sean nodded as if he understood perfectly, causing ranen to clench his teeth in frustration. "who's mandella?" sean asked, attempting to make conversation. he had seen ranen in school and talked to him on a few occasions, but none of them had gone well. sean felt incredibly uncomfortable standing in the benedicts' living room while ranen was acting so strangely.
"that's none of your fucking business," ranen snapped, glaring at sean. he felt nothing but contempt for sean ramsay, and he wanted to make sure that it was perfectly clear.
sean took a step back, casting macen a sideways glance. "okay, man. no need to get so defensive."
ranen opened his mouth to speak again but stopped when he heard the doorbell. he stared at macen, silently begging her to answer it. she made no move, however, and he reluctantly stood and walked out to the foyer, opening the front door.
"hello, ranen," azure greeted him, her lips curled into an evil smile.
his eyes widened. how had she found his house? he tried to muster up the courage to shut the door in her face, but he did not move and instead found himself welcoming her inside. she had some sort of control over him, and he could not get his body to cooperate with his mind when she was around. he felt as if she had taken command of his senses and strung them along at her every beck and call.
"ranen, who's your friend?" macen asked, walking out to the foyer to see who her brother was talking to.
"this is... is..." he instantly realized that she had never told him her name. come to think of it, he hadn't told her his name either, had he? then how did she know? he wanted to ask her, but he feared the answer.
"i'm azure," she stated with confidence.
macen studied azure for a few moments, paying specific attention to the strange girl's clothing. no wonder ranen talks to her, she thought. she looks as if she spends her free time frollicking in the underworld.
a thick, clear, evil laugh sounded through the house, echoing off the walls surrounding the small foyer. "you're not too far off, macen," azure said aloud, her eyes narrowed.
macen stared at her, shocked. "how did you..." she let the question trail when ranen shot her a quick look of warning. she knew that something very suspicious was going on with azure, and while she was determined to find out what it was, she did not want to upset anyone who could be a potential friend to her brother. he had not really had many friends over the past few years, and she was encouraged to see him with azure. "um... sean and i are gonna go to his house for a while. have fun, ran." she did not wait for a response; she just grabbed sean's arm and hurried him out the door.
dagan stared out one of the upstairs windows at the house across the street and watched as ranen invited azure inside. he sighed, running a hand through his tousled blonde hair. he had tried not to make it so obvious that he wanted azure, but her very existence challenged him in ways he would never be able to explain. she was, after all, the reason he had crossed over. and he would never forget the disappointment that ensued when he had discovered that she was bound to azrael.
still, he felt compelled to pursue her anyway and was happy to find that she reciprocated some of his feelings. but she continued to tell him that nothing could happen or she would lose her bond with azrael, thus making her more susceptible to mortal death. although dagan did not want her to die, he still contintued to try to get her to act upon her feelings; he even offered her his blood as a replacement for azrael's.
"it's not that easy," azure had said. "you just don't break a blood connection and find a new one. azrael introduced me to an entirely different realm of existence and in a way saved me from a life that i felt trapped in. i owe it to him to at least hold onto the connection that was responsible for my being here right now."
dagan groaned, dropping his head into his hands. why do women have to be so frustrating even in death? he thought, irritated. who the fuck cares about blood connections and who belongs to who? god, this is worse than high school!
dagan was startled back to the present when he heard someone clear his throat behind him. he turned in the direction of the sound and saw azrael standing in the entrance to the room, leaning against the doorframe. his icy blue eyes were narrowed and cold as he glared at dagan.
"you know? you really should try to control your thoughts," azrael stated, shaking his head. "you never know who could be listening." a menacing grin played across his ashen features, causing dagan to shift uncomfortably. "ya know, no one forced you to cross over. aurelian just thought that you would make a good fledgling for our line, and you seemed to jump at the prospect. little did i know that you were just in it because of your conquest for azure. so if the frustration of dealing with her is too much for you to handle, we can arrange a way to make it go away." his smile widened, revealing the fangs on both sides of his mouth.
"you can relax, azrael," dagan stated with false confidence. "she has your blood, and she's refused every single one of my offers. she's still all yours."
a maniacal glint flared behind azrael's electrifying blue eyes. "good. let's keep it that way."
dagan sighed and leaned back against the wall, folding his arms across his chest. he did not want to fight, especially not with azrael. azrael had been a vampire for fifteen years; dagan had just crossed over a mere six months ago, and his strength was in no way comparable. "so, why did aurelian and pandora choose that guy?" he asked, changing the subject. he gestured toward ranen's house.
"because they think he knows who they are," azrael stated. "they get furious whenever anyone finds out their true identity because they pride themselves on their ability to stay discreet; that's why they killed azure."
dagan's eyes widened. he had never heard the story behind azure's transformation; he just knew that azrael had contributed his blood to make it possible. "they killed azure?" he repeated incredulously. azrael nodded. "then why did you save her if they wanted her dead?"
azrael shrugged. "aurelian and pandora like to feel as if they have control over someone. azure didn't want to die, at least not the way most mortals die. so i figured that she could beome a fledgling -- someone that aurelian and pandora could control -- and cross over."
dagan raised his eyebrows in confusion. "so where does ranen come into all of this?"
azrael eyed dagan suspiciously, wondering if he should answer the question truthfully. this particular piece of azure's past had been intentionally blocked in order to keep her from backing out of her task. with as strongly as dagan felt about her, could he be trusted to keep the secret? would azure be able to invade dagan's thoughts and find the information for herself? azrael shook his head. "i can't really answer that right now because aurelian will be pissed if azure learns all the other details involved in this. just know that, when she was alive, azure played a very significant role in ranen's life."
