The Bitter Seed of Magic

I stared into my empty glass, not wanting to let him see how much that hurt. I gritted my teeth, tears stinging my eyes at my own stupidity … Automatically I raised my hand to my neck, seeking solace in the touch of Grace’s pentacle—

It was gone.

A quick flash of memory showed me my body in Darius’ room: my throat was a bloody mess … and there was no pentacle. I’d lost it while Darius had been necking me.

Panic, and the overwhelming need to find it overrode everything else, flooding adrenalin through my veins. I jerked up—

—and Malik’s hand fastened round my left wrist, holding me in place. ‘The necklace is safe, Genevieve,’ he said softly, indicating the bedside table, ‘but the chain is broken.’

My heart thudded in relief at the sight of the pentacle and the little pile of coiled chain, both glinting gold against the dark wood of the table top. I pulled away from his hold and started to reach out, but stopped. Oddly, my need to touch it had dissipated now I knew where it was. Briefly I wondered why I hadn’t felt the loss of it earlier, then that thought was banished by another.

He’d not only found Grace’s pentacle and brought it back safely, he’d noticed it was missing in the first place. Okay, so he could just be observant, hard not to be when you were as old as he was, but my gut told me it was more than that. After all, he’d killed me more than once in his efforts to protect me, so his ‘I am the master, you will do as I say’ pronouncement was just more of the same. But if I needed more convincing … Well, I was damned sure no other vamp would be keeping his fangs to himself when he was thirsty enough to drink an ocean of blood while he watched me drinking vodka … especially since he’d once told me he’d coveted me since I was four. But that didn’t mean he wouldn’t happily turn me into his cosseted, pampered blood-pet and leave me to twiddle my thumbs in some ivory tower if he thought it best for me. And it didn’t tell me why he was playing the big bad vamp in an attempt to distract me from whatever was going on.

And it didn’t make me any less angry.

Time to go fishing.

I looked up and met his dark, enigmatic eyes. ‘So,’ I said, letting the fury simmering inside me bleed into my words, ‘I’m valuable property, a possession you need to keep safe. But I’m curious as to what happens now: is this going to be an exclusive arrangement, or am I going to have to earn my keep?’ I leaned forward, spitting the words out: ‘Are you the only one I’m going to be forced to feed and fuck, or will you be offering my blood and my body around? After all, there’s no point wasting me, not now you’ve got me, is there?’

His pupils lit with pinpricks of rage, then snuffed out almost as quickly. He studied me in silence for a moment, then, talking as if to a recalcitrant child, said, ‘There are times when not utilising an asset can better maintain its worth. Your own father was careful to protect you, and to ensure both your blood and body were untouched, so as not to lessen your value.’

‘Ri-ight,’ I snorted. ‘And we both know how well that turned out for him—the Autarch killed him. Not to mention the fact that my “untouched” value doesn’t exist any more—after all, you’re the one who infected my blood with 3V, and it’s been a while since I was a virgin. So as far as I can see, I’m hardly worth having any more.’

He treated me to another long, silent gaze. ‘Your value now lies in you being alive and uninjured, and not in the possession of a vampire. By agreeing to keep you that way, Genevieve, I gain a powerful ally in the kelpie.’

Surprise winged through me. I knew why Tavish wanted me safe—hard not to, with the fertility curse hanging over my head like a phallic Sword of Damocles—and I knew the pair of them were plotting whatever together, but I didn’t know what Tavish could offer Malik, that had the vamp passing up my supposed coveted sidhe blood. I cast another lure.

‘Tavish?’ I exclaimed, deliberately injecting disbelief into my voice. ‘You’re doing all this just so you can stay friends with Tavish?’

He settled back against the pillows, crossing his arms loosely over his chest. ‘Tavish is an ally, not a friend. His alliance is important to me.’

‘Well, somehow I don’t think Tavish is going to be the wonderful ally you think he is, so good luck with that,’ I said, saluting him with my drink.

My glass went flying, and Malik was just suddenly holding my wrist, kneeling on the bed, his face close to mine. My pulse tripped, even though I’d sort of expected his reaction. ‘Explain,’ he said, the order sinking into my mind. I didn’t try and resist it; I was happy to explain, whether he ordered me or not.

I jerked my head at the silver ring banding his thumb. ‘I’m not the only one you talk to in your dreamscapes, am I?’ I smiled, showing my teeth. ‘You told Tavish about my visit with The Mother, which is why he turned up the very next day with his new pal the Morrígan.’ And why Tavish hadn’t asked me how I’d got rid of the sorcerer’s soul. And why Malik hadn’t been surprised when I’d first mentioned the Morrígan to him at the Coffin Club. ‘But I hope whatever deal he cut with her is worth it, because she’s got him chained up as her new slave.’ His hand tensed around my wrist. ‘There appears to be a lot of slavery going around, though, so maybe it’s not something that worries you.’ I looked pointedly down at where he gripped my arm.

He didn’t let go. He was silent for a moment, his face unreadable, then some decision passed through his eyes. ‘You are still suffering from your injuries. Come, and I will heal you.’

I felt a buzz in my mind, not quite an order, more of a suggestion. I pushed it away frustrated. Crap, he’d decided to clam up. Now I wouldn’t get anything else out of him. ‘No, thanks. I’m not interested, not unless you’re prepared to talk to me.’

‘Genevieve, you are in pain.’

‘And I prefer to stay that way,’ I snapped.

‘I prefer to heal you.’ His dark spice scent swirled round me with a touch of soothing mesma.

‘No,’ I said flatly, trying hard not to breathe, and failing miserably. ‘I don’t want anything from you, Malik. I’m sidhe, and I heal up well enough on my own, thank you.’ I mentally batted away another, stronger suggestion, and tried to yank my wrist from him. ‘And don’t bother trying to force me: you’ll only end up damaging the goods.’

‘I do not intend to force you.’ He dropped his hand. ‘Instead, I would point out that you are in pain, and you have the fae to deal with tomorrow. Would you rather waste time in unnecessary convalescence over the next few days out of unconsidered anger, or accept my offer?’

He had a point, but it made no difference; if I hurt that much I could always buy a healing spell from the Witches’ Market. Not to mention—

‘I hardly think my anger is unconsidered,’ I said, not bothering to disguise the disgust in my voice.

‘Would it help if I apologised?’ he said quietly, fixing me with a steady gaze.

I blinked. ‘What for? Taking over my life and treating me like a possession? Don’t bother. If you were really sorry, you wouldn’t have done it in the first place.’ I waved at the window: the stars were twinkling happily away in the night sky. Bastards! ‘It’s time for you to leave.’

He brushed a hand over his forehead, hesitated, then smoothed it over his buzz-cut. A stupid errant part of me wanted to know why he’d cut it— I growled at it to shut up.

‘No,’ he said, ‘I have told you I will keep you safe, so I will leave at dawn when it is no longer possible for another vampire to gain entry to your home.’

I snorted. ‘You’re the only sucker who’s got an invite, remember, so don’t bother—’

‘You have been giving your blood to Darius,’ he interrupted, a flare of anger lighting in his dark pupils, ‘therefore, you have also given him an open invitation. He is young and easily manipulated; and you have already seen how one more powerful has made use of him to gain access to you.’

I laughed—it wasn’t a happy sound—and pulled open the bedside drawer. I grabbed one of the empty blood bags and slapped it down on the bed between us. ‘This is how Darius gets my blood, and he pays for every single bag—a token amount, admittedly, but it’s the principle that counts—and what’s more, he’s in credit for the next six months. Blood paid for or stolen can’t be used against you: I learned that lesson from you. Now get out.’

He settled back against the pillows again. ‘I will leave at dawn, Genevieve. Not before. The bed is big enough for both of us to lie comfortably.’

I glared at him, my hands clenched in anger and frustration. London wasn’t big enough right now, never mind