“Do you want to tell him, or should I?” Devon growls to Vito.
“It was a passing comment, that while it is the truth, hurt Aefre profoundly. She has left. Temporarily,” Constantine adds, when Remiel’s face goes black as thunder.
“Left? To go where, exactly?” Remiel enunciates his words, his clipped British accent even more pronounced.
“Cassis. Her residence in Normandy,” Devon explains.
“Earth?” Remiel scoffs. “What is the problem?”
Devon can see the wheels turning. This is his dream, to get Lizzie on her own somewhere. He saw the house in England when he was looking for her. All decked out ready for the three of them to move into.
“The problem is she has sworn off us all,” Devon mutters. He knows this is true. It pains him to learn of her dalliance with Frederick last night, but she threw him out. She also just threw him out. She went to bed alone last night and woke up alone this morning. He can’t even remember the last time she did that.
“I beg your pardon?” Remiel asks haughtily.
“She wants nothing to do with any of us. She’s asked to be left alone,” Devon replies.
“Pah,” Constantine mutters. “She’ll be back as soon as she gets an itch she can’t scratch.”
“Nice,” Devon says sarcastically. “You really don’t respect her at all, do you?”
“Of course I do, she is my wife. I know her. I know this will do her good,” Constantine says.
Devon looks back to Remiel, but he is gone. And he knows exactly to whom.
Cassis, France, January 2015 - Aefre
“You have left them?” Remiel’s smooth voice doesn’t startle me as I get undressed. I was expecting him. Actually, I was expecting him a lot sooner than this. He must have only just found out.
“Kind of,” I say evasively. I know exactly what he is thinking.
“Excellent. You are free to come and live with me and our daughter,” he says with a happy beam.
“Not really,” I say and turn my back on him too. The
lust is shooting through me at the sight of him, at his closeness, but it goes against everything I am trying to do. By separating myself from sex, I can see if what they say about me is true. And I have to admit, I have so much energy this morning. Whether that has anything to do with losing the energy-sucking Dragon Power or the fact that I haven’t had to make sure that my many men are happy and satisfied is an unknown, but I am pretty sure being alone has a lot to do with it.
“What do you mean?” he asks, his face going dark.
“I mean that I need time. Alone. To sort out whatever this is,” I say steadily.
“Alone?” he queries, almost as if he has never heard the word before.
“That’s right,” I say, turning back to him with a smile. “Just for a little while. I need to see if they are right.”
“They are not right,” he says vehemently. “I have been in your head. I know you.”
“Be that as it may,” I say calmly, not happy that he has brought that invasion up. “I need to know.”
“So, where does that leave me? I do not think you are in need of fixing. I happen to think you are fine the way you are. Why does that mean that I am included in your...hiatus?” he demands.
“Fine...” I mutter. ‘Fine’ just doesn’t mean what it actually means around here. “I’m sorry, Remiel. You know how I feel about you, but I need to do this. I need to clear my head, away from all the demands and attention and expectations.”
“I have no expectations of you. Except to be with me,” he adds with a frown.
“Precisely,” I say, with a small smile. “I need time.”
“How much time?” he asks, advancing on me menacingly. “You have agreed to be with me. I am your sire. You asked me to re-turn you. I assumed that meant you wanted me.”