Finding Faerie (Pixie Dust Chronicles 3)

He walked across the room, grabbing the History of the Fae book. When did that get here? He flipped through it for a minute or so before holding it out towards me. “Read it.”

It was the story of the original vampires. The fairy maiden, Renata and Khonsu, the fallen god. I gasped. “But…but his accent was Irish.” He gave me a minute to think it through. “But…those can be faked. Or if he really has been here a long time, he could’ve picked it up.”

“Correct,” he agreed.

“Why would he be with Maria? That can’t be a coincidence.”

“I don’t know for sure…but one thing I do know is that he can track all of his children. All but one anyway.” When one vampire sired another, they considered that person their child.

“That doesn’t make sense. You’re Maria’s maker. Only you can track her. At least only you could.” Maria had been working with Erica’s late husband, Jake. He was a warlock and used black magic to remove Maria’s bond to Leo. Once it was gone, Leo lost the ability to sense her whereabouts, allowing her to escape.

He shook his head. “He’s the original, Karli. He’s a god. His power is unfathomable; Maria’s spell to remove her bond from me would have been useless on him. He is linked to every vampire in existence except…”

“Except whom?”

“Except me.”

“Wait…what?”

He sighed. “It’s a long story. Let’s get cleaned up first. I’ll order some food for you and then we’ll talk.”

“I don’t need a shower or food, Leo. This is more important.”

“My dear, I do. I need to inspect my—I’m not going to sit here covered in charred clothing and dried blood.” He started walking towards the bedroom. “I’ll be back shortly. Help yourself to the shower in the other bath. There should be a robe in there.”

I decided to take Leo’s advice about cleaning up since I had to wait for him anyway. Afterwards, I walked into the living room donning a hotel-issued robe, towel drying my hair.

Leo was looking through the room service menu. “What would you like to eat?” He was wearing a long-sleeved blue tee that made his eyes practically glow, along with a pair of black track pants. It was always so unnerving seeing him this casual.

“I’m not hungry. Unless you want something, don’t bother calling.” I had a feeling I was going to need a drink for this, as Leo’s stories about his past were usually filled with things I’d rather not know. I nodded towards the mini bar. “May I?”

“Of course. Help yourself to whatever you’d like.” I grabbed two glasses and poured some scotch for Leo and a vodka cran for myself. He took the proffered glass from my hand, sat on the couch, and…winced?

“You okay?”

He looked startled by my question. “Yes, of course. Why wouldn’t I be?”

“When you sat down just now…it seemed like you were in pain.” My eyes traveled over his body. From what I could see, he appeared fine. “Are you sure you’re healed? Did you have enough of my blood?”

He gulped. “Yes, I’m sure.”

I narrowed my eyes in doubt. “That wasn’t very convincing.”

He stood up, took my hand, and led me back to the couch. “My sweet, I assure you I had all the blood I can handle. I’ll be fine.”

“All the blood you can handle?” I repeated. “What does that mean? You’ve been acting strange since healing my leg the other day. What’s going on, Leo?”

He inhaled through his mouth and closed his eyes. “I mentioned the other day that your blood is different, more powerful.”

“And?”

He opened his eyes, staring into min

e quite intensely. “And…I had…difficulty stopping. Not biting…drinking. Deeply.” I couldn’t help it; I flinched, and he noticed. “Your reaction tells me I wasn’t wrong in leaving our shared room. You’re afraid of me.”

I shook my head in denial, but my reply lacked conviction. “No, I’m not. I trust you.”

“My love, I can feel your fear. Whether you want to admit it or not, it’s there.”