Dahlia moved a little closer, lacing their fingers together. "He wanted to make sure I got off."
"Is that why you like him?" Mei asked. "A man who's willing to make sure you have an orgasm too?"
"I don't like him," Dahlia groaned. "We're using him, remember? He was supposed to have been a meal that first night. I just figured that he owed me. I'm in love with you."
"And I love you back," Mei assured her, "but that has nothing to do with this. You like the man. He's an inquisitor, but not a priest. He didn't try to shove you off. The man made no move to call for a priest. He willingly fed you, and I have a feeling he knew that's what he was doing."
"He did," she admitted.
Mei thrust out her lower lip and nodded. "He didn't kill you, which earns him a few points from me. He could also help us. If we had information about how that damned Church works, we could figure out how to finally avoid them. We could spend the rest of eternity doing our thing without fear of them lurking around every corner. And just think about the possibilities if you could flip him!"
"Flip?" Dahlia laughed that off. "Pretty sure that's not going to happen."
"But if it could," Mei said, "then he could help us destroy the Church once and for all. You know Cain would be down for that. How many younger eidolon are out there who'd think it was worth the chance?"
"He's not on our side, Mei," she insisted. "He said something about his brother. If he flips, they'll kill him. Thane can't be on our side. That he told me as much as he did is great, but..." She shook her head against the blankets on the bed.
The smile on Mei's face faded. "You really like him, don't you?"
"He's like a living battery," Dahlia tried to explain. "I don't know if that's because he's an inquisitor, but I haven't noticed it with the priests we ate."
"We also never get more than a drink or a bite," Mei pointed out. "I've never kissed one, and I'm pretty sure you haven't."
"Not that I know of," she agreed. "It's just that he said they're breeding more. The oldest sons become priests, and the younger ones become breeders." She paused. "He also said he was a hunter because he's sterile. I don't even want to know what the Church is doing to figure that out, but Thane said it was because he'd inherited too much power."
"Shit, they're still evolving?"
Dahlia could only shrug. "Or breeding up? No idea. The problem is that they are breeding. Intentionally breeding for their power, Mei. Thane said that they're expected to find a wife in the Church, and the daughters are supposed to marry a man from the Church. That means they know it runs through the bloodlines, and they're training them up as kids."
"Shit," Mei breathed. "And his brother's a priest. There's always one member from the family who's either a hostage or a willing participant. That's why it feels like they're everywhere now."
"And it's been going on for at least three generations," Dahlia said. "His father was from a younger son. Means his grandfather was bred intentionally. There's a branch of this fucking abomination of a church in every state, and multiples in Texas, New York, and California."
"Fuck!" Mei snapped, sitting up. "They're probably talking, too. Means that if we get out of Texas, we won't fall off the grid."
"We still could," Dahlia tried, sitting up to clasp Mei's arm. "Move to Utah. I'll marry a guy, you can have an affair with him, and we'll wait out this generation. They'll forget about us, and - "
"No," Mei said. "Dahl, I'm not going to spend decades hungry. One man will never be enough to keep both of us going. Never mind that we won't grow old. He'll age, but we won't. Even if he's fine with it, there will be questions, and it won't take long for the Church to come knocking. The fucking digital age!"
"So we just give up?" Dahlia asked.
"No," Mei assured her. "We'll head into Canada. If we have to, we'll take turns. Ten years each, then call the other back. We can do this, but I still think that destroying the Church is our best chance. Even if we die in the process, at least the rest of our kind could survive."
"He's just a grunt," Dahlia said. "He doesn't have the power to do anything."
"Let me have the pipe dream?" Mei begged. "In my head, I have this vision of you and your Viking warrior smiting the titans, ok? In reality, I think exposing their backwards religious ideas would probably work best. It all still comes back to knowing what's going on inside, and that means we need an inquisitor to help."
"He'll never help," Dahlia said. "Not while his brother is alive."
"So we kill his brother," Mei suggested.
"And then he'd kill us to avenge him." She shook her head. "He's gone. He told me enough for us to get out of here. We just need to worry about getting some money and forget that he ever existed."
"But he makes you happy," Mei whined.
Dahlia leaned in to kiss her lips. "You make me happy. I'm not just saying that. These lovers? They'll be dead before we know it. We will last until the sun grows old and stops burning. I have my best friend, my soulmate, and the love of my life right here."
Mei kissed back, her delicate lips so gentle against Dahlia's mouth. "You know, the first time I saw you, I was sure that you were a dream. I'd never imagined hair made of gold or a woman the size of a god."