The first few times Lance went through Seth’s rifts, only to be dropped on his butt back in the kitchen, those were funny. After the third time it was just sad. Lance sat where he landed on the floor, head in his hands, fuming. That was also funny in its own way.

Simone watched in silence. Raum watched in amusement, his arms crossed over his chest.

“Do not give up now, elf prince, I am sure you nearly have it,” he remarked with dry enthusiasm, and she was pleased with herself that she knew what he was feeling through his stoic mask.

Lance glared at him from the floor. “This is your fault!” he snarled. “All of this, everything, I’m sure of it. And don’t call me that!”

Raum’s eyebrows raised up innocently, a smile on the corner of his mouth. “What? Elf? It is what you are. Lancastor, you should be proud of your heritage. Or prince? Are you afraid that fact may further anger your childhood friend?”

Lance turned on the floor so that he was sitting facing Raum. “It’s not what you said, Sigaliansadine, it’s how you say it. And, it doesn’t matter, none of it matters right now. Just, stop talking with the words from your face. How are you  so good at ruining things?”

“It must be a gift,” he shrugged. “And, you may refer to me as Rathanat si Prense Raum.”

“Seriously? You can go back to hell, Raum. Shit, this is all turning to shit.” Lance scratched his jaw, a nervous gesture. She almost felt bad for him. Almost.

Raum snickered and she smiled, amused by his amusement. She caught herself, then questioned the loyalty she was feeling towards him. Earlier today, when he physically removed her from her own apartment, she’d been ready to claw his eyes out. But, when Lance showed up, she was leaping to his defense.

It made her intensely uncomfortable. She didn’t want to ask him about it in front of Lance. She didn’t want to ask him about it at all, and he probably wouldn’t answer her question anyway. He had this infuriating way of deflecting questions, or just outright ignoring them.

He had convinced her that she wouldn’t be safe in her apartment, despite her best argument. To be honest, she wasn’t sure why he cared. He’d left the ghost girl in her apartment, probably a threat. As long as that creepy spirit was camped out in her kitchen, she was definitely not staying there. Raum said it, and she knew he was right, that Anri would stay with Seth now, even if she went back. She couldn’t stay there alone, not with that ghost, she just couldn’t.

He gave her two reasons as to why he left the ghost girl in her apartment when he left, though she hadn’t expected any. One, he said, the ghost would act as decoy for anyone who might be looking for them, and two, the ghost would let him know if anyone came searching.

When she asked him why anyone would be looking for them, he shrugged it off as a simple precaution. It wasn’t what he said so much as the combination of what he said and how he said it that had her wanting to claw his eyes out. He smiled that half amused smile of his, simultaneously sexy and annoying, then threatened to carry her out of the apartment without her stuff if she didn’t ‘pack with haste’.

Lance snorted, pulling her attention back to him. “Sigaliansadine, why’re you in this realm? Don’t you have spirits to command in the Eternal Wars? How’d you even get here? What’re you scheming? Why now?”

“You ask a lot of questions, Lancastor. My given name is painful to hear it from your lips. I will not tell you again, refer to me as Rathanat si Prense Raum,” he said with false cordiality.

“Fine, Raum,” Lance replied, obviously dropping the honorifics that Raum had demanded. “You should understand your position here. I know you think you owe me no answers, but you know my position here, and you will respect it. Don’t make me ask again.” Lance’s voice had taken on an edge sharp enough to cut, and Raum stiffened next to her.

“If you insist,” Rain replied. “I was summoned by a deranged sorceress using vampire’s blood. She was dispelled to Daeva in my stead. So, I am here,” he flourished his hands dramatically around him, “and there, she is.”

Lance’s face turned stormy. “Sigaliansadine Raum, I am deadly serious, and you will tell me half truths no longer. I swear it on my name, you will tell me the truth or you will be punished. I’ll drag you to the nearest hellgate myself if I have to. I’ll dump your ass right at Rowan.”

Raum’s emotionless mask slid over his features, nearly imperceptible, but she saw it. He stood, tensed, then seemed to shake it off. She wondered where Rowan was that it shook Raum so. “I am going to go retrieve your brother, Simone, and his Wren. That should have been more than enough time for them.”

Raum walked up to Seth’s rift, running his hands over the seams of it around the door frame. The golden flecks seemed to excite under his hands like angry ants. They shimmered and danced in a trail behind his touch. Once he traced the outline of the door, he pried his fingers beneath a corner of the rift and pulled. Ever so slowly the corner began to peel back.

Simone and Lance both watched in silence. The rift made a velcro sound as it peeled away from the doorframe, the golden streaks flying free as the rift separated from the frame. They sparked brightly and then faded into nothingness like tiny fireworks.

Raum’s efforts were slow. It took a few minutes to peel the rift from the door frame. Simone could see Raum’s efforts were straining him, too, as his muscles bunched and flexed under his tight black shirt hypnotically. By the time the last sparks from the rift had streaked into nothingness he was breathing heavily.

“How ya doing there, Raum? You still have another one to go,” Lance prodded, casually crossing one leg over the other.

“Speak no more, prince. I am the one who gave him this stupid idea, though I did not believe he would connect the two concepts,” Raum grumped. She frowned, mildly confused at his use of the term ‘prince’. The demon wouldn’t give a nickname to someone he seemed to dislike so much, would he?

“I don’t think he used it against anyone in particular,” she said, then immediately wished she hadn’t said anything as both men turned to her sharply. They must have forgotten she was there. “I mean,” she continued, uncomfortable under their eyes, “I think Seth just missed Anri, and you guys were doing this pissing match thing, and they just needed to get away.”

Lance scooted back, away from Raum and the doorway, but still on the floor. He got up, dusting his butt off, before he re-perched himself back on his previous countertop. “You know, vampire, Seth wouldn’t be involved in any of this crap if it wasn’t for your brother.”

Simone’s anger was quick to burn after all the tension in the room, and with her veins still roiling with Raum’s supercharged blood. “You know, elf, you shouldn’t complain about Raum being racist when you are just as bad. You don’t even know Anri, or me, and you already assume we’re scum of the earth because we’re vampire. Well, you aren’t really proving the stereotypes wrong about elves either, you judgy bitch.”

Both men stared at her and she shifted under their scrutiny. “Did…did you just call me a judgy bitch?” Lance hissed. “I cannot believe you just called me that. Obviously you don’t know who I am, nor your place in this world. I am willing to teach you both, you poor, misguided bottom feeder.”

Raum looked back and forth between them. He caught Simone’s eye and winked quickly, then launched himself down the steps.

“Bottom feeder! How dare you! But, you’re right about one thing, I don’t know who you are, you bitch-ass elf,” she snapped. “But if you think you know Seth so much better than me? Well, I know how Seth will respond if you threaten Anri like you’re threatening me. I know you’re friends, but I think you’re on some pretty thin ice with him. I mean, I am just a stupid, lowly vampire, so I’m probably wrong, and Seth’s probably not completely and totally pissed at you. I’m sure I’m wrong about it, actually, since I’m just a bottom feeder, you know? I’m sure everything’s gonna be just fine “ She pulled out a chair at the messy table, crossing her legs and resting her chin in her hand, elbows on the table, her eyes locked on Lance.

Fuck this elf and the unicorn he rode in on. And, goddammit, just to piss her off more, his hair was still perfect. Hers never looked like that. Nice hair was wasted on men.

Lance narrowed his eyes at her. “I know my best friend. We’ve been friends for nearly our whole lives, vampire, and I will protect him from your kind, whether he likes it or not.”

“Whether he likes it or not? You sound like a great friend. And, wait up a minute. My kind? You mean vampires? Kinda too late for that, don’t you think?”

“It’s not! He’s…confused. I’ve shielded him from your kind his whole life, it’s all new to him. He doesn’t know any better. The shine will wear off soon. I mean, I was only gone for a month and then your brother tricks him into a bloodbond! He’s confused, that’s all.”

“What?!” she exclaimed, stunned at the absurdity of his statement. “Oh, that’s precious. You don’t know anything, do you? You think my brother seduced Seth?” She laughed. Lance’s handsome features crunched up in anger. “You-hold on, this is hilarious, you think Anri seduced Seth.” She was laughing so hard that she was gasping for breath. “That’s good. You’re funny.”

“I know he did,” Lance snapped. He sneered at her, somehow still attractive in his anger, although he wasn’t her type. She’d never gone for pretty boys. “Why is this so funny?”

“Oh, Lance, my brother ran from Seth. Three times that I know of, probably more than that. Your innocent Seth seduced my brother. They were bloodbound before either knew what they were doing. Do you understand that? Seth bound my brother to him, by instinct alone. Anri told me that Seth didn’t know he was a Wren. What Wren his age doesn’t know who they are? That’s crazy.”

Anger bloomed on his face and he tried to interject, but Simone held her hand up, and continued. “I didn’t believe Anri that Seth didn’t know what he was, so I tested him.” She shook her head, a smile on her face as she remembered testing her brother’s Wren. “No, Lance, Seth did this all himself. And, I think that if you try to separate them…well, you already said you know Seth better than me. Why don’t you answer that yourself.” Simone pushed her hair back over her shoulder and met Lance’s eyes in challenge.

“You lie,” Lance sneered.

She snorted. “Think about it and you’ll know I’m not. Or, if you know Seth as well as you say you do, it should be obvious I’m not. What’s in it for me to lie about this? Seth pursued Anri, and that’s the truth. I know my brother, elf. Anri’s afraid of everything, and he’s definitely never been gay before Seth. There’s no way on earth he would have pursued your bestie, even with the natural attraction to him as a Wren,” she said with conviction. “Ask him, Lance. Ask him who chased who. Ask Seth if Anri ‘tricked’ him, I dare you. What they have is real, a true and full bloodbond. I’ve seen it. I heard you saw it. I heard you touched it, too. If Seth had been tricked into it, they wouldn’t have a true bond. I’ve seen it, Lance. They’re wed by blood and vow, despite what you think.”

Lance shook with anger. “Impossible! I was only gone for a month.”

“What does you being gone have to do with anything, you selfish asshole? They love each other. They were meant for each other, a fated pair. Looking at their bond, and the way they react around each other even though they’ve only known each other for a short time, they’re like a fairytale. They’re supposed to be together, can’t you tell? Can’t you see it?”

“He’s a man!” Lance spit.

“They’re both men, yes,” she said. “You’re very observant.”

“Seth’s not gay, that’s what I’m saying!”

She snorted, then shrugged. “Neither’s Anri.”

Lance rolled his eyes. “You’re brother brainwashed him, that’s what I’m saying.”

“You’re an idiot, you know that?”

Lance opened his mouth to respond, but said nothing as Raum climbed up the stairs noisily. She half wondered if he did it to let them know he was coming. He could move through a room almost silently when he wanted to.

He looked over both of them, possibly appraising for battle wounds. He caught her eye, a smile on the corner of his mouth. “What interesting conversation did you two share while I was interrupting our little lovebirds?” he asked.

“The vampire had the gall to lie to me about her brother brainwashing Seth. She insists that Seth pursued that vamp he’s bonded to intentionally!” Lance said, shaking his head as if to clear it. “He’s enthralled. That’s all. He’s just enthralled. If…I just need to get him away from you creatures long enough break the entrancement. Then he will see that severing his connection to…that vampire…is for the best.” Lance’s face shimmered as his glamiore began to slip, his pointy ears poking out and his face taking on an even more symmetrical and angular look.

Simone and Raum shared a look. She knew how Seth was going to react to Lance’s attempts to take him away from Anri. She’d seen it first hand, as had Raum on the night he was summoned. She could feel a storm on the horizon.

“Did she now?” Raum said overly casually. “Well, if you give them a minute, they were just finishing up, ah, what they were doing. They will be up and we can all continue this conversation together.”

She and Lance stared daggers at each other. That Lance felt he could come in here, accusing Anri of shit he didn’t even know the first thing about, threatening those she cared about, and then threatening to cut the bond between Anri and Seth? Not while she was around. No one messed with her little brother, not some crazy witch, and not some self-entitled rich kid elf.

Could he actually cut it? If he did cut their bond, what would happen? In the stories her mother used to tell, if a true blood-bonded pair’s connection was severed, it caused madness and death. Usually madness, then death, both to the vampire, and anyone unlucky enough to be around.

She wouldn’t let Lance do that to Anri. He and Seth were meant for each other, even if Lance didn’t think so. “What do you have against them being together?” she demanded. “Why do you care so much?”

“Seth’s my bestfriend, and I’m his shield. He’s… innocent, good. I swore to protect him from bad shit like this. I can still fix this,” he replied, so sure of himself she wanted to slap him.

“No, Lancastor, you cannot,” Raum said.

“You selfish, narcissistic elf!” she snapped. “You think that we aren’t good enough for your precious little Seth? You have something against my family?”

Lance snorted. “It’s not that I don’t think you aren’t, I know you aren’t good enough for him. You and your brother’re vampires.” He looked at Raum pointedly. “He’s a demon. Seth shouldn’t be around any of you.”

“How dare you!” she narrowed her eyes trying to stay calm enough to have a rational conversation instead of just yelling at this self-centered elf. “You don’t know us. Just because we’re vampire doesn’t mean anything. You don’t know us.”

“Seth is an adult,” Raum noted. “I assumed in the human realm that adults may choose their own company and need not be, ah, protected from those of us who had the audacity to be born such vile creatures as Daeva and vampire.”

“I don’t care, Seth should never had been introduced to anything supernatural,” Lance retorted.

“You couldn’t have hidden it from him forever. It’s a miracle that he didn’t find out sooner,” she insisted as calmly as she could, which wasn’t that calm at all. She was trying. She really was. Her temper simmered at his callous hatefulness, fueled by Raum’s heady blood.

“I did for eighteen years before this! Your bloodsucking brother ruined everything. That’s why Seth needs to be away from y’all! He needs space so that he can see how ya vampires have him tricked!” His frustrations had him slipping into a mildly Midwestern accent.

“You asshole, what’s wrong with you? You, you’re so…you’re nasty!” she growled, standing up. “Seth wasn’t tricked! There’s no wicked ulterior motive! They love each other! Why’s that so hard for you to understand?!” Raum’s hand closed over her shoulder, pushing her back down in her seat.

“Nasty?” he laughed angrily, his hands white knuckled on the counter. “Are you a grade schooler? Your brother corrupted my innocent Seth! Seth was pure, untainted. Uncorrupted! That vampire scarred him, marked him like property so everyone knows who he belongs to! Your brother is the ‘nasty’ one!”

“That’s not what happened! Anri wasn’t… it was an accident… he was…”

“Sure,” Lance insisted, one perfect, pale eyebrow raised as if he’d practiced it. “Sure it was an accident. Of course it was. Anri isn’t like that, that’s what Seth told me, too. Sure he isn’t. Seth probably just fell, right? Fell on Anri’s fangs, over and over again? He’s such a nice guy, normally, right? Seth deserved it, right? He asked for it? Blame the victim, protect your horrible bloodsucking brother.”

“Shut up!” she nearly sobbed, her anger pushing her nearer to tears. “Anri was dying! Seth saved his life!”

Lance jumped down off of the counter. “And he pays him back by binding him forever? By scarring him so that every other supernatural knows he’s property?”

Simone stood up despite Raum’s hand heavily weighing her down. “No! You don’t know what happened, you, you elf! You think you know everything, don’t you? Seth offered himself. He chose the words. He chose Anri!”

Angry tears were flowing down her face now and she hated herself for crying. Why was Lance so horrible? Why wouldn’t he listen?

“He will not hear your words tonight, Simone,” Raum whispered in her ear.

“Lance!” she nearly shouted, ignoring Raum’s comment. “Ask him. Ask him! I’m sorry it happened, and I know Anri will never forgive himself for the scars. He won’t. That’s the type of person he is.” She sniffed, wiping the tears from her face with her arm.

“He’s enthralled! He’ll say anything your brother tells him to! Your brother’s probably down there now, filling his head with lies, trying to poison him against me,” Lance insisted, hands fisted at his sides.

“Ah, they were not, ah, discussing much when I was there,” Raum clarified, his strong voice soft, but it carried.

Lance huffed. “None of this matters. I have to get him away from you all, that’s all. Once he’s got a clear head, he’ll see the truth, and I can cut his bond. He’ll heal, and then he’ll be back to normal.”

“You cannot do that, Lancastor, unless you wish to lose Seth forever. He is bound, truly and fully, to Anri Rousseau, for better or worse. You know what will happen if you sever their connection now.”

Lance snorted. “Lies.”

It was Raum’s turn to laugh. “You know that that is incorrect. Daeva cannot lie. We are experts at creatively crafting the truth, but in this, my words are unadulterated.”

Lance frowned grumpily. “I know what might happen if I sever their connection, based on lies and enthrallment. And I don’t care what happens to the vampire. The only one who matters is Seth.”

“How dare you threaten to hurt my brother. And Seth! You sonofa-” she was halfway across the room in a blink of an eye, and somehow Raum was there, his body against hers, his arm around her torso, holding her back.

She struggled against him as he leaned into her, his cheek on her hair. “No, Simone. This is not your fight. Be calm.”

The words felt heavy, and his suggestion calmed her, she practically felt his blood inside her cool. Just like that, her anger, it wasn’t gone, but it was manageable. Lance was still not her favorite person ever, but she no longer felt the urge to bludgeon him to death with his own arm, which she would have pulled from the socket for that sole purpose.

“How are you doing this, Raum?” she whispered. He pulled her against his chest and she could hear his heartbeat pounding against his ribs. Why was he panicking?

“My blood in your veins, my fox, it responds to what I say,” Raum said. “He will be exposed to a truth he cannot deny in just a moment. Premature bloodshed on your part will not aid in convincing him.”

Before she could ask anything else, Seth came trudging up the steps, followed by a very uncomfortable looking Anri. Raum stepped back, a mere step away from Simone. Her body felt chilled from where he had pressed against her. His hand still rested on her shoulder, a welcome weight despite her annoyance with him. It was more comforting than she wanted to admit.

Seth walked into the room, glowing. He was so bright that Simone thought it would impossible for Lance not to see how happy he was. Anri looked embarrassed and bashful, but Seth, he looked so happy. Not just happy, content. How did Lance not see it?

“Told you they’d be fine,” Anri mumbled to Seth.

Seth snorted, appraising the situation. “Barely.”

Lance smiled thinly at Seth, jumping down off the counter. “Seth, please, let’s go to my place. I want to talk, but you know, not, ah, here,” he said, not even trying to hide that he was a judgy asshole.

Seth’s face fell. Lance walked up to him and put his hand on his shoulder. “Damn it Seth. You didn’t…” He sniffed at Seth, anger ruining his perfect features. If he wasn’t careful his glamorie was going disappear. “Fucking vampires. You,” Lance turned, pushing his finger into Anri’s chest. “Marking him like a dog in heat! You’ve crossed me and mine.”

Anri looked down at his finger, pressing against his chest. “Yours?” he replied. She recognized the warning in his tone. It took a lot to make Anri mad. Thank god Seth had slaked his bloodlust last night.

She caught scent of what had ignited Lance’s anger towards Anri. What had they been thinking? No wonder Lance was pissed.

Anri was about two heartbeats away from jumping Lance and it had nothing to do with bloodlust. He swiped Lance’s finger from his chest. “Seth doesn’t belong to you, or anyone else for that matter.”

Seth smiled at Anri, but the look faded quickly. Anri didn’t look away, staring down the elf with a cold glare.

Raum turned to Anri and Seth. “I advised you to wash. How did you foresee he would respond to your activities?” he chastised. She could tell he was mildly amused and it drew a soft smile from her. Weird. She didn’t know him that well, but she could see it in his body language. It made her feel special, understanding this cryptic demon, even a little.

It hit her then, a feeling that knowing something intimate about the infuriating Daeva made her feel special, and she pushed it down hard. She did not like him. Nope, she didn’t. At all.

Seth pinched the bridge of his nose. He reached over and grabbed Anri’s hand, pulling him closer so that their bodies touched. “I cleaned up. Listen, Lance, stop this, whatever this is. I’ve had a rough enough day without all of the supernatural drama. Can you just try to get along with everyone for a little while? I warned you. I told you that coming home with me today wouldn’t be a good idea.”

“I can’t just leave you alone with two vampires and a demon!” Lance defended.

“I’ve been just fine without you here to keep them from, what? What do you think they’re doing to me? Some type of satanic rituals or something? Been there, done that, moving on. You weren’t here, and you can’t blame yourself for that. We can’t change the past. Unless…can any of you do that? I’m still pretty new to all of this,” he half teased, trying to dissipate the situation.

“This is serious, Seth!” Lance growled. “You almost died! He marked you like property! Bound you! You have to leave. I can still make this right.”

Seth’s hand flew to his neck, covering his scars. “Lance, calm down. I did almost die, but Anri saved my life. And, he didn’t mark me like his property. I chose this, Lance. He was dying, and I was able to save him. Me, I could save him, so I did. I would do it again, too. A million times over. I…he’s mine, Lance. I don’t understand why, I’m sorry it hurts you.”

“He’s… You’re enthralled, that’s all. Once you get away from, from, from this den of villainy, once you have some distance you’ll see that I’m right. You’re under his influence, their influence. You need some distance and time to think.”

“You just called my house a den of villainy?” Seth asked at the same time And barked, “den of what-the-fuck?”

“You know what I mean!” Lance yelled, ignoring her brother. “This,” he waved his hand around at them, “isn’t good for you. Put some time and space between you and them and you’ll see I’m right!”

“Lance,” Seth said with a sigh. “Enough. Enough of whatever this is. I love Anri, and I want to be with him. I’m not leaving, and neither is he. You don’t even know him. You’re being an asshole, and you’re embarrassing yourself.”

“I don’t even know him? You don’t know him! You’re enthralled, he’s, I mean, you can’t trust vampires! You’re out of your senses! He’s controlling you!” Lance turned back to Anri. “Goddammit, this is all your fault. You tricked him somehow, you musta tricked him!” Lance accused, pressing his finger into Anri’s chest again.

“Fucking touch me again and see if I don’t break that fucking finger right off,” Anri snarled, his eyes sparking red.

“Lance,” Seth said, warning in his tone, stepping between her brother and the elf, pushing Anri back a step, then another. It put Seth so close to Lance that he must have been breathing the same air. “You are nearing the end of my patience. Anri didn’t trick me. I wanted him. I wanted what we have together. I’m an adult, Lance. You say I don’t know him? It feels more like I don’t know you lately. Kindly stop threatening my boyfriend.”

Anri was posed to strike, Seth’s body between them the only thing holding him back. Simone was grateful for Raum’s hand on her shoulder, anchoring her as the testosterone flowed freely throughout the room. She still felt the cooling of her blood from Raum’s words, and she knew she should be mad about it, but she just wasn’t. At some point she had leaned back into Raum’s grasp. He shifted and her body pressed against the side of him. This time she didn’t pull away as his heat soaked through her clothing.

“I’m still me, Seth. You know me, no one could lie for eighteen years, not to you. You know me. You just met this, ah, these people, you don’t know them from Adam!”

“You lied to me, Lance. Our whole lives. How many other things?” Seth said. He was too close to Lance, she couldn’t see his face, but his tone sounded way too neutral for the tension in his shoulders.

“Nothing else, ah, major,” Lance said, tripping over his words slightly, but it was obvious he was lying. “That’s not the point right now. I’ve spent our whole lives protecting you from… this.” He motioned to her and Raum. “It’s important, you can’t, they can’t, I mean, I won’t let then corrupt you.”

She couldn’t help herself as she stepped towards the elf. Raum’s hand slipped back to her shoulder, giving her room to move. Still, she stopped before she lost his touch. “Corrupt? You lied to him, and you wanna call us villains? Bottom feeders? At least we’ve never lied to him!”

“I am physically incapable of lying,” Raum added helpfully.

“Shut up, demon. And, I’m calling bullshit on that. Anri lied to him, to trick him into the bond. I know it!”

“I never lied to him!” Anri growled.

“No?” Lance challenged. “You told him what you were, what you were doing to him from the start?”

Anri cringed and she went to jump to his defence, but Raum squeezed her shoulder. For some reason she stayed quiet.

Seth was there to defend her brother’s honor. “He may not have told me, I may’ve had to force his hand every time, but that wasn’t lying to me. He ran, tried to keep me away from him. I chased him, Lance. Don’t accuse him of lying. He’s been honest, he never lied to me.” Anri shifted uncomfortably and Seth turned to him. “Why do you feel so guilty? Did you?”

“I don’t… I mean, ah, not, like, well…”

“Of course he did!” Lance exclaimed, already assuming victory.

She scowled at the elf. “Anri feels guilty like it’s his job, Seth. He feels terrible about how everything happened, about, ah, you know,” she motioned to her neck. “He didn’t lie to you about anything, neither of us did. We wouldn’t lie, not about that, and not about the bond you share.”

“You’re vampires! Of course you’d lie about it! You’re nothing more than parasites, there’s no way that vampire loves you!” Lance insisted, turning back to Seth. “Please, come home with me. Everything here is wrong.”

Seth shook his head sadly. “Lance, you’re being a twat. He loves me. I can feel it. He can’t hide anything from me anymore.”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about. You’re enthralled, Seth! It’s not your fault, you don’t know what you’re feeling. You’re feeling that because he wants you to! Let’s go, once you’re away from them you’ll see I’m right,” Lance insisted, his face red with anger.

“I don’t think that word means what you think it means,” she muttered, instantly regretting the words as they slipped from her mouth.

Lance hissed at her. Literally hissed. “Shut up, parasite,” he spat. Raum’s hand tensed on her shoulder and he pulled her back against him, pressing her back firmly against his body. She could tell from how taut his muscles were against her back that he was ready for a fight. Narrowing her eyes, she sneered at Lance, secretly daring him to do something stupid. This had already gone beyond stupid.

“Say what you want about me, but don’t talk to my sister that way, you asshole!” Anri exclaimed, pushing forward. “She’s got nothing to do with this. You’re problem is with me.”

“It is,” Lance growled. “You don’t belong here. You all need to leave, your welcome is worn thin.” The air smelled of ozone, and Raum tensed, his body heat rising by the second, she was sure it wasn’t her imagination.

“Do not cast, do not push this beyond what it is currently is, Lancastor,” Raum growled softly. “I will not hesitate to put you into your place.”

Lance laughed, and it sounded cold. “You think you’re a match for me? Let’s find out, shall we demon?”

“Oh my god,” Seth sighed, leaning back into Anri. Anri tensed, then wrapped his arms around Seth, a nearly automatic response. “Lance, I’m not enthralled.” He sighed again. “I did this all on my own, even if I didn’t understand it all at the time. It just felt right. It feels right. I want this, to be with Anri. Nothing feels right anymore without him.”

“That’s infatuation,” Lance argued. “It’ll pass once ya have some time away from him. I can dissolve your bond, heal ya with time. I can help ya, if ya just let me-”

“Stop!” Seth cut him off harshly, pushing Anri back away from him so hard that he stumbled before he caught himself, surprised with how fast Seth moved. He was in Lance’s face, his chest pressed firmly against Lance’s.

“Lance,” he said, his voice low and cold and full of threat, “I warned you already about threatening to sever our connection. I am one hundred percent serious about this. I understand this is a lot to take in at once, and I am trying to give you the benefit of the doubt, but you need to stop being a belligerent dick. Back off. Back off now, or we can settle this now. You’re the one who came in here ready for a fight. I promise you, magical elf or not, you won’t like the outcome.”

Lance held his ground. They were nearly the same height, but Seth was a runner, more muscular than Lance. She knew, though, that if it came to magic, Seth would have no defense against an elf.

“I can’t,” Lance said, refusing to back down. “I won’t leave you to… This’s wrong, Seth. I’m gonna fix it. You don’t know what’s, I mean, this is wrong. This isn’t what I wanted for you. He’s not right for you. Leave them, come with me. I can come back later and deal with-”

“Fuck you, Keebler!” Anri barked, trying to wedge himself between Lance and Seth. She knew he was stronger than Seth, but somehow Seth kept him to the side. “You don’t have the motherfucking right to-”

“Anri, I’ll deal with this,” Seth said, pushing his lover to the side. “Outside,” he said to his best friend.

She swallowed hard, looking between Anri and Seth. Anri looked just as confused as she did. Raum’s hand on her shoulder was a vice, and she tapped it lightly. He removed it, but he didn’t relax. “What…”

“Fine,” Lance said, his face set in anger.

“Fine,” Seth agreed. They stared at each other for another moment and then then the kitchen was a flurry of movement. Seth ran back into the living room and was back quickly, sliding on his coat. “You guys,” he said, looking at Anri, then to her and Raum. “Stay inside. Or come out, I don’t care, but don’t you dare interfere. Swear it now.”

“What’s going on?” Anri asked.

“Swear it, all of you. No magic, no interfering. You, too, Lance. This is between us, no magic, leave them out of it.”

“Understood,” Lance agreed.

“Seth, what the fuck’re you doing?” Anri asked, grabbing his lover’s arm.

“What I shoulda done earlier,” Seth answered. “Swear it, you’ll stay out of it, no matter what.”

“I can’t promise that!” Anri exclaimed.

“Anri, please trust me?” Seth asked.

Anri flinched. “I do.”

“Than stay out of this. Raum, keep him out of this. You, too.”

Raum nodded. “It will be done.”

“What?” Anri exclaimed. Seth pulled his arm from Anri’s grip and turned, walking out the door without another word. “What the fuck’re you guys gonna do? Seth!” Lance pushed by her brother, shoulder checking him as he followed Seth out the door. “Simone, what’s, I don’t know, what should I do?”

“Listen to him, I guess,” she said. “Come on, let’s go make sure the elf doesn’t play dirty.”

“You cannot trust him,” Raum agreed. “His mother is unseelie now. We will observe, and if I must, I will intervene, but I believe that will not be necessary.”

Simone pulled herself away from Raum’s body and took her brother’s hand. “Come on, let’s go.”

Anri allowed her to pull him outside, she knew she wouldn’t have been able to move him if he didn’t want it. Raum followed them both, a safe distance from her. She missed his heat, and her coat, the second they stepped out into the sharp January air and goosebumps shriveled up the skin all over her body. She hugged her arms to her body and chased Anri, who’d nearly broken into a run as soon as she let him go.

Raum was on his heels in a moment, Anri’s shoulder in his grip, holding him back. “Let me go,” he hissed at Raum.

“You made a vow to your Wren,” Raum said. “Respect that.”

She stepped up beside them into the small, fenced in backyard. Seth and Lance were standing across from one another, maybe two feet between them. “Shit.”

“Let me go!” Anri said louder.

Seth didn’t turn his attention away from Lance. “Anri, stay.”

Anri sucked in a deep breath, then fell to his knees, gasping, his hand over his chest. Seth swayed, too, just for a second, then seemed to right himself. “Seth…”

“It’s not too late to just leave,” Lance entreated.

“It is,” Seth growled. “Goddammit, it’s cold.”

Anri stood up, brushing the icy dirt from his pants and Raum tensed, but he stepped beside her. “This’s fucking stupid.”

She nodded, but said nothing.

Seth shifted slightly, drawing her attention, and then his fist was moving faster than she expected. It connected with Lance’s face with a dull thud, sending the elf reeling. He caught himself quickly, rubbing his face where Seth had hit him, already red.

“Shit, you’re strong now. I won’t hold back anymore,” Lance said, surging forward. He faked a jab to Seth’s face, which he reflectively blocked, only to punch him in his gut. Seth grunted and leaned over, clutching his stomach. Lance relaxed a bit, but it was a farce. Seth jumped up, catching the bottom of Lance’s chin, slamming his head towards the sky.

“Holding back?” Seth said, already breathing hard. He threw another punch but Lance danced back and it didn’t connect. Seth’s body followed through without the connection, and Lance took the opportunity to trip him. He mounted Seth’s prone form, pinning his arms down with his knees, then he opened up, punching Seth in the face with his right hand, then his left.

Anri surged forward but Raum was there, holding him back. Her brother snarled at the demon, but Raum was unphased. “This fight is not yours. You will appreciate my gesture later.” Anri tried to swipe Raum’s hand from his shoulder. It didn’t budge.

“Obviously,” Lance said as he threw his third punch to Seth’s face, catching him just above his left ear.

“Like hell,” Seth growled, bucking. Lance wasn’t unseated, but he did shift, which was enough for Seth. He wiggled, freeing one arm, then punched Lance right in the crotch. Pain bloomed on the elf’s face and he rolled off of Seth, curling in on the pain. “You call that holding back?”

“Oh, Seth, you wanna play dirty? I’ll play dirty,” Lance gasped, jumping up with inhuman speed. He was inside Seth’s guard before he realized it, peppering blows to his stomach. Seth tried to jump back, but Lance was ready for him. He tripped him again and Seth fell to the ground. This time he rolled just before Lance’s punch connected, the elf’s fist making an audible sound as it hit the ground. He pulled back just as Seth’s knee connected with the side of his face, knocking the slightly stunned elf to the ground.

Seth reversed the fight, now pinning Lance to the ground. He punched his best friend relentlessly, each blow sending Lance’s head to the left, then to the right. She heard the elf’s nose break, the thick sound of flesh on flesh and then the wet, sharp sound of the bone breaking. Blood sprayed across Seth’s fists, but still he didn’t stop, rocking Lance’s head back and forth.

It took a few seconds for the smell of his blood to reach them, the cold of the air suppressing the scent, but when it did, Raum’s other hand went to Anri’s other shoulder. Her brother struggled against the Daeva’s hold, and she was grateful that Raum had done it, even if Anri looked like an angry, wet alleycat. She’d never smelled elf blood before, but it was unmistakable, like dusty flowers and corroded copper, lilacs in a long abandoned room. It did nothing for her, but she saw Anri’s eyes glowing red. Was he under his bloodlust?

“It is his anger, and his need to protect his mate,” Raum whispered to her, turning his head towards her. “He has not lost himself.”

She turned back to the fight just as Lance exclaimed, “I yield!”

Seth had been winding up his next punch, but at Lance’s words he stopped, his body falling forward with the momentum of his movements. “Finally,” Seth sighed, rolling off Lance’s body to lay on the cold ground next to him.

“Fuck, Seth, you’ve gotten stronger,” Lance said, tracing his swollen cheeks with his fingers. She smelled the ozone-like smell of magic in the air and knew the elf was healing his own wounds.

“No fair!” Seth said when he realized what Lance was doing.

“Is so. Also, I’ll do you next,” Lance said, sounding out of breath.

“That’s what she said,” Seth mumbled, rubbing his jaw. “Shit, everything hurts. You sucker punched me hard, it still hurts like mad.”

“You broke my nose, I think we’re even if I bruised your organs a bit.”

“You did it first!” Seth exclaimed.

Lance shrugged, sitting up, his face already half healed. “I toldja I wasn’t gonna hold back.”

“Let me go,” Anri growled, throwing Raum’s hands from his shoulders. “Seth, are you okay? What the fuck?”

“No, stay out of this, Anri. I’m not, we’re not done,” Seth growled, sitting up, too.

Anri cringed, stepping forward despite Seth’s directions. “But, Seth-”

“Go inside, if you can’t listen to me,” Seth said without looking at Anri. “Now. Go away.” Still Anri hesitated, and Seth turned to him. “Go away, Anri! Go inside.”

Anger danced in his eyes, but Anri turned away from the two men on the ground. “Fine,” Anri growled. “Fuck you all.”

She cringed, knowing her brother well enough to know he was going to his dark place. Raum was behind her again, she didn’t even realize her body was pressed against his until she turned to watch her brother stomp back into the house. He slammed the door hard enough to break at least one of the four glass panes, she heard it crack.

“Shit,” she heard Seth mutter.

Lance stood, then pulled Seth up, too. He ran his fingers over Seth’s face and Seth sighed as the pain died down under the elf’s magic. He ran his hands over Seth’s stomach, then laughed dryly. “I did bruise your organs,” Lance admitted. “You’re lucky I’m healing you.”

“No, you’ve always healed me after these, haven’t you?” Seth asked. “I recognize this feeling.”

Lance shrugged, then pulled Seth into his arms. She was glad Anri wasn’t out here, because nothing in the world would’ve been able to keep him from tearing them apart at this point. Seth wrapped his arms over Lance’s shoulders, sighing heavily. “It’s been a while since we’ve done that, hasn’t it?”

Lance snorted a laugh, then sagged, his head resting on Seth’s shoulder. “I…Seth…you’re just too important to me. I can’t…everything seems so fucked.”

“It’s been a lot to take in, for sure. You cool?” Seth asked.

Lance patted his back in a very ‘bro’ kind of way. Simone rolled her eyes. “Yea. I’m cool. Also, it’s fucking cold out here.” He pushed Seth back. Seth nodded and without anymore words, then both turned and headed back into the house. What the hell’d just happened?

Raum pulled her along, leading her back into the house. Anri wasn’t in the kitchen, but she could smell him nearby. She’d been worried for a minute that he’d gone for a walk or something else stupid.

Lance seemed embarrassed. He returned to his countertop perch, jumping up gracefully. He didn’t say anything, tapping his leg anxiously against the counter.

Seth sat down at the messy table in the seat Simone had been before their field trip to punch-town. “Anri, come here,” Seth called out, sounding exhausted.

There was no response, though she heard him shift, and could imagine the guilty look he’d be wearing. No, not guilty, it was too fresh. He’d be pouting now.

Seth sighed, a long, tired exhale. “Please?”

When he wanted to, Anri could move so quietly that she couldn’t even hear him. He was standing in the doorway, she hadn’t seen him move, and it drew a small, surprised gasp from her. Raum was there, close enough to touch, close enough to feel his heat, but he didn’t touch her, and for that she was thankful. There was enough adrenaline and testosterone in the air that she might have attacked him without meaning to, though she probably wouldn’t be able to truly hurt him.

Anri surveyed the room, then looked down to the ground. She’d been right, he was pouting hard.

“Come here,” Seth said, nodding to the chair next to him at the messy table.

Anri hesitated, refusing to look up from the floor. Tension left his shoulders a moment later and he flinched, then moved across the room. He sat down where Seth indicated, though he kept his distance from his Wren. Seth frowned, watching his Claret as he cleared a small spot on the table, pushing random mail and paperwork until he organized it into a semi-neat pile, still refusing to look at his lover.

Seth frowned, looking up at the clock. “Oh my god, how is it only six? I just wanna go ta sleep.” He pinched the bridge of his nose, eyes shut, looking exhausted. “I know this isn’t over, not that easily.”

“You call that easy?” Anri muttered under his breath.

Seth stared at him for a moment, his face unreadable. She watched as he delierated whether to respond to Anri, then let it go. “Lance, what will it take to prove ta ya that I haven’t been enthralled, but actually chose this for myself? To prove ta ya that this’s all actually OK and that you haven’t failed me in some way? I’m so tired. I just wanna go ta bed. Seriously. All of the rest of you got to sleep in today and I had to get up. I’m exhausted.” He sagged in his chair.

Anri moved, a subtle hint of a gesture, catching himself before he touched his Wren, his hand trying to be honest, but his mind being stubborn. He wore his guilt, the pout now gone, plain as day.

No one said anything. Lance studied the countertop. Raum shifted and his heat pressed against her, and she refused to admit it was comforting. His hand covered her shoulder, and her first instinct was to lean into it. The thought stunned her, and suddenly it was too heavy and she pushed it away. He turned his attention to her, she could feel the weight of his gaze and she pointedly ignored him, stepping to the side, putting distance between them.

“Show me?” Lance asked finally. “Show me your bond. Open it, and let me touch it.” Seth’s eyes narrowed with suspicion as her breath caught in her throat. How could he ask something so personal so blatantly? And, he wanted to touch it?! “I need ta feel it. Then I’ll… I won’t do anything else after that tonight, I promise.”

Raum bristled. “You know what you ask for, Lancastor? What right do you have to touch his bond? How do you dare to even request such a thing? I was under the impression you were Seth’s closest friend.” The anger in his tone made her shiver.

“It’s fine, Raum,” Seth said. She frowned, he sounded so tired. “He’s the one who showed me that I could call it.”

“I didn’t actually mean to teach you, ah, that…” Lance said, fidgeting.

Raum’s temperature rose. His hand was hot and heavy, somehow replaced on her shoulder, she hadn’t realized. “You… How could you? You could not have called his bond with another, Lancastor. You would not dare do that to one you call friend…”

“It felt completely wrong. Spiny and prickly. Toxic,” Anri complained in nearly a whisper, his eyes still cast down on the table.

Lance stiffened. She was sure Raum was using her as an anchor now, his hand trembling with the force of his anger. His hand on her shoulder was the only thing keeping him from performing some type of violence against Lance. She put her hand over his feverish one, hoping to hold him there, terrified to know what Raum was capable of when he was angry. She glanced back at him, her heart in her throat. His eyes were completely black, almond shaped. His unnaturally pointy teeth even more unnatural, catching the light in a way that made them seem larger than they were. Intimidating, and also incredibly sexy. The thought stunned her, and she dismissed it, forcing it away. She was not attracted to him.

“How could you?” Raum said through clenched teeth, the silence confirming his accusations. “If Seth Morrigan is truly your best friend, as you claim, how could you?”

“He, I mean, but, vampires!” Lance whined. “You don’t understand, Seth’s different. He’s too good for them!”

Seth watched the exchange in silence, annoyed. “Why’s Raum so upset, Lance?” he asked, his voice as sharp as glass. “Cause ya called my bond? Cause ya touched it?” She noticed he had a slight accent, something coming through, maybe mid-western, as he grew more and more exhausted. He looked like he could fall over at any minute.

Lance didn’t answer, and she swore she could smell testosterone floating in the air. Raum shook with anger d. Without overthinking it, she leaned back into him and he pulled her against his feverish body, which actually felt nice. She hadn’t realized how cold she’d grown outside during their fight. She leaned against him, both comforted by his closeness and filled with the urge to escape from him. The duplicity put her on edge, but she felt safe in his arms.

Raum’s tone was pure venom. “I assume he called your bond against your will and touched it? Such a thing should not be possible, yet you did so. That is metaphysical rape. Your bond is a very intimate and personal thing. He violated your trust, and you,” he said. He turned his attention to Lance. “Lancastor, you should be ashamed. I cannot bear it, the shame you should feel. And, to exacerbate the situation further, now you ask to do so again, in front of an audience! Did you not learn what you needed when you called it originally?”

“I didn’t have time, it wasn’t, I didn’t get a chance to feel it,” Lance said, unapologetically. “I’m not the bad guy here! I’m protecting him!”

Seth cleared his throat. “Lance, we’re friends. I love you like a brother. When you touched my bond with Anri, the wrongness of it made me feel sick. Ya knew that, and ya knew whatcha were doing. Ya really don’t trust me, do ya? I’m so pathetic to you that I can’t be trusted to make my own decisions? I need to be protected for my own good?” Seth stared his best friend down.

At first he was angry, then the fight left Lance’s eyes. He looked at his hands in his lap, picking at his fingernails. Anri watched Seth, concern in his eyes, anger on the backburner, guilt consuming the rest of him, she could tell just from the set of his shoulders. Seth turned to look at him and he looked down again, trying to make it seem like he hadn’t been watching, but Seth had seen it.

“Seth! I’m not wrong! These vampires have tricked you! I did fail, I failed you. It’s not that you can’t protect yourself, I know you can. It’s that you can’t protect yourself from shit like this. That’s my job, it always has been. Please, I need to fix this, let me make it right. Please,” Lance beggeded.

“Nothing is wrong for you to make right, Lance,” Seth corrected. “Something about Anri, it clicked in me, the very first time I met his eyes. You know me. You know I’m not gay. I understand why you would think I was enthralled, just from that. I get it. This, it’s bigger than just me. I don’t understand it, but I know it isn’t some vampire magic-voodoo mind games bullshit. It’s, I dunno, it’s hard to explain. He’s the one for me. I just know it, on some base level. He was made for me, like, we fit like we’re meant to be together. That’s all there is.”

“Do you even hear yourself? You sound like you’re brainwashed, step back and think about it logically!”

Seth sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose again. “You know what? I’m tired of this bullshit for tonight. Lance, accept what I’ve told you. Accept that, and accept who I am. I’m a Wren. I didn’t even know that, never knew what I was. I still don’t really know what it means, not really. But you know what? Even understanding that I don’t know anything about being a Wren, I do know that you wouldn’t have been able to protect me from myself forever. I am who I am, just as you are who you are.” Seth looked to him, but Lance’s eyes were still on his hands, picking at his cuticles.

“I… I’ll try,” Lance said, though his whole body tensed as he said it.

“Good. It’s a start. Also,” Seth continued, his tone turning playful, “I like your ears this way. Can I touch them?”

Lance looked up sharply, his hands flying to his ears. Sometime during the conversation his glamore had completely flickered out, fully elf with his sharp nose, chin and ears, ethereally beautiful. His cheeks bloomed. “No! Seth!”

The tension evaporated. Lance blushed, hiding his ears behind his hands like a little kid.

Raum snorted. “You are the luckiest elf I have ever met. If I were Seth, I would not forgive you for your actions against him and his mate. You would be lucky if the only thing I did to you was some superficial wounds for the affronts to my bonded mate. I hope you understand what you have in Seth, and I hope that you can get past your bigotry and accept Anri, as well, or at least the bond they share.”

“I told you, he’s pure. I have to protect him! He’s just so… I’ve always envied his purity, his innocence, his sense of righteousness.”

“My purity!” Seth snorted. “I’m well beyond pure. How can you even say that, with things we’ve done?”

He jumped down off the counter and sidled to the side door out of the kitchen, the one with the cracked window. She saw Anri actually had broken two, both of the windows closer to the edge of the door spiderwebbed.

Lance hesitated, hand on the doorknob. “What we do is different, fun. It’s not about that kinda purity. This is, you have something deeper. I goin’ta  go now. I gotta think about shit. I can’t accept this, as it stands, but I’ll think on things and cool my head. On my word,” Lance said, bowing his head slightly. In the next moment his glamorie was back as if it had never been gone in the first place.

“Lance, I love you like a brother, but I need you to stop being Emmett,” Seth said. He walked over to Lance and pulled him into a tight hug. Seth slapped him on the back forcefully.

Lance grunted with the force of it. “I’m not even close to as being as big of a douche as Emmett.”

Raum looked at her, question in his eyes, but she didn’t know what Seth or Lance had meant by being Emmett. An inside joke, perhaps. She shrugged. She looked to her brother, always the open book. His jealousy was broadcasting, plain to see.

Lance slipped out the door and gently shut behind him. A few breaths later Seth slumped over the table, fatigue radiating from him. Anri was at his side in her next breath, scooping Seth up as if he weighed nothing. He shifted Seth’s weight, then carried him bridal-style to the basement steps. Seth looked like he wanted to fight it, but he was just too tired.

“I’m going to put Seth to bed,” Anri called over his shoulder as he began his descent into the basement. Seth mumbled something but she couldn’t make it out. Raum nodded, although Anri couldn’t see it, already halfway down the steps. They heard the door at the bottom of the steps slam shut as if it had been kicked, which it probably had been.

“That was…crazy, right?” she asked into the wake of silence.

Raum nodded and said nothing else. His body still burned with heat and he held her tightly against himself, muscles bunched up. He smelled dangerous, and delicious. She pushed him away, missing his heat instantly. His hands fell to his sides and he leaned against the wall.

“I wasn’t…wow. Lance isn’t who I expected Seth’s best friend to be at all. I really, really dislike him. Strongly. I have a very strong dislike of him,” she babbled. It felt like she should be saying something, like she needed to fill the void that existed now that all of the hostility was gone.

Raum nodded. “I would never have expected Seth Morrigan’s best friend to be a crown prince of Feywilds.”

“Wait, a what? Crown prince?!” she barked in surprise. “You said something before, but I thought you were just… Wait, Lance is a prince? He’s the prince of elves or something? What the hell, Raum!”

“Yes, he and his brother are princes of Fey,” he admitted. “It matters not, though. Here he is just another elf.”

“He said something that startled you, something about dragging you to Rowan. What’s Rowan?” she asked.

Raum frowned and turned away, looking out of the large bay window into the darkness. “Rowan is of no consequence.”

“What is it, Raum? You seemed-”

Raum interrupted her, his mask back in place. Her heart twisted in her chest at the change. “Rowan is of nothing consequence, Simone. Rowen has no relevance to the matters at hand.” The way he said it let her know he wouldn’t be speak further on the topic.

She frowned at him. “You and your secrets, god, you’re infuriating, Raum! Or should I be calling you by your name? Sigaliansadine?” she snapped.

He looked at her, tilting his head saying nothing.

“What?” she demanded.

He smiled at her, his devilish smile with too many teeth, the sexy one. He had to be doing it on purpose. “You remembered, and pronounced my name correctly.”

“So?” she asked, perturbed.

“It is foreign to you, I would not expect those from your realm to pronounce it correctly,” he said. “I am impressed with your attention to detail. You may call me whichever name you wish.” He seemed amused.

God that smile, it was too much. She longed to kiss the edges of it. She wondered idly what those teeth would feel like when they were kissing. She looked away, ashamed of her line of thought, working hard to avoid his gaze. He chuckled. A moment passed and Raum returned his gaze to the darkened window.

“Is it just me, or is Anri getting stronger? And faster?” she wondered aloud, mostly to distract herself from her current thoughts.

“I would honestly be more surprised if he was not,” Raum answered, only half his attention in the room with her.

“Why?” she asked, intent on taking advantage of Raum’s distraction. He was focused on something just outside the bay window.

“He is fully bonded. It comes with certain…perks.”

Simone mulled this over for a moment. “Perks?” she wondered aloud.

“But of course. Stronger, faster, I am not sure if there may be others. It can be a little random, from what I understand.” He didn’t look at her, but he didn’t release her from his side, either. Again, she hadn’t realized he had moved back behind her. That thought scared her a little. Suddenly her body felt too warm where they touched, and she refused to admit she liked how he felt against her.

“So, what about me?” she asked, trying to be casual.

He turned to look at her now. His face was too close and she unintentionally pulled away from him. His hand slid smoothly down her arm as she stepped away from him.

“You were trying to use my distraction, clever fox. What about you, eh?” He smiled at her and she couldn’t quite read the look in his eyes it seemed like he was looking at her almost fondly, but that couldn’t be right.

Simone blushed and looked away. He continued to watch her, she could feel it. “Lance was right about one thing, though,” she said thoughtfully.

“Oh, was he?” Raum wondered. Simone could practically hear his eyebrow raised in his tone. “On which count?”

“You answer in questions and half truths. Are you ever completely honest?”

“Ah, about that he spoke true. I am Daeva. It is my nature.” Raum said, as if this was common knowledge.

“That’s convenient for you, isn’t it? But, maybe if I asked the right questions?” she fished.

“It depends on what you desire to know. Perhaps it would work. Perhaps not. I am apt to just avoid answering by asking other questions.”

Simone pursed her lips, longing to see the look on his face, as if it would tell her what he wasn’t. Instead, she studied the darkness outside of the window, still looking away from Raum. “How do I get you to tell me the truth, Raum?”

“That, my fox, is a mystery. Perhaps you will solve it.” His attention returned to the window.

Simone squinted out into the inky darkness, trying to see what was distracting Raum. At first, the darkness seemed to concealed everything. As she continued to stare, though, things cleared up as her night vision adjusted. “Is that…isn’t that the thing you dismembered in my apartment last night?” she breathed out, barely a whisper. The ghostly sight of it scared her, her heart in her throat. She hated that it scared her.

“I thought you might be able to see it. I wonder how much more you are receptive to, now? And for how long?” he mused. He reached out, his hand brushing against her arm.

She jumped at his touch and he recalled his hand quickly, almost as if he hadn’t realized he had reached for her. “You’re hot.”

“That is human slang, is it not, for when someone appreciates the form of another? You find me attractive?” he asked, seemingly genuinely surprised by the change in topic.

Simone blushed. “I didn’t mean it that way, I mean, you must know you’re good looking, I mean…gah, I meant that you feel feverish, hotter than before. You’re temperature. You are physically warm.” Simone waved her hand, embarrassed, trying to push away her awkward words.

Raum smiled his half smile. It sent a pure thrill down her spine, straight to her core, and she clenched down hard, trying to extinguish it. “Again, it is my nature. Daeva run warm, as a vampire runs cool. My temper incites my temperature. But, it is satisfying to know that you find my appearance appealing.” His half smile turned into a wicked smile. “I find myself pleased to gaze upon your visage, as well…”

“Huh?” she asked, unsure what he meant.

“Your eyes, as Daeva eyes,” he said, pointing to his own. They flashed all black, then returned to their normal, yet still weird, appearance. It distressed her, remembering that her own eyes were black from when she slaked her bloodlust earlier. His eyes, his shiny black eyes, on her, though, made her breath catch in her throat.

“What does Daeva mean?” she asked without looking at him, changing the subject.

Raum turned away from her, towards the door. “It is what I am, what demons call themselves, and the realm from which I hail.”

“Oh,” she said. She shifted, uncomfortable and out of conversation.

She stepped away from him and he followed her. Desire flickered in her stomach, his sexy features burned into her mind. His smell, masculine and sexy as hell, filled her head. She could almost taste his rich, heady blood in the back of her mouth. She could still feel his blood throbbing through her veins like a drug. Her desire for him was quickly replacing her anger and anxiety.

Her body betrayed her. She wanted him. She wanted to throw her arms around his neck and kiss him. To kiss him hard. To send her hands questing over his hard muscles. To feel his hands on her body, on the small of her back, and other places. To feel those teeth against her skin.

Dizzied by his proximity and the sudden heat blooming inside her, she backpedalled farther from him. His smile widened, nostrils flared as he scented her desire. “I’m, um…” she stuttered. It was too early to go to bed, but she needed to escape from Raum, she couldn’t trust herself.

He was ruining her. She didn’t want to lock herself in her room to get away from him, but what else could she do? He did something to her, something she couldn’t control. Maybe it was just his demonic blood in her veins, reacting to his physical proximity? Maybe these reactions would wear off as she burned through his delicious, powerfully intoxicating blood.

Her heart clenched, and she wasn’t sure if she was afraid that they wouldn’t, or more afraid that they would.

Raum chuckled. “I am hungry,” he said, sounding bored, maybe sensing she was close to bolting? She knew he was anything but bored, she could see it on his face, could tell by how he held himself. “I heard you can order a meal called, ah, I think it is pissa? And, that it would be delivered to your home by another. I would like to try that. Do you know of this ‘pissa’?”

Simone chuckled. “Yeah, I know pizza.” She glanced at the basement door, hoping Anri might come back up and save her. Perhaps he would, when he smelled pizza. She could text him. There was no way he would leave Seth just yet, and even if he did, he wouldn’t leave him for long, not after all that had happened tonight.

Raum was trying to make her comfortable, she realized. God, she was dense. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. As much as she dreaded it, she looked forward to pizza with Raum.

Demonbound Chapter 7b: Five’s a Crowd (cont.)

Demonbound Chapter 9: Don’t Fall Asleep