Blood Cursed Princess

Chapter Seventeen - Niall

Saying that I was confused was an understatement. These past hours had been a whirlwind of emotions and wonders. Last night, I reached heights I’d never thought possible. Feeling magic vibrating through my body was incredible. I opened myself to a whole new world but the night I had spent with Tommie almost made it feel like it was meaningless. The recollection of her skin under my lips, of her screams beneath my ears… Perfection. And yet the bubble popped as soon as I woke up. This morning was a total disaster. I was still fulminating against her so-called friend Oz. Tommie said that they weren’t dating but his reaction was the one of a jealous boyfriend. I certainly wasn’t violent but this morning, I could have punched this guy. Just thinking about it kept making my blood boil. But was it my blood though ? Could it be magic now that I could feel it ? The thirst was gone and I truly felt charged up. I’ve never felt that kind of power before and I must admit that I liked it. The hunger was gone and yet, I was still attracted to Tommie. I knew it already. To be honest, I’ve been attracted from the start. It was hard not to be. But the way my magic reacted to hers, I was convinced it was special. I felt it in my bones. It was like we were in sync somehow. I didn’t know how to put it into words.

« Oh my god. »

I raised my head from the accounting. Angus was staring at me from a few feet away, pretending to be a proud mom on her son’s key milestone.

« What is it ? » I asked. I wasn’t sure I wanted to know, though.

« I can read on your face that you got shagged last night and that you remember it ! », Angus answered, sounding extremely excited. « And I can’t wait to hear all the details ! »

How did he… I glared at him, incredulous. I always wondered how he did it. Did he have a radar or something ? I haven’t really been focused on my personal life to be honest. I didn’t have many girlfriends growing up and I didn’t really picked up girls at uni parties. I could have but I just didn’t feel like it. Angus didn’t keep himself from doing it and never missed and occasion to tell me to enjoy life more while we were young. I enjoyed my life, just not the same way as him. Plus, I enjoyed keeping my private life private while he didn’t even know what privacy means. I was about to deny everything but he interrupted:

« Cut the wrap, Mackenzie. Don’t you dare try to lie to me ! »

I closed my mouth. What was the point after all ? The more I’d deny, the more he’d be adamant about knowing everything.

« I might have spent the night with someone but I’m not sharing anything with you. »

« Was it Esmée ? » he whispered, leaning towards me

« What ?! No ! What’s wrong with you ? » I exclaimed

« Look, I don’t get what’s the problem between you too », he sighed. « Esmée is a very sweet girl, beautiful and she’s crazy about you. »

« No, she’s not. She’s just nice and grateful. We’re friends, that’s all. »

« You don’t even believe it yourself, do you ? » teased Angus

« Esmée is great but I think she could date anyone fearing to hurt someone’s feelings and despite of her owns. That’s the way she is. »

« Fair enough but I’m convinced she’s not forcing anything with you. She’s genuine. She’ll never do the first step, though. So the real question is, why won’t you ? »

Angus wasn’t wrong. Maybe there was something. Maybe I’ve been cowardly avoiding the elephant in the room all this time because as long as I did, I didn’t have to get my feelings in check or to change a situation that suited me. Everything was so easy between us. I never felt like risking it. I was being careful, as usual.

« I don’t want to lose what we have », I just said. « She’s precious to me. »

« But you guys are meant to be ! I’m telling you »

Were we ? I remembered the night we spent together, two days again, her warmth, her usual perfume, the way she reached for me in the middle of the night. Easy and comforting, as always. No, better to be honest. We had that natural bond since the beginning. All I wanted was for her to be happy. But other blue eyes crossed my mind at the moment. I passed a hand through my hair. I was clearly confused.

« So », started Angus with a serious tone. « I guess she’s not the one you’ve spent the night with yesterday ? »

« No. She came over two days ago and it was late, I offered her to stay. But nothing happened, we just slept. »

« Is it someone I know ? » asked Angus

I didn’t answer and he got all worked up again.

« Niall Mackenzie, did you have s*x with a stranger ? »

I couldn’t help but laugh. It always came to this. Angus always made me laugh, especially when I was mad at him. He always managed to melt people down.

« You know me better than that. »

« Let’s get going. Esmée is waiting for us. I promise I won’t talk about it anymore once we’ll be there but I’ll harass you in the meantime. »

And he kept his promise. From the moment I closed the food truck to the moment we finally reached the coffee shop, he never stopped. Not once. Angus was stubborn and I’m sure that if he didn’t succeed in becoming a surgeon, I’ll be a great police officer. I didn’t flinch though. I kept my memories for myself and didn’t say a word. It wasn’t too hard, to be honest. I was still experiencing this new world filled with magic all around. I was seeing things from a whole new updated perceptive. Even my friend seemed different. Things seemed a bit less bright than last night but maybe I was growing tired. Angus was growing frustrated but once we reached the coffee shop, he dropped it and acted like this entire conversation about last night didn’t happen.

« We’ll talk about it later », he said in a fierce tone

I just smiled, adding nothing. I immediately spotted Esmée’s blond hair inside the coffee shop but she wasn’t alone. Tommie was facing her. I recalled this morning horny intercourse in the kitchen and the phone call that ruined it all. This was what it was about. She had a date with Esmée and things got weird between us again. Why ? I needed to find out.

« Hey ladies ! » Angus shouted out

Tommie looked at him, annoyed. Her eyes met mine next and she seemed surprised. She wasn’t expecting to see me here. Good, I wasn’t either.

« Hey », I smiled

« Hey », she smiled back but something was off again.

She didn’t give me the time to analyse it more as she was already standing up, grabbing her jacket.

« Thanks a lot for your advices », Esmée said, a bright smile stretching her lips.

« Anytime. Call me if you need anything okey ? Bye guys. »

I was about to say something or to go after her but her look told me not to. She was pushing me away again and it hurt. I’d let it slide for this time but I wouldn’t give up on seeing her later so easily. For now, I just focused on my friends and sat at our usual table.