Chapter Twenty

Up one floor in Seville,Faith opened her bedroom door and let Nyko carry the DVD player inside.

He went over to the television and attached its wires to the back of the set. After plugging it in, he pushed play. "Ah, here we go. Works." Nyko went down on one knee.

The Faith onscreen was dressed in a white tutu and matching leotard embellished with silver sequins, an elegant cap of white feathers curved around her head. She was in the middle of a turn sequence, spinning one fouetté after another.

She moved up next to Nyko to observe his reaction to the dance, and an incredible warmth awoke inside her. He looked fascinated.

"Why do you keep putting your foot down?" he asked.

"Well, I can't just go off like a top," she answered, her voice warming with amusement. "I use the muscles in my legs to turn, so I have to keep dropping my foot and throwing out my leg to maintain my momentum."

"You must be really strong, then." He chuckled, his attention never leaving her image. "Look at you go!"

The warmth inside her heated and spread. Her dancing had been complimented many times, but the way Nyko had just said that made him sound so…proud of her.

"What's up with your head, too?" he asked.

"That's called spotting. I focus on one point across the room and keep my eyes coming back to it on every turn. It prevents dizziness." On the screen, she came out of her last fouetté and went up en pointe in arabesque. "See? If I hadn't been spotting, I wouldn't have been able to do that. I would've toppled over."

He chuckled again. "I can see how that might be bad."

Her dance partner, Harold, moved into the picture, his hands wrapping her slim waist as he swept her into an overhead lift.

Nyko jutted his chin toward the TV, his gaze narrowing as he watched her and Harold flow across the stage. "That guy likes you."

"Oh, no, we're merely acting. Dance is very sensual, but…"

Nyko glanced up at her, although he didn't have to look up by much; even down on one knee he was almost as tall as she was standing.

"Harold had a thing for my sister. So, sometimes I think he let that get the better of him onstage with me." She gave a one-shouldered shrug. "Just one of the many oddities of being an identical twin."

A grunt was Nyko's reply. Returning his attention to the TV, he pointed to the right side of the screen, where the corps de ballet of other "swans" where gliding on stage. "Hey, there's Kacie."

Faith watched the image of her twin, affection stirring in her chest. "Yes. She's great, isn't she?"

Nyko concentrated on Kacie. "You're much better."

"Kacie's good," she defended.

"I'm certainly no expert, but it seems like you put passion into every move you make, and Kacie kind of…doesn't." He switched back to Faith's image as she danced in front of her Swan Lake entourage. "Dang," he murmured. "You're amazing."

She actually felt herself blush a little. What was it about the way Nyko complimented her…? As if the words just fell from his lips, not spoken thought or flattery, but absolute truth.

"Kacie told me about your injury." Nyko turned his head to look at her again. "You miss it, don't you?"

She laughed breathlessly. "Only every moment of every day and with every particle of my soul."

He ran his eyes over her, beginning at her collarbone and drifting down. His perusal was simply exploratory, ultimately landing clinically on her right knee, but the journey tugged strangely at her belly. "So your leg still hurts?"

"It doesn't while I'm standing here, but my knee pops and crackles whenever I dance without a brace."

"So wear a brace."

"I can't wear it to perform. Not professionally. It would look funny on stage."

His mouth angled downward. "I guess it would." He paused, his gaze clouding. "Well, that sucks."

Three little words that completely encapsulated her situation. Faith's smile felt soggy. After being so misunderstood by Kacie earlier, Nyko's understanding was…felt really good. "Yes," she agreed. "Very much." Maybe his eyes weren't so disturbing, after all. A woman just needed to learn how to read beyond their blackness. "I didn't know you were so interested in ballet."

Nyko pushed stop on the DVD player. "I am now."

She blinked a couple of times. Her heart fluttered. That was…was…

Nyko stood up and stepped back. "I, personally, would love to see you dance someday, Faith, and I don't give a hoot if you wear a brace."

She tried to smile again, but it wobbled away. "That's the nicest…um, a very…"

His expression softened. "You make me want to hug you. But I won't," he added hastily, putting up both hands. "Don't worry."

She glanced down. People often accused dancers of being overly obsessed with appearances, the natural consequence of mirrors surrounding them 24/7. She'd always considered herself above such shallowness, yet she couldn't deny that she'd outright rejected Nyko based on his appearance. "It's all right. I'm kind of getting used to you now." She looked up. "I think you're like…well, to quote Jessica Rabbit: you're not bad. You're just drawn that way."

Nyko laughed. It was a deep, vibrant sound, and very pleasant—another contradiction, like his nimble fingers. "I like that better than Clydesdale, for sure."

She managed a small smile now.

"So…" He sidestepped, suddenly seeming a little nervous. "I'm going to press my current advantage and ask you out to lunch right now. You know…to celebrate the rebirth of your DVD player."

She stilled. She was getting used to Nyko, but…maybe too much. Entanglements weren't a good idea when her ultimate goal was to leave this town. On the other side of matters, if she appeared to be giving this place a genuine chance, then she'd have more of a leg to stand on with her sister. I gave it some effort, like you said, Kacie, and I still hate it here. So can we go now?

Nyko dipped his hands into his pockets in response to her lengthy silence. "Oops."

"Oh, no, I'm sorry. Yes, I would love to have lunch with you, Nyko. I just…can't believe you want to go out with me, after the way I've treated you."

"I totally do." She got her first glimpse of Nyko's fangs, he smiled so widely. "You smell like someone I'll get along with real well."

She cast a look at him from beneath her lashes. What?

"Do you want to heara secret?" Faith asked Nyko.

Nyko looked up from the menu and his eyes brightened. "Definitely."

They were seated in a small booth in Marissa's Restaurant, the perfect choice for a date. It was a romantic place, lit mostly with candles, the tables and booths elegantly set with china and crystal, and discreetly positioned to provide privacy for diners. For either lunch or dinner, there was always a prix fixe menu, each day featuring a different cuisine. Today was French food—Marissa's specialty, apparently—with lunch consisting of canapés, quiche, and profiterole pastries. The fare was a bit on the heavy side for Faith, but she'd splurge today and try a little taste of everything.

She'd already gulped down half a wine spritzer and was feeling a bit reckless. Was that why she'd asked Nyko such a question? No, she knew why. Two weeks spent barely out of her room—she'd even had a makeshift barre put in her room so she wouldn't have to leave to practice—and her fight earlier with Kacie had left her feeling especially deprived of human contact. She didn't want to spend this date talking about the weather…which would be even more boring than usual since there was no weather inside a cave.

"I have a tattoo as well," she said, glancing at the wedge of tattooed flesh exposed by Nyko's open shirt collar. Was there anywhere the man wasn't marked?

"Really?" Nyko's eyebrows hiked up. "Let me guess. It's a tarantula."

She laughed. "It's a ballet dancer, smart guy. She's up on her tiptoes, arms down in first position, wearing a wide tutu—same as the ballerina in a little girl's jewelry box."

"You're totally blowing my image of you." Smiling, Nyko set his menu aside. "Where is it?"

"High up on my right hip, where it's easily covered by a leotard."

"Covered? Shucks, I was kind of hoping to see it the next time you went swimming at the Water Cliffs."

Faith chuckled, then glanced down. "Well…" She fiddled with her menu. "I've stopped liking it, anyway."

"Why's that?"

"When I got it, I imagined I'd be a ballet dancer forever, but now my injury has put it in my face that all dancers stop dancing. Eventually."

"Maybe you should get a brace added to the leg of your tattoo. Kind of an up yours to the industry."

A breath tumbled out of her. "Maybe."

The waitress dropped off the canapés, pointing to each as she described what was on the little rounds of bread. "Herb cheese, caviar, and fruit puree." She took their menus and left.

Nyko leaned forward and peered down at the appetizer. "How about I leave the fish egg ones for you?" He slid an herb cheese canapé off the plate.

Faith took a fruit one. "Do you regret it?" she asked him.

"Regret what?"

"Getting your tattoos?"

Nyko popped the canapé in his mouth and chewed. "They weren't exactly my choice in the first place."

Faith sniffed her canapé. Smelled like mango. "How is that possible?"

"My father forced them on me. They were supposed to make a man out of me, at least according to the old man, who happens to be a Pure-bred Om R?u and a full-blooded asshole."

"But…" Faith took a bite. Oh, delicious. "How do tattoos make a man out of you?" Maybe because they were scary teeth…?

"My father put them on with tacks, so it hurt. A lot."

Faith blinked, then her stomach dropped. "Oh." She ate the rest of her canapé in silence. "Where was you mother during all of that?"

Nyko considered a fruit canapé. "She was protecting me and my brothers, for sure, but there was only so much she could do." He glanced up from the serving plate. "Have you heard of O??rat?"

"The neighboring town of bad guys?" It was a town full of demons, in reality, but that sounded too weird to say. "Underground here, too, right?"

"That's it. My brothers and I spent the first years of our lives there. A very nasty place, lots of violence." Nyko picked the fruit canapé and set it on his appetizer plate. "My mom used to wear these gloves, see, the knuckles sewn and glued with shards of broken glass and bits of metal. Anyone who tried to mess with her boys, she'd sock 'em a good one." One side of his mouth lifted. "And with her Varcolac strength, that was no small punch. The only person she never challenged was our dad. Maybe she thought it would ultimately make it worse for us. Maybe she knew she couldn't beat him and was trying to stay healthy in order to keep an eye on us in other ways. I don't know. But she shielded us from a lot of hassle, I'll tell you, and in the middle of all that O??rat crazy, she taught us to be good men. As best she could, at least."

"Well, it shows." She smiled a little. Goodness, and she thought her childhood had been stressful.

Nyko's cheeks flushed slightly. "Mom got us out of O??rat, too, risked Lorke's wrath stealing maps of the Hell Tunnels in order to save us. Too bad the heat of those tunnels disintegrated the maps, otherwise we could've gotten more people out."

Faith chose a caviar canapé. "Your brothers have the same tattoos. Does that mean…" she hesitated over the question. "They went through the same thing as you?"

"Yes." Nyko exhaled a long-winded breath. "I tried to get them out of as much as I could. I'm the oldest, you know, so I can't help looking out for them. Even today, I still worry about my younger brothers sometimes. Despite our mother's love, Jacken came out a hard man. If Toni hadn't happened into his life, I don't know what would've become of him. And Shon…" Nyko poked the fruit canapé around on his plate. "He…uh…" Nyko trailed off again.

"You don't have to talk about him, if you don't want." Kacie told Faith that Shon had been temporarily banished from ??ran?. Kacie hadn't known what the man had done to warrant that, but it must've been pretty terrible if this community had been willing to oust a Varcolac to topside. They seemed very prickly about their anonymity and secrecy around here. For some reason, Kacie was fascinated by Shon, or maybe just the idea of him, like she was harboring some fantasy of the Teague twins marrying the half-R?u Brun brothers.

"O??rat wasn't fun for any of us," Nyko said. "But I think it was especially tough on Shon. He…got lost, and I feel bad. I should've done a better job protecting him."

Faith felt her heart roll over. "You can't save everyone," she said softly.

"I have to," he said, completely serious. "I mean, look at me, Faith. Who else is going to do it, if not Big Nyko?"

She smiled gently. "I can kind of relate, actually. After my parents died, I shouldered all of the responsibility for parenting Kacie." She coasted a hand over her bun. "And my Aunt Idyll."

A thin line appeared on the bridge of Nyko's nose. "How old were you when they died?"

"Ten."

"Wow, that's…shoot, that's not good."

"No." Pain pressed outward from her chest. "They say bad things happen to good people, though, right?"

Wolverine suddenly appeared at their table. "Hey, guys."

"Hi, Dev," Nyko said. "What's up?"

Dev…yes, that's right, Wolverine's name was Dev.

"Sorry to interrupt," Dev said. "But Alex just had a vision about the Symbol Killer's next victim. Videon is taking out the dude in about an hour, so we need to go wheels up right now. Sorry." He repeated, casting an apologetic look at Faith. "Otherwise I wouldn't have cut in on your date."

"I understand." Faith said. "If you have a chance to catch a madman, you need to take it."

Nyko scooted out of the booth and stood. "We'll pick up when I get back, okay?"

"Absolutely." She gazed up at him, dressed in dark slacks and a dark blue button-down shirt, looking so large and virile. Invincible. But nobody was invincible, not even the biggest Varcolac on earth. She swallowed, struck by the sudden urge to kiss the top of his scruffy head. "Be careful, Nyko."

His eyebrows shot up, then he smiled. "I sure will."