Page 26 of Bitten By Chaos

Poppies are my New Favorite Flower

Avoiding our rooms wasn’t an option that night, but when I finally gathered the courage to go inside, Julian was nowhere to be found. Tears pricked my eyes as I crawled into the bed and curled myself around a pillow. I felt both violated and violator. Why had I ever accepted anything from Merl? Would I have been able to resist him when he spilled blood in front of me eventually anyway? I swallowed hard. What did he want from me so badly, he was willing to sacrifice his own blood? It couldn’t have simply been sex. I wasn’t that deluded to think Merlin couldn’t find a willing partner of any type he chose. Maybe he simply wanted to hurt Julian for some reason and so went after his mate.

I screamed into the down cushion to muffle it despite the soundproofed room. No matter how honest and open Julian was with his past, there were five hundred years’ worth of enemies and lovers I had no knowledge of until he had reason to bring them up.

Not that I’d been completely honest with him anyway. I sobbed harder, swiping at my eyes as I climbed out of bed again to walk about the room. He had no reason to be this angry at me. He’d always forgiven me before, even when I was convinced he may have arrested or killed me on the spot. Anger began to creep in as I thought on it, replacing the despair. He knew I was here probably crying and needing him, and he decided to punish me for doing what he’d done multiple times himself. He expected me to listen to everything he said and do nothing myself. He only cared about other lives if it affected him or what belonged to him. And I’d happily counted myself among that list. I’d given him agency over me. Sure, Julian had patience. But at what point down the line would he start using his power as my sire to force my behavior to match what he believed to be right?

Storming to the master bathroom, I stared in the mirror. Streaks of blood painted my face where I’d rubbed the tears from my eyes. Yes, I’d gotten carried away when drinking from Merl, but how many women had Julian taken to bed for pleasure when feeding?

“Stop it!” I screamed at my reflection, punching the glass so that a ripple of cracks bled outward in a pattern. He hadn’t slept with anyone since we’d been together. What was wrong with me? Was it something about Merlin’s blood? Or maybe it was the pressure of everything catching up to me.

Rubbing my neck, I started the bath I’d been craving. I sank beneath the hot bubble filled water, cutting off my unnecessary breathing and staring up at the ceiling of white froth that bobbed above me as I tried to calm myself.

The truth remained that Julian had a habit of running away when he was afraid. I’d thought it was when he feared for me, but now, I wasn’t so sure. Merl had manipulated me too easily, and despite his power, I had a mind to keep sucking and finish him off next time to eliminate my problems.

I sat up, sloshing water up and over the sides of the tub, as I realized how I’d just used typical vampiric reasoning to try to get out of my problems the easy way. It meant ending the life of the world’s most infamous wizard. Sure, he was a dick, but that didn’t mean he deserved to die. No, I had to be strong and refuse to go near him again unless absolutely necessary.

Having his power thrumming through my body wasn’t a terrible side effect, though. I grinned, realizing I was alone with the one thing I’d grown up surrounded by but unable to wield. Magic.

Pointing at the broken mirror, I flicked my fingertip, and the surface bulged then settled back in place, as smooth and unblemished as it had been before I’d struck it. I climbed out of the tub and stared at my dripping reflection. With a wave of my hand, I was dried and dressed in a curve-hugging red gown and strappy heels, my hair pinned up into a cascade of loose auburn waves that caressed the silky skin of my bare shoulders. My makeup was done, dark liner and smoky shadow accentuating the green in my hazel eyes, and dark, red stained lips. I was definitely hot.

The command the queen had given me to kill Grival kept scratching at my mind like an itch I couldn’t reach. So I strolled back to the front room, plotting how to get ahold of the brute. I had the “horse” Em had spoken of, so maybe that meant I could succeed. But she’d said not to try to kill him, just to take the sword…

I hesitated a moment before deciding attempting something couldn’t hurt. Painting a circle in the air, a gilded portal appeared before me.

“Holy shit,” I said, staring at it. With a deep breath, I stepped through and found myself in a cabin, large enough to be a luxury rental in some national park but decorated with the kind of patchwork quilts and knickknacks filled with inspirational sayings one would be more likely to find in their grandmother’s house.

On the sofa sat two women I recognized immediately from the book club meetings Mama had held at our house. The one on the end glanced up, peering at me above her rectangular spectacles as she paused her knitting. A floral shirt stretched across her ample bosom displaying a variety of labeled flora. The other woman was so thin her skin sagged and wobbled beneath her arm when she lifted her glass of wine in a salute upon seeing me. Her face sported both a million wrinkles and more makeup than I’d ever seen on one person.

“Char!” the one with the knitting needles exclaimed. “How on earth did you get inside the coven safehouse without your sister? She’s outside picking herbs with Hazel.”

“I, uh, it’s complicated,” I hedged. “Is Em around?”

The women exchanged a glance, and the one I thought was named Fanny stood, setting her wine aside. She gestured for me to follow and led me up a wide staircase and along a hall filled with photos of nature and animals to the very end where she knocked on a door. It swung open immediately, and Em glanced up from the floor where she held a game controller and had been facing a television set.

“Hi,” she greeted happily, discarding the electronics and jumping to her feet to give me a hug. She looked up at me with a grin and crooked teeth. “I’ve been waiting for you. You need to take me with you so I can meet Poppy.”

Fanny excused herself, and I waited until I heard her on the stairs before I gave my attention back to Em. “Who’s Poppy?”

“Our unicorn,” she answered, rolling her eyes. “I can’t wait to pet her.”

I shook my head, astounded as always. “You said horse, not unicorn last time.”

“Yeah, didn’t see her horn because she camouflaged it. I guess she doesn’t want the bad guys to know what she is.”

Filing that information away, I squatted down to look her in her russet eyes. Then I tucked a piece of hair behind her ear, but it promptly sprang back out again at an odd angle. “Sweetie, I will introduce you as soon as I’m sure it’s safe. But in the meantime, I need your help.”

Em straightened her shoulders and nodded, serious.

“I need to know how to…” I hesitated, unsure if I should admit I’m trying to kill someone to a child. But that itch at the back of my brain intensified, making me wince.

“You shouldn’t,” she said answering my unfinished question. “I told you. Just steal the sword.”

“But I have to,” I insisted then bit down on my lip.

“It’ll start something you won’t like.”

I shouldn’t have come. I’d hoped she could give me an edge with her future sight, but she couldn’t understand that I had no choice now.

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