CHAPTER 47

Faye picked at her dinner. She sat with her sister and Vashien at the table in the den. She'd woken up a short while ago tucked into bed in the room adjacent to Rune's, starving. Now that she was fully awake, replaying her conversation with Rune, she quickly lost her appetite.

Sparrow poured herself a shot, swinging her leg under the table. "Did you two make up and he's going to do your ceremony now?"

Faye swallowed, putting her fork down. "He said no."

Still holding the neck of the bottle, her sister wrinkled her nose. "What do you mean he said no?"

"I asked him, and he said no," Faye said flatly, not wanting to talk about it. Anger and hurt simmered in her, leaving a bitter taste in her mouth. Faye couldn't grasp how he could want her, take her to his bed, make her finish harder than she ever had in her life. But performing her ceremony? Out of the question.

My answer is no.

She tightened her grip around her glass and a sudden urge filled her with an alarming intensity. She imagined crawling into his lap, yanking his hair back to expose his neck, and biting the base of his throat. Faye ran her hand through her hair dismissing the impulse. She spent too much time with the vampire. She was starting to think like him.

Sparrow snorted, pulling her attention back to the table. "Does the guy only fuck vampires? Tell him you'll bite him. I'll glamor you up with fangs and everything."

Vashien shook his head, finishing his wine a little too quickly. He set his glass down and said to Faye, "Don't feel bad. He's performed one ceremony."

Sparrow coughed, "What? Top shelf, trained male, and he did one?"

Vash nodded. "He did the High Queen's ceremony."

"And he was that bitch's consort," Sparrow added. "Maybe he only likes stuck up bitches. Tell him you'll wear designer heels and step on his neck."

Faye's mood soured with each syllable that passed her sister's lips, distilling her anger into a bitter rage. She couldn't help but wonder if Rune left the High Queen just as quickly. But she and Rune were the same. Perfect. Polished. Royal.

"He was her consort much later. He was with her for a century and relinquished the title," Vashien clarified.

Sparrow laughed before taking another bite of steak. "He left the High Queen. Maybe he prefers males." Her eyes widened. "Or he's impotent. I have a gold mark that says he can't get it up. There are rumors you know. I didn't believe them but maybe."

"He's not impotent," Faye muttered.

The table fell silent as Vashien, and Sparrow looked at her like she'd grown horns. "Bitch have you seen him," Sparrow asked, waving two fingers.

"No," she answered. Quieter she added, "I felt it."

Some part of him wanted her. She had no issues getting his attention. It was the man who chose to ignore her. His deep accented voice crept through her mind.

I have not been led by my cock in thirty centuries. I have no intention of starting now.

He desired her but she wasn't good enough. Darkness, did she tell him she wanted a family one day when he carried her to bed. The memory was a fuzzy half dream. She hoped she'd been dreaming and didn't blurt that out to him. She sped past his study wanting to avoid him until she worked up the nerve to know for sure.

Sparrow slapped the table in front of her, pulling her from her thoughts. Faye glanced up at her sister. "What kind of handful did you get?" Her sister asked as Vashien groaned, scrubbing his hand over his face.

"Stop groaning, this is important," Sparrow said to Vashien over her shoulder since she was standing on her knees in her chair, leaning over the table to Faye. "What kind of 'C' are we talking about?" Sparrow held her hand in front of her, squeezing her fingers together to mimic something Faye wasn't interested in reliving.

"We're not discussing this," she said.

"Fine," Sparrow huffed, going back to her seat. Her eyes lit and it was Faye's turn to groan. "Tell me how you slammed him into the wall. And those wings. They're shimmery like the Hell crystals. If that's not enough to show his shadowy highness your fate, I don't know what is. We need to get you a whole new wardrobe. You should be wearing those bitches out all the time."

Faye pushed the food around her plate. "I don't know how to make them come out. Or stay."

"You slept most of the day. You should be eating," Vashien said, sliding Faye's plate closer to her.

"Did you see the dent in the wall she knocked Runey into?" Sparrow asked Vashien.

"Darkness, woman. Let your sister eat."

"Fine."

The Ra'Voshnik circled his mind, furious to be out of Faye's company the past two days.Go to her,it growled, stalking the edges of his mind.

She is avoiding us. Give her time.

Rune leaned back on his heels surveying the chaos the blonde harpy reduced his study to. The bookshelves were half emptied, the volumes stacked according to subject. It would take him another week to write in his library.

Footsteps carried to him. Faye walked up the hall, her stride distinctively longer than her sister's when she walked alone. The Ra'Voshnik perked up immediately.Tell her we miss her,it purred through his mind.

The creature was not helping his situation. Rune paused, glancing over the tomes, realizing he'd shelved the last three books incorrectly. He rearranged the volumes and spoke into his mind.

Give her space. She will see us when she is ready.

The creature growled its disagreement and attempted to phase them into the hallway.

Calm yourself or I will bury you.