Champagne & sunshine (Part II)

"I want to burn her Kingdom down to a crisp," Eva answered, her eyes still on Davina. His eyes were on her too, and she felt them to her deepest inner core. Instead of making her nervous, his gaze only strengthened her resolve to stand up for herself and be the girl her father had dreamed her to be.

Because deep down, she was a dreamer too, even though she didn't know it yet.

"I want her to beg me for mercy. I want her to crumble down to her knees. And I want them to cry tears of blood. The same blood they shed on the people I loved."

Davina raised a brow, trying her best to show that she wasn't impressed and satisfied. "And how do you plan to do all that?"

"We'll help her," Gwen spoke up, and Eva passed her a small smile. Her eyes quickly glanced toward Theo, but his face was emotionless. She was sure that the smartest of mind thinkers couldn't figure out what went in that head of his.

"You think you'll complete your bucket list looking like that?" Kai asked, waving his gloved hand over her complete figure.

Eva looked down. He was right, of course. She desperately and immediately needed to learn how to control her powers and start training to gain her strength and energy back. Drowning into misery and depression wouldn't help her kill her enemies.

"Can anyone of you train me? I know I'm asking for a lot of favors, but I'll make sure to repay them soon after—"

"What favors?" Theo suddenly questioned and unwillingly Eva looked at him.

She breathed out.

His eyes were the color of amethyst again and Eva couldn't look away from them no matter how much she willed herself to. Wisps of silver floated in them, and she could hear her heart thudding away loudly in her ears. He was perfection and she felt herself getting lost in his eyes once again.

'Focus! You were "supposed" to be ignoring him, you dumb idiot!' her subconscious yelled in her ears, silencing the beat of her heart for a while.

"I just told them." she nodded toward the two males and females. "I'm sure they'll be able to repeat it too."

Kai passed Gwen and Sebastian an amused glance as he snatched the bottle of dark, sparkling liquor from the table. Eva met Gwen's eyes for a second and if she hadn't mistaken the nod, it seemed as if Gwen was almost encouraging her to keep provoking the beast.

"I don't think there would be any need to fulfill any favors." he crossed his arms, tilting his head. His posture was cocky, and Eva's hand itched to smack him in the head.

"I'm liking where this is going so far." Kai interrupted and unable to resist, Eva wasted no time in flipping him off without any hesitation.

Amusement glimmered in those violet orbs when she glanced at him again and Kai gasped aloud, his reaction exaggerated. Sebastian raised his brows in approval while Gwen threw her head back, her blonde locks cascading down the chair as her laugh echoed through the mountains.

"What did you do to the poor innocent Eva I was expecting to meet?" Kai said, standing up and stretching his arms over his head.

Davina shook her head slowly, "Fae bastard showing off."

Kai passed her a leveled grin, though his stance was cautious. It was as if he knew there were limits when it came to the woman sitting among them. She was not to be underestimated, Eva silently noted inside her mind and parted her lips to speak,

"Who did you expect to meet? A weak, emotional girl?" Had they expected her to hide in Theo's winged shadows like a scared little bird?

"I never undervalued you, if that's what you're asking. I know a strong opponent when I see one, and if you learn how to control your strength and powers, you can easily burn Isabella's domain down into ashes."

Eva saw genuine honesty in his stare as she didn't bother nodding and looked away. She knew how deeply buried in shit she was. Her own shit at that, a deep dark hole in which she was yet to break her chains. She was tied down with regret, emptiness, and a whole lot of loneliness.

"Gwen's my cousin, from the paternal side," Theo spoke up and Eva slowly stared at Gwen. No wonder they were so close, she wouldn't be surprised if Kai and Sebastian turned out to be his brothers next.

"I met these two bastards when I was young while Davina became part of us five hundred years ago, half a millennium to be exact. Since now you're also a part of us, there is no need for anybody to complete any favors or anything of that sort." he drawled off, his gaze lasting longer on her like it always did.

How the hell was she supposed to make this guy love himself? One mistake. One stumble was all it took, and she would end up falling for him instead. She was still confused about those matters. Had she fallen? Had he caught her? How was he expected to catch her if he didn't know that she had fallen?

Cocky jerk...

"I think it's time for you to include her in your plan," Sebastian spoke, nodding toward her. "Don't make her wait for decades too."

"Seb," Gwen warned and passed him a small glare. Theo's head lowered down and Eva could almost see a boulder, the size of a whole mountain, on his shoulders.

"What plan?" she asked, trying to tone down the suddenly heavy atmosphere that had settled down. Kai was no longer in his casual lazy posture, his shoulders had straightened as if the plan they were going to discuss was actually something to be considered seriously.

Theo looked at her, and she gripped her seat to prevent her hand from taking his hand in hers. The urge to comfort him was overpowering every nerve in her body that tried to resist. He looked vulnerable, with his doe eyes gazing at her intently, as if the only thing he could see was her. As if staring at her was a balm for his past regrets that had burned again because of Sebastian's words.