Page 25 of Sound
“Demigod or not, I still don’t understand how can she be a vampire’s mate.” Rubbing his neck, Lucien lifts on one elbow but stays sprawled on my desk. “Moël?” My head snaps to my younger brother at the panic on Lucien’s face.
“Tu penses que c'est vrai?" All the blood is drained from Moël’s face, the scar standing out more prominent against his skin as he drops in the closest chair he can find. “The stories father used to tell us when we were young? You think they are true?”
“Father was telling made up shit when he was blood-drunk. We all know that.” Dismissing him with a wave of his hand, Lucien keeps rubbing at his neck.
“Which story are you referring to?” I know very well what he is talking about because the moment he starts talking about the lore, my father’s words were floating through my brain. I just want him to say it.
“That mother was a descendant of a muse?” His Adam’s apple bobs up and down before he can speak again. “He always said that our love for learning the old ways was because she was a descended of Clio, the muse of history. Could that be the reason why the girl is your mate?”
“Fuck.” Even Lucien looks stricken now. My middle brother finally catching up with the rest of us. “I forgot about that.” He scrubs a hand over his face roughly. He will be scrubbing more by the time I’m done talking.
“There are two more females held in that church.”
All the oxygen is sucked out of the room.
You can hear a pin drop.
“He knew.” Moël nods slowly as he puts the pieces together just as I already did. “He knew whatever the prophecy, it was about to start and that he was going to die. That’s why a week before he was killed he made each of us promise to stick together, no matter what happens. He made us give a blood oath.”
“Quelles sont les chances?" Lucien sounds like he is about to faint.
“Yeah.” I chuckle humorlessly. “What are the odds?”
20
Melody
This is the longest day of my life.
At one point, I almost go out to stir some shit up so Seraphina comes here. Even dealing with her and her sadistic cruelty is better than counting the milliseconds, holding my breath, and waiting to see if Étienne will come back or if I sent him to his death. If he does come … No!Whenhe comes back, I’m going to scratch his eyes out for listening to me. I’ve already chewed through all the skin around my nails while staring at the wall unblinking. My butt is going numb, and every time I shift ants crawl up and down through my legs.
Still, I don’t dare move.
When the scrape of a rock comes from behind the wall, my whole body clenches. I’ve never seen a more beautiful sight than his blond head poking through, his silvery gaze locking on mine the same second.
“Melody.” The small smile sends a ping through my chest, the lilt he puts to my name tracing a shiver up my spine.
Whimpering, I scramble to my feet and, losing my footing, pitch forward. Moving fast, he snatches my flailing body in his arms, the warmth from his chest bringing sensation back to my numb limbs.
“What has happened, little one.” Smoothing the hair off my face, he searches my tear-smudged face. “I promised I would be back. The cat lives.” He grins proudly. With that my brain gets back online.
I slap him.
“Melody?” Rearing back, his hand presses on his cheek, which is swollen from my smack.
“You could’ve died you idiot!” Shoving him away, I struggle out of his grip. “It was daylight outside!” Stabbing a finger angrily at the wall, I glare at him. Then a thought occurs to me. “Can you walk in the day? All the movies I’ve seen show vampires turning to ash if they are out in the daylight.”
“That’s one thing humans got right.” His lips twitch in a barely-restrained smile.
“What were you thinking?”
“I wasn’t.”
“You should’ve … wait, what?”
“I wasn’t thinking.” Taking my hand, he pulls me back in his arms. “I just wanted to do anything you asked of me.”
“You know that’s insane right?” All the fear for his life hits me at once and I sag in his arms. “You could’ve died. What kind of a vampire are you if a girl tells you to go out in the sun and you listen.” The fact that I was scared I’d never see him again is not lost on me, but I’ll dwell on that later.
