Sinjin (15 page)

“Parrying, were you?” Mercedes asked
Sinjin with a frown that turned into a glare.

“Some would describe it as exactly that,”
Sinjin smirked.

“Is what she’s saying true?” Mercedes continued.

“It is,” Sinjin said, his ice blue eyes sparkling in the low light of the room. “Thrusting and parrying can take many forms, including attempted murder.”

“And what a shame that she wasn’t successful in her attempt,” Mercedes said under her breath as she faced me again. Her suspicion was still evident in her features. “You do realize that any attempt to murder the queen’s protector is punishable by death?”

“Now, I guess you’ll inform me that you must have my head!” I exclaimed sarcastically. Inwardly, I breathed a sigh of relief because it appeared that Mercedes bought my explanation for the wards’ surge in magic. As long as I could keep my tangled web securely woven and away from the real truth, I was looking good.

Mercedes addressed
Sinjin. “Would you care to press charges against her?”

Sinjin
eyed me narrowly, but I saw a smile turning up the corners of his mouth. “Hmmm,” he said, “that is quite a loaded question. Her demise would restore my evenings to me to do with as I like.”

“Will you or won’t you?” Mercedes demanded impatiently.

“Not this time, my good prophetess, not this time,” Sinjin said as he shook his head, his eyes never leaving mine. “Gumption and unbridled ambition should never be discouraged.”

I held his eyes, but I didn’t respond to his comment. Meanwhile, Mercedes turned on her heels and started for my bedroom door. When she reached it, she paused with her hand on the doorknob and turned to face me. “You might have convinced your sister that you’re trustworthy, but you will never convince me.”

I nodded, but the expression on my face told her, in no uncertain terms, that I didn’t care. I remained quiet as I watched her leave my room and heard the sounds of her footsteps as she walked across the wood floors, heading for the front door. At the sound of Mathilda clearing her throat, I glanced down at her.

“I do not share the prophetess’s perspective, child,” she said in her high-pitched and melodious voice. “I believe there is true goodness inside you,” she continued before reaching out and touching me above my heart. “I can feel it.”

“Maybe you can talk Mercedes into feeling it too?” I suggested with a dry laugh.

Mathilda
continued to smile up at me and nodded. “She will see it in time, child, as will everyone else.” Then she turned around and offered Sinjin a broad smile, covering his hand with her much smaller one. “You are doing a very good job with her, Sinjin,” she complimented him.

Sinjin
didn’t say anything, but merely nodded as he politely covered her hand with his and walked her to my door before they both approached the front door, talking about something that I failed to hear. I walked into the living room just as Sinjin closed the door behind Mathilda. He turned around to face me while shaking his head.

“Well, I must confess that I believed you were smarter than you looked but, apparently, such is not the case.”

“I don’t care that Mercedes knows I tried to kill you,” I snapped, throwing my hands on my hips. “I’m more than sure that anyone who knows you would definitely understand my reasons why.”

Sinjin
dropped his head back as a hearty, unrestrained laugh escaped him. “Very well-articulated, Bête Noire,” he said mockingly. Then the laugh and smirk vanished from his lips. “Perhaps you successfully detoured Mercedes from the real reason her wards recorded a surge in magic?”

I was surprised and my eyebrows arched up accordingly, to which
Sinjin chuckled. “The real reason?” I repeated, pretending to have no clue to what he was referring. “
That
was the real reason.”

“Really, my little hellion, you do not give me the credit I deserve.”

“I don’t believe you deserve any credit,” I responded tartly as I took a seat on my bed again and decided ignoring him might be the best course of action.

“
Well, I can foresee that this conversation will go round and round with no end in sight,” Sinjin said as he clapped his hands together. “Thus, I suggest we change it.”

“And talk about what?” I asked unenthusiastically.
Sinjin eyed me with a drawn brow as he walked to one end of my room, turned around and then walked to the other. “Pacing,” I called out, pretending to play charades with him. “You’re pacing, um, you’re worried about something? How many words in the phrase again?”

“What in blazes are you going on about?” he demanded in an irritated voice as
he stopped pacing and turned to face me. He crossed his arms against his chest and regarded me with exasperation.

I shrugged.
“Charades.” But there was nothing in Sinjin’s face that said he had any idea to what I was referring. “You’ve never heard of Charades?” He shook his head. “And you’ve been alive for more than five hundred years?” I asked, dumbfounded.

“
Odran brought it to my attention,” Sinjin started, clearly changing the subject.

“I guess that’
s a no,” I interrupted him.

“Blast this Charades game!”
he burst out impatiently, throwing his hands in the air. “No, I do not know what your silly game is and nor do I care to!”

“Calm down,” I responded, holding my hands up in submission. “
Someone’s in a bad mood today. Sheesh!”

His glare steadily gave way to
an expression of slight irritation, his left eyebrow arched dramatically. “Odran brought it to my attention,” he repeated. “That he took you to one of his fae lands, with the intention of forcing information from you.”

“Yep, he did,” I said with a yawn.
“So what?”

Sinjin
cleared his throat and didn’t seem pleased with the information. “How was he able to pry this information from you, Bête Noire?”

I shrugged
like the answer was obvious. “With mead that he offered me to drink. Turns out it was tainted with a charm.”

Sinjin
nodded, as if he expected my response. “Tainted with what sort of charm?”

“Um,” I started as I bit my lip and
thought about it. “I’m not sure exactly but I think it was some form of a love charm.”

“I see,”
Sinjin responded immediately, his eyes boring into mine. “And…what information was he able to learn about you?”

“Didn’t you just tell me that
Odran came to you and told you all of this already?” I asked, frowning at him as I shook my head. “I’m really not in the mood to tell you something you already know, Sinjin,” I started as something else occurred to me. “Unless…”

“Unless what?”
he demanded immediately.

I felt a smile break out across my lips. “Unless you are
so
old that Alzheimer’s has set in and you really can’t remember that Odran already told you all of this?” I laughed as soon as I saw his expression. He wasn’t amused.

“I am not interested in the information
Odran
told
you,” he said snidely.

“Then why did you just ask me,” I started but he shook his head and sighed in exasperation, interrupting me.

“Good Lord, Bête Noire, you are vexing to no end!”

“Love you too,” I grumbled as I leaned back on my bed and reached for
my book which was sitting on the nightstand.

“What did
Odran…
do
to you?” Sinjin demanded.

I glanced up at him from where I’d been honing in on my book and smiled as soon as I realized what he was getting at.
“Oh, you mean because of the love charm on the mead?”

“Yes, that is what I mean,” he said instantly.

And that was when I decided that it was time I played a game with Sinjin for once. I slapped my book closed and sat up, eyeing him innocently. “When you ask me what Odran
did
to me,” I started, trying to keep a straight face.

“Physically, Bête Noire!”
Sinjin spat out, sounding frazzled. “Did he touch you?”

“Oh, okay,” I answered with a nod. Then I laughed. “I wasn’t s
ure what you were referring to…like did you mean what did he do to me or what did he
do
to me?”

“
Just answer the bloody question,” Sinjin responded as he shook his head.

“
Well, he
definitely
touched me!” I said with a laugh and a knowing expression, all the while absolutely loving playing the role of puppeteer for once.

“Where did he touch you and what did he do?”
Sinjin insisted, approaching my bed immediately.

I shook my head. “I think it would be better to ask me where didn’t he touch
me?”

Sinjin
pulled back from me immediately and his eyebrows met in the middle of his forehead in an expression of anger. “Where didn’t he touch you?” he repeated. “What does that mean?”

“I’m sure you’re aware that
fae magic is pretty strong right?” I asked.

“I am aware, yes.”

“Well, I drank a shee-it load of that charmed mead,” I started, facing him with wide eyes as I shook my head. Then I focused on my feet as I tried desperately to summon any acting ability I might possess. I took a few deep breaths and then looked up at Sinjin again, who was studying me intently. I bit my lower lip and shook my head, trying to portray someone who was on the verge of tears.

“What is it, Bête Noire?”
Sinjin asked in a soft voice. “You can tell me.”

I shook my head again and when I spoke, I made sure my voice was cracking. “It’s just…
I drank so much of the mead and it messed with my head! When he got me naked and kissed me all over, I couldn’t say no!” I glanced up at him and scrunched my face into something that I hoped resembled someone crying. “And when I saw what was underneath his kilt! I just…I just couldn’t look away! It was so…so immense!” I looked down at my hands and held them a foot apart. “It was as if someone had gone into the forest and felled the largest tree, something incredibly long and just as wide! But it…it was attached to him, Sinjin! And it moved! It moved like it had a mind of its own!”

“Yes, well,” the vampire muttered but I didn’t give him the chance to continue.

“And when I looked at it…” I shook my head and then brought my hands to my temples, burying my face into my palms. “I knew I shouldn’t want to touch it, to feel it, but I did!” I looked up at him again, continuing to shake my head. “And when he entered me, I felt as if he would split me apart right then and there!”

The alarm on
Sinjin’s face suddenly made me lose my composure and I erupted into a fit of laughter. I couldn’t seem to stop myself.

“What?” the vampire started, anger flushing his features. “Why are you laughing?”

“I’m laughing,” I started as I took a deep breath and tried to calm myself down. “Because your reaction was priceless.”

“I do not understand,” he barked back at me. “Then your story is not true?”

“No, it’s not true,” I said with a frown, my tone of voice suggesting that he was an idiot for ever thinking it was true.

“Then the
Scottish ape did not take advantage of you and you are still…intact?”

“
Nope, he didn’t take advantage of me and yes, I am still ‘intact’, as you call it,” I said, even though I wondered if the few stolen kisses counted as taking advantage of me. Hmm, probably not. “Nothing happened so you can go back to my sister and tell her there’s nothing to worry about.”

“The queen was not the one who asked me to inquire,”
Sinjin responded stonily.

“Then who did?” I asked.

“No one,” he responded and then looked decidedly uncomfortable. “I was curious.”

“Curious?” I repeated, studying him
as I narrowed my eyes. I could tell he wasn’t telling the truth.

“Yes, curious.”

I studied him for another few seconds before I felt a smile break out across my lips. “You weren’t curious. You were jealous.” I was surprised to hear the words come from my mouth but before I could stop them, they were already out.

“I do not care to discuss this matter
with you any longer,” Sinjin said and then turned on the ball of his left foot and started for my door. When he reached the door, he paused and then turned back to face me. “And just for the record, I was not jealous.”

“Env
ious works too,” I called out after his retreating figure.

ELEVEN

Three Months Later

“Rand and I have set a date for our wedding which will be in exactly four months from today,” Jolie announced happily as we walked along the beach just below Kinloch Kirk. She wrapped both of her hands around her swelling middle and faced me with a joyful smile. “Christa, of course, isn’t happy about the announcement because she wanted us to have one big happy wedding with her and John.”

“I’m sure she’ll get over it,” I responded with a smile. I’d met Christa maybe a handful of times and I liked her enough, although I wasn’t convinced she was the sharpest tool in the shed. But she was a good friend to my sister and always had been so it was for that reason that I tolerated her. That and she
wasn’t around much which didn’t give her the opportunity to get on my nerves.

“I hope so,” Jolie answered with a sigh as she glanced down at her belly which was just starting to show. “I don’t want to wait too long for the wedding since I’m getting bigger every day. And I don’t want
the wedding to be too close to my due date.”

“So in four months’ time, you’ll be, what, eight months along?” I asked as I tried to do the math quickly in my head.

Jolie nodded and then sighed as she glanced out at the ocean. “And I’m sure I’ll be huge and won’t look a bit like a bride.” She didn’t sound happy about that thought.

“Eight months pregnant and huge or not, you’ll still be a beautiful bride,” I answered with a reassuring smile. “And I’m sure Rand thinks you’re even more beautiful with every day that passes.”

“Thanks,” she responded as her eyes found mine again but the expression on her face said she didn’t exactly agree with me. “And, yes, that’s what Rand says, but I’m sure it’s just to make me feel better about the way I look.” She glanced down at herself and shook her head. “I can’t imagine getting any bigger than I already am and I’m only four months along!”

“Exactly,” I argued with a frown as I shook my head, thinking she had a long way to go. “You’re barely even showing, Jolie.”

“I feel like I’m as big as a cow,” she answered with a laugh. “But at least the morning sickness is a thing of the past.”

“Well, if it’s any consolation, you don’t look anything like a cow,” I said, loving the feel of the sand beneath my bare feet. “And as for Rand, that man loves you more than anything in the world. I can see it in his eyes whenever he looks at you.” Jolie immediately smiled and I could see her love for Rand clearly written all over her face. “Okay, enough of this sappy stuff. I’m not sure how much more I can take,” I finished with a shake of my head and a teasing smile.

“Are we that bad?”

I nodded immediately and then rolled my eyes at her to say they were that bad and then some. “The two of you together can be pretty gross sometimes.”

Jolie giggled as her cheeks colored with what I imagined was slight embarrassment. Then she inhaled deeply as she offered me a self-conscious smile. “I’m sure we are.”

“Yep, just a little,” I concurred with another big grin before I remembered the direction the conversation had been headed. “So, if you’re worried about being too big for the wedding, why not just get married now?”

Jolie nodded as if the thought had already occurred to her. “I would have agreed to get married sooner but Rand wants a big wedding and all the arrangements that go along with one take quite a while … I’m not even sure I can get everything wrapped up in four months!”

“Well, you know I’m always here to help?” I asked as I stopped walking and faced her. She paused as well, and her expression was one of curiosity. I didn’t say anything but settled my hands on her stomach. I could feel the energy of her unborn baby immediately. “She’s strong and healthy.”

“She?” Jolie responded with a laugh that said she wasn’t convinced of the baby’s sex. I didn’t know why but I was sure her baby was a girl. I always had been.

“The energy coming from her feels like a girl’s energy to me,” I explained and then shrugged as if to say it was just a hunch and that I had no evidence on which to base my opinion.

“I would love to have a little girl,” Jolie responded, a faraway expression taking control of her face as she looked out over the waves that crashed against the rocks. The sun was shining and warm even though a cold breeze billowed out from over the ocean. I pulled my hoodie tighter around myself and tried to ward away the chill in the air.

“You would love whatever sex you’re blessed with,” I responded with another smile as I reiterated the same thought to myself. The truth of the matter was that I was beyond excited to be an aunt. But it was an excitement that had to be tempered because I knew better. Even though the last three months had been blissful for me because I’d finally allowed myself to drop my defenses and actually get to know my sister, I knew my reasons for doing so weren’t happy ones. There was always the thought, in the back of my mind, that whatever burgeoning closeness I felt for Jolie, it wouldn’t and couldn’t last long. At the end of the day, we were still enemies and still fighting for opposite causes. And what was more, I was very much aware that I would still have to earn her trust and then use it against her. The thought made me sick to my stomach and had every day for the past three months.

You aren’t going to let anything happen to your sister,
I thought to myself.
No matter what Luce’s plans are, you will make sure Jolie and her baby are safe.
It was the same sentiment I’d repeated to myself at least five times a day. It was the only way I could rationalize my actions.

But what of Rand?
I asked myself for the umpteenth time.
Luce probably is planning on attacking Kinloch Kirk at some point. So what will that mean for everyone you’ve gotten to know so well? Would you really be okay if Luce tried to kill Rand or Odran … or Sinjin?

The answer was no, I wouldn’t be okay with Rand,
Odran or Sinjin dying. But I also didn’t know how to rectify the situation and it continued to eat at me day and night.

“Yes, that’s true, I would love a boy or a girl,” Jolie admitted as she nodded enthusiastically. “And going back to your comment about helping me,” she started and then eyed me knowingly.

“I’m happy to help however I can,” I said honestly. “Although I’ve never even seen a wedding before so I’m not sure how much help I’ll actually be …”

“I want you to be my maid of honor, Bryn,” Jolie interrupted.

I felt my stomach drop for the second time in the course of the last few minutes. “Jolie,” I started as I shook my head and immediately felt guilt choking me. It wouldn’t be right for me to accept her offer to be her maid of honor, not when I was still holding true to my loyalty to Luce. “What about Christa?” I asked in a hollow voice, searching for any argument against my playing the role of my sister’s maid of honor.

But Jolie shook her head and wore that stubborn expression of hers that said she wouldn’t be swayed. “You’re my twin sister, Bryn,” she announced matter-of-factly. “I know we haven’t known one another that long and the beginnings of our … relationship were rocky, but over the course of the time you’ve been here, I feel as if we’ve become close.” She took a deep breath and then expelled it.
“I’m sure it’s been hard for you to come to terms with your people deserting you and I know you haven’t allied yourself with us yet,” she started.

“No, I haven’t,” I finished for her. Even though Luce had instructed me to earn Jolie’s trust and to get close to her, there was only so far I would go. Yes, I’d made up the story that I believed my people had deserted me but other than that mistruth, I hadn’t lied to my sister. Every conversation, every laugh we’d shared as well as all the time we’d spent together over the last three months had been real and genuine for me. And it hadn’t been a hard task to get close to my sister, because all along, I’d yearned to be close to her. She was the only family I had.

“I hope you don’t think I’m insinuating that I do want you to ally yourself with us,” Jolie said and started worrying her lower lip. “I mean, of course I want that more than anything in the world, but I also don’t expect it of you. I know we’ve both grown up to believe such different things …”

“I think
it’s better that we leave this conversation alone,” I responded, not able to shake the guilt from within myself. There were moments when I felt like I was a ticking time bomb disguised as Jolie’s sister, just waiting to go off and destroy everything she’d worked so hard for.

Jolie nodded but looked slightly disappointed. “You’re probably right,” she admitted and then smiled at me reassuringly.

But I shook my head. “The other thing to consider here is that certain people won’t be happy about me being your maid of honor at all. To many, I’m still your prisoner.” I was referring to Mercedes.

“I don’t care what the prophetess thinks about this, Bryn,” Jolie responded, her lips set in a tight line. “This is my life so I’m going to live it the way I see fit.”

“But, I
am
still your prisoner, Jolie,” I argued, shaking my head as I tried to beat the point home. I didn’t want Jolie to blindly trust me because I knew how this was going to end. And it wasn’t going to be happily ever after. “You were right when you said that we both believe in vastly different things, things that are irreconcilable.”

“You aren’t my prisoner, not anymore, Bryn. You are my
sister
,” she rebutted, her jaw tight. “Regardless of where you and I stand on the topic of our belief systems, I love you. I love you because you’re my sister and I’m hopeful that someday we can put our differences aside.” She paused for a moment or two while I tried to come to terms with the fact that I was a horrible person. “I feel like we’ve made such strides to drop the walls between us and every day I spend with you, I love you more than I did the previous one.” She beamed at me and I felt like I was going to cry. “You are the only family I have left, Bryn,” she said as she took my hand and covered it with her other one. “And regardless of our past, I want you to be a huge part of my future.” She glanced down at her belly. “And the future of my baby.” She smiled up at me again. “It’s for that reason that I’m asking you to do me the favor of being my maid of honor at my wedding.”

I couldn’t look at her any longer and dropped my focus to the sand below my feet because I didn’t want her to see the tears that were starting in my eyes. I suddenly felt like a traitor and I was choking on
the guilt. When I felt like I was finally able to talk my tears into submission, I glanced up at her again and smiled sadly. “Do you know that’s the first time anyone has ever told me that they love me?” I asked, my voice cracking.

There was a brief moment of shock on Jolie’s face before she remembered herself. “I’m sorry to hear that,” she said softly and offered me another sweet smile as she tightened her hold on my hand.

I inhaled deeply and blinked a few determined tears away. “It’s, um, strangely, not easy to hear,” I explained in a mere whisper as I fought to keep it together.

“I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable,” Jolie started but I immediately shook my head.

“You didn’t make me uncomfortable,” I said before realizing that I needed to explain myself. “I, uh, just was taken by surprise a bit. That’s all.”

And I knew that even though I felt the same feelings for my sister, that is that I loved her, I would never be able to get the words out. I just wasn’t one of those people who found being in touch with her emotions easy. Jolie fell silent as she studied me, a whisper of a smile still residing on her lips. “I know this sort of stuff is hard for you,” she announced. “Hopefully it will get easier.”

“I hope so,” I admitted, still unable to look her in the eyes. I hated the feeling of showing weakness in front of someone and with the tears still residing in my eyes, I felt utterly and completely weak.

“Will you do it, Bryn?” Jolie persisted. “Will you be my maid of honor?”

I made the mistake of looking into her bottomless blue eyes and knew I couldn’t disappoint her. “Of course I will,” I said with a half-hearted smile because inside, I felt as if I were crumbling.

My sister gripped both of my hands and that familiar energy that connected us suddenly sprouted up as if to remind me that it was still present. “Thank you,” Jolie said with genuine happiness beaming from her face.

“I’m happy to,” I answered sadly before silence began to reign between the two of us. Pretty soon the only sounds were those of our feet as they crunched the sand.