Sometime later, we stumble out of the shower and I belatedly wonder why CK never came back. I am waiting for him to have something to say about this, as in his mind Devon isn’t bound to me anymore and therefore outside the confines of what is acceptable to him. I was going to offer that he joins us, but he didn’t come back. As I open the bathroom door and push my wet hair from my face, I kick over the mug of cold tea that has been left in the doorway. I look down and with a sinking heart I know now that CK did come back with my tea, but he clearly isn’t very happy about what he walked in on. Or what he didn’t walk in on as the case may be.
“Hm,” Devon says as he draws the same conclusion as I do. “Guess the old man is not that happy about this.”
“I guess not,” I reply. “I mean technically, we have no bond now.”
He doesn’t look impressed by my comment and I smile at him to make it up to him.
He accepts it and wraps his arms around me. “I don’t really care what he thinks about us. I love you just as I always did,” he says.
“Me too,” I say and then he kisses me and I forget about CK and how he must be feeling about this.
After Devon leaves me, I have my second shower of the day. This time alone. As I dry off and magick jeans and a t-shirt on, I quietly call out to Remiel. Still nothing. If he doesn’t turn up soon I am going to start begging him to come to me and he will get suspicious as to why I suddenly need him so badly.
I sigh and walk into the empty bedroom and then downstairs to find that CK is still MIA. I close my eyes and Astral off to the only place I know that he will go when he feels the way he must be feeling right now. I land in our bedroom at Ponte but it is also empty. I look around and it doesn’t look like he has been in here, so I Astral off and land in the Entrance Hall. I listen for him and I can hear voices coming from the library and then I hear a feminine giggle, which lights a fire under my arse. What is he doing here with a woman? Well, okay, I suppose I should have been expecting it. Tit for tat and all that, but still. I thought he was past wanting other women. I rush to the door and push it open, ready to demand what is going on in here, but I am speechless as I come to a dead halt and stare at CK sitting on the couch, looking all relaxed, with a woman who looks exactly like me. A Substitute? How dare he! I get my voice back and as he looks up at me mildly as if he is doing nothing wrong, I ask as calmly as I possibly can, “Constantine, what are you doing here?”
He raises his eyebrow at my use of his first name and he stands up and comes across to my side. He bends to give me a quick kiss on my forehead–my forehead! Like I am some sort of dependent to him! And then with a glorious smile that he fixes on the lookalike he says, “Aefre, this is Clementine. Clem, this is my wife, Aefre.”
Clem? He shortened her name? He only ever does that to one person in this whole universe, that I know of, and that is Sebastian. And I’m not even sure he knows that he does it, to be honest, so this is just a slap in the face.
“Hello,” I say coldly, folding my arms defensively against this awful situation.
“How lovely to meet you, Aefre,” Clem says as she walks over with her hand outstretched. I glare at it for a moment and then, taking the high road, I clasp her hand tightly while I give her a scathing once-over. She is dressed in an impeccable lilac suit, which really suits her with her, gorgeous, long, blonde hair and her eyes like mine. Bitch. How can he be so bold as to introduce me to this Substitute? There are going to be words later and a lot of them.
Unfor
tunately, as I am giving her the evil eye, one thing has become quite clear to me. She is older than me. A lot older. And if I were to hazard a guess, she is definitely one of CK’s charges. Even though I am no longer a Vampire, due to the Blood Magick ritual, I have still been bonded with him on a higher level and the little hum against my palm tells me she is connected to him by blood. I want to crush her hand in mine, but instead I pull away and fold my arms again so that I don’t pull out my Faerie magick and blast her to Hell and back, and then him. I must have really hurt Constantine by being with Devon for him to have put me in this position.
She bites her lip and smoothes down her skirt, aware of the growing atmosphere. It appears that CK finally realizes what I think is going on here, and he clears his throat.
“Aefre, my sweet, can I have a word with you?” he asks.
“Yes, my love,” I reply and give him a dazzling smile. I can tell he is mentally rolling his eyes at me.
He apologizes to Clem and then grabs my arm and Teleports us upstairs to our bedroom. He lets me go as soon as we are alone and glares at me. I glare back at him and then give in. He is hurt and I need to make it right.
“I’m sorry,” I say and try to look contrite. “I didn’t realize that you would be so upset by my being with Devon.”
“He is no longer your charge, Aefre,” he snaps at me. “Of course I am going to be upset. You didn’t even discuss it with me first.”
“And if I had, would you be more amenable?” I ask archly. I am trying to show remorse, but I’m not sorry for making love with Devon. I needed it and so did he. He has suffered a terrible loss, and even though I came to loathe Jess, she was still his wife. He must have had feelings of love for her.
CK hisses at me. “No, I would not. It is bad enough that I am being forced to still share you with Sebastian and that Demon, but I understand the ties. You have no tie to Devon anymore.”
“I am not going to abandon him, Constantine. If that is your hope then you are sadly mistaken,” I say, getting angry now.
“I don’t expect you to abandon him. I know you would never do that. But I do expect you to cease a sexual relationship with him,” he says, getting angry as well now.
“Well, that isn’t going to happen,” I say and it makes his eyes turn black. I know I am being pigheaded, but he has really pissed me off. “So you can go back to your little Substitute whore and have your way with her and I will be waiting for you at home when you are done.”
He narrows his eyes at me and then his whole demeanor changes. He stalks me with a wicked smile and says, “Substitute? Oh no, my dear. Clem isn’t a Substitute.”
“She looks exactly like me!” I yell at him, unable to stop myself.
He chuckles, but it is not an amused sound. “Clem is over a thousand years older than you, Aefre. Did it ever occur to you that perhaps you are her Substitute?”
And with that hateful, parting shot, he Teleports off to go and be with his precious Clem. I choke back my sob and hate this stupid argument we have just had. I know deep down that he didn’t mean it, but it doesn’t make it hurt any less. He can be such a cruel bastard when he wants to be. I am about to Astral after him to ensure that he doesn’t get the last say, but then with a loud gulp I remember the fight we had in the Tower and I am reluctant for another go-around with him. I storm into the bathroom with the tears streaming down my face and I slam the solid door closed. I grab a tissue and then turn when Sebastian says from behind me, “What has he done this time?”
Chapter 15