It’s strange living with a person who never speaks.”
That got another small smile out of him.
“You were praying, weren’t you?” I asked.
“I was chanting. I was a Buddhist before the witch cursed me. It’s been so long since I could pray out loud.”
His mention of the curse piqued my interest. “Why did she do it? Why did the witch curse you, I mean?”
Ira frowned, memories flashing across his face. “My father had a gambling addiction and found himself in serious debt. Being a shapeshifter like me, he also moved in supernatural circles. A very wealthy warlock offered to loan him the money to pay off his debts in return for him spending the rest of his days as a bodyguard for the warlock’s family. My father agreed to the loan, but instead of staying and paying off his debt through labour, he left the city and disappeared.”
“Unable to find my father, the warlock showed up at the house where my mother and I lived, demanding the money my father owed. We weren’t a family of means, so we didn’t have it. The warlock said that he’d write off my father’s debt if I took his place as a bodyguard, so I agreed.”
“You went to work for him?”
“That was when I first met Noel, the man who originally owned this house.”
“Finn’s friend?”
Ira nodded. “Noel was a slayer for the DOH, but he moonlighted as a bodyguard. The warlock’s family was practically royalty among the magical people of this city. They had many vampire enemies and that’s why they needed round the clock security. I was quite happy in my job for about two years. That was before the lady of the house, Emilia, began to take an interest in me.
“Her husband was unaware that she was having numerous affairs behind his back. They had only one child, a daughter, and the warlock spent most of his time obsessing about keeping her protected from their vampire enemies. I had no intention of becoming involved in Emilia’s adultery, and I told her so. For months she made various attempts to lure me into her bed. I continued to decline her advances until, finally, she’d had enough of my rejection.
“Being a witch, she could weave many spells, and she decided I needed to be punished. She cursed me to live out my life in my animal form, never again knowing the pleasures of the human body. And that was how I remained, up until the recent magic released me from my imprisonment.”
I stared at him, gob-smacked both by his story and by how much he’d just spoken after not breathing a word for weeks. “I hope that she got her comeuppance in the end,” I said, frowning, because I just couldn’t accept her getting away scot-free after what she did to poor Ira.
“I don’t know what happened to her. Perhaps her husband discovered her deceit. He was a powerful warlock, and not a forgiving one. She might very well be suffering under her own curse right now.”
“She better be,” I said fervently, pausing to study him. “If this all happened twenty-five years ago, how old are you now?”
“I’m almost fifty, but shapeshifters age slowly. Our life expectancy is about 150 years.”
“That’s a nice length of time. It’s not too long like a vampire’s lifespan, or too short like a human’s. Are you going to speak to the others now? I’m sure Finn would be delighted to hear you talk.”
“Finn is a good man. He is very enamoured with you.”
Okay, that was a little random. I tensed. “What do you mean?”
“He loves you. I can see it in his eyes. He will take good care of you.”
Letting out a nervous snort, I disagreed, “He doesn’t love me.”
“Maybe not yet, but I can see it growing. Do you believe the vampire loves you?”
“Ethan? Why do you ask that?”
“When you are silent, you see more than those who speak.”
I crossed my arms. “Hmm, well, I think he might have some feelings for me, but no, I don’t think Ethan loves me.”
“Creatures of his age are not insusceptible to love, but it is a lot rarer for them to fall.”
Silence fell, and my thoughts wandered to Ethan. Could he ever love me? Did I want him to? He was possessive enough as it was and right now he could barely stand to be in the same room as me. I couldn’t imagine how things would be if we fell in love.