Imposter

Chapter 45

The carriage bounced over a rocky spot in the road, and Jericho felt Katrina stir at his side.

They'd been off the boat for three days now, and it was constant travelling from there. He didn't think Retha had ordered them to stop other than to change out horses every twelve hours.

"Are we even in Celeste?" Jericho asked, peering out the window.

"Yes." Across from him, Mason didn't open his eyes. "We've been in Celeste for two and a half days."

He frowned. "How do you know?"

"I could feel it. One day, when you return to Terial, it will be the same for you."

Terial. Viviane.

Jericho bit the inside of his cheek, lazily running his fingers through Katrina's hair.

Behind their carriage was a wagon where Retha kept Alicia. Mason had spent the past two days in the wagon with her before Retha forbade it and ordered him to stay in the carriage.

Karel was at Retha's side at the front of the carriage. Jericho didn't know if he was the one driving the horses or not.

Katrina took her head off his shoulder, sitting up straight and blinking the sleep out of her eyes. She muttered something under her breath, rubbing the side of her neck.

The carriage rolled to a stop outside a white-fenced yard. Beyond the tall, white fences was a mansion that reached for the skies.

Set in the center of the yard was a glistening pond with the statue of a naked lady with her head tipped back and her arms spread out.

"Skies," Jericho muttered. "Is this Retha's place?"

Mason turned a disinterested gaze towards the mansion. Not saying a word, he set his jaw and flung the carriage door open.

"Retha, what the fuck?" Jericho heard him say.

Jericho exchanged a glance with Katrina, shrugging. "No wonder why she acts like a royal bitch," he said. "She probably is."

Katrina laughed, nudging him with her elbow. "Come on," she said. "If we're stuck with her, we may as well get to explore that place, right?"

********

In the bathroom, Katrina stripped down as quickly as she could. She took a quick bath, marveling at the strangeness of not having to haul heavy buckets of water through the house. Most of Terial didn't have running water or electricity.

When she dried herself off, she reached for the last of her gauze. She'd used it sparingly since she'd had to leave home, using a glamour to hide her scars.

Maybe Retha would let her go into the closest town to replenish her supply.

Setting the gauze down, she decided to save it just in case and worked on hiding her scars with a glamour.

She quickly realized the downsize of visiting a place so large. She couldn't remember which way she'd come from, and how to get back to the room Retha had said was hers.

She came across one door that was cracked open, and gave it a cautious push. "Oh, sorry," she said when she saw Mason lying on the bed.

The bed looked big enough for five people and it made him look lonely.

Mason didn't move. "You're dripping water on the carpet," he said.

Katrina frowned, pulling her wet hair over her shoulder. "Sorry," she said. "Do you have super-hearing or something?"

Mason sat up. "You're not as scared as me as you should be."

Because part of her didn't care if she lived or died. "Would it satisfy you if I cried?" she asked, stepping into the room. "I mean. . .why would I be scared? Karel trusts you."

"And you trust anyone he trusts? Even though you have spent your entire life bullying him, and watching others bully him?"

"I—" Katrina frowned, looking down. "Don't get me wrong. You're fucking disgusting, and I wish I hadn't ever touched you or let you touch me or—"

"But a good time is a good time," Mason said coolly.

"You drank their blood, Mason. That's not normal."

"They would have killed you if they found out your secret," Mason said.

Katrina snapped her head up. "What?"

Mason smiled and shrugged. "Karel. They would have killed him if I hadn't killed them first. Would you rather I have stood by and watch them cut his head off?"

"Why do you like him so much?"

"I don't."

"Right." Katrina stared at him. "You exposed your true self to save him. What is it about him? I mean. . .Viviane threw away everything for him, and you risked certain death to save his life. Why?"

"You were the one who asked me to take him away."

"I asked you to hide him away, not kill a bunch of people for him!"

Mason's eyes glittered. "Maybe you should thank me," he said.

"You'd like that, wouldn't you?" Katrina folded her arms defensively over her chest.

Mason's brow furrowed and he shrugged again. In an effortless motion, he slid his shirt up and over his head, tossing it to the side.

"You did come here to fuck, right?" he asked, standing up and unbuckling his belt.

For some reason, she'd thought things would be different now that she knew Mason's secret.

It wasn't. He'd fucked her the same way he had before, driven by sheer lust. Aggression that could be misplaced for passion to an outsider.

Katrina lay on her belly, the breath still stolen from her lungs as she tried to regain her composure. Or her feelings.

Mason was dressing silently, and she didn't really expect him to talk.

"He likes you, too," Katrina said finally, her voice muffled by the pillow that had previously muffled her moans. "I saw what he did for you during the card game. Or at least. . .what I think he did."

"Why do you care so much?" Mason snapped.

"Because I'm hoping that if you replace Viviane, Jericho will leave him alone," Katrina said dully. "That he'll abandon his quest for revenge and leave him alone."

"You don't actually believe that."

"Jericho wasn't always like this."

"You don't have to make excuses for your boyfriend," Mason said. "I'm tired. Do you mind leaving?"

Katrina sighed and rolled over. "You haven't changed a bit, Mason," she commented. "I don't know why I thought you would."

How could he be so shameless in who he was? Whatever he was, how could he not take any shame in it? In the things he'd done?

How come he got to kill people and drain the blood from their bodies and feel nothing? How come he didn't feel like he had to alter himself to fit in, to pretend to be a better person?

Katrina looked away from Mason, the image of his corpse burned in her mind.

Retha would protect him. Maybe he didn't deserve it, but she would protect him. She had said she would.

Sometimes it awed her, the things she saw and how the people around her were completely unaware.

It was a heavy burden, and it was lonely. Maybe she'd wanted Mason to feel lonely in his terrible secret so she wouldn't feel so alone.