“We aren’t working together,” he says. “All I care about is Delinda. She has Her own agenda, as you well know.”
“You still fought against me,” I accuse him.
“Because you were kidnapping my daughter,” he says mildly. “Whatever else you might think about me, Aefre, I love that child more than I ever thought possible.”
“She isn’t your daughter,” I say, and I see the hurt in his eyes that my words cause. I turn to look back out across the sea, and so does he for a time.
“I want to see her for myself, you owe me that,” he says eventually.
“And I will bring her to you to prove to you that she is who I say she is. Besides, she wants to see you,” I say briskly.
“Does she know?” he asks carefully.
“Yes,” I say.
“And she still wants to see me?” he asks. His sadness breaks my heart, just a little.
“Yes,” I say with a softer tone. “She loves you too.”
“Bring her to me,” he demands me, but I shake my head.
“No, I want something from you first,” I say. This is it. My big negotiation. It can go one of two ways, and I really hope that somewhere deep inside him, he doesn’t wish to kill me.
“Of course you do,” he says with a sigh. “Let me guess: you want your Dragon back.”
“That’s a start,” I say. “I will need it for what I really want from you.”
He turns to me completely now with a curious look. “And what is it that you really want from me, Aefre?” he asks seductively.
I turn to face him completely as well and take in a deep breath. “I want you to turn me back into a Vampire.”
After a few moments of an uncomfortable silence, he raises his eyebrow at me. “You want me to sire you?” he asks.
“That is what I said,” I reply.
“Attitude,” he snaps imperiously.
I just glare at him.
“It won’t work,” he says.
“Not by just any Vampire,” I say and hope that CK never hears that I just called him “any Vampire.” “But you aren’t just any Vampire, are you Remiel? You are the first. You are special, and you can do this.”
“What makes you think that?” he asks, pleased, but trying not to show it, which confirms to me that he was fishing for the compliment in the first place.
“You give me back my Dragon, then I am your Chosen one. My body will do what you want it to because we were made for each other,” I say. This is my rationale and I hope to fuck that I am right.
He looks impressed with my explanation, but not entirely convinced.
“Putting aside for a moment the chances of it working, how do you know I won’t just drain you dry?” he asks.
“You do that, and you will never see Delinda again,” I respond with a level tone, even though my heart is thumping so loudly he can most definitely hear it.
“Hm,” he says. “I see you have thought this through. Why do you want to be a Vampire again, Aefre?”
“My reasons are my own. Will you do it, Remiel? Will you sire me?” I ask.
“How can I refuse such a delicious offer?” he says with a wicked smile and for just one brief moment, I regret coming here. But then I remember all the reasons why this has to happen, and I smile back at him. I extend my hands to him and he reaches for me, but we both snap our heads to the side when CK says, “Aefre, step away from him.”