He walked back around the corner. I lifted another book just as the barest of whispers flew past my ear.
"Until you sleep…"
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
Ethan
I KNEW HE'D VISITED HER THE minute her eyes met mine. She should still be on fire for me; instead, she felt — warm.
Yet her heart still pounded for me. That was all that mattered. That's what I told myself as I gripped the steering wheel and drove us toward her mother's residence.
"Cassius." I hated that she said his name with such familiarity. "You said he's like your king?"
"Mmm-hmm."
"Who does he report to?"
"The archangels." I sighed. "When they care enough to check in on us."
"Are they bad?"
"Humans — and please don't take offense to this — like to categorize things so they can better understand them. If something is bad, they stay away. If it's good, it must be safe. But is chocolate really good? Perhaps to you, but what if someone's allergic? What's worse, what if you gorge yourself? Then something that was once good in your eyes is suddenly very bad because it has the power to kill you. The same goes for immortals. Are all Dark Ones bad? No. But they aren't good. Are archangels bad? Yes. In a way they can be very bad, but they also have such goodness that it's blinding. What you should concern yourself with is not trying to understand, because you never will."
Genesis let out a frustrated sigh. "Easier said than done."
"If I told you he was bad," I reached for her hand, "you may stay away longer, but it may also cause fear to grow in your heart, and fear is not an emotion I want you to feed."
She nodded. "I'm afraid now."
"Of me?"
"My mother." Her eyes were distant, locked on the house I'd just pulled up to.
It looked better, as if someone had made repairs. The shutters no longer fell from the window, and the porch had been rebuilt.
"Say the word, and I end her life," I vowed. "Now hold your head high."
Genesis nodded wordlessly and followed me out of the car to the door.
Her mother wa
s by herself; I picked up only her scent. I knocked.
Footsteps creaked against the wood floor. And a short woman with graying brown hair appeared in the door. Her eyes were bland, her skin wrinkled. Life had been hard on her, or maybe that was humanity's punishment for being such a horrible mother.
Her eyes met mine, widening briefly before settling on her daughter. Her smile was full of venom. "So, you're his whore now?"
With a hiss, I shoved the woman into the house and walked her backward until she was against the nearest wall. I gripped her throat with my hand, lifting her until her feet dangled beneath her.
"Say it again," I dared her.
Tears filled her eyes.
"What? Trouble breathing?" I tilted my head. "Care for me to end your miserable existence?"
She croaked out a no.
I released her then whispered in her ear, "Disrespect my mate one more time, and you won't even feel the slice of my teeth across your throat."