Slayer [vampire+vampire hunter]

Slayer 7

"You know him?" Seraph realized, eyeing me anxiously as I stood there stiffly, frozen by the knowledge the puzzle I'd just put together.

"Of course she does," Xavier answered for me, his tone filled with the grasp of knowledge. "He's a slayer heir too."

"It's Cai. Cailler," I whispered. "It has to be him. What did he look like?"

"Dangerous, for a human. All in the eyes," Seraph said dryly. "He was wearing a hood, so I couldn't see his hair, but he was tall and agile, and his eyes were black."

"That's because he has blond hair," I mused out loud. "White blond, like it's been bleached by the sun. He refused to dye it something dark, and I guess he still does. Such an idiot." I smiled affectionately despite the insult.

Xavier tensed. "Alexis, how well do you know him?"

I looked up at him. "He was my best friend, even if our families were enemies. We used to train together, and I could tell him anything. When I was younger, I wanted a friend my age, since Shawn and Kelsey were still too little, and one day when I was exploring in the forests, I met him. He'd been sitting in a tree like a monkey, staring down in wait, and when I wandered by, he'd pounced. We'd tussled, and I managed to wrestle him to the ground. He had been impressed, and then we became friends. My mother scolded me for getting my dress dirty that night..."

Xavier scowled at the floor, but I didn't notice, lost in recalling the memories. "We got along very well, but once our families found out, the Solomons sent him away to train under a different master, one they claimed was better than mine. I wonder if I'm still better than him now."

"You need to practice more," Seraph suggested. "We can send vampires to fight you if you like."

"I would, actually," I said, fingering Laktnoz's handle absently.

"You just can't wound them, since they're fighting for the Lord."

"Of course I won't," I promised.

"We'll send them starting tomorrow, I think..." Seraph was distracted by planning, already beginning to leave, and I glanced at Xavier, surprised to see him with his arms crossed, glaring at the corner of the room.

"What's wrong, Xavier?" I probed, placing a hand on his arm.

He exhaled in a rush, the set of his shoulders refusing to relax. "I don't like it, Princess. You're mine. I hate how you have this past that I don't know anything about. I'm jealous of this Cailler, this person who knows an Alexis that I don't. I hate this. It's not fair." He spat out Cai's name with loathing.

"Oh, Xavier, don't be like that. We're just childhood friends, nothing more. Besides, you know a side of me that he doesn't know anymore," I reasoned.

Xavier shook his head agitatedly. "But you're mine, Princess. Not his."

"I am," I said softly, flushing slightly at the implications of those words.

He tugged me back into his embrace, impossibly gentle, but then jerked his chin up when he gazed into my eyes. "You're not telling me something."

I shook my head like a broken bobble-head. "No, no, I'm not," I denied too hurriedly.

"Yes, you are. Tell me!" he growled, and I flinched back. That was the first time he'd ever raised his voice at me, and I hadn't noticed just how terrifying Xavier could be if he was pushed to it.

"We were engaged once," I whispered reluctantly. Xavier let out an enraged hiss, but I quickly continued talking before he flipped out. "We were only six! It was during a brief period of peace between the Pranton and the Solomon families, before we'd even met in the forest, and the slayer lines got into another disagreement so the engagement was dissolved. He never found out about it, and I'd only known because I'd blackmailed my mother into telling me when I was ten."