Page 32 of A Clash of Embers

“That was more amazing than I imagined it would be.”

With him still inside me, I smiled at him. “So, you imagined this?”

He chuckled then pulled out flopping down beside me on the bed. Turning his head to look at me. “Yes. Many, many times.”

I smiled at him feeling completelychosen.

Before I knew it, I was starting to doze off, and then I awoke with a sharp pain in my neck. My head arched back on thepillow as the darkness overwhelmed me and the dark voice encompassed my thoughts once again.

You’ve made a grave mistake, Clara.

Are you fucking kidding me? This man will not leave me alone, even after such a fantastic evening.

Fuck. You.

Looks like someone already beat me to it.

You told me and I quote, “I don’t love you. Leave me alone. If you try to find me, I’ll kill you.”

I rolled my eyes and pulled out of the trance, turning to see Leo was peacefully asleep. It made me smile to see him happy. The voice pulled again at me but this time, I wasn’t pulled into the trance. It was just like it was in Carondelet where we could communicate whenever we wanted.

Sometimes I say things I don’t mean.

Chapter 15

Iawoke with a strong arm wrapped around me and the sunlight beaming in between the soft white curtains that swayed with the wind, making me notice that the sliding glass door was cracked open. A slight panic rose within me but I was put back at ease when Leo spoke.

“It’s all right, Clara. A maid came in this morning and opened the blinds and windows. No intruders allowed.” He nestled his chin in the crook of my neck and it made me giggle.

“Ugh, that laugh does things to me,” he whispered. I turned over to face him and he was beaming with happiness. His soft brown curls were softly tousled and his eyes matched the sunrise entering the room.

“Oh, it does… does it?” I scooted closer to his chest, pressing mine against him, and looked up at him through my lashes.

“Yes, Clara. I... I want to apologize for last night. I feel like I should explain.” I nodded, allowing him to continue what he needed to tell me.

“I am roughly three hundred years old.” My eyes widened and a giggle slipped out of my mouth. I knew he was old but notthatold. He rolled his eyes at me before he continued.

“Every so often, my anger andfeelingsoverwhelm me and I can’t stop. I promise I was careful—I’ve been taking a special tonic to ensure I don’t have any offspring running around.”

I heard what he was saying but ever since Monowi, his mother had packed me a special herb that I was to take once a month to ensure that I didn’t fall pregnant by accident and I really hoped that was the case now.

“I know my mother gave you the herb. I told her to.”

I sat up immediately and looked out of the window. I was slightly agitated that he was the reason I took the herb but, at the same time, grateful that he encouraged it at this juncture of time. He sat up alongside me and pulled his knees to his chest.

“I’m sorry if I overstepped—”

I interrupted him, “No, it's fine. I’m actually quite grateful you did; it just made me think about something, a memory.”

“Do you want to talk about it?”

I nodded. “So, you and I technically slept together when we were eighteen and you never ‘finished’ inside of me. But when I was married to Evander, he did and I didn’t end up pregnant.”

He turned his head from me and looked at the window to think.

“I know that sometimes it takes a few times to become pregnant. I have heard stories of couples who try for years before they can.” He looked back at me and I was staring directly at him. I was hoping that something would trigger his memory that my parents took a long time before they had me.

He said, “Is that something you want? To have children?”

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