humans.”
“ Practically all ways?”
“Silver, being a metal with a strange connection to the moon, slices past our defences. Wounds inflicted by silver affect us exactly as they would a human, perhaps even worse.”
I shuffled closer to him, sliding my hands around Ishan’s waist, tugging him closer. I pressed my bare chest to his, brushing my nose over his cheek, leaning against him and taking in his scent. “Why don’t we use silver weapons to harm other Rakshasa, then?”
He nibbled on my ear, kissing down to the lobe. “Sometimes we do, but it makes us uncomfortable. The best way to describe our reaction to silver is an allergy. Injuries caused by silver throw our immune systems out of kilter. Just touching it can cause nausea, vomiting, headspins…”
My hands wandered down to Ishan’s tan backside, cupping his firm, muscled rumpcheeks and giving a firm squeeze. “I’ll be sure to throw out my jewellery then.”
“A small amount isn’t harmful.” He kissed down my neck to my shoulder, his head bobbing as he showered me with affection. I could feel his groin pressing against mine, firm and lumpy, responding to the close contact. “But pierced earrings, because a part of it is actually inside the body, are usually extremely uncomfortable.”
That actually came as some relief. “I hated piercings. Too painful. I had clip-ons.” I spoke of myself in the past tense. Libby the Loser wasn’t me anymore, especially in this place, and I wanted to make sure that anything that was left was only a memory.
His hands slid around my hips, slowly edging their way down the small of my back, settling against my bum. We exchanged squeezes for a moment, then he put his lips to mine.
“Wait,” I mumbled into the kiss and he pulled his head back obediently.
“Yes?”
“I have more questions.”
He nodded. “Questions. Go.”
“Where am I? I mean, you know, the real me?”
He smiled a warm smile, bumping his nose to mine, slowly rubbing it back and forth. “You’re with the coven. With the other Rakshasa, others of your clan.”
The idea of other Rakshasa intrigued me. “But I thought we were from different bloodlines?”
“We are, but our disagreements came second to your health.”
I was touched, but also eager to meet others like us. “Will I get to meet them?”
His smile widened. “One of them you already have, in a manner of speaking.”
“How do you mean?”
“Vriko… he has the ability to restore form to broken things just by touching them. The pane of glass you broke on the night we met, he repaired it.”
Blinking, I tilted my head. “I thought that was odd. I swore, black and blue, that it was broken.” I didn’t really like the idea that total strangers had been in my apartment without me even knowing they were there, but if Ishan trusted them, then I did too. “How did you know that, though?”
“I have my sources. Both clans take a vested interest in fledglings, so I expect they know as much about you as I do.”
I was strangely totally okay with this. “What’s your special power, then?”
His smile became a coy grin. “I can predict the weather. Remember back in that club? I told you it was going to rain.”
It was so obvious. “Of course. And it poured so hard it broke Katelyn’s house.”
“Well, just the roof. Anything else?” Ishan asked.
“What’s my power?”
He raised an eyebrow. “I don’t know, and if you don’t know yet, you’ll find out soon enough.”
“Oh.” I inhaled, closing my eyes a moment. “And I… need to know what you said earlier. During the dream.”
Now his features fell slightly. “About the Altaica clan?”
I nodded. When last Ishan had brought me here, we had made love and our true forms had been revealed. He said that our chance meeting in some dingy club had formed a kind of bond between us, triggering my transformation. But Ishan had white markings on his skin and mine were orange. This had seemed to surprise
“ Practically all ways?”
“Silver, being a metal with a strange connection to the moon, slices past our defences. Wounds inflicted by silver affect us exactly as they would a human, perhaps even worse.”
I shuffled closer to him, sliding my hands around Ishan’s waist, tugging him closer. I pressed my bare chest to his, brushing my nose over his cheek, leaning against him and taking in his scent. “Why don’t we use silver weapons to harm other Rakshasa, then?”
He nibbled on my ear, kissing down to the lobe. “Sometimes we do, but it makes us uncomfortable. The best way to describe our reaction to silver is an allergy. Injuries caused by silver throw our immune systems out of kilter. Just touching it can cause nausea, vomiting, headspins…”
My hands wandered down to Ishan’s tan backside, cupping his firm, muscled rumpcheeks and giving a firm squeeze. “I’ll be sure to throw out my jewellery then.”
“A small amount isn’t harmful.” He kissed down my neck to my shoulder, his head bobbing as he showered me with affection. I could feel his groin pressing against mine, firm and lumpy, responding to the close contact. “But pierced earrings, because a part of it is actually inside the body, are usually extremely uncomfortable.”
That actually came as some relief. “I hated piercings. Too painful. I had clip-ons.” I spoke of myself in the past tense. Libby the Loser wasn’t me anymore, especially in this place, and I wanted to make sure that anything that was left was only a memory.
His hands slid around my hips, slowly edging their way down the small of my back, settling against my bum. We exchanged squeezes for a moment, then he put his lips to mine.
“Wait,” I mumbled into the kiss and he pulled his head back obediently.
“Yes?”
“I have more questions.”
He nodded. “Questions. Go.”
“Where am I? I mean, you know, the real me?”
He smiled a warm smile, bumping his nose to mine, slowly rubbing it back and forth. “You’re with the coven. With the other Rakshasa, others of your clan.”
The idea of other Rakshasa intrigued me. “But I thought we were from different bloodlines?”
“We are, but our disagreements came second to your health.”
I was touched, but also eager to meet others like us. “Will I get to meet them?”
His smile widened. “One of them you already have, in a manner of speaking.”
“How do you mean?”
“Vriko… he has the ability to restore form to broken things just by touching them. The pane of glass you broke on the night we met, he repaired it.”
Blinking, I tilted my head. “I thought that was odd. I swore, black and blue, that it was broken.” I didn’t really like the idea that total strangers had been in my apartment without me even knowing they were there, but if Ishan trusted them, then I did too. “How did you know that, though?”
“I have my sources. Both clans take a vested interest in fledglings, so I expect they know as much about you as I do.”
I was strangely totally okay with this. “What’s your special power, then?”
His smile became a coy grin. “I can predict the weather. Remember back in that club? I told you it was going to rain.”
It was so obvious. “Of course. And it poured so hard it broke Katelyn’s house.”
“Well, just the roof. Anything else?” Ishan asked.
“What’s my power?”
He raised an eyebrow. “I don’t know, and if you don’t know yet, you’ll find out soon enough.”
“Oh.” I inhaled, closing my eyes a moment. “And I… need to know what you said earlier. During the dream.”
Now his features fell slightly. “About the Altaica clan?”
I nodded. When last Ishan had brought me here, we had made love and our true forms had been revealed. He said that our chance meeting in some dingy club had formed a kind of bond between us, triggering my transformation. But Ishan had white markings on his skin and mine were orange. This had seemed to surprise
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