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She rolled her eyes. “God, another one?”
I bit my cheek. I refused to tell her if she was going to judge me. I wasn’t here for that.
“Sorry.” She straightened her posture, as if sensing my reaction. “That came out wrong. It just feels like I hardly know you lately. All these men, and them accepting you having multiple lovers and whatever. It’s confusing.”
I pulled up my shoulders without answering. What could I say?
“But tell me,” she insisted. “I’ll pretend he’s the only one there is and try to give you advice. What are friends for?”
I smiled, ready to give this a go. Catina really was great and I appreciated her trying. “Okay, so I’ve known him for a while. We have some stuff in common, like training. He puts on such a big act, though. But I get the feeling he’s totally different under the bravado. And I’m starting to like him.”
“So, do you want to know if you should go for him?” she asked, tilting her head as she studied me.
“Something like that. There’s this crazy attraction with him. But at the same time, he’s unpredictable. And I don’t need that right now.” My life was one great ball of uncertainty at the moment.
She smirked and took another sip. “I’ll bet.”
I smiled because it was hilarious when I looked at it from an outsider’s perspective. And I got the sense she wasn’t making fun of me this time.
“It’d be cliché if I told you to follow your heart, huh?” she queried.
“A little.”
“Get to know him, then,” she suggested. “But you guys have training in common, which you practically live for, so that should be fun.”
I laughed again, remembering our workout session. It’d been spectacular. Ares was great to spar with. He was as serious about his fighting as I was and where Heracles always taught me the right way to move and block, Ares fought me like a worthy opponent. With him, there was no thinking. Only action.
And then there was our kiss. The way he’d stared at me so intensely, his passion flooding me, and he hadn’t pushed me to go further than a kiss, as if waiting for me to make the next move. Something about that made me respect him. Yet it left me craving him and yep, I’d lost myself to him in that moment. God, he adored me beyond physical attraction! How was I supposed to fight against such thoughts? I could swear his musky smell flooded my senses right now, his strong hands holding me close, the play of his tongue against mine, and our racing breaths.
I glanced over at Catina, who was still drinking her wine and seemed to be genuinely contemplating what to do about Ares. Not only to find an answer for me, but to accept my life and to give us a chance.
“Are you seriously considering dating Oliver?” I asked, curious where her love life was going and remembering our last conversation about him at Metric Coffee Co.
She snapped her head up to me, her cheeks on fire. “What are you talking about?”
I giggled. “You’re not a convincing liar. Don’t pretend you don’t know. You said you’d date him if I didn’t and asked if I was okay with it.”
She turned a darker shade of crimson, and I shifted on the couch with discomfort. I hadn’t meant to make her blush. If she liked the guy, she ought to just say it.
“He doesn’t even like me,” she blurted out, and then she was on her feet. She marched over to the mantel, where she lit a candle, the scent of vanilla reaching me. Outside, a car honked, and a silence fell between us.
“What if you just get to know him?” I echoed her own words back to her.
She laughed that time as she joined me on the couch again. “Thanks, Elyse. You’re a peach.”
We giggled together, and it felt amazing. I could actually see Catina with Oliver, which would have seemed bizarre at first. But it’d work. They were both human, which was a huge bonus. Both were driven. He was gentle and accepting and supportive. And she was wild and free and in need of a solid foundation.
Perfect match.
While we talked, I became aware of a shift in the atmosphere in her apartment, and my skin prickled. The room was growing darker, as if the clouds had moved in front of the sun. Yet the sun was still out.
“Do you feel that?” I asked Catina.
“What?” She glanced around, then back at me, and shrugged.
Of course she couldn’t feel the oppressive sensation, as it was the same one that lay inside of me. It had its roots in magic and power from another dimension, and Catina was just a human.
But I recognized the darkness. It burrowed under my skin, sped up my pulse, and was different than what I’d felt in the alleyway. I stiffened in my seat, well aware of what was coming.
