Page 99 of Chaos
Andi:
Besides, is there really anything so wrong with a man loving you?
Me:
If it blurs the line . . .
Andi:
You can move the line to wherever it best serves you, sweets.
The sound of someone whistling in the hallway pulled my attention from my messages with Andi. It had to be either Sin or Christian. None of the rest of them would whistle. My money was on the groundskeeper, though. Sin lived the rock star life, and that usually meant staying in bed until at least noon if he could.
Me:
GTG! Talk soon.
I was blowing on my steaming mug as Christian came around the corner. His attention was on his phone, so it took him a second to notice me.
“Merde! You startled me,” he gasped, one hand pressed to his chest, the other pocketing his phone. Then he spotted the coffee in my hand. “Apologies, mademoiselle. I would have started the coffee for you if I’d known you were getting up early.”
I held up my mug in a mock salute. “No worries. I’m perfectly capable. Do you want some?”
A smile spread across his face. “You know, I would like that very much. No one ever offers.”
“Really?” I blurted, but then I thought about my housemates and shook my head. “Actually, that tracks.” I poured him a cup and handed it to him before leaning my ass against the counter. “So, what’s new with you?”
Again with the shocked smile. “Do you really want to know? I am not used to guests here caring about my life.”
How often did he host guests here? Was Malice running this place like an Airbnb? That didn’t seem likely. “Of course I want to know.”
He mimicked my posture by leaning against the island. “Well, these are hard times, as you can imagine.”
Right. The world was ending. Funny how easy it was to forget that little tidbit when I had things like being a soul-binding hussy to worry about. Was this what perspective felt like? How big were my problems in the scheme of things?
Big.
They were still pretty fucking big. Especially since the hordes of hell were after me to help seal the deal, which was the reason we were hiding out here to begin with.
I sighed. “Yeah. It’s... a lot.” Taking a sip of my coffee, I tried to think of something I could say that wouldn’t confuse the human in the room. “Damn, global warming is a real bitch.”
Christian gave me an odd look. “That’s one way to refer to the apocalypse.”
The sip of coffee I’d just taken threatened to come out of my nose. “You know about that?”
“But of course. My family has been protecting this château for centuries. We’re in service to Hecate, our goddess. She warned us about the signs long ago.”
My eyes widened as realization dawned. “Oh, so you’re like a warlock or mage or something? Not just a human.”
His answering smile was conspiratorial. “Not just a human.”
“Well, that makes things easier. Wait. Do you know what I am?”
“Not at first, I must admit. But I figured it out pretty quickly.” His smile widened, and a twinkle filled his eyes as he pulled a simple crystal pendant out from under his sweater. “It’s why I fashioned this.”
“What is that?” I leaned closer to inspect the small clear stone hanging from a thin leather cord.
“Quartz. It’s bespelled to ward off your power.”
