The Consort (MalexMale) 《COMPLETE》

Chapter 36

Chapter 36

Kelly and Fiona make room for us around the table. There's a few candles burning, the soft glow providing enough light for us to nibble on the platter of cheese and crackers waiting for us. Fiona and I exchange a look, one that silently is full of regret and relief. She has a few, small cuts on her face, but it's not enough to scratch the surface of her beauty.

"I'm glad you're ok," I whisper.

She nods in return, her expression reassuring me that she feels the same. Kelly scoots his chair closer to hers and protectively slides his arm around the back of the chair. He doesn't touch her, but the action speaks volumes. I glance at Fiona, expecting her to flinch at his sudden at advance. But she doesn't.

Perhaps their relationship is growing stronger than I realize. Is it because of Kelly pretending to know of their past? If it is, Fiona hasn't said a thing to me about it. Then again, she hasn't mentioned the fact that she's pregnant, either.

A piece of me wishes I would have spent more time trying to befriend Fiona before Kelly became immortal. The two of us were close, but Kelly was always the glue to hold us together. Now that the human version is gone, it's like we're learning to be friends all over again. Only this time it's not to make Kelly happy. It's to make us happy, leaning on the only other human around.

I drop my gaze from them and grab for another cracker. Kelly sighs after a stretch of silence and scoots his chair closer to the table.

"Fine. I'll start," he grumbles. "I don't want to know why the two of you were out of the house. What I do want to know is how you ended up in the hands of those Vultures."

My eyes flicker up to him in confusion. "Vultures?"

"Humans who have turned on their own kind," Bogdan replies evenly. "They're notorious for 'claiming' abandoned towns, traveling in small groups and wearing the hooded cloaks to resemble vampires."

"I've never heard of that before," I say, shaking my head.

Bogdan lets out a low, humorless laugh. "Humans are emotional creatures. When fear infiltrates their mind, they have a tendency to act irrational. Instead of fighting against the ones who are attacking their kind, they turn on themselves."

"I remember reading about them in class," Fiona interjects. "The same thing happened for the first war. Leo taught us – "

"That name will not be spoken in my presence," Bogdan interjects, his quiet voice sending a shiver down my spine.

He doesn't explain himself, but then again, he doesn't have to. If it wasn't for Leo, I wouldn't have the leaders of the human war trying to find me. If it wasn't for Leo, Fiona would have never been held captive for weeks on end. I try to tell myself that's all it is, but a piece of me wonders if there's a hint of jealousy behind his words, too.

Fiona swallows down the rest of her words. She tucks a strand of her red hair behind her ear and returns her gaze to the piece of cheese held between her index finger and thumb. Kelly stiffens at Bogdan's scolding tone, but he remains silent as well. Even if his memories of the past are all a sham, his protective nature is still intact, just as real as ever.

"We were walking back to the house and they just appeared," I say, clearing my throat and getting the conversation back on topic. "They said they owned the town and everything in it. Including us. And then they just...took us."

Kelly nods, his expression still taut with irritation. Bogdan brings his hands in front of his face, his fingers forming a tipi in front of his lips.