Page 98 of The Biting Bargain

More heat floods my cheeks, my oversized sweater feeling uncommonly tight all of a sudden.

"If you know that already, why are you asking?" I ask, crossing my arms.

Damn, has it really been that long?

"That's no healthy lifestyle for a Succubus," Jonathan says, holding out his phone. There is an entire profile of me there, probably my case file. Mae Amalia Chambers, it says. Age 26. An old photo of me. Next to it is a date from seven years ago — I actually had forgotten the exact date when I had lost my V-card. My first, and one and only time ever. With my boyfriend, of course. And it wasn’t exactly bad, either.

That’s not my problem.

"You're quite a nosy bunch," I bite out. Of course, I know the biodata of Succubi is being monitored. Seeing it on screen, however, is more than a little spooky. Along with this entire conversation.

"Considering you’re a full-blooded Succubus with certain needs, there should be a lot more times listed here," Jonathan says, sounding concerned. "Not just one single time. And do you see that?"

He points one long, perfectly manicured finger to a bar on the display. It looks like an energy bar in a video game. It is nearly empty, and what little is there to fill it with is colored in an alarming shade of red.

"That's your Anima, sweetie. And especially at your age, that bar should be full to the brim and green as an organic smoothie."

I stare at the display. Somewhere in the back of my mind I have always suspected that my lifestyle isn’t healthy. Succubi and Incubi need sex. It is our nourishment. Our Anima — our life energy — feeds of it. And I have basically been fasting for the last seven years.

"Your tank is running empty," Jonathan says. "Recently, you started feeling weak right? Dizzy, sometimes. And your glam has stopped working."

He lowers his phone, nodding at my headgear. "Hence that cute little hat, right?"

I give a tentative nod. No point in denying it. But I don’t like at all that he knows what’s been going on with me for the past few weeks.

"Don't get me wrong, the color suits you," Jonathan says, putting his phone away. "What I don't understand is how someone as young and pretty and desirable as you spends her best years cooped up in a little backwater at the seaside. You should be having the time of your life, hitting the clubs in Twin Pines."

I look down at my hands.

Mum had always told me pretty much the same thing. She’d always wanted me to get a place in New Hamburg with my girlfriends. Move in with Polly or Marigold in the Twin Pines party district. Spend my weekends getting dolled up andout there.Meeting Mr. Right.

Her voice still rings in my ears. "Because that's the only way you’ll find him, dear. The right one, I mean." She has always smiled when saying that. "You won’t find him here, in the middle of nowhere."

Mum — being a totally normal human herself, the Succubus traits of my family skipping a generation with her — has always been a firm believer in true love. In her world, even a Succubus could find her prince and ride into the sunset. She had always claimed that, even long after Dad had left. And I had always shaken my head and quickly changed the subject.

And then Mum got sick, and I stayed to care for her. And then, when she died I kinda couldn’t leave, and I am totally fine spending my nights with a book and a pot of tea, and leave parties and orgies to other people.

And that is that.

"It's none of your business," I repeat, glad that SILVANUS doesn’t have all the data in their system. That particular fact about me isn’t anything I want my inflated cousin to know about. Or anyone, for that matter.

Jonathan frowns like he wants to press on but then shrugs.

"Very well." He pulls his phone out again and starts typing. Only a second later, my own phone buzzes.

"Please follow the link and install the app."

"Why should I?"

My cousin sighs, sounding exasperated, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"You still don’t understand the gravity of your situation. The board is on your neck. They have overlooked your case for too long. They should never have allowed your bar to go so empty in the first place. You should be happy I stepped in and prevented them from going after you right away."

"You did what?"

"Like it or not Mae, we’re family," Jonathan says, his smug insouciance now wiped away completely. His gaze is dark and serious now. "The board is going to make sure you get back in line. You are now under official observation by SILVANUS. In this case, yours truly."

I stared at him, unable to answer, a chill running down my spine.

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