Chapter 17

17

V anth explored the halls of his grandfather's house, wondering how he would find his mother's room in it. He could feel the magic inside of it, like some kind of Fae Tardis, with more on the inside than the cottage seemed on the outside. If nothing else, it gave him time to think. He didn't know how he felt about being a demigod or that he was the key to fixing the Veil. It all felt like a fuck ton of responsibility he'd never asked for.

He had spent his whole adult life trying to avoid being the center of attention. He had taken his mother's caution to a whole new level. The mages in Inferno actively hated him, so it was easier for him to isolate himself. He had few friends, and most of those were there because they owed each other debts in some form or another. None of them would be able to have the slightest chance of understanding what he was going through anyway.

Elektra does , a small voice prompted him. It was the truth. He didn't have to hide a single thing about himself around her. She could feel his power and knew what he was capable of, but she didn't seem bothered by it. Maybe it would have been better if Eiline had sent him to the reapers when he was a kid. He wouldn't have felt so different and alone.

You would also be dead because Lazarus killed them all . It still didn't stop Vanth from wondering what his life might have been like if he had people around him with the same abilities.

Vanth paused by a room with a bunch of flowers carved into the door. Little flower. That's what Flynt called his mother. Vanth opened the door, and his mother's scent hit him. It was old, but it was still strong. He opened the door and turned on the lanterns.

"Holy shit," he murmured.

When she had said to look through her books, she had failed to mention she had a god's damned library in her room. It was more like a library crossed with an alchemy lab. Her bed was pushed back into a far corner. Everything else was books of arcana, grimoires, and magical artifice.

Vanth knew his mother was a brilliant mage. She had taught him more than the toffs in the mages' guild did, but he had no idea the depth and variety of her obsession.

How the fuck was he going to find the book he needed in there? Vanth took a breath and went to the overflowing desk. He picked up the books and studied the titles, but none of them were related to death magic. He left the desk and went over to the counters covered in long dried-out experiments. He was still there thirty minutes later when he felt someone watching him.

"If you want to be alone, just tell me," Elektra said, her gray eyes concerned.

What the hell had he done to deserve that kind of worry from her? He didn't know, and he didn't care. He was too selfish to question it.

"I don't want to be alone," he said and swallowed the sudden lump in his throat. Gods, he had been alone his whole fucking life and thought he enjoyed it. Right until the moment he met someone who actually understood him.

When Vanth looked at the gorgeous fae female in front of him, he was torn by thoughts of 'please be my best friend' and 'I want to fuck you until we both pass out.' He had never felt that way about anyone.

He realized he was staring and turned back to his book. "I mean, I can't do this alone. Look at all this stuff. I'll be here for the next year trying to figure it out," he quickly added, clearing his throat.

Elektra joined him at the counter and looked around her. "Did you find anything interesting so far?"

"Oh, plenty," he said, snapping the book he was holding shut and picking up another. "Just none of it is what we are looking for. If she weren't my mother, I would shake her for putting that fucking curse on herself."

Elektra ran a hand through her curls and stared around the room. "She must have been so scared. I can't even imagine."

"I know. I get it, but I'm still frustrated," he admitted. "Must make me the biggest prick ever."

"You're taking it all better than I would be. It's okay to be mad about being lied to. Doesn't matter if you understand the reasons behind it," Elektra replied. She held his gaze a second longer before quickly looking back to the mess around her. "Maybe we need to work smarter and not harder. We don't have time to sift through this the old-fashioned way."

"What do you propose, princess?" he asked.

"Magic, of course." Elektra's wine dark power filled the air, and Vanth's mouth watered. Yeah, he had it bad. "The spell would feel like the Veil. Let me see if I can tune into it."

Vanth watched her fingers dance as she walked about the room, scrying in a way he had never seen before.

Just think about all the magic she could teach you . That wasn't a helpful thought because he was distracted enough by how she looked in his beat-up clothes.

"Can you lift up this pile? There's something underneath it, and I can't drop the spell, or I'll have to start it again," Elektra said from the other side of the room. Vanth moved where she was standing and shifted the pile of clothes on the floor by the bed. Underneath them was a polished wooden box. He opened it, and inside was a pair of shining sickles.

"Oh, that must have been her weapons when she was with the temple," Elektra said, staring down at them with wide eyes.

Vanth picked up the sickles, and the soft leather hilts warmed in his hands. Death magic pulsed through them, and he could feel the layers of spells over them.

"They can cut specters and other incorporeal creatures?" Vanth asked, turning them over. He had never felt power infused into blades like it before.

"Amongst other things. It's how I could separate Heidi's shade from her body in the morgue," Elektra said. She must have seen the excitement in his face because she smiled. "Do you want me to show you how to use them?"

Ten minutes later, they had found the training room. It was well used, with big leather punching bags and wooden dummies that had bits taken out of them. Weapons of all kinds hung on the walls, and there were occasional scorch marks and other damage on the floors.

"Do you think he brings weapons in here to test out?" Elektra asked.

"He must. Look at the state of that dummy. It still has a mace in its chest," Vanth pointed out. He stared around him at his grandfather's work, and something twinged in him. "I don't know what to think of my grandfather being alive and a Weyland of all things. I thought they were a myth."

Elektra selected two daggers from the wall. "No offense, Vanth, but there's a lot about you that's mythic. Maybe just get used to having weird shit in your lineage and stop pouting about it."

"And you can talk, Miss Celestial Princess," he replied, taking the sickles out of their case again.

"I haven't been a part of that world in a long time. I don't even have their powers which pissed my father off to no end. He thought I was only going to be good for a marriage alliance, but luckily, a representative from the temple found me first," she said and looked at him playing about. "Do you have any weapons training at all?"

"Daggers, short swords, and hand-to-hand stuff. I have found that if you toss a ghoul at someone, there's not much they can do against it," he said matter-of-factly.

Elektra put the staff down and gestured at Vanth. "Give me one before you hurt yourself."

Vanth passed her one, and she began to show him how to hold it properly, how to use it to hook and grapple, and how to slice. She was a good teacher and soon had Vanth moving in slow drills.

"Now, let's pour some magic into it," she said, facing him again. "Do it mid-drill so you can feel how they work together," Elektra instructed. Her eyes were shining, her own magic filling them.

Heat licked up Vanth's backbone as he tried to concentrate on fighting her and not anything else. They moved together, the sickles clanging each time the blades struck.

Vanth's magic burned out of his hand, and the sickle responded, eating the power he fed it and making it move of its own accord. Something in his brain clicked into place, and he leaned into it, changing up the drill and making Elektra step back.

"You're so not ready for those kinds of fun and games," she purred, magic soaking her own blade.

"I'm a quick learner," he said. It was like his muscle memory was waking up, and adrenaline pumped through him. "I still owe you another tussle after you broke into my house."

Elektra hummed, her feet sliding into a fighting position. "You still pouting that I broke your wards so easy, sweetheart? Hurt your feelings, did I? Not such a big boy necromancer after all."

Vanth laughed as he attacked her. She was purposely stirring him up, but he loved it. She wasn't wrong either. He really wanted to know how she broke the wards when no one else could. He let his brain shut down and his instincts take over. She would be able to handle him, but he wasn't going to make it easy for her.

Vanth moved backward, blocking each strike Elektra aimed at him. With his other hand, he let his magic unfurl into a cord of gray smoke and whipped it out at her. Elektra leaped to dodge it, but it grabbed her around the waist, tugging her forward, forcing her to toss aside her weapon or land on it. She dropped it and rolled, swiping out a leg and hitting him in the back of his knee.

Vanth went sprawling, his sickle skittering across the floor. Elektra was on his back a second later, wrapping his own whip of magic around his throat. Vanth rolled, disintegrating the whip at the same time. Elektra let out a filthy curse as they grappled, and he ended up pinning her down. Her furious expression melted, and she started to laugh. It was big and joyful, and Vanth couldn't stop from joining in.

"You feeling better now that you have some of that energy out of your system?" she asked breathlessly.

Vanth didn't think. He leaned down and kissed her smiling lips. Elektra made a soft noise of surprise before her legs tightened around his waist, pulling him flush up against her. The world spun, and suddenly, he was on his back, staring up at her triumphant smile.

"Never let your guard down, even if your enemy is pinned," she said, the teacher back in her voice. "No matter how distracted you are."

"It's not my fault. You are…very distracting," he admitted.

Elektra cocked a red brow, and just when Vanth thought she might hit him, she shifted a little to grind herself against his hard dick.

"Oh? I'm that kind of distracting, am I?" she asked, her gray eyes widening a little.

Vanth let out a husky laugh. "I can't help it. It has a mind of its own." She wasn't getting off him, so Vanth moved his hands to her hips. "It really likes you in my T-shirt."

"Does it?" Elektra rolled her hips against his, and he sat up to take her mouth in another kiss.

Fucking gods, she tasted good, like death magic and starlight and searing hot female. His hands slid under her shirt to brush against soft skin that was burning hot to the touch.

Elektra's hands swept into his hair, fingers twisting it in a way that gave it just enough bite. Vanth's thumb brushed over the soft lace of her bra, her nipple already hard. She let out a breathy whimper that almost had him coming in his jeans. He could smell her sweet as fuck arousal and knew if he put his hands into her boxers, he would find her pussy wet. His mouth watered just thinking about how she would taste…

"Tarael? Elektra? You still down there?" Flynt's shout echoed down the hall.

Elektra was off him so quickly, he was left holding air. She picked up the sythes and was innocently examining them as the smith appeared.

"Ah, here you are. What are you doing on the floor?" he demanded, looking down his nose at Vanth.

"I kicked his ass, so he's a bit dazed. These are beautiful. Did you make them, sir?" Elektra asked sweetly.

Vanth's vision was still red from the burning need riding through him.

"I did, and Eiline infused them with her magic. How about you come and help me in the kitchen, Vanth? Your mother wants steak pie for dinner, and you're looking a little glazed. Did you hit your head?" Flynt said, offering Vanth a hand off the floor.

"Something like that," Vanth muttered.

Flynt looked between them like he didn't believe either of their bullshit. "Eiline is in her room if you want to join her, Elektra. She's determined to find her old books."

"Sounds like a great plan. I'll return these to her," Elektra said and shot Vanth a brazen smile. "Any time you want another rematch, godling, just ask."

Vanth fought the urge to pounce on her as she wandered out of the training room, grinning from ear to ear.

"I don't want to know," Flynt said and gave him a hard pat on the back. "Better you than me, kid. Now, let's get some firewood. You look like you could do with some fresh air."