Page 21 of Fated

A hollow snort escaped me, then a soft mumbled laugh bubbled up. The laugh grew louder, more frantic, until I was laughing so hard, it seemed I had lost my mind.

When unable to laugh anymore, I cried, cried until there wasn’t anything left inside of me, no more tears, no more sound, just an empty shell of the girl I used to be.

Exhausted and spent at last, I crawled across the room and pulled myself onto the bed, sliding under the blankets, pulling them around me as if they could shield me from this heinous reality.

My mother had known something about all of this. She had kept it from me. That betrayal burned as fiercely as the loss itself, cutting deeper than any wound.

Could I believe the things Calyx had told me tonight? How could I not, after seeing those things with my own eyes? If what he had said was true, my twenty-first birthday would change everything, transforming me into something dangerous, something they feared.

It became clear what I needed to do.

No matter what it took, I’d survive, making it long enough to receive my powers—and then, I would use them to slaughter Ash and Calyx.

Chapter 6

Iwoke to the bedroom door creaking open, feeling as though I was suffering the world’s worse hangover. Every muscle ached as I forced myself into a sitting position, my swollen eyes protesting against the harsh light filling the room. Having trouble processing what I was looking at, I rubbed my eyes just to be sure I was seeing clearly.

Yes, that was Calyx standing in the doorway, balancing at least six plates of food.

I tried to speak, but—ah, I couldn’t open my mouth.

“So, we may have forgotten that you, like, need food and water, so you don’t, uh, die, and the king specifically asked for you alive. But I didn’t know what you liked, so I brought everything.”

He flashed a smile, the kind that in another life might have made my heart flutter. The entire gesture would have been sweet, even charming, if only he wasn’t a murdering psychopath.

He began arranging the plates around me on the bed, each one heaped with food—eggs, sausage, bacon, fruit, pancakes, and more.

When he was done, he disappeared, only to return a moment later, arms so full of drinks, he even held one between his teeth. He mumbled something I couldn’t understand before placing nearly a dozen glasses down on the table beside me.

I became painfully aware of just how dry my throat was. God, I couldn’t even remember the last time I’d had anything to drink. Calyx took a step back as if admiring his handiwork and stared at me expectantly. When I didn’t move or speak, his facetwisted into something contemplative. The entire production was almost comical, nearly making me snort until I remembered he was a real-life vampire who murdered people.

I sighed and pointed to my lips.

“Oh … ooooooooh.” Realization dawned on his face. “Ash, get in here!”

Moments later, he appeared in the doorway, a toothbrush hanging out of his mouth.

He raised an eyebrow. He was shirtless, wearing those same black cargo pants with the waistband of his boxers peeking over. My eyes betrayed me, trailing over his defined stomach muscles and down to that infamous V shape leading below his navel.

Ash cleared his throat, and my gaze jerked away, cheeks burning with fire. It was loathsome that I was attracted to him.

“She can’t eat.” Calyx pointed to my mouth.

Ash smirked. “You can open your mouth now,” he mumbled around the toothbrush, then turned, disappearing again, leaving that same tug in the pit of my stomach when he walked away.

I took a steadying breath, fighting off the feeling.

“I’m not hungry,” I declared.

“Areya, eat, or I’m going to call Mr. Sexy Muscles back here to make you do it.”

My eyes widened with embarrassment.

Calyx grinned mischievously. “You want to fuck him, don’t you?” His bluntness caught me off guard, causing me to nearly choke. I swallowed hard, then scowled. He continued, “It’s ok, everyone wants to fuck Ash. Hell, even I want to fuck Ash sometimes.”

I quickly changed the subject and spat out my next words before I lost my nerve. “I’ll make you a deal.”

“This should be good.” Calyx smiled and crossed his arms.

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