Sydeen stood quietly in front of her private home. It was nestled far away from the main road within a thick copse of trees and well away from the edges of the city. The large, Georgian style house was glamored and warded against intruders, and yet she could feel someone inside.
Her instincts screamed at her to leave. To just turn on her heel and go back into town, but she knew it was already too late. She knew that if she could feel them, they could sense her just as well and would follow. As if on cue, the light in her study flicked on, its glow casting on her manicured lawn like an invitation.
There was only one creature bold enough to break into her home. He was also one of the very few that she feared. A gentle wind blew against her back, giving her a little push. It swirled around her, beckoning her towards the door. She stubbornly stood her ground, ignoring the summons until her legs burned with pins and needles. Purple static dotted the length of her body and the air grew searing hot just moments before she warped herself into her study.
"There she is. I was beginning to think you were going to stand outside all night or...run." His silky, smooth voice grated her nerves and made her skin crawl. Everything about him made her skin crawl now that she thought about it. He was a handsome, lean wisp of a man dressed in a very expensive suit with matching shoes. His hair, as usual, was slicked back and perfectly styled.
"What do you want, Carinthr?" She said as flat as she could manage. It was a silly question because she knew exactly what he wanted from her. It had been one of two things for as long as she cared to remember. Her blood or sex. Often times it was both. He smiled at her and uncrossed his long legs.
"And as always, so quick to the point. We will get to what I want after my question" He sighed and slowly stood up. The man towered over her. He was a good head or two taller than Karye had been but much slimmer in build. "For some reason, " he paused and walked his fingers along the edge of her desk, "I could not sense you at all last night. It was almost like you just disappeared." He drawled on as he closed the space between them. "So, where were you?" He asked finally.
Sydeen was stone still as she stared at him. She carefully schooled her expression. He was a pro at reading people, but she was well versed and making things difficult for him."Where I go and what I do is none of your business, Carinthr." Her voice was flat, devoid of any emotion even though internally, she was a little nervous.
"Ever so difficult." He said with a dramatic sigh. "You know I will find out one way or another, Sydeen. It almost makes me think you want me to feed from you." He said, violet eyes boring into her. Her fingers twitched ever so slightly as a little ember peeked out. She quickly clenched her fist, snuffing it out. It was too late though, for Carinthr had already picked up on the slight movement.
He lunged at her, backing her up so hard against the large window that her head hit the glass with an audible crack. She saw stars for a moment and blinked to clear her vision. Carinthr gave her no chance to recover before he painfully wrenched her head to the side and exposed her throat. Her magic crackled around her, instinctively trying to protect her with the little purple arcs. As always, it did nothing to him except fuel his amusement. Ever since the first time he had taken her blood -and they had bonded- he'd been unaffected by her Chaos Magics and because she wasn't sure if her other half would be met with the same results, she kept her fire hidden away as best she could.
"Get off of me." She strained and wiggled in his grip. He shoved her even harder against the window, stealing her breath away.
"Someone is trying really hard to keep me from her secrets today. How interesting." He all but purred against her throat. "Now I want to know who you are trying to protect even more." He struck like a viper, biting her hard enough to gain a little yelp. Desire zipped up her spine and spread throughout her body like bits of paper in the wind. She had always hated her involuntary response to being bitten by him. On many occasions, he would take full advantage of her unwanted desire and use it as a weapon to punish her.
To her surprise, he jumped away from her as if he'd been burned. He wiped her blood from his lips as his expression changed from complete surprise to anger. "Him? Of all people, you fucked him?" Carinthir hissed. He turned away and paced the distance between her and her desk. He was in shock. Of all people for her to be with he had never expected it to be Karye. Some random, wannabe top-dog demon, he could handle. He would have killed them for touching her of course, but this was something else.
"You can't...you can't touch him," Sydeen said, her throat suddenly dry. Carinthir ignored her and continued to pace. He was lost in his own thoughts and talking as if she wasn't even in the room.
"The White Knight and the Devil. Who would have thought he would even be interested?" He said to himself as he ran his fingers through his deep purple hair. "I should kill him. I should kill both of you. Drain you dry and leave you on his doorstep." He hissed, rounding on her.
"You can't. If you touch him, you will break our agreement." Sydeen clenched her fists, emerald eyes boring into him. He growled at her and grabbed her by her throat.
"Ask me if I care, Sydeen." He hissed in her face. She stood her ground, silently calling his bluff. They both knew damn well Carinthir wouldn't give up their agreement and break his word. If he did it would mean their blood-bond would die and she would no longer have to obey his summons. She would be able to hurt him and be free.
His jaw clenched as he glared at her. She could see murder and something else she could quite place in his eyes. "Our deal was that you would do no harm to any of my friends." She said evenly, tilting her chin up and glaring right back at him.
"I know what the fucking deal was, whore." He spat out and whipped away from her. Carinthr paced again, running his fingers through his neatly combed hair until it was a disheveled mess. He knew Sydeen often sought out others because she hated him, but this was unexpected and oddly enough, hurt much more than her past lovers. Carinthr knew Karye was a good male. He had a genuine heart and was openly kind to everyone. He was his complete opposite and one of the very few creatures Carinthir didn't hate. His mind whirled as he tried to deduce why on earth someone like Karye would have any interest in Sydeen.
