The Consort Of House Marasarah

6

Issy thanked the gods for her good fortune. She had successfully gone out and met a gorgeous male, had the best sex of her life and made it back to her uncle's home; all without a single member of her family finding out. She threw her head behind her once more before easing her bedroom door open and slipping inside. As soon as she eased the door closed again, she released a breath she hadn't realised she was holding in and turned around to the very serious face of Arion Odim, Dorsharee of the House of Odimah. Her big brother did not look pleased at all.

Arion was seated in the chair nearest the bathroom connected to May's room. He looked as though he had been sitting there for quite some time waiting for Issy to return. Shit.

"How are you this night, sister mine?" His voice was formal and authoritative. He expected an answer and Issy knew that he knew that she had not spent the day here. She opened her mouth to answer him and then closed it again when nothing came out. Arion was suppose to be on a business trip with their father. Shit shit shit!

"What you did was extremely dangerous Isalinah, what were you thinking. Of course, you weren't thinking at all. If something had happened to you, father would have painted the city red, or have you forgotten whose daughter you are?" He should have sounded like he was angry and shouting but instead he adopted that matter of fact tone and stoic disposition her father had. The one that was pure condescension. Logically she knew he didn't want to alert prying ears but a part of her hated that tone with a passion few understood. It always got under her skin and raised her hackles.

She had trained harder than Arion and for much longer and she was fucking deadly even without a weapon. Yet her family treated her like a glass doll. She could protect herself. If someone tried to hurt her, she would paint the city red herself. But the crown jewel that stung the most was the constant reminder of her station as daughter. It was as though that was all she was, the sum of her parts.

Arion sighed aloud drawing her from her thought, "I get it, you want some freedom, but Issy I don't want you to get hurt. I was worried." He ended simply as his tone break ever so slightly, but enough for Issy to see the worry and genuine concern. He had swapped out her full name to the little pet name he had given her when she was a babe because Isalinah was too serious for a mere babe, much to her father's disgust. His initial anger was fading and Issy moved to capitalise on it.

"I can take care of my own safety, Arion," she finally spoke aloud in a soft voice. A small smile came to her face as she recounted, "Do you remember when Highguard Rullal would make us runs drills when we were training?"

Arion laughed out loud as memories fulled his mind before his face grew serious again, "I will never use you as some kind of meat shield." He said firmly, a mantra he had repeated several times throughout their life. His final and only reason for refusing her entry to the House's specialised Highguardian division.

Arion had hated training while Issy loved and excelled at it. Rullal had been a cruel task maker and loved a student so eager as Issy while he tortured her brother with drills he hated. Issy loved pushing her body to the limit and she had reached the level of a Highguard of her House years before her brother had been deemed competent enough to be allowed to have a sparing partner despite their wide age gap. She was wicked fast and accurate with a bow and with a butter knife or anything really that could be used to kill a person, vampire or otherwise.

"I don't doubt your skill which even the best Highguards acknowledge as being on par with their own. I just don't want anything to happen to you. That is all little sister," Arion stated.

"I just wanted a night out, the rest was .... unplanned," Issy said barely keeping the wistful smile that touched her lips as she recalled her day. Her time with Massillon felt like a wet dream and she could believe it had been real.