The Wicked

The Wicked

The Magical Sword ~ Book Two Stacey Kennedy Published 2010 ISBN 978-1-59578-730-9 Published by Liquid Silver Books, imprint of Atlantic Bridge Publishing, 10509 Sedgegrass Dr, Indianapolis, Indiana 46235. Copyright © 2010, Stacey Kennedy . All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the author. Manufactured in the United States of America Liquid Silver Books http://LSbooks.com Email: [email protected] Editor Tracey West Cover Artist Anne Cain This is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents and dialogues in this book are of the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is completely coincidental. Blurb

Nexi Jones knows two things—being half Guardian is tough—being half Witch is simply problematic. With her Guardian duties put on hold, she begins the gruelling task of discovering her magical abilities, which tend to be unpredictable, at the best of times.

At least, she has her luscious Guardian, Kyden to keep her grounded. That is, until the military-built, Ryker returns with a keen interest in being a constant thorn in her backside. With enough trouble controlling her powers—the added rivalry between the two tough Guardians leaves Nexi in urgent demand of a fire extinguisher. But when tragedy strikes the very core of the Otherworld, Nexi needs to shape up as she lands herself knee deep into vampire society—a world run by vampire Mistresses who offer their assistance in unearthing a deadly plot of revenge. But as the truth begins to unravel, Nexi begins to discover that the Otherworld isn’t the only place where Supernaturals exist—and there is something far darker than thirsty vampires lurking within the shadows… Please visit http://www.Demonoid.me for more books from our generous members. Baileyd Dedication

To my children, Kayli and Nate, who make every day an adventure.

Chapter One

“Stop! That is enough,” Kyden roared. His thick body and luscious muscles quivered with pure rage. Squared jaw clenched, plump lips in a thin unhappy line, and his normal light green bedroom eyes squinted with the need to kill someone. Even his usual soft brown hair that hung messily across his forehead appeared pissed off. Why? The answer was quite simple, Finn and Trefan. Brothers, practically twins I’d say, but Trefan was younger—closer to my age of twenty-four than Finn who was Kyden’s age of twenty-eight. Both had the whole surfer vibe—blond, blue-eyed, sleek sculpted muscles and presently had Kyden pinned against the wall forcing him still. The hold was necessary since Kyden was about the tear everyone in the room to pieces. That’s one thing about Kyden, he may be a tad protective. Scratch that—he’s outright possessive. It was the one issue that never ceased to be a battle between us. He’d possess—I’d throttle him. We were still working out the quirks.

“We need to test her,” Talon, the Master of Guardians shouted back. He’s part of the Council. They’re the big wigs of the Otherworld—the leaders as such. He was also Kyden’s dad—looked a lot like him, dazzling green eyes, shaggy brown hair, square chin—even shared the same spectacular body. That much was clearly evident since he wore what all Guardians did—an armor kilt, a sword strapped to their back and nothing else. Sure, he was hot, but like your friend’s dad hot. “If you cannot manage being here,” Talon roared, “leave at once.” Kyden swore, then tore his arms away from Finn and Trefan who happily obliged. Restraining him would be compared to holding back a freight train—not very much fun. I pulled my focus away from the others and drew in a deep breath for bravery. “I’m fine,” I groaned. “Let’s just get this over with.” Lord knows I meant those words. Forty minutes of having my ass handed to me is not my definition of a fun night. Talon called it being tested. I called it being abused. My control needed to be proven that I could handle my magic gifted to me as a Witch when I fought as a Guardian. As shitty as this was—and it was certainly shitty—I wouldn’t have passed up on this opportunity. I was done missing my Guardian role like a kid misses their blanket. It had been a month since the Lazarus incident. Lazarus, a vampire, who on his quest to rule the Otherworld had kidnapped Kyden and tried very hard to kill me. Thankfully, my magic came out in the nick of time, and Lazarus was dead by my very hand. This past, while it wasn’t wasted, I’d learned a lot since the Council agreed to let me join Kyden on his assignments, probably in an attempt to save my sanity from being bored to death. But I wasn’t allowed to get in on the action. If I didn’t get back out there soon, a serious hissy fit was on the brink. I was craving to get my hands dirty and defend humans against badass supernaturals. So, I endured this test, which meant my being used as Talon’s personal punching bag. By the looks of it, I was going to endure more. Talon strode toward me, reached down, and lifted me to my feet in a way that wasn’t meant to be gentle. With that lack of consideration, I slammed my fist into his face. My knuckles connected with his jaw, which sent his head whipping back. It really didn’t hurt either of us. Stung a bit, but being a Guardian came with a built in morphine drip. As Talon’s head resumed its proper position, I instantly realized what I had done. “Oh, shit,” I exhaled. Not the smartest decision I’d ever made.

He slowly raised his gaze to mine with blood dipping off his lip. “You want to have a go then?” The amusement on his face had me scoping out the nearest exit. I’m brave, but I ain’t stupid. He was about to buff the floor with my ass. “I’m…” That was all that escaped my mouth before he pummeled me with the full force of his body. A breeze swept by as I soared across the Guardian’s hall wooden floor. Before I even had the chance to stop sliding, Talon was on me. He began to strike with pure skill—throwing punches while I blocked and dodged each one. It was impossible to hit him back, his arms so friggin’ fast. He is the best Guardian in the Otherworld and I’m just a five-foot-five female Guardian. Maybe described as pretty with long and wavy, dirty blonde hair, hazel eyes that were always more green than brown, I always thought I was better described as plain. I did have one thing that gave me a little edge—my Witch Magic. Most females would last a few minutes battling against Talon. The magic made me stronger, quicker, but apparently not nearly as strong as I needed to be to fight against him. The longer this went on, the more obvious it became that he had been taking it easy on me. Now, that rule no longer applied and pain was becoming my constant companion. After a hard blow to my cheek, my entire body flew up in the air then landed with a loud bang against the floor. One of my not so great personality traits is my temper. I may have a little problem controlling it. I’d never admit that out loud, especially with Kyden within hearing range—and it just so happened that final blow hurt enough, my tolerance reached its limit. What happens when my temper shows itself? My magic comes out and there was no stopping it now. Wind began to whip around me. My hair flew around my face as dust glittered through the air. The sword strapped to my back was thumping across my shoulder blade, my entirely too short armor kilt was lifting slightly to reveal the tight silver shorts, but thankfully, the matching armor bra was staying in place. Talon immediately froze and gave me a speculative glare. I was losing it. This couldn’t happen. If it did, my Guardian life would be over. This was the problem. My magic was intertwined with my anger. Whenever I’d get mad, the world would suffer because of it. Thus, why I needed to be tested this way. Talon wanted to be sure that if he sent me out on assignments again that I would in fact save humans instead of killing them with my unruly power. Before it overpowered me, I quickly looked at Kyden. He had taken a step forward when my gaze met his. His expression was anxious, but strong. I heard every word he was trying to tell me. I had to calm down. He knew how much I wanted to return to assignments—needed to return.

Instantly, I closed my eyes and let the memories of the two of us fill my mind. Not until the heat burning through my blood and the wind coursing through the air settled, did I open them again. “That’s it, Nexi,” Zia, the Master of Witches, praised by the sidelines. She was what stars pay thousands of dollars to look like—strawberry blonde locks and all. But she was more than just a beautiful face—she was as close to a mother as I had here in the Otherworld. Well, a mother who looked just a few years older as did every supernatural—just an added perk about being an immortal. Once you hit thirty, you stop aging. A scuffle on the floor drew my focus back. My gaze connected with Talon just as he lunged forward. I dodged his move with a quick spin then jumped to my feet. Reacting instantly, I slammed a fist hard into his back sending him straight to the ground. He flipped over, and his expression was about as amused as it comes. The amusement here was clear—as if I stood a chance in hell of defeating Talon. I wasn’t really counting on it. It’s just I can’t get hit and do nothing. I do have my pride and all. A split second passed then Talon showed me just how right my line of thinking was. Pain blasted through me as he leveled me with the weight of his body, which only intensified when he sliced deep into my bicep, leaving my arm to all but dangle. I staggered to my feet, not giving into the pain stealing my breath. Without a chance to recover, he smacked me in the face with the grip of his sword. I staggered again, forcing my feet to hold. I glanced at Kyden and he came running toward me. The world spun. Stars sparkled before my eyes. Then, darkness washed across my vision as I tumbled into a welcome deep slumber. **** My eyes fluttered open. Urgh. It was foggy. I blinked a few more times. When the fogginess cleared, warm feelings instantly spread through me as the hammer beam roof sitting atop a gothic cathedral reminded me I was in the Guardian’s Hall—home. I wiggled a bit, stopped by strong arms. When I turned my head, I saw Zia. “You did extremely well,” she said. “Quite proud. Wouldn’t you say, Talon?” Talon stood beside her, beaming. “It took much longer than I thought to knock you out. Well done.”

I snorted. “If I knew that’s all you wanted I would’ve blacked out sooner.” They laughed. Kyden’s laughter wasn’t among them. I glanced back to my left to see tormented light green eyes staring down at me. I raised my hand to Kyden’s square jaw, and he leaned into it. “I’m not hurt,” I told him, which was the truth. Zia’s magical healing abilities gifted from the Spirit Element were definitely a blessing. One touch from her and there wasn’t a trace of injury—not even a bruise. “This will never happen again,” Kyden said fiercely then dove in to capture me in one of his leg wobbling, blood boiling kisses. When he drew away, I chuckled. “You’ll get no arguments from me there.” Suddenly, Haven’s voice blasted through the hall. “Oh gosh! That was horrible,” she cried as she ran madly toward me. Her normally cute features were squished into nothing. Her curly brown hair bounced as she ran to me, and her big blue eyes filled with tears. “I wasn’t even here and I could barely stand it.” Her squeaky voice squeaked higher. When she reached me, she tore me from Kyden’s arms and hugged me in a death grip. I smacked her back. “Can’t breathe.” She pushed me back and ran her hands all over me. “You’re fine. You’ve got your arms.” She patted my thighs. “Your legs are still there.” She sighed deeply, and sat back. “Oh thank the jelly beans, you’re okay.” Poor Haven. She always suffered my emotions. That’s the not-so-great part to our soul-sister bond—we can sense what each other is feeling. Unfortunately, it was worst for her since she was always on a roller coaster with me around. Haven was one of those annoying types—always happy and immensely bubbly. But it was impossible not to love her. Hearing that you’re soul-bound to another woman should have been weird—maybe would have if the bond wasn’t so needy. I’d be lost without her. “I’m fine.” I hesitated, re-thinking that thought. “Well I am now.” I glanced at Talon. “Please tell me I passed?” Pride lightened Talon’s raw demeanor. “I believe you will do fine.” He glanced at Zia, my gaze following his. “Do you agree?” She nodded, just as proud. “I do. She seems to be able to control herself when she’s fighting. As long as you keep your emotions in check I see no problem here.” A blush rose to my cheeks. I understood her meaning perfectly. A few nights ago, Kyden and I had a little squabble about this test. His position was undeniably against the idea that I be tried in such a

way, which resulted in our residence being put through a mild tornado. I shrugged away the embarrassment. No one’s perfect. “Isn’t this sweet,” a smooth, velvety voice said. When I glanced toward the voice, I saw it belonged to a Guardian who was leaning up against the doorframe with his arms crossed over his chest. He belonged in the Navy Seals and had the buzz-cut to prove it. He was tough, but boy was he pretty. His blond hair, eyes a deep blue, he was made for the cover of GQ Magazine. “Ryker,” Talon said. “Come in. I wasn’t expecting you until tomorrow night.” “What can I say,” Ryker said sarcastically. “I was excited to see you all.” He pushed off the doorframe and started forward. His gaze very much fixed on my face. “Hmm. Who do we have here?” Kyden shoved me off and stood quicker than I could say hot potato. “Look at her again and you will wish you hadn’t,” Kyden growled, puffing out his chest as if he was about to turn G.I. Handsome into G.I. Jane. First, I rubbed my sore butt then I snapped my gaze to Kyden, appalled. His possessiveness has always been to the extreme, but this was definitely pushing the limits. Never had he used such a curt tone or been so outright angered. Ryker was just looking at me, and not even in a let’s go heat up the sheets way either. Why was Kyden so provoked? Kyden’s reaction only deepened Ryker’s intrigue. “Someone of interest indeed.” “She is mine,” Kyden’s voice was so angry it came out as a whisper. My shock increased. What the hell was he doing, and who the hell was this guy? Well, I had just about enough of this ball bashing. I quickly stood and stuck my hand out. “Hi. I’m Nexi. Ryker, right?” Ryker took my hand and laid a soft kiss on my palm. “You’ve got that right, babe.” Before I could respond to his sultry tone, Kyden slapped his hand away, stinging mine in the process. My glare came in an instant. “That’s twice now you’ve hurt me. Stop it,” I snarled, rubbing my hand. Kyden didn’t even give me a second glance—his angry gaze remained glued on Ryker’s every move.

Haven stepped forward and grabbed my sore hand. “You gotta be pooped. Finn will help sort this out.” “I’m leaving,” I told Kyden. Kyden and Ryker stood nose-to-nose. Zia looked annoyed and Talon smiled in amusement. Finn and Trefan had positioned themselves close to the two Guardians, looking ready to referee a smack down at the WWF. “I said, I’m leaving,” I repeated for no reason. He never moved an inch, nor said a word. My only response was to sigh and leave the two imbeciles to their ridiculous staring contest. The second Haven and I were out of the Guardian’s Hall, I asked, “Who the hell was that?” Haven wiggled her brows. “That’s Kyden’s rival.” “Rival?” “Yup. They trained together. Basically went head to head for years until Ryker left the Council to be a shield for the Mistress of the Mid-West.” I froze and could only imagine how unbelievably confused I looked. “The…who of the what?” Haven hadn’t missed the look and giggled in response. “She’s a vampire. I forget you don’t know any of this. Hmm…let’s see.” She hesitated for a moment tapping her lip. “Okay, keeping it simple, Vamps have divided up the U.S. into regions. You know, kinda like the wolves—just different and on a bigger scale.” “You’ve got to be kidding me! There’s Alpha vampires running each region of the United States?” “No. Not Alpha’s. They’re Mistresses, but you get the gist of it.” We started back down the hall, walking past Guardian residences—one by one, doors labeled by names in gold calligraphy resting within the stone walls of the castle. “And Ryker worked for her?” She nodded. “He was her guard, but you’ve seen him. I’m sure she used him for other purposes as well.”

“I’m sure she did.” I had to admit, he was definitely a piece of eye candy. “So, what’s with all the tension between them? I’ve never seen Kyden act that way…well…” I hesitated trying to recall, “…ever. He looked about a second away from digging Ryker’s grave.” “They’ve always been like that—always trying to outdo each other. Whenever one would do something, the other would do it too, only better.” “Okay, I get that, but what was all that about in there?” She shrugged. “Just be prepared for Kyden to keep his leash on you extra tight with Ryker around because I can almost promise he’ll be chasing after your tail.” “First of all, Kyden has no leash on me whatsoever.” A leash, bah at the word. Haven laughed loudly, and gave me a wink. I scowled and continued. “And what makes you think he’ll be chasing after me?” “Well, duh! Kyden has something Ryker doesn’t—you. It’s always a competition between them. I assume things will be exactly the same.” “Wonderful.” I sighed deeply. “This sounds as if it’s going to be very, very annoying.” “Probably will.” Then, she beamed. “How ‘bout some lasagna? Finn says it’s my specialty.” I groaned a little and forced a smile. I loved Haven. She was more than a sister to me—she was like my better half, but she did have a flaw. She couldn’t cook. Her meals always left the stomach a little worse for wear. We passed through two long hallways of the castle until we reached the arched doorway that read Witch. The castle in the Otherworld is massive and my sense of direction is a blemish I never rectified. I was glad the Witch’s house wasn’t far from the Guardians—it’s easy to get lost around here. Trust me, I’ve done it on many occasions. I’d resorted to sticking to places I knew as much as possible. Once at Haven’s residence, she opened the door and when I stepped in, I was once again in awe of her great design. She may be a bad chef, but she could put a room together with style—modern with all the fixings. “What can I help with?” I asked, following her into the kitchen. She pushed me toward the steel glass top table. “Nothing. You’ve been through enough for one night. This won’t take me long.”

Her words couldn’t have been any more accurate. Haven’s contraptions weren’t something that usually worked up a sweat. An hour later, and five minutes remaining on the oven’s timer, Kyden and Finn moseyed in. “Oh look, its nincompoop.” I laughed, as Kyden strode across the room and lifted me from my chair, kissing me deeply. When he drew away, his brow arched in a question. “Nincompoop?” It was difficult to hold back my laughter, but bursting into hysterics right in his face wasn’t something he’d appreciate so I refrained. “You don’t know what it means do you?” He shook his head and eyed me, full of suspicion. “Gives you something to look into then.” I went up on my tippy-toes and pulled his head down to kiss his nose. “I think you’ll find the definition quite appropriate.” “Appropriate you say?” he purred, and cupped the back of my head to draw me closer. “Inappropriate are where my thoughts linger, Álainn.” Álainn, Gaelic for beautiful, his little pet name for me, which still sent butterflies through me every time I heard it. “Oh my, inappropriate?” I asked in my best southern belle charm. Haven sighed. “Would you two stop it! You are distracting me. You’re going to make me screw up.” I laughed to myself. Like she needed help in that department. Kyden reciprocated with his devilish grin, just another thing that caused the current butterflies whipping through my belly and set me down to pull a stool up beside me. It wasn’t long before Haven was done and placed the food on the table. The lasagna looked dry and brittle. The Caesar salad was completely drenched in dressing and the breadsticks had burned to a crisp. I gulped and hoped I could get this down without gagging. “Looks yummy, Haven.” Finn smiled big. Haven started scooping the Lasagna onto his plate. “Why’s Ryker back?” she asked him.

Before answering, he dug right in, and even motioned for her to give him more. Now, that’s love if I’ve ever seen it. After a couple of bites, he shrugged, and glanced to Kyden, “Do you know?” Kyden was eyeing his food like a sworn enemy. “Talon said he was bored of taking care of the Mistress.” He finally looked away from his plate, his face grim. “He’s looking for a change of scenery.” Is it the food or Ryker’s return causing his grumpiness? I examined Kyden closely for a moment trying to decipher his mood. Finally, concluding it was probably a bit of both. My curiosity was reaching sky-high limits about Ryker, but now was not the time to discuss him. No need to stir the pot when Kyden was so obviously on edge. Those questions would have to wait, but we didn’t need to talk about him directly for me to get some answers. “I still can’t wrap my mind around this whole Mistress Vampire thing.” I laughed, trying to remain nonchalant. “What are they like?” Haven shrugged. “Some are nice. Others are…” “Others,” Finn interrupted. “Have a serious amount of dead shoved up their arse.”

Chapter Two

The following night, Kyden and I found ourselves in front of the Council. No matter how many times I stepped into this marvel of a Cathedral, my admiration never ceased as I soaked in the Gothic splendor. Think Rome, but brand spanking new—it was a marvel. “There’s been a report of a killing at 452 Quince Street in Salt Lake City,” Talon said. “Kyden, go see what happened. The body is located in an apartment there. Detective Anaxana is waiting for you.” Annoyance made me lash out. “I thought you said I could start assignments again?” Zia stood from her throne chair and walked toward me. “You can, but tonight I have an appointment for you.” She walked by, motioned for us to follow.

Kyden glanced down at me as we walked out and gave me a curious look. “What are you thinking, Álainn?” “I’m not thinking anything, I’m pouting.” He laughed quietly and wrapped an arm around me, pulling me in close to his body. We hit the foyer and stopped at the large wooden door. The door itself is a sight to see with its thick, dark oak wood and spectacular wrought iron handles. To human eyes, the door would look as normal as any other. But I knew better, it was the portal to the Earthworld. The foyer was a beauty all on its own. More like a King’s chamber, I always thought. Kyden leaned down and I reached up to meet his lips. “I won’t be long,” he whispered against my mouth. Neither of us enjoyed being away from each other. After almost losing each other not that long ago, I guess we still felt a little shaken. I took Zia’s hand and she opened the door. We stepped through, and Kyden’s face faded away in the bright flash from teleporting as my body was sucked through a vortex. Over time, I got used to this feeling, but it still wasn’t one of my top ten things to do. When my eyes opened again it was to a quaint stone cottage with smoke drifting from the chimney. There were hills upon hills of green grass, large round hay bales, and sheep grazing in the pastures. “England right?” I asked Zia. “Warwickshire, England to be exact.” “So, what’s this appointment exactly?” Suddenly, the door flew open and a witch stepped out. “My heavens,” she gasped, and walked toward us quickly. She was a petite witch—all of five foot nothing. Her unruly red-coiled hair bounced along her back as her aqua eyes gave you the warm fuzzies. “You look just like her,” she said as she grasped my face tightly. “Pardon?” I managed through my squished cheeks. “Nexi, this is Briar,” Zia said with a little laugh. “She’s the appointment.”

Briar released my cheeks. I rubbed them quickly trying to get the feeling back. When I met her eyes again, she still looked stunned and tears had begun to fill her eyes. “Are you okay?” I panicked a moment and glanced to Zia. “Is she alright?” Zia nodded softly. “She was close to your mother, is all.” I glanced back to Briar who was wiping away tears just as she said, “I am sorry for my reaction. It has just been so long since she passed and my dear, you look just like her.” I smiled—never growing tired of hearing that comparison, even though, it was one I heard often. I’d never really known my birth mother since she was killed when I was four months old, but it was nice to hear some of her still lived in me. Briar looked a while longer then took my hand and pulled. “Come on, let’s go in and chat. Tyrianna was such a beloved friend of mine. I cannot wait to get the chance to have a sit down with you. Would you like some tea?” “Sure, sounds great,” I responded, stepping through the front door of her cottage. Her home was as quaint inside as it was outside. Neatly furnished with old country artifacts, floral draperies and cotton covered couches. Zia sat down on the couch while I lingered around to examine all there was in the room. It was wall-to-wall, stuffed full of knick-knacks, but not cluttered. The fullness in the space made it feel warm and homey. I strode over to the fireplace where a blazing fire heated my legs. Apparently, Briar liked it warm because it wasn’t even fall yet. As I stepped closer toward the mantle, I noticed a picture of my mother and Briar sitting under my willow, resting next to a pretty vase filled with wild flowers. “This is my willow.” I sent a mental message to Zia. When she said nothing, I looked back at her and she nodded, smiling. I was still getting used to the ability we shared. Zia said it was a form of telepathy. I didn’t have the ability to hear her yet, but she said it would come in time. Was I convinced of that? Not in the least. Briar came back into the living room carrying a wood tray with three teacups and some biscotti on a plate. I took a seat beside Zia, grabbed a mug, and lifted it to my nose to smell jasmine with just a pinch of warmed honey. “So, my dear,” Briar said. “I heard of your little run-in with that Lazarus. I was so glad to hear about your destroying him. Well done! Retribution was paid to that slimy scum sucker.”

I looked at Zia and thought, “Did Grammy just really say slimy scum sucker?” Zia chuckled softly. “A run-in? That is a simple way to describe the trouble with Lazarus. For those there, I would suspect they would say hell broke loose.” Briar shrugged and took a sip of her tea. “Well yes, I suppose that is probably a better way to explain it.” I followed her move and took a sip of my tea. The warmth slid down my throat easily, instantly relaxing me, letting thoughts of Lazarus float away. Briar continued, “Zia told me you are adjusting well to life in the Otherworld. Do you enjoy it there?” “I do, very much,” I answered with all honesty. “I bet you do, having that delicious Kyden in your bed.” I spit my tea back into my cup. “Excuse me. I’m so sorry.” I quickly wiped my mouth. Briar’s brows rose. “Are you alright, my dear?” I nodded and coughed. “Yes.” I laughed a little. “Sorry, I’m fine and yes, Kyden is wonderful. Having him definitely makes the Otherworld…good.” “I should find myself a new lover. It has been a while.” Briar hesitated then said, “You know, humans are usually fun to play with.” I put my tea down. There was no way in hell I was going to be able to keep the liquid in my mouth while she continued with this conversation. “Humans?” Zia chastised her. “You haven’t!” “I sure have.” She took another sip of her tea. “I was with George for a little while. He owns this darling bookstore in town, but you know how it is, humans tend to get a wee bit clingy. So that was that.” She leaned down, grabbing a biscotti and took a bite. “Speaking of lovers—how is Talon?” “Talon, huh? You devil.” I thought to Zia. I had suspected this a while back, but never thought to ask Kyden about it. Plus with the whole business of Lazarus who had time for such thoughts? Zia blushed. “Talon is doing just fine.” I picked up my cup again and took a big sip.

“Look at you two, doing father and son.” Briar smiled. “How fantastic!” That was it. The tea all but came out of my nose. I coughed loudly, trying to clear my passageways as Zia smacked my back. Briar looked completely taken back. “You seem to have a real problem drinking that tea, dearest. Maybe you should put it down.” I coughed once more. “I think you’re right.” Then, I thought to Zia, “Her mouth certainly does not suit her appearance.” Zia laughed under her breath. “Why don’t you tell Nexi how you knew Tyrianna? I am sure she would love to hear your memories of her.” Bless Zia for changing the subject. Briar’s eyes lit up, a huge smile spread across her face. “Oh yes, I have many stories. Some good ones too…” I raised my hand. “Don’t you dare tell me any stories that have to do with her and any lovers! Please, spare me.” Not just because it’d be weird, but seriously, it was hard enough to refrain from laughing. Briar seemed sweet—best not to offend. Briar’s brightness slipped away. “You are no fun, Nexi.” She finished off her biscotti then said, “But as you wish, I will keep the juicy ones for another time.” We spent the next half hour reminiscing about a wonderful witch. Briar’s stories told of how she and my mother grew up together and of the close relationship they’d shared. Obviously not as close as her and Zia’s soul-sister bond, but still close nonetheless. I swallowed back my last bite of my biscotti. “Not to be rude, but is this what the meeting is about? Was it to hear more about my mother?” Not that I didn’t enjoy this. It’s just Zia called this a meeting when it was more like a visit. “You didn’t tell her?” Briar asked Zia. Zia shook her head. “Didn’t have the chance.” Then, she looked at me. “Briar is a Fire Witch. She is very powerful with her Fire defense and since you need training in that regard, I figured she’d be the best to help you along.” “Oh, so I’m to start my training?” Not going to lie, I had been wondering when training was going to begin. With all the ample downtime lately, curiosity about my magic had been building. Since

discovering I was a Spirit Witch—meaning I could manipulate all of the Elements—Earth, Air, Water and Fire, I did have a little burning curiosity to see just what I was capable of. “Let’s go out back,” Briar said, standing. “I love my home too much to do anything in here.” I gave her a look at that, understanding perfectly what she was going on about. Briar grinned. “Zia said you can be a little unpredictable.” “Must you tell everyone that?” I thought at Zia. “It’s best to warn others.” Zia smiled innocently. She quickly glanced around the room then met my gaze again. “This place is quite splendid. I’d hate to see anything destroyed.” “Hardy har har,” I retorted. Briar led us through the small kitchen then out the back door. When I followed her out, I couldn’t hide my smile. Her garden was tranquility with a splash of serenity. It was filled with ponds, wild flowers, shrubbery and fruit trees. I had the overwhelming urge to grab a blanket, settle down with a good book and spend the day soaking up the sun. Briar stopped in the middle of the garden. Once I reached her, she asked, “What should we burn up today?” She glanced around for a moment then pointed to a tree. “This apple tree is on its last legs.” She stepped in behind me and held onto my shoulders. “Let’s see it. Burn up that tree.” “How exactly do I do that?” I asked, more than mystified. She spun me around to face her and looked agape. “You don’t know what to do?” “Er…no.” Should I have?” Briar laughed, as did Zia. “My dear, you have had no training, and to think, you were capable of destroying Lazarus. That is just utterly brilliant.” She gave her head a shake and gazed intently into my eyes. “Your powers linger within you. You just need to discover them is all. Decipher the difference between each one so you can ascertain the abilities you hold.” She spun me back around to face the apple tree. “Fire will feel warm. It is the heated part of you. Search down deep, siphon through the layers. Do you feel the heat within you?”

I closed my eyes, let the world fade away and focused inward. My body was all—nothing else existed. After a few settling breaths, I was shocked to find little flickers of warmth coursing through my veins—almost as if I was running a low grade fever. “Yes. I feel it.” “Good,” Briar said. “Now, focus on it. Feel it fill you. Ask Fire to come forward.” I drew all my attention around that feeling of warmth running through my blood, breathing in deeply to pull it in on each inhale. Within a few minutes, a rush of heat surged through me and all that heat concentrated directly in my chest. I centered myself around it. Forgetting every other part of me—only concentrating on that single sensation. Briar tightened her hands on my shoulders. “Keep your strength and begin to visualize what it is you want to do. See that tree burning. Imagine it in your mind, engulfed in flames. When you are secure in your ability, release it.” Keeping my eyes closed, I brought Briar’s garden into my mind, drawing a mental picture around the tree. I held the decrepit apple tree there, seeing every flaw, every small apple struggling for life. When the picture was crystal-clear, I imagined a spark that sent the tree alight. As the flames grew deeper in my mind, the heat grew stronger in my chest. I slowly opened my eyes, and with a release that was pure heat, I let go. Moments later, Fire burst through the tree, sending flames spiraling throughout. “Ha! I did it,” I said, quite proud. “By the Gods, Zia,” Briar gasped. “I didn’t believe you when you told me of this.” She met my gaze with bewildered eyes. “Tell me, my dear, what were you thinking of when you did that?” “I was thinking what you told me to think. I saw the tree burning, then opened my eyes, and abracadabra, it was a fiery inferno.” Briar did a full out belly laugh. “Oh, that is just amazing. Please show me more.” She looked around spotting another rotten tree and pointed to it. “Yes, do that one too.” Fire was easier to recognize now, but bringing the magic forth, still remained a challenge. I concentrated deep, drawing my mind back to the garden—imaging the tree and every little imperfection. I centered my Fire within me and when I felt focused, I released it—allowed Fire to take a life that needed to be reborn. Flames crackled loudly.

“Wow,” Briar sputtered. “I must say, that is quite incredible.” Briar’s bewildered expression had grown considerably, which only confused me. “Obviously I’m missing something here. What’s with the look?” Briar didn’t answer. Instead, she looked at a tree, focusing deeply. Nothing happened. She gave a knowing look with a sly smile. “You see?” “Er…I see nothing,” I responded, confused. “Exactly,” Briar exclaimed. “I am a strong Fire Witch, but I cannot will it from my body as you have just done.” “You can’t?” Now, it was my turn to gasp. Briar shook her head slowly. “No. I can’t.” My gaze went straight to Zia. “What does that mean exactly?” “Not much of anything,” Zia responded in her reassuring tone. “This is your talent, sweetie. Enjoy it. Many witches would give a right leg to be able to do what you just did.” “Huh? You can do the same with Water. I’ve seen it.” Zia nodded. “You’re right I can.” “So, this is different because…” “Because,” Briar interjected. “A Fire Witch has never had this ability before.” “Is that true?” I thought to Zia. Zia smiled. “You are no different than I, Nexi. At this time, I am the only known Water Witch capable of such magic. You are not alone in special talents so you can stop hyperventilating.” “I’m not…” Zia raised her brows. I sighed. “Okay, well maybe I am a little bit.” “This is a blessing.” Zia patted my cheek. “Take it as such.”

Getting the focus away from me, I changed the subject. “What can you do with your Fire?” I asked Briar. “Like I said, my Element is Fire. I can use it defensively of course, but I need touch to enable it.” She walked up to a tree, touched it, and it instantly went up in flames. “You see. I’m capable of the same magic you are. There just always has to be contact first.” Before I could think further on the matter, a high piercing meow came from below. A black kitten with an orange-tipped tail was rubbing herself between my ankles. It looked a little like a Persian kitten, but bigger—basically, a big ball of fluff. “Awww…a kitty.” I reached down and picked her up as she rubbed her face against my cheek. “Is it yours, Briar?” “Her mother and father are. I have taken up a little breeding as a hobby, I suppose. These little sweeties…” She rubbed the kittens head. “Are just so cute, I can’t help but allow my Vyla to keep making them.” After a final cuddle and a scratch around the ears, I put the kitten down. The second my touch left it, it screamed bloody murder. I quickly scooped it back up and she settled against my chest, purring loudly. “Christ! What’s wrong with it?” “Oh nothing, she’s just pissed at you for putting her down. You’ll get used to it though, they can be quite bossy.” Back up a second! “What do you mean, I’ll get used to it?” I asked slowly. “What do you think I mean?” Briar asked, looking at me as if I should be riding the short bus. “You are taking it home with you, aren’t you?” “Taking it home?” I repeated. “It has chosen you.” Zia said, rubbing the kitten’s head. “Hope you like cats because you are stuck with this one.” I giggled as the kitten nestled into my neck. “It’s chosen me?” “These cats are special,” Briar said. “Once they’ve chosen you there’s no getting rid of them. Even if you didn’t take her she would have found you.”

“You’re pulling my leg, right?” I asked, full of suspicion. Briar’s look was dead serious. “No.” She leaned in. “You didn’t think witches were the only ones with magical powers, did you?” I could only shake my head and laugh. I glanced back to the kitty, who was presently nuzzling into my jaw, rubbing her scent all over me. “I’ll call you Willow.”

Chapter Three

The hot water ran down my face. Mist rose high above me as dew beads ran the length of the clear shower curtain mounted around my antique, pearl white clawfoot tub. Willow had settled on the white iron bed sleeping soundly. She claimed that spot the second we walked in, made herself right at home. Thankfully, I was used to having cats around. Our farm in Carson City was their safe haven. Gloria never could let a stray go hungry. But I’d never grown attached to the mangy things. Willow was different and I couldn’t deny I wasn’t tickled to have her. Grasping onto the shower rod, I leaned in and allowed the water to run down my back when suddenly a hard, warm body closed in around mine. Kyden’s excitement to see me was quite evident as it poked into my lower back. He ran his hands up my arms, and leaned down to kiss the nape of my neck. “The assignment went well I see,” I purred, raising my head and leaning back into his erection. God, he could arouse me just by being nearing him. Foreplay sounded great—sometimes we were patient enough to have it. Other times, we just craved each other too much to wait. Fighting did one thing to Kyden—got him standing at attention in a second flat. He told me once it wasn’t the kill that did it for him, it was the surge of strength and power he felt when it was over. No matter what it was, I was glad for it—reaping the benefits was never disappointing. “It did.” His purr equaled mine as he laid soft butterfly kisses along my neck. “Newly made vampire in bloodlust—nothing out of the ordinary.” My eyes closed of their own accord as his plush lips tickled all the right places. My stomach clenched, my lips parted and a small moan of pleasure escaped them.

Apparently, that little sound had tipped the scale from aroused to damn right urgent. He spun me around and my stomach clenched at the sight of him. His wet bronze skin just nearly had me flinging myself at him. Instead, I grabbed his erection in my hand and tugged until he moaned against my movements. With each long stroke, the warm water provided an added sensation that I could see. His eyes grew darker. His face swept away with passion. He drew in a loud sharp breath, grabbed my hips and yanked me toward him. “I cannot prepare you. I need you. Now.” “I’m ready…” Before I could finish, he slammed me—rough but gentle—against the wall. He lifted my legs up around him and he dove into me with such force it stole my breath. Elation instantly came with it. It’d been weeks since I lost my virginity to him and it took almost that entire time to not feel pain at his insertion. His fingers dug deep into my backside as I wrapped myself around his body. He thrust roughly as the water splashed against us. I gripped his strong shoulders and began moving with him. To show him my eagerness for how he was taking me, and how much I enjoyed it. I leaned my head back and let the water run down my breasts as the sensation across my eager flesh swept through me in utter pleasure. His grip tightened as he leaned down to catch the water streaming off my nipple. Then, he pushed against my hips and forced me still—widening my legs and moved in deeper until I didn’t know where I ended and he began. With a deep growl, his thrusts grew harder as he slammed into me with all the aggression he had. Over and over again. Harder. Faster. I screamed against it as the bewilderment of sexual satisfaction began to grip me. My climax was coming. It was so close. I screamed louder, urging him on—needing him to go faster so I could reach my end. He knew me well. Understood what that scream meant and he answered me with everything he had. I rested my head against his chest and accepted the frenzy that was driving my muscles to contract in anticipation. Suddenly, there was a loud crack and pain shot through my backside. In that exact moment, I exploded with a heart-stopping orgasm. My muscles clenched against him as he trembled and grunted deeply, while my body spun in pure delight. With a final hard thrust and loud groan, he wobbled slightly, trying to keep his hold on my legs. He leaned in farther to support my weight, and when he did, the pain in my butt reminded me it was there. I screamed and tried to yank my legs from Kyden’s hold.

He snapped his head up and gently lowered my legs. “What is it?” “Ow. There’s something…” I reached back, ran my fingers along my cheek. When I drew my hand back, blood smeared my fingers only to instantly wash away with the water. “Oh shit! Is there something there?” I spun around quickly. Kyden laughed loudly. The shower curtain was ripped and blood ran down the length of it. I quickly pulled it aside, and that was when I saw the tile. “Christ, we broke the wall.” I chortled. The pain soared again, making my teeth clench. “Ouch. What is hurting me?” “There’s a piece of it stuck in your ass.” Kyden laughed harder. “It’s not funny. Get it out. It hurts.” “Come here, Álainn,” he said calmly and pulled me closer. “Ow…,” I squeaked as his fingers dug in and grasped the piece of tile. “Stop being such a wuss,” Kyden snickered. A little more digging then he said, “Look, it’s all gone.” “A wuss? Try getting that stuck in your ass and see how you like it.” He knelt down, kissed the wound softly. “There, all better, right?” “Mmm…it’s getting there,” I purred. Suddenly, there was a loud knock at the door. Kyden sighed and jumped to his feet. I kissed his lips quickly. “I’ll go.” I stepped out, threw my housecoat on then headed for the door. Once there, I flung it open to find Zia looking quite amused. “I thought you might need me to…ahh…heal your injury,” she said. My cheeks flushed. This was the bad part to our telepathic bond. Apparently, I sent her images of all sorts of things, and the very worst part, I couldn’t control what she saw. “I don’t even want to know what you have seen,” I grumbled. “Please tell me there’s a way I can block you from my mind. Not that I don’t enjoy our connection, but there are certain times it would be nice to have you gone.”

“We can work on it. For now, here,” she said with a laugh and took my hand. Seconds passed before a sharp pain cut right through my ass cheek. “Christ, that hurts!” Her smile grew as she released my hand then she closed her eyes for a moment. When they opened again she wore a shit-eating grin. “I fixed your shower too.” My blush grew. “Oh dear God!” “Have a good night, Nexi.” She laughed as she walked away. I shut the door and rested my head against it. Mortifying—simply mortifying. I pushed away the humiliation and headed back to Kyden. When I entered the bathroom, he had decided on a bath. Probably for my benefit, he knew I loved them. “Come join me,” he said, patting the side of the tub. I dropped my housecoat on the floor and stepped in front of him. “All healed I see,” he said with a deep chuckle. “That must have been Zia then.” “It was. How embarrassing. It’s like she’s subscribed to the porn network.” Kyden laughed behind me and wrapped his arms around me tight. “At least the show’s a good one.” “You bet your not sore ass it is.” Hmm, he was calm, relaxed—a good time for a certain conversation. “We haven’t had the chance to talk about this, but what’s the deal with Ryker?” “Ryker,” Kyden snorted. “Yeah, Ryker. That’s exactly what I’m talking about. Why don’t you like him?” “Cause he’s a nimrod.” “A nimrod.” I laughed. “There has to be more to it than that?” “We grew up together as I am sure Haven has told you.” I nodded against his chest. “Figured as much.” Then, he sighed and reached for a facecloth to trickle water down my chest. “We were equals as we trained. I am sure you could imagine there was a bit of competition there.” “With you?” I acted surprised. “I can’t believe it.”

He smacked a hand over my mouth. “Watch that saucy mouth, Miss.” I chuckled beneath it and removed his hand. “Competition can cause conflict, I get that. But what’s with all the hostility?” “Losing does not sit well with the wanker. When I started to exceed his level, let’s just say it didn’t go over well.” “Okay, well that explains his part, but why do you hate him so much?” “He loves to taunt me and I know him. He’ll be after you just to spite me. I was just making it perfectly clear that was not going to happen.” I turned around to look at him. “Don’t you think you were just planting the seed? You basically threw me out there to him so he’d water the ground.” Kyden’s amused guilt was obvious. “I’d never do such a thing.” I slapped his arm. “You did that on purpose?” I snapped, accusingly. “Keeps things interesting, wouldn’t you say?” I slapped him again. He flinched, grinning. “I’m merely having a little fun with him. Just stating my position on the matter, and if he tries anything with you, I’ll beat him senseless for it.” I shook my head at him to show him my dislike of his actions. But really, what did it matter? We were both too stubborn not to do what we wanted. I took the upper hand in this conversation and used it to my advantage. At least, he wouldn’t through a fit now, since I hadn’t. “So, Ryker is a good Guardian then?” Kyden stiffened. “You care to know more about him?” “Calm down,” I said, as I snuggled back into him and wrapped his arms around me. “I’m just curious.” He relaxed a smidge. “If I were in a war I would want him with me. Does that suffice?” “Sounds like you respect him.” “I respect his ability and his work ethic. It’s not that that I have a problem with him. It’s his personality that falls short.”

Just then, Willow popped up on the ledge of the tub. Kyden swore and jumped up, sending water rushing over the edge, soaking her entirely. The poor kitty now resembled a rat. “Look what you did to her,” I yelled, and stepped out of the tub to grab a towel. “Poor thing, geesh. You’d think you’ve never seen a cat before.” Kyden looked appalled. “Whose is that?” “Mine.” His brow arched. “Yours? As in you’re keeping it?” “Stop being so mean! Of course I’m keeping her.” I picked Willow up and dried her off. “Actually, I don’t think I have much of a choice in the matter. Zia took me to Briar’s tonight and the kitty became…well…mine.” His arched brow rose higher. “Don’t ask. I don’t know how it works. Briar said that she had chosen me. Even if I didn’t want her, she’d come and find me anyway. I’ve named her Willow. Isn’t she so cute?” “Willow—I like the name. Not sure about the cat.” He reached his hand out to touch Willow’s head and she hissed as if he was a ravenous dog about to eat her. Kyden quickly pulled his hand back. “I think the feeling might be mutual there. Can’t say I really blame her after that first impression.” I gave Willow a stern look. “This is Kyden. He lives here too.” Which, he did. He moved in the night after our near death experiences. “So, you two are going to have to get along.” Willow jumped out of my arms, and I swear she snorted at me. “Fluffball isn’t going anywhere near our bed,” Kyden demanded. Willow raised her head and swung her tail at him as she sauntered out of the bathroom. I followed her with my eyes and burst out laughing when I saw what she did next. “Ahh…I’m not sure you have much of a choice in the matter.” Kyden slammed the door open. “Get off there,” he roared, lunging forward to stop Willow, with her damp fur, rolling around on his pillow.

Chapter Four

A wretched hour had passed with me failing miserably at blocking Zia from my mind. She chose the Witches Meadow to conduct my training the following night. A beautiful night it was, which was the norm for the Otherworld. Magical lands aren’t built upon thundershowers and snow storms. But they’re also not built upon sunny days. Around here, night is the day. The reason, vampires are the biggest concern for the Council—which means, sticking to their clock is important. The meadow was stunning as always. The rolling hills, lush green grass, pretty wild flowers and hundreds of sacred trees were pleasant as always. But the true beauty was my weeping willow that made the place spectacular. It was the place where this crazy new life of mine all began. She probably thought my willow would comfort me enough to help control my powers. It wasn’t working. “This is so frustrating,” I snapped. “Why can’t I control this? What am I doing wrong?” “Stop chastising yourself. You are doing well. You have the ability there. I believe you just doubt yourself.” “Doubting myself?” I snorted loudly. “Going back to that, am I?” Kyden had the same problem while training me. His answer to that was to anger me. Thankfully, Zia wouldn’t resort to such measures. I took a deep, settling breath, “I just need to focus on putting a wall up, right?” Zia laughed. “I wouldn’t quite put it that way, but if you need to visualize that to gain control of your powers, then do so.” I closed my eyes. My powers… Who even knew what that meant? I sure didn’t. The Fire Element was the only one I had any control over and even that took time. I’d seen some witches work magic quicker than I could blink. Me, it took a couple minutes to even burn up a tree. Pathetic! “Nexi,” Zia chided. I opened my eyes to see a tree a few feet away burning fiercely. “Sorry…er…I didn’t mean to do that.”

“I honestly fear for everyone around you if you cannot get a handle on yourself. You cannot imagine such things without having consequences.” She flung water out to the tree, instantly smothering the fire. The poor thing was blackened and smoldering. She stood, and made her way to the tree. When she reached it, she laid her hand against the trunk, which revived it instantly. Then, she turned back and said to me quite determined, “Try again.” I closed my eyes again. There was more to me, more power that lingered—I could feel it there, but couldn’t touch it nor understand it. I took a few long deep breaths, quieted the world around me—silencing the heat that was boiling my blood, forcing the Fire to calm When my mind was blank and all I saw was black, I imagined a steel vault that was open. With all the strength I had, I slammed it shut. Then, I quickly thought random nothings in my mind. “Can you hear me?” I ground out, feeling sweat bead my brow. This was hard—like bust a vein hard. “No. You’re doing it,” Zia exclaimed. The strain was becoming too much. My body was trembling, head hurting with a pound like no other, flesh overheated and wet. My strength faltered. The door began to waver. It started falling—slowly lowering to the ground. “No. Keep your focus.” Zia’s words weren’t enough. The door started dropping faster. It took too much energy. I didn’t have the strength to hold it up, no matter how hard I was fighting, and I was sure as hell fighting. “No…keep it…” Zia said, urgently. Then, it fell. “Shit,” I blasted, and opened my eyes. Zia patted my leg. “We’re getting there. You found the ability and held it for a moment or so. Be proud of that.” “I guess.” I pouted and wiped the sweat from my forehead. “Is this mental block why I can’t hear you either?” She nodded. “It works both ways. If your mind is closed to the possibility of this magic my messages will remain hidden from you.”

I sighed deeply, tired to the bone. This lesson was far harder than the one with Briar. Fire was so potent—so obvious. This was like grabbing something that wasn’t there. How do you center yourself around something that is invisible? I sucked back the doubt. “Let’s try again.” I attempted to sound confident. Zia smiled encouraging. Why was this so difficult? The ability was there—I just used it. Zia said I doubted myself. Maybe that’s all this was. I closed my eyes again drawing in a deep breath. Maybe I was making it too hard for myself. Maybe a steel vault was too strong? Was I putting too much into it? Was that why it was so draining and hard to keep up? Well, it was all I had to go with now so instead of the vault, I brought a window to my mind. Just to make it more realistic, I imagined my window back at my parents’ house in Carson City. I stood in front of it seeing the neatly tied floral curtains on either side of the spectacular view of the woods. I reached up to the window, tucked my fingers on the rim and slammed it shut. It wasn’t forced. I wasn’t straining. I didn’t have to keep the window closed. It just was. “I hear nothing,” Zia whispered, probably in an attempt not to break my focus. “Try and open it now.” I imagined myself reaching under the rim of the window, and with a gust of power, I threw it open. A surge of energy blew through me instantly. Unlike anything I’d ever felt before. Where Fire was potent—this just felt like a warm bath. It was a happy, comfortable feeling. By golly, I think she’s done it. Zia’s voice poured through my mind. “By golly, I think she’s done it?” I laughed and opened my eyes. Zia shrugged. “Seemed like the thing to say. Well done. What did you change?” “I pictured a window. The door was too straining, too solid. So, I figured if I imagined something easier that would help.” I smiled big. “And it did.” Zia shook her head laughing. “You have a strange mind. But whatever works—works.” “So, most witches don’t have to do this?”

“No. Normally it’s not a visual thing. I would assume it is due to your human upbringing. They are very visual creatures. I suppose that is why your mind needs to go there.” She smiled. “It doesn’t matter how you control your magic, it just matters that you do.” Then, her smile vanished to a determined look. “Try severing the connection now. See if you are capable of that.” I closed my eyes again and focused back on the window. I grasped the brass handle then pulled straight down. The window shut instantly. It was much easier than I remembered. That window was always a pain in my backside. I broke up a sweat each time trying to close that damn thing. “Well done,” Zia praised. “You cannot get a read on me right now?” I asked, opening my eyes. She was thoughtful for a moment. “No. Nothing.” She cocked her head. “You?” I listened carefully, but my mind was my own—thoughtless at the present moment. “Nope. All quiet.” “Leave the connection open as much as you can. The more you use it the stronger it will be.” I closed my eyes again, concentrating quickly, then slammed the window open. I probably could have tried to do this now without the window guiding me. Just as with Fire, I was starting to suspect that once I experience the sensation that went along with the power, I could just use that as my guide. But I was too pooped to attempt anything else. When my eyes fluttered open, I thought to Zia, “Thank you for showing me this, Zia. It is definitely one thing I desperately wanted to learn.” “I believe I may miss your little rendezvous. Talon sure appreciated the effect they had on me,” she thought back. I laughed aloud, slightly grossed out at the same time. “Nice to know we entertained you.” “Entertained might not be a strong enough word.” She leaned in and kissed my cheek. “You did well today. Do you need a boost?” “Do I ever.” Zia reached out, touching my hand and with it, came the jolt of pure exhilaration. “Thanks!” I said, grateful and mystified all at the same time. Her abilities still astounded me no matter how many times I witnessed them. “Out of curiosity, when will I be learning to do that? The healing stuff—I will be learning that, right?”

Zia nodded. “You have already proved your ability to master to the art of healing.” She was right about that. Kyden had been my guinea pig. I healed him without even trying. Zia continued, “I wanted you to get this right first. You need a strong focus to offer such a remedy. We can start soon if you wish.” “I do. It’ll be nice to be a giant Band-Aid.” “It does come in handy.” Then, she thought. “I must go. Talon is waiting. Be well.” “You too, Zia.” After she left, I laid back to rest beneath my willow, and reached up to run my hands through the leafy vines. Since Zia brought it home here to the Witches Meadow, it seemed to really thrive. The colors were more vibrant and had grown in size. Obviously, it suffered being in Carson City—the wilderness area it was in just wasn’t meant to support a willow. “Waiting for me, babe?” Ryker’s voice snapped me away from my thoughts. “Not likely,” I responded. Ryker chucked deeply and took a seat beside me. “Testy. One with spirit. I like that.” I sat up and shifted away from his closeness. In an attempt to distract him from his flirting charm, I asked, “Tell me, you worked for a Vamp Mistress. What was that like?” He shrugged. “Nothing as exciting as assignments, but interesting nonetheless.” “Interesting how?” I was curious about this. The whole vampire Mistress thing was so bizarre, my mind was full of questions. “The Mistress I worked for is Thalia,” Ryker answered. “She’s a lovely little thing. Turned when she was only seventeen, her date of birth was sometime in the 1500’s.” “Really?” He nodded. “Most of the Mistresses are quite old. That’s how they have risen to power. They are much esteemed in the vampire world and are highly respected.” “What do they do exactly?”

“Since you were raised human I will use terms that will make it easier for you to understand.” I would’ve been grateful for that, if his tone didn’t insinuate that I was stupid. “They act as rulers over their territory. You could think of them as a President, a Judge, the Police—all of their duties would apply to her.” “I thought the Council governed all the Supes? Isn’t it their ruling that matters?” He shook his head. “The Council deals with killings of humans, and other problems such as that. Mistresses have their own way of handling matters within their regions. If a situation ever presented a problem she couldn’t handle, then she would seek the assistance of the Council.” “Did you protect her?” “In terms I did. She used me to deal with her killings. To destroy her threats and handle any vampires that needed handling.” “You’re allowed to do that? I thought the Council was against killings?” “No, the Council is against killing humans. They are just the higher power here. They do not have the right to interfere in vampire business.” “Oh well, cool. Thanks for the explanation. I didn’t know anything like that even existed. It’s neat to hear about all the inner workings of such a society.” His expression turned sultry. “There are many things I could explain and show you.” “Stop that,” I blasted. “Stop what?” he replied, innocently. “I’m with Kyden. I love him. That will never change so just stop all this charming nonsense. You’re only going to end up with your face bashed in.” He snorted. “I do not fear Kyden. How do you know he could win over me?” “Because we’re talking about me here. This isn’t some stupid competition with training. He is overly protective—sometimes too protective. If you think he won’t beat you into a fine pulp if you lay a hand on me, you are so wrong.”

“Lay a hand on you like this?” he hummed, trailing his fingers down my arm. I slapped his hand away. “Yes. Exactly that.” I glared at him. “Touch me again, dipshit, and it won’t be Kyden slugging you.” “Yum. You’re feisty too.” “You’re annoying,” I spat. “Go away.” “Yes,” Kyden growled. “You are annoying. Time for you to go.” Ryker stood then came nose-to-nose with Kyden. “I will go when I choose.” I jumped to my feet and stepped between them. “You two are being stupid. Come on, let’s go.” I pulled on Kyden’s arm, but he didn’t move an inch. In fact, because I was walking forward with such force I ended up falling on my butt in the process. After landing with a hard thud, I shouted, “Now I’m pissed. My butt has taken a thorough beating lately.” Anger began to send warm currents rushing through my blood. Oh, fuck! I tried to calm myself quickly, but it was too late. The cycle had already begun. Kyden sighed deeply. “Shit.” Suddenly, the wind swelled around us. Trees swayed in time with the breeze, leaves flew through the air. My hair whipped around my face as the familiar warmth began to feel all too hot. I met Kyden’s eyes, fearful of what was about to happen next. He, of course, looked nothing short of royally amused. “What’s wrong with her?” Ryker gasped with wide eyes. A split second later, a ring of fire erupted, encasing all three of us in it. “Hell! Tell her to stop that,” Ryker shouted at Kyden. “Er…how are we going to get out of this?” I said, biting my lip. The ring of fire was waist high and glowed brightly as the heat started to build sweat against my skin. “Don’t do anything else,” Ryker nearly pleaded. “I will go.” He spun in circles. “Extinguish this—put it out at once.”

“I would if I could but—I—er—haven’t learned that yet,” I replied sheepishly. “You haven’t learned that yet?” Ryker said, incredulous. “Are you serious?” “She’s very serious,” Kyden responded with a little twinkle in his eye. “Nexi Jones,” Zia’s voice bellowed through the meadow. “You are in very big trouble.” “Uh oh,” I grumbled, watching her run down the hill Kyden laughed. “You’ve pissed her off. Now you’re in for it.” Zia slammed her hands out and with it came a blast of water that soaked us completely. My first thought was to laugh seeing Ryker and Kyden standing there with their hair flattened to their heads and water dripping off their noses. But Zia’s enraged expression made the humor vanish in a millisecond. “What am I going to do with you?” Zia growled. “I’m sorry, Zia. It—I…” I stammered. “You just what? You got angry and allowed yourself to be endangered—again. You cannot let your emotions rule you. I have told you this over and over again. Tomorrow I am going to have to teach you to put out your Fire. For heaven’s sake, if I don’t, you are going to kill yourself.” “I’m sorry,” I said, abashed. Kyden laughed. “There is nothing funny about this.” Zia glared at him. “If I wasn’t here to help you, you all could have been burned to a crisp.” Kyden shrugged nonchalantly. “I’m sure if it was life or death she’d come up with something to get us out.” I gave my big male a wink, showing just how much I appreciated his trying to defend me. “Don’t you even try to defend this!” Zia’s glare deepened. “This is your entire fault to begin with.” Kyden arched a brow. “My fault?”

“That’s right. Your fault. Both of you.” She glared at Ryker too. “You are both acting like complete idiots around her. You should know better. She has trouble controlling herself and here you are giving her reasons to get upset. Kyden, if you give her one more reason to be upset I will forbid you to see her until she can control herself.” “You will do nothing of the sort,” Kyden roared right before Zia sent him flying back on a giant wave. Ryker laughed loudly, which quickly turned to a gasp as Zia sent him surfing right along with Kyden. “Fools,” she spat. Then, she turned that glare on me directly. “You will not get angry again. Am I understood?” I nodded, fully ashamed. “Go home before you hurt anything else tonight.”

Chapter Five

“Are you almost ready?” Kyden shouted from the living room. Just because Zia said to go home didn’t mean I had to listen to her. After that embarrassing mishap, I needed a night out on the town. “And you call me impatient,” I shouted back. Jeez, it took time to be pretty. “Would you stop fussing over yourself? You look fabulous.” A voice said in my mind. Where the hell did that voice come from? It wasn’t Zia. It sounded young and a little snarky. My gaze searched the bathroom. There was no one here. “I am down here, if you would be so kind to stop acting so stupid.” I glanced to my feet and saw Willow looking up at me. Without a second thought, I let out my loudest girly scream. Kyden came flying into the room. “What’s happened? Did you hurt yourself?” He glanced around quickly looking for a natural disaster. Then, he met my gaze. “What is it?”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence.” I pointed to my cat. “Look at that, she’s grown.” She surely had. She was completely full-grown. Still the big ball of fluff, just about four times the size. “All I see is that thing you call a pet.” Kyden said, examining Willow. “Idiot,” came in my mind. I laughed. “Did you hear that?” Kyden arched his brow. “Hear what?” “Like I said, idiot.” “That. Her talking. Can you hear that?” Kyden crossed his arms. “She’s not mine, she’s yours. Of course I can’t hear her.” “Oh,” I said surprised. “You knew she was going to be able to do this?” He nodded. “You’re starting to sound like an idiot too.” I glared at my kitty. “Be nice. I’m new to all this.” “That’s clear, isn’t it?” I ignored her, too interested in what was going on here. “How’d you get so big?” She began licking her paw, then rubbing it behind her ear. “We mature within days of our birth.” “Wowzers. That’s incredible. Are you like a werecat?” Willow snapped her head up and looked appalled in a way that only a cat could. “I am nothing of the sort. First, you name me after a tree, and now you begin insulting me. What kind of master are you?” “Er, sorry.” What else could I say? “You should be. A tree.” She started pacing the room. “A tree. That’s what you name me after. What about Fluffy, Kiki, Buttercup? No, this one names me Willow after a dog-gone tree.”

“I already said I was sorry, but I love my Willow. It just seemed right.” Willow snorted, sending her whiskers to flutter. “You aren’t forgiven.” With that bit of grumpiness, I picked up my curling iron and got back to business. Kyden laughed quietly and headed back out to the living room. “Didn’t I already tell you to stop fussing?” “Listen here lady, keep the little mouth of yours shut. I’m done when I say I’m done.” I dismissed her with a flick of my hand. “Now, go and lick something.” She flicked her tail at me and let out a loud meow as she strode off. Great, I had a bitchy cat and she could voice it—just what I needed. By the time I was finished, I had never been so happy to be going out. It wasn’t just that my efforts had left me in the hot to trot category, it was because I was leaving Willow behind. The damn cat had listened to me for all of ten minutes before she returned to drive me to Hell and back. Now, as we entered the club, it was exactly as I remembered. Expensive. Big, bright red leather couches, crystal chandeliers provided dim light and more than five huge tropical fish tanks lined the walls. I made my way over to a table, Kyden headed off to the bar. The club was in full swing. Loud jamming beats vibrated along the floor. Once at the table, which sat opposite the dance floor, I pulled a chair out and took a seat just as Ryker attempted to sit beside me. “Do you remember the last time we tried to have a conversation,” I told him, sternly. “Please go away. I really don’t want to kill anyone tonight.” He smiled pure sex. “I am only too glad you have such emotions running through you while I talk to you.” Kyden was approaching quickly, drinks in hand. His gaze focused on one thing and one thing only—me. I gave Ryker a shove. “Just go. Right now or I’ll set you on fire.” Ryker’s smile faded instantly. He took my threat seriously and why shouldn’t he? He quickly moved away, taking a seat at another table.

I breathed a sigh of relief just as Kyden reached me. “What did he say to you?” he growled, appearing more than pissed. Without a single word, I grabbed him and planted a kiss on him that would send his thoughts south bound. A while later, I drew away. His devilish grin warmed me. “Haven’t even had a drink yet and your already gettin’ started,” he drawled. Alcohol sent my imbibitions to the wind—he’d seen it on numerous occasions. I laughed flirtingly, relieved that my plan to distract him worked. “What can I say? Just look at you.” I gave him a lingering glance just so he knew how yummy I thought he looked in his pale jeans and black Calvin Klein polo shirt. He stepped closer, brought his body tight against mine. “Do you feel what looking at me like that does to me?” “I do now,” I purred. He was fully ready to give me anything I wanted. As good as that sounded, seeing the chocolate martini in his hand quickly changed my mind. “Yum,” I exclaimed, and took the glass from his hand taking a big gulp. The chocolate flakes around the edges hit my mouth first, and that in itself was pure heaven. When the cooled liquid followed behind I could only moan in delight. “Good thing we don’t have chocolate at home.” Kyden laughed. “I might have a bit of competition there.” “You just might.” Chocolate and I got along very well. It could make me happy when I was sad. Ecstatic when I was happy and pretty much give me a mild orgasm. Kyden pulled me back down to sit in the chair then, took a seat in front of me. “It’s rockin’ here tonight.” Haven bounced as she sat next to me. Finn pushed in her chair, then joined Kyden as we began to drink the night away. The longer we sat, the more apparent it became that I felt happy—really happy. It had been some time since it wasn’t so forced. Losing Drake—my birth father—only a short time ago hit harder than I thought it would. Moving on from him was an everyday battle. Everything reminded me of him. There were too many times to count where I’d swear he was walking down the hall toward me, or sitting at my kitchen table.

Now, it was getting easier without him and my smile felt more real than it had in a very long time. Kyden leaned forward and brushed my cheek with his fingers. “You’re quiet.” “Just happy.” I smiled softly. His eyes softened immediately. He knew how hard things had been for me as did Haven. He lightly kissed my lips. When he drew away, Haven was wiping tears from her face. “What’s wrong?” Finn suddenly demanded of Haven. Haven shook her head staring at me. “No…it’s nothing…I’m fine. Don’t worry.” Finn examined her a little longer. Confusion hit every part of his soft features, but when his gaze hit mine, he instantly relaxed and leaned back into his chair—apparently understanding her tears were felt from my emotions, not hers. It wasn’t long before one Martini became two. Warmth and cheer filtered through every part of me. Things that weren’t funny before now were and removing the smile off my face was nearly impossible. “I need another one. You in?” Haven asked. I shook my head adamantly. “No way. Zia’s pissed at me enough. If she has to come to our place to heal my sorry ass again, she’ll kill me.” Haven laughed. “I heard about her tearing a strip off you today. I wish I’d seen it. I’ve never even seen her mad. You must have really pissed her off.” “That seems to be all I do lately,” I grumbled. Haven chuckled under her breath and bounced out of her chair. “I’ll just be over with Keir,” Finn told Haven as he stood with her. After a quick kiss, she was off to the bar and he made his way toward Keir who was presently greeting a bunch of werewolves. Keir, a strapping Guardian, stood in a circle of friends. He was a real bang your balls type a guy—jet black hair, one green and one blue eye , handsome, but tough. Kyden abruptly stood and reached his hand out. “Come on. There’s someone I want you to meet.”

I took his hand, stood and hesitantly followed behind him. My experience with new supernaturals didn’t always go so well. I liked keeping to the ones I knew and left it at that. When we met the group, Keir had just shaken the hand of one of the werewolves. And may I just say, he was handsome as handsome comes with his black spiked hair, dark eyes that could make a woman sigh and a body that looked rock solid. The werewolves gaze left Keir and hit Kyden’s. He stepped forward to meet us. “You are looking well, my friend.” His voice was gruff—sounding just as a wolf’s should. “Dante. It’s been a long time, brother.” Kyden said, then glanced at me. “You have not met Nexi.” “My, my, so this is her.” Dante smiled crookedly and reached his hand out. I shook his hand and the calluses that layered his skin were nothing more than incredibly sexy. What can I say, I ain’t dead. You take notice when you meet a male of this caliber. “My father has spoken extremely highly of you,” Dante said. I glanced at Kyden, hoping for some clarity. Kyden smirked. “Valor.” Now, Valor I did know—and liked having in my little circle. He is the Patriarch. Took me a bit to understand the whole concept, but basically, he’s the Alpha of all Alpha’s—the top dog. “Valor’s your father?” I asked Dante. “Indeed he is.” “How is he?” It had been a while since I had spoken to him and feelings of pleasure ran through me upon hearing his name “He is well.” Then, he raised his hand and put it on my shoulder. “We all owe you a great debt for what you did.” He was sweet and all, but the past events with Lazarus was a team effort. “I wouldn’t have been successful without your father’s help.” That was the truth in a nutshell. Valor was an undeniable part to why Kyden and I were still here. His assistance saved our butts—big time.

“It was right of him to help,” Dante said, firmly. “I only wish I had been around and involved in such an intense fight.” From there it was ignore Nexi and go straight to male jibber jabber about how we kicked some serious ass. I sat back down, watched the group of them go on and on about things that were of no interest to me. Haven was off to God knows where and I was just bored. Wasn’t such a shock when my mind started to linger toward things of a different nature. After skimming the dance floor, I focused on Kyden who was listening fiercely to Dante’s stories of a recent Alpha who Valor had had to take out. Like I said, boring. My gaze ran down the length of my sexy male who looked mouthwatering delectable. Alcohol always did take the attraction between us and quadrupled it. Lord, he was sexy. He didn’t have to do anything to be so sexy either, he just was. It was an air about him. Of course, having perfect bone structure, eyes that you could lose yourself in, and a body sculpted with defined muscles, didn’t hurt. But it was more than that—it was his confidence, his strength. It poured from him and right now, I was inhaling deeply, breathing it in. A little shudder ran through me that started at my head and tingled through my blood until it met between my thighs and lingered there—building, burning. Without thought, I moaned my need aloud. Kyden’s gaze immediately snapped toward me. Focus caught. Dante was still talking to him, but after Kyden walked away, he smiled and turned away. When Kyden stood in front of me, he leaned down, his face just millimeters from mine. Oh yes, he’d caught my inner desire. “Come dance, Álainn.” Without waiting for a response, he took my hand and pulled me onto the dance floor. Instantly, wolves surrounded us. Kyden spun me around, grinning before he placed his hand on my lower back and sandwiched our bodies together. “Is this what you were after?” he allured. “Mmm…” I pretended to think a moment. “This is a start.” He grinned devilishly as we moved with the music. His body grinding against mine in pure sexual intent. His hands everywhere as were mine.

Supes are sexual creatures and not a single one here wasn’t using this act as foreplay. But what I had noticed now, before I was too busy to pay attention to anything else but Kyden, was how different werewolves were than vampires with respect to their love lives. They weren’t so random; you could tell that the couples who were dancing together were in fact couples or were courting each other. Kyden gripped my hips with his hands then brought me even closer toward him and lowered his mouth to mine. He raised his hands to my face and stopped dancing. Well, with his body did anyway. His tongue swirled with mine in a dance all its own. He pressed himself tight against me. His erection sat against my stomach and it took every ounce of control I had not to reach out and touch him. “Maybe I could get a go of you later, Nexi.” Trefan laughed beside us. Kyden chuckled against my lips and backed away, then we both looked toward him. Trefan acted like a love-crazed teenager. He was big into the dating scene and he liked his flings young. The wolf dancing in his arms was no exception—she didn’t even look old enough to be in the club. But considering the trouble she’d be in if she lied, she had to be twenty-one. “If you behave tonight,” I teased. “Maybe you might.” Trefan laughed harder, glancing back to his date. “Never mind, I have it good right here.” The wolf in his arms smiled brightly with adoring eyes. Kyden grasped my chin forcing my gaze back to his. “I am your focus. Me and nothing else,” he said in his possessive tone. “As I am yours.” I possessed right back. He began dancing slowly—crushing his body against mine. I wiggled against him, encouraging him that what he was doing was right up my alley. As he continued to stare down at me, he ran his hands along my body, keeping me locked in his strong arms. There was something far more intense than the heat burning between us. Something that meant more than my clenching thighs. It was the way he looked at me now. The possession, the admiration, the satisfaction—it all sent little flutters of love into my heart that brightened everything about this dark club. I reached up, locked my hands behind his neck and said, “I love you.” He smiled and there was nothing tense about it. It was warm and filled with every ounce of emotion that I had simmering through me. “Right back atcha.”

Chapter Six

On my way out the door to meet Zia for training the next night, Willow had demanded to be let out of what she called our sorry excuse for a home. Obviously, my little Princess thought she deserved something more luxurious. When we arrived at the Witches Meadow, an orange and black cat was resting near a birch tree. “Oh, look you have a kitty friend,” I said to Willow. “That’s Charm,” Willow said. “He belongs to that one there. Charm, that’s an even better name than…” I interrupted her. “Would you just let it go, geesh.” Charm was bigger than Willow. I could only guess it was because he was male. A thought stumbled its way into my mind and my mouth opened before I had time to really process it. “Do I have to get you…er…fixed?” Willow glared at me, her little black face squishing into nothing. “Just because you and that thing of yours go at it like jack rabbits does not mean everyone does.” She sniffed deeply and trotted over to rest beside Charm. They appeared to have a short conversation then got down to some serious paw cleaning. “I didn’t know you had a cat,” I said to Zia when I approached her. “You aren’t the only one who got trapped by going to Briar’s,” she replied. We both laughed in complete understanding. Testy little kitties. Then suddenly, my words to Willow replayed in my mind and my mouth immediately clamped shut as the humor washed away to sheer panic. Jack rabbits—fixed. How could I be so stupid? Kyden and I had never used protection—not once. I hadn’t even thought of it. I instinctively grabbed my stomach. Fear making words impossible. Zia laughed harder this time, then said, “You have nothing to worry about. You cannot get pregnant.” “I can’t?” I sighed and released my hands.

“No. You can’t. Kyden is protected with magic. Until he chooses to release that magic you will be safe.” “Thank god for that,” I sighed again. Then, I remembered how ticked off Zia had been at me. “Listen, I’m really sorry about what happened last night. I know you expect more of me. I’m really trying.” She rested her hand on my shoulder, her expression consoling. “I know that. It is only out of concern that I am hard on you. I fear that if you don’t get a handle on yourself, you are going to put those you love at serious risk.” “Okay, well, I’m ready and willing. Show me what to do. I’m the first one who says my control is…well…lacking.” Zia pulled me down to sit under my willow. “You cannot let your emotions take over. You need to be stronger than this and I know you are capable of it. I’ve seen your control when you were fighting Talon.” She flicked her strawberry blonde locks behind her shoulder. “Your anger is what makes your power strong and we need to change that. Our magic is White Magic. There shouldn’t be an ounce of anger within you while you are summoning your powers. So, you need to learn to bring the magic forward without it.” “You make it sound so simple.” “It is simple. Your powers lie within you. This is not something you need to make happen or force to happen. It just is. You need to embrace who you are. You are not human. You need to stop thinking in those terms. This is why you are failing. You withhold it and when your emotions are running high you cannot control it.” “It’s just hard to embrace something I don’t really understand.” “What’s to understand? You are what you are. The Guardian power in you seems to help your focus. It has given you extra strength, and this is something witches would be proud of, but you seem to deny it.” “I…” What to say here? I understood what she meant. The idea of my having magic was all very unsettling. It just seemed like a big dream—one that I was going to wake up from. She took my hands in hers, squeezed them tight. “This is hard. I understand that. We all do. In the past months, you have been through more than one can bear. I get that. But it is time for you to move on. Embrace this new life you have. Embrace all that has been given to you. Your talent is

something I’m sure we’ve never seen. Not even in me, I am sure of that. This is a beautiful thing and should not be wasted.” “I feel as if I am failing you.” I pouted. “You are failing only yourself. When you let your magic be released at times you cannot control it is a failure all your own.” From there, I suffered one of the greatest pity parties of all time. Yes, I had been through a lot—there was no denying that. Maybe that was the problem. Accepting one part meant I had to accept it all, everything that had happened, and learn to let go—leave the past behind me. I wasn’t entirely sure I was ready to do that. Zia sat quiet, reading my thoughts. When I eased a little, she continued. “There is no secret cure for this. Once you accept your magic, love who you are. Your control will be there,” she said. “So, that’s it? Once I accept who I am, will this all be easier? No more Fire extraordinaire?” She laughed softly. “I doubt that. The power you hold within you is great. You have only begun to develop and you are exceeding levels of magic I have never seen.” “And you think that is because of my having the Guardian power as well?” “I believe it may have something to do with it, yes. We don’t know what you are capable of until you show us and I fear you will never reach your full potential unless you begin to believe in it.” I took a deep focusing breath, finally concluding that maybe I was just going about this the wrong way. If I got through this part, accepting my inner witch, maybe the past would just settle along with it. “Okay, I can do this. I am strong. I beat Lazarus. I have the ability,” I told myself sternly. “That’s it! Feel your magic! This isn’t something that comes and goes. It is always there—always with you. It connects you to all that is around you. The trees. The wind. The water that lies in the creek. These are all the things that give beauty to what we are. They give us our powers, allow us to use them, and gift us with their strength.” “Right, it loves me. I love it. I can do this. It’s within me. Always. Forever.” “Yes. Do you feel it growing? Feel the magic filling you?” I closed my eyes and with it came the tingling sensation that was becoming more familiar with my powers. “I do. It feels warm, comforting and happy.” I gave in further, centered myself around this wonderful feeling. In response, it grew deeper as warmth spread around me. “It’s growing.”

“Of course it is because you are accepting it. Allowing it to come forth and be a part of who you are.” I snapped my eyes open. “So, what you’re telling me is that my problem all along has been because I didn’t want to accept it. I didn’t want to be a witch?” “Not exactly. It’s your human instincts hindering you. All of this…” She waved her hand out. “All this magic, everything that the Otherworld is about, humans would never accept it. Their minds couldn’t hold such truth, and you have even seen within yourself—seen how much things shock you.” “I think saying I was shocked might be an understatement.” More like completely out of my mind and searching out straightjackets. “I suppose I am saying it lightly, this is true. It’s just I want you to see that there is no trick here. There is nothing to be trained. When we ask you to control your magic, your skill is outstanding. You just need to find a way to keep yourself open to it so you can keep control of it.” I glanced at Willow. She’d sprawled out on the grass and into a deep sleep. Lazy butt. Zia’s voice drew me back. “Let’s try something.” She nodded toward a birch tree. “Burn that one.” I closed my eyes and focused on the tree. With my magic already connected within me, time was saved here. I imagined the flames erupting around the tree as it lit up in a blaze of fire. When I heard the crackling of flames, I snapped, “That seems to be getting easier,” I said to Zia. “It does,” Zia replied. “Now close your eyes again. What do you need to visualize to extinguish the flames? What will allow you to withdraw the magic?” I closed my eyes as she asked and concentrated for a moment, imagined the air was sucked out of the flames—seemed like the easiest way to put out a fire without water of course. I dug down deep and focused on my breath pulling the air out. Moments later, Zia said, “Well done.” My eyes fluttered open to the poor sad smoldering birch tree. “Gosh, can you go and heal it?” I asked Zia. My favorite thing in the world was a willow tree, killing them to educate myself just felt entirely wrong. Zia got a gleam in her eye that said she was up to something. “Why don’t you have a go of it?” “You want me to heal it?” I asked hesitantly.

She answered with a firm nod. The feeling that this wasn’t going to be easy gripped me in abundance. When I had healed Kyden a month earlier, it was due to my strong emotions for him. Doing this without that motivation was going to be hard—plain and simple. “The same principle works here. Just visualize what I want, and bingo bango, right?” I said. “Whatever works for you, sweetie.” Zia smiled. I jumped to my feet and approached the tree with the same hesitation in my steps as heard in my tone. As I drew closer, it was barely standing—all black and crispy. Instantly, I felt a whole brick load of remorse. Christ, I had burned it to a crisp. When I reached it, I laid my hand on the trunk, closed my eyes and thought of how much I hurt it. How burnt it was, how desperate I was to put it out of its misery. I suspected that the Spirit Element was the warm happy feeling. Common sense told me that. I felt it not only in the connection with Zia but it always seemed the strongest one within myself, the most intense and obvious. Drawing on that part of myself, I centered myself around the cozy, wonderful feeling and let my body drift away to that strength. Suddenly, a blast of power whipped through me. It tickled slightly, forcing a little laugh to escape me. It ran down the length of my arm quickly and when it ceased, I opened my eyes to a pile of burned dust. My laughter stopped immediately. “Shit,” I exclaimed. “I overcooked it.” I glanced back at Zia. “What’d I do wrong?” “You need to get your focus right is all,” she replied as I came back to join her. “It isn’t about just ending the trees pain, which is what I assume you were focusing on since you destroyed it. It’s more about making it right, making it back to its original condition, and making it whole again. Do you see the difference?” “I think so because I want to end its pain, I destroyed it. I wasn’t thinking about making it what it was before.” She nodded approvingly. “Exactly. You cannot erase wounds necessarily—only return it back to its original shape. Get it?” “Yeah, but I don’t think I’ll be trying that anytime soon. My Fire causes enough damage as it is.”

“Are you done here or what?” Willow’s voice came across as clearly annoyed in my mind. “I’m starving if you haven’t noticed. My stomach has been growling over here for…I don’t even know how long.” “So sorry, Princess Willow, please forgive me.” I met Zia’s gaze. “Willow would like to know if we’re done.” Before she could answer, Zia’s cat scampered over. He looked at Zia, said a few words, which I couldn’t hear. Then, Zia looked more annoyed than I felt. “You can keep your comments to yourself, you petulant beast.” Then, her gaze met mine and gave me a knowing look. What the hell had we gotten ourselves into with these damn cats? “Yes,” Zia finally answered. “We can be done tonight. I have scheduled another meeting for you with a powerful Air Witch tomorrow night. Is that alright with you?” “It is,” I replied. “But can I please have an assignment? I’m going stark raving mad. I need to get back out there.” “I am sure that will be fine. I will let Talon know of your request.” A sudden thought occurred to me. “Will I be meeting with an Earth and Water Witch too?” Zia shook her head. “These are not your defensive elements. As Spirit Witches we are gifted with all the elements, this is true. But what you can do with Earth and Water will be limited.” “So, how the earth shook with Lazarus? Is that the extent of my ability?” “I am assuming so. I can use Earth and Water defensively as you know. Air and Fire I can only manipulate. Meaning, if there was already a fire burning I could make it grow and with Air I can pretty much do diddlysquat. I believe you are able to manipulate Earth to coincide with your other elements, but I do not believe you have any further ability than that. As with Water you will have to test yourself to see what you are capable of.” “So there’s nothing…er…to be worried about with those elements?” “Nothing at all. They are weak. You cannot cause any damage with them.” She hesitated a moment then said, “Earth could be a problem, but I only think it came out as it did because you were releasing your magic. I’m not sure you would be able to create such a quake again.”

“There it goes again, another growl,” Willow’s voice said snippily. “Goodness, this one locks me up in a disgusting pig sty, gives me a stupid name and lets me go hungry.” “You better shut that little fluffy face of yours or you’ll be sleeping out in the woods,” I snapped at her. “You think I’m mistreating you now wait until you’re covered in dirt and your hair is clumpy.” She snorted in her cat’s way and padded off, but I heard her thought clearly. “Now she resorts to threats.”

Chapter Seven

The next night, Zennah, Kyden’s ex-lover, was standing in the Witches Meadow doing her usual bitch. “Please tell me this isn’t the Air Witch?” I grumbled at Zia. It would have been nice if Zia warned me last night this was whom I’d be meeting. At least, I could have prepared myself. If she wasn’t so damn beautiful—with her radiant features and super model physique—she’d matter nothing to me. But damn it, I hate when exes look better than I do. “Be nice.” Zia’s voice scolded in my mind. “She is very powerful in her element and is the best one to assist you.” Our telepathic conversations were becoming easier as the nights passed. I usually left the connection open so that we could communicate. I liked having this with her. “Oh, I’ll be nice,” I snarled back. Zia gave me a reproving look. When we met up with Zennah, Zia said, “Thank you for meeting with us, Zennah. How are you doing this fine night?” “I am well, Zia,” Zennah replied as friendly as can be, then she looked at me and went straight to bitch and beyond. “You ready to get started or what?” “Be nice.” Zia’s voice came loudly. I sighed deeply. “Yes, thank you, Zennah. I…” My teeth ground together, “…appreciate your help.”

“The pleasure is all mine.” Zennah’s voice was pretty much a sneer. “Hurry up with this. It’s rained and the ground is wet,” Willow demanded behind me. “Would you just shut up?” I snapped. Zennah’s eyes widened and a glare swept across her face. “Excuse me?” “Not you,” I corrected, waving my hand dismissingly. “It’s the damn cat. She’s driving me batty. She’s such a grump of fluff.” Zennah’s face softened—a little. “Well then, let’s get this over with. What do you want me to do with her, Zia?” “Nexi needs to understand what her magic holds so she can get a better grasp on the power she yields,” Zia answered. “I thought you being talented in the Air Element you could aid her with this.” “Pathetic,” Zennah murmured under her breath as she glanced at her feet. “Listen, you…” I started. Zia grabbed my arm and pulled me back quickly. “We need her help here.” I sighed again—this time even deeper. “Let’s get this over with,” Zennah snapped as if I was an annoying itch she couldn’t reach to scratch. “Show me what you got.” “What do you want me to do?” I replied. “You’re joking?” Zennah snickered. “You don’t even know what you can do?” I bit my lip, forcing my temper not to explode and shook my head. I won’t kill her. I won’t bash in her face. Zia chuckled. Zennah shot her a quizzical gaze. “Something funny?” “No,” Zia responded, seriously. “Please continue.”

“I don’t know what you can do,” Zennah said, meeting my gaze. “I’m no mind reader. Just tap into your magic and release it.” If that’s what she wanted, then that’s what she’d get. “Okay. If I were you, I’d stand back,” I told her. Zennah snorted. “I doubt you’re capable of anything that could cause me harm.” “If you say so, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.” I closed my eyes, focusing on Air. I’d already proven the ability to trap someone, but I still didn’t even know how I did that. I settled for a moment, deciphering between all the layers of my magic. After I pushed away Fire, pushed away the Spirit connection with Zia, there was little feeling left. Did I understand it? Hell no. But I drew on it anyway. Air instantly began to grow around me—wind whipping around my body, and with that, I released it. A split second later, Zia began laughing hysterically. I snapped my eyes open. Zennah had wind whipping around her body in such a way that made her skirt fly straight over her head. She attempted to put it down, but the wind wouldn’t allow it. So, there she stood in her red lace undies, fully exposed. “Oh shit,” I gasped, closing my eyes quickly, and focusing on the Air, withdrawing, quieting. “You bitch,” Zennah snarled, pushing her skirt back into place. As wrong as it was to laugh, I couldn’t help it. “I did warn you.” I chuckled. Zennah’s glare deepened. “She did,” Zia interjected. “Now, let’s move on.” “Well, I see you do have some talent there,” Zennah said, her glare vanishing as she smoothed out her skirt until it was perfectly in place. “Without touching me your Air affected me.” That almost sounded like a compliment. “But your lack of control is pitiful.” Compliment over. “Well, I’m working on it,” I retorted. “And so you should be.” Zia interrupted again. “Let’s move on, please.”

Zennah glanced to her, then back to me. “Yes, let’s move on. I have better things to do than be here. I will put this in simple terms for you.” Bitch! “You’re having trouble controlling your Air because you are forgetting to use it effectively. You just can’t send it out without having a plan first. It does not control you. You control it. Do you understand me so far?” Her tone clearly insinuating that I was mentally challenged in some way. I nodded. Fucking bitch! “When you use the Air Element defensively you can use it in any way you choose. There is no limit to what you can do with it, but you have to use your head. You can’t just say, go air, save me.” I ignored her snotty tone. “What you’re saying is all I have to do is believe in what I want and anything will happen.” “Exactly. Isn’t all that hard is it?” “Nope. Not hard all at.” Then, I thought in my mind, Love to see you pick up a sword, you slithering slut. Zia chuckled again. When Zennah looked her way, Zia immediately stopped. “Oh my Nexi, your kitty is very funny.” We all looked toward Willow who was sound asleep on the ground. Zia cleared her throat. “You must have missed it.” I smiled back at Zia. “Anyway, with Air you need to think light,” Zennah said. “You have the Fire ability, right?” I nodded so she continued. “Air isn’t anything like Fire. It isn’t hot or potent. It’s wispy and free. That is why it’s coming out so intense when you are using it. You are putting too much into it. Demanding too much of it. It’s why you’re causing a bloody tornado with it.” “What do I do with it then?” “This is ridiculous,” she said, eyeing me as if I was a tick stuck in her skin. “Why such a strong element would be granted to someone like you is beyond me.” “Just get through this,” Zia said quickly in my mind.

“Yeah, well, you’ve got me,” I responded. “I didn’t ask for any of this, but here I am with it. So let’s get rid of all this snippety talk and just get this over with. Trust me, I’m enjoying this about as much as you are.” “Fine then, close your eyes,” Zennah retorted. “If you can handle that?” As she continued, I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. “Air isn’t a warm element. It’s cold. Does your body feel cold to you at all?” “Not really—I just feel a spark of power, but it’s not cold.” I wasn’t quite sure what it was, except that there was definitely a source of strength within me. “Then search deeper. The coldness is the source of the Air Element. It will be there within you…somewhere.” The heat that raced through me was so powerful, but when I focused on it, I did notice that behind that heat sat a lingering coldness. I asked it to come forward—push its way through the warmth that seemed to live constantly in me now. “I think I feel something.” It was similar to a cold fall day. Instantly, I wanted to go home, have a hot bath, put on some comfies, and curl up on the couch with a bowl of popcorn and a chick-flick. “It’s about damn time,” Zennah snapped. “What should I do next?” I asked, opening my eyes. This bitch was pissing me off. But there was no way in hell I’d do something stupid with Zia standing next to me. I was in enough trouble as it is. “I don’t know what you have to do,” Zennah replied. “Just do something, use it however you want to.” I glanced around, my gaze landing on my cat, Willow. She was due a little payback and definitely needed a good lesson in just who was boss in this relationship. So, with the coolness filling my body I sent a little wisp of air straight for her. “What on earth…you,” Willow growled as she flew up and down in the air. Zia and I burst out laughing. Even Zennah chuckled a little beside me. I left Willow to dance through the air for a while. What can I say, she’d been a royal pain in my ass. “Put me down. Right now,” Willow demanded.

“Next time you get saucy with me you’ll get worse,” I said, but did feel a tinge bad for treating my kitty in such a way. When she was close to the ground, I released my magic. Willow landed, shook her fur which appeared even fluffier. “I will be giving you the silent treatment. That is what you deserve.” Then, she sauntered away. “Willow said I’ll be getting the silent treatment.” I smiled at Zia. “How long do you think that’ll last?” “An hour tops,” Zia replied, wiping tears from her eyes. “There, are we done now? She seems fine,” Zennah ground out, then she turned away and whispered, “Dim-witted, but fine.” That was it—the icing on the cake. I didn’t care who this bitch was or how much she was helping me. No one—and I mean no one—calls me dim-witted. “Nexi…no,” Zia shouted, just as I sent Zennah flying across the Meadow on a blast of air. “You stupid bitch! You think you’re stronger than me?” Zennah yelled, and threw her air at me, sending me sky high. When I finally landed, I glared at her. “Get over it. Kyden dumped you. He used you for the slut you are and threw you to the curb like sluts deserve.” If she hated me before, those words changed that to utter loathing. Air began whipping around her so fast. Fear grew inside me. She looked scary—damn scary. Okay, I’m brave and all, but I ain’t superwoman, and this witch was about to blast me straight to the moon. “Stop it,” Zia shouted. Zennah ignored her order and sent her magic spiraling toward me. A big gust of wind, moving with impeccable speed, came directly at me. My eyes shut on their own accord as I prayed that she wasn’t about to kill me. It did get windy, that was for damn sure, but shockingly seconds later that was it. I never went to visit the clouds. Confused, I opened my eyes Zennah and Zia looked completely stunned.

My expression mirrored theirs instantly. Zennah’s wind was whipping around my body, but not touching me. Apparently, there was a shield surrounding me. When the wind hit it, it deflected away. Zennah suddenly backed away, her magic disengaging. “What was that?” she gasped. I glanced to Zia. “Er…I have no idea.” Zia approached me quickly. “I have never seen anything like that. How did you do that?” I shrugged. “How the hell should I know? I never know what I do. It just happens.” “What were you thinking of?” Zia asked. “I was thinking her Air was going to kill me and I just wanted it to go away.” Zia shook her head, her expression clearly awed. The two of them continued to gawk at me for so long it began to get annoying. “What? Why are you both looking at me like I’m some sort of surprise child you didn’t know you had?” “It was as if you had a shield around you,” Zia said. “I have never seen anything like that.” That kinda came as a surprise. “So, witches can’t deter magic then?” “No,” she said simply. “That—that…” Zennah stammered. “That was amazing.” Hard to believe, but that was actually a compliment without some bitchy end. Maybe things between Zennah and I just got a whole lot better. I shook away the thought and glanced back at Zia. “What does that mean exactly? Why can I do that?” “I have no idea. I can only guess that is the Spirit Element within you, but I have never seen a Spirit Witch with that ability before. Yes, Spirit Witches do have the ability to heal, but to shield yourself from magic… That was brilliant.” Zia gave me a curious look then said, “Try to do what you just did again, but this time, I will send Water to you.” Before I could say a word, she blasted out a wave of water, soaking me completely. “Thanks a lot! Give me a chance to prepare myself for Christ’s sakes.” I coughed. Just as I finished clearing my throat, Zennah threw out a gust of wind drying me completely. “Thanks.”

Yep, things have gotten better. Maybe there was a respect there now, which I can’t say I wasn’t glad for. I hate bitches and if I needed her to guide me—it was better if we could at least play nice. “Focus then,” Zia said. “Tell me when you are ready.” After I closed my eyes, I focused on what I was thinking of when Zennah’s magic was coming at me. I didn’t want it to touch me or come near me. Suddenly, I began to remember what surrounded me at that exact moment was that sensation of power. The little spark of energy. I drew on that, focused myself around that odd sensation that lived within me. Immediately, the energy grew and began to flow through me. Air was cool, Fire was hot, and Spirit sent adrenaline rushing through my blood—this just felt like raw hard strength. I snapped my eyes open. “Let’s have it,” I told Zia. Seconds later, her water came at me like a tidal wave. The instant it hit my shield it moved in big waves, crashing loudly behind me. Zia withdrew her magic and keeled over laughing. “That was unbelievable.” Zennah nodded in apparent agreement. “I have never seen anything even close to that. That was…way, way too cool.” Abruptly, Haven’s voice was shouting through the meadow, “Did I really just see that right?” I glanced toward her and she was running full speed down the hill. “You had like a bubble around you,” she gasped out of breath when she reached us. “Did I see that right?” “Neat, huh?” I responded. It was a bit hard to deny that having this wasn’t a special treat. Not only would I be a giant Band-Aid for everyone else, I’d be one for myself. And knowing me, that was going to come in handy. “Neat?” Haven replied, astonished. “That is friggin’ incredible.” She glanced to Zia. “Is that the Spirit Element?” Zia nodded. “Must be.” Haven glanced back to me and looked almost dreamy. “You are special. I always knew it—my soul-sister special.” “Okay, let’s not go that far,” I said. “It’s just something different that’s all. We all have different talents. Your ability to recreate imprints is pretty damn incredible too.” An imprint was a moment in time—a little like time travel. The Council used Haven’s ability to recreate the scenes of a murder so that the Guardians could identify the killer. Can’t get much cooler than that.

“Yeah sure,” Haven retorted, “but I’m not the only one that can do that.” I glanced between them as they all stared at me in awe, feeling more than uncomfortable. “So…” I fiddled with the hem of my kilt. “Did you need something, Haven?” “Oh yeah, I forgot. Kyden wanted me to come and get you. Willow…ahhh…” She was hiding her smile—that was obvious. “Pissed on your pillow.” “She did not?” I exclaimed. Haven’s smile now beamed across her face. “She did and Kyden said it’s your cat, yours to deal with.” “That little vermin is in deep shit,” I growled, and left the others behind as I ran up the hill. No matter how pissed she was at me…peeing on my pillow! That’s how she gets back at me? My pillow—my comfy, squishy pillow that I finally broke in. Months of working on it to get it just right and now, it was garbage. This cat was very close to becoming a kitty shish-kabob.

Chapter Eight

The door to our residence slammed behind me and our splendid living room was before me. Think cottage escape—large stone fireplace, furniture made of dark oak, beige comfy couches. But the best part of this space was the delicious Guardian sitting on the couch. “Where is she?” I blasted at Kyden. He chuckled. “In the bedroom.” I stormed past him and entered the bedroom. Willow was cleaning her ears like a perfect little lady. I stopped in front of her and poked her side. “You are a bad, bad kitty, Willow.” Kyden laughed from the living room. He was probably getting a real kick out of this and feeling pretty righteous right about now. “That was a perfect pillow and now you’ve ruined it!” I roared. “Serves you right! That will show you for making me bounce around like some circus animal. Try that again and I’ll poop on it.”

I glared at her and tossed her off the bed. Yeah, it’s true cats really do land on their feet. “Go get me a new pillow. Now.” “I’m a cat. How am I supposed to get a pillow?” “You think I give a shit how you do it?” I shouted, pointing at the door. “It had better be nice one too—comfy, feathers, the whole shabam. You hear me?” “Yeah, yeah, I hear you. No need to shout at me. You know a cat’s hearing is better, don’t you?” I pointed again. “Go.” She strode out the bedroom door and I followed behind her, opening the door to let her out. “Don’t come back until you get one.” I slammed the door behind her and looked back at Kyden. “Don’t you dare say one word about this?” The side of his mouth arched up slightly. “I wouldn’t dare think of it.” I snorted at him and made my way to the kitchen. It fit the country charm—rustic oak cabinets, thick pine table in the center, and resting on the large island counter was a plate of chicken parmesan and fettuccini. I nuked it then came back out to join him on the couch. Not only was he sexy as all get-out, but he could cook too. Sometimes I was even jealous of myself. “How’d it go today?” he asked, turning off Sunday night football. “It can be summed up in one word—Zennah.” He arched a brow. “You got it. She was my instructor.” “Was she now?” “Yes, but I believe we may have worked out our differences.” His arched brow rose higher. “Is she still alive?” “Of course she is,” I said appalled. “You’d think I’d kill her just because the two of you had a roll in the sack?” He was thoughtful for a moment then said, “I believe you are capable of such a thing, yes.” I threw a pillow at his head. “Well, if you hadn’t done her in the first place we wouldn’t have these conflicts, now would we?” He tucked the pillow under his arm. “Good point.”

Suddenly, I heard scratches at the door, followed by a loud meow. I put my plate down on the table and went to open it. “That was fast,” I said to Willow. She walked in dragging a pillow beside her with her teeth—not an easy job for a little kitty. She dropped it to my feet, panting. “There, are we settled?” I picked up the pillow and it was perfect—goose-down. “This will do.” Then, I glared at her. “Let’s make a deal, I won’t use magic on you and you will not defile my bed. Deal?” “I can agree to that.” After a firm nod, I headed back over to Kyden and began to devour his delicious dinner. God, it was delicious. He usually made most of our meals. My cooking amounted to spaghetti and tacos. Anything too complicated would end up tasting a little like Haven’s contraptions. “Tell me then, what happened tonight?” he asked. By the time I finished giving him the details, Kyden looked about as shocked as the rest of them. “You can deflect magic away from you?” “It appears so. That could come in handy?” “Yes, it could.” Once I practically licked my plate clean, I took it back to the kitchen and washed it. After I put it away, I turned around to find Kyden leaning against the wall looking intent and eager. “Come on, we’ve got something to do.” My gaze swept by him as it hit the bedroom. “We do?” He nearly pounced forward, pressed his body tight against mine and his erection sat hard against my stomach. “You feel just how much I wish I could finish that thought of yours, but we must be somewhere.” As much as I could feel that, he was passing up sex, which meant something was up. “What’s going on?” “You’ll see.” I gave him a look. “You know how I feel about surprises?” He knew I hated them.

He kissed my hand but said nothing as he led me toward the door. Within minutes, we were down the hall and into the foyer. My hopes were shattered when he walked past the door to the portal—there went a romantic night out. Instead, he headed straight for the Council’s Hall. “We’re going out on an assignment?” My hopes restored—I bounced a little. “Aren’t we?” Kyden shook his head as his answer. Damn! When we entered through the Council Hall’s doors, to say I was taken back was a huge understatement. The Cathedral was completely full of supernaturals. The Council was all here, plus Haven—who gave me a little wave—and Finn too. There were also hoards of Guardians and Witches. “What’s this all about?” I asked Kyden, hesitantly as we stepped farther into the room. “As I said, you’ll see,” he replied, firmly with that devilish grin. Before I had a chance to force the truth out of him, Talon said, “Are you two ready?” “Ready for what?” I said, slightly confused and more than a little irritated. “Kyden, you did not tell her?” Talon rebuked. Kyden’s grin remained, and he shook his head. “No. I wanted to surprise her.” “Okay, fess up,” I snapped. “What the hell is this?” Talon answered, “As Guardians, we are always tested against each other in challenges. Whoever remains the strongest will battle against me, and if they were to ever overtake me, they could gain the seat on the Council.” “I have a really bad feeling,” I grumbled. “I’m not going to like where you are going with this.” “I’m sure you won’t,” Talon responded, “but there is not much you can do about it. Since your strength has grown and your level of skill has exceeded your peers, you will need to challenge Kyden to make sure he should still remain the elite Guardian.” “Can’t I just decline?” I inquired. “No.” Talon’s face showed just how absurd that line of thinking was.

I met Kyden’s gaze and whispered, “I have to fight you?” “Sure do, sweetcheeks,” he said, giving a firm slap on my ass. Talon handed us our practice swords. They were sharp enough to cut—to prove that indeed the kill was made, but it wouldn’t end a life. “Why can’t I just have an easy day? Just once.” I pouted, replacing my sharp shiny steel blade with the duller one then handed it Talon. “Off you go then,” Talon said, leaving Kyden and I—alone in the center. Kyden leaned in to kiss my lips. “I’ll take it easy on you—wouldn’t want you to look like too much of a fool.” “Since I know you are trying to piss me off I’m going to ignore that smart ass comment,” I said, and began to circle him. “I would never resort to such behavior, Álainn. I’m just saying a little thing like you needs to be handled with care, is all.” He slightly turned and with that comment came a hard punch to his jaw. Damn arrogant ass! “Going to be like that, is it?” Kyden smiled as he mirrored my moves, circling in tighter. “Alright then, give me all you’ve got.” Those were the last words spoken for an entire hour. Back and forth, we came at each other—blocked, dodged, weaved our way around each other’s blows. We were both soaked entirely with sweat and panting heavily. I expected Kyden would be getting annoyed, angry, anything like that. But he wasn’t. The longer we fought the more his eyes smoldered. Trying to keep my focus with his hungry gaze intent on me was near impossible. With a hard kick to my side, I stumbled back and immediately drew in air to sweep him off his feet. He fell flat on his ass and gave me a look of pure amusement. I smiled in return. No one said I couldn’t use magic here. Instantly, I was shocked to realize I had just called on my magic so quickly. That was definitely a first. It wasn’t even a thought. I wanted it, needed it, and it came forward. Too bad I couldn’t really appreciate the moment since Kyden lunged forward, pummeled me with the full force of his body, sending us flying straight across the hall along the floor.

Just so happened, when we finally came to a stop, he was positioned directly on top of me. His thick body cradled between my thighs and the gaze I witnessed earlier wasn’t misread. The erection resting against me proved that fighting was far from his mind. Before I could even move, he took my mouth with enough passion to send the place blazing. I responded immediately, feeling the heat right along with him. Fighting is the equivalent to a serious amount of foreplay, and after this battle, we’d both need a release from the building tension. He ground against me. His lips crushed against mine. I reached up and ran my hands along his strong back, which flexed beneath my touch. God, he tasted good, felt amazing. His kisses were everything passion is made of, which left me to feel nothing but raw unadulterated desire. Suddenly, Zia’s amused voice came into my mind. “Nexi, you are not alone.” “Yikes,” I thought back, moving my hands from Kyden’s back to his shoulders where I pushed a little. She was right, we weren’t alone considering the hundred of Supes watching us gettin’ hot and heavy. Kyden willingly moved with my push, leaned back to meet my gaze. Zia thought this was inappropriate and I was inclined to agree with her. Kyden, however, appeared to totally disagree. His molten eyes and tense expression, said only one thing—he wasn’t done here, not even close to it. In a move faster than I could anticipate, he was off me, and standing. Yanking me to my feet, he threw me over his shoulder and began to stalk out of the room as I dangled against his back. “Kyden,” Talon shouted. “The challenge has not been ended.” “It has now,” was Kyden’s reply. The crowd erupted into shouts and loud applause as Kyden tore us from the Council’s Hall. We hit our residence in two seconds flat. Kyden kept one arm tight around my ass as he opened the door. It slammed closed behind us as he continued to stride forward with urgency. Quite forcefully, he pulled me off his shoulder then threw me over the back of the couch. Without so much as a word, I heard his kilt drop to the floor. Then he threw up my kilt, tore off my shorts and dove into me with such force it sent a scream of rage from my throat. Not in pain necessarily, it was just unexpected, and the position I was in was new. He had yet to treat me to this delectable angle—didn’t like that my face was hidden from him—he told me. He had been holding out on me. The sensations that came along with it were mindboggling. Whatever spot he was hitting was a

damn good one. I moaned loudly, my mouth parted in an attempt to take in more air. He ran his hands the length of my back as he thrust eagerly against me. His thrusts increased as he tightened his hands around my shoulders. He used the anchor to move harder against me, thrusting upwards. And I nearly saw stars. With only a couple more of those movements, my legs curled up, my hands gripped the pillows on the couch as my orgasm rippled through me. It never stopped him. It never urged him to finish. He was taking me in animal regard and it brought that side out of him. He was grunting loudly as he slammed into me, which sent the couch to move against his rough thrusts. His pace never slowed. I wasn’t even sure I had been released from my first release, but when a deeper sensation was building, I thought I might have died and gone to heaven. He grasped my hips, his hands gripping my sides as he used it to level me. I could hardly catch my breath. Hardly make a sound since he didn’t give me a chance to. The second one ended, another began, and I could only whimper as he drove me into immobilization. He leaned down over me. His body closed on mine as his strokes came deeper, filling me to a point that was unfathomable. His weight was heavy against my back as he proved just how male he was. Showing me that I couldn’t move against him—couldn’t free myself from his hold. He was overpowering me and I relished it. I loved being possessed in bed. It was the only place he could do it and he indulged in it as much as he could. He was naturally dominant. This was one place where he could show me that dominance openly, and where I would accept it. My body tightened around him, urging him to finish with me. The sensation of us reaching our end together always made for a better ride. Never once did he deny my request. He grew within me and went even harder. My body responded in approval, sending shuddering splices of sweet heaven withering about as his loud roars gave an extra strength to my own release. “You two are despicable. Now you’re doing it like dogs. Disgusting.” Willow’s voice broke through the lingering effects. “Would you just go away?” I said in a breathless voice. “I hope that statement was not meant for me.” Kyden chuckled beside my ear, his chest rising and falling quickly against my back. “Who do you think that was meant for?” He chuckled again as he leaned away, withdrew his penis, and lifted me off the couch.

After I found my legs again, I glanced around and could only laugh. The couch had moved all the way to the other side of the room. I met Kyden’s gaze. “I’m pretty sure if I wasn’t a Guardian you’d break me.” “Good thing you are then.” Kyden said, firmly, and gave my ass a hard slap. He swept me up in his arms, strode toward the bedroom then plopped us down on the bed as we both attempted to recover any source of strength. Mind-blowing orgasms can do that.

Chapter Nine

“Someone stole my pillow,” Haven said snippily, standing at my door. It was the first thing she said when I opened the door. I actually made her repeat it just so I was sure I heard her right. Through the second attempt, I remembered the incident with the damn cat. “Willow, you get out here right now,” I demanded. She strutted out of the bedroom as if the Queen had arrived. “Did you steal Haven’s pillow?” “You said to get one so I did.” First, I scowled at Willow then I glanced back to Haven. “I’m really sorry. I told Willow to find me a pillow after she ruined mine and she must have gone to your place and taken yours. Wait here, I’ll go get it.” “Nah. Don’t worry about. I’ve got lots. I just thought it was so weird, who steals a pillow? But now I know it was that kitty of yours.” Haven wagged her finger at Willow. “Naughty girl.” “Idiot number two.” Willow’s voice snapped. “She is very naughty.” I said with equal firmness as I shook my finger too. “They’re all idiots.” Willow remarked and scampered back off to the bedroom. Suddenly, out of nowhere, Talon’s enraged voice filled the air. “Home, Haven. Now.” Haven’s eyes widened and she never even glanced Talon’s way. “I’m outta here. You guys are toast.” She quickly ran in the other direction. “Er…Kyden,” I said nervously.

In an instant, Kyden was beside me. “Problem?” “You bet,” I said, nodding toward the hall. Kyden followed my gaze, Talon was fastly approaching our residence. When he met my gaze again, his eyes gleamed with a big ass smile that spread across his handsome face. One breath later, Talon stormed into the room, looking furious. “Shut that door and both of you get over here.” I closed the door quickly then pushed Kyden in front of me. So, I was sending him in to fight the battle. He wants to be dominant, well there you go. Go be dominant for me, my strong powerful male, while I cower behind you. “Sit down,” Talon shouted, sitting on the couch. I took a seat as far away as I could—the loveseat on the other side of the room seemed like my best option. Frig, I’d never seen Talon so mad. His anger was seething from him. Talon looked at Kyden then his gaze fell to mine. “What you two did in there is apprehensible.” Kyden laughed. “Is that how you saw it?” Talon stood and glared down at him. I had to give Kyden credit, he didn’t even flinch. I was a few feet away and tucked into myself, shaking in my boots. Talon could be damn scary when he wanted to be. “You will never do that again. Am I understood?” Talon roared at Kyden. “What a mockery you made. You are my son. You cannot behave in such ways. That was your challenge, not a night to get your rocks off. What you did in there was outrageous.” Kyden arched a brow. “It was outrageous—outrageously good.” I chuckled a little. Talon’s eyes met mine and I froze. “Sorry,” I said quickly. “Sorry doesn’t even cover it,” he responded. “If Drake saw you behaving in such a way…” I cringed a little hearing that name. Talon immediately softened. “Now I fear I need to apologize. My anger gets the better of me. I should not have brought him up.” Then, he stared angrily at Kyden. “Look at what you’ve made me do.

You bloody fool. You better control yourself from now on. Save intimate moments for appropriate times. Do you both hear me?” We both nodded. Kyden smiling, while I didn’t feel there was much to smile about. I valued my life too much to smile into the face of one seriously pissed off Talon. “I am going to leave it to you as to your decision on how we proceed now,” Talon said to me. “Do you want to re-challenge him or leave it until the next challenge arises?” “Er…leave it till next time. If that’s okay?” “Fine. Now get up, we are sending both of you out. Do you think you can manage that without having a go at each other?” “An assignment.” I jumped up and ran for the door. “Let’s go.” Kyden and Talon kept up with my run down the hall by walking only because their legs were longer and muscular legs like theirs exuded power. The second I rounded the corner and entered the Council’s foyer, Haven squeaked, “Oh goodie. We get to go out together again.” “I know, I’m so excited, too.” I met up with her and bounced up and down in her arms. “Are you two done?” Kyden asked, waiting at the door. I turned back to him, noticed Talon was gone. “Where’d he go? Doesn’t he have to tell us the location?” “If you weren’t sprinting here, you would have heard,” Kyden responded. “Oh, okay,” I said, impatiently. “Where to then?” “Wichita, Kansas—74 Spruce Street.” I glanced at Haven. “Ever been?” “Nope,” she replied, grasping onto my hand. “First time for everything.” Kyden grasped my other hand, opened the door to the portal then stepped through. The light hit, the pressure against my body strangled my breath. Only seconds later, it stopped.

When my eyes opened, we were standing on Spruce Street. A little wartime red brick bungalow straight ahead, completely surrounded by large maple trees. Old neighborhoods were always my favorite—big trees lining the streets just made houses look more like homes. A chain-link fence wrapped around the grounds and an untended garden made up most of the front lawn. “Someone doesn’t take much pride in their home,” Haven said in disgust. Couldn’t have agreed with her more—whoever’s home this was, didn’t understand the meaning of a lawn mower. Before I could tell her as much, a deep voice said, “No. They don’t.” I glanced toward the voice. A vampire stepped out of the house and opened the steel gate. The Council had infiltrated all Police Departments and Governments. This tall and mysteriously handsome guy must be one badass super cop. “I am Detective Broden,” he said to Kyden. “You are Kyden, I assume?” “I am.” He nodded toward us. “Nexi and Haven.” We both gave him a little wave. “The body is this way.” He held open the gate for us. “Appears to be a typical vampire killing—the body is of a young woman.” He glanced back to Haven and I. “She is not in an appropriate state.” I laughed and waved his concern away with my hand. “Couple of boobs we can handle.” Broden inclined his head, but said nothing further. Kyden stepped in into the house first, which was his usual way. Always protective. I once suggested I should go in first, but he just laughed. That was the end of it. Can’t always win in our little battles and it was small enough that I really didn’t care. I liked to save my energy to fight against him for the ones that truly mattered. One thing he did—one thing I could always be counted on for—is putting up a hell of a fight. As I entered the house, it was apparent the woman was a college student. None of her furniture matched, all looked like old hand-me-down specials. Wine bottles, movies—not PG-rated ones—were spread out along the coffee table.

I picked one up and laughed. “Lord of the G-Strings.” Kyden arched a brow. “You have an interest in those, do you?” “Keep dreaming, lover boy.” Kyden grinned devilishly and headed for the bedroom. I threw the movie down and followed in behind him with Haven right on my heels. As I cleared the doorway, a woman was sprawled out on her bed not nearly as drained as I’d expect her to be. Normally vampires in bloodlust leave nothing behind. This woman’s double-Ds were still plump. She was undeniably in the throes of passion when she passed on—judging by the ludicrous position she was in. I took a quick glance around the room. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. The furniture in the room only consisted of a small end table on the left side of her double bed and a TV stand in front. “No other evidence within the house except for the two fang marks on her neck,” Broden said. I stepped closer, seeing the evidence for myself. There were two small puncture marks in the left side of the woman’s neck. “Are you sure that a vampire killed her?” I asked, glancing back at Broden. His brows rose. “Of course I’m sure. There is no other evidence of interference and the fang marks are a pretty clear indicator.” “I know, it’s just she’s still so full.” I waved across her body. When I looked at Kyden for him to agree with my findings, he wasn’t looking at her face. I gave him a hard smack on the arm. “Keep your eyes on her neck.” “What do you expect?” He laughed. “Look at the size of them.” “Can’t agree with him more.” Haven giggled. “I can’t take my eyes off those jubilees.” I scowled at both of them and reached over to pull the sheet over the woman. She looked around twenty-one—she was so young. But nothing about this seemed like what Broden was suggesting. My gut was gnawing at me that something was off here. I glanced around the room again in search of answers and when my gaze connected with fine white powder sitting atop a mirror on the end table, I stepped in closer to examine it. “See something?” Kyden asked.

“I’m not an expert here, but is this cocaine?” I asked Broden. Gloria raised me to just say NO so clearly I wasn’t sure what it looked like. Really though, it didn’t take a genius to make the assumption. Why else would power be lining a mirror? Broden came up beside me, knelt down, swiped a bit of the powder off the mirror then held it to his nose and took a sniff. “I believe you might be right.” “Do you think she was doing this?” I asked. Broden gave me an exasperated glance. “You think I had a chance to ask her?” “Geesh,” I retored. “You’re the detective. I’m just saying maybe she overdosed?” He was thoughtful for a moment. “I suppose it is possible.” Without pause, I glanced to Haven. “Do your alakazam and let’s see what happened here.” “Okie dokie,” she responded, making her way to the side of the bed. She raised her hands in the air and within seconds the air vibrated then the scene was before us. This woman must practice Yoga because she sure was flexible. The vampire was enjoying her gymnastic moves immensely as he rocked her world as only a vampire could. For a few minutes, I couldn’t look away. Never had I seen a vampire do the nasty before. It wasn’t really something I wished to see. But now witnessing it, I immediately understood why humans became so addicted to them. His speed was startling. Finally, after a long lingering look, I shook my head, clearing my thoughts and shock then glanced around the room again looking for anything that could give us a lead here. The very first place I looked, I saw that I was a better detective than I thought. “Look,” I said. “More cocaine.” And a lot more at that. Two huge fat lines were sitting atop the mirror. The woman’s loud scream of completion stole the moment for anyone to respond. I snapped my gaze to her. She shoved the vampire off, climbed over to the table, leaned over the mirror, and a moment later, the evidence of those drugs was gone. “Alright, my energizer bunny,” she purred, turning back to the vampire. “Are you ready for more?” “Always ready,” the vampire answered.

He wasn’t lying. Vampires are sensual creatures. The need for intimacy is almost equal to their need for blood. “Let me have a taste of you,” the vampire said, climbing back on top of her, getting back to business. As he began to thrust, the woman leaned her head to the side, gave him access as he dove in and drank heavily from her throat. “Yuck,” I gasped. Broden gave me a look. “Sorry, I mean yum,” I corrected. Haven laughed. Broden didn’t, just focused back on the hot sex. Twenty minutes later, the two were still going at it. Kyden had leaned against a table, Broden squatted down against the wall and Haven sat on the floor, picking at her nails. “Good lord,” I snapped and tapped my foot impatiently. “Are they ever going to be done?” This woman was on orgasm number seven the last time I counted. Hell, wasn’t she getting sore? “I wish!” Haven exclaimed. “This is taking forever.” Just as Haven’s words drifted away, the woman gasped, her eyes rolling back in her head. Kyden stood up quickly, focusing on the woman. “Nadine, what is it?” The vampire looked tormented. “What is wrong? Did I drink too much? Oh no. What have I done?” The woman was thrashing about, convulsing terribly, then she went silent. The vampire started bawling like a baby who just lost their favorite toy. “My heart…my treasure…I’ve killed you.” After a few more sobbing moments, he stood and quickly got dressed. On his way out the door, the vision froze and the vampire stood right in front of me. I gave him a quick once over to remember his features, but nothing about him was shocking except one thing. “He looks traumatized,” I stated.

Kyden came to stand beside me. “Indeed he does.” “I’ve had enough for one night,” Haven said, letting the vision fade. “That was thoroughly disgusting.” She leaned in and kissed my cheek then headed for the door to go back to the portal. “I’ll see you two later.” After she left, I turned to Kyden. “What do you think…?” My words were cut off by Haven’s scream. Kyden flew out the door with Broden and me following behind. Haven stood in the living room staring at the vampire in question. He was young—obviously turned in his late teens. He wept, his face buried into his hands. “Sorry for the scream,” Haven said as she glanced back to us. “I was startled.” “Well, this is different.” I laughed. “How often does the target just appear at the scene?” “Not as much as I would like,” Kyden responded. He pulled the vampire up whose face was streaked with bloody tears. That’s just another disgusting thing they do. “Pull yourself together man.” Kyden shook him a little. “We need to talk with you.” The vampire wiped his face, which just smeared the blood more. I cringed and reached for a Kleenex on the coffee table. “Here take this. Do something about that.” After his face was clean, he was suitable to be on a teen novel cover—perfectly cute in every way. With his short blond and wavy hair, innocent dark eyes, and lips that would have teen girls going gaga over. “She’s really dead, isn’t she?” he cried. “She is,” Kyden replied with no emotion. “What is your name?” “Lowen,” he answered.

Broden grabbed Lowen’s arm, pushed him back on the couch and took a seat next to him, taking out a pad of paper and a pen. “What can you tell us?” he asked. Detective all the way. What more did we need to know? What did he have to write down? Lowen ran through the night events just as we’d seen them. Never missing a beat nor wavering from the truth. “I loved her,” he cried. “I was going to turn her. We were going to do it soon. We were just waiting until she finished school. How will I go on without her?” “You are immortal,” Broden said with a loud snort. “Loss is a part of what we deal with. When were you turned?” “A few years back.” “That explains it.” Broden looked up at me. “He is young.” “How do we find out what killed her?” I asked him. “I mean, was it drugs or him drinking her?” Broden shrugged. “It was probably a combination of both. With the loss of blood the drugs must have overwhelmed her body.” “That disgusting habit of hers,” Lowen spat. “I tried on many occasions to rid her of it. It was one reason I wanted to turn her. She wouldn’t need to fight the addiction anymore.” Addictions didn’t run high in vampires. Once they experienced blood, it instantly became the drug of choice. I glanced at Kyden. “What do we do with him now? It wasn’t really his fault.” Kyden looked at Lowen inquisitively. “I have never come across this. I think it best if we return to the Council. Let them decide his fate.”

Chapter Ten

“This is an interesting dilemma,” Zade, the Master of Vampires, said intrigued. He gazed at Lowen deeply with his dark eyes and ran a hand through his slick black hair. “What to do with you?” Lowen was cowering at his feet. “Finish me. My life is nothing without her. I don’t want to go on.” “Ahh…it’s so sad,” I whispered to Kyden.

He arched a brow. “You’re such a sucker for a love story.” “You’re damn right I am. They had the whole Romeo and Juliet thing going on.” “I love that story,” Zia’s voice said in my mind. “It’s too bad Shakespeare wasn’t an immortal. He had a brilliant talent for capturing the heart.” “I know. It’s so romantic,” I thought back, then added, “Well, not the suicide part, but you catch my drift.” Zia smiled at me. “I believe we should let Thalia decide this,” Zade said. Talon stood. “I agree.” He pulled Lowen to his feet. “I will not put an end to him in this condition.” Then, he dragged Lowen to Kyden. “You two go to Thalia. Explain the situation and leave him with her.” Kyden nodded. “Is…” He ground his teeth. “Ryker around? He might be useful in this situation.” “Of course, I’m useful,” Ryker said, as he entered the Council’s Hall. When he stopped in front of me, he purred, “In more ways than one.” Kyden shoved Lowen at him. “Let’s get this over with.” Ryker grinned at me before he spun on his heels and dragged the wallowing Lowen with him. I followed in behind Kyden as we exited the Cathedral, and thought to Zia. “If these two come back alive it’ll be a friggin’ miracle.” She laughed loudly. When we reached the door to the portal, Ryker took my hand. “Ready, babe?” Kyden slapped his hand away, snatching mine up quickly and rested his hand on his shoulder as he opened the door. That was the one thing with the portal. There always needed to be contact while teleporting. If not, everyone would end up in different places. When I recovered from the travel and opened my eyes, a remarkable mansion that had a female feel all around was resting on flat land. Red brick and light pink wood trim made up the exterior. Two balconies, decorated with pillars, sculptures, and arched windows filled each side of the second floor.

This was one rich Mistress. As we approached heading up the driveway, the front door opened and a short, stubby vampire appeared. “We have been expecting you,” he said. I glanced at Kyden. “Expecting us?” “I am sure the Council informed them we were coming,” Kyden answered. “Oh.” I laughed. “I was thinking they had some freaky voodoo shit going on here.” Once inside, I was a little envious. Sure must be nice to have money. This place was complete marble from the floors to the pillars, even the damn ceiling. I wiped my shoes on the front rug, scared to get anything dirty. “Follow me,” the butler said. “Thalia will meet you in here.” We were led into a small sitting room. The furniture had to be from the 1600’s and looked French. Everything was rich in color with heavily detailed wood lining each piece. Sculptures, flowers and oil paintings made me deathly afraid to touch anything. Kyden was about to take a seat on one of the chairs when I shouted, “Don’t sit there.” He stood back up and eyed me curiously. “Why?” “Cause you might ruin it.” Kyden laughed, shook his head at me and sat down anyway. I chose to stand right where I was. I definitely couldn’t afford to replace anything here. “Thaila will want you to be comfortable,” Ryker said to me as he sat in a throne chair. “Here.” He patted his thigh. “Come sit. You won’t break me.” “That mouth of yours is getting annoying.” Kyden’s growl was an obvious threat. “My mouth could…” Ryker started with an equal growl. I interrupted in hopes the change of subject might distract them. “Where is Thalia?”

“I am here.” A sweet voice came beside me. I screamed and jumped backwards slamming into the coffee table, sending a beautiful glass vase tumbling to the floor. “Shit,” I gasped. I slapped my hand over my mouth for swearing in the presence of a Mistress Vampire. “Oops.” Then, I looked at the glass shattered across the floor. “Double oops.” Thalia laughed sweetly. “That old thing,” she said with a heavy French accent. “It was a dust collector.” She leaned in to kiss my cheek. I almost blushed. She was beyond elegant—soft brown hair, pulled into a loose bun, rosy cheeks, impeccable skin, dark but kind eyes. She was well-dressed, well-designed, and well-established. A French rose. “You are Nexi,” she said. “I have long wanted to meet you.” “You have?” I asked, surprised. “Indeed I have. You are the reason Lazarus was destroyed. I must say, to hear of your defeat against him impressed me.” I kinda got the feeling not much impressed this vampire. Just then, Lowen crawled to Thalia’s feet. “Mistress. End me. Put me out of my pain,” he cried. “Rise to your feet, child,” Thailia demanded. She called him a child. I almost laughed. She was all of seventeen years old—well she looked it anyway. Suddenly, the butler stepped through the door as if she had called him. “Take Lowen,” Thalia said to him. “He is blubbering all over my Jimmy Choo’s.” “Of course, Mistress.” The butler grabbed Lowen and dragged him out. Thalia wiped the blood off her shoes then stood upright and met Ryker’s gaze. “Ryker, you have joined us tonight?” Her eyes sparkled. “Welcome back.” Ryker stood from his chair to lay a soft kiss on the vampire’s lips. “It’s a pleasure to return, Thalia.” Was it hot in here or what? These two had sexual chemistry hot enough to send the curtains ablaze.

“So where were we…oh yes,” Thalia said. Her gaze was coming my way, but when Kyden caught her gaze, her focused stayed on him. “Well, well…Kyden.” She started to approach him and my jealously radar went into full alarm. “Ahem,” I said loudly. “I believe you were saying something to me.” Thalia glanced at Kyden, then back to me. “He is yours?” I gave a firm nod. “He is and I don’t share.” “I apologize.” She smiled. “Vampires are territorial creatures too. I will be good.” Kyden gave me that sexy devilish grin and winked. Fending off lustful females could probably become my full-time job—it was getting annoying. But we had more important things to worry about. “We have come to talk about Lowen.” Thalia waved her hand dismissingly. “Boring. Let’s talk about Lazarus. Tell me, is all that happened true?” I glanced at Kyden in confusion. I wasn’t expecting this. He nodded, encouraging me to be gracious. I sighed deeply, taking a seat in the chair next to him and then went through the whole incident that I would soon enough live without remembering. By the time I finished, Thalia was laughing hysterically. “That is magnificent,” she exclaimed. “I had much dislike for Lazarus. To know he met such a terrible end is wonderful!” Not that I didn’t disagree with her in any regard, but I still didn’t understand her resentment. “Can I ask why you hated him so much?” “His plans would have overthrown me and many others. If you had failed against him we would have joined our sources to destroy him.” She played with a strand of hair the fell loose along her face. “I am glad we didn’t have to resort to such measures. My regime is my family. To lose any of them would have been a terrible loss for me.” Her words sent a sharp pain through me and took my breath away. That was something I did understand. Something I wouldn’t wish upon anyone.

In a blink, Thalia was kneeling at my feet. “Bah,” I screamed and ended up on Kyden’s lap. Thalia laughed. “Did I frighten you?” “Christ.” I squirmed my way back off Kyden. “You move fast.” “What pained you there?” Thalia asked. “I saw the hurt ripple across your face.” I gulped once just to steady myself then said, “Lazarus killed my family.” Thalia took my hand and squeezed it tight. It never occurred to me before how cold vampires were, but her hands sent shivers right through me. “My sympathies are with you for your loss,” she said softly. Then, taking me by complete surprise she leaned in and inhaled deeply. My eyes widened. “What the hell are you doing?” Kyden laughed loudly. “Just smelling you,” she said, taking another deep sniff. “You have a wonderful scent to your blood.” She leaned back and looked all too excited. “Mind if I have a taste?” My brows furrowed as I met Kyden’s amused gaze. “Is she seriously asking me if I will allow her to drink from me?” “I believe that is exactly what she is asking.” His voice was well amused. I glanced back at Thalia. Her entire face had lit up, looking like a kid at a candy store. “I do mind,” I told her sternly. “Very much.” No beating around the bush here—I’m not on the menu. Thalia sighed and stood. “What a shame. That would have been quite a treat. I have not smelled one like you before. You are not just a Guardian?” “No. I am part witch too.” “Interesting. Maybe that is the scent. Although, I have tasted many witches and they smell nothing like you.” A little scuffle came from the doorway. When I glanced toward it, a striking vampire was approaching.

“Ryker, my friend, you have returned to us,” the vampire exclaimed. Ryker jumped up and shook the vamps hand. “For now anyway.” Then, he looked at me. “Hayes, this is Nexi. You know Kyden.” Hayes looked like a rugged scot with wild hair, rough unshaven face—too bad he wasn’t in full Scottish regalia. The look always sent my mind to romantic interludes. Hayes bowed formally. “Pleasure.” “Smell her,” Thalia pointed to me. “Ahh…” was all that came out of my mouth. Thalia smiled. “We aren’t going to eat you. I just want him to scent you.” It dawned on me that she must have called him telepathically. Guess Zia and I weren’t the only ones to share such a connection—vampires apparently could do it too. Well, Mistress Vampires that is. Hayes glanced at Kyden and asked, “Am I allowed?” “Hey,” I blasted. “It’s my body. What are you doing asking him?” Thalia laughed as did the rest of them. “You’re his,” Hayes said, respectfully. “I can smell him on you. I was only being proper.” I gave Thaila a look at that. Sneaky vampire. She knew he was mine, and moments ago was about to make a move on him. Thalia shrugged. “Can’t blame a gal for trying.” I snorted. “Forgive me,” Hayes said, drawing my attention back to him. “Would you allow me the right?” I wanted to say no, but had no desire to piss anyone off. Having the Mistress on your side was probably something the Council wanted to keep. Finally, I sighed, “I can’t believe I’m agreeing to this. Fine, get on with it.”

Hayes smiled, leaned in and took a deep breath. When he drew away, his eyes were wild. I raised my hand to his face. “Smell only.” His eyes dimmed. “That is an interesting scent you carry. As Thalia suggested, it must be your mixed heritage that causes you to smell so different, and so very good.” “Wonderful. Smelling appetizing is just what I need.” Hayes stood, standing beside Thalia—they were both looking at me like a Sunday buffet. “Can we just get back to why we are here?” I snapped out. Thalia shook her head in an obvious attempt to gain focus. “Of course, tell us what happened with Lowen?” Kyden quickly divulged the night’s events, which I was entirely grateful for. I wanted to get the hell out of here. “Hmm…” Thaila hummed, after Kyden finished. “Bring him in,” she said to no one in particular. Only a second passed before the butler reappeared with Lowen who was still sobbing as he dropped to his knees in front of Thalia. “Vampires.” Thalia snorted. “We are supposed to be night’s creatures and look at this one.” She glared at him. “Stop crying this very instant.” And he did. “I am heartbroken, my Mistress.” “Oh, please. You will find another human to attach yourself to.” She knelt down in front of him staring deeply into his face. “This woman is now forgotten. You never met her. She never existed. The last year you have stayed with me, working as my servant, but now I am releasing you back to your life. You are going to find a lover who suits you, and then you will turn her immediately if she is human. You will spend the rest of eternity together and live happily ever after.” Lowen blinked. “Thank you, Mistress, for allowing me this time spent with you. I will be forever grateful for the kindness you have bestowed upon me.” “Off you go then,” Thalia laughed and stood. “Go make something of your life.” Lowen immediately stood with her, bowed, then left. Just like that.

I couldn’t hide my shock. “What the hell was that?” Thalia and Hayes laughed loudly. Then, Hayes said, “You do not know of vampires?” “Not much.” Thalia looked stunned. “How is that possible—you’re a supernatural?” “Long story short, I’m new and haven’t been told everything yet.” “Interesting,” Thalia remarked, eyeing me curiously. “I used a glamour on him. I gave him a new memory so that I didn’t have to destroy him. I feel for ones like Lowen. He is new and because of that, many human emotions still run through him. Old ones like me tend to get over the loss of a lover easily. They come and go. Eternity gets you used to that. But I do remember what it was like. I couldn’t destroy him. It appears it was an accident. Why destroy a perfectly good vampire for reasons such as these. He will go on now and be happy, which is what we all want, isn’t it?” “Of course it is,” Ryker stated. “And it’s just choosing the right one to give you that happiness.” His eyes fixed on my face. That was the boiling point. The inevitable moment I had been expecting since the night I heard the name Ryker. Kyden lunged forward and punched Ryker in the face. “Look, Hayes.” Thalia sounded pleased. “A fight for love—how touching.” From there, Hayes managed to somehow get the rumbling two out of Thalia’s house and just as we exited, I grasped onto both of them quickly then we landed back in the foyer. I immediately let go and flew backwards to avoid getting squished. “Stop it,” I yelled. Kyden and Ryker were in a full out brawl rustling around the foyer. “I said stop it. Right now!” I blasted with a stomp of my foot. There was no way in hell I was about to jump into the middle of them. I’d get pummeled and taking Zia’s words seriously, I didn’t want to get angry again. “What are they doing?” Willows voice came beside me. I glanced down at my kitty, who looked amused at the two guys going at like a UFC fight. “Oh, they’re just being stupid.” “It is what they do best.” Willow chuckled.

Yeah, cats can chuckle. I wouldn’t have believed it myself. But it was true, she could laugh. “Have you seen Haven?” I asked her. “I just saw her. She’s in the garden.” I glanced back out to the idiots. Ryker grunted deeply after taking a hard blow to the face, but followed up with a hard jab to Kyden’s gut. I sighed with a world of annoyance. “Let’s go. This doesn’t look to be ending anytime soon.” I left the two of them rolling around on the floor yelling at each other. Haven was feeding the fish in the pond when I reached her in the garden. It was almost as beautiful as the Witches Meadow with its green shrubbery, vibrant flowers and stone path that weaved through it. “They like bananas?” I asked Haven. She glanced up. “They sure do. Wanna try?” I knelt beside her. “Sure.” She handed me a banana, I broke a piece off, held it to the water. A pink fish leapt up, grabbed it and I laughed. Who knew! “What happened with Lowen?” Haven asked. “We took him to the Mistress of the Mid-West. She did some glamour thing and he was sent on his way.” “What’d you think of Thalia?” Haven smiled. “She wasn’t at all what I expected.” She laughed. “Isn’t she so sweet?” “I’d say. I wasn’t expecting that.” I don’t know what I was expecting, but a leader of blood suckers should have been a little more scary. “She is unusual that is for sure. Most of the Mistresses are hard as nails. Thalia is fun. She’s come to a couple Full Moon parties here. It probably has something to do with her going through the change so young. She’s old though—like 1500’s old.” “Yeah, Ryker mentioned that.”

“In those days though, she was already married. She told me that her lover was a vampire. It was him that changed her. She killed her husband and from there its history.” “She killed her husband?” “You think Kyden is possessive. Imagine what men were like in those times. Woman you are my slave, serve me. You know that kind of stuff. She told me she had to marry him because it strengthened two families together. I guess he was a real jerk and she was all too happy to get him out of the way, and leave her home.” “Crazy.” “Sure is. Won’t it be so bizarre when we have that much history behind us? Hard to imagine right?” “Got that right.” The thought was wonderful nonetheless—no Botox, no weight gain. Immortality wasn’t such a hard thing to accept. She suddenly glanced around, perplexed. “Where’s Kyden?” “He’s with Ryker. They’re beating the hell out of each other.” She straightened up. “They are?” “Oh yes, they surely are. Kyden’s patience with him is gone. Hopefully this will straighten it all out. It’s so annoying. I know Ryker is only doing it to goad him. He has as much interest in me as I do him.” “Are they alright? Maybe I should go and send Finn to help.” She went to stand. I grabbed her arm. “No. Don’t. They’ll work it out, and maybe that will be the end of this. It’s getting old.” “I hope you’re right,” she said, and went back to feeding the fish. “Mmmm…those fishies look delicious.” Willow licked her lips as she leaned over the water. “Don’t even think about it, Willow.” Haven gave me a curious look. “She wants to eat the fish,” I told her.

“You are a very naughty kitty,” Haven said, wagging her finger at her. “I’m a cat,” Willow replied, unashamed. “We are supposed to eat fish.” “Not these fish,” I told her. Then, deep groans followed by heavy feet came next to us. I raised my gaze. Kyden was dragging Ryker along, while he stumbled beside him. Haven gasped loudly. “Oh my goodness.” The closer they got, the worse they looked. Ryker’s face had been beaten to the point of disgusting. Kyden looked almost as bad. They both had black eyes, bloody faces, split lips, and that was just the obvious stuff. “You didn’t kill each other,” I remarked when they met up with us. “That’s a good sign.” Kyden kept a good grip on Ryker’s arm. “Tell her,” he shouted at him. Ryker looked annoyed even behind all the blood. “Must I?” “You must,” Kyden growled through a swollen lip. Ryker sighed and met my gaze. “I am sorry for my words to you. I have been…” He hesitated. “My behavior has been unkind. I respect what you and Kyden share together. My interference has been wrong. Will you accept my sincerest apologies?” “I do.” I tried really hard not to laugh. “Thank you. So, will this be the end of it then? No more comments? No more egging him on?” Ryker nodded. “I believe we have come to an understanding.” “Good. Glad to hear it.” “What the hell have you two done to each other?” Zia sounded appalled, running toward us, Talon in tow. “Some of the younglings came to find us, claiming there was an intense fight going on in the foyer.” I glanced behind her to see a few young witches looking terrified.

“They were sorting things out,” I told her. Then, I thought in my mind. “Idiots.” “Yes, idiots I would say,” Zia snapped. Kyden gave me a look at that. I shrugged my shoulders at him. “Your behavior lately has been of the worst sort. The both of you.” Zia gave the two Guardians a chastising look. “What is wrong with you two?” Kyden and Ryker shrugged like two school boys being sent to detention. “I hope you are finished with this ridiculous nonsense.” “We are done with it,” Kyden snarled. “Aren’t we, Ryker?” Ryker looked even more annoyed. “Yes. We are done with it.” Talon looked proud. “It must have been a fierce fight.” Zia slapped his arm. “Do not encourage them.” “What is done is done.” Talon cleared his throat. “I am just taking notice, is all.” “This is not something to be proud of. Look behind you.” We all followed her gaze. The younglings were indeed scared out of their wits. “You frightened those younglings,” Zia continued, “You need to mind what you do. They look up to you and here you are acting like a bunch of bozos.” I let out a sharp laugh. “Bozos.” Who knew Zia even had a word like that in her vocabulary. She glared at me. “Okay, not funny, but it’s just your choice of words.” I laughed again. “Bozos.” Haven giggled right along with me. I stood. “I’ll go talk to them,” I said, and headed over to the younglings. Poor things. The closer I got, the more terrified they looked. One was even crying. “Don’t cry,” I said, softly when I reached them. “Did the mean Guardians scare you?” The littlest one wiped tears from her eyes. “They did.”

I grabbed her into a hug. She was trembling in my arms. “You know what they were fighting about?” The witch next to her looked no more than six years old. She shook her head. Her eyes wide with fear. “No. Why would they do that?” “They were fighting because Ryker ate Kyden’s potato chips.” “That’s why?” The witch in my arms looked up in confusion. I nodded. “That was it. But let me tell you, males are stupid. They do stupid things because they don’t know any better.” I glanced back, all three Guardians were glaring at me. I smiled in return. “They are stupid.” The witch in my arms laughed. She stepped away. “Thanks, Nexi.” My shock must have shown on my face. “You know my name?” “You’re the special one. And she hugged me!” She looked at her friends—their jealously showed. “I must be special too.” “You are special,” I told her. “You all are. Witches rule!” They all bounced up and down. “Witches rule. Guardians drool.” “Now, wait a second…” I started. They ran away chanting. “Witches rule. Guardians drool.” As I made my way back to the group, Zia stepped forward and reached out to Kyden. “Stop,” I screamed. “What is it?” she gasped, startled, pulling her hand back. “Don’t you dare heal them!” “You are going to leave me like this?” Kyden sounded equally annoyed and confused. “Damn right. It’s what you deserve. You did it to yourselves now you gotta live with it.” “But…” he began. “No, buts. You’ll heal—eventually.”

Kyden glanced to Ryker, and they shared an expression of hard cold blatant confusion. “You cannot do this,” Ryker exclaimed. “I hurt badly.” “Good. I’m glad it hurts,” I retorted. “Maybe you’ll think twice before acting so stupid.” “She is right—foolish Guardians,” Zia spat. “As I said, the younglings look up to you.” This time she directed the comment my way. “Speaking of that. How do they know who I am?” They all laughed. “What?” I snapped. “You don’t think you are a little famous around here?” Talon asked. “Famous?” I chortled. “You’re kidding right?” Haven giggled. “My soul-sister is famous.” I ignored her awe. “Why? Cause the whole thing with Lazarus?” “The whole Lazarus thing.” Zia shook her head. “You speak of it as if it was nothing. He was a long time enemy of the Council and you destroyed him. Do you not think the younglings would think highly of you?” As if on cue, little Witches and Guardians suddenly surrounded us. “Look, there she is,” one of them said. Each and every one of them looked like I was Santa Claus bringing Christmas presents. “Time to go,” I said quickly. Kyden stepped forward, pressed himself close to me. “I am injured. Take me home, Álainn.” Now that sounded like a great idea. After quick good-byes, we headed back toward our residence. Once in the castle, I glanced up to Kyden. He looked horrible. “First thing you’re doing is washing your face. It’s disgusting.” “If Zia healed me you wouldn’t have to look at it.”

“He looks like something out of a scary movie,” Willow said, following behind us. I laughed. Kyden glanced to me, arching a swollen brow. “Willow,” was all I had to say. He nodded in understanding. We were home in a jiffy. Kyden headed off to the bathroom while Willow went to eat some tuna I set out for her. When Kyden came back out from the bathroom, his face didn’t look any better. In fact, it might have looked worse. His one eye was completely swollen shut and his bottom lip was puffy. “Your face is terrible,” I said. “I know.” He sighed. “Come. Make it better.” He stripped quickly as did I. His one eye sort of smoldered—I think. He stepped toward me, pulled me tight against him and lowered his lips to mine. My body instantly responded sending wetness between my thighs. Just his presence alone usually caused that. I tried to kiss the left side of his mouth since it was the only place uninjured. It was beyond awkward. He must have felt it too because he backed away. “It hurts to do that,” he said as he brought us closer toward the bed. He lay down on his back—ready and willing. I stood there, confused. “Shouldn’t I be lying down?” “I am hurt.” His voice held pure sex appeal. “The job is yours.” “You want me on top?” I managed. Okay, maybe I was dreading this moment a little bit. I had no clue what the hell to do. Plus, no matter how much he liked what he saw, I still felt exposed. “I do,” he answered in a sultry purr. I stood there staring at him, having no idea how to proceed here. What did I just jump on and go to town? Did I move back and forth? Up and down?

Kyden chuckled deeply. “Anytime will do, Álainn.” “What do I do?” I asked, as I joined him on the bed. “Whatever you like. I am yours to be had.” I climbed on top of him, feeling almost sick with nerves. So, I was new to this and felt foolish. Sue me. He held his erection up while I slid down onto him. “Mmmm…that’s it,” he drawled. “Oh god,” I exclaimed almost in the exact moment. I was beginning to see why this was such a favored position by females. Slowly, I began to move. Still feeling unsure, I asked, “Am I doing this right?” He groaned his answer and rubbed his hands along my body. I took that as a yes and began to move faster, rocking my hips as Kyden reached up to grasp my breasts. My gaze swept across his face as it always did when we were intimate. I loved to watch him and he appreciated it just as much. But now, seeing his cuts, bruises, and swollen bits, I instantly felt awful. He wanted to give me pleasure and I wanted to cause him pain. In an attempt to ignore it, I rocker harder against him and closed my eyes so I couldn’t see his injuries. Looking at that definitely didn’t water the fields. His grunts immediately deepened as I took him in a way that was all my own. “Yes, Álainn—that’s it,” he said in almost a shout. His words encouraged me that I was doing this right, and boy did it feel right. Pleasure was sweeping through me as I moved against him. His body was mine to indulge in and I was doing just that. He reached for my hips and gripped me tightly—demanding I move harder, faster. I answered his request and slammed into him with everything that I had. I opened my eyes, catching a bit of his battered face, which now looked worse since his expression was as deep as it would be in pain. I closed my eyes quickly as adrenaline began to fill me. Adrenaline from what I had no idea, but the whys didn’t matter. I lowered my head back as the sensation of being completely wild on him sent me rippling in rapture. He gripped harder around my hips, helped me gain further speed and strength as he tightened his legs, pushing himself farther into me, allowing for deeper penetration. The energy within me began to grow. My skin tingled with anticipation of my release.

With a final deep thrust down on him, my orgasm blasted through me with such intensity I wasn’t quite sure if I was going to survive it. He held me firm against him as his penis throbbed inside me, which only intensified the sensations that felt very close to ending my life. When the powerful climax released, I dropped down on top of him, trying to catch my breath as his body shook beneath me as he came. Many, many minutes later, I had enough strength to open my mouth. “That…was…incredible.” I raised myself up, pushed against Kyden’s chest. When I met his gaze, it was to see his devilish grin on a completely healed face. “Oh for frig sake’s, I healed you.”

Chapter Eleven

Gotta love dirty dreams, and I was in the heart of one dirty ass dream. Kyden had my legs wrapped around his shoulders as he answered my needs with vengeance. Hard deep pounds that should have rattled my teeth, but didn’t. What the hell? “That’s right, big boy. Take me, Talon. Take me.” Wait, that’s not my voice. “You like that, Zia,” Talon grunted. “You like it when I fuck you like this?” I shot straight up in bed. “Oh gross.” I shook my entire body rubbed my arms nearly crying. “Eww, eww, eww.” Then, like something that belonged in hell, the vision came back to me. Talon was moving faster as Zia screamed in ecstasy. “Make it stop,” I pleaded. “Oh God, make it stop.” I jumped out of bed. Kyden sat up slightly and stared at me as if I was one step away from the nuthouse. “Alright?” he asked. “My block.” I bounced along the floor as if hot coals were beneath my feet. “Oh, God. Disgusting.” Since this wasn’t doing anything and the images of Zia and Talon reaching their end was

stealing my mind, I stopped moving, and focused on raising my block. I didn’t need to picture the window anymore. Instead, I let the adrenaline of spirit build within my blood. Using feelings of images was just easier to hold onto. When my mind returned to my own thoughts, I took a minute to recoup then my breath gasped out as I shuddered. “That was soooo gross. Seriously, I’m scarred for life.” Kyden laughed and opened the sheets wide. “Come back to bed, Álainn.” When I settled in his arms he asked, “What was that all about?” “Trust me you do not want to know,” I responded snuggling into his neck and the warmth of the hard lines of his body “Are you okay?” Willow asked then a little growl rose to her voice. “And if you are, you better have a good reason for waking me up.” “No, I’m not okay. I’m disturbed. Horrified. Any of that will do. What I just saw was wrong. So very, very, very wrong.” Kyden laughed softly. “Can we go back to sleep now?” Willow grumbled in a low purr. “I’m still tired.” “You can. I won’t be.” And I didn’t. I laid wrapped in Kyden’s arms in complete horror for the next three hours watching the numbers on the clock tick by. “Alright?” Kyden asked as we sat at the kitchen table and ate breakfast. “No, I’m not alright,” I responded, sharply. “Tell me about it? Did you dream of something?” “No,” I whispered. “It was a…” Suddenly, a loud knock came at the door. Being that I was already on edge, I jumped sky high and shrieked. Kyden laughed, stood and headed for the door. I stared at my cereal. I couldn’t eat. How could I eat?

Moments later, the door creaked and Zia’s stern voice said, “Where is she?” “In the kitchen,” Kyden replied, the curiosity in his voice was clear. Begrudgingly, I stood from the chair and met them halfway, horrified to see Talon with her. My gaze hit Zia’s face then to Talon. Without an inkling of warning, I burst out laughing. After a few minutes of my hysteria, Zia said exasperated, “You can stop laughing now.” I wiped my tears, looked at them again and without as much as a word, I busted out laughing even harder. I ended up holding onto my stomach and sank to my knees trying to stop the pain. Kyden grinned, but attempted to hide it. Zia and Talon just looked pissed. “Ouch…it hurts,” I breathed, attempting to gain an ounce of control. I pushed myself up and stood, unable to meet their eyes. I couldn’t. Not if I was going to refrain from laughing. “Sorry about that,” I told the floor. “I would like to speak with you.” Zia grabbed my arm and towed me toward the bedroom. “Now.” As Zia and I met the bedroom door, Kyden asked Talon. “What’s this all about?” Talon grumbled something in response. I didn’t laugh even though I sure as hell wanted too. After Zia shut the door, I started, “Zia…I.” But the second I sat on the bed and looked back at her, my words froze as she erupted in laughter. “You’re laughing?” Zia nodded and came to join me on the bed. “I didn’t want to laugh in front of Talon. You know male pride and all.” She gave me a curious glance. “How much of that did you see?” “Too much—too damn much.” I laughed, sighed and shuddered all at the same time. “I guess I’m finding it easier to get a read on you.” “I believe you are right. Let’s set some ground rules—we will keep our blocks up at any time it could be intimate including sleep. Is this agreeable to you?” “Damn right it is.”

“Good.” She fixed her hair and wiped under her eyes. “Does it look like I’ve been laughing?” Her eyes were red rimmed, her face flushed. “A little,” I told her, honestly. “Best we wait a while until I look better. Talon…is…well, where do you think Kyden gets it from? He will not be happy to know I was laughing about this.” “Does he know…I saw it?” “I felt your presence and blurted out your name.” She smiled. “I obviously had to explain.” “Great,” I grumbled. “Guess I won’t be looking him in the eye for a while.” Zia gave a knowing look. “This makes us even now, doesn’t it?” She got me there. “I guess it does.” We sat for a little while longer until Zia’s face returned to a normal shade. When we walked back into the room, I kept my gaze very focused on Kyden. But that didn’t help any. Talon must have told him because he was grinning from ear to ear. I raised my hand. “Don’t you dare say one word! My stomach hurts enough from laughing.” Talon muttered something and a slight scowl hit his face. “Not that I’m saying it was funny, it—er—looked just fine,” I stumbled, hoping to save a little of his pride. The scowl left his face and his mouth lifted. Then, his expression went blank. “Let’s be done with this.” He stood. “Are you taking her, Zia?” “Taking me where?” I interjected “Briar wants to meet with you again,” Zia replied. After a kiss from Kyden, Zia and I were on our way. “So, what’s this all about?” I asked Zia, as we entered the Council’s foyer. “I spoke with Briar and told her of your progress,” Zia answered. “She wanted to make sure you were managing alright.”

I could only hope that I proved the progress I made was worth something. Sure, I was working my magic faster, but even then, it didn’t compare to what most witches were capable of. Zia took my hand as she opened the door. The world faded away for a moment and when it came back, Briar was waiting for us by her front gate. “Oh, my dearest, don’t you look lovely today,” she said to me. I glanced down at my Guardian gear, looked like I always did, but I took the compliment. “As do you, Briar. How are you?” “I am well.” She smiled, gloriously. “I found a new lover. He is a young musician. He serenades me every night and his tongue is wild.” I coughed, trying not to laugh. Her comments were hard to get used too. “Alright, dear?” she asked with a curious expression. I nodded. “Yes I am fine.” Willow nudged my leg. “Ask her if she misses me?” she said. “Willow is wondering if you miss her?” I asked Briar. Briar picked her up, tickled under her chin. “You are a special kitty, Willow. But no, I can’t say I’ve missed you. Your little meows were obnoxious. I am only too glad you were too young to have a voice.” “Bitch,” Willow hissed, and jumped out of her arms. “Can’t say I disagree with you there,” I said, “But she’s actually growing on me.” Sure, she was a total bitch, but it was almost a breath of fresh air. Willow spoke her mind, said it like it was, and sometimes hearing the truth is just what I needed. Of course, other times I could blast the damn cat sky high for her little snarky comments. “They always do,” Briar responded, and took my hand. “They always do.” We made our way out to the garden. Zia went into the herb garden, Briar still holding my hand as we walked into the center surrounded by natural beauty. I glanced around a moment, marveling, then met Briar’s gaze. “What’s on the agenda today?”

“Zia tells me you have gained more control and told me of your special ability,” she replied. “I was hoping I could see it.” “Oh, right, the deflecting thing.” It never clued in that this was probably what interested Briar more than my ability with the Fire Element. But then, a thought rose. “Are you going to throw Fire at me?” “Well, that’s the idea.” “Is this safe? I mean, you could burn me?” “Don’t let it hit you then.” Briar said, matter-of-factly, then stepped back putting some space between us. I glanced at Zia worriedly. She gave me a soft encouraging smile. Hesitantly, I focused back on Briar. “Are you ready?” she asked. I drew in a deep breath and focused on that sense of energy within me. The power, the protectiveness and I allowed it to fill me, guard me from her magic. “Ready as I’ll ever be,” was my only response. Briar reached down, touched the grass and in an instant, fire came barreling toward me. The flames crackled as it speed through the air circling as it approached. I put a little oomph into my hold and gritted my teeth when it was just a hairsbreadth away. To my complete surprise when the fire hit my shield, it didn’t block it—it just sent it spiraling back toward Briar. I blinked. Then, Briar stood, completely naked with her hair still on fire. “Holy shit,” I gasped, quickly drawing the fire away with a loud and deep inhale. I ran toward her. “Oh my god. Are you okay?” She smelled of burnt hair and it was still smoking. I bit my lip, trying to hold back the laughter. Zia quickly ran over. She took one look at Briar, then fell to the ground laughing. “That is the funniest thing I’ve ever seen,” she managed. “I am naked,” Briar remarked as she reached up to feel her hair. “Is my hair gone?” I nodded, unable to speak, not wanting to laugh in her face.

“I am naked,” she said again. I took a quick glance over her, and yessirree, she certainly was that. May I just add, this Grammy looked damn good that way too. She had a beautiful figure, everything tight and purely female. Feeling horribly guilty, I reached up and laid a hand on her shoulder, focusing on what I wanted to happen—drawing on my wish to return her to her original shape. Immediately, she gasped loudly as her hair shimmered to its normal softness and her skin was hidden away by clothing. “You have mastered the art of healing, I see,” Briar stated as she glanced down and ran her hands along her skirt. Then, she snapped her eyes back up and met my gaze. “I cannot believe what just happened!” “I’m so sorry,” I said, abashed. “Don’t be,” Briar snapped. “Zia, did you see that?” Zia stood from her kneeling position and wiped tears off her face. “I did. That was not only very funny, but also quite remarkable. You used her magic back on her, Nexi.” The whole naked bit had stolen my mind, but now, even I couldn’t believe what had just happened. “I guess I did.” “Your talent seems to be growing,” Briar said. Then, she looked to a bush. “Burn that one.” I focused on it, allowed the heat within me to build to an all-consuming level. Then, a second later, I released my Fire. As expected, the bush erupted into flames. “I really hate burning things up.” I grumbled as I quickly withdrew the fire and scooted over to the bush to heal it. When I glanced back, Briar said, “I believe, my dearest, your training is complete.” “It is?” I asked, surprised. “Just like that, I’m done? Isn’t there anything else?” “I wish there was,” Briar answered. “Having you around is much amusement for me, but you have your control. That is all you need. Your focus has gotten stronger. It only takes you seconds now to ask your magic to come. There is no more I can teach you than that. Just keep practicing and calling it to you. Soon it will be instantaneous.” I glanced at Zia. “No more training then? Is there some sort of trials I have to take?”

“We do have similar trials as the Guardians,” she answered, “But I do not feel it necessary to test you. You have shown your power to me, which definitely meets the Council’s standards.” There had to be a catch here. “So, I can just go back to my Guardian duties?” “You will never just be a Guardian,” Zia said. “But you have gained the knowledge you need to understand your magic and use it appropriately.” A thought occurred to me. “You know I never asked this, but what do witches do exactly in the Council. I mean, will I have witch duties too?” “I thought you’d never ask that question. And I am glad to see you have some interest in that regard,” Zia replied. “We will use you when necessary. That is what our role is within the Otherworld. Obviously, your ability to use magic without touch and your defensive talent will come in handy. What we do exactly is much the same as Guardians. We fight against Black Magic—witches who have turned evil. Guardians would not stand against those who use the dark forces. This is why it is our job to stop them.” “I had been wondering about that. I thought it strange that Kyden never mentioned having to fight witches.” Briar said, “That’s because they couldn’t. They are strong, but Black Magic needs more than muscle to defeat it.” “Do you work for the Council?” I asked Briar. “I do,” she replied. “Why don’t you live in the Otherworld then?” “Why would I?” she retorted. She had me there—her place rocked. If I lived here, I doubt I’d been inclined to leave either. “I come when I am needed,” Briar said, “but I wish to live in the Earthworld. Its beauty is something I could not live without.” I thought for a moment, processing, then asked, “These witches are dangerous then?” “Dangerous.” Briar laughed. “That is putting it mildly. The power they yield is unimaginable.” “How do you defeat them?” I asked. “Obviously you don’t use swords and punches.”

They both laughed. “Us with a sword—now that would be a sight!” Briar shook her head. “Witches fight with magic. That is our only defense against the dark forces. It is our duty to dispose of any of these witches as quickly as possible. They always pose a threat and the destruction they could cause is catastrophic.” “I’m guessing it doesn’t happen that often then?” “No it doesn’t,” Zia said. “We try to train our younglings early how to fight against the pull, but some just cannot deny its strength and appeal.” “Why do they want it?” “To gain the power you yield,” Briar answered. That was a bit of a wakeup call. They had spoken repeatedly of my abilities, but putting it in those terms made one thing clear—I was powerful. And that made a sudden scary question to pop up. “I don’t use Black Magic, do I?” “Of course you don’t,” Zia said, softly. “There is nothing dark about you.” Phew! Nice to know I wasn’t on the dark side. “So, back to Guardian duties and onto killing crazy evil witches. The fun never ends around here, does it?” Briar chuckled sultry. “I bet the fun never ends while you’re taking that lusty Guardian between your thighs.”

Chapter Twelve

The moment we landed back in the foyer, a wave of despair swept over me, almost dropping me to my knees. “What is wrong?” Zia grabbed me when I swayed. “Haven,” I managed. Suddenly, the witch in question came running toward me out of the Council’s Hall. Tears streamed her cheeks.

“What is?” I gasped, trying to fight through her tortuous emotions that were crippling me. “What happened?” She threw herself into my arms, and the second she did, my mind faded away to her memories—similar to a movie playing out in my mind. A moment in time that would answer all my questions and what answers I got, weren’t great. “Trefan’s dead?” I squeaked. “He is,” Haven cried. Zia looked shocked then looked inquisitively at me. “How did you know that?” “I saw it in her mind,” I responded as we ran toward the Council’s Hall. “It was like she showed me what was upsetting her.” “This is not the appropriate time to get into this,” Zia said, staying in step with me, “but I believe you may have just gained the ability to glimpse into the mind of others as I can.” As cool as that was, it didn’t hold any thought in my mind. Trefan was gone. How could this be? He was a strong Guardian, I’d seen him fight, there is no way anyone could overpower him. It was impossible. When we entered the Council’s Hall, I hadn’t let go of Haven for a second. The sadness was consuming her. I was honestly scared that if I let go, that would be the end of her. Kyden, Ryker and Keir were waiting in front of the Council’s throne chairs—all wearing the same grief-stricken expression. Finn was just off to the side, looking absolutely heartbroken. My heart sank for him. I knew that look all too well. “What happened?” I asked Kyden. “Don’t know yet,” he responded, grimly. “All we know is Trefan is gone.” “This is horrible,” I sniffed, and tightened my arms around Haven. Grief sank in so deep. But confusion swirled with it. How did someone have the strength to kill him? It just couldn’t be. I needed my questions answered. “How did you find out?” “A witch stumbled upon Trefan’s body, then notified the Council immediately.” “This cannot be true,” Haven cried. “This has to be untrue. Please Nexi, tell me this isn’t true.” “I’m so sorry.” I held her tighter. “I wish I could.” And I meant it. Trefan was sweet, young. He had so much life in him. It expelled from him. This was in every way wrong.

“We won’t know anymore until we go to the scene,” Talon told us. “Go there now. Find out what happened to Trefan.” “Haven is not capable of doing the recreation right now,” I said to him. Zia interjected. “I will go.” “I want to go,” Haven hollered, pulling herself from my arms. “I need to help with this.” “You can help, Haven, but you don’t need to see this.” I stared deeply into her eyes, trying to make her see she wasn’t capable of handling this. She was traumatized enough. Watching Trefan die would send her right over the deep end. “No,” Haven said with a stomp of her foot. “I’m going.” “You will stay here,” Finn shouted. The look on his face wasn’t tormented any longer. Now, he just looked plain old pissed. “I don’t want to,” she replied just as loud. “You will stay here.” He lunged forward, yanking her against him. “You will obey me.” Finn had never talked to Haven like this before. Truthfully, it had come as a bit of a surprise that he always seemed so passive considering the way the other Guardians could be. Dominant jerks! Haven’s eyes widened a little, instantly she softened. “Okay, Finn. But hurry back.” I suspected she understood that she needed to listen to him here. He would never talk to her in such a way unless he felt it necessary. “This would be too much for you.” Finn sighed. “I will not allow it to destroy you. Stay here, my sweet. We will be home shortly.” Then, he took her into a deep kiss. When he backed away, she wiped her tears and nodded. Kyden approached me looking determined. I shook my head, knowing just what he was about to say. There’d be no way in hell I’d stay behind. He looked sighed deeply. “Alright, let’s go then.”

I smiled in return. We had come to an understanding about his possessive nature. He couldn’t boss me around and that was that. He’d come to accept it—or at least—he did his best to live with it. Quickly, we ran to the Council’s foyer. Finn took my hand as Kyden took the other, then he grabbed onto Keir who latched his hand on Ryker’s arm. Then, we followed Zia through the portal and blasted into the Earthworld. When my feet connected with land, I raised my head. A large baseball diamond was before us and nothing else. Who even knew what State we were in, but the truth was it didn’t matter. All that mattered was discovering what happened to Trefan, and finding those responsible. It still hadn’t sunk in yet that he was gone. But loss was something I was used to. As horrible as that truth was, it was all too real. As much as I could cry for him we needed to get those who murdered him. I would keep my focus to avenge him because he deserved nothing less. With that, I focused back on the area. “A baseball diamond,” I said to Kyden. “Strange place, don’t you think?” Kyden nodded in agreement. “Quite strange.” “Show us now, Zia,” Finn lashed out. “Show me what happened to my brother.” Zia raised her hands to the sky. Within seconds, the scene was before us. Shock clenched my stomach. At least twenty vampires surrounded Trefan. They circled him, while he stood terrified. “We will get our revenge against the Guardians. You will be the first we take,” a vampire snarled. “Revenge,” I whispered. What revenge? What had the Guardians done to a bunch of vampires? These weren’t some young, reckless ones either. These vampires were old, power emanated off them. A split second passed before the vampires attacked and began drinking heavily from Trefan’s body. They were all over him, latching on to any bare skin they could find. I quickly looked away, no desire to watch, when a witch standing at the edge off the woods caught my eye. Watching, but not participating. “Freeze the vision,” I yelled out. Zia did exactly that. “What is it?” she asked, hurriedly. “A witch,” I responded as I ran closer toward the witch. When I stopped in front of her frozen form, she was the definition of the girl next door. Blonde, big blue pansy eyes, sweet-looking. “Who is

this?” I burst out. There was something about her—something that sent a wave of terror through my gut. “Astoria,” she gasped behind me. “What is she doing here?” I snapped my head to Zia. “I take it you know her then?” “That, Nexi.” She pointed to her. “Is a witch who uses Black Magic.” A Black Magic witch? “What would make her participate,” I waved over to Trefan, “in something like this?” Zia shook her head. “I have no idea. Astoria has been quiet for some time now. We had some trouble with her years ago, but our forces left us unable to destroy her. She got away and we haven’t heard a peep from her since.” “She must be powerful then if you couldn’t defeat her?” I asked. “Indeed. Extremely powerful. As I said, when a witch accepts the dark magic it consumes her with a power that is bottomless. She could kill us all right where we stood.” “Really?” That surprised me. “Even you?” “Even me,” Zia responded without hesitation. “I have only fought her once and came very close to death. If others had not come to help I would not be standing here now.” “Jesus! Scary.” Zia was beyond powerful. She almost died? I shuddered at the thought. “Very scary,” Zia said, grimly. “It troubles me that she is here.” I examined Astoria further, memorized her features in my mind. Then, I stepped away, looking back and found Finn kneeling beside Trefan. Being that this was a vision, he couldn’t touch him. It was obvious how much it was killing him that he couldn’t. I approached him then knelt down beside him. “I’m so sorry, Finn. Trefan was kind and generous. I’m sorry you have lost him.” Finn raised his head. Tears streaked his face. “You of all people understand the depth of emotions that’s making it hard for me to breathe right now.” I gulped deeply. “Yes, I do know.”

Suddenly, he grabbed onto me, wrapped himself around my body as a child might. I tightened myself around him, understanding perfectly the torment he was suffering. Discovering this new ability I held only made this that much harder. I could clearly see just what he was feeling. Little flashes of horror swept my mind. His pain was so intense. It was too much to bear. I focused deeply and closed off the connection. I’d been through enough trauma of my own than to deal with his too. Sometime later, Zia said softly, “We need to get back.” I nodded as Finn pulled himself away. Kyden helped me to my feet, then assisted Finn, who definitely needed help. If Kyden let go, I had no doubt Finn would’ve toppled straight to the ground. “Wait,” Finn abruptly gasped. “I need a couple minutes. I can’t return to Haven like this.” God, he adored her. In a time when it was his right to be selfish and wallow in grief, his only thought was of her. I loved Finn. I approached him and placed my hand on his arm. “You don’t need to be strong. She will be there for you.” “I do,” he said, firmly. “Haven can’t handle this. Just give me a minute.” We gave him a couple minutes alone leaving him to sit next to Trefan When he came back, the sadness that gripped him was replaced with a fierce determination. I knew exactly what he was trying to do. Hiding emotions was my specialty. “I am ready,” Finn said in almost a growl and never looked back once to see that Zia’s vision had faded and Trefan’s body was gone. Then, after grasping hands, we slammed back into the foyer. Haven was still crying. She ran into Finn’s arms and he gripped her tightly. “Hush now, Haven. You are fine, my sweet.” “Was it bad?” Haven sobbed. “Did he suffer?” Finn hushed her again. “No. It was quick.” He was lying to her. It wasn’t quick. Being drained by too many vampires to count was far from painless. They’d make it hurt. They had the ability to do that. If they wanted it to be erotic, it would be. If they wanted it to be agonizing, they could do that too. We all took Finn’s lead and followed him into the Council’s Hall. Talon immediately stood from his chair and approached us. “Who was it?” he demanded

“Vampires and Astoria,” Zia responded. Talon’s eyes widened. “Astoria? She has combined her force with vampires.” Confusion filled his face. “Why?” Zia shook her head harshly. “I have no answer to that question. All that was said was the vampires wanted revenge.” “Revenge for what?” Zade snapped. “My thoughts exactly,” I replied. Zia paced the room. “I have tried to find a connection here, but I am at a loss. Astoria has long been with the dark magic. She has not used it against us for years, or tried to gain more power for herself. I cannot find a reason why she would do this.” “Do you know who the vampires are?” Zade asked. Responses from each of us came in heavy shrug. “They are from the mid-West.” Ryker said. “The mid-West?” Brax, the Master of Weres asked. His normally soft brown eyes deepened with shock, as his huge—like Hulk Hogan huge—body tensed. “Thalia’s vampires?” I spit out. Ryker nodded. “I recognized a few of them. I’ve seen them at their summit.” “They’re what?” “It’s like a meeting,” Zia said quickly. “They have monthly get-togethers you could say to discuss business, trouble, anything that affects them.” “Thalia will be furious,” Zade said. “We should notify her immediately.” Then, he looked to me. “I heard you hit it off with her. Go to her. Tell her of this.” “Me?” I said nervously. “This will upset her,” Zade replied. “It is best to send someone who will put this to her lightly.” Then, he whispered. “And one she won’t kill in the process.”

“I ain’t going alone,” I demanded. That was just a matter of fact. “Of course you’re not.” Kyden’s expression showed just how absurd that was. “I will come with you.” “Ryker?” I glanced toward him. He shook his head and grinned. “You’re alone on this one. I don’t want to be there when she hears of this.” “Wonderful,” I grumbled. Our little sweetheart must have one bad temper. Ten minutes later, Kyden and I were waiting in Thalia’s sitting room, and I couldn’t get a handle on myself. So what, I was scared shitless—anyone would be. “Would you stop twiddling your thumbs,” Kyden snapped. “Hey, you have no reason to be nervous, she doesn’t want to eat you,” I snapped back. Kyden chuckled and took my hand. “It will be alright, Álainn.” I chose to sit in a chair closest to the exit, just in case she had some crazy vampire freak out that I would need to get away from quickly. “Why do you smell so nervous?” Thalia’s voice came beside me. I screamed, and in the process, fell straight back still sitting in my chair. Thalia laughed loudly, helping me up. “Would you please make some goddamn noise,” I burst out, settling myself once the chair was on four legs. “Geesh.” “You are such a blessing.” Thalia smiled. “I enjoy you so.” She took a seat across from me. “I was not expecting you to come back so soon.” Her eyes beamed. “Have you changed your mind about me having a little taste?” “That is very unlikely,” I responded.

“Well then, if you are not here for those wonderful reasons, why do you grace me with your presence?” I sighed deeply. “What I am about to tell you is going to make you very angry. Now, I would just like to point out that neither I, nor Kyden, had any part in this whatsoever. We are the good guys. Got it?” She looked intrigued. “Alright. Go on?” So I got right to it. “Tonight a Guardian was killed.” “Really?” Her eyes widened. “That is horrible and something quite unheard of. Who overpowered this Guardian?” “Some of your vampires,” I said, quickly, not wanting to chicken out. Thalia blinked. Obviously, waiting for me to continue. I didn’t know what else to say so I glanced at Kyden. He shrugged. “Did you just say that some of my vampires killed a Guardian?” she asked, drawing my focus back to her. “I did.” “What is this?” She jumped to her feet. “What kind of joke are you playing here?” Her tone had me sinking back into my chair. I glanced at Kyden, scared out of my wits, pleading for him to take it from here. I’m brave, but she looked hungry—for me. Her fangs had come out and I couldn’t decide if that was just because she was angry or she was about to eat me. Kyden gave me a little smile, then turned his focus on Thalia. “As much as I wish this was some joke, I am sorry to tell you that this is all very true. Ryker recognized a few of the vampires from the summit.” Thalia’s power was oozing from her. “I do not believe it. Mine are not capable of such cruelty. What would be their purpose in destroying the Guardian?” She aimed the question at me. I gulped. “That’s what we need to find out.”

“Hayes,” Thalia screamed. “Get in here.” I flinched at her aggression and level of voice. This was one pissed off vampire—one very scary pissed off vampire. Hayes quickly appeared, taking in Kyden and me, at a glance. Then, when he glanced at Thalia, his expression quickly mirrored hers. “What is it?” he demanded. “These ones here,” She pointed to us. “have informed me that some of my vampires have killed a Guardian.” “It is not possible,” Hayes responded. “They would never behave in such a way.” I sighed. “Listen. It is and they did.” They both snapped their heads toward me—their fangs glistened against the light. “Er…” I chose my words carefully. “Ryker saw them. He recognized them. He wouldn’t lie about something like this.” “Where is Ryker?” Hayes growled. Kyden intercepted. “He had other duties to attend to.” Thalia was fuming. Each second that passed, I was only glad I’d chosen a seat so close to the door. Really, what the hell did it matter? If she wanted to kill me, I’d be six feet under in a blink. The silence grew heavy as Thalia took many moments she needed to calm down and she needed plenty. It was at least a half an hour before she took her seat again. “Tell me what happened,” she ordered, her fangs put back where they belonged. “Do not leave anything out.” “There is not much to tell,” I told her. “What we saw is vampires trapped Trefan speaking of a revenge of some sort and then they killed him.” “How many vampires were there?” Hayes asked. “Twenty,” Kyden responded. “Twenty?” Thalia gasped. “Twenty of my vampires are being disloyal to me? That many? This just cannot be true.” The saying keep your temper in check was one my brain obviously didn’t understand or if it did, chose to ignore, because this was beginning to piss me off.

And after a few more this can’t be true comments, I snapped and jumped to my feet. “Enough! We are not making this up. Do you think we would be here if we didn’t believe this is true? These are the facts as we know them. We are trying to discover why our friend has been killed and sitting here going through this ‘I can’t believe it. It’s not true’ nonsense is time wasting.” Kyden stared at me with unbelieving eyes, as did Thalia and Hayes. Do you think that stopped me? Of course not, I’m stupid. “Your vampires,” I pointed to Thalia. “are responsible for this. So let’s just move past that, shall we?” The silence in the room was quiet enough to hear a pin drop. Thalia moved with her super fast speed and ended up standing right in front of me. “I have never been talked to in such a way,” she growled. “Get used to it,” I growled back. “I get annoyed easily.” Yep, I’m an idiot. My big mouth always lands me in a shit load of trouble. Thalia suddenly broke out in hysterical laughter, along with Hayes. Kyden, on the other hand, looked flabbergasted. “Nexi, that was quite entertaining,” Thalia remarked, taking her seat again. “Did you see that, Hayes?” Hayes nodded. “Quite remarkable display that was.” I took my seat too. “Are we done with that then?” Thalia nodded. “I believe you have stated your opinion adequately. I just wish there was a way that I could see them for myself. It is not that I choose not to believe you, Nexi. It is just when you have lived as long as I have loyalty is all you have. It is hard to come to terms with the fact that vampires I have trusted would do such a thing. They must be new.” “They weren’t.” Her brows rose. “You are saying they were old?” I nodded. “You got it.” “How could you tell?”

I shrugged a little. “I don’t know.” I glanced at Kyden. “Couldn’t you tell?” He shook his head. “Weird. Well, I could feel the power off them. They were just like you. I’ve noticed that recently with the older vampires. They just feel different.” Thalia appeared in front of me, kneeling at my feet and took my face in her hands to examine me. “You are special. Would you like to come and stay with me?” After I found my breath again—frig, she moved quickly—I asked, “Are you asking me to apply for a job?” “No,” she said, sternly. “I would never want one like you to work for me. We would be partners as such. Your skills would only make my house stronger.” I glanced at Kyden, who looked nothing short of amused. “Ahh…I thank you very much…for the offer. It would be lovely to stay with you, but my home is the Otherworld. I belong there.” “Pity.” She lowered her hands from my face and stood. “Maybe in a century you will change your mind.” Then, she laughed. “We have eons of time.” “Back on subject,” I said. “I believe I might have a way to show you, but I’ve never done it before so you would have to bear with me.” “Show me what?” Thalia asked, curiously. “Show you the vampires,” I replied. “Maybe if you get a good look at them you will recognize them.” Kyden interrupted. “What are you talking about?” “Tonight, I discovered I have a new ability. It appears that I can read other people’s thoughts. With Zia’s ability to show her thoughts to others, I’m thinking, or I have a feeling I should say, that I can do the same.” Kyden arched a brow. “Really?” Then, his expression turned sultry. I couldn’t resist. “What the hell is that look for?”

“Nothing of importance.” I continued to stare, as if I’d let him off that easy. He smirked and said, “I was imagining what it would be like to be able to read your thoughts during certain times is all.” I followed those words perfectly, getting a splendid image in my mind of just what that would be like. To know what Kyden was thinking while we made love. To completely understand how he saw me when he looked at my naked body. Warmth immediately filled every part of me. “Oh my,” Thalia purred. “Do you smell that, Hayes?” After a deep inhale, Hayes said, “Smells pleasantly sweet to me.” Both of their fangs were out and their eyes glowed wildly. “Are you two alright?” I asked. Thalia moved in closer toward me. “When you are aroused your scent is extraordinary.” She took a deep breath and my eyes widened at the intensity in her. “Oops…sorry,” I said, quickly trying to focus on anything but Kyden. Kyden chuckled. Thalia’s gaze never left mine. “Just because you don’t share him doesn’t mean you cannot share yourself?” Kyden laughed loudly this time. I shot him the dirtiest of dirty looks. “Not funny.” I glanced back to Thalia. She was watching me as if I was some poolside hunk and she was a starving cougar. “Er…I don’t share myself either. We are committed to each other.” The glow in her eyes slowly diminished. “What a waste. Hayes and I would’ve made a much pleasant evening for you.” My mind swirled with the images of that. Not that I’d ever thought of what being in a threesome would be like, but I couldn’t help imagine it a little bit. Suddenly, Thalia’s eyes twinkled. “See, you would enjoy it.” I glared at her. “Did you just read my mind?”

Kyden glared right back at me. “What were you thinking of?” I dismissed him with my hand and focused back on Thalia. “Answer the question.” “Yes. I can read your mind,” she stated, casually. “What…you can…how?” “I am an old vampire. It is one of our gifts.” “Can I stop you?” “No.” “Better work on my mind control then.” The two vampires laughed. Then, I shook my head, annoyed. “How we keep getting sidetracked is beyond me, but can I try and show you then?” Thalia nodded. “I do not mind.” I took her hands in mine, which had her beaming. She looked all too pleased that I was holding onto her, which didn’t please me in the least. “Alright. Let’s give this a try.” I inhaled deeply and closed my eyes, drawing on the adrenaline from Spirit—urging it to come forward so that I could show Thalia my memories containing the vampires. I focused on being back at the ball diamond and looked across each of the assailant’s faces. When my skin began to tingle and rush of intensity blasted through me, I knew it was working. “This is amazing,” Thalia remarked. I scanned their faces quickly, showing Thalia just what they looked like. The last image was of Astoria. When the connection broke, I gasped and fell back into my chair. That was draining. I did what I always do, put too much into it, but I wanted to make sure that it worked. When I opened my eyes, Thalia was crying. I instinctively squeezed her hands tighter. “It is true,” she whispered. “They are mine.” She glanced at Hayes, her expression pleading. “Why would they do such a thing? They have betrayed me.” He wrapped his arm around her. “I will kill them for their betrayal, my Mistress.” “Not if we kill them first,” Kyden growled.

My first thought, eww, she is crying blood tears. But the yuckiness of that was completely washed away as I watched her cry. She reminded me so much of Haven. She seemed so kind and the thought of her vampires being disloyal to her honestly hurt her. It actually gave me the warm fuzzies knowing that within these creatures, who could kill in an instant, were ones like Thalia—ones who still have a heart. It made me like her. Thalia wiped away her bloody tears and looked up at me. “I put you in a high regard as well.” Then, she stood, went toward the window and stared out. “How can you help us?” I asked her. Her gaze never left the outside. “I will call a summit. We will find these vampires and get the information you need to unearth this travesty.”

Chapter Thirteen

A night later, it was a good thing I could give myself a jolt or I’d need a double espresso to get this butt in gear. With all that had happened, no one was getting much sleep around here. And I could’ve stayed another couple hours in bed, if Zade hadn’t knocked on the door. “It’s time,” Zade told me. “Already?” my voice croaked. “It does not take long for Thalia to assemble her vampires.” “Okay. Just give us a minute, I gotta get dressed.” Suddenly, quite aware I was standing in my jammies with no bra. I quickly covered my chest with my arms. He grinned. “By all means—we will be waiting in the Council’s Hall.” After closing the door, I went back to the bedroom and climbed onto the bed beside Kyden. I reached out and nudged him. “Wakey, wakey, sleepyhead. We’ve got fangs waiting for us.” Kyden groaned. “Why are you up? It’s only just dark.” Willow grumbled.

“Go back to sleep.” I kissed her fluffy head. “You don’t need to get up.” “Good,” she purred, dozing off. Kyden rolled out of bed, stumbled to the dresser, rendering me speechless. His nakedness gleamed as the moon lit heaven across his skin. I approached him, knowing I couldn’t put this into words, and opened my mind to let him see just how much I appreciated his body. He gasped, then spun around, smiling. “That is one amazing power you have,” he growled, pulling me closer and leaned down to kiss my lips. I let him for a moment then I sighed against mouth. “We have to go.” I pushed him away. “Get dressed before we make ourselves real late.” “Later then,” he said with his usual arched brow. Within seconds, we were ready and heading out the door. Kyden threw me a blueberry muffin. “Do you know what to expect?” I asked through a full mouth. “I’d expect vampires—lots of them.” I swallowed. “Wonderful.” After a trip to the Council and a few quick words for me to behave myself, we made short time getting to Thalia’s. Instead of joining her in her home, she brought us to a huge atrium—a five-story high atrium, which sat behind her home. The ground was grass and the entire place lit by candlelight. The rest of it was large red steel beams. There wasn’t a single piece of glass to this structure and the warm air breezed through the room delightfully. It would’ve impressed me, if the thousand vampires weren’t focused right on me. Thalia stood from the chair next to me, her voice echoed across the room. “I thank you all for joining us this fine evening. I wish it was under better circumstances.” “What has happened?” a voice rang out. “Oh my dear, Damiana, I fear we have a problem in our home. Some of us killed a Guardian a night ago.” The entire room gasped. “Yes. Very troublesome. We have those within us who have betrayed me—gone against our laws.” “Who are they?” another voice shouted. “They are not with us tonight. But that is not of any consequence. Ember, I summon you.”

A tall, elegant redhead stepped out of the crowd and approached Thalia. Once before her, she bowed formally. “What is it you wish of me, my Mistress?” “Nexi here,” Thalia pointed back to me. “will show you the faces of these betrayers.” Ember examined me curiously. Thalia continued, “I want to know their makers.” The room got very quiet. Awkward! After a reassuring nod from Kyden, I stood and approached Ember. When I came face-to-face with her, I asked, “I have to touch you, is that alright?” Ember inhaled deeply, her eyes glowed. “Mmmm…” “Oh God,” I exhaled. “Not more of this,” Suddenly, very aware of how many vampires were in the room. “Can we just skip that part please?” “Of course.” Ember grinned. “Please proceed.” I took her hand then closed my eyes. This was getting easier. It wasn’t so forced and grasping on the energy I needed to show her this wasn’t hard to find. After my magic swirled around me and the connection was strong, I let the image come forth and sent it along to her. Ember immediately gasped then backed away looking aghast. “My stars, that was bizarre.” “Bizarre doesn’t even cover it,” I murmured. Kyden laughed behind me. “There are a few from our home that were there.” Ember tore her stunned gaze from mine to look at Thalia. “Their makers are here with us tonight.” “Tell them then, Ember,” Thalia demanded. “Tell them to step forward and answer for this grievance.” Ember spun around to the crowd looking saddened. “Luna, Daxon, and Vera step forward. Thalia has a request of you.” Soft whispers spread throughout the crowd, as the three vampires made their way to us.

“Call your fledglings to you,” Thalia ordered when they reached her. “Make them come.” I glanced around. What the hell is going to happen now? Would they just magically appear? No one else looked as curious as I did—most looked bored. When the silence began to get too thick to handle, words escaped my mouth. “Sorry, what exactly is going to happen?” Every eye in the room snapped to mine. Definitely not a spot I enjoyed being in. “We will wait for them to come,” Thalia answered. “Come…how…” I began, but suddenly, like something out of a horror flick, three vampires came flying into the room. I couldn’t hide my shock “Christ! That is unbelievable.” “I suppose never seeing that before would be a little surprising,” Thalia stated. “So what,” I just couldn’t wrap my head around this, “they call to them in their minds and then they come flying here?” Thalia nodded, her eyes twinkled with amusement. I gave my head an amazed shake. “Weird.” Thalia turned her focus to the three vampires standing in front of us, her glare deadly. “Come to me.” As if her words had power, they lurched forward to kneel at her feet. “You have betrayed me. Tell me why?” The vampires’ eyes filled with more than fear—it was terror. “I said, tell me why?” she demanded, and slapped one across the face. Ten minutes later, nothing had changed. Hayes had beaten the vampires into oblivion, but they still said nothing. They were healing just as quickly as he was beating them. My patience was lost. “Oh for heaven’s sakes,” I snapped, and walked toward the vampires. I reached out, laid my hand on one vampire’s shoulder. In an instant, visions flashed through my mind. I continued until I had read each of the vampire’s minds. By the end of it, I was pooped. I stumbled back to my chair, sank down, and leaned my head back.

A few moments passed, Kyden nudged my arm. “I believe they are waiting to hear from you, Álainn.” “Just wait.” I swatted him away. “That was exhausting.” The crowd laughed loudly. I raised my head a little to see everyone staring at me with equal amused expressions. “Glad to see I amuse everyone. Just give me a minute here.” Many minutes later, someone tapped their foot impatiently, equaled by deep sighs from around the room. I groaned deeply and raised my head. “And I thought I was impatient. Geesh,” I snapped. “You try doing that.” The crowd erupted into laughter yet again. I ignored them, stood from my chair and approached Thalia. “Okay, the gist of it is,” I pointed to the naughty vampires. “these vampires were followers of Lazarus.” Great news, right! Lazarus was in the past. I wanted to keep anything about him locked in that little vault of my mind I never went to. Apparently, wishful thinking on my part. I glanced over my shoulder, Kyden had risen from his chair and was quickly approaching. “Lazarus?” he repeated in a low growl. “You heard it right. We were wrong. It wasn’t only the wolves attached to him. This group of vampires seemed to be in on it too. There’s more, that witch we saw was Lazarus’ lover.” Kyden’s brow arched. “Was she now?” “Yeah, shocked me too.” And it truly had stunned me silly. “Basically they are seeking revenge against us for destroying Lazarus and their goal is to kill as many Guardians as they can.” “Is that so?” Kyden growled. The three vampires took a giant step back, feeling the rage emanating off him. Smart vampires. “This is what this is all about?” Thalia spat. “You have betrayed me for Lazarus?” None of them said a word. Thalia continued, “This was bad enough knowing that you only betrayed me—knowing that you were doing this to overthrow me. Intolerable.” She paced a little, fuming, and kept looking back to the

vampires, then muttered words quickly and continued her pacing. She finally huffed. “I hate to waste any of you. Do you understand that? Why must you push me to such measures?” Each of their faces filled with fear. “Fine—makers kill your fledglings.” Before I had time to blink, they were all dead. “Jesus,” I gasped. “That was quicker than flipping a pancake.” Thalia giggled. “Flipping a pancake. Oh Nexi, what a joy you are.” Then, she nodded toward the makers. “Go on.” “Go on…what?” I replied, looking between the three makers. “The ones they have made have failed them,” Thalia answered, drawing my gaze back to hers. “They could not control their fledglings so they must die as well.” The implication of what she was suggesting was obvious. “You want me to kill them?” Obviously, I was missing something here. Big surprise there, I knew nothing about the vampire world. Standing here before God knows how many vampires looking like a complete tard, wasn’t the ideal situation to be in. Thalia nodded without hesitation. “Of course I do.” “Er…why?” She shrugged, nodding me encouragingly. “This Guardian who was destroyed was your friend. It only seems appropriate.” I glanced out to the three trembling vampires. “But they haven’t done anything.” “They haven’t done anything?” Thalia gasped. “They could not control the ones they made. That is their duty—their responsibility. When they knew they had lost them, they should have told us immediately or destroyed them.” Kyden fingers ran down my arm. “This is the way of things, Nexi—this must be done.” I met his gaze, pleadingly, but he said nothing just stood strong and confident like he always did. I, on the other hand felt none of that strength. I glanced back at Thalia. “I can’t do this. I am sorry, but I can’t.” Thalia looked thoughtful for a moment then asked, “Are you refusing to do as I say?”

I lifted my chin. “Damn right I am. I will never kill anyone who I do not feel surely deserves it and these three,” I waved out to the vampires, “have done nothing wrong in my books. If this is the way you run things than fine you handle it.” Kyden squeezed my arm. “Nexi.” His tone warning. “What?” I snapped at him. “She cannot expect me to kill them. They haven’t done anything.” Then, I looked back at Thalia. “I am not disagreeing with the way you do things. I am sure you have good reason to do what you do. I respect that. It’s just, I can’t do it. Really, I couldn’t live with myself after.” Thalia cocked her head, examining me. “You are an interesting creature. Your will is outstanding. To voice your opinions as you do with no thought of the consequences is impressive.” Hayes nodded beside her. She continued, “But rules are rules. If you will not kill them then I will have to destroy you.” “What?” I gasped. “I thought we were friends or something like that?” Kill me? What the hell? “We are.” Thalia’s expression swept with sadness. “I see you becoming a very close ally. One I would love to get to know better, but I am demanding this of you, if you deny me, those are the consequences.” Tears welled up in my eyes. “But I can’t.” Shit, I was still too human. I couldn’t do this. Supernaturals might deal with matters so harshly, but humans didn’t and my morals were screaming at me that everything about this was wrong. “Trefan was not only Nexi’s friend,” Kyden growled. “He was mine.” He drew his sword, and a second later, the entire terrible and unbelievable incident was over. I grabbed Kyden’s arm, still dazed, and he looked unaffected. I hoped that didn’t cost him anything by doing that. I quickly read into him a little. His only thoughts were for me and my safety. Thalia clasped her hands. “All is well now. Let’s party.” Then, she reached for my hand. “Come and talk with me, Nexi.” I almost refused to take it—a little frightened of her now. Thalia grasped it tightly and led us to a back room with Hayes following behind. When the door closed on the small sitting room, she spun around, glaring at Kyden. “Took you long enough!” she blasted.

Kyden arched a brow. “Come again?” “Nexi, I am so sorry for that.” Thalia hugged me. “I didn’t think you were going to refuse me. I thought you would do that without hesitation. You are a Guardian. It’s what you do.” Then, she leaned back and nodded to Kyden. “This one should have stepped in sooner. It is a rule in the vampire court to destroy anyone who refuses a Mistress. They are stupid rules.” She backed away and lowered her arms from around my shoulders. “For a very scared moment, I thought I was going to have to destroy you.” “Huh?” My surprise made my words a gasp. “Wasn’t that awful, Hayes?” Thalia said to him. Hayes nodded. “Very. You fool,” he shot at Kyden. “You should have stepped in the moment Thalia mentioned it. She is yours. What a despicable display of honor.” Kyden growled. I interjected. “He was probably as shocked as I was. The whole thing was a little overwhelming. It just took him a minute is all. He stood by me. He always would,” I defended him. Kyden gave me a wink at that. “I did not know where you were going with it, Thalia. I was waiting to see if you had a plan.” “Oh, you smart hunky pants you.” Thalia slapped his arm. I gave my head a shake trying to get a handle on this. “Why did you want me to kill them in the first place?” Thalia looked mildly embarrassed. “Because I didn’t want to.” “You cannot be serious?” I snapped out. “A Mistress vampire with a conscience.” Kyden burst out laughing. “I thought I’d seen it all. Thalia, it has been a pleasure once again. We will contact you with our plans.” Then, he grabbed my hand. “Time to go.” We returned to the Otherworld in no time, not only, to get far away from the whole ridiculous escape but to fill in the Council on what we learned here. Now back in the Council’s Hall, standing before them and also Haven, Finn, Ryker and Keir, Kyden went through the night quickly, leaving nothing out.

Finally, after a long silence, Zia said, “Sounds as if you had an interesting evening,” “Interesting doesn’t even cut it,” I responded. “Can you believe such a thing? A Mistress vampire too soft to do her own killings.” Zia laughed. “Thalia is definitely one of a kind.” Zade asked, “From what you tell us the other vampires were unknown to their summit?” “That’s right,” Kyden responded. “There were only a few known to them and obviously those ones have been dealt with.” On the trip home, we had a small discussion on the matter and Kyden adamantly said that my worries were not to be bothered about. It was a justified killing to him, and his thought of the situation remained steady that the vampires did in fact deserve the fate they received. My guilt lessened after that. “I wonder if I will recognize any of them,” Zade said. “Zia, show me them?” I interjected. “I got this.” Zia’s brows rose. “You’ve got this?” “It seems my ability is settling into place nicely.” I approached Zade, placed my hand on his cold arm, and when the energy built within me, I drew my mind back to the baseball diamond. When I had their faces in mind, I released those images to him. Seconds later, his eyes cleared back to the present. “Looks as if we finally have another one of you, Zia.” Zia came to my side and cupped my cheek. “Each night, you astound me further. I am very proud.” I smiled big. It felt great to finally hear praise instead of being hauled over the coals. Zade’s voice brought me back from my inner praise. “I did recognize some of the others. The one female.” His face turned molten. “Was a lover of mine not long ago.” “She ain’t a lover no more,” I commented. “This is true,” Zade glowered. “I have to wonder what took place. She was such a darling. Very young and full of zest.”

Not wanting him to dive into that topic I quickly moved on. “Who are they?” “They are vampires from the Pacific Northwest—California to be exact.” “California?” I repeated. “A bit far from home.” Zade nodded in agreement. “Mistress Ellery will be quite displeased. She…” he hesitated, “is not like our Thalia. There is nothing soft about her. Betrayals are met with grave consequences.” “What could be more grave than death?” I had to wonder. Zade gave a soft smile. “I do not wish to share with you her methods of dealing with such matter as these. I will only say it is not in any way pleasant.” I gulped deeply. “What’s your plan?” Finn asked. “I’m in on this plan,” Haven added quickly. I gave her a little nudge. “Of course you are. We’d never leave you behind.” Finn gave me a little scowl, which clearly stated he had other ideas. Zade said, “I suppose the only choice we have is to go to Mistress Ellery. I believe it best we come with you.” “Thank heavens for that,” I stated, matter of fact. “I’m really sick of dealing with powerful vampires.” Zade gave me a knowing look. “I have a feeling this is only the beginning.” My only response to that was a little scowl myself. Kyden took my hand. “It is almost sunrise and Nexi is exhausted. We will not be meeting with the Mistress until tomorrow night.” He started to pull me away. “I am taking her home.” “Until then.” Zade gave me a little wink. Gross! Haven gave me a quick kiss. “Nitey nite. Don’t let the vampires bite.”

“Not funny.” She giggled. Kyden glanced down at me as we cleared the door. “Come Álainn. Let’s dig deeper into this new ability of yours, hmm?” Yum!

Chapter Fourteen

Hours later, I found myself standing smack dab in the Hollywood Hills. Not much of a surprise when lavish mansions, landscaped to the hilt surrounded us. Mistress Ellery’s home was no exception—this place was fit for Oprah. “Mistress Ellery is…well…she can be.” Zia searched for words. “A bitch?” I helped her out. She smiled. “That is an accurate description.” The group that joined us tonight was Talon, Zia, Keir, Ryker, Haven, Finn and of course Kyden and I. When we drew up close to the door, it flung open and a timeless vampire stepped out. She was made for a 50’s movie screen. Her hair was straight except the slight wave that cradled her face, her eyes dark, but soft, and her light makeup gave her the air of a debutante. Clearly, this was Mistress Ellery since Zade and Talon were bowing to her, and the quick pleasantries her and Zia shared. Ellery didn’t look like a bitch—she looked exquisite. “Why are you here?” she snapped after the formalities. Nope, she was a bitch. Her gaze scanned the crowd. When it landed on me, her eyes widened a little. “You—come forth.” I glanced around, then pointed to my chest. “Me?”

She snorted thoroughly annoyed. “Yes, you. Does it look like I am looking at anyone else?” I furrowed my brows a little trying to keep in mind that I should play nice. Kyden gave me a little nudge, issuing the same warning. I relaxed my face immediately and approached her. When I stopped in front of her, she gave me a full once over with a sneer on her face that wasn’t pleasant. “You look nothing special,” she grumbled. “Excuse me?” I managed, attempting to remain calm. She met my gaze and looked at me as if I was a piece of garbage dirtying her front lawn. “All this talk of you and you are so plain.” That was it. I glared at her, prepared to give her a piece of my mind. Zia did a little ahem. I adamantly ignored her. “Well, you don’t look so special yourself. Maybe a beautiful actress at one point, but now that we’re no longer living in the 50’s, you look outdated.” Gasps plus quiet chuckles were heard behind me. Ellery examined me a moment then gave a soft smile. “I will talk with you—you only.” She glanced at the others, dismissing them off her doorstep with a wave of her hand. “Am I in deep shit here?” I thought to Zia. “I am unsure. She seems to enjoy your mouth. We need to work on that, Nexi.” “Yeah, yeah, yeah,” I said aloud. Ellery looked at me curiously. “It’s nothing—just talking to myself.” She inclined her head, motioned for me to step inside. Just as I walked away, Kyden brushed up beside me. “I will wait here for you.”

“You will not,” Ellery spat. “You will get off my property.” Kyden stepped forward, no misunderstanding in his stance. “She is mine, Mistress Ellery. I will wait here for her. I am entrusting that you will keep her safe in your home, but it is my right to wait for her and I will do so.” “Fine,” Ellery responded, annoyed. “You Guardians, possessiveness never changes. You can wait here for her. As for you others.” She glanced between them. “Get off.” I laughed a little as I stepped into her home. Who knew someone could speak to the Council in such a way and actually get away with it. I never would have believed it. Ellery led me through her house and into a library. It was old—much older than the house was. I wasn’t about to ask how it got here. Books lined the walls all the way up to the ten-foot ceilings with a rolling ladder idling in the middle. Two red chaises sat in the center of the room. Ellery ran her hand over one, indicating for me to sit. “This library comes with me wherever I live,” she answered my unasked question. “It is beautiful.” “It is reminiscence of old times.” She sat in front of me, leaned over into a box, and took out a long cigarette, offering me one. I shook my head. “Tell me then,” she asked, before she lit her smoke. “Why have you and your have entourage come here?” Straight to business this vampire was. “We have some news for you and I don’t really know how to put it…” I stumbled a little, nervous she was going to go all vampy on me. “You wish to discuss the vampires that have betrayed me?” she said concisely. “You know?” My shock blasted through my words. She nodded, taking a long draw on her cigarette, then exhaled the smoke into a perfect line. “Yes, I learned of this not long ago.” “Well good,” I exhaled. “That saves that conversation.” “What is you wish me to do about it?”

“I have no idea. What do you want to do about it?” She laughed a little—it sounded sweet. I wasn’t fooled. “I assume you are here to have my help in some manner. I am just laying the cards out on the table so we don’t have to piss around the bush.” Her directness left me a little taken back. This conversation wasn’t happening at all how I had planned. I thought for a moment then said, “Basically, it’s like this. Your vampires killed our friend. That in itself would make us hunt them down and kill them. But it seems they have an evil witch with them too. We can only assume they are up to something. So, we need your help to find them.” “Now we are getting somewhere. You wish for me to help you destroy them, or is it your wish for me to tell you their location?” I shrugged. “Either of the two would be helpful.” “What would you give for this help?” “Give you? What the hell is that supposed to mean? Isn’t it your duty to help us? They are your vampires.” “No, I am not obligated to help you. I could call the vampires to me and destroy them, but there may be a little problem with that.” My brows rose. “What problem would that be?” “I have already destroyed their makers.” I sighed heavily. “That does pose a problem. Can I ask why you did that?” “Are you questioning the way I do things?” Her rage flowed out at me and it felt raw. “No.” I gulped. “I just wonder why you’d kill them before you called the others. It is not meant in disrespect, just more of a curiosity.” She calmed, the glow in her eyes settled. I was glad for that. “To be perfectly honest,” she said, showing not hint of anger. “I was not aware of all the circumstances that surrounded this incident. I was told by my regime that ten of our makers had lost control of their fledglings and had not heard from them.”

“So you keep tabs on them?” She nodded, apparently amused at my lack of knowledge if the smile on her face had anything to say about. “Yes. I run things in the Pacific Northwest in a very strict manner. Our vampires must check in monthly. When some of ours had not made contact, we immediately dealt with the matter. It had not come to my attention that a Guardian was killed until after.” “Shit! Well that complicates things.” “I suppose it does. I return to my question to you. What would you give for information in finding the whereabouts of the vampires in question?” “You know where they are?” “I do,” she said smoothly. Confusion raked me. “What is it you want?” She stood and began pacing the room. “I am old. One of the oldest vampires in ruling at the present time. Life for us tends to get bland, boring, I should say.” She took a glance back at me. “It is hard to find new things to lift us. Remind us of all the reasons we enjoy this vampire life.” I stared at her baffled, no idea where she was going with this. “Okay and where do I come in?” “I will get to that.” She smiled, then, she continued wandering around the room running her hands along the books. “I have heard of you, you know.” “You have?” “I heard of your dealing with Lazarus, which you handled pleasantly well. Kudos to you.” “It was a team effort, trust me.” “I have also heard of your visit with Thalia, which gave many of us a story to find amusement in.” She chuckled. “A Guardian who will not kill.” She shook her head at that. Then, suddenly she was right before me. “I also heard of your smell.” She inhaled deep and met my gaze with wild eyes. My blood ran cold. “Are you suggesting…?” I couldn’t even say the words.

She stood and began walking around the room again. “As I said, new and interesting things are very rare to us. When you just so happened to arrive on my doorstep, an interesting proposition presented itself.” I glared at her. “You have got to be out of you fucking mind if you think for one second that I am going to let you drink from me.” “This is the deal I offer you.” She returned to her seat. “You need information. I want what you have. The decision is yours.” “I—you—” I stammered. “Are you seriously telling me that the only way you will give up their location is if I let you taste me?” She nodded, firm and unwavering. I was stuck between a rock and a hard place. This was the only way for us to discover the current location of Trefan’s killers. We not only wanted revenge against them, but who knew how many more Guardians’ lives they would take if we didn’t stop them. “Before I can even think of this I have questions.” She waved for me to continue. “Will it hurt?” I asked. “No. It will be erotic.” “Erotic how? And you won’t be doing anything sexual to me, will you?” Her eyes gleamed. “Do you want me to?” “No,” I said sharply. “Then no.” The light in her eyes dimmed. “How much will you…take from me?” “Not much. It will be enough to sate me.” “Will I feel any different after? I mean there are no lasting effects or anything?” She snorted a sound that implied I was dense. “You think I will turn you?”

“I have no idea,” I snapped. “You need to further your knowledge. Your stupidity does not look well on you.” “If you start playing bitch, I’m outta here.” She waved her hand dismissingly. “I will be nice.” I sighed deeply. “Okay, it won’t hurt. You will just take a little, and I won’t be any different. Right?” She nodded. Her eyes began to glow and she stood. I quickly raised my hand. “I haven’t said yes yet.” She sighed, taking her seat again. “What else is it you want to know?” “I don’t know. I’m stalling…geesh.” She laughed loudly. “Your attitude is exactly as I thought it would be. All that I’ve heard about you is very true. You are pleasant to have around.” “Yeah right.” I guffawed. “Pleasant to eat you, my dear.” She laughed harder. For a moment, I considered screaming bloody murder out of this place. What the hell was I thinking even considering this? Ellery sat quietly—amusement lit her eyes as she read my thoughts. This was the only way. Without her help, we’d be at square one. In resignation, I met her gaze and stood. “Alright, where do you want to do this?” Suddenly, she was right in front of me. Her hands wrapped around my face as she angled my head to the side. Her tongue slid the length of my neck. What the hell was she searching for? Immortals don’t have heartbeats, it’s not like she was searching for my pulse. Just then, a vein bulged in my neck. It was as if her saliva called for my vein to appear to her. Nerves were almost making me faint. When her fangs grazed my neck, a thought instantly occurred to me. “Stop,” I screamed. With vampire speed, she leaned back. “What?” she growled.

Her eyes were glowing so bright—it was just plain scary. “Tell me first,” I demanded. “Tell me where they are.” “Smart of you,” she approved. “You will find them at Powderhorn Lodge in Salt Lake City.” Then she leaned back in and when her fangs penetrated my skin, I gasped in utter disbelief. The intrusion was far from what I expected. Pain didn’t pierce my skin. What I felt was very similar to the intense pleasure that came immediately before a climax. It was that consuming and with each pull on my neck, the sensation only grew deeper. Before I could even help it, I was moaning against her movements, enjoying the pleasure she was giving me. When she pulled away, I made little unhappy noises, which had her laughing. I fell to the ground, panting, trying to restore myself. I felt raped—orgasm raped. “I told you, you would enjoy it,” she purred, wiping the bit of blood off her mouth. “I…” my breath exhaled, “I thought you were exaggerating. That was incredible.” I quickly pushed away the sense of erotic fulfillment. “But gross. Very, very gross.” I stood. “Are we done here?” She nodded. “Quite. Your blood was just as I assumed it would be,” she licked her lips, “delicious.” “I’d say it was a pleasure, but…” “It was business,” she interjected. “You are new to this world, but will learn quickly to barter.” She reached out her hand and I shook it. I didn’t hate the vampire before me. She was just all business—cold, hard business. That was clear and really I had more pressing matters. “Until next time.” She smiled. “Not to be rude, but I hope that is not anytime soon.” Lickity-split, I was back outside, gasping in the fresh air. As quickly as air escaped my mouth, it drew back in when Kyden grabbed my face. “What is that?” he bellowed, pointing at the two fangs marks clearly on my neck. He was about two seconds away from storming into Ellery’s house and killing her. I grabbed his arm and pulled. “It’s fine. Let’s just get out of here.”

We quickly ran down the hill to meet up with the others at the bottom of the driveway. I ignored all there curious expressions and grasped Zia’s hand, sending the group to do the same. The very instant we landed back in the foyer, Kyden growled, “Tell me now.” The others spun back to me, obviously in interest of what was provoking him. Zade quickly rushed forward, grasping my face to view the evidence. “Did she assault you?” Loud gasps ruminated off the walls. I sighed, backing away from Zade’s hold. “No. I let her.” “You let her drink from you?” Kyden roared. Zia took my hands. “Why would you do that?” “It was the only way she would tell me where the vampires are. She had already killed their makers. It was the only choice I had.” Zade burst out laughing. “You let her drink from you. Oh, that’s classic.” Kyden glared at him. “What was it like?” Haven asked, fully excited. Kyden glared at her too. “It was…well…” I bit my lip, looking nervously at Kyden. “Pleasurable,” he added grimly. “Really?” Haven giggled. “Like knock your socks off pleasurable?” Kyden’s glare deepened. Haven slowly walked back into Finn’s arms who wrapped himself around her, laughing. “You let her drink from you?” Zia still couldn’t wrap her head around it. “Can we just move on? I feel violated and just gross. It’s not something I want to relive.” Zade was still laughing hysterically. “And it’s not funny.”

“Oh—but—it is.” He rolled in laughter. Then, they all joined in. Keir and Ryker were gripping their stomachs from laughing so hard. I gave them all my best rendition of a go shove it look. “This is the thanks I get?” When I glanced at Kyden, he wasn’t laughing. He was furious. “We do thank you.” Zia hugged me. “I have never heard of such a thing taking place before. You have served the Council well.” Zade’s laughter was quieting as he approached me. When he reached me, he glanced to Kyden. “Turn your head.” Before I could ask why, Kyden looked away and Zade had my face in his hands and sank his fangs into my neck. My eyes rolled back into my head and I groaned. When he drew away, it was so quick it didn’t have the effect that Ellery’s feast did. “Bah,” I shouted. In vampire speed, Zade was away from me and even more than that farther away from Kyden. “What the hell was that for?” I blasted. Zade smiled, kindly. “I took some of your blood and sealed the wounds.” I raised my hand to my neck and my skin was smooth. “Yeah, got that much. Why?” “So you didn’t carry her scent. When a vampire feeds, it is a sort of claim. If I left you the way you were, it would appear to other vampires that you belong to her. Now, it says you are mine—meaning the Council’s.” “Oh,” was my response. After a few more, shocked glances and ridiculous questions, they were all on their way. Kyden still wasn’t looking my way so I approached him. When I met up with him, he slowly glanced down to meet my gaze. “Are you angry with me?” I asked. “I do not like to share you. Not with anyone and knowing the pleasure…” I stopped that thought immediately. “Kyden that ranked a zero on the scale of what you do to me.”

After ten—I counted—very deep breaths, his face became resolved. “As much as I hate to admit there was no way around it, getting the information was important.” He sighed. “Are you alright? Not hurt in anyway?” “Just creeped out. Like, shake your body till the creepiness floats away, kinda creeped out. I never want to do that again.” “And so you shouldn’t, Álainn.” He kissed me as possessively as he could, then murmured against my lips. “I give you pleasure. No one else.”

Chapter Fifteen

After I spilled the beans on the location of the vampires, Talon called in Detective Broden to meet us at Powderhorn Lodge. I could only imagine that his line of thinking ran across Broden’s knowledge of the city, which to me meant bad news. He was looking outside of our circle for help—that couldn’t have been good. An hour later, we were staked out a mile away from the location of the vampires. “I don’t see anything.” I held the massive binoculars in my hands searching for the damn house. There were trees, dark sky and that was about it. “Where is it?” Detective Broden snorted something close to annoyance and grabbed the binoculars to steady them as he guided me to the right direction. “Oh, I see it. Thank you.” A grand wooden lodge embodied with a large clock tower that sat high above the main structure was coming clear through the binoculars. In the winter, this place would be a skiers dream come true with the large mountains resting behind the lodge. Tonight however, it was empty—all that remained was vampires, and by the looks of it, lots of them. “I have counted close to forty vamps,” Kyden said grimly. “How can you even tell? They all look the same,” I replied. I leaned back a little, looking through the binoculars, which were heavy enough to make my arms sore. I glanced at Broden. “Where’d you get these things?”

“I am part of the Police Force,” Broden responded. “You think things such as these wouldn’t be available to me?” “I guess.” I shrugged. “It’s just these look like something out of the military. Who knew the Police needed surveillance equipment like this.” Kyden glanced away from his binoculars and winked at me. “Modern technology does have its advantages.” He was right about that. We would never have been able to see their location without being discovered. They would’ve scented us immediately. Talon sighed. “This will be more difficult to go up against.” “Got that right,” I said in agreement “How many Guardians do we have available to us?” “On such short notice, I am afraid we only have ten.” “There are five from my squad who have offered their assistance,” Broden added. Talon shot him a grateful look. “Any help we can get is much appreciated. I only wish we had more time to gather the others. I fear if we wait, they will move on, or cause more deaths.” “Our group is strong,” Kyden told his father. “We will manage,” Talon responded with a firm nod. Before we left, Thalia and Hayes had showed up. My guess was Talon had called them to assist with this. “Thalia said she and Hayes would also help. She’s not willing to sacrifice any of her regime, but still there are two more that will help,” I told them. Kyden arched a brow. “She offered her help?” I nodded. The three of them stared at me in shock. “Is that weird or something?” They all nodded in unison. Talon said, “It is odd for her to help with this matter. This does not concern her. You must have made a good impression.” “Oh,” I said to Talon. “You didn’t ask them to help?”

Talon shook his head. “No, I did not.” “Well, who cares why they’re helping, just be glad they are. By the looks of it we need the help.” Talon looked back through the binoculars. “There are four entry points I see. Do you all agree?” We all looked back. “Shit,” I blasted. “I can’t find it again.” I searched the dark sky completely lost. Kyden chuckled, and reached up to assist me. “There it is—stinking building.” I searched the lodge, and saw Talon was right. There were four entrances excluding the windows of course. “Four. I agree,” Kyden said beside me. “They appear to all stay around the main hall there,” I stated. “Yes. They do,” Talon said. “Broden, can you sense any of them upstairs?” “I am unsure. There are so many of them in there it is hard to indentify where they all are.” I focused deeply, drawing on that piece of energy that sat deep in my soul, and scanned the lodge. Moments later, I knew. “There are some upstairs too, but they feel young,” I blurted out. The air got thick around me. I glanced away from the binoculars to see their shock had returned. “What?” “Did I hear you right?” Broden appeared more than stunned. “Depends on what you heard. If you mean did I say that there are some upstairs, but they are young ones, then yes, you heard me right.” The stunned look on his face deepened. “How are you able to do that?” “I have no idea. I can just tell.” “So, there are more upstairs then?” Talon asked. “I am sure of it. They feel different from the ones below, which leads me to believe they are young. Don’t ask me how many, I ain’t that good.” They all laughed.

“Nexi, your skills are beginning to overwhelm me,” Talon said, all too serious. Then, he stood. “Let us get back to the others and discuss strategy. We cannot walk into this without a plan.” “I will gather my team and meet you in the Otherworld,” Broden stood, then took the binoculars from our hands. Kyden leaned in and kissed my nose. “He’s not the only one amazed, Álainn.” I closed my eyes, smiling. When I opened them again, I stood back in the foyer. We followed Talon into the Council’s Hall were the whole crew was waiting, including the ten Guardians and a handful of witches. After Talon had filled them all in, Broden and his team arrived as the plans about our next move continued. “These are the entry points,” Talon said, pointing to a large drawing of the lodge. “Broden, you and yours will enter from here.” Talon pointed to the side door on the left. “The Guardians will enter from this side,” he said, pointing to the right. “The Witches, Thalia, Hayes, Ryker, Zade, and Brax will go in through the back. Kyden, Finn, Haven, Nexi, Zia, and I will enter through the front. Are we are clear on that?” “I am not in agreement,” Thalia snapped. “I am offering my help to Nexi. It is her I wish to enter with.” I furrowed my brows at her. Huh? “Zia and I will enter in through the back then,” Talon responded. “Does that suit you?” “That suits me just fine,” Thalia replied giving me a wink. What is she up to? “That is a very good question,” Zia answered my thought. I laughed. Everyone looked to me. “Sorry, please continue. Zia is just reading my mind.” Kyden arched an equivocal brow. I waved away his question. “How can we witches help?” Haven asked.

Zia said, “I believe our only job is to help provide distraction. Use your magic to burn, create air, send the earth moving, anything to distract the vampires long enough so the Guardians can attack. If you see an opportunity to help, do so. Use your defensive magic to assist in the killings, but unless you know they will be destroyed, stay back. Allow the Guardians to do their work.” “We can provide just the distraction,” one of the witches responded, sending them all laughing and giggling in excitement. “The key to our success here,” Talon said, “is to act quickly. Kill effectively. Do not hesitate. Do what you must to see they are all destroyed.” All heads nodded in understanding. “Is Astoria there?” Zia asked. I shook my head. “I didn’t see her.” “That is a bit of good news. Her presence would make this nearly impossible.” “When you get into the lodge fan out,” Talon said. “Do not stick together. If we allow them to group it will be harder to defeat them.” “You know I could try to freeze them all. Wouldn’t that make it easier?” I said. The ability had shown through when I defeated Lazarus—it wouldn’t be that hard to do again. Right? “Of course it would,” Zia said, softly, “but the truth in the matter is, you cannot do it fast enough, and in the time that you would need to focus you could be killed.” Damn control. Damn powers. This would be a hell of a lot easier if I did some hocus pocus thing and it was done. Nothing ever comes easily. “We brought some things that may be of assistance,” Broden said, a hint of pride leveling his voice. He bent down and unlocked a big chest resting in front of him. He reached in and pulled out bazookas—big ones. “Now that is a piece of beauty,” Finn purred. Every male in the room had a face that leaned very close to arousal looking at the weaponry before us. Broden smirked. “I believe this is how we can assist you best.”

Talon looked intrigued. “Go on.” “Try and draw some of them out. We have advanced our weapons, and they are remarkably accurate and effective to use against vampires. If you bring them out into the front we can blast away many in a span of a few seconds.” Kyden stepped forward to rub his hand along the barrel of the bazooka. “It’s pretty,” he hummed. “Stop touching it like that.” I kicked him. “You’re making me jealous.” He gave me a devilish grin in return. “I believe Broden is right,” Talon said. “Guardians divide.” The eight male Guardians and two females split into two separate groups. “You,” he pointed to the group on the left, “will take over Broden’s entry in the left side of the lodge. When you have caught the attention of the vampires draw them out.” Then, he glanced to the other group. “You will follow in behind us and help pull as many as you can outside. This will clear the lodge sufficiently, so we will have an easier time dealing with the others, while Broden and his team help you out front. Agreeable?” Talon asked Broden. He nodded firmly. “This will lessen our outnumbered numbers. We will set up position in the trees facing the lodge.” “We all set then?” Talon asked the crowd. “One moment,” Zia said, quickly. “If any of you receive an injury that is life threatening, yell for me, and I will come heal you immediately.” “I’d offer the same, but if I heal any of you, I’ll probably end up killing myself in the process.” Kyden turned toward me as he gazed intently into my eyes. “Keep your thoughts on yourself only.” “You too,” I told him just as stern. Making sure he got the point that he didn’t need to protect me, which I knew was going to be his main priority. He grinned before he kissed my lips softly. “I will do fine, Álainn.”

Chapter Sixteen

“Stay safe.” I hugged Haven as tight as I could as we stood next to the portal in the Council’s foyer. “You too.” Haven’s voice shook. She was more nervous than she was letting on. Considering how nervous I felt, I knew it wasn’t my feelings making it hard to breathe. Of course, I was fearful for everyone involved, but I trusted in our abilities. With us all fighting together I had no doubt we’d get through this. Haven stepped back into Finn’s arms, his hold was tight with a need to shelter her. I understood his apprehension here. He wasn’t the only one who wished she would stay behind. Haven isn’t a fighter. The thing was, she needed to be involved with this because she believed she owed it to Trefan. I wasn’t about to take away from her—I understood the need that drives someone to avenge another’s death all too well. Suddenly, warm fingers ran down my arm. I glanced up, Kyden looked relaxed—not really the expression you’d expect to see before a battle like this. He reached for my hands and pulled me toward him. “You will stay behind me,” he said. When my brows furrowed, he chuckled and reached up to smooth the lines away. “I am not saying you cannot fight. I am only saying your place is behind me.” When I opened my mouth, he clamped it shut by saying. “Please,” he said pleading. “Do not argue with me on this.” The soft tone of his voice was so unlike him that I chose to listen. “Okay. I will stay behind you.” He wasn’t trying to dominate me, which was his usual way. He chose to ask this in a way he knew I wouldn’t deny him. He might just be coming around. He sighed heavily. “Good, that is settled.” His concerns for my safety put me at ease. “I am ready.” “I will stay beside her,” Thalia told Kyden. He gave her an approving nod. I glanced at her, suspicious. Hopefully whatever her intentions were, they were good. Let’s just hope trusting in her didn’t backfire later. I doubted they would, but still. What was she after here? “What?” Thalia looked as innocent as innocent can be. “I only wish to assure you are kept safe.”

“Sure you do,” I drawled. “Keep the elements with you,” Zia thought to me. “Let them guide you to safety.” I glanced over to her and smiled. “You be safe as well.” Suddenly, Talon grabbed her and kissed her as if he was heading off to World War III. Everyone in the room went dead silent as stunned eyes stayed glued on the two of them getting hot and heavy. Most of us knew they were a couple. It was just they were so silent about it—never showed outright affection toward each other in public. Probably because doing so would be considered inappropriate. Thank God, that didn’t apply to Kyden and I—we’d fail miserably. “Well,” Zia said as Talon drew away. “Focusing might be a little hard if you do that again.” Talon grabbed her chin and brought her gaze to his. “Do not involve yourself unless you must. Understand?” She gave me a wink. “Like father like son.” I laughed. “Touché.” She leaned in, kissing his lips lightly, then whispered something in his ear. Talon’s eyes instantly went molten. Then, he quickly stepped back in an obvious attempt to regain his focus. Kyden wrapped his hands around my face, drawing my gaze back to his. “Álainn,” he whispered just before he took my lips, oh so, tenderly. I smiled against his mouth. “I love you too.” Those were the last words spoken. Nobody said anything as we stepped through the portal and approached the lodge. The groups dissipated, surrounded the building and made our way to stand outside the main door. Without any hesitation, Kyden lunged through the door with us following behind. The vampires in the room stood, apparently shocked by our arrival. Finn sheltered Haven with his body as I flanked her side, and Thalia did mine. Seconds later, the others blasted their way into the other doors, and we all stood in the quiet moments before the rumble. After the initial moment of shock, the vampires lunged into action, yelling

in some language that definitely sounded old. Was it Latin? Sounded a little like Kyden’s nickname for me. The Guardians in the room gasped, appearing fearful and ran from the lodge. With another loud shout, half the vampires emptied the room following the Guardians outside. Ah ha! They fell for the bait. Suddenly, the new vampires I had sensed flew down the stairs. More than fifty of them had us surrounded. Really wished my vampire meter-reader had been a little more accurate and given us a better idea of numbers. “Oh crap,” I grumbled. A vampire yelled again and pointed outside. Ten more of the vampires left, joining the others outside. The second they stepped out the door, explosions and cries began rattling the walls of the lodge. “You know why we have come,” Talon spat. The vampire’s eyes glowed. “You have just made this easier for us to succeed in killing you pathetic Guardians for stealing our leader from us.” “Leader,” Haven growled from beside me, and touched the ground, causing it to rumble beneath the vampires’ feet, sending them all flying backwards. It wasn’t only her. The other witches joined in as well and the room erupted into Armageddon. Fire blasted up the walls. The vampires were hit with water and air viscously, as they fought to remain on their feet. “Go,” Talon shouted, and with a battle cry he sprung forward. Before I could even reach any of the vampires, Kyden, Talon, and Finn had already killed four. A vampire slipped behind Kyden and lunged himself at me. Too bad, I didn’t get a chance to kill him, though. Just as the vampire was a hairbreadth away, his head detached from his body. My gaze hit Kyden’s, he was in a fit of rage. He never even truly looked at me. He just spun around and attacked with remarkable skill. He was glorious. “Wow,” Thalia said beside me. “He is pure sex.”

I scowled at her. “Eyes off, you.” Of course, I agreed. He looked about as damn yummy as I’d ever seen him. But that was my observation to make, dammit. Just as my jealousy surged, I was hit from the side from a vampire who ripped into my arm. An instant later, he was dead. As quickly as he was on me, he was off with Thalia in his place licking the blood off my arm. My eyes went wide. “What are you doing?” She never stop licking, only groaned and moaned in pure pleasure. The light dawned. She was counting on me being injured so she could have her little taste. When the wound healed, she hopped up, glowing. “Yum.” I eyed her suspiciously. “You needed healing. I provided it.” she smiled, and gave me a wink. “I have done well.” “Now it all makes sense,” I said, jumping to my feet. Haven squealed as two vampires hit me. As they made contact, I grabbed Haven’s arm and shoved her behind me insuring she was safe. I drew my sword, slicing quickly, sending one of them to their knees. Once at the perfect angle, I destroyed him. Just as the next vampire was on me, Thalia twisted his neck until his head popped off. Before that thought overwhelmed me with the hebejebes, two more vampires flew toward me, and suddenly the air around me rippled. When it stopped, there stood a sleek black panther. “What the hell?” I blasted out. The panther stunned the vampires just as much as it did me. We all stood a moment and it gave us just enough time to see a little orange tip resting on the end of its tail. “Willow!” I managed through my shock. “Yes it’s me, stupid. Who else would it be?” she snapped. Then, she lunged forward, and the three vampires before us were dead not a second later. “We are having a talk when this is over,” I told her sternly. Willow snorted. “That’s the thanks I get.” I quickly glanced around the room wanting this to be over. There was no way in hell I was going to be Thalia’s lollipop again. Hayes was helping the others, and by the looks of things, the males were

taking care of things just fine on their own. Ryker, Brax and Zade were tearing into the young ones while Finn, Hayes, Kyden and Talon were working their way through the old. “Get off me,” Thalia snapped. By the time I looked her way, the vampire upon her was already dead. Haven’s scream came loud behind me. Fear shot straight through my soul. I had been so focused on Thalia I had forgotten about her. Finn shouted her name. He couldn’t get past the two vampires he was up against. His eyes filled with panic. I glanced back at Haven to see a vampire was moments away from lunging at her. She was too frightened to defend herself. I focused deeply, needing Fire to assist me. Just as the vampire lunged, I threw a ball of flames spiraling toward him. It hit. I ran forward and grabbed her by the arms. “Are you okay?” “Yuck. Vampire guts are all over me.” She grimaced a little, shaking the left over dust that was the vampire out of her hair. I kept my hands on her, just to make sure she was safe then I looked out the others again. Kyden was fighting three vampires, Finn and Talon were each dealing with a couple more, and Hayes was quickly working his way around the room. Brax’s growl was ruminating off the floor and Zade was so quick I couldn’t even follow him. Loud explosions continued to blast against the walls around us. Clearly the others outside were in a fierce battle of their own. They all looked tired—worn from an intense battle. It occurred to me that I could put an end to this. I was in a safe enough position to be able to concentrate fully. “Watch my back, okay?” I said to Thalia. She nodded, looking more than intrigued. I drew in, clearing my mind of all that was around me—focusing on the warmth that filled me as the Fire Element came forward. I needed strength here. I needed it to come out strong. When the power overwhelmed every part of me, I released the Fire. With a loud sizzle, a line of fire whipped through the room quickly. When it evaporated, everyone stood completely covered in thick ash. I busted out laughing. “Look at you all.” Kyden, Hayes, Finn, and Talon were the worst, considering most of the vampires surrounded them.

“Look at what you did to me! In this fine shape too,” Willow growled. When I looked at her, I only laughed harder. There wasn’t a black spot left on that beautiful body. I wiped away the tears running down my cheeks. “Sorry. You are quite beautiful.” Kyden approached me, the fierce look in his eye never fading. Just as he reached me, Zia sent a wave of water through the lodge while Zennah followed behind air-drying us. No one would ever know vampires had been here. Having witches around sure came in handy. “We had that handled,” Kyden said sternly, clearly disapproving of my method in ending the battle. “I know you did. It was…umm…I was worried about Haven,” I responded. That was partly true. As if I was about to tell them they all looked tired. There was no need to add insults to make this moment even more awkward. “If we needed your help,” Talon growled at me. “We would have asked for it.” “All of you horrible creatures are so ungrateful,” Willow spat. I gave her a little smile and petted the top of her head, where she now sat at my waist sending her to purr loudly. “Stop it,” Zia snapped. “You killed at least twenty of them. You have proved yourself well, you strong, feral males. We females are forever in your service for such a heroic display.” Talon snatched her up. “Nexi has influenced you.” “Hey,” I shot back. “I never told her to say that.” Then, I thought in my mind. “Good one.” Zia laughed loudly. My gaze drifted to Thalia and my memory returned. “You.” I glared pointing my finger at her. “What did she do?” Kyden asked, bringing my attention back to him. “Licked me.” He arched a brow. “She what?”

“That’s why she came to help. She was waiting for me to get injured so she could taste me,” I spat out. “Does it truly matter what my reasons for coming here were?” Thalia said, unashamed. “I proved myself invaluable. I not only saved her life, but I healed her wound.” “She is right,” Kyden said with a smirk. “I’ve been tongue raped.” Laughter ran through the now empty space. I met Thalia’s gaze and sighed. “I guess, I should say thank you—I think.” She gave me a happy nod, her eyes bright with emotion. Obviously, she liked what she tasted. In response to my thoughts, she nodded again. I shook my head at her, and turned my attention to things other than my body. “Are you okay, Haven?” She pushed her way out of Finn’s arms. “Surely am. Thanks to you.” She bounced over and gave me a quick kiss on the cheek. “We have kept a few alive,” Broden said from the main entrance. “We thought you might wish to question them with regards to the witch.” “Good thinking, Broden,” Zia said. “Let’s go meet these vampires, Talon.”

Chapter Seventeen

“Fess up, kitty,” I snapped at Willow as we stood outside of the lodge. “What the hell are you?” “I am a cat. What do you think I am?” she snapped right back. “Yeah, I see you’re a cat.” She had shifted back to her normal little fluff ball self immediately after the battle ceased. “But why did you change into a panther, and why did you come to help me?”

“That is my duty. I’m your protector,” “Protector?” I repeated. “Yes. We are protectors. I don’t know why you have that stupid look on your face. This isn’t that hard to understand.” “Be nice,” I glared a little. “Why is Zia’s cat not here then?” “Zia wasn’t in any danger so her cat had no reason to be here.” “Oh, okay, so because I needed help that’s why you came?” “Really, is that so hard to believe?” I ignored her ridicule. “I thought you said you weren’t a were?” “I’m not a were,” she replied, appalled. “Then, how did you shift?” “I am a familiar. My form is normally this one.” She gave her body a shake. “But when I am called upon to protect you, my strength grows and I can take a larger form.” I picked her up, quite pleased with my little cat. “You are a very good kitty, Willow. The way you killed those vampires for me was amazing. When I get home, I’m going to warm a big bowl of milk for you.” She purred as I scratched under her chin. “Yummy. Finally, the treatment I deserve!” “You’re still alive I see,” Ellery’s snappy voice came from behind me. I spun around to see her approaching quickly with four vampires strolling behind her. When she reached us, she leaned in to kiss Thalia’s cheek. “It is nice to see you again, Thalia.” “Always a pleasure,” Thalia responded. When Ellery leaned away, she smiled. “You had a taste too I smell.”

Thalia grinned innocently. “Never bite in, no marking scent here, only licked the wound clean, of course—to seal it.” They both laughed sweetly. “Moving on please,” I grumbled. Ellery winked at me. “I wasn’t expecting this to be over so soon. I was waiting for a few of my guards who were running some errands for me.” She looked at the three vampires trembling on the ground. “I see our help was not needed.” Talon shot me a little annoyed look. “It ended quicker than we anticipated.” “She was the reason for that?” Ellery asked, pointing to me. He nodded. “I heard of your talents,” Ellery said to me. “I could use one like you.” I laughed. “Another job offer?” She nodded. “Sorry. I already turned down Thalia’s. I’m happy right where I am.” “Such a shame,” she said with a sigh, then, turned back to the vampires. “Rise you idiots.” In an instant, they were on their feet. “Ask them what you need to know. They will answer your questions. Won’t you?” she growled at them. They nodded quickly. “Is there more of you?” Talon asked one of them. The vampire appeared unwilling to answer, but one stern look from Ellery sent his flappers yapping. “No.” He shook his head so fast his teeth rattled. “We were all here tonight.” “They were not all of mine.” Ellery demanded. “Who were the others?” “Some were mine,” Thalia interjected. “But yes, who were the others?” “Rogues,” the vampire answered.

“What are rogues?” I thought to Zia. “They’re vampires who do not belong to any one territory. Roamers—dangerous sorts.” Sometimes having this connection was a huge blessing. That would have been embarrassing if I actually had to ask that aloud. “What were you doing here?” Zade asked. “We were preparing for our attack against you,” the vampire said concisely. The hate and rage wafting off his tone curled my toes. Zia appeared shocked. “Attack against us?” “At first, it was our plan to destroy the Guardians one by one,” the vampire said. “As you saw, we began to accomplish that.” Finn lunged forward and wrapped his hand around the vampire’s throat. “He was my brother,” he growled. The vampire smiled cruelly, then in a blink, he was dead. “He was mine to kill,” Ellery chastised Finn. “No,” he shouted, returning his sword to his scabbard. “He was mine.” Haven grabbed Finn’s arm, dragging him away. “Let her have the others, Finn. What she’ll do to them will be far worse than anything you’re capable of doing.” He glanced to her and immediately softened. She had that effect. Another vampire spoke up. “When Astoria came into the picture our plan was to succeed where Lazarus failed.” “Why is Astoria helping you?” I asked. The vampire shrugged. “She wants revenge for the loss of Lazarus.”

Zia said, “Astoria joined forces with you because of a broken heart?” Her voice showed just how much she believed that. “It is not only a broken heart,” he spat. “You have destroyed our leader. The one who was going to run the Otherworld as it should be run.” Ellery slapped his face with pure vampire speed. “Are you that stupid?” The remaining two vampires looked stunned. “How I have such imbeciles within my territory is beyond me. Have I not taught you better than this? Lazarus would never have succeeded with his plans. It is an impossible venture.” “It was never impossible. Not until that one,” he pointed at me, “came along and ruined everything.” I fanned my face. “Little old me.” So, I was taunting them. They deserved it. The vampires snarled at me. Ellery snarled right back. “Now I have to punish you for what you have done. What a waste.” She motioned toward her guards, who grabbed the vampires. “I thought I trained mine better as well,” Thalia murmured. “To think they thought they could change our society.” She shook her head. “Fools.” Ellery glanced at Talon. “You will not have any further trouble from my vampires. I have called a summit and will bring these vampires,” she pointed back to them, “to show just what happens to those who betray me.” I gulped deeply. Torture was putting it lightly to what these ones were about to face. “Sounds intriguing,” Thalia smiled. Ellery wrapped her arm in hers. “Come then. Let’s make a night of it.” “I’ll bring the humans.” Hayes chuckled, following behind them. “Thalia. Hayes,” I yelled after them. They glanced back to me. “Thanks for your help.” Thalia spun around. “It was well worth it,” she said with a lick of her lips. I cringed.

She laughed. “Come to me soon, Ryker.” “I will,” he answered with all types of sultry promise. I cringed again. Just as they were leaving, Zia yelled out. “Where is Astoria now?” One of the vampires turned around. “I don’t know. She was planning to join back with us tonight.” “She could be here now then?” He nodded. “We must get back, Talon, and summon more of the witches,” Zia said, urgently. “It is the only way to defeat her. We cannot fight her on our own.” She glanced around quickly. “We are not safe here.” Kyden reached for my hand just as a large crow flew right in front of my face. I screamed, startled. “Christ! Did you see that?” I blasted, staring at the crow who was now perched on the fence. Haven giggled. “I did. I thought it was gonna take a swipe at you.” Zia was examining the bird with an odd expression on her face. It intrigued me for a moment, then I glanced back to the bird. It was looking at me as if I was some type of bird seed. “You are to come to me,” a voice said in my mind. I glanced back at Zia. “Did you say something?” “No,” she responded, clearly confused. “You are to come to me,” the voice said again. I glanced down at Willow who was busy doing a full body bath. “Was that you?” She looked annoyed at being interrupted. “I haven’t said a thing.”

“Come to me, Nexi,” there it was again. “Did you hear that?” I asked Kyden. He arched a brow. “Hear what?” “It is I, who is speaking to you.” I glanced back to the bird, suddenly, aware that the damn thing was talking to me. “What the…” I pointed to the bird. “That crow is talking to me. You didn’t hear it speak just now?” He shook his head. His features perplexed. Suddenly, Zia lunged forward. Worry etched stone in her face. “What is it saying to you?” “Just for me to come to it.” “You are to come alone. I have created a portal there for you. You only need to walk into the trees and it will lead you to me,” the bird said. “Who are you?” I gasped. “Astoria,” Zia growled. Kyden snatched me up. “Do not talk to it.” “They have no control here. If you do not come I will make them suffer,” it said. I met Kyden’s gaze. “She’s threatening us.” “We must get out of here. Now,” Zia shouted. Just as her words ended, one of the Guardians standing with us, dropped to the ground. Haven screamed. Talon dropped to the ground, shaking him, but he was gone—dead. “The longer you take, the more will die. Soon, I will kill the ones who mean the most, especially the Guardian beside you. I understand the pain of losing a lover all too well.” “She’s going to hurt you,” I whispered, reaching up to touch Kyden’s face. Then, I glanced around. “All of you. She said she’ll kill all of you.”

Everyone stood shocked, scared—stunned. “What do we do?” Haven bellowed. Zia face was riddled with fear. “I—I…” “Just go.” I gave them a push. “She doesn’t want you. Just go now.” Kyden held me tighter. “I will not leave you for her,” he shouted. “You hear that, bitch. You cannot have her.” Suddenly, another Guardian fell to the ground. Haven’s cries shot terror right through me. Dear God, I have to stop this. “She will kill you,” Zia said in my mind. “She will kill all of you,” I retorted aloud. Another Guardian dropped. The group was slowly diminishing. Panic was gripping me, knowing my choices were slim. “Agree now?” “They won’t let me leave!” I screamed at it. “Damn right I won’t,” Kyden bellowed. “You have the ability to stop them. Use your powers. My patience is running thin.” Two more Guardians fell. Screams and cries of pain shook me. The loss of many was plummeting around us. Kyden’s eyes widened. “Do not do this.” His plea was full of anguish and nearly killed me. “Nexi, don’t!” It was too late. I drew on my power, knowing exactly what needed to be done. Coolness began to invade every part of me as air filled my soul. I released any control I had on myself. I wanted my power to come out in full force. I dug down deeper, ignoring the sound of Kyden’s rage as the wind began to draw louder. With shivers running down my veins, I released the power outward, demanding it hold them.

“Step forward into the woods.” I glanced around at them. Haven was crying hysterically, Zia right along with her, and the others looked stricken. “I won’t let her kill you,” I belted out, then darted toward the woods. Just before I entered, I glanced quickly back to Kyden, my heart clenching at the torment running through him. “I love you,” I whispered, and with that, I disappeared from their view. The second I passed the trees, I released my magic, heard Kyden charging forward, screaming my name. My air gasped out as I was plunged into darkness. This portal was pure hell—screams of horror swept across me as I plummeted through shadows. I crashed—hitting the ground hard. “Ouch,” I complained, pushing the hair back from my face. I raised my head, agape at the beauty around me. A small lake with crystal blue water led up to an endless display of mountain splendor. Rich evergreens layered the sides of the mountains and nearly reached the snowy peaks. “Odessa Lake,” a crisp voice said from beside me. I snapped my head toward the voice, a witch sat atop a rotted out log. I recognized her immediately. “Astoria.” I rose to my feet. When I heard of Black Magic, I was thinking more along the lines of the Wicked Witch—not the captain of the cheerleading squad. “So, this is the cause of the trouble.” Her voice was rich with evil as she eyeballed me. “What do you want, Astoria?” As much as I didn’t care what she had to say to me, my only survival here was to find out what she was after. Buying time was a necessity at this point. She chuckled, and there was nothing warm about it. “That is the question now.” The power ruminating off her made breathing difficult—it crackled like sparks of energy ready to consume me at any moment. I squared myself in front of her, drawing in on my powers, keeping them close at hand. Not like it really mattered. This bitch had me bought. I was staring at a dead end—my dead end. Didn’t mean I’d go down without a fight, though. “Stop puffing your chest out at me. I have been ordered not to kill you,” she snarled. “I have some things to say to you and I would prefer it if you sit down.” With her words came a swipe of air that sent me straight on my ass.

“Ordered? That’s a new one,” I mumbled under my breath, and chose a more comfortable position. “You went to a lot of trouble to get me alone including killing Guardians that didn’t deserve it. So, get to it?” “Wasn’t that an amazing display of powers?” She played with her long blonde locks thoroughly pleased with herself. “I even amaze myself sometimes.” Her evil gaze met mine harshly. “If you would have come sooner none of them would have died.” “Will you just get to the point?” I growled, wanting to rip that pretty hair from her head and stuff it down her throat. “I will admit that when I first summoned you to come to me it was my intention to kill you. I was scorned. You stole my Lazarus from me and I wanted to make you suffer incredibly.” She sighed deeply. “That would have given me much pleasure.” “Yeah, well, Lazarus got what he deserved. It makes us even.” Her smile was cold and hard. “That’s right, my Lazarus killed your family to get to you.” She threw a rock into the water. “Then, you understand very well the anguish I am suffering.” I guffawed. “I’m sure you understand just how it feels.” Comparing Lazarus to Gloria, Frank, Tyrianna, and Drake was like comparing a piece of shit to a gold nugget. “Cut the chit chat. Why am I here?” The small talk was unsettling. Just blasting me into oblivion would have been better. The anticipation of the end was tormenting. “The answer to that is quite simple. Before you arrived, I was contacted by someone who has a proposition for you.” That was unexpected. “Proposition? For what?” “Your stupidity is pathetic.” She flicked her hair over her shoulder. “Do you know of Magnus?” “Magnus…” I hesitate only a moment then said, “Nope. Never met him.” “I wouldn’t expect you had. I was, however, curious if you had heard the name before.” I shook my head, wishing she’d just get on with it. “Magnus is the equivalent to the Council in the dark world.” “The dark world?”

“The Underworld,” she said in a snarky tone. “You have never heard of the Underworld?” “Can’t say I have.” She twirled her fingers through her hair, looking at me as if I was a piece of dirt stuck under her toenail. “The Underworld is another realm within our mystical worlds.” Her words reminding me of a conversation Kyden and I had a while back. Something about there being other realms. It was confusing, so at the time I’d brushed it off. Now, I wished I’d paid more attention. “I remember hearing something about there being more worlds, but I’ve been a little busy to care of such things though.” She glared at me. “Busy killing my lover.” Her glare made me want to bury myself in the sand—not that I’d let her know it. “What comes around goes around. If you’re expecting an apology, get comfy, because you’re in for a helluva long wait.” Power began to crackle around her, but as quickly as it came, it was gone. “It would be within my right to destroy you for taking him from me. But it seems you are a very wanted witch and by those who would kill me if I did so.” “Wanted by whom? Magnus?” I wouldn’t let her see my fear. No matter how much my knees were shaking and every part of me was screaming for me to run. I glanced around a few times, pondering that thought. Odessa Lake was located in the Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado. High school geography served its purpose. I was stranded. “I will get to that. Magnus has ordered that I give you knowledge regarding his world. I suppose I must do so.” I beat her to the punch. My curiosity always does get the better of me. “So, this Underworld—it’s Magnus’ world?” “He’s the ruler of the Underworld.” “Sounds powerful?” Just what I wanted to hear about—another powerful Supe.

“He is more than powerful. He is brilliant.” I sensed a little crush going on here. “Hmm, so that’s where you evil ones live is it?” “What makes us more evil than you?” she retorted. “You are killers, are you not?” “We kill for the sake of mankind, to keep humans safe from bastards like you.” Apparently, she didn’t like my words since she blasted me with Air that sent me flying back. Her Air was sickening. Normally it was so wispy, light—hers felt thick, heavy, and damn cold. The instant I was released from its hold, I jumped to my feet trying to fight through the shivers that were making me want to tuck my tail between my legs and bolt. “Sensitive subject, huh?” “Don’t speak of things you know nothing about,” she spat. Then, with a deep breath, she calmed. “The Underworld is home to demons, warlocks, and witches, who have accepted the darkness and wish to be ruled in Magnus’ domain.” “Demons.” A shaky laugh escaped me. When she didn’t say anything my smile quickly faded. “You’re serious…like devil demons…that kind of thing?” She nodded with a sense of wonder. “They are powerful and glorious.” Ignoring her awe, I moved on. “And this involves me how…” “I will get to that,” she growled. “There is more you need to know and I have been ordered to tell you this.” She picked up another rock and sent it skipping across the water. “Magnus is a warlock—the most powerful warlock known in existence.” “Warlock? Like a male witch?” I’d never seen one before, or heard of one for that matter. “Obviously, he’s a male witch. You are stupid!” I ground my teeth at that comment. “Warlocks are gifted the ability to use Black Magic naturally. They are born with it, and through time Magnus has risen to be a supreme leader of the Underworld.” “Okay, I get it. The Underworld sounds like one friggin’ scary place. So, I ask again, what has it got to do with me?” Her gaze became focused and intent. “Magnus wants you.”

“Wants me? For what?” The lord of evil wanted something from me. Fuck. “He has ordered me to return you to the Underworld. He wants you within his realm.” She looked about as pleased about this as I was. “He is offering you to take the role of Siren within his guard.” “Siren?” I repeated. “It is a position sought after by witches that have come to the dark world. It is the highest position held among his guard.” None of this made any sense. “I’m sorry, am I missing something here? I have never even met Magnus in my life. He knows nothing of me and yet he wants me to come join his guard. Doesn’t that seem just a tad bit insane?” “Why he is offering this to you,” she spat the word, “is beyond me, but he has, and if you think he doesn’t know who you are, you are clearly mistaken.” “Is this really a choice? I mean you have the ability to take me. I have no doubt of that.” She beamed at my acknowledgment of her strength. “The role of Siren is one which must be accepted, not thrust upon. You have to be willing to join him.” Like that was going to happen. “My answer to that is a flat out no.” Taking a trip down under wasn’t going to be in my travel itinerary in the near future. Her shock widened her eyes as if I was refusing a million dollar check. “You deny Magnus’ offer?” “Er…yeah…that’s exactly what I’m going to do.” Her nostrils flared with rage. “You spit on something that others aspire to.” I took a moment just to consider all this. This was bizarre rolled up with a side of holy shit. After a minute of pondering, clarity came to the forefront of my mind, and with it came a big flashing sign, wake the fuck up, Nexi. Magnus wouldn’t offer this to anyone who wasn’t deserving of it. She’d said it herself, which meant, I haven’t been giving myself enough credit. Astoria might be powerful, but so was I. And with that revelation came a bountiful supply of confidence.

“This has been fun and all,” I said, “but to be honest, I’d really like to go home now. Are we done here?” Surprise flashed across her face. “You think I will just let you leave?” Yeah, I turned the tables, and this witch didn’t like it one bit. “You already said you were ordered not to kill me. So, if we have nothing else to say to each other, I best be on my way.” Her powers began to grow, darkness seeped into the air. “I tell you when you can go.” “Well then, get to it. I’m not really in the mood for a pissing contest with you. If you need to say the words to make it so, then say it. I’m getting bored here.” Her power grew, and I ain’t going to lie, it was scary. “You try my patience,” she snarled. “I have wanted you dead the moment I heard your ridiculous name.” “My thoughts exactly, bitch.” “You dare talk to me in such a way? I could kill you right where you stand!” she shouted, jumping to her feet and nearly running toward me. Her energy was forcing my breath to come out in sharp gasps. “Bring it.” I was stirring the pot and lovin’ every minute of it. We stood nose-to-nose. “You think you could stand a chance against me? You and your White Magic of nothing. Your force is drawn from elements. Weak energy that contains all purity. I derive from power you couldn’t even fathom. Gifted from a source that knows all. Is all. I have nothing to fear from you.” “I’m beginning to think you’re all talk.” I smiled as big as I could, knew it would be the icing on the cake—the cream de le crème of responses to send this witch into hyper drive. And, boy, did the bitch snap.

Chapter Eighteen

Fire erupted around me. Flames spread, heat-drawing sweat to bead along my skin. I held my Spirit strong as I fought against the magic she was forcing out upon me. Each second that passed my breath become shallower. Everything felt wrong. Evil seeped through the flames and screams of agony rippled against the loud cracks. She drew in harder. The force of her magic intensified as the flames formed fingers—thousands of them, gripping out, fighting to attack as I sent them away. Cries and shouts of pain were held within her flames, and the voice of something dark screamed out while it pressed on. With a loud roar, she withdrew her magic. “The stories are true. You can deflect magic.” Without a moment’s hesitation, I didn’t bother responding, I drew on Fire and blasted it back to her. The second it hit she vanished, appearing a few feet away. “Neat trick,” I growled. “Lazarus teach you that?” Her lips curled as she returned with Air sending the world to suffer from its cruelty. My defense held as not a waft of a breeze hit through as trees uprooted around me. The world crumbled as her force came stronger. Keeping my shield up strong, I blasted back with Fire that soared with the Air she was providing. Her screams cut through as I hit harder. She vanished, but I was ready, drawing the fire to follow her. “Two can play that game,” she shouted. The fire intensified as she joined hers with mine. Flames broke out all around me as blazing heat engulfed the Air. My screams drew out as the roar of life was burning around me—thick dark smoke rising high to the skies. Coolness began to rise through the heat guiding me to use it. I drew against it, heard the water swirl in anticipation. A second later, the fire was extinguished. I quickly glanced to see I had drained the lake. Poor fish, thousands of them were flopping against the rocky bottom. Astoria stood soaked. Her arms burnt with blisters covering every square inch of her. “You don’t honestly think you can defeat me. I use Black Magic. You are weak.” She suddenly appeared directly in front of me. “Big mistake,” I snarled, and punched her as hard as I could, directly in the face.

She went soaring, and I stayed right on her, pummeling that pretty little face. With a loud crack, blood poured down her face. Then, she vanished beneath me. When I met her gaze a few feet away, her eyes had darkened with contempt. “My nose.” “An improvement I would say.” I laughed cruelly All of a sudden, the clouds grew darker. Wind whirled around us. And it wasn’t from our magic that caused this. The temperature dropped ten degrees and my breath fogged out as shivers ran ice through my blood. “I told you not to attack her,” a smooth voice rumbled through the trees. Astoria’s eyes widened. “Magnus! I—I—” Hearing that name got my attention. I snapped my head toward him. If there really was a devil then this devil was smokin’ hot. He resembled nothing of the evil I expected. His light brown eyes held depth in every part of them. His short black hair was slicked back leaving his smooth defined features that left no misunderstanding that he was all male. He stepped forward, his gaze focused on mine as the scent of spice and heat instantly filled my senses. “You are Nexi?” I nodded. “I am.” For the oddest reason, I didn’t fear him. There was nothing threatening about him—he wasn’t going to hurt me. I could sense deep power within him, but for some reason he kept it hidden. He was making himself appear human. The question was, why? When he glanced back at Astoria, she backed away from him quickly. “I gave you a direct order not to destroy her,” he told her. His tone an obvious threat. “What is this? Have you defied my orders?” Astoria was trembling. “No.” She bowed. “She provoked me. She was going to refuse you.” His gaze met mine, and I gasped. I couldn’t help it—he stole your soul, imprisoned every part of your being with a single glance. “You refused me?” He appeared almost amused.

I gulped deeply, but quickly pulled myself together and lifted my chin. “I did. Thanks for the offer, but I like life aboveground.” He laughed loudly, sending echoes ricocheting off the mountains. “Underground? You believe we need to be caged underground?” I chose not to answer that question. Wise move on my part, I thought. He examined me for a moment then asked, “Do you grasp what you are denying?” “She,” I pointed to the coward Astoria who was on her knees with her head bowed to him. “Told me the gist of it. You want me to join your guard, be some sort of Siren, or something like that.” He took my chin in his hand, lifted my eyes to his. “I could give you everything. Power you would not believe.” I forced a laugh, trying to fight through the nerves. “No thanks. I think I’ll pass. I have enough trouble controlling the power I have.” His touch sent shivers of something running through me. Fear, terror, horror—yeah, something like that. He glared a little, and with it came trickles of power sending me into sensory overload. My entire body tingled—heat rushed through my veins leaving me breathless. Moments later, his eyes softened. “Do you like the feel of that?” he purred. I shrugged with all my might. “Being that I’m cold, I did like it, very much. It was like a warm bath.” He laughed and released my chin. “That does not make you want to come with me?” “Er—no, should it?” He went quiet, thoughtful—examining. “You are intriguing. The darkness seems to have no effect on you.” He examined me closer, more intently. “I am unsure of why that would be.” He turned, and began walking away. “I have never met a witch who I offered the power to and denied it. It is not easily done. This protection you have gives you strength where others have failed.” I was screaming a big, thank you, Jesus, for that in my mind. Just because this guy made me say, oh my, didn’t mean I couldn’t feel evil lurking in him. I was thanking my lucky stars that I had a built-in defense mechanism that could keep him out.

Once he met the log, he took a seat, and rested his forearm on his thighs. “Since you refuse to come with me,” he hesitated, “at this time.” He hadn’t missed to mention that. “And since Astoria has defied my orders. I will allow you to finish your battle.” He looked excited, and for a moment, his power shone through. The strength of it forced me to take a giant step back—his eyes deepened at my reaction. It was clear he lived for fear. “It has been a long time since I’ve seen two witches go at it.” He smiled sinfully. “A shame we are not naked in a puddle of mud.” I glared at him. He laughed in return. “Go on, Nexi. Show me just how special you are.” The second his words stopped, Astoria blasted me with water. I held my breath as it washed over me in a tidal wave. It pulled me down as my body was beaten by the waves. My lungs cried out for air—I quickly drew on Spirit creating a bubble of protection around me, immediately making me gasp through heavy, deep breaths. “That is impressive.” Magnus laughed, obviously, enthralled with my ability. His laughter faded away when a fireball came barreling toward me. Just mere inches away, I returned the gesture with one of my own. Astoria dodged it as she vanished quickly when her magic blasted my shield. It never made it through. She snarled, and continued her assault. Magnus was right. It was impressive. Her strength was remarkable. Instead of fighting against her, I held my Spirit strong around me, concealing me—protecting me against her. I didn’t waste my strength trying to strike back. Her power was unparallel as she destroyed the world around me. Apparently, she had been restraining herself. When we fought before, she didn’t have the intent to kill me. Now, she did. The beauty that once flourished here in abundance was replaced by every sort of natural disaster. Catastrophe was everywhere. Abruptly, tremors began to shake the ground below me. I fell to the dirt as the earth roared with fury.

Seconds later, a wide gap split through the earth. I screamed, slipping, hanging onto the edge. My feet pushed out against the ragged steep opening as I stared down into a pit of darkness. Her force grew harder even more. My Spirit faltered, exhaustion set in as little flames began to break through, burning flickers of heat on my skin. My feet leveled against the ground as I tried to pull myself up from the grave position I was currently in. “Need a hand?” Magnus’ laugh grew louder. Fucker. I pushed hard with my feet, pulling myself over the ledge, and with it came scorching heat that burned my side. My screams of pain roared as my skin seared off my body. I drew in deeper, focusing back, keeping a strong hold on Spirit—demanding it protect me. I was in trouble here—serious trouble. Suddenly, a voice slipped through. “Use it. Use it back on her!” Zia? My mind raced, not understanding her meaning. “Use what?” I screamed, forcing the protection around me to hold onto as she blasted me with every element—never giving me a break. Never decreasing her attack. “Use her magic. Give it back to her.” The second her words were finished, I already understood her meaning. With a deep inhale, I gave way to fighting against her magic and welcomed it into my body just as I had with Briar. Now, more knowledgeable, there was more to this than I first thought. It was a conscious thought to draw her magic in. My shield was like an incubator, sucking it in—holding it, but it sank in deeper than I thought possible. Evil crept in, darkness filtered through my soul as terror and fear invaded every part of me. A darkness filled me that was bottomless, lonely, and cold to the very core as power began to strengthen me. “What is this?” Astoria gasped as I drew in deeper. “What magic is this? What are you doing?” She tried to pull herself away. It was too late—I had her locked in.

“Remarkable.” Magnus’ voice was full of intrigue. The blackness drew thicker. I screamed at the horror of it, fought against every part of my being that told me not to accept it. I needed to welcome this to defeat her. I gave in and let it come through. I gripped it, centered it, and with every ounce I had, released it back to her. This magic was different. I knew it the second it poured from my body. It was endless. There was no limit to what I could do with it. Anything I asked of it—it would deny me nothing. Astoria’s screams came loud, and then in a blink, she became dust in the wind. Gone—dead. I quieted the magic around me, but the fight was far from over. The darkness was urging me to keep it deep. I roared against it. Fought with all I had to stop the evil from consuming me. Flashes poured through my mind of what it could offer me—all that I could gain. The shadows were taking me, stealing me from what was good. The darkness was seeping into my blood, and holding tight against my moral fiber—my strength was weakening against it, devouring my soul entirely. With the only strength I had left, I fought it and battled back hard. I didn’t make it this far to fail now. I didn’t want it or need it. I screamed louder than I thought possible and with that final push of strength, I overpowered the dark force. I broke the spell it was holding over me. I collapsed to the ground, shivering from the evil that lurked above, below, and all around me. Then, it faded away to exhaustion, and I fell silent. “That was enough to arouse me,” Magnus purred beside me. He wiped the hair across my face, lightly touching along my cheek. “I will not force you to come with me, but let me make this clear, you will be mine.” That was the last thing I heard before a loud explosion sent me tumbling into a state of slumber.

Chapter Nineteen

The air was cold. Shivers trembled along my entire body causing my teeth to chatter. Soft warmth was the only relief as it provided heavy weight against my back. I raised my head, hurting, sore, and exhausted beyond belief. “Wh—wh—a—t,” I managed.

Suddenly, the warmth in question shifted from its wolf form, and Valor’s weight was heavy against mine. “I need to get you away from here. You are not well,” he said in my ear. “You need to grab hold of me and not let go. Do you understand?” I nodded softly. It was all I could do. The warm skin instantly changed to a welcoming fur coat. He squirmed off and nuzzled under my body to help me onto his back. It took some pretty inventive maneuvers on his part to get me up there. But eventually we managed and I latched my arms around his neck. I laid my head down against his shoulder, relishing in the fact that I was safe. He let out a little growl and punched forward. Trees whipped by. Valor never stopped running, and it felt like hours before we arrived at a gas station, which sat deep on a country road. He shifted, and tucked me beside a large tree. “I need to find out where we are.” His breathing was labored. “Will you be alright here?” I nodded, which sent him running into the gas station. Seconds later, he was out. “I have called for them.” His words ended, and suddenly, I was yanked into arms that immediately made everything all right. “Álainn,” Kyden shouted. “Zia, quickly!” “No,” I whispered. “Valor first.” He had collapsed beside me. Who knew how long he’d been running. By the looks of him, it had been long enough to almost kill him. Zia was there, grabbed his hand and a moment later, he jumped to his feet. She quickly reached out, latching onto my arm, and with it came a wave of health. When I opened my eyes again, we were back in the foyer, and everyone I loved surrounded me. Haven was sobbing hysterically and grabbed onto my leg. Considering that Kyden had wrapped himself around my body, it was really the only place she could touch me. “You know, if you don’t let me go, you’re going to smother me to death.” I laughed.

Kyden leaned back, tears in his eyes. Tears. I immediately reached for his face. “I’m safe now,” I told him softly. He leaned in, and rested his head against my chest. I cradled the back of his head with my hands. When I glanced at the others, he wasn’t the only one taken with emotion. They all were, including Talon. “Shouldn’t you all be happy to see me?” I asked. “You are here.” Zia wiped her tears, touch my head as if I was a dream. “You are really here.” “Of course I’m here,” I responded. “Didn’t you send Valor to get me?” She shook her head. “No. The witches have been trying to locate you for a day now.” “A day?” I gasped. “How long have I been gone?” “The battle with the vampires was last night.” “Christ! I must have passed out.” My gaze landed on Valor. “How’d you find me then?” He knelt down, took my hand. “When I heard of your situation, I tracked you.” “Tracked me? How the hell did you do that?” “Being the Patriarch comes with special abilities. Your scent is strong, because of your mixed heritage. I caught the faint trail and followed it.” “But I was in Colorado! Don’t you live in Utah?” He nodded. My gratefulness grew dramatically. “You ran all that way?” “You needed my help.” Then, he squeezed my hand. “I am only glad I found you in time.” He stood, heading toward the portal. “Glad to have you back, Darlin’.” Briggs gave me a classic Briggs smile then followed behind Valor.

Just before Briggs turned, the werewolf who was also Kyden’s best bud—who we never saw due to his duty as Valor’s beta—seemed more than thrilled to see my return, he appeared relieved. His sharp yellow eyes weren’t his usual playful nature, they were focused and rejoicing. Even his mischievous grin wasn’t to be found on his strong features. Judging by the faces around me, that was the theme for night. “Hey, Valor,” I called out. He turned around just steps from walking through the portal. “That’s twice now.” “Twice?” he repeated in apparent confusion “Twice, you’ve saved my butt. You better start asking something of me soon or our numbers are gonna be a little uneven.” The side of his mouth curved slightly, he winked, then spun around and walked through the door. Minutes passed, no one said a word. Kyden still hadn’t let go. I rubbed his back and stayed silent. Leave it to Haven to break the silence. “You are in big trouble, Nexi,” she snapped hastily. I laughed. “Let me guess—I shouldn’t have done that, right?” “That’s right!” Of course, she could never stay mad for longer than a minute. She leaned in, wrapping her arms around Kyden and me, giving us every ounce of warmth that always came with her hugs. When she backed away, Kyden did too, only to grab my face. His tears gone, his possession was clear. “You will never do that again.” He leaned in and kissed me with a raw edge that left no misunderstanding that he meant what he said. He was my protector, my strength, and in this moment, I relished in it. Kyden finished off with a soft kiss just as Talon ripped me from his arms, lifted me to him and hugged me with every ounce of his strength. “That was foolish of you,” he growled in my ear. I gasped at his strength. “All’s well that ends well.” Gloria had loved Shakespeare and his words fit the bill entirely.

He set me back on my feet, and Kyden instantly lunged to his taking my hand in his. I glanced around at the room. Everyone looked stunned—as if I’d returned from the dead. I burst out laughing. “I’m not a ghost you know.” “Woo-woo.” Finn laughed, wiggling his finger. Only the two of us found any amusement in that. “Tell us what happened?” Zia asked, clearly ignoring our joke. “You should know,” I stated. “You told me what to do.” Zia’s face swept with confusion. “I never told you anything.” “You didn’t?” She shook her head. “No, I didn’t. Explain?” “Basically, to sum it up, Astoria wanted to kill me and tried. We went a round of it. I broke her nose.” Kyden actually smiled a little at that. “Then,” I hesitated, clearly not wanting to bring this up. The reaction I suspected wasn’t going to be a good one. “Magnus showed up with an offer.” “Magnus!” Haven gasped loudly. “The Lord of the Underworld?” “Yup, that’s the one,” I replied. Kyden arched a brow. “An offer? What kind of offer?” “Magnus seems to think I would make a good Siren. Whatever the hell that is,” I responded. The stunned faces in the room went straight to fear. “I said no.” I answered their unasked question. Zade laughed, shaking his head. “She said no.”

“Indeed you did or you would not be here,” Talon noted with equal amusement. “What happened then?” Haven asked me in her normally get to it tone. Patience wasn’t one of her strong suits either. “Well, after I said no, being the evil creature Magnus is, he told Astoria and I to finish our fight. He wanted to see my ability.” Kyden’s grip tightened on my hand. “She probably would have killed me if the voice hadn’t told me what to do.” “You thought it was me?” Zia asked. “I assumed it was. Who else would be in my head?” “What am I nothing, so easily forgotten?” Willow grumbled at my feet. “It was you?” “Are you going to get rid of me?” “Get rid of you? Why would I do that?” “I have failed you. It is in your right to disown me. The magic that witch conjured around you made it impossible for me to find you. I couldn’t pinpoint your location. I couldn’t protect you.” “You saved me, Willow! But, how? I was so far away.” She shrugged her fury shoulders. “We are connected. Distance doesn’t hinder our communication, and I can always see what you are doing. It is what makes me your protector. I will always know if you are in trouble. I tried to tell them what was going on,” she glanced to the others. “But they couldn’t hear me, and Charm has been nowhere in sight—so, I couldn’t even get him to tell Zia.” “That must have been frustrating.” She nodded, wiggling her whiskers. “And what does a kitty like you know about Black Magic?” I asked. “I listen. When you’ve been having your instruction by the others, they said you had the ability to use their own magic against them. I figured it was your best bet.”

I leaned down and gave the top of her head a good scratch. “Thank you, Willow. If it wasn’t for you I’d be dead. I don’t know what I’d do without you. Thank you for telling me to use her magic against her.” She purred at those words. When I looked back up, it was to faces filled with surprise. “You used her magic against her?” Zia gasped. “Give Willow the credit. It was her idea.” I shuddered deeply at the memory. “And let me just tell you, it was disgusting. How any of them want to have that darkness withering about them is just gross.” Zia stepped forward, and took me by the shoulders. “You drew Black Magic into you?” Her gaze ran searched my eyes intently. “There is not a trace of it left in you.” “Why would there be?” I shuddered again. “Yuck.” She burst out laughing, as did the rest of them. “What?” I snapped. “The call of the darkness is not an easy one to break, and that is not with the magic actually drawn within you. The fact that you accepted Black Magic, used it, and then pushed it away is…” she gave her head a shake, “amazing.” “Magnus seemed surprised by that as well,” I responded. “He tried something weird on me. Some creepy magic thing, but I obviously resisted it. Thank God for that.” Zia’s eyes widened. “Oh and by the way, I didn’t accept the Black Magic. I just used hers back on her. There’s a major difference there.” “Black Magic is very easy to give into, and that is without Magnus’ involvement,” Zia said. “If he offered it to me from his body the way he did you, it would be an intense struggle to resist it. To see what it could offer you is hard to turn your back on.” She rubbed my cheek and smiled just as a mother would. “You are very special, Nexi.” “This specialness is becoming one big giant headache.” No one needed to respond to that obvious statement. “Magnus left you there then?” Talon asked.

I shrugged. “Must have. I remember him saying that we would be meeting again soon.” Purposely leaving out the, you will be mine bit. No need to send Kyden into, I will defend you mode. “Do not worry yourself with him,” Brax said. “He cannot lure you into the Underworld. You must go of your own free will and accept the position that he offers.” “I hope you’re right about that. The last thing I need is old scratch chasing after me.” I spun around and Kyden wrapped his arms around me as I leaned in against him. I glanced up into that angelic face that was all mine. “You know what I really need?” “Tell me, Álainn.” He smiled, and ran his hands through my hair. “What do you need?” “A vacation,” I exhaled. “Ooohhh…a vacation.” Haven bounced up and down. “Let’s go to Disney Land.” My mouth parted to respond to just how much of a bad idea that was when Kyden took my face in his hands, bringing my focus to him and him alone. “You will swear to me right now that you’ll never do that again,” he nearly growled. “I don’t plan on ever doing that again.” “Say the words,” he demanded. I stepped on my tippy-toes to come close to his face. “I swear that I will never again hold you with my magic and run off into scary evil portals.” Then, I kissed his lips. He didn’t kiss back. I leaned back a bit. “There’s more?” “Yes,” he said firmly. “You have more to declare here.” “And that would be…” “That you will never leave me again, especially in such a way to have me worry if you are dead or alive.” He leaned in closer now, our lips nearly touching. “I can swear to you, I am not capable of enduring that ever again.”

I smiled, feeling a whole world of love. It wasn’t only his words that proved he was being truthful. It was the despair hidden by relief, the possession of what was his had now been returned, that lay prevalent in his eyes. Before I met his lips, I said, “I swear to never get lost again.” The End

About the Author:

Stacey Kennedy is a lover of the paranormal romance and urban fantasy genres. If she isn't plugging away at her next novel, tending to her two little ones, she's got her nose deep in a good book. She lives in Cambridge, Ontario with her husband. Come stop by www.staceykennedy.com for upcoming and new releases. Meet Lsb Authors At The House Of Sin Lsbooks.Net

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