Meredith had always known about magic. Her family was magic, one of the most powerful mage lines out there. Having lost her parents to all the fighting though, she stayed far away from it, focusing on school and lading a primarily normal life.
Unti...
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In order to transport her with him, he usually held her hand, but when they arrived, Rush was holding her entire body to him. Expecting him to eventually let her go, it was strange standing in the iron clamp of his arms. Was Rush upset about her talking with Damien? Or was he concerned Damien did something to her? Rush had not been entirely clear on whether or not he had feelings about her aside from occasional lustful stares.
"Rush?" Mer attempted to ascertain why he was standing on the edge of his bed clutching her to him, hopefully before she started to resemble a squished toothpaste tube.
"Meredith," Rush responded in turn, as if they were exchanging pleasantries, and she chuckled lightly against him. The action loosened his grip, and he sat on the bed, pulling her up to sit with him. Plopped on the bed next to him, she smiled with concern. "You are still doing that, I suppose."
"Doing what now?" Leaning forward, she tried to get a better look at his face. Though his voice was calm, his expression was downcast in what almost looked to be despair. "Did I do something wrong?"
"No." Rush's response was immediate, and it changed his expression to a look of anger just briefly. "The Arcs are not people you should be doing anything with, even conversation. The thought of you alone with Damien Arc fills me with horrible unease. That man is not stable."
"Well, he did say he was new to being a vampire." Mer was unsure if that made him unstable, but it made him unable to control his hunger.
"Damien told you that?" Rush didn't seem to believe her, and she nodded. "Did he say anything to frighten you?" Rush looked pained when he asked.
"No, not at all. Damien was quite pleasant." Sitting with Rush, she felt as if she had something else to say to him, but she couldn't even remember why she'd felt so calm with Damien. There had been something else, like she had known him from somewhere, but she couldn't place the feeling.
"Meredith..." Rush let out one of his long sighs. "I requested you not talk to anyone, though I suppose since I was gone, I could not have expected you to turn into a statue. Damien Arc is not pleasant. None of the Arcs are pleasant. Of all the vampire houses, their line is the most vicious. Their territory has regular casualties, and even mages stray from confrontations with them.
"When my father and I fight mages, we kill them. The Arcs torture them for weeks, months, or years until they die. They are a different sort, powerful, but also abusive of the power they have." Rush paused. "Damien said he touched you." By the way he was staring at her, it looked as if he expected her to detail the incident. There wasn't really much though.
"Damien just slung his arm around my shoulder for a minute or two. That was it." Most of the time his hands had been glued to his liquor or his hot chocolate.
"He did not threaten you?"
Threaten? Why would he threaten her when she'd just met him? Rush must have picked up on her look because he waved a hand at her as if he could bat her away. Then he slid onto the bed, removed his shirt, and slid under the covers.
