Chapter 21
I storm up to him and place my hands on my hips.
"You almost ruined things for me today." I say. He raises an eyebrow for a moment, as if trying to understand what I'm talking about.
"Really? That's what you want to talk about first?" He asks, folding his arms.
"You hurt a bunch of Nyx guards, my kind. And for what? So one of your friends from your tree-house days can pursue his teenage love? Someone who he'll never end up with anyway, by the way." I snap.
"Why do you and people like Marcella get to determine who falls in love with who? You can't even manage your own relationships." He replies.
"I told you, I was charming him. I didn't mean to take it so far. It's not like it meant anything, anyway- I'm pregnant with your baby." I fold my arms, two guards walk out through the foyer and we go silent. "Listen, I can't do this here. Can we discuss back at the apartment?" I ask. Peter sighs angrily before looking over at the guards who stop outside the door, they make no effort to hide the fact that they're watching us. He shakes his head in defeat before heading out the door. When I pass through behind him the guards bow, so I nod in return. We walk out to the drive to see Felix standing awkwardly on the pavement.
"Where's Emmeline and William?" I ask. Peter glances at Felix before Felix looks away.
"They left. They said there wasn't enough room in the car for all of us and Emmeline didn't want me in her car." He says. I roll my eyes as a black limousine with tinted windows drives over to us. The valet Veela who took Emmeline's car from us steps out of the driver's seat.
"I'm to take you home, your highness." She says and I sigh.
"Pass on my gratitude to Queen De Gaunt when you return, won't you?" I ask with a polite smile, walking to step into the passenger half of the cab. The woman walks around to open the door for me and Peter and Felix wordlessly slide into the other seats. Once in, I rest my head back, the exhaustion of the day is already getting to me and it's not even dark outside. Peter moves to the seat next to me and Felix tries not to look over at us.
"Is everything going alright?" Peter asks, nodding down to my stomach. I nod my head, leaning back in the seat so I'm comfortable.
"Just fine." I say. Peter hesitantly lifts up his hand and places it over my belly. Part of me wants to place my hand over his but I just can't manage the feeling for it.
"When will it start getting bigger?" Peter asks, looking down at my still flat stomach.
"Not for a couple of months." Felix says, still not looking at us. When he does glance back his eyes meet mine and we pause for a moment. Should we talk about this morning? Should I talk to him at all in front of Peter? This morning I felt so angry and now I just feel regret. The car trip is much shorter on the way back. I lean my head to the side and I instantly fall asleep. I wake up with my head on Peter's shoulder and both men look uncomfortable in their silence. The limousine has come to a stop and from the view outside the window I can tell we're back in the city. The sun has gone down and it's getting dark. We all get out of the car and walk to the pavement. I turn to Felix.
"Will you be staying with us at the apartment tonight?" I ask him. Peter gives me an annoyed look but I ignore him. Felix also looks confused.
"You don't really expect me to let you go home to an empty house, do you?" I ask. Felix considers this before looking over at Peter. Peter looks to the sky in exasperation and closes his eyes. I lean in to speak in low tones.
"He just lost his kid." Peter looks over to Felix and sighs.
"Fine. Come up, you can sleep in the guest bedroom." He says, before turning and walking off towards the hotel. Felix and I follow and we crowd into the living and dining area.
"I guess we should order some room service for dinner then?" I ask, walking over to sit at the table. Felix moves to rest at the breakfast bar and Peter retrieves the food list from one of the kitchen cabinets. He places it in front of me on the dining table before removing his jacket.
"I need to shower. Just order me whatever you're getting." He says, heading for the master bedroom en suite. Felix moves over to join me at the table and, after deciding on dinner, I ring the front desk to place the order. We're left in silence so I open my mouth to speak.
"We should talk about this morning." I say.
"And last night." Felix nods.
"What do you remember?" I ask, tilting my head.
"Not a lot... but I get the gist of it. What I don't understand is where I woke up this morning..." He says, looking over at me. I nod slowly, waiting for his question.
"We didn't...?" He gestures from me to him and I catch on to his meaning.
"No. We didn't sleep together. Well- we did, but not in that way." I say, clasping my hands together. My necklace begins to buzz against my chest.
"Good, I was worried." He shakes his head. I raise an eyebrow. There are so many things I want to say right now so I let one come out.
"I'm not a preying mantis, Felix, I don't behead the people I make love to." I shake my head, my lips curling into a small, unexpected smile.
"Well I always thought it would be memorable with you but that wasn't the reason I had in mind." He manages a small smile as well, looking to the table.
"You've thought about it with me?" I know I shouldn't ask it, but I do anyway. My necklace buzzes with excitement. He widens his eyes slightly.
"I just mean- with a Veela... there's all that attraction they force on you, it must make an impact when you're finally- um... together." He stutters through it.
"Right. Well, sorry for forcing your attraction..." I say, smirking. He leans back on the chair.
"No, that's not what I meant." He says, opening his mouth to speak again. He's cut off, though, when my eyes dart up to Peter who's standing with wet hair and dampening clothes. He has Felix's wine bottle in one hand and his mobile phone in the other. I bite my lip, I forgot how the master bedroom must have looked- an empty wine bottle and ruffled bedsheets don't look good. I move to stand hastily and the chair makes a loud noise on the floor.
"Peter-" I begin, stopping when he talks sternly.
"I just called Laura to see if I could work out a deal for Finn." He pauses, looking over at Felix- who also stands slowly, "But then she told me about your little secret." I expect shame and regret to flood into my head but, surprisingly, all that comes is annoyance and impatience.
"Because we all trust what Laura says." I say, raising an eyebrow.
"This one sounded believable." Peter says, moving his glare from me and back to Felix again. He holds up the empty wine bottle and shows it to Felix.
"Reliving your little shower scene, are you?" He asks. Suddenly the wine bottle is smashed against the marble counter top of the breakfast bar and hundreds of little glass pieces fall to the ground. Peter steps forward, pointing what's left of the bottle at Felix. Felix backs away to the door quickly and Peter's bare feet begin to slowly ooze with blood from the broken glass. I walk over and step between the two. Felix is practically leaning against the apartment door and he looks more shocked than anything. Peter keeps staring at Felix angrily so I cross my arms and clear my throat to get his attention.
"Are you seriously going to go through me to get to him?" I ask. He barely glances at me before looking back at Felix. He does lower the wine bottle to his side though.
"Peter, you don't need to get upset-" Felix begins.
"Don't get upset!? You slept with my Lena. When exactly did you forget that you can't claim something that's already been claimed? Or do you need to go back to Neverland and be taught that again?!" He shouts angrily.
"That's enough." I say sternly. I turn around to the door. "Felix, it's time for you to go- there's no reasoning with him when he's like this." I say. Felix nods and moves his eyes back to Peter. He remains defensive and only turns his back on him completely when he's on the other side of the door. Peter's breathing is heavy and when Felix is no longer in his sight he places the half wine-bottle on the counter. I walk over and because I haven't taken my shoes off I'm able to walk on the glass pieces. Peter leans back against the counter in an attempt to calm down as well as reduce the movement he makes on the glass. The jewel thumps against my chest and it's keeping me angry. I walk in front of him and when he looks up at me I grip onto his arm and yank him so he has to step forward to stop himself from falling. His foot slams down on the glass and he winces with pain and confusion.
"I am not a wild animal, I am no one's to claim." I say it furiously, feeling my eyes go black all over. He looks up at me and for the briefest moment I notice a flicker of fear on his face. I let him go and he slides onto the bar stool to begin picking the glass from his feet. There is a buzz at the door and I walk over to answer it. A woman is wheeling a food cart with our meals and there's bedding stuffed into the compartment underneath.
"Three hot meals here, where would you like them?" She asks. I step aside and allow her to come in. She widens her eyes at the spectacle Peter has caused and she stands straight.
"Oh god. It looks like I'm going to have to send for a cleaner... and a doctor." She says, looking back at me. I curl my lips into a humourless smile and nod, taking the lids off two of the plates of dinner and moving them to the dining table. The woman, still confused and shocked, backs that cart away to the door. Before she leaves I call behind her,
"Anyone with first aid will do, and will you bring me a drink? Your nicest non-alcoholic Martini or something." The woman nods and closes the door behind her. I walk over to sit a the table before picking up my knife and forks and glancing to Peter.
"I think I miss being bowed to." I say. Peter looks up at me, perplexed and I shrug, beginning my meal.
Not long after the staff member leaves, two cleaners and a man with a small surgical kit knock on the door. I open the door and look to each one before I let them in.
"Do one of you have my drink?" I ask. They look at each other with the same confusion as the other woman before I roll my eyes and step aside. They all begin their work, the man helps Peter remove the glass from his feet and sterilises the skin. The cleaners scoop up the glass and mop up the blood before sterilising the floor. The door is still open so the lady from before doesn't bother knocking when she walks in. She hands me my drink and remains interested in Peter's feet.
"Will we need to get him to the hospital?" She asks.
"The cuts aren't deep, he won't need any stitches." The man says as he bandages Peter's feet. Peter grumbles quietly, annoyed that he needs a human to heal him and he can't just use his own powers.
"If you think we should call an ambulance anyway, sir, I can get them here in ten minutes." The woman says, reaching for her phone.
"Oh he's a big boy- he'll heal. Right, honey?" I ask, looking over at Peter. Peter just nods with an annoyed expression and the staff eventually file out to leave us alone. He rocks onto his feet on the marble floor and limps over to the table.
"No, don't bother helping- I'll be fine." He says, pulling out a seat and sliding onto it. He takes his knife and fork and begins to eat.
"Compared to your reaction- mine was completely appropriate." I say, walking over to sit back at the table with him. "You were being dramatic enough for the both of us." I roll my eyes.
"Oh, and since you asked- no. I didn't sleep with Felix. I never have." I say,
"Well maybe not yet, but you would have... if we had have had a fight before I left, if I had said something to piss you off. You would have given yourself to Felix and you would have even convinced him that you were doing it just because you loved him." He says, taking a drink from my virgin Martini. "I think I'm finally beginning to understand this side of you, Lena. You try so hard to hold onto that innocent human persona that you're used to but the truth is that the more you give into your dark side, the more you love it. And Laura didn't just warn me about the fact that you'll never stop loving Felix, she also told me about the necklace... about what you'll become because of it. There's going to be a day when all that's left of you is your dark side and that necklace." He points to it as it dangles on my neck. Part of me dies a little inside because I know what he's saying is true, but by now I'm drunk on the power this neck has been feeding me all night so I give him one of my humourless smiles and lean forward.
"Hmm... and you know what the saddest part about it is?" I ask. I allow the charm to roll off of me and I can see it affect him. By this point he's clearly developed a tolerance for it though because he appears completely lucid as he sits forward in interest. When I continue the voice I hear is mine but each word is being controlled with malice by the power of the jewel, reverberating through me.
"The saddest part is that even when the human part of me that you fell in love with is gone, you'll still be right here by my side. You'll sulk when I blow kisses to the other pretty boys, because all you have left of little Lena Murdoch is memories. And her face then belongs to a queen who you can't fall out of love with. You and me are for good, babe, you're infatuated with the woman who will kiss your best friend in your own bed and cause you pain just to send a message." I pause. "If I wanted you to kiss me right now you would." At this moment I look down to his lips and he looks down to mine. I lean in closer to him and he inhales my scent deeply. I can see part of him doesn't want to but he moves in towards me anyway, brushing his lips against mine. I pull back and continue, "This 'dark side' liked you better when you were evil and you had power. As soon as you get off your high horse and figure out who you are now then we'll talk about marriage." I finish, pushing back from the table and moving to my feet. As I walk away I say good night.
"The guest bed is all made up for you." Peter remains seated, but his eyes follow me carefully.
"What's wrong with us?" He asks, he looks defeated and dishevelled. "Why can't we get this right?" I pause in my tracks to reply, turning around to face him.
"It's because we're toxic, love."