I get it, you’re on team Finn. But what about you, what way do shapeshifters love?”
“We love as humans love, because we are human at our core. Vampires are not human at all. They are their own species.”
A few moments of thoughtful silence pass. I break it when I ask, “You never answered my question. Are you going to talk to the others?”
“I’ll consider it. However, I’d prefer not to speak with the witches, especially the younger one.”
“Rita? Why not?”
“Because I can see a malevolence in her, one not too different from Emilia’s. When it comes down to it, she will do what works best to her own advantage.”
I’m about to defend Rita, because in the time I’ve known her she’s done so many selfless things for me. But I don’t think my protests will work to change Ira’s mind, and I can’t blame him. If I just spent a quarter of a century trapped by a curse, I’d hate every witch that crossed my path, too.
“Don’t you consider me to be a witch? I have magic.”
“You’re only half a witch, and you were not raised in the way of magic. You’re very human in your ways. You don’t understand your magic, but that’s not a bad thing. Those who understand their power are susceptible to being corrupted by it.”
I let that sink in. Perhaps my ignorance isn’t such a bad thing after all.
“You’re very insightful, you know.”
“I see the world and I interpret it as best I can. If that is insight, then I suppose you are right.”
“Come on, let’s go inside. It’s getting cold out here. Do you want to help me build a fire?”
“Yes, I’d like that,” Ira replies, following me into the house.
Finn keeps a spare bucket of coal in the closet under the stairs, so I take it out and with Ira’s help I load up the fireplace before topping it off with a few fire lighters. I put one of Finn’s DVDs on and we sit and watch it. About half way through Finn comes downstairs, exclaiming loudly about how nice it is to walk into a toasty living room with the fire going. He scoops me up into his arms and we lie cuddling for the rest of the film, him running his hands under my top. He keeps fiddling with the elastic waist of my leggings.
By the time the film has ended I still haven’t told Finn about Ira’s new-found voice. I’ve almost fallen asleep lying with him on the couch, but I get a little jolt of excitement when I remember. We’re all really tired though, so I decide to leave my little revelation until the morning.
Ira retreats quietly to his room and Finn walks up the stairs behind me.
“You’ve got a great arse,” he says, giving me a pinch on the bottom.
I turn around, bracing my hands on the banisters. “Yours isn’t so bad either,” I reply cheekily. I’m trying not to think about what Ira said about Finn being “enamoured” with me. It makes me feel uncomfortable. I’m sort of emotionally stunted in that sense. Even though I know it had nothing to do with our relationship, some part of me died when Matthew took his own life. It hardened my insides. Made me fear being truly in love with anyone again.
“You wanna stay in my room tonight?” he asks, eyes on my chest.
“Is that a wise idea?”
He reaches out and runs a hand down my bare arm. “Probably not.”
“There’s your answer then.”
“Oh you’re a difficult one,” says Finn with a playful growl. He takes my hand and leads me to my bedroom door. Then he pulls me close to him and gives me a kiss goodnight that practically melts my bones.
Slowly but surely, Ethan’s hatred is starting to matter less and less.
Chapter Eight
