“Drake said yes,” I reply.
“What’s he like? Your father?” he asks.
“Large and terrifying,” I snort, and he chuckles. “Although, I have no doubt that he can be shit-your-pants scary, I have seen his softer side.”
“What are you going to do about the prophecy?” he asks hesitantly.
“I am going to have the Union with Sebastian,” I say, and he crushes me in protest. “It’s just a formality,” I add before he can yell at me. “It’s a ceremony that is important to my father and has no bearing on our relationship, or our marriage.”
“What about the baby?” he asks.
“There can be no baby, if there is no sex,” I say, and he pulls his face at me. We stand there holding each other and I know I have to reassure him further that I have no intentions of bearing a child. We jump a mile when there is a crashing coming through the woods towards us. My first thought is that Demon-Wolf thing, but it isn’t a full moon…or even night for that matter. Sebastian comes charging towards us with a determined look on his face.
“What are you doing?” I ask him, as he heads straight for the Faerie ring.
“Going to avenge you,” he says shortly. “If Drake isn’t going to kill my father, then I am.”
“Wait, Seb. You can’t do that,” I grab his arm to stop him.
“Watch me,” he says, and pulls away from me as he steps into the ring. He disappears, and I stand there with my hands over my mouth. Ah, Hell. This is bad. I should step into the ring myself to go and stop him, but suddenly, I really don’t want to. I don’t want to go back there, not just yet. I hope that Sebastian is capable of keeping himself alive, but I just can’t go to help him. I take Cole’s hand and back away with a feeling of panic. We walk back out of the woods to the lightly falling snow. “You aren’t going to follow him?” Cole asks me, slightly surprised.
“Nope, I am not getting in the middle of a Faerie fight. It’s between them now,” I say to his relief, covering up my anxiety and real reasons for my lack of concern.
“It’s been a long day,” he sighs.
“It’s been a long year,” I amend. “We need to talk about something though.”
“What?” he asks as we head back into the house.
I Astral us upstairs to our bedroom and close the door. “That Vampire you were with the other night.”
“Oh.” He looks at me in dread, but I smile in reassurance that I’m not mad with him.
“Is it something that you want to be regular?” I ask, fiddling with my rings.
“No!” he exclaims loudly. “No, Liv, I told you then it meant nothing. I was lonely and aching and I wanted you, but you weren’t here.”
I nod, accepting that.
His phone goes off for a message and he looks at it with a frown, but pockets it again.
“What is it?” I ask.
“Nothing,” he mumbles, but he isn’t fooling me. I step forward and pull his phone out of his pocket. He tries to stop me, but I snatch it away and read the message. I spin back to him. “You are being blackmailed by that woman?” I ask in astonishment.
He shrugs and looks uncomfortable.
“What does she want?” I demand.
“Me,” he sighs, running his hand through his hair in agitation.
“You?” I all but shriek. “Does she have any idea who you are married to?”
“I am sure she does,” he says patiently, and I throw him an apologetic look for jumping straight to me, as usual.
“What exactly is she threatening to do? She can’t oust you as a Vampire as she is one herself,” I ask slightly confused.
“Basic tabloid sex scandal. I’ve just been ignoring her.”