“Then you want to touch him, like you touch me?”she asked.
I shrugged my shoulders.“Don’t know.”
She petted my head.“It is okay. If you need to explore it, you can. You are trying to understand your emotions, as am I.”She frowned.
I cared for Vesper too much. I loved her more than anything that I owned or desired. She was my newest treasure. I would never trade her for anything. I could not let her go, she was the first that saw me for who I was. Took the time to care for me. I would not betray that.
I stole her wisely.
My pet hummed thoughtfully. “I want to know his ulterior motive. Follow my lead.” She tapped my shoulder for me to turn around.
She cleared her throat. “We agree to your terms, but I want a magical oath that no harm will come to me.”
My Lord sneered, resting his hip against the intricately adorned table. It wobbled a bit, causing the liquids in the glasses to ripple. "And what do you understand about magical oaths?"
Vesper crossed her arms under her breasts, raising them. It took all the power within my beastial body not to react but it was too late. My tongue slithered out of my skull and I licked across them. She didn’t react, at least on the outside, I could smell her body perfume the calming arousal around me.
“I’ve done my research. You do have a massive library. I’m particularly fond of the Martanique Omand Oath.” She looked down at her nail and then resumed staring at him.
My Lord’s face could not produce color but the hair around him rose with the static electricity he could bring above his head. “Excuse me? How do you know of such…”
“Again, I’m a reader. Oryx has been catching up on much needed rest and I just buried myself in a book. I had to read about your world, I wasn’t going to be blinded by it.”
I tilted my head in confusion. Vesper kept her mind blank and I could not understand what this oath could mean.
Sensing my confusion, my pet tickled under my chin. “This oath, Orie, means that if Lord Veylor breaks the oath that we agree upon, say… cause harm to me, the magik would then gift me…his heart.” Vesper smirked. “I think that is a very, very bad thing for you, now isn’t it, Lord Veylor?” She raised a brow. “Especially with your special skills of magik that you have procured involving Oryx and Benedict.”
Dark thunderous clouds amassed ominously overhead, their swirling masses creating a dense canopy. Suddenly, a jagged bolt of lightning tore above us, slicing into the heart of the clouds that had just formed in the dining room.
“I think it’s only fair. A life for a life,” Vesper smiled sweetly.
I am so hard.
My pet is not afraid of me or my Lord. Why is this so?
I nodded. “I agree with her. She is important to me, and after what you did to her, it will put me at ease. I don’t feel you have good intentions after…”
“Good intentions?! You brought this woman here, unannounced and kept her away! She could have killed you or me!” He roared. “How was I supposed to act!”
I snarled and pulled her away. “She is human, she has no power! I can easily over power her. Besides, she can never leave. She has no choice.”
Vesper grabbed hold of the fur on my arms to hold herself steady. “Got that right,” she muttered. “I didn’t come here of free will. I planned to leave but…” She paused. “Can’t do that anymore. Now, draw up the oath and I’ll help you. Otherwise, I’ll do what Oryx wants.”
“I will leave. To keep her happy!” I clutched her to my chest. My pet laid her head on my shoulder. There was a deep sadness I felt in her mind, I felt it with all my being. She wanted me happybut leaving Lord Veylor would make me sad later. She didn’t want me hurt, didn’t want to disrespect me.
She wanted my opinion.
Lord Veylor’s storm erupted overhead, his fist bunched.
“I’ve brought dessert!” Benedict pranced in the room carrying a large red velvet cake. “I even made the icing as black as your soul, Lord Veylor, you should gobble this up!”
Veylor's lips curled into a vicious snarl as he spun around with a swift, deliberate motion. His fingers, quick and dexterous, seized the edge of the tray beneath Benedict's unsuspecting hand. In one fluid movement, he flicked the tray upwards, sending it spiraling into the air. The cake, once perched neatly on its silver surface, launched skyward. A flash of lightning illuminated the room, casting sharp shadows as the cake completed its arc and descended with an unceremonious splat onto the floor, splattering frosting and crumbs in all directions.
Benedict’s shoulders slumped and my Lord stomped out of the room. “I’ll get your fucking oath on a parchment,” he snarled and stomped out of the room.
Chapter 20
Veylor