"If we had no bad blood between us, would you... like me?"
"I'd be attracted to you, but there's no way I'd want anything permanent with you - bad blood or not."
"What the hell's so wrong with me?" His eyes flickered, and the hint of uncertainty he'd just revealed was drowned out by a surge of arrogance. "I'm strong, I can protect you, and I'm rich. And I vow to you, lass, once you experience what it's like to share my bed, you will no' ever want to leave it."
His eyes bored into hers as he said the last, and despite herself, his utter confidence in this area affected her, forcing her to wonder what tricks a twelve-century-old immortal would've picked up over the years.
She inwardly shook herself. "MacRieve, when I settle down it's going to be with a male that has - oh, I don't know - a sense of humor, or of modesty. How about a lack of scathing hatred toward witches? Maybe a zest for life? Too much to ask that he's born in the same millennium?"
"Some of these things canna be changed, but know that I was no' always so... grave as I am now."
"It doesn't matter. We're just too different. I need a male who will get along with my friends, my witch friends, who'll be current enough to know the difference between emo rock and jangle pop, and who'll be able to get me through the ice world in Zelda."
MacRieve was no doubt speculating in what ice dimension this mysterious land of Zelda was. He finally said, "These differences are surmountable - "
"And the age difference? You keep talking about how young I am, but all you're doing is reminding me how old you are. Any minute now you're going to say something really lame like 'When I was your age... ,' and I'm just not going to be able to keep from laughing at you."
He scowled at that, but still said, "I'll change your mind about me. You'll warm to me."
"In two days? That's your plan? Forget it."
"Damn it, witch, are you no' even curious about where this could lead?"
"No, but I am curious how you can be when you despise my kind. How quick you were to tell me that when I suggested we work together in the Hie! I will never forget your disgust." Did his jaw clench? "Why do you despise us so much?"
He shrugged. "With witches you never know what you're in for. All false faces and deviousness."
"But with Lykae, what you see is what you get? Oh, wait, I totally forgot about the beast that lives inside you. And then by the time you see what you're in for, it's too late, isn't it?"
He narrowed his eyes. "I'm one among the most powerful species on this earth - none are stronger than the Lykae - and I've trained for war or fought it for my entire life. Yet you, with your wee body and utter lack of training, can still pin me by the throat. It's no' natural. Witches are no' natural."
"That can't be all."
"That's all you'll hear tonight."
"You know what? I'll play. If you answer one question correctly, I might consider possibly thinking about giving you a shot to maybe win me over."
"Ask it, lass."
"What if we somehow worked through all the obstacles between us and were together for a couple of years or so, and you were given another chance to go back for your mate? There could be another key. Would you ignore it if it was handed to you?"
Emotions seemed to pass over his face. He scrubbed his hand across the back of his neck. "I could lie, but I will no'. I'd use it."
Her lips parted. "Then why in the hell would I invest my time and my feelings when you won't be doing the same?" She stood, storming away from him. "Game over, MacRieve."
"But you have to understand why." He shot to his feet and seized her elbow. "I believe it would be you."
"I don't feel like I have a pre-owned soul. And furthermore, I like myself. Other than some late-blooming magickal powers and some sealed legal records, I think I'm pretty nifty. Yet you would just wipe me out entirely?"
"You would no' be wiped out. Just different."
"What about my friends and family?" Not that Mari's family - being Jillian - would overly miss her. "What about the prophesy, of being Awaited? I have responsibilities."
"You'd have other family, another destiny - "
"If I'm a reincarnate and that soul's not available when I'm born, then I'm not me. You know that's true." She was shaken by how much this bastard was hurting her with this. "So just a hint: The next time you're courting a female, try not to divulge that you would readily wipe out her entire existence with the turn of a key - so you could be with another woman you preferred over her!"
22
Bloody brilliant, MacRieve, Bowe thought as he lay staring at the cavern ceiling. Drops of water traveled along it against gravity, before trickling down a stalactite. He exhaled. Not only hadn't he made progress with her, he'd likely deepened her hatred.
He was accustomed to doing as he pleased - and to having others do what he pleased as well. Yet when he'd wanted to talk to her more, to explain, the look in her eyes had said she'd been about to snap.
Bowe knew he shouldn't have answered as he had. Of course, she wouldn't view the situation the same as he did. But her question had caught him completely off guard. He was used to thinking along those lines but hadn't expected her to.
He should have just lied. As soon as the thought arose, he dismissed it because he didn't ever want to lie to his female. Except that she might not be his at all, and now he was farther away from the means to determine for certain.
He glanced over at her, lying on the other side of the fire with her back to him. Could Mariketa truly be a different version of Mariah? An utterly different version? Or was he seizing on reincarnation because it absolved him of guilt - for Mariah's death and for his undeniable lust for another?