Page 32 of A Taste of Bliss

“I don’t forgive him and I don’t forgive you. Being your band manager would just make it worse. It’d be like last time all over again.”

Amelia looks like I slapped her in the face. “Is it that you don’t forgive me for not telling you about Taser, or that you don’t forgive me for how things were handled with Jordan?”

I throw my hands up. “Maybe both? I don’t know! I just know I’m tired of being lied to. I’m tired of people telling me how to live my life.” Between Amelia constantly criticizing how I live, to the stars not blessing me with a normal bond, I am so over not being in control of my own life. The wraith’s deal almost feels like the first real decision I’ve been given in years.

I take a few steps towards the front door, turning back before I open it. “I really am excited for you, that you’re going to the festival. It’s huge and I know you’ll be amazing.” My hand is on the knob when I hear Amelia let out a huge sob.

I turn around and see her standing in the kitchen, her hand shaking around the empty cup, shoulders hunched forward, long dark strands of hair in her face. Amelia never cries.

I can count on one set of fingers how many times I’ve seen her cry.

“Bliss.” She hiccups softly in between sobs. “I’m so sorry. I want— I want—” She can’t manage to get the words out.

I roll my eyes at the ceiling and let go of the door handle, coming over and stopping in front of my sister. I gently take the cup out of her hand, setting it on the counter.

“What do you want?” I ask, trying to add some gentleness to my voice, but I don’t think I succeed. She still can’t seem to look at me.

“I want things to go back to how they used to be,” she responds in a whisper, like she knows that can’t ever happen. More tears flow and she wipes at her eyes, anger starting to creep back into her. My sister never stays sad for long. It always transmutes into a different emotion that she’s more comfortable with: anger, lust, aggression. “I want you to move back in and I want you to be a part of the band again. I want you with me, and maybe that’s selfish, but it feels safer when you’re around! And I want to take one of Jordan’s super expensive guitars and I want to fucking bash his head in for what he did to you. I don’t want you to work at some stupid country bar and I JUST WANT TO HAVE MY SISTER BACK!” She lets out a cry of frustration and slumps to the floor, hair tangling around her and black eyeliner, shadow, and mascara streaking down her cheeks.

I take a seat on the floor with her, pushing some of her hair from her face.

“You were the very first person who ever encouraged me with music,” she adds after a long silence.

“You don’t need me anymore,” I tell her. Though why I don’t know. Something about this day has made me unable to continue denying the truth. I want what the wraith is offering me and this would literally be step one to getting it.

“I don’t need you, I know that. I’m okay on my own. The band will be okay without you, but that’s the thing, Bliss. We want you. I want you.”

Something softens in me. Maybe it’s that my older sister is such a mess right now. Maybe it’s that I’ve just been needing to hear that I have a place somewhere in the world. I want that feeling of belonging and I want it with my mate. So maybe I have to steal something. And maybe I have to lie to my sister about my reason for accepting her offer of being band manager. But so be it. She’ll understand eventually.

“Okay,” I say simply, stroking a hand over her head, smoothing down her hair.

“Okay?” She looks up at me with huge raccoon eyes—literally she looks like a baby raccoon right now. “Okay what?”

“Okay, I’ll be your manager again.”

Amelia lets out a squeal and throws her arms around me, tugging me close. “Bliss, you are the best sister and best friend I could have ever asked for. I love you so much.”

“I love you too.”

She sighs contentedly and lets me go, rubbing a hand over her face. “Look, I know I should have told you about Taser. I thought I was protecting you. I didn’t want you to feel bad over something you had no control over.”

“And yet, I do.”

“I know. I’m sorry. But Bliss, I would do it again. You didn’t see how much you were fading and how fast. I really thought I was going to lose you.”

“Okay fine, I forgive you, but you need to start staying out of my sex life from now on.”

“I will,” she hedges. “If you promise to power yourself up regularly. No more waiting until it’s almost too late.”

I think about it for a few moments. “Fine.” I stick out my pinkie finger. She locks it in hers and we pinkie swear. As good as a blood oath in our opinion.

“Besides, this festival is like one huge party for fae. So you’ll have so many people to pick from, you won’t need to use Taser again.”

I roll my eyes at her.

“You know, I’m really, really excited to perform, but part of me, the succubus part of me, is even more excited for all the fae dick we’re gonna get.”

“Hell yeah!” Dericia says. The back door swings closed. I hadn’t even heard it open. “Sorry, I was so eavesdropping, but I needed to make sure my sisters were okay. So this music festival is really just one big huge opportunity to get laid a ton?”