Ascension - Book Eight - Man x Man

Chapter 116

Scanning the words carefully, it would seem the article wasn't in favor or against what the rally had done. But looking at the faces, the individuals, it was nobody we knew and for that, I feel a small sense of pride. People were starting to act on their own, they were beginning to take matters into their own hands and speak out against the blatant favoritism that was still happening. 

"Tiberius says you're worried that Tucci is a god?" The server returns with a simple course of two sandwiches, and cups of an orange liquid that they inform me is sweet tea. I tilt my head, taking a small sniff and wrinkling my nose at the thought of such a thing. My husband would be appalled, a tea that smelt like straight sugar water. 

"Is he not?" I retort, watching her swallow some of the drink as if it were water. This woman couldn't be a mere mortal, and yet all sources said that she was. 

Tonguing her cheek, she taps her heel lightly, sizing me up. "Nic, you really aren't giving me much incentive to tell you much of anything. You're like talkin' to a wall, all I have to go off of is recommendations but others and while that means a lot, I think I need a bit more from you." Glancing at the cuff on my wrist she looks back up toward me and I attempt to recall had much we'd told her about how I'd gotten the cuff. 

"You want to know more about me?" I question, sighing, placing my hand over the gold band. Of course, she did, everyone did, and while she looked at me as if I was naive, it had slowly become common knowledge that Verando and I didn't do much socializing in an intimate manner. 

We didn't have much for friends, my friends had a horrible habit of dying.  While there was a plethora of public intel on us, nothing on a personal level and I suppose that's what Cleo was truly after. I suspect I'd be an interesting social topic for her, something that nobody else had, a King in her personal court. 

"I'm trying to be friends with you." She points out. "If you're going to make it in this business, in this town, you're gonna needs some sort of friends. You don't have to invite me to your kid's parties, but I would like to know who I'm trying to get close to. We all respect what you're doing, and we want to help, but I've got to know who you are. Especially if you want to know about someone like Tucci."

So Tucci must be a good person, if she was willing to say something like that to me knowing the circles that I kept. Perhaps she felt she was more liked and could get away with it if she ended up insulting me, a true King probably wouldn't appreciate that kind of talk. Yet, I found it a reason to respect her. She wasn't turning over all her friends information as I thought she would, layers to this woman made her a more appealing prospect than someone like Chispa who kept no secrets. 

"I'm a Solomonari and a Lycan, I was turned by my husband," I tell her simply. 

Wide-eyed, she takes a sip, reactions like that make it hard to trust anyone. "So it's true. Some of you do have the ability to turn more into lycans."

"Only Verando and Helen. Verando has a-" I consider this, taking another bite of my muffin. "Verando is one of the gods in question. At least, he's harboring one."

I had to give her something if I wanted something. This seems to confirm for her suspicions, she sits up, attempting not to look too interested. "Are you a god?"

Scoffing, I run a hand through my hair. "No."

"But you got a gift from one." She gestures to my cuff. "My only god is Jesus, so it's not like I'm followin' much of this but obviously, there's something at work here. Hard believe beings like that walk among us, always just thought it was demons and devils." She shudders, leaning back into her chair as I take a bite of my sandwich. 

"Rest assured, there are plenty of those as well. The fact you hold close company with a wraith is startling to someone like me."

Cleo pulls her lips into a thin line with a small chuckle, fiddling with the straw of her tea. "Part of doing this is learnin' to accept everyone. My family ain't just the owners of country clubs. We're descended from lifetimes worth of slayers, vampire hunters.. werewolf killers... but, time's are changin' and that means changing with 'em. We can't keep killing things if we want them to stop killin' us."