“Not all demons are the same. Those were lesser demons. Some—the more powerful ones—can almost pass for human.”
“You hate demons. They killed your family.” Her eyes stung and her throat clogged. She’d told herself she could cope with anything and now it seemed like she’d been lying to herself. She blinked away a tear, but another spilled over her lashes.
Christian sank into the chair beside her. He swiped the pad of his thumb over her cheek, wiping away the moisture. He uncurled her fingers from the empty cup and put it on the table, but kept hold of her hand, stroking across her palm. “I don’t hate you.”
How could he not? Demons had murdered his family, were even now murdering his friends. More tears spilled over and this time she didn’t try to stop them.
“Sorry, I made you tell me this and now I’m being all pathetic.” She rubbed her hand across her eyes. “I’m all right now, honest. I don’t know what I was expecting, but not that. I don’t want to be a demon.”
He tugged her toward him, picked her up, and sat her on his lap. She turned her head into his chest, her hand clinging to the soft, slippery silk of his shirt. Leaning back in the chair, he let her cry. She wasn’t used to crying—she hadn’t cried after Aunt Kathy’s death. Now she let herself go.
He stroked her hair. “You’re not a demon. You just have some demon blood. I’m not even sure how much. Maybe it’s just a tiny little drop.”
She sat up and wiped her face. “You’re just saying that to make me feel better, aren’t you?” He nodded and she almost smiled. “So how much of a demon am I?”
“I’d say half.”
“So was my mother a demon?”
“I don’t think so. From what we were told at the bar, it sounds unlikely. There are female demons, but I’ve never heard one described as beautiful before.”
A little ray of hope glimmered in her brain. “So I’m at least half human?”
He remained silent, and she twisted round so she could see into his face. “Just how human am I? If I’m half-demon and not half-human what else can I be?”
“I’m not sure, but at a guess, I’d say you have fae blood.”
“Fae as in fairy?”
He nodded and put his face close to the curve of her neck. “You smell sweet and you taste even sweeter. I’ve never drunk fae blood, but I’ve smelled them before, and you smell of fae. ”
She stared at him in disbelief. “Forget the fae bit for a moment, but I’m part demon. I bet I taste disgusting.”
“Actually, vampires love demon blood.”
“They do?”
“We find it intoxicating.” He licked her neck. “We can’t get enough—it’s like a drug to us. Yours is even better, bitter mixed with sweet. You’re unique.”
She sighed. “I don’t want to be unique. I want to be normal.” She slid off his lap and sank back onto her own chair. She needed a clear head. “I don’t understand how I can be what you say yet feel like a human. What makes a demon a demon, or a fae a fae?” She frowned. “I’m too small to be a demon.”
Her talisman was still on the table where she had placed it earlier. Now she reached across and picked it up, dangling it from her finger. She lifted the chain over her head and settled the heart against her chest. A sense of containment washed over her and for a moment, she had to fight the urge to remove it again.
“I don’t look like a demon. I don’t feel like a demon. What’s to stop me forgetting all this and just getting on with my life?”
“You don’t think it’s going to be that simple, do you?”
“I don’t see why not. If I hadn’t decided to investigate in the first place, I wouldn’t know any of this. What if I’d never come to you? For that matter, even if I’d gone to another private investigator, I’d probably never have found all this out.”
“So, if you’d never met me, you would still have the chance at that nice, normal life you want so much.” For the first time, she heard a thread of anger in his voice. “Come on, Tara, accept it, that was never going to happen.”
“If I keep the talisman on, I can stay hidden, get on with my life.”
He cast her an exasperated glare. “There’s more going on here.”
“There is?”
“Do you really believe it was coincidence that you turned up at my office? You needed a private investigator, and you end up picking the one agency in the country with ties to the supernatural community. I don’t think so.”
“Coincidences happen.”
“Why do you think your mother went to so much trouble to hide you? Magic like this doesn’t come cheap and chances are she paid for it with her life.”
Tara’s mind whirled in circles, searching for a way out. “If my mother did go to that trouble, and if she did die for it, perhaps I need to honor that and stay hidden.”
“It’s too late for that. There were already people hunting for you here.”
“We don’t know they were looking for me.”