“Free me?” Theodore laughed. “You think I’m trapped? Oh, no, friend.”
He snapped his fingers, turning out the light in the vampire’s eyes. Its expression went blank, and the demon obediently walked out of the cellar and crept upstairs.
“I’m as free as a bird.”
According to his thoughts, the ones that leapt out joyfully around the room, searching for me, Theodore really didn’t see himself as confined. Much like his time behind bars, Theodore patiently waited for an opportunity.
“And what opportunity are you waiting for now?”
“You, my sweet psychic.” Theodore tilted his head, locking his haunting blue eyes onto me. “You’re here to bring down the Celestial Coven, I presume.”
“And The True Witch,” I added. “Your mother.”
Theodore sighed, long, dramatic, and bored.
“She’s so much more than that.”
“Yes, an ancient witch who opened the Gate of Hell so she could free magic to all, then somehow removed it from everyone?”
“You’ve been studying.” Theodore adjusted his position, sitting forward on his hands and knees. “Just don’t buy into the propaganda too much. Liberation of magic may be the goal, but control and authority and order always remain high on Mother’s to-do list.”
He slinked ahead, crawling to the outermost part of the pentagram. As his fingers tiptoed on the edge of his confined space, the wards on his shackled wrist glowed.
“What I wouldn’t give for a little bit of human contact.” Theodore looked up at me, giving the phoniest of puppy-dog stares.
“Maybe you should ask your mommy for a hug.”
A wicked smirk grew on his face. “You’re different, Dorian. Even the pulse of your telepathy holds more certainty, more strength.”
“What is the Celestial Coven planning?”
“I’ll tell you everything for a kiss.” Theodore leaned to the edge of the pentagram.
“Not happening.”
“Sigh.” Theodore flailed, holding his arms out and collapsing onto his back with as much drama as he could muster. “Suppose it’s for the best, though. I’d prefer our first kiss to be special. When it’s just me and you and Evergreen in a pool of his own blood.”
Flashes of red filled his mind. Milo’s corpse lay before him. Theodore danced in bloody rain, and when he reached me, our lips met. Only, I still had long hair in his mind. I buried his sadistic fantasies. It made my skin crawl and my stomach queasy.
“We can revisit our romance after you defeat the Celestial Coven,” Theodore said, breaking the silence of his thoughts.
“When is the Celestial Coven going to strike, and where?”
“Where else?” Theodore quirked a brow. “Chicago, of course. Anything to take away my joy. That, and she wants poor, tragic Tara.”
“She truly believes Tara is a god?”
Theodore scoffed. “A god of incompetence. Seriously, the whole chosen one thing is so overrated. I should’ve slit her throat years ago.”
There was no hesitation in his words, no malice either. It was just a fact. He could and would live without Tara. Killing her wasn’t on his agenda; his desperate desires were things like burning Chicago to the ground or slaughtering his father. But he’d gladly kill his sister to remove any inconvenience she’d bring.
“You’re a fucking monster.”
“Why thank you.” Theodore batted his lashes. “I try my best.”
“Why is the Celestial Coven always summoning vampires instead of other demons?”
“They’re stronger than most.” Theodore shrugged. “Good at blending, too.”
