I have a visitor waiting for me as I exit the room. Not who I was expecting though. I thought Other Liv would be up here eavesdropping, but the little nosey parker is Other Devon.
“Devon,” I say to him as I pass him.
He follows me and says, “You shouldn’t mess with him.
He is dangerous.”
“I’m not and I know,” I say as I look back at him. He stops, so I do. He is staring at me with such a grave intensity that just looks wrong on him. My darling boy’s beautiful blue eyes were never meant to be so serious.
“What is he like in your World?” he asks me. “Your Devon.”
It doesn’t surprise me that he asks. Everyone is madly curious as to their Other selves. “He is passionate, fun, and easygoing,” I say, although this would probably be his description from a year ago. He is way too serious and secretive at the moment.
Other Devon looks quite sad and I feel sorry for him. Man, I am such a sucker, really. I move closer to him and place my hand on his cheek. He starts in surprise, but then closes his eyes. “Your spirit has been crushed,” I say so quietly to him. “You need to take back some control. Don’t let her ruin you, you are so much better than that.”
It’s probably too little, too late, but I feel like I have to say something to him. It hurts me to see him like this.
“Wh-what do you mean?” he asks with his eyes still closed.
I remove my hand and his eyes open again. “Find yourself a little Vampire to play with,” I say. “Your sire is too much, you need pleasure in your life, Devon.”
He gets angry with me. “How do you know I don’t have any pleasure?” he snaps at me.
“Because I can see it in your eyes. She has stamped out your fire with her…ways. You need to get it back before it’s lost forever,” I reply.
He takes that in silently and then asks a question I wasn’t expecting. “The girl, Jess. Your Devon is her sire, isn’t he? How did that happen?”
“Oh,” I say. “Err, well the two of them are in love, she wanted him to turn her, but he refused, so she tried to kill herself in order for him to save her.”
“What?” he asks. “Why would she do that?”
Beats me. I shrug.
“Liv said she asked about me,” he admits quietly. “What do you think she wants with me?”
Oh, she did now, did she? Little bitch. And what on Earth was she doing talking to Other Liv in the first place, and when, exactly? I determine that now I am definitely installing cameras around my home. There is too much subterfuge going on and I am going to get to the bottom of it.
“I couldn’t say,” I tell him, but if I ever find out she has been here somehow and got with him she is a goner.
“I will take your advice,” he says, suddenly standing up straighter. “Liv won’t like it, but it’s tough shit.”
“There’s my boy,” I murmur, and he glows with the praise. He hugs me fiercely and I return it, feeling very odd. “I should get going,” I say as I pull away.
He nods and watches me Astral off. Other Liv will go nuts that I didn’t go back down to tell her what happened, but I don’t really care. If Fraser wants to tell her, then so be it.
I land back in my library to just CK.
“Hi,” I say a bit awkwardly.
“Hello,” he says coldly.
I roll my eyes at him and hug him. He returns it, just barely, sniffing at my neck where Fraser had grazed me. I don’t give him a chance to ask because he will go berserk on my arse, so I just say, “Can we talk now that we are alone?” I do wonder where Cole is. They seem to be attached at the hip at the moment.
“Yes, I have some things I want to say. Sit.” He leads me to the sofa and sits with me, taking my hand. “First things, do not let that woman interfere with your thoughts,” he says. “She knows what She wants, and She will go to any lengths to get it. However,” he adds sternly, “I am not happy about this, Aefre. It has gotten far too serious a matter for us to ignore any longer.”
I sigh, “I know. I have a decision to make.”
His eyes snap to mine and he frowns, “What do you mean?”