The dust was both red and black.
Ethan cursed. “Cassius, I think we have a problem.”
“The hell?” I leaned down and touched the dust. “It’s… mixed.” Angry, I shook my head. “Did Stephanie…” I hated to accuse her but it was the only explanation. “Did she give any of her blood to the Demons?”
“Maybe you should ask her yourself,” Stephanie said from the stairway. “Would I betray those I love… twice?”
Stephanie
I WAS WORRIED. Worried because Cassius had none of my blood left, and I didn’t want him to face a crazed Demon.
Instead, the tables were turned back on me once I made my way down the stairs.
“Well?” Ethan crossed his arms.
“Great to know you guys really trust me,” I said sarcastically while my chest tightened.
Cassius’s face softened. “You’re the only other Dark One we know of in existence.”
“And what? You think I’d just give over my blood to a sick dirty little Demon? So he could use it?”
They both fell silent.
“Well.” I crossed my arms. “You’re more than welcome to let Alex invade my thoughts… but I’m telling the truth.”
“Damn it,” Cassius muttered. “It would be so much easier if you weren’t.”
“Pardon?” Now I was really confused. I glanced down at the dust at Cassius’s feet and gasped. “Is that John?”
“John can’t talk right now,” Ethan said in a chipper voice. “He was annoying the hell out of me, but his dust shouldn’t be—”
“—red.” I finished. “It should be black, mixed with flecks of gray depending on how old he was but… red means he was given the blood of a Dark One.”
“Right.” Cassius stood and then fell back to his knees. “Damn this weak human vessel!”
I pressed my lips together to keep from laughing, he sounded so medieval, looked it too with his long black hair hanging nearly to his shoulders, his aristocratic face was too pretty to exist in this modern era.
“Come on,” I lifted him into my arms. “Bed.”
“And my shame is complete,” he muttered as I carried him upstairs. “A woman is carrying my weak body up the stairs as if I weigh nothing but a feather.”
“Less than that, actually.”
“Because that’s ever so helpful to my pride.”
“Sorry.”
“Then why are you smiling?”
“You’re cute when you pout.”
“Cute is the word humans use to describe things with fluffy tails… hamsters… pet birds. Hell, I’ve turned into your pet! Release me immediately!”
Laughing, I carried him back into my room and set him on his feet. “You’re not my pet, but you are weak.”
“I tire of your compliments.” He smirked. “My pride cannot handle any more—” He fell toward me.
Gripping his broad shoulders I slowly lowered him back to the bed. “You know, you only get one body, you better take care of it.”
“I—” Cassius yawned. “Despise humanity.”
“No, you don’t,” I answered quietly, bringing a blanket over his shoulders as tremors wracked his body. “You just need to rest.”
“I cannot rest until the mystery is solved and I can’t solve a mystery, train you, protect you, and love—”
“Love?”
“Er… food.”
“You weren’t going to say food.”
“I’m sick, cease your arguing.” He closed his eyes tight.
I kissed his forehead, only to have him pull me close.
“Stay,” Cassius whispered, his bluster spent. “When you’re with me…”
“What?”
“I feel… happy.” He opened his eyes as if the concept had only just now occurred to him. “More than that, I… feel complete.”
My heart soared as I answered back. “Me, too.”
He pressed his hand to my neck, then pulled me in for a searing kiss, one that burned so hot against my lips I let out a gasp. “Damn, you taste good.”
“Because you’re hot.”
“Attractive hot?” He pulled back, his eyes locking on mine with such heated intensity that it nearly took my breath away.
I brushed a kiss across his lips. “Still arrogant even when he has a fever. Good to know.”
“My body is different…” Cassius’s face fell. “But I find that my feelings… are very much the same.” His head tilted as he cupped my face. “More confusing than ever.”
“Cassius.” I leaned in until our mouths nearly touched. “Why are you really here?”
“To train you.”
The air twisted in front of me, it tasted bitter. With a smirk, I whispered, “Lie.”
Cassius’s mouth broke out into a blinding smile. “They taste different, don’t they?”
“Bitter… wrong.” I nodded.
“Because a lie spoken from your lips is a falsehood released into the universe, the atmosphere. A man’s destiny is decided by what he speaks. And when he speaks a lie, creation cannot knit together the pieces correctly, the result is bitterness.”
“So, why are you here?”
He was quiet and then, “I’m here for you.”
No bitterness in the air this time.
“To train me?”
He was quiet again.
“Cassius?”