Chapter 12 Finare
twelve
Finare
Finare strode down the hallway to Ivy’s room and knocked sharply before opening the door. He found Ivy curled up with a book behind the drawn curtains of her canopy bed. She peered over the pages at him, her brows lifting in enquiry.
“Are you up for a little fun tonight?” Finare wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, a playful grin spreading across his features. Ivy merely scowled at him.
“Voresta is supposed to take me to Sabor tonight. He’ll suck the fun out of anything we do.” Disdain dripped from Ivy’s voice.
“How’s that any different to usual?”
“It’s not,” Ivy sighed. “But I want people to spend time with me because they want to, not because they’ve been told to.”
A week had passed since Ivy confessed her conflicting feelings for Leseldh.
He was still working on his case and had been in and out intermittently throughout the week.
They’d last seen him two nights ago and he’d given no indication of when he’d return.
Surprisingly, he hadn’t left Phaedra to watch over Ivy in his absence this time.
Finare considered his options before responding.
He whispered conspiratorially, “I have an idea. Let’s leave the feed up to him. But maybe you could give him a reason to use the gym when he gets back, if you know what I mean?”
Finare’s grin was the picture of mischief, and he watched Ivy’s expression change as she interpreted his suggestion. She nodded enthusiastically, and the transformation of her demeanour brought him joy.
“Come and get me when you’re back.” He threw a wink at her before returning to his room to set his plan in motion.
He changed into a pair of dark grey, loose-fitting jeans, a pale blue, round-necked t-shirt and his usual heavy boots. Afterward, he headed for Voresta’s bedroom, located around the bend of the hallway, beyond Leseldh’s study. The door was ajar, so he poked his head in unannounced.
“I’m heading out. Catch you later.”
Voresta’s back was turned, and he merely grunted in response.
Finare left the house and gunned the car down Veldmoor’s private drive.
He cruised the Spiral Avenues to pass the time, enjoying the rumble of the engine and the feel of the night air tousling his hair as it blew in through the open windows.
He eventually parked in an underground garage off Second Spiral West and walked back to Veldmoor.
The mansion was empty when he returned, and he waited in his room for Ivy’s arrival.
A cacophony of noise soon followed, and it seemed Ivy had executed her role perfectly—the crashing sounds of Voresta attacking the punching bag in the gym quickly permeated the house.
Footsteps preceded the opening of his bedroom door, and Ivy’s smiling face appeared.
“He’s so pissed.” Her giggling was hushed, but infectious all the same.
“Well done, let’s go.”
They slipped from the mansion like ghosts and hurried down the private drive towards the front gate. He noticed the furrow that formed on Ivy’s brow.
“I thought I’d establish an alibi. Hope you don’t mind walking.”
“I used to run back in Naum. There were some great tracks in a forest to the south. I would run for hours, just to escape.” Ivy’s voice turned wistful, and he reached over to clasp her hand in his own. She squeezed his hand gently.
“In Cunos, over in Cevoria, we didn’t have cars. You had to walk everywhere, and it took forever. It was only bearable with a companion. I was never much of a runner, though.” A similar wistfulness entered his voice, and he was plagued by a rush of bittersweet memories.
“Do you ever go back there?” Ivy’s tender voice broke through his reminiscing.
“I can’t. Once I was Created the Portal Building to Cevoria closed for me.”
“Shit, Fin. I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay. I’ve made my peace with it.” He shrugged his shoulders in a display of flippancy. For the most part, the statement was true, but he felt the occasional ache of longing to see the rolling green hills, grassy plains and sparkling blue rivers of the Fae Realm.
A comfortable silence fell between them as they continued their journey, and they arrived at Lunarian a short time later. There was a wait to enter. Once inside, Finare led her to the smaller bar at the back of the venue.
Finare ordered a pair of Wicked Witches from the bartender.
She was a tall, auburn-haired female, who rolled her eyes playfully at his order.
Corenne was a Witch he’d been flirting with for the last week.
She was off duty tomorrow night, and they’d made plans to get a little more friendly without the barrier of the bar between them.
Two neon-green drinks in tall, coupe glasses were slid towards them and Finare winked at Corenne as he picked them up. He could feel the Witch’s eyes tracking his departure as he and Ivy made their way to a booth in a dimly lit corner.
“New belle?” Ivy’s lips curved into a grin. Finare merely wiggled his eyebrows in response, earning a chuckle from Ivy.
“What happened to Gyffard?”
“I broke it off. He was a drag. Interrogated me constantly on what it was like being a Vampire.”
“Surprise, surprise. But you did pick him up in the Daybreak room, so I’m not sure what you expected.”
Finare was taken aback by how quickly Ivy had adapted to her life as a Vampire. She’d learnt the ins and outs of the social scene quickly.
“It’s good to be back,” she chimed, and the smile on her face was genuine.
“What did you say to rile Voresta up?” Finare took a sip of the cocktail and grinned at her.
“When we arrived at Sabor, I pretended that I wasn’t hungry. So, we sat at the bar for a while, and I flirted with the bartender. He was a Shapeshifter. Jaguar form. Wouldn’t shift for me though.” Mischief twinkled in Ivy’s eyes, and she spoke over the rim of her cocktail before taking a sip.
Finare chuckled in response. “Surely there’s more to it than that.”
“Of course. He thought I was being unfaithful to Leseldh, so he dragged me away to a table in the corner. Then I said I was hungry. But I couldn’t make my mind up on who I wanted.”
Finare laughed as he pictured the shade of red Voresta must have turned.
“Then I made an off-handed comment about Killian, and he practically dragged me to the car by my hair.”
“Oh, shit—are you okay?” Genuine concern lined Finare’s features, but Ivy waved him off dismissively.
“I’m fine. It was what was needed to tip him over the edge.”
“What did you say?”
“I said that an Ending at Killian’s hands would be better than enduring a lifetime with him.
” The mirth left Ivy’s voice, and it was clear that she still battled with the trauma of the encounters with Killian.
He felt a shove of guilt at making her relive those memories, even for the sake of an outing.
“I’m sorry you have to worry about him, Ivy.”
“Who, Voresta?”
“Killian.”
“What’s the deal with him and Voresta, anyway?” Ivy queried, as if the thought was triggered by placing the two individuals in the same conversation. Finare took a deep breath and downed his drink before responding.
“Has Voresta ever told you about Elia?”
“I’ve heard the name. But I know nothing about her.”
“She was a Human Voresta was seeing about 70 years ago. But what he didn’t know was that she was dating Killian as well.
They fought over her, but she picked Voresta and became his First Creation shortly after.
” Finare trailed off, letting Ivy process the information.
He could see the thoughts swimming behind her eyes.
“Where is Elia now?”
“Killian Ended her in retaliation,” Finare delivered swiftly, and Ivy’s eyes widened in response to the revelation.
“Fin, are you kidding? No wonder he’s so overprotective!” Ivy’s hand moved to the scar on her chest: her reminder of Killian’s cruelty. Finare noted the movement and wondered if it was a subconscious act.
“Voresta doesn’t talk about it much. I think it was the first time Killian ever came for one of us.”
“Why does he hunt Vampires, anyway?”
“Some say it’s because he resents being a Vampire. Others think he does it for fun. Or, that he’s just crazy.” Finare shrugged. “Maybe it’s all of it.”
“When he cornered me that night, he said something about redemption.”
“Interesting.” Finare’s eyes drifted to his empty glass before returning to Ivy’s. “I think we need another. Will you be okay here for a minute?”
“I’ll be fine.” Ivy’s words sounded far away, and a haunted look lingered in her eyes. Shit. Wordlessly, Finare left for the bar, his eyes constantly searching his surroundings for any sign of the Hunter, just in case.
Finare returned with a tray of drinks—two fresh Wicked Witches and a pair of Climaxes.
He was determined to chase the ghosts from both of their minds.
They downed the shots, and chased them with the cocktails, and as the alcohol burned its way through both of their systems, the horrifying history that was unveiled tonight faded back into the shadows where it belonged.