Thalia over two millennia had amassed quite a fortune that rivaled most first-world nations. She had several homes around the world and made it a point to avoid countries in which she had no residence of her own. Her time on this earth had taught her to avoid lighttight rooms she had no control over. Some vampires gave themselves the ability to open lighttight rooms from the outside, even if it wasn't evident to the visiting vampire. She herself had that on her lighttight rooms she had for guests, not that she had ever allowed another vampire into any of her homes. The only person alive with any real knowledge of her homes was her bonded and rightly so.
At that moment, though, she found herself waking up in a lighttight room that was not hers. Sophie-Anne had practically begged for her and Jason to be there for Arkansas's visit. Threadgill had become even more desperate for a union between himself and Sophie-Anne, especially now that she had Mississippi to boot. Sophie-Anne was going to turn Threadgill down, as he had nothing to offer her; if anything, he was bringing with him a great deal of debt. Sophie- Anne herself had thanks to Godric, just managed to stave off Edgington, and even better, they had ended him without any blowback from the AVL and the Council.
Jason was snoring lightly next to her; they had added their own set of extra security on the door of the room before settling in for the day. It was more of an apartment than a lighttight room. It was a two-bedroom, two and a half baths on the third floor of Sophie- Anne's residence. Thalia could say in some ways, Sophie- Anne's ostentatiousness paid off. She almost seemed to bend over backward to accommodate their requests. Godric's presence in Louisiana had given Sophie- Anne a firm hold on her monarchy, and she showed that gratitude to those attached to him in spades. There was also the fact that her soon to be child was closely related to the Stackhouses. Hadley was currently in Bon Temps visiting Adele, and it worked out well as Sophie- Anne did not want her so close with Arkansas visiting. They all hoped Threadgill would accept her answer and leave peacefully. If not Sophie- Anne would inherit another state, something she did not want at all.
Jason woke up with a loud yawn and a stretch. Thaila could hear the snap of his joints as he stretched. "For a second there, I forgot where I was." He grumbled as he rolled onto his back.
Thalia rolled her eyes, a habit she had picked up from Sookie. "That seems to be the case every time you wake up."
"Yes, I spent so much of my time in one town, and when I reached maturity in Fairy terms, I didn't spend nights in strange rooms and beds. It takes some getting used to." Jason grumbled as he got out of bed. "Sook sent you that as she does not have a need for it." He added as he headed for the bathroom.
Thalia could smell the silver and knew what it was from the shape of the package. She unwrapped it with little care for the packaging. It was an exact match of her bonded's sword. A Fairy crafted sword, made of pure silver and magic. Silver by itself was a soft metal, and in combat utterly useless, but whatever magic was infused with the metal, made it harder than any metal known to man. The pommel was intricately designed, just as the scabbard, none contain silver, so she could wield it. She believed that unless granted express permission to use the sword, no one could lay their hand on it. She fished out the small phone, an annoying device her bonded insisted she needed despite years of avoiding ever owning the silly contraption.
"Thalia." Sookie greeted.
"Your gift is much appreciated, but pray tell, why did such a gift not go to your bonded?" As grateful as she was for the sword, she wondered why Godric did not have it.
"I take Jase hasn't told you about the gift Gran gave him." Sookie chuckled.
"How many of these Fairy weaponry do you possess?" Thaila asked in awe.
"An attic full. I'm surprised Jase hasn't taken you through them. There are trunks full of them." Thaila had seen the trunks but not their contents.
"He mentioned it once, but it sounded more like one of his innuendos."
"Sookie cracked up laughing. "Yes, knowing Jase it just might have been. You should go through the trunks and see what works for you. You might want to take a bit of blood from Jase before you do. Godric learned that the hard way." Sookie added.
"Thanks, I will." She chuckled as she ended the call. She tossed the phone aside with little care, joining her bonded in the large shower.
Thalia took a few practice swings getting used to the weight of the sword; it was damn right perfect. "So beautiful and yet so deadly," Thalia murmured.
"Don't I know it," Jason responded as he stared at her. "We should exchange blood." Her blood would boost his gifts, and his would provide her some protection from the sword. Fairy weaponry was not kind to vampires, holding one without the express permission from them would burn a vampire. It was enough to make vampires wary.
She reluctantly put the sword back in its scabbard much to Jason's amusement.
Thalia's demeanor in the privacy of the bedroom was entirely different from the vampire the public saw. Nothing beat the look on her face when she came, she loved a hard fuck as much as he did, but she also loved the tender moments. The moments Jason's hips slowly undulated as he worked his cock in and out of her, his slowness felt like torture on some days. On others, it was what Thalia imagined the Elysian Fields was to be if there was such a place. A low whimper escaped her lips as ger bonded continued to hit that spot over and over again. His hand gripped her thigh, opening her up wider for him, he rolled his hips just as Thalia fell over the edge. Her nails tore through the sheets as she held on for dear life. A groan of her name indicated Jason had also found his release.
Peter Threadgill and Jade Flower stepped out of the SUV to the sight of Sophie- Anne with Thalia and a human. Both surprised them; the ancient Greek was notorious for not involving herself in any form of politics or the vampire community at large. The human smelled better than anything the two had ever smelled, but they could also smell the Greek's blood in him. Threadgill was immediately dismissive of the human, but Jade knew there had to be more to him for him to smell so much like Thalia.
"Sophie- Anne, congratulations on Mississippi. You certainly rid us of a menace." He said, kissing the back of her hand with a small bow to boot. Jason made a real effort to stop his eyes rolling into the back of his head.
"Yes, Although I didn't have much to do with it. He went after Jason here, Thalia's bonded, it was never going to end well for him. Jason is the grandson of Niall Brigant, and quite powerful, Edgington did not have a hope in hell." Sophie- Anne. Threadgill looked at the human in a new light.
"You are a Fairy; I thought you guys smelled…"
"For all our sakes, I am masking my scent," Jason said as they moved into the formal living room. Jason and Thalia remained standing behind Sophie- Anne, as Jade stood behind Threadgill.
"Sophie…" Threadgill started but soon stopped as Sophie- Anne raised her hand, stopping him.
"I believe it would be unfair to let you sit there and give me a long list of reasons why we should get married when my mind is already made up. The answer is no. A union with you does not benefit my states in any way." It was a fact both parties were well aware of.
"Our union would help take some eyes off you. It will strengthen your old on both our states."
"I have all the strength I need. Godric the Gaul now lives in my state and is also my advisor." That said it all.
Peter clenched his jaw in anger. "I see." He stood abruptly. "You are a female, a young female at that with two states. You have eyes on you, eyes I can turn away from you. Your decision is the wrong one and will cost you dearly."
Sophie-Anne stood slowly. "Tell Nevada; I would like to see him try." Threadgill did not do a good job hiding his shock.
Jason chuckled, earning a threatening look from Jade. "If you want to clash swords, boy, keep laughing." She threatened.
"I will like to see how that human-made sword stands up to a sword made by my kin." With that, he pulled his sword out of the scabbard; the smell of the silver alone was enough to have any vampire take a step back. Although Jade Flower did not physically take a step back, internally, she did. This time it was Thalia who laughed. Although she respected Jade Flower, she knew she could easily best her if it came down to it. You do not threaten one's bonded and walk, and Jade Flower knew that. Thalia would have every right to challenge her, but for now, she walked away with an irate Peter Threadgill.
"The Gaul." That said it all, the name alone would be all it took for Nevada to turn his eyes elsewhere. "All of a sudden, vampires who had no interest in politics have flocked to Sophie-Anne. Godric, Thalia, and even fucking Fairies… what the fuck is going on." In truth, this was more of a reason for Threadgill to secure a union, but it was not going to happen. Sophie- Anne had not even pretended to think about his proposal.
"Well, that went better than I expected." Sophie-Anne chuckled as she heard the SUV drive away.
"Better would have been if I got to use my sword," Jason grumbled.
"Trust me, you need a few more years of training before you can take on the likes of Flower," Thalia informed him.
"It's not as though you were going to stand by and watch her chop me up." Jason returned.
"No," Thalia growled; it was all he needed to hear.
The meeting had ended much earlier than expected, the two decided to head back home. They were ready to get back to the comfort of their own home. "Do I smell different even with my scent masked to you… enough to tell I'm not entirely human?" Jason asked as he stared at his phone.
"Yes, but not precisely enough to say you were part of the Fae. Eventually, I saw enough to tell." Thalia said as she finished packing.
"Enough to tell if someone is part Fairy, part vampire." Thalia smiled, she now understood where he was going with his questions.
"Clever." She murmured.
"Don't give me credit; it was Sookie," Jason said, putting his phone away.
"Oh, I know." Thalia quipped, earning a glare in return.
There was something to be said for expecting trouble. It kicks every instinct into high gear. Your gut churns, waiting for the inevitable. Every bit of you is alert and expecting a half-fairy, half-vampire man, who is determined to take what he is owed. Sookie knew without a shadow of a doubt, she would have bought Ben Flynn's story had she not been expecting trouble. The fact that he was a Fairy was enough to have her guard up. Her shield was up, and staying up until she was sure without a shadow of a doubt he was who he said he was. She would admit, it was quite disconcerting to have someone around able to read her mind. She understood how others felt now more than ever.
Her doubts about his story lasted a mere few hours before it was confirmed a lie when she went down into the basement just before Godric woke. "He is a Fairy, but there is something else. Unfortunately, I cannot tell for sure if the other is a vampire." He sniffed Sookie again, but it was not enough. He needed to be closer to the man in question, but they both knew who the man upstairs truly was.
"But there is enough to warrant caution."
"Yes," Godric growled. "Get everybody here, we end this tonight once and for all."