Compel (Rae Wilder #2)

Chapter Eight

We walked without speaking for a while, and Tomas took my hand after a few steps. I bit my tongue when my mouth opened to tell him that I did not think it was a good idea. He was just holding my hand.

Nothing bad ever happened from someone holding your hand.

“Thank you for not taking off,” I said quietly.

He stopped and stared at the empty street. At what I cannot say, since he seemed look past it. “I can’t leave. I need your help.”

I nodded slowly. I found I was hurt by his cold admission, that he stayed because he needed something from me. I slapped myself mentally. Hadn’t that always been the case with Tomas? He had always needed something from me. When I thought of it objectively so did Breandan … in the beginning. The difference was that now Breandan no longer needed a thing from me. He was guiding me to make the right choices, helping me to carry out my decisions. I sighed. But the comparison wasn’t fair. Everyone wanted something from someone I guess.

Raking my bottom lip through my teeth, I glanced at Tomas then away. Peeked again then looked at his chest. “You’re bleeding?”

“I healed.”

I nodded three times - too many - feeling awkward. “Are you hungry? I mean, can you eat solid food at all? I have a cracker.” I offered the mealy disk-shaped biscuit to him. “It has nectar in the middle. It’s not awful; it’s sweet in an earthy kind of way.”

He grimaced uncomfortably. “Anything but blood makes me ill.”

“Oh.” I looked at my palm then shrugged and stuffed the cracker in my mouth and swallowed. Even with the liquid centre, it made my tongue dry without water to follow it down. I guessed it was good to have something in my stomach. I did not feel hungry at all, but mentally I felt better for eating. I wiped crumbs from my mouth and felt rude for eating in front of him. “Sure you’re okay?”

His grip on my other hand tightened. “Rae?” There was no patience in his tone.

“Okay, okay.” I plucked at my bottom lip before placing my hand on his shoulder in what I hoped was a friendly, platonic way, to still him. “I need you to bring the leader of your Nest back here.” I paused and forced myself to look him in the eye. “Please.”

He cocked his head and shifted so he faced me. “You wish to meet my Queen. Why?”

Queen? The vampires truly called their leader Queen? There was reverence in Tomas’ voice when he had spoken so I swallowed my pithy remarks about the title. Just because I found being called ‘Lady Priestess’ awkward did not mean others would not approve of being addressed by the title their hierarchy afforded them.

“Well, we agreed that a meeting between demonkind would be best to decide what to do about the Sect and the witches. We should work together to find a peaceful solution to the mess we’re in. If we remain divided everything will continue to spiral out of control.”

“What of your promise to me?”

I stopped fidgeting and glared at him. “I am helping you, albeit not in the way you expected.”

His brow furrowed, lips twisted in anger. “You gave me your word.”

“Breandan does not want to go,” I snapped. “I can’t, okay?”

“You let him control you this way?”

I gritted my teeth and squashed the rebellious voice that yelled he was right. “I know you’re anxious about what’s happening to your kind, but you won’t starve.”

“No thanks to you.”

Now I was mad. I tried to tug my hand from his but he held on. Trying to argue with someone whilst they clutched your hand like a lifeline was difficult, but I managed to keep my voice biting as I said, “Believe me when I say I’ve done more for you than I’ve ever done for another. Never has Breandan received the same blind faith as I’ve given you and he is bonded to me by magics. I’ve kept your secret about the fairy you drained two days ago.” He jerked back and I got in his face. “Yeah, I know. I saw it. Felt it.” I thumped my chest. “If I didn’t care what happened to you I would have told Breandan or Conall, and not even I could have stopped what they would have done to you.” I breathed in sharply through my nose, controlling the urges of what I wanted to do to him for taking the girl’s life. “You keep killing people and while I can forgive you once, even twice, I can’t simply ignore it or pretend it isn’t happening.” My voice lowered dangerously. “If I didn’t care, Tomas, I would have let you burn in the sun. I risked everything, everything, turning my back on my kind when I saved you. Don’t you dare ignore or forget what I have done for you.”