Chapter Seven – Aria
Aria stared up at Gavin's glowering eyes. Part of her wanted to tell him what happened, to beg him to listen, to run tests or whatever it would take to convince him that the child she carried was his. But the larger part of her said that he would never believe her and that it wasn't her job to make him see reason.
"I'm not going anywhere," she said.
"Yes, you are. You're coming home with me."
"I am home."
Gavin narrowed his amber eyes. "Aria—"
"No." She tried to stay strong even though she was crumbling inside. "No, I am done. All I am to you is some sort of blood prostitute."
"That's not—"
"I know you wiped out my father's debt when we slept together. And you didn’t tell me. You wanted to keep me around because you think you own me. But you don't."
The king stepped back. A flash of regret crossed his face and he shook his head. "Aria, no, that's not what I meant. I'm…"
She held her breath, waiting. Was he going to apologize? If he did, then whatever was happening here… whatever he did, whatever she had said… Then maybe there was a way past all of that, and they'd be able to move forward together. Somehow. Her heart thumped hard as she realized how much she wanted that. Not to be bound by some agreement, but to be together because they wanted to be together.
Gavin's face closed off. "You're the one who said that you'd only sleep with me if the debt was wiped out. I thought it was obvious what I was doing when I took you, Aria. I was buying you since that was the only way you'd have me."
Her chest hurt. If she looked down, she was certain she'd see blood pouring from a gaping wound.
"I didn't tell you your father's debt was wiped out because I thought it would be obvious. Just because you let emotion cloud your judgment—"
"No, you just didn't want me to leave. Our agreement was that I would stay with you and give you blood only as long as it was necessary to pay my father's debt. Well, it's paid."
Gavin swallowed. Uncertainty clouded his eyes again. "Aria… What are you saying?"
The arrogance that had been there moments ago was gone. Did he want her to stay with him?
No, I can't think like that. There was nothing she could do to stop the tears, but she wasn't going to break. Not now. Not when he had never apologized for a word he had said, or done anything to make her think that he thought of her more than his paid woman. If her feelings had gotten the best of her before, they weren't going to defeat her now.
"I'm saying that our agreement is over. And I expect that you'll pay me for all the blood that you took from me after the debt was paid off."
Gavin's head dropped to his chest. He took a deep breath, his nostrils flaring, and when he looked back up, that spark of vulnerability was gone. He nodded, his face as expressionless as the day she had met him. "Fine. If that is what you want. I will have the funds transferred to your bank account as soon as I return to the palace. If you want the gifts I gave you, you'll have to make arrangements to pick them up. I hope you have a long and happy life with the man whose child you carry."
"Wait." Sonya stepped between them, holding her hands up. "No, wait. This isn't you think, your majesty. She didn't—"
"Vampires and humans can't have children together," Aria interrupted. She glared at her friend, warning her to be silent. "The king told me that himself just an hour ago. And he also told me that any human who claimed to be pregnant by a vampire was lying."
Sonya's shoulders slumped as she turned towards Aria. "Don't do this to yourself."
"Do what? Stop being his hooker? The only reason I agreed to any of this in the first place was for my father. Well, it's over, so I'm done." She leveled her chin at Gavin. "Goodbye, your majesty. You'll never have to see me again."
He was still for a moment, then slowly nodded. He stepped towards her again and took her hand in his. He rose it towards his mouth, and for a moment thought that he was going to take one last taste of her blood. In fact, she almost hoped for it. But he didn't go for her wrist. He pressed his lips to her hand, then dropped it. He didn't look at her as he left.
Sonya put her hands on her hips and narrowed her eyes at Aria. "What are you doing?"
"Getting out before it's too late."
"Honey, no." Sonya sighed, annoyed, as she embraced Aria. "You love him."
Aria struggled not to burst into tears. Her lip wobbled, a lump in her throat choking her. She closed her eyes tightly. "I don't… Maybe I do love him. I don't know. It's just so confusing. But it doesn't matter what I feel. It doesn't matter if I love him or not because he doesn't love me. He just thinks he owns me. And I am not going to be the woman who… There is just no point in loving him. I don't want to talk about this."
She pulled away from her friend, determinedly not looking at Sonya. She knew what to expect there. Sympathy. Maybe even pity. She couldn't deal with that right now.
"Okay. Okay," Sonya repeated. "We don't talk about this. I know what you're like. You have to have emotional distance from things to work it out. Plus you've been hiding this pregnancy of yours for months. So, how about instead of doing what I'd do—"
"Grab ice-cream and cry," Aria supplied.
"Exactly. Instead of that, we go out. We go to a great club or something and dance until dawn and drink non-alcoholic beverages."
Aria smiled. She turned back to her friend and nodded. "Yeah. That sounds like a good idea. Let's do it. All partying, no crying."
"And maybe by the time we're both half-dead from exhaustion, you'll want to talk."
Aria rolled her eyes. "Maybe. I doubt it."
***
"My feet are going to fall off," Aria groaned, hobbling as she and Sonya leaned against each other for support. They had been going from club to club, dancing for hours. She didn't even know what time it was anymore. "I shouldn't have worn heels this high. It was a bad idea."
Sonya giggled, turning her face into Aria's shoulder. "I know! Me either. Now, look at us. We're stumbling around like a couple of drunks. It's time to go home, isn't it?"
Aria nodded. She was sufficiently exhausted that she might have the strength to face what was going on in her tangled love life. The two women made it to the curb and hailed a cab. Still laughing, they climbed in and collapsed onto the soft leather seats.
"Oh, I think I could sleep for a month," Sonya said with a sigh.
"Me, too." Aria leaned forward to the cab driver. "Hey, so—"
The driver turned and smiled. Twin fangs flashed. "Goodnight, ladies."
Before Aria could even register that there was a vampire in the front seat, her lungs started feeling like they were filling with water. She clutched her chest. Her head spun. Black spots burst before her eyes. Sonya grabbed her arm and gasped. Aria struggled to think clearly.
The last thing she thought before she fell unconscious was that she hoped that this wasn't Gavin.