Inhumane Seduction (Vampire Romance-on hiatus)

twenty-two

Twenty two - Silent Prayer

His thumb was rubbing circles on my palm. I shifted away as subtly as I could, uncomfortable with our closeness. He seemed to notice this as he frowned and then pulled his hand away from mine. I wanted to apologize but I knew if I played nice then he may get the wrong idea so I just kept my mouth shut as we looked out at the dense forest.

"Kira knows everything," he spoke almost hesitantly.

This immediately grabbed my attention. I turned my head to look at him. "What?"

He ignored my question. "She told me you were a dark sorcerer."

Even though that might have been partially true, I shrugged, acting confused. "Why would she think that?"

"She told me about the day she saw you with the psychopomp at Redwater. She said no human would have been able to do what you did."

I wanted to take my cup of tea and take a sip but I figured that would make me look suspiciously unsure. "And you believe her, then?"

We sat there for a minute, not talking or doing anything but stare at the view in front of us. The forest was more majestic than usual. Some sunlight actually peeked through the clouds, shining on the trees and forest floor, so I tried to relish it as much as I could before it went away again.

I could tell Charon was looking at me, probably processing the information he got from Kira. To be fairly honest, I didn't even know what I was. Maybe I was just a regular human with sorcerer parents. It was highly unlikely because Xander had told me being sorcerers were passed down genetically, but so far I hadn't been showing any symptoms that I could even do magic.

Charon leaned forward in his chair. "The sorcerers were wiped out by King Darius a few years back. Every single one of them was killed. Did you hide in the Beyond? Is that how you survived? Why did you come back here?"

"I seriously don't know what you're talking about." I knew about everything that he was talking about, but I was in a dangerous position right now and I needed to play dumb.

"I wouldn't have believed it before but it's hard not to believe Kira when there are so many signs that tell me you're not human."

I stared at him. At this point, I didn't know whether it would do me more harm to speak or stay quiet, but in the midst of debating to myself, he had already spoken.

"First, I can touch you. I have never found anyone that didn't burn under my touch. Second, Kira saw you with the psychopomp at Redwater."

"Look, Charon, you even said it yourself. Sorcerers were wiped out by King Darius-"

He interjected me, not purposely, but only out of eagerness to prove his point. "The massacre happened around 19 years ago, and you are 19, aren't you Ophelia?"

"That doesn't prove anything."

"It does. You would have only been a baby. A newborn baby. Your parents made sure that you were safe by sending you to the Beyond, didn't they?"

As I looked at him I saw that his eyes were far away, putting in the pieces of puzzles.

"That's why you seem fine on staying here. Your parents aren't really in the Beyond. They're here. Are they still alive?"

I sighed and then stood up to go back inside. It was getting cold anyway and I needed some warmth from the fireplace. As I was grabbing my tea his hand wrapped itself around my arm in a tight grip. It wasn't enough to hurt me but I glanced at him questioningly.

"It is set, Ophelia. We will wed tomorrow."

My stomach dropped at this. I stared at him for a moment, not able to process his words. It cut through me like a blade of ice. "No, it's too early. You even said so yourself before."