Sacrifice Ch. 06

"And what have I done to deserve that fear? Is there any point in asking you why you'd think something so absurd?"

She flushed slightly. "It's not that absurd. You've done nothing...I know...I thought you were not likely to be cruel or unreasonable...but..." she trailed off and gnawed on her lower lip.

"But what?"

She averted her eyes, looking instead at the large hands which still held her captive. She moved in closer, stepping between his knees.

He was right. It was ridiculous. How could she have thought that? He wasn't like that, there was no logical explanation for her reaction.

"I know, you're right. It's illogical of me." Then again it wasn't that preposterous. "But...I suppose...It had happened to a young slave I'd known as a child, you see...who'd belonged to my father. No one wants a pregnant slave, it's expensive. It's easier to buy slaves than raise them. The slave was sold as soon as it was clear she survived the birth...I don't know what became of the child."

She met his eyes again, hopeful. "I suppose there was something familiar about the situation. I loved my father and never thought him capable of disposing of one of his own children so easily, even one gotten on a slave. I feared the same here...like him. I would never expect it from you, but..." She trailed off again, watching him closely.

He dropped her hands, and after a long moment he finally spoke. "Do you want the child?"

"Yes." She whispered. "Very much."

"Then I don't see a problem. You have nothing to fear from me." It was his turn to look down now, though one of his hands lifted and wrapped around her hip, nudging her that much closer, and encouraging her with its firm, warm grip to touch him back.

So she did, sliding her hand against the side of his neck. He winced at the contact, and though the flinch made her gut twist in terrible ways, she didn't pull away.

He sighed. He wasn't looking at her, but he didn't seem to be looking at anything in particular, just staring into the narrow space between them. She decided to force him to look at her by closing the distance. It worked, and instead of pushing her away as she had half expected him to, he pulled her into his lap, lifting her so that she could straddled him.

It surprised her, but she was grateful and wrapped her arms tightly around his neck and buried her head against his shoulder, hugging him tightly to her. He reciprocated and she felt the tight knot in her throat loosen a little.

She clung to him for an embarrassingly long time, her mind spinning as she tried and failed to interpret his reaction and his continued silence. Eventually she simply relaxed into the embrace and let her arms fall to wrap around his waist instead, though she didn't dare pull away completely.

"What are you thinking?" She finally whispered.

His chest rose beneath her as he inhaled deeply. However, before he could speak, if he was even going to, a loud knock at the door stopped him. She started at the sound. He sighed and rose to his feet, picking her up with him and calling out at the same time.

"A moment." His voice sounded strained and rumbled through his chest, making her whole body vibrate. Her mind slipped back to being carried in a similar way by Lot, and his own deep rumbling voice...but there was no comparison.

He lay her down on the bed and pulled her unwilling arms from around his neck. She caught his eye, but the fleeting glimpse told her little.

She rolled away before he made it to the door. She didn't want who ever it was to see her reddened eyes or stained cheeks. She did catch a female voice before the door closed and by the tone deduced it was probably Lady Nagi. She sighed heavily and curled up into the pillows and sheets.

She was asleep before he returned.

##

The first thing Calliope noticed when she drifted back into consciousness was that the room was cold and that her skin was prickling from the chill. She hadn't remembered undressing...

Something behind her was warm though... practically radiating heat, and she wriggled back until her side was pressed again the warm bulk. It shifted at the contact, and she woke completely as something heavy draped itself over her, pinning her to the bed with its weight.

She opened her eyes and turned to look at him. His eyes were closed.

She listened for a time to his breathing and decided he was awake. Her hand wrapped around his forearm.

"You were wrong." She whispered.

"What?" He graveled back softly.

"It was wrong of you to say I betrayed you."

Silence.

"You're angry about your friend...aren't you." she paused. "It was wrong to take it out on me, and say something so awful. I would never do such a thing, you know that...and it was hurtful of you to say. I would never betray you."

He did open his eyes, but didn't respond.

"I wish you trusted me. Why don't you tell me anything?"

He exhaled slowly. She prepared herself for a lecture. But she didn't get one.

"I trust you." Was all he said.

"Funny way of showing it." She offered when he declined to add anything else. His eyes scanned her face.

"If I don't tell you something it isn't because I think you'll run out and tell everyone, it just lessens the chance of it coming out accidentally. It's just safer. And some things...I just don't like talking about. Is that unreasonable?"

She looked into his golden eyes, noticing as he watched her, that the red, burnished flecks seemed to swim strangely in them.

"No." She whispered. It wasn't, she admitted silently to herself.

"Thank you." He closed his eyes again and exhaled deeply. "I'm sorry."

She blinked. "For what?"

His lip twitched slightly. "You're right. I overreacted somewhat."

She bit the inside of her lip to keep from smiling.

"But don't lie to me...or keep things from me." He opened his eyes. They were glowing red again. She lost the urge to smile and nodded somberly.

"I promise."

"I don't like that you felt you had to."

She tightened her grip on his arm.

"I'm sorry."

"I know."

"I...I care for you...I would never intentionally hurt you."

"I know."

She managed to quash the resurgence of her smile...but she couldn't quite keep it out of her voice.

"Do you know? So arrogant."

He chuckled, pulled her over by the hip, and rolled them both until she found herself tucked in against his side, with her head resting on his shoulder.

"Why are you so bloody insecure all of a sudden?"

"It's not that sudden."

"Well I don't remember you constantly questioning yourself like this...needing all these reassurances..."

"Sorry...it must be annoying."

He grunted ambiguously. She took it as an affirmative.

"It's this place." she murmured, etching her nails over his stomach, watching the muscles under his skin twitch in response. "I think I hate it here. It gets under your skin.

"It's worse when you stop noticing that it's effecting you, and you just get sucked into it...I think it starts to eat away at you...like leeches or, or gnats. I sometimes wonder if I've died and ended up in a particularly subtle and insidious plane of Hades. "

He stilled her hand by pinning it with his. "Any other analogies you'd like to pile on there?"

She laughed softly into his shoulder. "I think that should cover it."

"Small mercies."

She glanced up at him with a small smile. "Do you want me to be quiet and leave you alone?"

"No...but what's the use of complaining about it if the thing can't be changed."

She shrugged. "Everyone needs to express themselves sometimes...their frustrations. It makes it easier to bare."

"I don't."

"Of course you do. You fume. And it comes out in other ways as well."

He chuckled, "I don't."

She scoffed.

"What?"

"I hold my still bruised backside as proof to the contrary." He slid his hand down over her hip and cupped her ass, squeezing lightly. She felt her face warm but pushed on with only a brief pause. "One may not always use words...but it does come out, one way or another." He still wasn't saying anything, but his hand continued to caress her. She continued to ignore it...though not very well.

"Sometimes I clean." She continued, "Once when I was particularly annoyed at you, I scrubbed the kitchen floor three times over." She shifted and propped her hand and chin on his chest to look up at him. He looked somewhat askance at her.

"You were annoyed with me?"

"Hmm."

"What for?"

"Damned if I can remember. There are so many things, they all just sort of blur together."

There was a pause and then the slightest smile twitched the corner of his mouth. And, before she knew it, his hand was in her hair and her mouth was pressed firmly against his. She opened to the kiss with a happy sigh.

"Does this mean I'm forgiven?" She asked hopefully once he allowed her to break from the kiss.

He answered by squeezing her rear again with a faint smirk. She winced in turn, unable to suppress the reaction. He'd managed to find one of the still rather tender areas. His smirk faded and he released her hair to cup her face.

"I suppose I should be sorry for that as well?" His face was stern and unreadable, but the thumb sliding along her jaw was heartrendingly gentle.

She smiled and lifted her own hand to mimic the gesture, caressing his rough hewn profile with both her eyes and the backs of her fingers.

"No. Of course not. What's to be sorry for?"

He smirked. "I knew there was a reason I liked you."

She laughed at that. "Well I'm glad you found one reason." There was a long pause. She looked away and wet her lips. "What did your sister want?"

"She wondered why I disappeared so abruptly. The others sent her...though I can't fathom why they would care or what business it is of theirs."

"So no further news?"

She felt him shrug. "Not really. Callea can't do anything to find him if Phineas takes to the water. Only I could manage that, but they've been insistent that I don't since I'd have to do it in person."

She frowned. "Callea?"

"Red hair, bad attitude."

She chuckled. "You all have bad attitudes."

"Fair enough."

Red hair...that was the one she'd overheard in the hall. "I don't trust her."

"Neither do I"

"I can't put my finger on it, but something feels wrong...our host as well. I don't know." She looked up into his face, frowning. He simply returned her gaze.

"Be careful?" that made him smile, albeit fleetingly.

"I am."

She settled back into the crook of his shoulder.

"Are you sure?" He asked suddenly, making her turn her face back toward his.

"Sure? About it feeling wrong?"

His lipped twitched and the hand resting against her hip slid between them to cover her stomach. She flushed and nodded.

"Is it ok? With me being human?"

He cocked a brow at her. "Why would that matter?"

"I've heard from other slaves that your siblings prefer not to dilute their blood with that of a human."

He snorted. "They're idiots."

She smiled at that, and her own hand slid down to cover his. Feeling it there made her heart flutter strangely. "So you're fine with it?"

He looked at her a long minute. "Yes."

He had a strange expression on his face. She was tempted to ask if he might be even happy...but didn't dare push her luck.

"Are you?" He asked.

"Am I what? Fine with it?"

She couldn't help but notice the glint in his eye. "Some humans prefer not to mix their blood with that of a monster..."

"I suppose you are that aren't you." She reached up and pressed a finger against the tip of one horn.

"Hm, indeed. Well?"

She leaned up and nuzzled the underside of his jaw, pressing her body into his side. "They too are idiots."

He chuckled and wrapped his arm around her shoulder and back, pulling her tighter against him. "We appear to be the only sane, intelligent people left then."

"So it would seem" she agreed. "To Hades with the lot of them." She added emphatically.

He drew her up toward him. She chuckled as he growled softly against her lips and as his fingers trailed teasingly down her back.

"That's my girl"