Skye watched Thelon carefully circle the room trying to catch her off-guard. He lunged toward her exposed back and was quickly flipped onto his own back in front of her.
"I believe you're getting better at this." He said grinning up at her. She grinned and helped him to his feet.
Skye laughed at his attempt to pull her off her feet and then sighed as she heard Hunter's voice from behind her at the door. She set her face stubbornly and walked to the punching bag to begin walloping.
"Skye? I thought we talked about this. You don't need defence classes. You have me to look after you." He frowned as she kept punching the bag in the corner and didn't acknowledge him.
"You're dismissed, Thelon." He said curtly and walked towards her. Thelon frowned and left the practice room with not a word.
"Skye?" He grabbed her waist and pulled her into full contact with his long body. "Never ignore me."
She looked up at him with an incredible rage glowing in her bright blue eyes and then moaned as his mouth stiffened her angry protests.
Her hands settled on his leather-clad hips and pulled him closer as he ravaged her mouth, nipping at her lower lips with his incredibly sharp teeth. She sighed as his hand found the waist band of her tight pants and slipped inside.
Skye pulled her lips away to rest her forehead against the side of his neck as he brought her to a fever-pitch of excitement with his skilled fingers.
"Come Skye. Time to get dressed for the banquet." Hunter abruptly pulled out of her grasp and turned to walk away.
Skye shuddered as her body tried to return to normal, and silently cursed Hunter. She felt a deep disgust at herself and how much she allowed him to arouse her like that. He had quickly started using it as punishment when they had met again ten years before. She wanted nothing more than to be free of his abuse.
She sighed as she thought about her other options though. Hunter would not hesitate to kill Hope and Faith, his twin daughters, if she was not around to stop him. He had, afterall, killed the girls' mother, Blaise. Skye felt a pain in her chest as she thought of Blaise.
Blaise, like so many witchs, had falled into a comatose from the great surges of power during the wars. She was one of the few who had woken from it though.
That was about all Skye had known when Hunter had pulled her into his life and bed. Well, back into his bed. Right after he had changed her, about five hundred years before, they had had something... She wouldn't call it a relationship though.
Hunter had somehow gotten to Blaise when she had woken, and they had married and she had quickly gotten pregnant with the twins. When it had turned out they were girls, and that Blaise could no longer bear children afterwards, Hunter had killed her in his anger. He had then blackmailed Skye back into his life by using the two babies lives as a bargaining chip.
He had somehow known that when Ash had been alive those hundreds of years before, Skye and Blaise had formed an incredible bond, and sisterly love with each other. He used that information mercilessly to get back the woman he had lusted after, but had scorned him after somewhat getting over the grief of her soulmate's death and regaining her sanity. He had never let her forget that, and his anger at that. And he never would.
*************************
Leah looked around the elegant ball room with a feeling akin to excitement washing over her. All these people were here for her. She shook the feeling off angrily. All these vampires had no love for her. Damon would have earned himself a place as an outcast, if not for the immense power he weilded over this society. Still, he was frowned down upon for not only attching himself with not only a witch, but a liberal one at that.
"Hunter Redfern, Skye Redfern. Hope Redfern, Faith Redfern." One of Damon's guards announced from the entrance. Instantly the room turned to watch as one of the oldest vampires in the world entered with a coolly beautiful vampire on his arm. The two little girls trailed after the woman shyly hanging onto her magnificent dress tightly.
Leah's admiration was instantly earned however, as the woman glared at Hunter and disentagled herself from him to hold out a hand to each girl. He looked angry at the odvious dismissal before coolly inclining his head with a look of supreme indifference on his stunningly handsome face.
"Skye Redfern." Damon whispered to her as he walked to her side and winked before taking her clammy hand in his cool one.
"Hmmm. Who are the little girls?"
"Hunter's daughters, Hope and Faith. Skye is the only mother they have ever known. I am suprised she was able to talk him into bringing them. I did put in the invite that they were welcome."
Leah looked up at him in suprise and was once again disconcerted as he winked down at her mischievisouly with one black eye.
"Hope and Faith! My angels!" He suddenly called to the little girls. Instantly they broke out into identical grins and rushed over to grab him around the waist. Skye looked over and smiled in a quiet, sad way and headed towards them. Hunter had a look of disgust on his face and went to where a few older vampires were standing talking about the rebellion among the slaves.
"Damon. Congratulations. We are all very happy for you." Skye said warmly as she reached them. She smiled wryly down at the girls still hanging off him. "Some more than others."
"What have you two been up to since I last saw you? You've grown! Yes, you have! Right around the middle. Too many sweets, I see." Damon teased as he let go of Leah and went down on his knees to eye-level with the girls.
"I'm Leah Black." She said watching Damon in suprise.
"Lord, I should hope so. I'm Skye Redfern." Skye smiled at the witch in a friendly, if standoffish, way and held out her hand.
Leah gasped at the sudden flash of history and premonitions she saw as soon as she touched the vampire's hand. She quickly dropped Skye's hand and stared at her intently.
"Leah? What is it?" Skye's soft voice intruded on her thoughts. Her bright blue eyes were clouded with worry and Damon quickly stood up when he saw what was happening.
"What happened?" He asked grasping her shoulders. She looked up at him and then back to Skye's face.
"Ash was born again, Mary-Lynnette. But he will not be alive for long." Leah said in a voice she barely recognized herself. Then she fainted, falling into Damon's outstreched arms to the sound of Skye's gasp.
