A Vampire's Pride

Spun Golden Thread

Viola's POV

His mother.

Those two words echo around in my empty void of a brain for a minute before I process them. I hadn't even thought Kilian had a mother— much less an imprisoned mother.
She must be his vampiric side, if his genetic pool were anything to go by.

           I raise my eyebrows at Kilian and scramble to get off of his lap, more intrigued at the serious tone this had all taken.

          "I have so many questions—" I start to say quickly, scooting my chair closer to him as his eyes lighten with humor at my antics. I bite my lip for a second and think about what I want to ask first— but then the worst thing happens.
    My mind goes blank of any questions.

              He stares at me expectantly as I swallow slowly, also waiting for my mind fog to clear. After a minute or so, I sigh, giving up on my shit show of a brain.

             "Forget it, I can't fucking remember what I was going to ask." I mumble out, eyes dragging downwards in disappointment. I hear Kilian let out a chuckle, chest shaking silently.
He starts to fold his sleeves up to his elbows neatly, exposing the raw patterns of his deal markings; then, he leans toward me slowly.

             "How about I just tell you a quick summary of what the plan is," He says lowly. "And when you think of any questions you want to ask, I'll be here to answer?" He finishes, the intense look in his eyes never faltering.

            Oddly enough, a question raises in my mind due to his close proximity. Who do you think was in the future vision with you? I have brown hair as well— but there have to be at least a thousand others in Settrinos with that hair color. All with unrealistic beauty features; 'probably due to the levels of magic in this place' I think to myself grimly.

Instead, I give him a smile and nod— waiting for him to continue.
I fidget with my fingers on my lap, noting that my nail polish was chipping and I hadn't worn makeup since I got to holdrex. I must look like a birdcage right now— a damn mess.

But yet, he's still looking at me like I could set the world on fire and he wouldn't care. The hunger in his eyes never go away when I'm in his presence, and it makes me slightly think he might also want my blood. Yet, I'm not scared. I'm never scared of Kilian— not now. Not knowing him in this light.

               He grins and pulls out a crisp golden bill from the inside of his leathers; this makes me break out of my 'Kilian stupor' for the first time in a while.

               "What are you, fucking Willy wonka?" I mutter with a small snort, humor taking up my features slightly. He narrows his eyes playfully as he puts the bill down on the table between us.

             "Currency down here." He says simply, and then outstretches his hand to me; strong and awaiting.
             "Take a walk with me for more privacy?" He asks, his eyes growing darker as I chew on my lip in thought.

             Without a thought, I blurt out a question that has been on my mind for a long time.

              "What did you mean that one time you told me that Claire and Atticus aren't even supposed to be together? Am I missing something? You know, before—" I glance around the shop in caution as Kilian's smile falters slightly. I lower my voice for the next words to come out of my mouth.
             "Before Echo interrupted?"

He narrows his eyes slightly and then closes them with a sigh, remembering exactly what moment I was speaking about.

"Right— one of my fathers deals." He says slowly.
"I meant simply that he'd made a deal with some creature— a woman named Celmira. All those years she'd wanted Atticus to herself, so much so that she made a deal with my maker." He clears his throat, speaking in a low tone as he went tense; scanning for any listening ears.