“Why? Does it bother you?” I ask.
Orion shakes his head. “No, just curious. It looks like it would have hurt,” he replies.
“Yeah, it did. Doesn’t anymore, I often forget it’s there,” I tell him truthfully.
“So, what happened?”
“Does it matter? It was years ago; not a pleasant memory.”
“How old were you?”
“Sixteen,” I answer.
“So a house fire?” he asks, and I can tell by the look on his face it is eating at him, not knowing.
“Did you do something to Vick?” I ask, changing the subject.
Ever since they first kidnapped me, I had this nagging feeling Orion did something to Vick. It is unusual that he randomly went on vacation when I have never known the man to leave, even for a weekend.
Orion’s eyes darken for a second.
“You killed him, didn’t you?”
“Do you really want to know?”
I shrug, not sure if I do. I hate Vick. He is slimy and sleazy, but that doesn’t mean I necessarily want him dead. But from the look on Orion’s face, I know nothing good came of him.
“Come on, let’s hop out. You must be hungry,” he says, opening the shower, grabbing a towel, and handing it to me.
He then wraps another around his waist and steps out. I wrap the towel around myself and follow him into the room, quickly putting on a shirt and a pair of shorts that Orion gave me.
“Thaddeus is making pancakes,” Orion says when we finish getting dressed. Orion grabs my hand, pulling me from the room, taking me downstairs.
As we walk into the kitchen, Thaddeus is indeed making pancakes. My belly rumbles loudly from the aromatic smell of melted butter and golden syrup.
“I did not picture you being one to cook,” I tell him, sitting at the island next to Orion.
Thaddeus looks back at me, turns around, and places a plate of pancakes on the center of the island. Orion hands me a plate and dumps a heap of pancakes on my plate. I slide a couple off; fully aware I can’t possibly eat that many. Cutting off a piece, I pop it into my mouth and nearly moan at the taste; so fluffy, and it melts in my mouth.
“Good?” Thaddeus asks, a smirk on his face.
“Very,” I tell him.
“So, how long have you guys lived here for?”
“Can’t remember. A while.”
“Where were you before here, then?” I inquire, hoping that one of them will inadvertently reveal our location.
“Everywhere. I traveled before that, and mainly with my parents,” Thaddeus answers.
“You have parents?”
“Everyone has parents, Evelyn,” Thaddeus says.
He is right. Sort of. Yes, biologically, but I have learned that blood doesn’t make a parent. As far as I am concerned, I don’t have any. “You know what I mean.”
Thaddeus nods. “Yes, I know what you mean, Evelyn, and yes, my parents are still alive. I also have a sister,” he says, making me look up at him.
He stares off into space for a second, shakes his head, and snaps himself out of whatever trance he was stuck in. I wonder where his mind took him at that moment.
“What about you?” I ask, looking at Ryland.
“Mine are dead, killed by the council.”
“Council?” I ask.
“Just think of it as supernatural law enforcement,” Ryland says.
As I look at Orion, I don’t even have to ask; he just answers. “No family; they died before I was changed. This here is all the family I have and need,” he answers. I nod.
“What about you? What are your parents like?” Ryland asks.
“Don’t know, never met them,” I answer and quickly pop more pancakes in my mouth to busy it with chewing.
They seem to think for a second until Orion breaks the silence to ask another question. “What about other families?”
“No idea; I grew up in foster care.”
“And the foster carers never had any information on them?” Orion raises an eyebrow.
“Nope, I was dropped out in front of a church when I was a few days old; a nun found me.” I shrug.
“That explains the newspaper clipping we found,” Ryland says, looking at Thaddeus.
“Newspaper clipping?” I raise an eyebrow at him.
“Yeah, the box we found under your bed.”
I nod, not really knowing what to think about knowing they snooped through my stuff. Not like I have much or anything valuable.
“You’re not upset we went through your stuff?” Thaddeus asks.
Shrugging, I pick up my plate and wash it in the sink. “Not really; I doubt you would have found much. Besides, everyone has skeletons in the closet,” I tell him.
“And what are yours, then?” Thaddeus asks curiously.
“You tell me yours, and I will tell you mine,” I challenge. He shakes his head. “That’s what I thought.” I chuckle, for once feeling better that I might have won a battle with him.
“Like the burn on your back?” Thaddeus adds.
“Yes, exactly like that,” I tell him.
Evelyn
After having breakfast for dinner, I head into the living room. Orion follows me out of the kitchen and sits right next to me the moment I take a seat on the couch.
“We should head to bed soon,” Orion tells me. Thaddeus and Ryland walk out and head upstairs, and I see Orion watch them go. “Come on. You should sleep,” he says, and I shake my head, not wanting to go to bed.
I don’t want to sleep in a bed with Thaddeus and Ryland. I have spent most of the day and night asleep. “I’m not tired. You go to bed,” I tell him. Orion chuckles to himself, making me look at him. “What?” I ask, wondering what he thinks is so funny.
“Nothing. I don’t sleep. I wish I could; I miss sleeping,” he says.
I furrow my eyebrows. “You don’t sleep?” Orion shakes his head. “At all?”
“I’m not human, Evelyn. I don’t require sleep. Not like Ryland and humans,” he says.
“But Thaddeus sleeps?” The statement comes out more like a question and Orion nods in agreement.
“Yes, but he is a Tribrid, so like Ryland, he needs sleep. He can go weeks without it, but he becomes manic without sleeping,” Orion explains.
Manic? Great, not only do I have a psychopath for a mate, but he is fucking bonkers. I have heard so many rumors about the Dark King, and I know that most of them are correct, but how can someone be more than one thing? Probably a stupid thought, considering the world just found out that there is an entirely different world from the one I grew up in.