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She nodded, causing the straight plaits of her long brown hair to shift over her dark skin. “Would you prefer male, female, or aequili?”Aequili, meaning ‘balanced’, was another term used amongst sanguinati that referred to a person of both sexes.
“Female. Thank you,” I replied quickly, hoping to not further upset Malekai.
Her gaze flicked between the two of us.
“And will your companion be… participating?”
While she could surely tell he was fae and wouldn’t be drinking any blood, she was trying to ask if he would be partaking in the sex that almost always ensued during feedings.
“No.”
The disappointment in her eyes was evident. I felt another curl of jealousy, turning my gaze to Malekai, whose stare remained on me, his hand rubbing soothing circles against my back.
Her nostrils flared, probably scenting my hunger.
“How long has it been since you’ve fed?”
“15 days.”
Her jaw dropped before snapping shut, lips pursing in distaste. I couldn’t blame her. It was irresponsible of me. Her eyes flicked to Malekai.
“You’re aware you’ll be charged triple if you go into bloodlust?… And you will restrain her when the bloodlust takes over?”
Malekai finally met her gaze. “You have my word.”
She gave a slight nod and turned, striding down the long hallway. Malekai and I followed several steps behind. As we got closer to the mostly soundproof parlour rooms, we could vaguely discern the sounds of ecstasy being inspired from within. After several moments, our host stopped beside a large, ornately carved door and swung it open with a gentle push of her magic.
“Your donatris will be with you shortly.”
At that, she turned and strode towards a door at the end of the hall that I imagined led to the donatris residences. Due to the fact that a sanguinati, or any other immortal, in need of blood could come at any hour, blood parlours often housed their many donatris so they could remain on call.
Malekai ushered me further into the private room. The lighting was dim, lit with candles whose flickering flames created shadows on the walls. A large, ornately decorated palette bed adorned in shades of rich red and exotic designs lay at the back of the room. A couch and a small chaise longue with a cushy chair across from it. The chair for the patron feeding, and the chaise longue for the donatris to lay down while their blood was drained.
A considerate choice of seating for the rare, and likely deranged, individual who would actually choose to not engage in any sexual activity during a feeding.
I moved to step towards the chair as Malekai shut the door behind us. As soon as I sat, he knelt in front of me, searching my face.
“You alright?”
“Yeah… I just… Hope the donatris are treated well here by the patrons.”
“I’ll pay her well.”
“You don’t need to do that. I’m already more than grateful to you for your concern and for ensuring I’m safe before leaving for Ouvelleete.”
Malekai gave me a bored look.
“Mareina, you literally can’t stop me short of tearing my throat out, which would defeat the entire purpose of us coming here in the first place.”
I sighed, shaking my head.
“If I go into bloodlust…”
Thankfully, Malekai was here to prevent things from getting out of hand, but even so, it was a risk as to how much I would take from her before he could stop me… And it would take time for the donatris to heal. Magical assistance and potions would help, but the consequences of teasing death were never a pleasant experience.
“I’ll make sure you stop.”
“And what if I try to bite you?”
