Moonlight | Lucien Castle

Chapter 19

Amaris was furious.

She wasn't even fully sure why she was so mad. Mostly because Klaus was trying to control what she did. Partly because she wanted to know more about Lucien, and she didn't want to have to do it while sneaking around. Maybe because she was embarrassed that she'd been caught red-handed in his penthouse. And, perhaps, a teensy-tiny bit because she enjoyed being there in the first place.

"Why does he have to be such a dick?" said Amaris sharply once she and Kol walked into the courtyard. "He thinks he can use me as a replacement for Rebekah, but he can't. For months I've been dealing with this bullshit, and I never say anything because he always pulls the 'Hope' card. It stops now."

"I'm surprised you'd be so willing to see him again," said Kol a bit teasingly. "Sure you don't like him, Ris?"

She rolled her eyes. "I want to know more. What I got today wasn't nearly enough. Besides, he needs to be convinced to not develop hotels in the Bayou."

"I could compel him for you. We could have a nice day, you and me, bleeding any vervain out of him."

She scrunched up her nose. "Kol, that is not how you should bond with your siblings."

"I do it with Nik all the time! It's fun."

"I think I prefer it when we're playing video games at ungodly hours."

"We can do that afterward." He wiggled his eyebrows, but she shook her head.

"No," she replied. "I want to talk to him again."

"You fancy him," said Kol. "Or, at least, think he's good looking."

"His looks have nothing to do with it. He's annoying. But I want several things from him and I can't get them without handling it myself."

"And you're certain one of those things doesn't involve ah... how shall I put it... you in his penthouse at ungodly hours?"

Amaris glared at him. "I don't want him hunting wolves. And if I want peace of mind, if I want to stop feeling an itch in my throat when I'm around him, I need to feel like I have... leverage over him. I need to know so much about him that I'll feel like I'm in control... like I can't be hurt." She noticed Kol was still smirking, and she huffed, saying, "And he's good looking, so I wouldn't mind being near him for a few hours."

Kol snickered. "I always did wonder why Lucien and Bex never hit it off. With the way he attached himself to our family, I thought he'd become part of it. That wasn't the case."

"From what I'm gathering, he had a thing for this Aurora girl but Klaus got her. I imagine he wasn't ever looking at Rebekah, more like, looking at the lady next to her."

"It's been a thousand years. He ought to be over that little red-headed brat. Just be smart, Ris, don't trust him."

"I don't trust him. But... I think I should. Klaus never trusts anyone, but Lucien is claiming he's here to help. The more I learn, the closer I can be to finding out if he's lying or not. And if he's being honest, then at least he will be someone we can rely on. It's not like anyone's being very nice to him right now, and I'm pretty sure you shouldn't mistreat people when they're here to help."

Kol shrugged. "Work your magic, sister. That little charm you put on for Mikael that left him helping us until..."

She narrowed her eyes. "It wasn't charm, I was just interesting, I guess. Same thing worked on Freya. And on you, if I recall. You found me interesting enough to want to keep talking to me."

"Then be interesting."

"I think I already am. He knows about Rebekah, but he knows basically nothing about me. He seems like a curious person, in the sense that he likes to know everything he can about where he is, who he interacts with... he's going to want to get information out of me, too. As long as I'm careful about what I reveal, I can dissect him in the same way and see what I find out."