Storm Born Chapter Thirteen

Youre late, I told him, trying to act like my robe wasnt falsehood step up on the hallway floor.He glanced around, and I couldnt help a small brea liaison place of pleasure. forevery(prenominal) ounce of him was charged and ready, that muscled body in a fighters stance. His dark eyes held a touchy, savage t peerless as he assessed for threats. He was magnificent. He looked as though he could afford single-handedly torn a bulge an army hence and there. I wrapped my arms around myself, from neither coldness nor modesty.I was walking up your driveway and felt somethingsomething dark. His body relaxed, the animal fierceness in his eyes replaced by that smoky sensuality as he seemed to nonice for the first time that I was naked.A remote Man. He had to go save an appointment with Perseph maven.Kiyos lips twitched into a grimace. Were you in the shower?Sauna. I impaled him with a mirror.Nice.We st bed at each other, a thick tension building up in the air betwixt us.Well, I u tter finally. Thanks for checking in. You toilet leave now.Eugenie My confusion and lust took their rightful backseat to my indignation. I swallow zero to say to you. I dont inadequacy to say eitherthing to you. Get out. non until Ive explained everything.Like what? How you cute to get me pregnant, that like every one and only(a) else?He blinked, cl spikely surprised. I what? No. Of course not. For Christs sake, I procedured a condom.Yeah, I do it. I was there. I could hear the irrational sulkiness in my voice. Why else would you have done it, thus?His eyes traveled from my face down my entire body, and then back to my face. Why do you theorise?I swallowed, attempting to ignore the warmth left from where his gaze had touched me. Okay. I get the mechanics of it. more everywhere you cant sit there and discover me you world in that bar was a coincidence.No. It wasnt, he said patently.I waited for more. Thats it?He sighed and leaned against the wall. I was chooseed by a friend to find you and mark you so we could keep track of you. I didnt know why I had no idea who you were at the time.What? Someone told you to catnap with me?Er, no. That was my own, um, improvisation. I could have marked you other ways. He smiled meaningfully. alone you were too charming and pretty.Hey Dont use that fox sex magic on me. Its already caused enough trouble. Who told you to do that? To mark me?The flirtatious smile disappe ard. Silence.Look, youre supposed to be the big honesty advocate. If you arent red ink to play that way anymore, then Im going to blast your ass out of here.A glint of amusement flickered in his eyes. I weigh Id like that. He paused. Finally No one you know. Her name is Maiwenn.The Willow Queen. I took satisfaction in seeing his surprise. I know more about(predicate) the gentry than you think.Apparently. When she found out who you were, she sine qua noned to watch you and find out where you stood on your fath on the Storm King predictio n.I met his questioning look with incredulity. Are you seriously request me? You think I want to see gentry take over the world?No, not genuinely. notwithstanding Maiwenn wanted to be sure on your position. She opposed Storm King forwards and has no appetite to see an incursion. Shed rather put resources into the Otherworld, into carry oning there and making that home.Smart lady, I said bitterly. I indirect request theyd all stay there.Dont knock the Otherworld. It has its appeal.Yeah? So, what, you consider yourself one of them?I consider myself part of both worlds. Its who I am. Its who you are too.No. Im not part of that world. I stared past him without unfeignedly seeing, suddenly relish tired. Sometimes I dont even feel a part of this world.He beated the distance amidst us and sat down on the bed. Those dark eyes brimmed with concern. Dont say that.I looked off so he wouldnt see my eyes getting wet. I dont know whats going on anymore. Everythingeverythings changed. I cant gambling around without someone trying to rape me. I cant trust the tidy sum I love. I dark back to him. I cant trust you.His hand reached out and touched my cheek. Yes, you can. Eugenie, I didnt sleep with you to get you pregnant. I didnt even sleep with you proficient because youre hot though that was a definite perk. I liked you. I still like you. I want us to have something.Hed moved his hand down my neck, to my shoulder, and then to my upper arm. His fingers lazily traced the outline of Hecates snake. Goosebumps rose on my flesh.Dont look at me like that. I dont want to get pregnant.Contraceptive technology is a wonderful thing.I cant be involved with you.Why not?The words hurt coming out. Becausebecause of what you areThe hand dropped. Im the same I know, I know. The same as me. Kiyo, youve got to understand. Ive got a vision to deal with right now. I justwell, I just cant. Not yet. Maybe I looked at him, at the kind and intelligent face, at the smoldering body so close to mine. Maybe some day, we canSomething on my face must have installn away my feelings, that no matter how terrified of getting close to him I was, I still liked him and wanted him. The old mischievous smile appeared on his face, and his hand cupped my chin. He pressed his lips against my cheek. Then let me be your friend, he whispered.I closed my eyes and let his heat envelop me. Friends dont breathe in my ear like that.Well be special friends.Kiyo He drew back a little, still smiling. Seriously, Eugenie. If we cant be lovers, I still want to be in your life. I want to help you through this. I want to protect you.I stiffened, and my old snarkiness reared its head through the emotional miasma. I dont need protection.Do you have any idea how bad its going to get for you?Ive handled it so far. Ill handle it again.God, youre amazing. His spoke with admiration. But youre in like manner annoyingly difficult. Let someone help you. Let me help you.I stared stonily ahead. His exp ression darkened.Theyre going to come after you Do you think I can just sit around when mint are trying to hurt and rape you?The heat in his voice seared me. He wasnt irate at me he was angry for me. He regarded me in a way no one had ever looked at me before, an expression that said I meant so a good deal to him that he would take on snake pit itself to protect me. That intensity wrapped around me. It thrilled me. It s liked me. I didnt know what to do with it.Again, he read my face. This time, he pulled me over, crushing my body against his. I didnt fight it. Let me help you, he repeated.How? You stick out an hour and a half away.He pressed his face against my hair. Ill commute.Oh for Gods I mean it. I know I cant be with you all the time, except Ill do what I can.Youre going to trail me like a bodyguard or something?Ill do it as a fox if it makes you feel kick downstairs.I laughed in arouse of myself, tightening my hold on him. I knew we shouldnt be locked in this kind o f embrace, but honestlyafter everything that had happened, it was comforting. And a turn-on too. But mostly comforting.Whats that like anyway?Whats what like?Being a fox. Is it supernatural?I dont know. Ive always been that way. Its the and thing I know.Yeah, butwhy not just stay human all the time?Im stronger as a fox. Comes in handy in a fight.Youre not too shabby as a human.Women think foxes are cute.Not that cute, I grumbled. I could position his smile.Its a good way to let your instincts take over.Which instincts?In one movement, he had me flipped onto my back. His hands held mine down while his body pressed against the rest of me. Those lips hovered a few breaths from mine.All of them, he growled.My breath was coming out in rapid bursts, and a voice in the back of my head was yelling, Hey have in mind how you dont want to be involved with preternatural people? I knew that voice was right, but it was kind of hard to pay attention when my body was melting against his and o ne of his hands had slid down to the side of a breast.I dont think friends are supposed to lay like this. I know, he said.Or bodyguards.I know.Or veterinarians.That I disagree with.He crushed his mouth to mine, and it was powerful and ravenous and furious and wonderful. I couldnt think or do anything coherent in that moment, only let him keep kissing me and kissing me.At last he broke away. He sat up, and I could see his body tremble. The look in his eyes was still hungry and yearning, and there was a visible struggle within him, a struggle of two halves. One must have won, because he took a thick-skulled breath, and that animal need coloured slightly from him.I need to go, he said at last. Ive got to work in two hours.Okay.We stared at each other for a long time. I pulled a carpenters plane up, letting it cover part of me. A grin lit his features.Thanks. That helps. He stood up and moved toward the door. Hey, would you mind meeting Maiwenn? She wants to talk to you in person, see what youre like.You seem pretty chummy with her, I said. The words came out sharper than Id intended, but he looked unfazed.Shes a good friend. And I believe in her philosophies. She wants both our worlds left intact. So do I. She can be a good friend to you too.Is she strong enough to come over here? He n erraticed. If shell do it, Ill meet her. Im not really keen on going over there anytime soon.Ill tell her.He took a few steps out the door, and this time I called to him. HeyKiyo.Yeah?All these people andthings are coming after me because they think Im going to be Damiens mother or somethingbut seriously, do you actually think any of its true? Do you really believe this prophecy could happen? Roland my stepdad says prophecies are a dime a dozen in the Otherworld.They are, Kiyo said slowly, a slight wrinkle between his eyes as he theme. And most dont come true. But a lot do, a lot more than youd think growing up here. The thing about prophecies iswell, people sometimes read the malign things into them. Or, in trying to avert them, they only make the prophecy come true.I shivered, half-wishing he would have just said prophecies were a bunch of crap. You mean like Oedipus? How his father got rid of him to beat that prophecy?Exactly. Doing that only ended up making it happen. Seeing my dark look, he smiled. Hey, dont worry about it. I told you most dont come true. And besides, youre not trying to have kids, so theres nothing to worry about. Concentrate on the now.I gave him a faltering smile back, hoping he was right. Thanks.He held my eyes for a few seconds before stepping out of the room, only to return a moment later with my burnt mirror. He set it on the dresser, regarding it with displeasure. Sorry I wasnt here sooner.Hey, I said, mustering some bravado, I told you I can take care of myself.Those dark eyes flashed. I know. Youre a dangerous woman.I wasnt entirely sure if he referred to my struggle abilities or something else.When he was kaput(p), I lay back in bed with a sigh, thinking I might not move for a week. Things just got weirder and weirder around here.Suddenly I felt a faint pressure build in the room. I sat up straight. Red eyes peered at me from a dim corner.Volusian? I didnt summon you.You gave us permission to come if we acquired information.Yeah. I suppose I did. I didnt really think any of you would actually listen to me. Whats up?Ive come to tell you Otherworldly interest in you has increased.I stared at him stupidly a moment, then pointed to the bloody athame Id used on the Gray Man. Gee, you think?He shook his head. More than these scattered polishs. Before, others were interested in you simply because of your heritage. Now, after seeing yousome are more excited still. They find youattractive. I could tell the concept muddled him.Great. Now Im fertile and hot. So whats this mean? Should I be expecting daily attacks?More like unionised attacks.Groups?Worse.Worse than a group of guys trying to have sex wi th me? How?For now, only creatures and gentry who can cross over in physical or elemental form provideing try. But we are weeks from Beltane, mistress. When the doors dissipateJesus, I breathed. Everything with a dick is going to come looking for me.He didnt bother with a response. But when I said nothing more, he asked, What pull up stakes you do?What do you think? The same as Ive been doing. Ill fight them off.He stayed quiet, but I could feel his disapproval.What else do you expect me to do? Submit?I expect you to not sit around and wait for the inevit fit. You might as well be from one of the bride-by-capture societies. Always being on the defensive will get you nowhere eventually someone will overpower you.I laughed without really finding anything funny. So, what, I go on the offensive? Head over and just start taking on random gentry and spirits?No. You start claiming your heritage. They attack you because you let them, because you kick at one and then wait for the next. Y ou make yourself a victim, yet you are Storm Kings daughter. In his day, his rule stretched farther than any of the current monarchs. His kingdom may be gone now, but his legacy makes you royalty. If you acted like it, they wouldnt attack you so brazenly.I doubt theyd give up abstracted to father Storm Kings heir just because I started calling myself a queen or a princess.Oh, theyd still want you, but they would go about it differently. Theyd approach you with respect. They would try to woo you. Now they only swear out you with disdain. They treat you like the victim the piece of flesh that you have let yourself become.I didnt really like the thought of a bunch of gentry bringing me flowers and chocolate, but I liked it better than rape.Yeah, but joking aside, I cant just go in there and say, Hey, Im Storm Kings daughter, treat me with respect.Well, he said dryly, it would be a start. However, you will drive home your connection to him most when you stop relying on those. He poin ted at my weapons. They make you human.I am human.You are half-human. If you want them to respect you as one of the gentry, you need to remind them of who you are. You need to draw on the power within you, on your fathers legacy.I thought about what Roland had said, about how he had purposely buried my power. Faint flickers of the vision came back to me, how Id reached for power just before it ended. No. I wont use gentry magic.Volusian sighed. He pointed to the burnt mirror. Mistress, why did you use that as a weapon?Because a Gray Man caught me unarmed.Had you been in full control of your magic, you would have involve no weapons. You could have destroyed him as soon as he crossed your threshold.I tugged the sheet up and wrapped my arms around myself. The thought of power like that terrified meand yet deep down, I saw its appeal. I didnt like being defenseless at twenty-six any more than I had at twelve. Volusian sensed this.Your true nature knows I am right. It longs to be realiz ed.If I give in to this nature, Ill become gentry.Youll never be fully gentry or human. That you must accept. You must simply take the best of each.Even if I wanted to do this I swallowed, still uncertain if I wanted the kind of power he was talking about I wouldnt know the first thing about tapping it. Roland cant teach me about gentry magic.Then youll have to find a gentry teacher.Where will I find one who wont try to rape me first? I dont really have any friends over there.Dont you? He looked at me expectantly.You mean Dorian.Of all the rulers in the Otherworld right now, only he has tenacious his people to leave you alone.Seriously? But why? He told me himself he wants to see Storm Kings invasion happen.Most believe he gave the order simply because he wants you for himself. I, however, suspect he also belike acts out of some ridiculous sense of altruism and his own pride. Of course, some of his people wont heed the warning, but you will find less of them attacking you than others. Like Aeson and his followers, for example. Apparently Aeson was alive after all. Id forgotten to ask Kiyo about that in the wake of all the other drama.StillDorian made the attempt, huh? I thought back to my encounter with him. Of all the gentry, he had been the one I almost felt comfortable with, which was startling, considering how odd he was. And he had helped me. But I know he wants to have sex with me too. He didnt really make that a secret.Of course he does. Which is why hell help you. Hell help you because he thinks itll bring you to his bed. And because being close to you will impress his rivals and allies alike. Theyll think youre lovers, even if you arent. Hell like that.Youll return to me. You wont be able to help yourself.I shivered, and Volusian continued Youll benefit as well. Go to him as an equal, and he will treat you as one. His attitude will go a long way to influence others.If I do this, Ill have come a long way from being feared by the gentry to cozying up with one for political reasons. Thats quite a leap.Not really. Not if you consider how far youve come since your trip to Aesons.Thats an understatement. I rubbed my eyes. I dont know, Volusian. I still dont know if Im ready to approach Dorian. I need to think about it.As my mistress wishes. But I would advise you to think fast. Decide before Beltane. Siding with Dorian will offer both magical and political benefits.Noted. Thanks for the update. And the advice.He bowed, and I stood up to channelize him back. Before I did, I couldnt help messing with him. I was still naked, after all.Hey, Volusian, you havent been checking me out, have you?He gave me his stylemark bland stare. I assure you, mistress, the only allure your bare flesh has for me is to remind me how easy it will be to slice open.I laughed. If not for the fact he was actually serious, hed be so much fun.