Page 49 of The Star's Sword

“You really should sleep with at least one member of the vampire court,” Simon said. “But you’re right, Samael is possessive. Besides, I think Mark already has a soft spot for you, after kidnapping you.”

“You heard about that?” I asked.

He nodded. “I know everything that goes on at my keep. I knew you had a hold on it, and that Samael would be there shortly.”

“Well, that’s good to know.” I folded my hands. “I’m, yeah. I think I’m going to have to just win the vote from fighting her and donating.” I raised my eyes. “Does the court really like her so much just because she dresses up and sleeps with them? She’s evil.”

“To you,” Simon said. “To anyone she has no reason to impress or nothing to gain from, she is cruel and honest. To others?” He shook his head. “The most impressive actor I’ve met. Truly a nasty piece of two-faced work.”

“And you want to date this person?” I asked.

Simon gave me a glare. “Cleo.”

“All right, I get it, you have your plans. I’ll tell Cayne you’re happy. But I have to admit I’m worried too.”

“I’m an immortal vampire king, Cleo. Nothing can happen to me if I don’t wish it to. Didn’t I even come down to hell for you? I can’t die, literally.”

“Wait, at all?”

He shook his head. “Maybe I could starve to death, but I wouldn’t have the inclination to do so. I will regenerate from anything. Into my true form, if I’m too weak to take this one.”

“What’s your true form like?”

Simon stared at me for a moment. “Maybe we make a trade. You feed me and I’ll show you.”

I scowled.

“Cleo, I swear, it would feel incredible. Ask Griffin or Os.” He pouted. “You’re my friend, Cleo. It’s very rude to be friends with a vampire and not even offer him a tiny little taste of your blood, ever.” He smacked his lips. “I want to taste Morningstar.”

But it also felt like there was something else underlying this, because Simon had never been this persistent before.

“I’ll think about it,” I said. “Simon, can you really not tell me why you’re dating her? Friends don’t date friends’ mortal enemies.”

Simon’s jaw ticked. “I know. But just trust me for now, okay? It’s better to have her attention on me than anyone else, and that’s all I’m going to say.”

“Okay,” I said. “But if you want to talk, I know Cayne is always there, and so am I.”

“I appreciate that, Cleo,” Simon said, coming off the bed to walk over and clasp my hands and give them a squeeze as he helped me up. “Now, I think I smell our friends approaching, and we’d better go act like nothing happened. But do think about inviting me to your threesome,” he said. “I promise to add to the experience, and I hear my dirty talk is also elite, since I like to chime in at times when watching.”

I blinked, cheeks heating, at the scene all of this was making for me. Gods, it seemed hot, even if it was too deviant for me to really handle.

But as long as Samael was there, handling things with his skill, watching me with those hot eyes, and as long as it only increased our bonds and didn’t hurt anything between us, I could maybe consider it.

“We are going up against the worst, most powerful things on this planet,” Simon said, walking me downstairs to the front door of his dwelling. “We can’t afford to hold back if we can buoy each other up or add extra strength to our party.” His eyes crinkled as he moved to open the door. “So I encourage you to ignore your haven upbringing and your inner celestial, and really do what you can to make sure you’re as strong as possible, so you can bring as many of your friends home safely from the ninth realm as you can.”

My chest ached instantly at that. Simon had warned me before people could die on this journey.

“I swear I’ll think about it,” I said. “You be careful with Vasara.”

“You be,” he said. “She’s not to be underestimated. Not because of her strength, or her miracles, which I expect are all faked. But because of her sway over people. She didn’t get to the eighth realm without hundreds of years of feeding on attention at the highest levels. Which means tricks, usually, to make people give her more adulation than she deserves. So watch it, Cleo. I don’t gossip with the court or read the missives, because they are rampant with misinformation and I wouldn’t have the time. But I can feel something odd with the way vampires feel about you. Like there’s something they aren’t saying out loud but it’s in their eyes. And most haven’t even met you. So if you won’t sleep with the court, at least go meet with them, okay?” He shook his head. “Mark isn’t enough.”

Then he opened the door, and Cayne was there, huge fist raised to knock.

“Did you two have a nice time in the garden?” Simon looked disappointedly at Cayne’s empty hands. “You were supposed to bring us produce.”

“Something came up,” Samael said. “We need to get back to the cathedral.”

Simon’s face fell. “So soon? You just got here.”

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