Cypher continued to look into her eyes. She felt like he was looking into her soul and she was afraid that he would be able to see how her affected her. Come on, Lilly, she told herself, who falls for someone who has abducted them?

She broke eye contact and let out a breath she didn’t realize she had been holding.

“So I smell bacon,” she told him as she skirted around him.

Cypher’s lips quirked up in a crooked smile, as if he knew that she was trying to keep him from seeing her real feelings.

“Yes, there is bacon and an omelet,” he told her.

“You make omelets?” she asked him, obviously surprised.

He sat down on a stool at the island in the middle of the kitchen.

“Believe it or not, we have internet and know how to use it,” he teased.

Lilly picked up the plateful of food that he had left on the counter for her and blushed. “Right, internet. I knew that.” She took the stool across from him.

She took a bite and smiled. “OMG, Cypher this is good. Like really good.”

Cypher did the whole crooked smile thing again.

“Internet, Lilly. I even know how to read.”

“I’m sorry. I’m not trying to imply that you aren’t capable of learning new things or, ya know, stuff,” she told him, another blush creeping up her neck.

They sat in silence as Lilly finished her breakfast. She found it much easier to eat now that she knew that Jacque was safe. Now she just had to get to the bottom of what Cypher and the wicked bitch were up to.

She wiped her mouth with the napkin he handed her.

“Thank you. That was really good.”

“I’m glad you enjoyed it. I like feeding you,” he told her with unabashed honesty.

Lilly decided that she was going to have a permanent blush on her face as long as he kept saying things like that.

“So how about we get down to business,” she told him boldly.

“What business would that be?” he asked.

“What are you and Mona up to? Why did she want me?”

Cypher looked away from her. She could see he was battling something inside. He wanted to tell her the truth, but maybe not all of it.

“My race is dying,” Cypher told her. He still didn't look at her. “The Fae have retreated from the realm and taken the magic with them, thus those of us made primarily of magic are slowly growing weaker. There is one thing that all the supernatural races have in common – the males are stronger with a mate. I’m old, Lilly. I don’t even know my exact age, but I’ve seen more than millennia, all of that time I have been without a mate. My race, unlike others, can take a mate that is not of our kind. We very rarely have contact with humans so I’ve never looked for a human mate. Then I met you.”

Lillycoughed out a laugh. “You didn’t really meet me, Cypher, you kidnapped me.”

“A technicality.”

This time Lilly laughed unencumbered. “A technicality – nice, as my daughter would say. Anyway, what does Mona want from you that she went to all the trouble to find you a mate?”

This time Cypher actually turned away from her.

Uh oh, she thought. It must be bad if he can’t even look me in the face.

“I know you can’t possibly understand the responsibility I have to my people.”

“Try me,” Lilly shot back.

His head whipped around at the snap in her voice. His eyes met hers and his lips quirked slightly at the challenge he saw in her eyes.

“They look to me to take care of them, to make sure we continue on.”

“I get that. You’re kind of like the Alpha of a wolf pack,” she told him.

He growled, “Not even close. There is only one of me. There are many packs and many Alphas to care for each. I am the King of my people. There is no one who shares this burden, no one to take care of them if something happens to me.”

“Look, I may not be the queen of some race, but I’m a mom. I know what it’s like to be responsible for another.”

Cypher scoffed. “You are a mere human. You cannot possibly know of the burden I speak of.”

Lilly stood up, pushing her stool back so that it nearly toppled over. Cypher moved faster than she had ever seen someone move and caught the stool before it could fall.

“Who the hell are you to tell me what I understand? A mere human? Please, I’m a single mother. I’ve dealt with crap you can’t even imagine. Have you ever had a daughter go through puberty? Huh? Have you?” Lilly was snarling, she was shaking with anger. How dare he tell her that she couldn’t understand his responsibility? Then it hit her.

“Wait, are you trying to justify what you are helping Mona with by saying you are saving your people?” she asked him incredulously, her voice cutting through him like a knife. “So you would rather infect your heart and your people with the taint of evil?”

Lilly saw him flinch. She had hit home. Before she could say anything else, Cypher stormed out of the kitchen. She heard a door slam and jumped as the walls rattled.

“Well,” she said into the empty room, “that went well.”

Chapter 19

“I keep telling myself that in order for there to be light there has to be darkness. But the darkness that is creeping over us seems impenetrable. I can’t imagine a light bright enough to push through the opaqueness. It crawls across the land, withering everything it touches. What will be left when it’s over? Will it ever be over?” ~ Sally