Mated (The Queen's War #1)

Chapter 33

Perci stayed just inside the doorway of the strange leaning house after she shut it firmly behind her. The short hallway in front of her was lit by small balls of light trapped in opaque glass prisms, but it was the blue glow that emanated from an open doorway that illuminated most of the area. It pulsed and flickered in a way that told her it was probably angelfire. A stairway to the left made the already narrow hallway narrower and an archway ahead led to a kitchen.

The option of where to go and what to do was soon taken out of her hands however, when Cerberus suddenly popped his head through the open doorway and upon seeing her launched himself into her arms. Luckily he was the size of a house cat otherwise he'd have knocked her to the floor. His nose nuzzled its way into her neck and then it was a battle to stop him from slobbering all over her face.

She grinned at the familiar and knelt down so Cerberus could fall onto his back for scratches. When he acted this way, his canine attributes were extremely obvious and she felt something in her heart settle at being near him.

"He is attuned to you." Perci's grin vanished as she stood and gripped one blade.

A short, curvy woman was leant against the doorway stirring a cup of tea. She wore a simple white caftan that had embroidered blue patterns, and had a navy scarf wrapped around a plentiful amount of dreadlocks that fell to the small of her back. Her skin was the colour of rich coffee and it almost glistened with the blue light coming from the room beyond.

"Who are you?" Perci asked, lowering her dagger but not sheathing it.

"My name is Daphne, Queen Persephone." The woman inclined her head ever so slightly and Perci didn't know enough about immortal etiquette to know whether she'd intended it as an insult or honest sign of respect. "I've seen visions of how we'd meet for centuries and I must say, you do not disappoint."

"Visions?"

"I was particularly impressed by your skill with Eberhert." She continued as if Perci hadn't spoken. "It may bring you comfort to know that he would have died soon anyway."

Perci didn't know what to say to Daphne's words, but one thing was becoming clear.

"You're a Seer, aren't you?"

Aside from Orion, she didn't know about any other Seers in the human world. She knew that there was a small enclave of them in Gehenna somewhere, but from what she could tell, Seers were exceedingly rare. Daphne simply smiled and walked off. Perci didn't immediately follow, but when Cerberus slinked off into the room without looking back, she swallowed her distrust.

The room centred around a small stone fireplace with piles of logs either side. Two plushy armchairs, mountains of books, shelves full of candles and miniature paintings filled the space. It was homely and comfortable, which if anything put her more on edge.

"Please make yourself comfortable." Daphne waved a hand to the armchair that was sat furthest away from the deadly angelfire.

Perci sat down, barely noticing Cerberus curl up at her feet and watched eagle-eyed as Daphne did the same. She continued to stir her drink, but didn't lift to take a sip. It seemed as though she was merely doing it so she could keep her hands busy. It was tempting to do the same with her daggers, but she didn't want the Seer to get the wrong idea.

"If you know who I am, do you perhaps know why I am here?" Perci asked.

"What a question." The Seer grinned and leaned over to chuck another log into the fireplace. Perci flinched as the flames soared for a second. "First I think you will answer mine."

"If this is some fancy ploy to get me to speak about Lucan and his plans, you are going to be sorely disappointed." She hardened her face to show she was serious, but Daphne merely giggled and set her cup of tea down on the small table beside her.