“Yeah and I'm getting kinda worried that maybe my mom was right.”
“Your mom?” I asked in confusion.
“Yeah. I mean, I almost killed Tory by playing this stupid game. And sometimes when I’m in the hunt it’s seriously hard for me to keep my head. I go all in with my bloodlust and I feel like it urges me to act in ways I wouldn't. Or…maybe that’s just a load of shit and all it’s really doing is revealing what I want the most, making it easier for me to see exactly what my deepest desire is.” He frowned, glancing away again and I scrubbed at my chin.
“And you think that desire is Seth’s blood?”
Caleb’s lips parted like he’d been going to agree then he leaned in a little more. “Not just his blood. I want to own him. Like make him mine in some primal way that can’t be questioned by anyone or anything. I felt a little like this when Tory was my Source, but it’s so much more intense with him. Like just the thought of anyone else biting him or laying some kind of claim on him makes my fucking blood boil. I have to fight against the urge to just grab him and lock him away where no one can find him. The other night he went and ran beneath the moon with Rosalie Oscura and her pack and I paced my fucking room for two hours before snapping and shooting out there to find him. He was in full Wolf mode so the fight we had was epic, but when I finally managed to force him beneath me and sank my teeth into his neck, I swear I hit nirvana. And I thought that was all I needed but when Rosalie called Seth back out to run with her again once I was sated, it was all I could do not to attack her. I just can’t cope with the idea of anyone trying to have him in any way, it’s driving me nuts.” Caleb’s fangs snapped out and a snarl escaped him as he considered that and I raised my hands in surrender.
“Calm down, man, I have no interest in biting your precious Source.”
He breathed a laugh and I smiled back.
“It sounds like Vampire stuff. Maybe just talk to Orion about it? It could be to do with your Vampire coven thing?” I suggested.
“Yeah,” he agreed, looking up like he was hoping his new little pal might appear at any moment and I shook my head at the total one eighty they’d taken in their relationship. They’d gone from bitter rivals to fucking besties with no more than a little love bite shared between them, and I couldn’t even doubt their new bond because I could feel it humming between them as if they’d been best friends since they were kids. It was kinda weird, but they seemed happy enough and it wasn’t like anything all that terrifying had happened to them - they’d just lost the urge to constantly compete with one another for blood sources and had found a way to bond over all things Vampy in doing so.
Caleb looked around, cocking his head as he listened to something I couldn’t hear and he got to his feet.
“Gabriel just arrived at the dining hall and he has some plan to help us get the shadow eye,” he said, beckoning for me to get out of the water.
I sighed, pulling myself out of the pool and shifting back into my Fae form before using my water magic to dry myself off and dressing quickly.
We hurried down the sweeping tunnels towards the dining hall and found Gabriel surrounded by a group of rebels who were all listening to him with rapt attention, their excitement spilling through the air and brushing against my skin.
Cal nudged me to point out our group and we slipped through the crowd towards them as Gabriel gave the rebels his instructions.
“I need each and every one of you to make a plot to assassinate the false king’s Seer Vard over the coming month,” he was saying. “You can choose any time to strike and come up with the darkest and most gruesome methods of attack that you can manage. It is imperative that you make this your priority. We need him dead, and we need it to happen as soon as possible.”
Murmurs broke out between the crowd as their moods turned bloodthirsty, hungry and determined. I exchanged a surprised look with Caleb as we made it over to our group and Gabriel came to join us.
“Won’t Vard see all of them coming?” I asked in confusion and Gabriel grinned demonically.
“Oh I’m counting on him seeing endless versions of his death in his very near future,” he agreed.
“If he can see them coming then how do you expect them to succeed?” I pushed.
“I don’t,” he replied simply. “I only wish for him to be so distracted by all of the death threats he sees coming his way that he doesn’t see us coming when we strike at him tonight.”