Chapter 6 Nimble Deceit
Nimble Deceit
Caria
“That fucking asshole!” I shout at Reiner, who glowers at me with disdain.
“He steered my shadows as if they were nothing, so easily that bastard didn’t even break a sweat.
He controlled them, Reiner; he controlled my damn shadows with the flick of his hand.
A Flick! They listen to him! Respect him! Not me, no, HIM!”
Frustrated, I start to sob and lean my head on Reiner’s broad shoulder.
His mismatched eyes, one light blue, one dark blue, glare at me, and his anger is palpable.
He doesn’t say a word, but his glance tells me everything I need to know.
He’s incredibly pissed with my reckless behavior from this afternoon.
Not because I challenged an enemy, but because I tried to attack someone who could obliterate me in the blink of an eye, and he’d be helpless against it.
“I’m sorry,” I whisper. “I don’t know what got hold of me… I love you… And seeing him handling you like that… I couldn’t control myself…”
“Did it not occur to you that the reason I subdued my anger so quickly was that I realized I am no match for him either? I was a fucking idiot to even threaten his mate. But I couldn’t help myself.
It was that sheer arrogance that he displayed that angered me—how he knows he outpowers us all.
It prompted me to bark out those words, and I was foolish to do so.
He could evaporate the entire city with a flick of a finger if he wanted to, and he knows it. ”
Reiner spits the words as if they burn his tongue, and a tremor of violence ripples through him as his jaw clenches.
“What will happen if they speak to Helda?” I say softly, still with my head on Reiner’s shoulder, his body tenses.
“I honestly don’t know, darling. I hope they’ll focus on the mother, so you and I can figure out what’s going on with Loverboy.
It’s clear his sister is no longer carrying any protection in the form of Aurum.
At least, I didn’t catch any hint of it on her.
So, I guess it seems the magic has shifted to that bratty girl of his, Jodelle.
It seems the sister’s bond with the Umbra seriously messed with the course of the curse, making it unpredictable, especially its pawns,” Reiner says.
“In this case, the change makes him, the brother, unpredictable… and with that, dangerous and treacherous. Meaning it’s better if you stay away from him. ”
“I know you’re right, but he’s still valuable to us, darling,” I say.
We decide to take a break from our bickering and focus on each other for now, which leads us to make love, as Reiner claims his scent on me has become less noticeable. I grin at the poor excuse to have sex with me, and let him mark me as only he can.
Within seconds, I am undressed, and impatiently, I pluck at his gear, while his warm tongue glides along my neck.
From there, he traces it between my breasts, my abdomen, and to my slit, where he finds my sensitive bundle of nerves.
Reiner tongues my clit, until heat builds in my apex.
With each flick of his tongue, the sensation becomes more intense, and my toes curl as an orgasm crashes through me as I’m unable to hold it in any longer.
While I am still catching my breath, Reiner spreads my legs apart, my glistening vagina begging him to enter me.
Not one to deny me, he eagerly presses his tip against my needy lips and thrusts into me, one hand firmly around my throat, the other gripping my hip steadily as he fucks me aggressively.
The lingering anger from this afternoon is evident as he takes from me, punishing me for my reckless behavior.
I moan in ecstasy as we both come, our arousal mixing together.
He pulls back, cupping his hand, and the cocktail of our cum drips onto his fingers.
Like an oil painting, he smears the mixture all over my skin.
“Now you smell how you should,” he kisses me passionately, and I know it won’t be long before he is ready for round two. I can tell from his brooding aura that he isn’t done with me yet, but I enjoy these kinds of punishments from him.
The following day, as I arrive at the inn and open the door to let customers in, some remark jokingly about the strong male smell surrounding me, and I smirk.
It’s a vampire and witch thing, marking your territory, showing others that your partner is off the table, and I’m sure it’s a were-being thing as well.
It’s not something the people here like to talk about—the possible presence of werewolves or shifters in this town.
Living here is strictly for witches and vampires; the vampires are unaware of the were-beings that inhabit part of the city's border.
None of the vampires has any business venturing that deep into the witches' territory, making it the perfect hideout.
We, witches, have no dissension with them, unlike the vampires, who see them as an imminent threat to their kind.
One bite can kill a vampire, and the werewolves and other were-beings gladly trade their venom for things the witches can offer, such as spells and potions.
It is a well-kept secret market in its own right.
I’m drying a cup absentmindedly when Fynn’s voice startles me.
“Good morning, beautiful. You’re looking delicious today.”
His voice is loud, and he smiles at me before sitting at the bar, yet the smile doesn’t reach his eyes, making me wary. There’s a darkness in him that doesn’t sit right, an unease I cannot place. Something rings wrong and his peculiar behavior disturbs me.
I crane my neck to see if his little bitch is near him, and when I don’t spot her, I turn my attention back to Fynn. I feel upset at his brazen display of affection toward me, especially since it seems Jodelle now holds the power to hurt me badly. It’s not the right moment to begin taunting her.
“How about you tone down the flirting, huh?” I whisper sharply. “That crazy nutjob of yours seems to possess your magic as well. Do you know what that means?”
“Relax, I’ve got Jodelle under control. She knows that hurting you would piss me off.”
“Oh yeah? That’s comforting. And will she apologize before or after she murders me?”
This seems to provoke a reaction from him, his eyes harboring an evil glint, and it frightens me. His lips stay sealed.
“There’s something off about you, Fynn; I can sense it, and honestly, it scares me,” I tell him.
“Listen, if she lays so much as a finger on you, I’ll handle her,” he says, ignoring my comment.
“Well… I think it’s better if we keep our distance… I don’t want her to even try to lay a finger on me. I don’t trust her,” I insist, using Jodelle as an excuse for needing to stay away from him.
Heat starts to rise around him, and I watch the fine hairs on my arms catch fire, curling into black, vanishing in a hiss of smoke. The bitter stench of burnt keratin fills the air, the scent acrid. The pain is gnarly, like a serpent’s venom spreading under my skin.
“Fynn… stop…Fynn! STOP!” I begin to yell at him as I pat my arm.
Other customers start clawing at their skin and faces, unable to escape their seats as something or someone compels them to remain seated. Whisps of smoke fill the inn.
“Okay, Fynn, I’m sorry. Forget what I said, FYNN!”
“I’m glad we settled that,” he says, a saccharine smile on his face, and I feel the welcome chill in the air as the sizzling sensation fades away. I shudder, as nausea creeps into my throat.
“What the hell was that?” I hiss, my skin a deep pink. “You burned me on purpose?”
My eyes flick to vampires and witches who scurry away, and I can’t blame them. I long to join them, away from him.
“I’m not sure what happened with Harlot,” he takes a sip from the drink I put before him, “but it seems my magic has become stronger, maybe it’s because she bonded with that tick. After all, the Aurum is there to protect us against these abominations, not to encourage us.”
I glare at him, and he continues. “Anyway, it seems I can now push out the effect, hitting creatures without actually touching them, making it much more effective—kind of like your shadows, a protective layer. It’s a pretty cool trick.
I’ll be heading to Faas’s later today to practice some more.
He’s been helping me a lot lately, teaching me about all sorts of things… Like witches.”
I stare at him in disbelief. “You’re going to meet with that dhampir? Like, what, you’re just going to gather people around you that all want me dead?”
“That’s your take on it… As I said, he’s been helping me…
Telling me about this world, the creatures that inhabit it, the blood witches, and the different covens, death witches like yourself, it’s been very…
eye-opening, to be honest. He mentioned you actually do know about Aurum…
Even better, he told me it’s part of your fucking education, ingrained in your upbringing…
He explained that every fucking witch is taught about it.
Yet, you pretended not to know about it. ”
The sharpness of his tone increases with each syllable that he spits out. He glares back at me, his gaze fixated on mine, meticulously scrutinizing every movement of my body, every twitch of my eye, and any trembling in my voice, anything that could betray me.
“I wasn’t brought up with the witches, not like younglings are usually brought up.
It’s why I’m in this city, unable to use my powers properly, and I never received an education.
I… I ran away. That’s why I didn’t recognize it that evening with Lucian, or couldn't tell you more. That’s why my shadows are so volatile and unpredictable. ”