Page 48 of Of Mercury and Mist

“I would just take her. Just grab her and go hide in the Fourth, or some other Realm,” he said. I glanced up; he knew exactly where my head was at. “Many of us have been very sheltered but there’s a million places you could go; you’d never be found,” he added.

He was suggesting treason. By our laws, I should end him where he stood. But I wouldn’t, my own morals rapidly dissolving every day I was away from the woman I knew he was speaking of. He had a good point—there were plenty of places to hide. Realms I’d never thought to give any consideration to.

But I couldn’t do that to either of us. Living in fear of discovery for eternity was a burden no one should bear, and I knew if I disappeared, Josiah wouldn’t give up searching until he found me.

“I couldn’t do that to her,” I said quietly.

Kiam scoffed and took a swallow of his whiskey. “Well, you have to do something. You’re fading before my eyes. You’re pale and your eyes look crazy.”

“I’m always pale,” I snapped at him.

“Paler than usual, asshole.”

Ashley always called me that. That was her name for me, she’d even had it in her phone. Before he knew what hit him, I had a knife to Kiam’s throat. “What did you call me?” I growled at him. “You don’t have the privilege.”

He shoved me away. “Get the fuck off me, moron,” he barked. “People are watching. Get your shit together.”

Grabbing the back of his neck, I pushed him forward and his hands slapped against the tabletop. “Remember my words,” I warned.

I straightened my back and met the other patrons’ stares head on, until they looked away and minded their own business again. My cufflinks had twisted and after I adjusted them, I slid the blade back up my sleeve into its holder and sat back down in my seat.

“I honestly don’t know what to do,” I muttered softly. It was as close to an apology as the man would get.

“Sorry man, love bites.”

“Is that your attempt at a joke?” I let out a sigh.

His eyes shuttered. “No, not intentionally. Look, you need to get out more. You can’t stay shut in your lair forever. Tonight, my treat.”

“I’m a vampire, my lair is where I’m supposed to be,” I retorted.

If anyone had a true lair, it was Kiam. The crumbling cluster of rocks that made up the exterior of his house was the perfect camouflage for what laid below the surface—a comfortable dwelling with extensive technology and every comfort a creature such as he could possibly want. Vampires just didn’t do poverty or lack.

“Whatever.” He changed the subject. “You two still working on your magic?”

He was referencing the time the three of us spent at his dilapidated fortress in the Second Realm. He’d encouraged Josiah and I to seize our true heritages, due to being novel crossbreeds—vampire and demon, and utilizing the magic that came with the pairing. Our demon halves came with a natural affinity for the magical arts, it was in our DNA. The Collective had stolen much, but it was retrievable.

Utilizing our full capability was what helped Josiah free Della from the clutches of the Collective and Kiam had taken the time to tutor us briefly.

“Not lately. But not for any particular reason,” I answered. If he was suggesting I use magic to make Ashley mine, he would be disappointed. Obtaining the woman via artificial means was not an option, I wanted an organic pairing.

Kiam rested his hand on the table and lifted his index finger, pointing it at my drink. I glanced down to watch it slowly lift a few centimeters from the tabletop. When he lowered the finger, the glass followed.

“Great party trick,” I mocked.

“Jealous, much?”

I laughed. “Of you, never.” The man did have an uncharacteristic affinity for magic, being a full-blooded vampire.

He shrugged. “All I’m saying is you have more power than you realize. Is Josiah really going to stop you from acquiring what’s yours?”

“What makes you think I’m going to listen to a pure blood?” I shot back. “You know nothing of mine and Josiah’s relationship, or of our kind.”

That wasn’t entirely true, as we’d been getting acquainted for months now. Kiam was not a natural born vampire, though I was ignorant of how he’d been made. Labeling him as a pure may not have been fundamentally accurate but he was more vampire than I due to my own ancestry.

When we’d first met, he’d suggested he were better than us while at the same time encouraging our rebellion. More than once, over the course of our acquaintance, I’d wanted to end him. The urge had returned with full force, as evidenced minutes ago.

“Perhaps your loyalties are too fluid to understand but I am not going to betray him,” I said when he stayed silent.

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