Chapter 1
“ D o es go od and evil exist? ” Christopher asked, searching my eyes, looking for something I didn’t think I possessed.
“I believe so,” I answered , nodding.
He kissed my neck, and sat up, cross ing his well-defined legs . I wasn’t ready to be done kissing him , drinking from him, but I wanted to know where he wa s going with his question. Reluctantly, I lifted myself from my prostrate posit ion, and crossed my legs so I sat opposite him on the bed .
We were still in the castle, in another realm . L ush throw pillows were pushed to the floor, and surrounded us like piranha stalking its food .
Until a few moments ago, I ’d been too busy enjoying the taste of Chace aka Christopher aka my Hunter , and hadn’t cared about anything else. Now that he’d spoken, lots of unanswered questions surfaced.
Like , what wa s the name of this realm? W hy did he keep bringing me here, and where exactly was here ?
Christopher seized my hand. “ Sweet, beautiful, Snow,” he said, caressing my knuckles. “In my years serving the Queen, I’ve lear ned one thing. Words like good and evil are relative terms.”
“What do you mean? To kill someone is evil.” I crossed my arms, waiting to hear how he’d BS his way out of that.
“What if that someone is the enemy in a war? It’s kill or be killed. Would he be considered evil for protecting himself , his loved ones, his home, his country ?” He grinned sweetly , running his fingers along my jaw.
My mouth fell open. I wanted to say yes, but Profess or Pops had explained I would be learning how to kill supernatural creatures —that we were on the brink of war. If I killed to protect myself, would that make me evil?
“Ugh, okay. Where are you going with this?” I wasn’t sure I wanted to know.
He chuckled, and climbed off the bed, readjusting his clothes . When he finished, he grabbed my hand, pulling me onto my feet.
“ In Buddhism, ” he began, “ good and evil don’t exist , per say. Instead there is kusala and akusala . Kusala i s considered to be, intelligence , contented, beneficial, and a remover of affliction. Akusala is, quite simply, the opposite. Or, unintelligent, causer of affliction, and so on. Which boils down to this. What is evil to one person may be good to another. Life and everything in it is about your perception .”
Christopher’s words echoed in my mind. I wanted him to explain further , but a sudden, and infuriating beeping interrupted.
My alarm clock.
Upon o pening my eyes, my Hunter , and the other realm vanished. With a sigh, I reached over, shut off the clock , and roll ed onto my back. I hadn’t slept. At least I didn’t think so. The entire night spent with my Hunter . We hadn’t done more than talk, kiss , and bite each other ’s necks , but the experience left me breathless. It’d been intimate.
I tr ied to imagine bringing Christopher into my silly little girls’ room, and flushed. Lavender walls held up posters of bunnies, kittens, and puppies. Across from me was my chest of drawers, also lavender, and atop it sat unused perfume bottles. Above it hung a corkboard filled with pic tures of Cindy and me, as well as pictures of my best friends—the guys . To the left of my dresser was my bathroom, and next to that, on the same wall, lived my closet.
“Ugh, I’m so over purple,” I muttered , climbing out of bed , and heading into the bathroom where bright purple towels hung on a rack next to a bright purple shower curtain. I turned on the water, and undressed while the water warmed. Stepping in, I let the warm water soothe away my tension .
I couldn’t help thinking about the past four days. In that time I’d managed to become a revena nt —not quite human, not quite vampire. I’d slept in the same bed with Gabe; one of my best friends whom I’d developed a crush on. Nearly bitten Dorian. And, kissed, drank, and kissed some more, my Hunter.
Sheesh!
I wasn’t that kind of girl; well , I hadn’t
“ D o es go od and evil exist? ” Christopher asked, searching my eyes, looking for something I didn’t think I possessed.
“I believe so,” I answered , nodding.
He kissed my neck, and sat up, cross ing his well-defined legs . I wasn’t ready to be done kissing him , drinking from him, but I wanted to know where he wa s going with his question. Reluctantly, I lifted myself from my prostrate posit ion, and crossed my legs so I sat opposite him on the bed .
We were still in the castle, in another realm . L ush throw pillows were pushed to the floor, and surrounded us like piranha stalking its food .
Until a few moments ago, I ’d been too busy enjoying the taste of Chace aka Christopher aka my Hunter , and hadn’t cared about anything else. Now that he’d spoken, lots of unanswered questions surfaced.
Like , what wa s the name of this realm? W hy did he keep bringing me here, and where exactly was here ?
Christopher seized my hand. “ Sweet, beautiful, Snow,” he said, caressing my knuckles. “In my years serving the Queen, I’ve lear ned one thing. Words like good and evil are relative terms.”
“What do you mean? To kill someone is evil.” I crossed my arms, waiting to hear how he’d BS his way out of that.
“What if that someone is the enemy in a war? It’s kill or be killed. Would he be considered evil for protecting himself , his loved ones, his home, his country ?” He grinned sweetly , running his fingers along my jaw.
My mouth fell open. I wanted to say yes, but Profess or Pops had explained I would be learning how to kill supernatural creatures —that we were on the brink of war. If I killed to protect myself, would that make me evil?
“Ugh, okay. Where are you going with this?” I wasn’t sure I wanted to know.
He chuckled, and climbed off the bed, readjusting his clothes . When he finished, he grabbed my hand, pulling me onto my feet.
“ In Buddhism, ” he began, “ good and evil don’t exist , per say. Instead there is kusala and akusala . Kusala i s considered to be, intelligence , contented, beneficial, and a remover of affliction. Akusala is, quite simply, the opposite. Or, unintelligent, causer of affliction, and so on. Which boils down to this. What is evil to one person may be good to another. Life and everything in it is about your perception .”
Christopher’s words echoed in my mind. I wanted him to explain further , but a sudden, and infuriating beeping interrupted.
My alarm clock.
Upon o pening my eyes, my Hunter , and the other realm vanished. With a sigh, I reached over, shut off the clock , and roll ed onto my back. I hadn’t slept. At least I didn’t think so. The entire night spent with my Hunter . We hadn’t done more than talk, kiss , and bite each other ’s necks , but the experience left me breathless. It’d been intimate.
I tr ied to imagine bringing Christopher into my silly little girls’ room, and flushed. Lavender walls held up posters of bunnies, kittens, and puppies. Across from me was my chest of drawers, also lavender, and atop it sat unused perfume bottles. Above it hung a corkboard filled with pic tures of Cindy and me, as well as pictures of my best friends—the guys . To the left of my dresser was my bathroom, and next to that, on the same wall, lived my closet.
“Ugh, I’m so over purple,” I muttered , climbing out of bed , and heading into the bathroom where bright purple towels hung on a rack next to a bright purple shower curtain. I turned on the water, and undressed while the water warmed. Stepping in, I let the warm water soothe away my tension .
I couldn’t help thinking about the past four days. In that time I’d managed to become a revena nt —not quite human, not quite vampire. I’d slept in the same bed with Gabe; one of my best friends whom I’d developed a crush on. Nearly bitten Dorian. And, kissed, drank, and kissed some more, my Hunter.
Sheesh!
I wasn’t that kind of girl; well , I hadn’t
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