Page 48 of Tainted Gifts
He snorts derisively, scrutiny in his gaze.
"She told you, didn't she? That I'm her counter?" he smugly asks.
I narrow my eyes, a little angered now. "So you've been putting it in her head, knowing how easily swayed she is."
It isn't a question. I get it now.
He laughs, mockery in his outburst. "I've never once said anything about it. She feels it. I can tell she feels it just as I do. She's just fighting it because of some lingering feelings she has for you. She's confused, but she's coming around. She's actually getting there faster than I thought if she already told you."
Yep. Should have killed him when I had the chance. Maybe he'll fuck up and I'll have a second opportunity to issue such an order. I won't hesitate next time.
"Personally, I don't give a damn," I lie, hiding my envy the best I possibly can. "I love her regardless, and I know she loves me."
His smile falls, and for once, he doesn't look so smug. He looks like a man who might actually care about her.
"She does love you, but it'll fade. Counters are designed for one another - perfectly matched so the two couldn't be more in love. I don't need to show you proof of that. Our entire race is riddled with such proof. It's a special connection, and when she accepts it, we'll have that bond no one can break."
He seems so sure of himself. There's no way that's true because I've felt her love for me, and I've heard her reservations about him. If they're designed for each other, someone made a design flaw.
"Maybe, maybe not," I murmur dispassionately, smiling when she actually whispers my name aloud, listening to her dream as she picks out a house for our future home.
This dream turns me on more than the steamy sex we were having. She loves me that much. Why won't she just admit it?
He frowns, having heard my name falling between her angelic, velvety lips. Now he knows the dream is about more than snow.
"To answer your question from earlier," he continues, ignoring the fact Aria isn't calling his name out, "hybrid emergents can't have children with anyone but their counters. That's what I meant by her being so rare. So, should an emergent's child have the unfathomable opportunity to live past their predicted fate and then find someone strong enough to be their counter, then it's something incredible."
I look down at the only thing incredible in my life. She should be mine, not his. The way I feel about her is too strong for me to simply toss aside. Kellan's emergent hybrid though, and he'll have an immortal span. I won't have the same fortune as Brazen Mordel.
"Are you as strong as Araya?" I ask, desperate to get off this conversation as Aria frowns in her sleep, dreaming I'm pulling away from her, which is something I'd never do intentionally.
I pull her closer, making her feel secure as she sleeps, dreaming the day away. She smiles lightly, seeing me return to her in the dream.
It almost makes me curious. She's done nothing but have good dreams since we left the night before. I haven't slept at all, so I know each dream she's had. The second I get upset - worried about her counter being this arrogant, unworthy asshole - she dreams I'm pulling away. The moment I pull her tighter, she starts dreaming everything is okay again.
"No. I wish I was as strong as her," he says, laughing slightly. "Her dad, Nicholas Hawkins, was one of the first infected with the virus by syringe instead of by a bite. He was one of the few fortunate enough to change, where as most who were changed without the bite died of complications even if they did have the gene. His blood wasn't tainted by the diseases the world has suffered since, making him a pure host for one day producing one hell of a hybrid. Turns out, he produced a breed of hybrid even stronger."
He seems to know more about Aria's family history than even I do, and I was close with Hale Banner.
"How do you know that?"
"Clay Jude was my mentor," he says with a shrug. "He told me he found something special in me, wanted to help me learn more about science. I was always more into tech, but I wanted to learn because he was the commander, and he took an interest in me. It was a pretty flattering honor.
"During a lab experiment, my eyes were stung by a small lab explosion, and my contacts melted out. When he saw what I was, I thought he was going to have me killed. Instead, he smiled, seeming excited. He told me he could help me keep my secret. Then, after some time, he told me about Araya and Aria. I was just happy to know I wasn't alone in the world. He mostly spoke of Araya. He kept Aria's story more secretive."
I look down to see I've started running my fingers through my hybrid girl's hair. It wasn't intentional, but I can tell it has irked him. I refuse to stop though when she smiles bigger, giggling lightly when her dream mimics reality - my fingers strolling through her locks in her fantasy world as well.
"And Araya's mother?" I ask, already knowing the answer.
"Dead. Gone. No worries. Emergents are too dangerous. My father had to be killed in order to keep the world from becoming his playground. It's a tragic, morbid reality, but it's a reality all the same."
He seems to say it without an ounce of emotion, but I can see all the pain in his eyes. It's a fleeting moment at best that I feel sorry for him, but that small amount of pity does rear its ugly head.
"And your mother?" I pry.
He frowns, staring down at his hands. "Gone as well. She died about fifty years ago during a scrape with some outer city bandits. The ones your people found strung up and burned on the flag poles of Bangler City."
Ah. I remember that case.
