Page 45 of Bound By Darkness

Eilish is innocent and unaccustomed to the ways of men,I think and then stop myself as the irony of my statement dawns on me.

Innocent and unaccustomed to the ways of men?What the bloody fuck is wrong with me?

She’s Succubus, for fuck’s sake!At that thought, an image of Lamia and her daughters drops into my head like a bomb.

My hands clench into tights fists at the memory of the Succubae queen. The memories renew my hatred for Lamia’s kind, as if I’m still tethered to her vicious spell. The feeling of a thousand insects crawls beneath my skin as I realize I’m no stronger now than I was back then.

I couldn’t keep myself away from Eilish.And, dammit, but I fucking tried.

And now…

Now, she’s sharing a bedchamber with Revenant. The though makes me sick to my fucking stomach.

The sound of footfalls echoes down the narrow staircase and into the hallway that leads to the dining room. I turn to see Revenant as he rolls his shoulders and turns his head from side to side. His hair is damp and he’s wearing a black tunic over his lean frame, tucked into a pair of black, leather trousers. Clearly, he’s bathed himself and changed clothing, but there’s something else different about him. Something I can’t quite put my finger on, but it’s there all the same.

“Where’s the dem… the girl?” Cambion demands of him. He’s refused to call Eilish by her name for the last day or so which irks me to no end. Cambion is an absolute cock and I can’t fucking stand him.

The vampire enters the dining room and doesn’t spare any of us a glance. Instead, he takes the furthest seat. “She’s coming,” he answers simply.

“If she escapes—” Cambion starts.

“She won’t,” Revenant interrupts. “She’s bound… how far do you suppose she’d get?”

“I haven’t asked questions as to why the girl appears to be your prisoner,” Raflamir begins as Saevel fills each of our glasses with something that looks and smells like mead. She looks as if she wants to comment but holds her tongue.

“It’s complicated,” Cambion responds.

Raflamir nods. “I don’t want any undue attention.”

“She won’t cause problems,” Revenant promises. I don’t like the fact that it seems he’s taken responsibility for her. As far as I’m concerned, Eilish is still my charge.

That’s when I notice Raflamir eyeing Revenant with a curious gaze. He recognizes him.

“Why do you appear so familiar to me though I’m not certain why?” Raflamir asks.

Revenant shrugs. “I couldn’t say.”

“Your name?” Raflamir presses.

I wonder if Cambion will spill the truth on this matter and I’m surprised when he allows Revenant to answer for himself.

“Revenant,” he says.

Raflamir nods but continues to eye the vampire. “You have a striking similarity to a man I… we all used to know,” he starts but then sighs deeply. “But a similarity is all it can be because that man has been dead for, lo, at least a century now.”

At the sound of hesitant steps, I turn my gaze toward the stairs again and see Eilish and Flumph. I feel my heartbeat speed up as my eyes settle on the beautiful woman. Her damp, white hair glistens like silken moonlight, freshly washed. Half of it is fastened atop her head. Freshly brushed, it’s much longer than I realized and reaches her lower back. I can’t tear my eyes away as Revenant stands and walking towards her, grips the rope between her hands and leads her to the empty chair beside him. It also happens to be beside me, a fact for which I’m grateful. He sits.

The light of a candelabra that sits in the center of the table reveals Eilish’s long and fitted gown is somewhat sheer, almost iridescent in places. The fabric is the color of earliest morning and the indigo blue complements her white hair. I catch teasing glimpses of her figure, making me think of all the vile things I wish to do to her.

Fuck me but I still have it bad for this fucking woman. Beyond bad.

She meets my gaze briefly, as though she can read my mind, but then she drops her attention to her hands. Moments later, her eyes flicker to Revenant. He nods to the chair beside him and holds it out for her. The action irks me. A green flash of envy settles in my gut.

Eilish offers our host her gratitude. Raflamir just nods but it’s clear he’s as taken by her as we all are. Even Cambion, the fucking prick, is slow to pull his gaze from her. Eilish sits and Revenant pushes her chair back up to the table.

My anger simmers.

Raflamir stands and approaches the kitchen, apparently to help Saevel. Once he does, Cambion turns to me.

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