Page 56 of Incubus (The Incubus Saga #1)

“I keep a residence there, yes,” Shiarra said, sipping her coffee.

She was like one of those rich characters on primetime soap operas, all perfect crossed legs and delicate movements, despite the brute strength she had to possess after who knows how many years alive.

“I prefer Seattle if I’m going to stay somewhere longer than a few days.

It would be nice to have Sasha visit once in a while, instead of him gallivanting around the country. "

Nathan grimaced, picking up easily on her passive-aggressive tone.

“You want to go blaming that on us too? Look, I'm sorry for what happened with your sister. Really. And for Sasha being banished. But we’ve never talked him into anything. We just asked for his help and he agreed. He makes his own choices. You can’t blame a seal for getting in a little deep now and again, but we’ve always managed to come back from it. Even this time.”

“We’ll see about that,” Shiarra said.

"Are you an angel too?" Kitty asked suddenly.

Shiarra's smile turned instantly more genuine as she turned to the little girl. "Angel? Why, dear girl, I'm afraid it's not quite as romantic as all that. Or...perhaps more romantic, in a way."

"Daddy said Sasha is an incubus," Kitty said.

"Quite right," Shiarra answered. "And in that case, yes, I am the same. I'm sure you have heard many frightening stories about cruel and evil fae, but we are far from it. I'm impressed you are still so taken with Sasha after seeing his true form. You must be a very special girl."

Kitty beamed.

Even though Nathan knew he would be chided by Jim for it later, he couldn't help commenting on Shiarra's gentle treatment of the girl. “You know, you’re about as big a hypocrite as anyone I’ve met. Kitty is a special girl, I'll make no argument against that, but you could give the rest of us some credit too. Sasha didn’t trust us at first either, but when push came to shove and we found out what he really was, we helped him, kept working with him, became better friends, even. And Schuester, he’s known the truth about Sasha for years, and you said yourself Sasha’s never had anything but good things to say about him. ”

Schuester's eyes widened as if to say he would have preferred to be left unmentioned, and smiled weakly when Shiarra’s eyes moved to him. “Yes, well...I could tell Sasha was a good boy from the start. He was just a kid when we first met."

“Oh, I don’t doubt you,” Shiarra said, "but that doesn’t mean I trust anyone easily. Humans see different and they fear it, you can’t deny that.”

“No, I can't," Nathan said, "but sounds to me like fae are exactly the same. Do you know the real difference between you and me? At least I knew when to admit I was wrong. Excuse me.” Suddenly, coffee and conversation didn’t sound all that appealing.

Nathan left the living room and headed for Sasha.

He didn’t need to be talked down to. He knew where he stood.

He knew how he felt and how difficult it had been to get where he was.

Sasha had become a part of his life so quickly, so completely, that it had to be thicker and stronger than friendship.

Nathan had almost made it into Sasha’s room when he heard Shiarra behind him.

“I see why he likes you,” she said, softly and close at his back.

Turning to her, Nathan saw that she was alone, but he wasn't about to let her have the last word just so she could prove her own point. “Say whatever you want. I know who I am.”

A grin grew on Shiarra’s pale, beautiful face. She was tall for a woman, tall enough that she could probably look Nathan in the eyes without her heels. “You’re bold," she said. "You’re confident. You’re obviously vain.”

Nathan laughed. Keep it coming, Sister , he thought; he could take it.

“You’re also very much in love with my nephew and I would have to be a fool not to see that.”

Nathan gaped, not knowing how to respond.

“I don’t want the same mistake made again,” Shiarra said, her tone no longer cool but frighteningly serious. “I won’t lose Sasha the way I lost his mother, do you understand? Not the same way. Not again.”

Not again, God damn it, not again.

Nathan felt like he was choking, his throat was so tight. He knew those feelings, those hot, vibrant feelings that called to him from inside her eyes. He had felt the same way so many times.

“I swear, if you bring that fate upon my child, I will destroy every inch of you,” Shiarra growled, and Nathan couldn’t blame her, he really couldn’t.

He knew just how it felt to be that angry and that scared at the same time.

“I’ve heard and seen and felt all the feelings Sasha has for you…

Nathan Grier. I can only hope, pray that he isn’t blindly following the same path as his parents.

You promise me he isn’t. You promise me right now ! ”

“I can't...promise anything," Nathan said.

"I can't promise I can keep Sasha safe, not any more than you can. But if you think I’d ever let anyone hurt him, even me, if there wasn’t something, anything I could do to prevent it, then you didn't listen when Sasha told you about me, because that is not me .

I'd give anything for him to be okay right now. Anything .”

As Nathan finished, he looked up past Shiarra and saw Jim and Schuester sneaking up the stairs from the living room, having heard at least some of what he said.

When Nathan looked back into the deep blue of Shiarra’s eyes, so much like Sasha’s but so unlike him too, he couldn’t read them at all. He could only imagine that she somehow understood since she didn’t say anything to counter him.

“Hey…” came a voice, gentle and ragged from behind Nathan.

But there couldn’t be anyone behind Nathan. Everyone was in front of him.

Slowly, Nathan turned around, his heart caught up in his windpipe, and amazingly, he saw red, and blue, and pale skin with a teasing black tattoo that peaked up over the top of loose jeans.

Sasha was leaning weakly against the doorframe of the guest room, human looking and very tired despite his large smile. “Any…food around this place?” he said, breathless but still breathing, still standing, alive . “I’m starving.”