Page 146 of Dark Souls

“Wouldn’t dream of it. And the reward?” the cocky prick dared to ask.

“We’ll be in touch,” my mum snapped, her fury unable to be contained under her usual poised exterior. That fury was solely directed at me. I knew I was the least popular person in the room, but I didn’t care at that moment. I was more concerned with the fact they were letting this distrustful fae leave freely with this knowledge about Heathen.

“You can’t seriously be letting him go!” I shouted, thrashing against the invisible restraints in my chair. “Erase his memory, at least!”

“Ilaria. Enough.” My mum glowered at me. As soon as Raiden and Archer had escorted him out of the room, my mum clicked her fingers and released me from her binds. I jumped out of my chair with barely contained anger, which matched their own, as they all stood up. My grandma was the only one who tried to calm the situation down, suggesting we all sit down and discuss this over some wine and food. Apparently, we’d all feel better once we’d eaten. I think not.

“Why the hell were you at anUndergroundevent without our knowledge and why did we have to hear about the existence of a Demonski Upir from a smug bellend like Marlon and not our own daughter?” Dad yelled, placing his fists on the table and leaning forward.

“It’s complicated! But you seriously cannot let that fae leave with knowledge like that!”

“Why not? Why are you trying to protect this information? Do you realise what this means? If Demonski Upirs still exist, we could all be in danger.”

“Urgh, you have no idea what you are talking about!” I groaned, dropping back down into my seat and closing my eyes. I had to remain calm and rational if I wanted them to listen. I counted to five as my mum continued to spill propaganda lies about Heathen’s kind spread by the likes of our own family.

“They eat human organs!”

“And you drink human’s blood. Bit hypocritical, don’t you think?”

“This is the person you have been trying to help atThe Underground, isn’t it?” Grandpapi suddenly asked. “When you came to us about the firstUndergroundevent, this was who you were helping? You’ve been covering for him this whole time.”

“Yes,” I sighed. “Because he’s–”

Sienna gasped. Everyone stared at her. “Did you say they eat organs? The Heart Thief! The SIA has been looking for a Demonksi Upir this entire time! It makes so much sense. Wait, did you realise this, Ilaria? When? Why did you hide it?”

“If you would give me a second to just explain—”

“I can’t believe you have lied to us to protect a deranged killer for months, Ilaria! What the hell is wrong with you?” My mum put her hands on her hips and glared at me. I had to take five more breaths. On breath number three, commotion broke out around the castle. The castle’s intruder alarm rang out and everyone froze when Raiden and Archer raced back into the room, looking a little dishevelled.

“What is happening?” Grandpapi demanded.

“Marlon was taken,” Raiden panted, running his hand through his black curls. “We were escorting him to the car and some creature just came out of nowhere. It literally swooped down from the sky and yanked Marlon off his feet by his head and, just as quickly, it was gone again. It was so fast, we didn’t even catch a good look at it or have time to react.”

In the next second, carnage ensued. The glass of the huge arched dining room window shattered as a burly body crashed through it, landing on the cream carpet in a crouched position. My eyes widened when I took in the beautiful black feathered wings stretched wide, curved horns and those pitch-black eyes.

I wasn’t sure who attacked first. Grandpapi, mum, dad or Raiden. But there was a sudden flurry of activity all charging towards Heathen at once. I screamed for them to stop, diving in front of Heath as he stood up slowly behind me. In the next breath, everyone in the room had come to a screeching halt because Heathen wrapped his clawed hand around my throat and yanked me back into his chest. It must have looked like a threat on my life, but I knew it was anything but. My dad’s wolf roared through him, already half shifted. Grandpapi hissed through his fangs, his eyes blazing red. My mum glared, her chest rising with rapid breaths and Raiden and Sienna were in attacking stances by the door. Archer and Grandma Maddy were the only ones who seemed to be wide eyed and unable to believe what they were seeing.

“Hey Snow,” Heathen husked in my ear. “Thought it was about time I met the family.” He gave me a kiss on the cheek and released my throat as I kept my hands up in front of me to signal to my family to seize in an attack.

Really? This is how he decides to meet the family.

“You could have used the front door!” I hissed at him as he pulled out a chair next to me at the table and sat down, ignoring the hostile glares and emanating power that my family was projecting around the room. A cocky grin appeared on his face, showing his razor sharp fangs as he dropped the bloody heart I hadn’t even realised he’d been holding in his other hand on an empty plate on the table. The clatter echoed around the room.

“Don’t worry, I brought my own dinner. Do you have any spare cutlery I could use, though?”

He really had completely lost the small amount of sanity he ever possessed.

“What? I am not about to rip into Marlon’s heart like a vulture at your family dinner table,” he stated seriously. “I do have some manners. I am not a complete barbarian.”

“It really is a Demonski Upir. I can’t believe it,” Grandma Maddy whispered, her eyes wide and curious as she took him in. She met my eyes, her grey ones sparkled with realisation. “So this is...”

“Who the hell are you?” my mum asked, taking a single step forwards. Heathen shot me a wink, allowing me to do the honours as I shook my head, unable to hide the small smile at his insane entrance. I don’t know why I expected anything less.

“Mum. Dad. You might want to sit down. Because this is Heathen. My soulmate.”

Worst Fear

Ittookeverythinginme not to shout TADA when I jumped through that window and gave the royals the fright of their lives. But I can read a room and I knew my humour would be unappreciated. I was on my best behaviour as I sat waiting patiently for them to pick their jaws up off the floor and join me at the table so I could dig into the tasty organ I had extracted from the traitorous fae’s chest.