Finding Faerie by Laura Lee Page B

track of time...I almost lost my sanity. I don’t think I would have made it had the witches not opened their home to me. They had an underground cell similar to a bomb shelter. It protected me from the elements.” His expression turned somber. “If only they thought to protect themselves from me.”
    “What does that mean?”
    “After the sixth cycle was over, they opened the cell to retrieve me.” He paused. “I honestly don’t think they thought I’d survive; hence the lack of common sense on their part.”
    I motioned with my hands for him to continue. “Still not getting it, Leo.”
    “My thirst was unbearable…it took precedence over anything else. I killed them, Karli. All of them. I couldn’t stop drinking until every one of them was bled dry.”
    “Oh.”

 
    “A nyhow…” Leo continued, as if he hadn’t just told me that he slaughtered thirteen women that were responsible for saving his life. I knew he had killed people in the past; he told me so himself. But I always assumed that they were horrible people. Did that make it any better? I didn’t know. A year ago I would have firmly said no, but considering I’ve killed a woman, and now possibly a second, the lines were blurred. “Karli, are you listening to me?”
    Crap! “Uh, sorry. Please continue.”
    He cleared his throat. “As I was saying, after the bond was broken, I came out to Vegas as we had planned. It was quite isolated back then. The Strip was non-existent at that point. It was the perfect place for staying under the radar. I began construction on my home while waiting for her to join me.”
    “Did she need to break her bond with him before she could come out?”
    He shook his head. “No. As co-creators of our race, they had no physical obligation to one another. They were equals. Blood bonds, which typically signify subservience, didn’t come into play until they sired others.”
    Okay, ignoring the subservient piece for now to stay on topic. “So why didn’t she just accompany you to New York?”
    “Because when I went there, he could track me . She traveled extensively while I was in isolation, always making sure his men were following and reporting back to him. She was counting on his obsession with her. She figured that he wouldn’t be concerned with me if we were separated. She was right.”
    “So if I understand the timeline correctly, about six months had passed at that point?”
    “Correct. Slightly over.”
    “When did she join you?”
    “She didn’t.” His voice was so low I could barely hear him.
    “Why not? You said that she was going to join you in Vegas.”
    He looked up, sadness heavily reflected in his eyes. “Because she died. He killed her.”

    “Oh, Leo, I’m so sorry.” Inadequate, I know, but I couldn’t think of anything else to say.
    I knew there was more to the story when Leo first mentioned his relationship with Renata. He never told me why they split; I had assumed one or both had simply grown tired of their lengthy affair. I knew she had died somehow, but he made it seem like that happened after their relationship ended. I saw him differently now, knowing that her death had ended things. Leo was basically a widower. No, they hadn’t technically been married, but being with the same person for four centuries counted as marriage in my book. Hell, they’d probably still be together if Khonsu hadn’t taken action. I wasn’t ready to admit how I felt about that.
    He cleared his throat. “Thank you, my love, but I’ve made peace with it. Would you like to hear the rest of the story?”
    I didn’t believe for one second that he’d made peace with her death. “Yes, please do.”
    “We had agreed to meet on the seventh moon,” he continued. “She didn’t make it, of course, but I decided to give her a little more time. International travel back then wasn’t as easy as it is today, especially for a vampire. When she didn’t show on the eighth moon, I made arrangements to return