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The room stilled with heavy silence as I stared at my father, processing this new layer of their demands.Consummate with Aida. I certainly wasn’t opposed to that, but I was also curious what that had to do with this arrangement. Of course, these tasks were historically performed with an audience. In fact, most of these men here probably had witnesses at their first marriage consummation.
“Consummate? And if I wish not to? I would prefer to take my time getting to know my wife.”
My father smiled slightly. “We have our ways of ensuring it happens.”
I smiled back at him, giving nothing away. Everything with my father was a game. One wrong move, and my father enjoyed doling out punishment. One wrong move on his part, and I was biding my time to take him down.
After holding his gaze, I finally looked away, letting my eyes drift across all the council members. “Forgive me, but I have a few questions about the situation. As I am sure you undoubtedly realize, I have spoken to my future wife, and I am aware of exactly what she is. I find myself intrigued to know what you hope will happen by binding a vampire and a demon together.”
They came from a world of old magic and beliefs, so I suspected it had something to do with an old spell or ancient prophecy since they had yet to modernize themselves. Half these old bastards should’ve been decrepit if not for the magic that kept us looking the same age we were when we died.
This was the problem with the vampire council and why I would never get onto it. Once you were, you never left. Now the council was filled with old men with old ideas, constantly manipulating and interfering with affairs they knew little of.
“This is my doing, Son. But I needed the council’s approval for it to happen. So, I joined the council after years of hesitancy, knowing that this next step could be the evolution of our species.”
It took everything in me to resist rolling my eyes. Whenever my father spoke about the species' evolution, he meant power. He wanted to find a way to make himself a God among all beings.
I lifted an eyebrow in silent question, and he smirked at me before continuing. “There is an ancient spell in an old text—“Ah, there is it.“—that says when a vampire, the child of the first betrayed—” he smiled cruelly, enjoying his title with more mirth than I would’ve, “—returns home, the gods may once more reign free. Like the demons, they have no vessels, so they find ones, and vampires being soulless creatures, could, in theory, take on the soul of these gods.”
I narrowed my eyes, still not quite following what he was suggesting. I understood the gist of it—he wanted to take on the soul of a god, but from what I had seen of Aida, there was no remnant of the human she occupied. Abaddon had completely taken over the vessel. Wouldn’t that be the same with the gods?
“When you say, ‘returns home?’ What do you mean?”
“There is a lot of my creation story you do not know of, Son. Your mother was not my first or second, or third wife, but the woman who was my first wife … She was the one who blessed me with this existence. Some call it a curse, but this was a gift from her to me so we could be together forever. I have since generously passed on my legacy. However, like with every God after her, she was eventually forgotten, and her soul was scattered into existence.”
My eyes narrowed to slits, sensing a deeper story than he was telling. It was hard to believe, but perhaps my father wasn’t looking to become a God but bring one back. Although, believing my father was capable of love and devotion seemed impossible.
“What does this mean for the rest of you? What do you have to gain from this?”
“A supernatural world, of course,” Lucius said. “Vampires have lived in the shadows for a long time. If we brought back the gods, they would not suffer a world where they had to hide their true identities. They would want to build a world in which they were revered again because the more faithful there are, the more power they possess. So, they would want themselves to be known. They would want all of us to be known, so vampires would emerge from the shadows. We would be able to claim our true power. You would not just be the head of the East Coast covens. You would be head of the entire East Coast. Our hierarchy would remain the same, Magnus. You can rule however you wish but must obey our rules and judgment.”
“So, you give me unbridled power and control over every being in existence from here to the Midwest, but I would have to answer to you? That is an arrangement unlike that which we have now.”
“I think you would find working with us quite tolerable, Magnus. You have not displeased us yet, and being that we are more peers than associates, we trust your judgment. Although, the offer of a place at our table will still stand. I suppose you have until tomorrow night to choose.”
I laughed coldly. “What choice? Do you mean joining you or fucking my future wife?”
AIDA
Talon entered my bedroom,bearing a tray laden with snacks and a glass of wine. I was in the middle of my mid-morning nap and peeked open an eye.
“Sorry to disturb you, Mistress.”
“It’s no disruption, Talon. I was hoping we could speak.” His face remained impassive as he set the tray down and picked up a bowl of fruit salad before sitting on the edge of the bed next to me.
He speared a strawberry and held it out to my mouth. I took it carefully between my lips, sucking it off. I’d never deliberately tried to seduce him, but I was curious about the reaction I could evoke. I licked my lips and quickly glanced at his cock stirred with interest.
It had.
When I looked back, he was smirking. “Perhaps I should’ve confessed my feelings for you sooner.”
I chewed the strawberry thoughtfully and then nodded. “Perhaps. Although, my feelings for you haven’t changed.”
His face fell rapidly, steeling himself quickly as he gave me a curt nod. I reached out and brushed my fingers along his forearm.
“What I mean to say is your admission has made me realize the true depth of my feelings. They have always existed, but I hadn’t a name for it until you called me your mate. We demons don’t have a name for that kind of partnership. I know your kind feels this longing for your other half in a way I would’ve never considered. But your sturdiness in my life has always been a source of comfort for me. The idea of not having you is unbearable.”
Love wasn’t an emotion demons often felt, but now that I considered it, perhaps all this time, I had loved Talon to the best of my ability. Now, I wanted to do better and show him how much I did care for him.
