Chapter 23 Ezra
Suggested Listening: Misfits by Magnolia Park
Ican’t believe I’m hunting Puck to talk. I’d rather hunt him to shut him up for good, but that would make Gracie sad. Looks like I missed my window to be rid of him.
I’m not entirely sure what happened, but Briella and Poppy came to the bedroom to ask if I thought I was in a place where Puck and I could talk things out. Coupled with Vyslan’s insight and instruction, that didn’t leave me much choice.
Honestly, after our exchange in the shop today, I don’t feel like I’m the one who should be bending over backwards trying to make the guy feel welcome. But I trust Vyslan. And he says Puck and I need to talk.
Picking up the fae’s scent isn’t difficult.
I also highly doubt he’s trying to hide from anyone.
With the way the others looked, I’m assuming Puck’s off cooling off from a spat.
I’d like to know what set him off, especially since it sounds like it was a fight with Gracie, but those aren’t my orders.
I find Puck sitting on a large rock in the middle of the wooded area. The moon hasn’t fully risen, so it’s dark out, but that doesn’t matter with my heightened vamp senses.
“What do you want?” Puck’s voice drips with acid and bitterness.
Breathing deep, I lean back against a massive tree, then slide to the ground and stretch out my legs. Whatever started this has nothing to do with me, so I won’t take it personally. Guy doesn’t have the best conflict resolution skills.
“Vyslan thinks there are some things I should tell you. The more I think about it, the more I agree.”
“Like I care.”
“It’s potentially about Gracie’s safety.”
With those words, the anger rolling off him goes cold.
“What about Gracie?” His voice isn’t exactly soft, but there’s a difference. He and I might not get along, but I know he will protect her above everything else.
“My parents aren’t great people. When I was a kid, I had a job in the entertainment industry.
I was an actor. My parents treated me like a golden goose.
Problem was, when puberty hit and the jobs started drying up, they blamed me.
There was a period where, when I wasn’t working, I was kept caged like a dog.
They hurt me in ways parents shouldn’t hurt a kid. ”
Puck doesn’t move. With his glamor down, he almost fades into the shadows. Yet I can feel the weight of his gaze on me.
This isn’t the same as when I told Gracie and Vyslan. I was caught off-guard. I didn’t know what to say.
From the moment I understood that Puck, Darius, and Luciu were permanent fixtures, I knew this conversation was coming.
Best to get it over with quickly. Doesn’t make it easier.
The back of my throat burns with bile and shame at the memory.
But with the scars fading, I find it’s easier to talk about it.
“The scars…” Puck says into the silence.
“Yeah.”
“Fucking…” He shakes his head. The rings on his fingers glint as he opens and closes his fists. “That’s why. Fuck!”
I watch him work through whatever has him knotted up inside.
Puck slides off the rock and to the ground. It’s harder to see him, but I feel like I’ve earned something. Some measure of respect.
“And you’re worried they would hurt Gracie?”
I nod. “Look, my parents are human. They’re stupid, but they’re greedy and vindictive.
I’ve spent my adult life staying as far from them as I can get.
Occasionally, they find me. With… With everything going on?
It makes me think about the worst-case scenario.
What if they find me now? What if they learn about what I am? ”
“Why not kill them?” Puck asks.
I grimace and sigh. “I… I wish I were capable of that.”
The breeze rustles through the trees. Insects and birds call to one another. It’s peaceful, which is not how I saw this moment unfolding.
“Our parents kept Darius in what amounts to solitary confinement for two hundred years,” he says.
“What the fuck?” The words rip out of me, and my undead heart pulses. I remember days spent in a dog kennel. Alone. How it fucked with me.
“They did other things to me, but sometimes I think what they did to him was far crueler. It’s just what fae do with seers. Insulate them from outside influence. Magnify their power. Who cares if most seers go insane by the time they’re his age?”
“H-how did he survive?”
“I… I suppose you could say that I hacked the method our parents used to talk to him. It allowed me to send him things that kept him sane.”
“Fuck, man…”
“The reason I vanished for six months was that I had to negotiate the terms of breaking ties with our family. It’s… Complicated and too fucking long of a story to keep straight. The cost of our freedom included bleeding me for six months.”
“Bleeding? Six months? What the…?” I sputter and make more sounds of disbelief in my throat, but my mind has gone completely blank. It’s like a loud white space.
I don’t even like Puck, but I’m angry on his behalf.
“Was it just that time? Or was this… Was this normal?” I ask.
I think he shrugs. It’s hard to tell. “It’s normal by fae standards.”
“What the fuck, Puck?”
He groans.
As awful as what we’ve both said is, I think I understand it now. Why Vyslan wanted me to come out here. Why Puck is such an insufferable asshole. I think I get it.
“Will they let you go? Was that the… Price?”
“Not all of it.” He chuckles. “I promised them our unborn child.”
“What?” A laugh barks out of me. “Are you serious?”
He outright laughs. “Yeah.”
Knowing what I know about Gracie’s stance on having kids? It’s kind of brilliant.
“Does she know? Is she okay with all of this?” I ask.
“She laughed, too.”
“But you’re worried your family might come after her?”
“Yes. Eventually, they will realize our union won’t yield children. I don’t know what they’ll do, but… It will be something.”
I’m not sure if I should be pissed at his temporary solution or understanding. Instead, I parrot his question back at him. “Have you thought about killing them?”
“I would if I could, but I cannot.” He tips his head back. “But, you could. You’re the Vampire King.”
I roll my eyes. “Oh, shut up with that.”
“You might not want to be this special kind of Unique, but the signs are there. Darius agrees. And while I have my doubts, I do believe you would be strong enough to defeat my mother and father if they were to come after Gracie. So, let us strike a husband’s bargain.”
“Aren’t fae bargains supposed to be dangerous?”
“This one is simple. Should your parents threaten Gracie, I will kill them and owe you a bounty. Should my parents threaten Gracie, you will kill them.”
“And owe you something?”
“No. There is no comparison between my parents and yours. Dispatching a pair of annoying humans would be easy. Killing my family would not be. I’m being fair, bloodsucker.”
“Does this mean I’d have to do it alone or something, bloodbender?”
“What?”
I chuckle and grin at him. “What? Never watched TV?”
“Blood bender?”
“Yeah, don’t ignore the question.”
He rolls his eyes and groans. “No, there are no rules in place. Nothing official. This isn’t a real bargain. I’m just saying, you kill my parents, I kill yours, and I owe you something. Call it a gentleman’s agreement if you’d rather.”
“You get why I question you?”
“Yeah. Yeah, I do. I fucking do.” He blows out a long, slow breath. “Is it fucked up I’m glad Gracie doesn’t want kids because I’d just fuck them up, too?”
“You don’t need a reason to not want kids. I think you’d be a helicopter dad. Just always up their ass. Super overprotective. Why aren’t you home by curfew? Can’t you read a damn watch?”
He doesn’t deny it. “Yeah, well, you’d be that dad with a full-on fanny pack to deal with any emergency. And you call me the helicopter parent?”
I laugh. I can’t help it. “That’s pretty accurate. Not sure about the fanny pack. It would probably be one of those sling-across-your chest backpacks. I like those.”
He shakes his head. “What the fuck are we even talking about?”
“I think we’re bonding.”
“This shit is weird. I don’t want to like you.”
“The feeling is mutual.” Yet I think I’m going to come around to him.
Puck might act like an arrogant ass. But he’s got his focus right.
His concern is and has always been, Gracie.
And when he thought I might be a risk to her, he wasn’t afraid to do something he knew she’d be upset about.
While I think he was in the wrong, I can’t fault him for it.
We’re quiet for a bit. I think we’re both coming to terms with the fact that there is something to respect about each other. He doesn’t want to admit I’m good for something. And I don’t want to admit I can share Gracie with him. We’ve both got to get over ourselves at some point.
Puck continues to rip blades of grass into confetti. The sound is constant, to the point that it fades into the background.
I stare out into the night, letting my senses wander.
Since becoming a vampire, I’ve had an increased awareness. But since returning from Treznor’s? It’s more powerful.
There’s a mouse a good seventy yards off to our right making a lot of noise, too eager to get to some food. It’s unaware of the soft sound of wings whooshing through the air.
Off in the other direction, I can hear soft, padded footsteps. A fox, I think. Or a very large cat. Not a dog.
“How’s your head?” Puck asks. “Any intrusion from the little vamps you let go?”
“They’ve all checked in. It’s fucking weird. There’s this like… Knocking sensation. When I focus on the sound, I can hear them. And they just… Tell me what they’re doing and ask if I have any orders… What the hell am I supposed to do about them?”
“I don’t know,” Puck mutters.
“Should I be worried about this Vampire King bullshit?”
“You need to talk to Darius about that. Not my specialty. But he’ll tell you that prophecy is when all potential futures converge onto one path regardless of the choices taken.
So I figure, why fucking bother? Do what you want, because you can’t change it.
Besides, Gracie is bonding with you. At this point, I figure you’re necessary for her safety. Doesn’t mean I like it.”
“I don’t expect you to.” The mood is frosty, but I get it. “Bonding… You and Gracie aren’t…?”
He shakes his head. “No. At least, not yet. I wondered… According to Darius, Gracie is our fated mate. It’s a soulmate. Someone who is tied to us on such a deep level that if she dies, we die.”
“Seriously?”
He nods his head. “We don’t yet know if that includes the rest of you. So, be really fucking careful you don’t die, understood?”
“Got it…”
“Darius and I feel the connection, but Gracie doesn’t.
It makes me wonder if the coven hasn’t done something.
By twenty-five, a witch should have a familiar.
Most familiars aren’t as obvious or present as Isa.
But I’ve never heard of it taking this long for a witch to get theirs.
What’s more suspicious is that no witch living within this coven’s territory under the age of twenty-six has one. ”
“The coven did something?”
“I’ve asked Luc to reach out and talk to warlocks in other territories. I’ve also made some calls. There are covens with the same symptoms. But it isn’t everywhere. The bond, the lack of a familiar… I have a sneaking suspicion it’s all connected.”
“Have you talked to Gracie about it?” I ask.
“Only a little. I don’t want to overburden her until there’s some sort of actionable intelligence.”
“She tell you she wants to talk to the coven tomorrow? Were you there for that?”
He nods.
I’m not sure how I feel about that. While they were able to enter Treznor’s lair without issue, do we really think we can do something on that scale again? Will it turn out okay? Or are we inviting more trouble?
Again, the silence stretches on. I wouldn’t say it’s an easy silence, but gone is the strain and anger. Even the frost feels like it’s thawing. I doubt Puck and I will ever be best friends, but I know I can rely on him where it counts.
“How do you do it?” he asks slowly. “How do you go on being you without the anger and resentment?”
“Therapy.”
“What?”
“Therapy.”
“I’m not talking about fucking feelings.”
I shrug. “I’m not saying you have to. I’m saying that’s what worked for me.
You don’t strike me as the therapy type, but you’re going to have to figure out how to work through that shit.
You can’t take it out on Gracie. Or the rest of us.
You have to man up and deal with your shit.
Whatever that looks like to you. What pissed you off earlier?
Why’d you go running off into the night to be alone? ”
He grumbles and shifts. I almost expect him to get up and stalk off into the night without saying anything. “Gracie is talking about doing a witch wedding ritual to change the blood binding so Luc isn’t physically tethered to her.”
“Yeah? Good. She was really freaked out about him earlier.”
“Good? You’re just—good with it?”
I shrug. “You said it’s a witch wedding ritual. Well, I’m not a witch. Luc is a witch, even if they want to call him a warlock. It sounds shitty to me, so I just think of him as another witch.”
Puck gapes at me, and I can practically hear the wheels turning.
“You’re pissed she’s marrying him?” I ask.
“Yes.”
“Then, can’t you and Darius marry her the fae way?” I rather like the idea of Gracie and me having a human wedding. Whatever the witch way is, it doesn’t mean anything to me. But a marriage certificate filed at the courthouse? That’s… Yeah. That sounds pretty good to me.
Puck turns his head and stares into the darkness.
That wasn’t the answer he was expecting.
Well, tough shit.
Vyslan was good enough to talk me through much of this last week.
Maybe not with the idea of these specific people being involved, but I knew that Gracie would always need—and deserve—more support than I could give her.
So while I’m not crazy about sharing her beyond Vyslan and me, I also know it’s necessary.
Besides, I love her. Why wouldn’t I want her taken care of?
Puck pushes to his feet then offers me his hand. “You’ve given me a lot to think about.”
I take his hand, and he hauls me up. For a moment we just look at each other. I might never like Puck, but I can respect the depth of his feeling for Gracie. And I’d sure as hell like to have him at my back if something ever comes for our girl. So, I guess this isn’t so bad.