Chapter 114 He will kill her
The witch finally made a response. “You’re her husband.”
“So I am.”
"But not her soulmate.” Her eyes made a slow, deliberate sweep from my face to where my chest stopped behind the desk. “You’re her twin flame. First choice.”
My spine turned rigid.
She could hardly hold my gaze in the silence that followed. Years. So many years have passed since I last heard those words.
First choice.
It was almost as if Nymphaea had forgotten about the phrase, the significance, the implication of it as soon as we fled the Carpathian Mountains before the war of the dragons.
“What is your name?” I rose from behind my desk, and made a slow turn around it.
“Aribella.” The brunette blushed, lowering her gaze to the floor.
“Are you from Donna’s coven?”
“Yes.”
“And you have never told her any of this, her granddaughter’s real identity.” I stopped in front of her, leaning against the desk. “Why?”
She was wringing in discomfort now, eyes still pinned to the floor. “I knew nothing about it, or her. We knew her name, and often saw her on TV. But even her visits to Donna’s plaza were chauffeured.”
I squeezed my eyes shut.
Nymphaea. That stubborn woman. She had carried out her threat. Dancer. She reincarnated as a freaking dancer. I felt sick to my stomach.
“She told me you needed her blood to get the details of your vision. Was that a trick?”
“No.” Her head jerked up. “I need blood to see more than the surface, and she wanted to know the identity of her man.”
“You’re talking to her man.”
“Her other man.” She corrected, without fear.
I looked towards the screen doors with a nod. It was about to rain again, and the clouds were darker this time. If this witch knew to call me First Choice, there was no point putting on airs around her.
I turned my face to her again. “I cannot give you my wife’s blood. Any blood will do, I believe?'
Her eyes widened in horror. “I’m no vampire, sir.” She blinked, likely remembering who she was speaking with. “I need someone connected to her. That’s the closest I can get.”
“Just your luck that my house is temporarily empty. Have you ever tasted dragon blood?” I moved one hand from the table, and started to roll up my sleeve.
The witch bolted out of the seat.
“What are you doing?” My brows furrowed.
“No, please no. I will never tell anyone about this meeting, I promise.”
I scoffed, a little amused. “I have no fear of that.” I resumed peeling my sleeve back. “You won't leave here with the memory of this meeting anyway.”
When my eyes met hers, I saw the tears, brimming.
“I have no plans to kill you, Aribella,” I smoothed over my rising irritation. “If anything, this is a gift because you’ll become the strongest witch. Donna’s mother was the last witch who had this privilege.”
She did not look excited, or impressed, just stood at the center of my study, her hands curled in determined little fists.
“The only downside to this is you'll be bound to me for the rest of your life. Is that so bad? People will kill for this opportunity.”
“I don’t want it.” She paused, swallowing hard. “There is another way, more dangerous, but I will take it.”
“Your more dangerous way will not give me all the answers I need.”
“That's all I can offer. Please do not force me to do it.”
I raised my hands in surrender. “Consent is a big deal to me. Come sit.” I gestured her back to the seat, and she closed the distance with confident steps.
That gesture pleased me. I liked that she trusted me to not breathe flames in her face the moment she neared me. I liked the witch. Much more than Donna. Pity she was turning down more power.
“You will have to put me under.” She spoke, gazing up at me. “And anything from her will do, lock of hair, fluid, anything from her body, while I go under.”
The thought of returning to the bedroom before we concluded this scared me more than taking a walk into hell itself. So I decided on a more unconventional alternative.
“I have something from her uterus. Do you mind?”
Aribella blinked once, confused, and then the edges of her lips trembled as she resisted a smile. “I’m not picky.”
“Excellent.” I grabbed her neck as she parted her lips, and then slipped my fingers which had been in my little wife just a few minutes ago, into her mouth.
And as she sucked it clean, I choked her.
Her body went limp faster than I had estimated. I picked her up immediately, gently laying her flat on the floor.
I glanced at the Ashbound Chancellor, who had been real quiet the whole time. The poor man had gone white, his eyes round with fear at the scene.
“If only you were a little more thorough. None of us would have reached this point."
His head dropped.
I settled on my desk, and fixed my eyes on Aribella, monitoring every tiny movement of her spirit the way a nurse would with a hospital monitor.
The ice chips would likely have melted completely on my pet's chest upstairs, when I moved away from my desk and got on my knees.
I placed a firm hand on Aribella's chest, waiting to hear her heart kick, and then her eyes opened.
She jerked into a seating position with a greedy inhale, like she had been underwater for too long.
Then she burst into tears.
I sat on my heels, watching her, waiting. Crying was a normal reaction to what she just did. When the tears stopped, I helped her return to her seat.
Then I went into the kitchen and returned with a fruit bowl. As soon as I set it down, I turned and asked the Chancellor to join me at the balcony, giving the woman time to decompress in private.
My hands shook as I gripped the railing, but if the Chancellor noticed, he said nothing.
Everything would change the moment I got this final confirmation. Everything.
“I would have been able to tell you the exact day and cause of death if you waited a minute longer,” she spoke immediately I stepped into the study, leaving the Chancellor who remained at the balcony.
“No you wouldn’t. A minute longer and you would have been in whatever afterlife witches believe in.” I took a seat in my desk chair and waved. “Tell me.”
“Julien Laurent, Tarek Rahman, Konrad Adler, Finn Banville. She paused. “They are all the same person.”
The world stopped. “What do you mean?”
“Your wife isn't the only one who kept returning. And you especially owe Tarek a debt. You killed his wife.”
I was sitting very still now, forcing myself to not think deeply about anything for now.
“So this Finn…” I said as if I did not know him, had not met him and given him eternal access to my home. “Is the man you claim will kill her?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“To save her.”
“That makes no sense.”
“I saw it myself.” She shifted in her seat.