vision of Trace. He's now wearing the shirt Trace had on earlier that day and his jeans. It's...Trace that now stands before me.
A scowling Trace. “Do I even want to know why you've got Trace in your head?” he asks with Trace's deeper, baritone voice.
I raise a hand to my mouth and cover it. I don't care that Roman/Trace seems mad. The only thing I care about is the fact that Roman just shifted into Trace before my eyes. The world spins, and I immediately drop my head down between my knees as I gulp desperately for air. I thought I was prepared for whatever Roman unloaded on me, but this... I don't know how to process it.
A warm hand touches my back. “You okay?” It's Roman's voice again.
I stay slumped over. “Just give me a second,” I mumble.
“You need something to drink?”
“No. Yes,” I say, promptly changing my mind. I manage to slowly sit up, and Roman kneels before me, holding out my soda. I accept it with shaky hands and take a sip. “Prepare a girl for that shifting crap next time, will you?”
His lip quirks with bemusement. “I thought I did.”
“No, not really.” I blow out a breath and shake my head. “You can really turn into anyone?”
Once Roman sees that I'm fine, he sits back down on his lounger. “Yeah. Not every woman is attracted to the same type of guy. We can pluck out a vision from someone's head if they are willing to let us in, and we can shift into what they want.”
I stare at him. “You can literally become any woman's fantasy,” I say with a shake of my head.
“Pretty much. Same with the succubi. They can shift into any female form, but since you're only half, you can't. You're pretty close to being human but for the feeding and the faster healing.”
I nod to his body. “Is that your original form?”
“Yes.”
Okay. So I've learned I can't have kids of my own, but I can resort to adoption like Khristos had with Roman. I’m also immortal. I guess living longer will be nicer. Maybe there are a few perks to being a freak after all. I look at Roman suddenly. “Khristos looks like he's in his mid-to-late-twenties. I'm assuming our kind doesn't age after a certain age?”
“We quit aging in our mid-twenties. So will you.” He grins devilishly. “You'll always be beautiful, Vee. Just think, no wrinkles or sagging breasts.”
I grab the chip bag and pull one out, tossing it at him. “Ha-ha. Funny.” I have a sobering thought and turn wary. “Are we from Hell?”
Roman snorts as he tosses his hair out of his eyes with the flick of head. “No. Well, the first incubi are,” he amends “Those are the ones you want to avoid. They are evil through and through. I was obviously born here on earth, and so was Khristos. The ones that are born here, we tend to intermix better with the humans. The one's born in Hell, well, those are the ones that can't just fade in with the humans. They are much more dangerous than one would think. As for the succubi, I believe the first one was born on earth. In a way you come from Hell since it's in the genes, but if you think about it logically, you're from earth and you come from a human, which weakens the genes. I wouldn't worry about it, Vee.”
“How do you know the first succubus was born here on earth?” I ask as this conversation continues to inflame my curiosity.
“We don't for sure. But the oldest succubus known to anyone here on earth or Hell was born in ancient Rome.”
I lean forward with interest. “Tell me about her.”
“Her name’s Aurelia, and she was born in the second century. Her father's unknown, and her mother died from some type of disease. Aurelia was raised with a foster family, you could say, until she was old enough to be taken to the brothels. She was forced into years of prostitution, and it's said that once she grew into her powers and quit aging, she risked her life to flee the brothel. She hid for years until she experienced her first shift. By this time, she was already bitter from the complete disregard men had shown her body. Bitterness can turn a person into the ugliest soul, no matter how beautiful on the outside. She began to shift forms, becoming more and more beautiful only to kill every