Claimed by Shadow Page 0,4
brought us both new drinks and I gulped some of mine, my mood blackening by the second.
"Don't play games, Cassie; you know what I am. Did you think I wouldn't see it?" he asked impatiently; then something in my expression made his eyes widen. "You really don't know, do you?”
I stared at him resentfully. More complications; just what I needed right now. "Either make some sense or-”
"Someone, a powerful magic user or a master vampire, has put a claim on you," he said patiently, then corrected himself. "No, not a claim. More like an immense keep off sign a mile high.”
I sat there, feeling a new wave of heat creep up my neck. I remembered a cultured, amused voice telling me that I belonged to him, always had and always would. I was going to kill him.
"What does that mean, exactly?”
"A geis is a magical bond, usually involving a taboo or prohibition over personal behavior." He saw my confusion. "Do you remember the story of Melusine?”
A childhood memory surfaced, but it was vague. "A fairy tale; French, I think. She was some half fairy who turned into a dragon, right?”
Casanova sighed, shaking his head at my ignorance. "Melusine was a beautiful woman six days of the week, but was cursed to appear as a half serpent on the seventh. She married Raymond of Lusignan after he agreed to a geis prohibiting him from ever seeing her on Saturday, even though she refused to say why. They had many happy years together until one of his cousins convinced Raymond that Saturday was the day she spent with her lover, and he spied on her to find out the truth. That broke the geis, causing Melusine to become a dragon permanently and losing Raymond the love of his life.”
"You're telling me that story was real?”
"I have no idea. The point is, that's how a geis operates." His hand hovered over mine, but he didn't attempt to touch me again. "This one is the strongest I've ever felt, and it's been in place for some time now. It has a good grip.”
"Define 'some time.'“
"Years," he said, concentrating. "At least a decade, maybe more. And a decade isn't a simple matter of ten years. For purposes of the spell, it's measured as a percentage of your life span. You're what, early twenties?”
"I'll be twenty-four tomorrow.”
He shrugged. "Well, there you have it. For roughly half your life, someone has owned you.”
A new rush of blood flooded my face. I remembered a cultured, amused voice telling me that I belonged to him, always had and always would. I was going to kill him. "No one owns me," I said shortly, but Casanova didn't look impressed. "What does this geis do, other than to warn people off?”
I soon wished I hadn't asked. "The dúthracht geis is a strong magical connection-one of the strongest. During the Middle Ages, paranoid mages with nonmagical wives employed it as a variation on a chastity belt. I've also heard of it being used in arranged marriages, to smooth out initial awkwardness.”
He concentrated for a moment before continuing. "As far as I can determine, it allows whoever put it in place to know your emotions-your true ones, not whatever you're trying to project-so you can't lie to him. It also gives him a rough idea of where you are at any given time. He may not know your exact location, but he'll certainly be able to narrow it down to a city, and possibly further.”
I remembered the arrogant jerk who I strongly suspected was behind this telling me that he had been able to find me once because he'd had help from the Senate's intelligence network. Maybe he had, but it seemed there had been more to it. I wondered how many other times he'd told me only part of the truth.
"And, last but not least, it heightens the attraction between you, with each meeting becoming more intense. Eventually, you won't want to run.”
I felt myself go cold. "Then nothing I feel is real." I couldn't believe he'd stooped that low. He knew damned well how I felt about having my thoughts or feelings altered.
The jerk in question was Mircea, a five-hundred-year-old vampire whose biggest claim to fame was being Dracula's older brother. He'd also been my first crush. I hadn't cared about his family name, or that he was a first-level master and a Senate member. I'd been far more interested in the way his rich brown eyes crinkled at the corners