Elizabeth was not at all uncertain of her abilities when it came to manipulating people, especially men, and in some respects, Balthasar von Nacht had been the easiest of targets. He was still so painfully naĂŻve in some ways that sheâd almost believed it must be an act. But it wasnâtâhe was just that oblivious. Sheâd never had to be so forward with a target before, but she really rather enjoyed it, in a way. He tasted like the best kind of sinâthe defiling of something pristine. And she would know, as her tongue was currently in his mouth.
Sheâd always been assertive when she needed to be, so while he repeatedly seemed vaguely surprised when she came onto him, she wasnât at all shocked to be astride his lap, her fingers in his hair, smiling against his mouth. It was really strange, actuallyâhow were people not doing this to him all the time? His locks were soft and thick and entirely touchable, and his kisses, well⊠he was certainly a quick learner. If only he could lose the hesitance. Perhaps it was for the best, she thought, disentangling her digits from his hair and running her hands down his chest, parting the sides of his jacket and encouraging him to shrug out of it. If he were as forward with her as she was with him, she might have been able to forget who was supposed to be seducing whom here, and that was a very dangerous proposition.
Sigyn might not have Freyaâs abilities, but if father and son were anything alike, she could understand how the traitor had fallen for Jasper, all those years ago. There was something about Balthasar that made her feel incredibly important, like she was delicate and entirely in control all at once. There was power here, underneath his skin and in his aura, and it was heady, especially in combination with the nearly-gossamer gentleness of his touch. Maybe it was just because she could feel it, in a way that surpassed what most of her kind could do, but spending too long in his company was a bit like being drunk. She might actually miss this, when it was done.
But his hands were creeping up her ribcage, and it amused her to realize that he was getting a little adventurous; heâd been nothing if not reserved before. It meant that her methods, straightforward as they were, were working. It would appear that direct, honest people responded best to a direct, obvious approach. The smile on her face grew a little wicked. Maybe a piece of parting advice for that cousin of his, since the girl couldnât seem to spit it out. Sigyn had been worried about that one, at first, because it was blatantly obvious to everyone but Balthasar how the little dhampir chit felt about him, but when it became clear that the girl wasnât going to say anything, the rest had been easy enough that she almost felt bad.
But then⊠being bad had never felt quite so good before, and for her, that was rather saying something. It was almost a pity it had to end, but she wanted to see just how far she could push him first. Walking out of here having slept with him would be the icing on the cake, after all, but he was proving a tough nut to crack, and seemed to have arbitrary boundaries that baffled her. âBalthasarâŠâ she murmured into his ear, and felt him shudder just a bit, his body naturally responding to hers. It shouldâshe was playing him like a finely-tuned instrument, and it was a skill sheâd worked for.
It entirely mystified her, therefore, when she went for the hem of his shirt, only to feel his hands, large and warm, on hers, pulling them away. He pulled back as far as their positioning on the sofa would allow, and she read a mixture of things quite easily from his expressionâthat ever-present hesitance, a faint hint of desire (too faint; she just didnât understand it), and guilt. The last was perhaps the most confusing of all.
âBalthasar,â she repeated, and this time, she injected a little hurt into the tone, letting her face shift into a pout. If he already felt guilty about something, she might as well use it to her advantage. Honestly, why couldnât he just act like a normal man? She was practically throwing herself at himâshe was. Sigyn was not falsely modest, and she was well aware of how well-off she was in the looks department. And it seemed to move him not. Or at least, no further than the base physical responses of biology demanded. He blushed, he shuddered, and occasionally, he sighed, but he did not want her the way he should. If she hadnât known better, sheâd have suspected that he preferred men and was in denial about it.
He swallowed, the guilt increased, and she waited with more patience than she really had for his capitulation. âIâm sorry Elizabeth, I justâŠâ he shook his head, and she watched the uncertainty starting to dominate his expression. Internally, she was screaming in frustration and tearing her hair out, but outwardly, she forced her expression into one of understanding.
âI had hoped it wouldnât bother you, that I⊠know a bit more about this than you do,â she said, laying the wounded eyes on a bit too thickly for most people. But Balthasar, silly, sweet, innocent as a puppy Balthasar, soaked it in like a sponge.
âNo! I mean⊠itâs not that. Itâs nothing to do with you. Itâs just that I donâtâŠâ He was apparently unsure of what he wanted to say, but she knew, and if she hadnât felt so much like weeping (from some combination of frustration, disbelief and a tiny flicker of actual hurt that she would never acknowledge), she might have laughed. He was trying to find a way to tell her that she was just his friend. That he wasnât into her, to put it colloquially. She could have died, though she wasnât sure in which sense she meant the phrase.
Elizabeth, stop playing with your toy and do what you were instructed to do, Freyrâs voice was entirely in her head, of course, but she just barely avoided rolling her eyes, anyway. Stupid bastard. Well, at least she got to go see Baldr soon. He never said no. The thought didnât bring her the reassurance it would have normally, and she may have found it⊠distasteful, even? She really needed to leave.
She sighed, using both of her hands on Balthasarâs chest to push herself armsâ length from him. âIt really is a pity,â she sighed. Well, for now she would deal with it. When the time came, one of the Pantheon would be Queen, though which one, and who the King would be, was as yet undecided. If she had her choices, it would be she and him, but⊠to be honest, sheâd take anyone, to be Queen.
âElizabeth?â he looked adorably confused again, and she smiled a little. It didnât look like any of the ones âElizabethâ had worn in his companyâthis one was entirely her own.
âIâm afraid not, loverboy,â she said wryly, reaching into her pocket and extracting a clean syringe. Balthasar tensed, but he was too confused to react quickly enough, and she plunged it into his arm, the paralytic agent within starting to work immediately. It was formulated for use on vampires, which basically meant it was enough to kill an elephant, but even so, she could feel him fighting it, and she knew her time was limited. âMy friends call me Sigyn. Or they would, if I had any friends.â She withdrew another syringe, and this one, she used more carefully, extracting a full pint of his blood into a hospital bag sheâd stashed under her bed. Having a pharmaceutical company owner for a fake father really was convenient at times.
He was still motionless by the time she was done, though he was already starting to regain movement in his fingers. âExtraordinary,â she murmured, shaking her head. âAll the best science in the world, and none of us is even close to you. If you werenât so softhearted, you really might just be perfect. A word of advice, Balthasar: donât expose yourself like this. Not to anyone. It just makes you vulnerable, and there are more people like me in the world than there are people like you.â She frowned, something with a touch of melancholy entering the expression.
Leaning forward, she pressed her lips to his, one last time. Sheâd have told him not to forget her, but she knew he never would, and that brought her some satisfaction as she headed out the door, letting Freyr touch her shoulder to render her as insensible as he was. No point in giving away their direction after allâheâd had the Yuki girl go to a meaningless spot from which the same would be done to her.
Medusa found him just as the last of the paralytic was wearing off, and Balthasar immediately set out in search of his sisterâonly to find Zero unconscious and a trail that suddenly stopped nearly twenty miles from the school. Yuki was gone, Elizabeth was Pantheon, and Balthasar was pretty sure this was officially the worst day of his life.
Sheâd always been assertive when she needed to be, so while he repeatedly seemed vaguely surprised when she came onto him, she wasnât at all shocked to be astride his lap, her fingers in his hair, smiling against his mouth. It was really strange, actuallyâhow were people not doing this to him all the time? His locks were soft and thick and entirely touchable, and his kisses, well⊠he was certainly a quick learner. If only he could lose the hesitance. Perhaps it was for the best, she thought, disentangling her digits from his hair and running her hands down his chest, parting the sides of his jacket and encouraging him to shrug out of it. If he were as forward with her as she was with him, she might have been able to forget who was supposed to be seducing whom here, and that was a very dangerous proposition.
Sigyn might not have Freyaâs abilities, but if father and son were anything alike, she could understand how the traitor had fallen for Jasper, all those years ago. There was something about Balthasar that made her feel incredibly important, like she was delicate and entirely in control all at once. There was power here, underneath his skin and in his aura, and it was heady, especially in combination with the nearly-gossamer gentleness of his touch. Maybe it was just because she could feel it, in a way that surpassed what most of her kind could do, but spending too long in his company was a bit like being drunk. She might actually miss this, when it was done.
But his hands were creeping up her ribcage, and it amused her to realize that he was getting a little adventurous; heâd been nothing if not reserved before. It meant that her methods, straightforward as they were, were working. It would appear that direct, honest people responded best to a direct, obvious approach. The smile on her face grew a little wicked. Maybe a piece of parting advice for that cousin of his, since the girl couldnât seem to spit it out. Sigyn had been worried about that one, at first, because it was blatantly obvious to everyone but Balthasar how the little dhampir chit felt about him, but when it became clear that the girl wasnât going to say anything, the rest had been easy enough that she almost felt bad.
But then⊠being bad had never felt quite so good before, and for her, that was rather saying something. It was almost a pity it had to end, but she wanted to see just how far she could push him first. Walking out of here having slept with him would be the icing on the cake, after all, but he was proving a tough nut to crack, and seemed to have arbitrary boundaries that baffled her. âBalthasarâŠâ she murmured into his ear, and felt him shudder just a bit, his body naturally responding to hers. It shouldâshe was playing him like a finely-tuned instrument, and it was a skill sheâd worked for.
It entirely mystified her, therefore, when she went for the hem of his shirt, only to feel his hands, large and warm, on hers, pulling them away. He pulled back as far as their positioning on the sofa would allow, and she read a mixture of things quite easily from his expressionâthat ever-present hesitance, a faint hint of desire (too faint; she just didnât understand it), and guilt. The last was perhaps the most confusing of all.
âBalthasar,â she repeated, and this time, she injected a little hurt into the tone, letting her face shift into a pout. If he already felt guilty about something, she might as well use it to her advantage. Honestly, why couldnât he just act like a normal man? She was practically throwing herself at himâshe was. Sigyn was not falsely modest, and she was well aware of how well-off she was in the looks department. And it seemed to move him not. Or at least, no further than the base physical responses of biology demanded. He blushed, he shuddered, and occasionally, he sighed, but he did not want her the way he should. If she hadnât known better, sheâd have suspected that he preferred men and was in denial about it.
He swallowed, the guilt increased, and she waited with more patience than she really had for his capitulation. âIâm sorry Elizabeth, I justâŠâ he shook his head, and she watched the uncertainty starting to dominate his expression. Internally, she was screaming in frustration and tearing her hair out, but outwardly, she forced her expression into one of understanding.
âI had hoped it wouldnât bother you, that I⊠know a bit more about this than you do,â she said, laying the wounded eyes on a bit too thickly for most people. But Balthasar, silly, sweet, innocent as a puppy Balthasar, soaked it in like a sponge.
âNo! I mean⊠itâs not that. Itâs nothing to do with you. Itâs just that I donâtâŠâ He was apparently unsure of what he wanted to say, but she knew, and if she hadnât felt so much like weeping (from some combination of frustration, disbelief and a tiny flicker of actual hurt that she would never acknowledge), she might have laughed. He was trying to find a way to tell her that she was just his friend. That he wasnât into her, to put it colloquially. She could have died, though she wasnât sure in which sense she meant the phrase.
Elizabeth, stop playing with your toy and do what you were instructed to do, Freyrâs voice was entirely in her head, of course, but she just barely avoided rolling her eyes, anyway. Stupid bastard. Well, at least she got to go see Baldr soon. He never said no. The thought didnât bring her the reassurance it would have normally, and she may have found it⊠distasteful, even? She really needed to leave.
She sighed, using both of her hands on Balthasarâs chest to push herself armsâ length from him. âIt really is a pity,â she sighed. Well, for now she would deal with it. When the time came, one of the Pantheon would be Queen, though which one, and who the King would be, was as yet undecided. If she had her choices, it would be she and him, but⊠to be honest, sheâd take anyone, to be Queen.
âElizabeth?â he looked adorably confused again, and she smiled a little. It didnât look like any of the ones âElizabethâ had worn in his companyâthis one was entirely her own.
âIâm afraid not, loverboy,â she said wryly, reaching into her pocket and extracting a clean syringe. Balthasar tensed, but he was too confused to react quickly enough, and she plunged it into his arm, the paralytic agent within starting to work immediately. It was formulated for use on vampires, which basically meant it was enough to kill an elephant, but even so, she could feel him fighting it, and she knew her time was limited. âMy friends call me Sigyn. Or they would, if I had any friends.â She withdrew another syringe, and this one, she used more carefully, extracting a full pint of his blood into a hospital bag sheâd stashed under her bed. Having a pharmaceutical company owner for a fake father really was convenient at times.
He was still motionless by the time she was done, though he was already starting to regain movement in his fingers. âExtraordinary,â she murmured, shaking her head. âAll the best science in the world, and none of us is even close to you. If you werenât so softhearted, you really might just be perfect. A word of advice, Balthasar: donât expose yourself like this. Not to anyone. It just makes you vulnerable, and there are more people like me in the world than there are people like you.â She frowned, something with a touch of melancholy entering the expression.
Leaning forward, she pressed her lips to his, one last time. Sheâd have told him not to forget her, but she knew he never would, and that brought her some satisfaction as she headed out the door, letting Freyr touch her shoulder to render her as insensible as he was. No point in giving away their direction after allâheâd had the Yuki girl go to a meaningless spot from which the same would be done to her.
Medusa found him just as the last of the paralytic was wearing off, and Balthasar immediately set out in search of his sisterâonly to find Zero unconscious and a trail that suddenly stopped nearly twenty miles from the school. Yuki was gone, Elizabeth was Pantheon, and Balthasar was pretty sure this was officially the worst day of his life.