The Devil's Mate

Chapter 16

With only the sounds of the tines of our forks periodically hitting the plates filling the silence in the dining room, I can't help but look cautiously between Dominic and Daniel. The tenseness between them radiates off their bodies like heat waves from a flame. Luckily for me, tonight's dinner is spaghetti bolognese if it were anything else I fear the glares they're sending each other would have chased my appetite away the moment I entered the dining room and I'm sure I would have followed my appetite's lead in running away.

Consciously chewing my forkful of spaghetti, I catch Dominic's eye when he glances at me. I raise my brow in question to the spitting match they're having only to have him shake his head in dismissal of my silent question. Breathing out heavily, I turn my gaze to look at Daniel in the hopes that he will tell me what went down between the two of them. 

Daniel avoids any sort of eye contact with me by looking directly and only at the plate of spaghetti in front of him. The longer I hold my gaze at him, the harder he stares at his dinner, his face going red with the effort to keep himself from meeting my eyes. A bead of sweat trickles down his forehead which he wipes away quickly with the napkin on his lap.

"Alright, a promise is a promise, Daniel," I state after deciding that ignorance is bliss. "What do you know about The Covenant?"

"As I said previously," Daniel starts, putting down his forkful of spaghetti. "The less you know the better. However, I was tricked into promising the provision of information. All I can tell you is that The Covenant is a group of extremists who prey on the magical and unique. They believe they are God chosen to eliminate those who are different. They also experiment on those they capture in a bid to learn more about them."

"This is something I would like to know more about," Dominic chips in, casually taking a sip of wine from the glass sitting in front of him. "If it's alright with you I'd like to speak to you in private."

"Is there no arguing that Victoria comes with me to the camp?" Daniel tries to bargain again. "I truly feel she is safer surrounded by beings like us than here with you."

"Yes," Dominic declares, raising his eyes to meet Daniel's. "There is no arguing on that matter. Victoria is my mate."

Daniel sighs heavily but nods regardless agreeing, "Very well."

Shortly after his response, Masha and her team of Dolls come in to replace our empty plates with crystallised bowls of vanilla ice cream. Whipped cream on mine, chocolate bits for Dominic and rainbow sprinkles for Daniel.

Somehow I feel the sprinkles is Dominic's idea of a joke...I think to myself as I scoop as much of my whipped cream into my mouth. Though it doesn't seem to be an insult considering I know that Daniel loves rainbow sprinkles enough to have it on buttered bread every Saturday morning.

"So how far have the two of you gone?" Daniel asks casually as he dips his spoon into his ice cream. "I'm willing to bet you two haven't gone all the way yet." 

"We're fully bonded, Human Nuisance," Dominic replies blatantly before I can even open my mouth to respond to Daniel's question.

Immediately my cheeks heat up and I can't take my eyes off of the two men who have gone back to glaring at one another again. Whatever it is these two have against each other I hope they get it straightened out enough for me to learn more about The Covenant.

"I would say I'm surprised but then again," Daniel huffs irritatedly. "I'm not."

"As I recall, you and yours didn't waste any time once you found each other," Dominic scoffs. "The two of you stayed locked up in a bedroom for a week."

Clearing my throat uncomfortably, I change the conversation topic with not as much subtlety as I planned, "About The Covenant...how long have they watched me?"

"The time when you appeared is not certain," Daniel begins, taking a bite of ice cream. "But I believe their records go back to 1911. I think that is when they took notice of you."

"In the report, it said I had a caregiver who was incinerated," I continue, looking intently at Daniel. "Could she have possibly been my real mother?"

"No," Daniel sighs, avoiding eye contact with me. "She was a human whose family said she found you but she didn't specify where. She was from a very well-to-do family of tailors and she also was unmarried."

"I did not expect that," I mumble to myself. 

"I think that's enough for tonight," Dominic chips in, placing his spoon in his bowl with the finality of a person of authority. "Victoria, there is a visitor for you in the guest lounge on the third floor, I suggest you bring a paper bag with you seeing as she took the portals to get here."

Theresa? Instantly my mood improves by a small percentage, pushing back my chair to head in the directions provided. As I leave the room, I attempt to catch the beginning of their conversation but I only manage to hear the word 'experiment' before the doors close behind my back.

Grabbing a bag from Masha on the way to the lounge, I hear the fae folk giggle and gossip amongst themselves about how grateful they are for me and how much they hope 'a little bundle of joy will be produced from our love'-their words, not mine. I almost do not want to fathom how baby fae are produced considering what they have to go through just to be together.

"Dominic said you'd be in here," I begin as I enter the guest lounge but I have no time to ask her what it's like to travel via portal before I'm diving to her aid with the paper bag held open as she spills whatever she has in her stomach. "Are you alright?"

Her small frame shakes violently as she dry heaves over and over again. Rubbing her back gently, I sit by her patiently as she rides the tough tide. 

It takes a while but when she stops retching, she leans back into my body with a soft sigh, "Nausea is the worst feeling in the world."

"I think your nausea is the worst thing in the world," I reply with a chuckle when she closes the paper bag and sets it aside. "Was it this bad when you travelled from Heaven to Earth?"

"It was worse," She giggles, tilting her head to look at me. "But that is beside the point. I came here to scour Dominic's library. I've been trying to find my copy of ancient human runes but I can't seem to find it anywhere."

Giving her a small smile, I prop her up to lie against the backrest of the couch stating, "I'll take you there once your stomach stops churning."

Nodding eagerly, Theresa closes her eyes and goes limp letting me know she's fallen asleep. I'm going to go ahead and say that international travel is not for Theresa.