I gave Dylan a quick and guilty look. Great. I figured that went for Fae and full-blooded Angels too.
Fine, we’re leaving. She’s not going to bite me anyway. She’s too blitzed. And her bite might not affect me anyway, remember?
We’ll see what Caleb has to say about that.
I cursed, realizing Maxim was right. Caleb was going to freak. He’d probably insist that we move, too. But I was too grateful for the heads-up to get angry. And a little weirded out that Maxim was stalking me.
“Guarding, not stalking. Because you are too foolish to know your own limits,” Maxim said as he stepped out of the shadows and stared at us. He held out his hand silently.
“Look who the cat dragged in,” I said, crossing my arms over my chest.
“We need to talk.”
I nodded and glanced back at Dylan.
“See you later, Soph.”
“Yeah. Thanks for bringing me here.”
“Anytime, anywhere.”
Dylan climbed into his SUV and drove off. I put my hands in my pockets and rocked back on my heels.
“So, you’re still mad, then.”
He nodded once, the sharp planes of his handsome face illuminated by the moon. He still held his hand out. I gingerly placed mine in his.
The electricity that jumped between us was potent. I nearly gasped at the shock I felt. I pretended nothing had happened as he handed me a helmet and his jacket, but I doubted he was fooled. He waited until I was seated and climbed on in front.
The helmet was a nice touch, even though I could heal almost anything fast. As far as we knew, it was next to impossible to kill me. Maybe a fire would hurt me, though not permanently. Probably decapitation, if they could get me to hold still long enough to pull it off. Most likely, a stake in the exact right spot, just like regular Vamps.
Maxim, on the other hand, was vulnerable to fire, so crashing was not good. It was also unlikely, considering that his reflexes were faster than most machines.
I slid my arms around his waist and we roared into the night.
Chapter 21
If you have something to lose, you will never truly be free.
My mind was blissfully empty as Maxim rode through twisty backcountry roads. I resisted the urge to lay my cheek against the leather of his jacket. Instead, I gripped the bike with my thighs, barely holding onto him.
Dangling on the back of a motorcycle was really good for your abs.
Faster, I thought.
I smiled as the bike picked up speed.
Maxim was driving recklessly, or he would be if he was mortal. He took every turn at full speed. The speed limit was well behind us. I was loving every second of it. I wanted to stay on the back of his bike forever. But I knew we needed to talk.
I sighed as he pulled off the paved road to a gravel one. The bike kicked up rocks as we wove upward, deeper and deeper into the forest. I realized abruptly that this was the public entrance to the park. The waterfall was less than twenty miles from the house.
Our house, I thought wistfully. The first house that had felt like home since the night the New Leaders had savaged the castle and its inhabitants.
The house I really, really did not want to leave, werewolves and assassins or not.
Let them come, I thought.
Don’t be stupid, Maxim silently retorted.
Maxim rode the bike around the chain and sign announcing that the park was closed. I grabbed him as the bike went over a dip that made me lift off the seat. I finally exhaled as he parked and reached for my helmet strap. His touch was feather-light as he brushed the underside of my chin before lifting the helmet up and setting it aside.
“I don’t really need that, you know.”
“I know.” He stared at me in the fading light. “But why risk it?”
I shrugged and followed him as he took the footpath that led to the top of the falls. We walked in silence, listening to the dull roar of the water a couple of hundred feet up the hill. It was quiet here, but by no means silent. The forest was alive with sounds, from the rushing water to the rustling of the trees and the scurrying of tiny animals. I even heard a larger animal. Maybe a wolf.
Wolf.
Janelle.
What a freaking mess.
The thoughts came tumbling, unbidden and unwelcome in my mind. I groaned and Maxim reached back to take my hand. His skin was cool but not cold, like it used to be. He felt strong. Sturdy. Comforting. I let him pull me up the rest of the way.
We stared out at the land, our Vamp eyes able to see each tree, each leaf, even in the darkness.
“Things have to change. All this. High school. It’s nonsense.” He turned to face me. “You were born to shake the earth and rattle kings.”
“Even royalty gets an education.”
“Yes. Continue as you were before. Learn from Caleb.” He was still holding my hand. I shivered as he rubbed his thumb over my palm. “Learn from me.”
“You?” I whispered, trying to sound like I was scoffing. But I wasn’t. Maxim did know a lot more than I did. About some things, anyway. He’d been alive a lot longer, for starters.
I was still a tadpole in comparison to the age of all the Vamps I knew. Less than a tadpole. An unfertilized egg. An underutilized egg in a frog that wasn’t even a glint in its great-great-great-great-great-great-grand-frog’s eye.
“I need this. It’s hard to explain, but… I need the normalcy. It makes everything else…”
“What?” he asked softly, standing so close we were nearly touching.
“It makes it all bearable.”
He sighed and ran his other hand through his hair. He was still holding my hand. I realized that I didn’t want him to let it go. He squeezed it and I realized he had heard that.
“Your safety is more important. Nothing matters more.”
“If I go completely bonkers, is that okay? Because I will. Waiting around to go to war… to maybe die? I can’t just be that. If this is it… if this all the life I get, I need it to be more.”
He exhaled shakily.
“You won’t die. I won’t allow it.”
I laughed and tilted my head back to look at the stars. His arrogance was reassuring, even though I knew he wouldn’t guarantee my safety. Just as I could not guarantee his.
Except by leaving.
“Caleb is going to freak about Janelle.”
“Yes. He will.” Maxim’s voice was a deep, wry rumble.
“But we have to tell him.”
“Yes. We do.”
“I’m not ready to stop living yet.”
“So we’d better have fun while we can.” He cocked an eyebrow, clearly hatching something in that devious mind of his. I could feel his emotions but not get exact words. Not unless he wanted me to.
It was really freaking annoying.
I nodded anyway though. He was right. It was now or never in the fun department.
“Yes.”
“So, do you want to go on a date?”
I laughed in surprise.
“Maxim.”
He pulled me close, his hands gently tilting my head up. I sighed as his lips brushed mine. I could feel him holding himself back and I was glad. This was all I could manage right now. But it was something. And it was enough.
He raised his eyebrow and looked at the waterfall. I nodded. We turned and ran forward, leaping off the edge in unison.
He held my hand all the way down.
Chapter 22
Howl at the moon.
“Are you serious?”
Bernard stared at Maxim aghast as Caleb paced in the living room. He had yet to say a word. I exchanged an uneasy glance with Maxim.
“Seriously serious.”
“This is no laughing matter!”
“’Nard…”
“But what are the chances? There are few Lycanthropes left. I thought most of them were in the Far East.”
Caleb stopped and looked at us.
“It might be that this
place acts as a magnet. Or . . .”
He started pacing again.
“Or?” I leaned forward, eager to hear what Caleb had to say.
“Or perhaps you are acting as a lode stone. To Fae . . . lycanthropes . . . any magical creatures nearby.”
“But they were here before we came. Dylan’s family has been here for generations. And Janelle has lived here for her entire life.”
“Yes, but perhaps your presence has… stimulated their powers.”
“Stimulated?”
“Magnified them then. As your touch does. As the exchange of blood did, although it was one-sided.”
Maxim nodded. “That makes sense. The wolf gene never really died out. It just became diluted. Once in a while, I’ll taste it in the blood.”
“How does it taste?” I asked.
“Gamey,” Maxim deadpanned, and I wrinkled my nose.
“But that doesn’t explain Karen or her million-year-old granny,” I argued.
“Well, maybe they were here, and when you came here, it tipped something over. You increased the level of Angelic energy.”
I rolled my eyes. “That sounds like a New-Age workshop at a yoga retreat.”
But Caleb was nodding. “I suspect your theory is correct, Maxim. And remember, Sasha, many of that woo-woo nonsense has basis in fact. I imagine that ten percent of more of the human population have traces of Fae blood.” He started pacing again, ruminating as he tapped his index fingers together. “It has to be your mother’s side of the family. I’ve never heard of Vampiric abilities spilling over into the environment. They are much more finite. Whereas Angels… their powers are infinite.”
“Wait, hold up. Ten percent? That many?”
He looked a bit embarrassed.
“The Fae are known for being… amorous.”
I giggled and Max let out a guffaw. I heard Dylan’s car as he pulled up.
Perfect timing, Dyl.
He bounded up the front steps. I noticed that he didn’t look at Maxim or me. He nodded at Caleb and Bernard and leaned against one of the wood columns between the entryway and the living room.
“What’s up?”
I waited and he still didn’t look at me. So he knew about the kiss. Great.
I listened as Caleb filled him in. I glanced back at Dylan and caught him staring at me. He looked upset. Not that I blamed him.
“We should leave. Now.”
I shook my head. “Janelle might not even know she can hurt me.”
“All the same, Wolves are dangerous to our kind, but not to Fae. They are our natural enemies. The instinct to kill is in her genes. I have no idea what impact she might have on you, Sophie.”
“Why not Fae?” Dylan asked.
“I have read that Fae may have some sort of control over lycanthropes. There is said to be something spiritual about canines in general. But not benignly so. Think of the Hounds of Hell compared to the humble and faithful servant of man. Many religious scholars think dogs are Angelic helpers, or the helpers of the Devil.”
“What about cats?” I asked as Chillies lifted his head and let out an inquisitive yowl.
“I would swear that creature speaks English.”
I nodded. “He does.”
Chillies mewed in agreement.
“Cats are considered the purview of witches.”
I sat up straight.
“Witches? You mean like Karen?”
“Usually, human females born with clairvoyance or clairsentience.”
“Are they… Fae?”
“No one is certain. They may be the descendants of something else entirely.”
“Wait, there are other magical creatures?”
Caleb gave me an apologetic look. “Yes.”
“Like what?”
“Selkies, if the legends are true.”
“So the witches are descendants of… mermaids?”
He exhaled heavily, one of the few human traits he retained. He only did it when he was exasperated. So basically, only around me.
“We need to increase security. Dylan, could your cousin be consulted on some magical border spells?”
He nodded and turned to go.
“Dyl, wait.”
He paused, and I followed him out to the front porch. He still wouldn’t look at me. He stared out at the trees.
“So, that’s it then? You’re with him now?”
“No. I’m not with anybody. I told both of you that!”
He finally looked at me.
“So, you’re dating.”
I felt deflated as I shrugged. “I don’t know what that even means.”
He stepped closer. “It means that this is back on the table.” I barely took a breath as he moved in, his eyes on my lips. He kissed me firmly, his lips moving insistently across mine. This was not the tender kiss Maxim had offered me the night before at the waterfall.
This kiss was demanding. Maybe even a little bit pissed off. But really, really steamy. Swoon factor five, Captain.
When he lifted his head, Dylan traced my cheek with his fingertips, staring down at me. I realized my mouth was open. I had not been expecting that. I closed my mouth abruptly at his smug smile.
“See you later, Soph.”
I grumbled something about needing a better steel box and went back inside.
Chapter 23
Getting blood from a stone.
“Again.”
“Again.”
Maxim and Caleb were putting me through my paces with a vengeance today. Lately, we’d been almost entirely focused on my elemental skills and potential weapons. I was forming shapes with wind, soil, fire, and water. So far, water was the easiest for me to control.
It was also the deadliest.
But water wasn’t always on hand. I couldn’t exactly attack the New Leaders and request that we do it near a swimming pool. I couldn’t scale the castle walls with water balloons strapped to my body.
Maxim smiled softly, and I realized he had heard my thought.
So much for the steel cage, Sash.
He held up his hand, and the ice shards I was throwing paused in midair.
“Sasha has made an excellent point. Her abilities will be entirely dependent on what is at hand.”
“I will never get used to this telepathic communication between the two of you,” Caleb grumbled.
“Join the club,” I rejoined with an eyeroll.
Maxim flashed me a meaningful look and then turned to Caleb.
“I wonder if blood would work? If there was a human nearby?”
I flinched, my mind filling with gory images. I crossed my arms and shook my head vigorously.
“No! Nah-uh. No way.”
“What?”
“That’s gruesome. You want me to suck someone’s blood out and spit it into the air to make ice weapons?”
“No. I suspect that with practice, you could remove blood through their pores. You might even be able to do the same with our kind.”
“That’s horrible,” I gasped. “Unthinkable. I’m not sure even the New Leaders deserve that.”
Maxim raised an eyebrow.
“Are you sure about that?”
I bit the inside of my cheek. I was not sure they didn’t deserve it, actually. The New Leaders were deadly. They’d kept my father at the edge of starvation for nearly two decades. Nightfall knew what other horrible things they did to less-important prisoners.
I sighed and closed my eyes.
This wasn’t a play-fight. With so much on the line, I had to use anything and everything in my magical arsenal, even if it was gross. But I wasn’t going to practice on anything living to find out!
“Practice on me.” Maxim flashed me a wicked smile. “I’m undead.”
I shook my head.
“I could kill you.”
“Kill?”
“Finish you. End you.”
“You won’t.”
“But I could.” I exhaled, looking around. “Get me… some fruit or s
omething. A basket of tomatoes.”
He nodded, looking thoughtful.
“That could work.”
Caleb was already striding into the house and leaving me alone with Maxim. I waited, trying to keep my mind blank. I was praying he wouldn’t poke the dead horse with a stick. It didn’t work.
“So, we are playing the field right now, are we?”
“Aren’t you?” I countered.
I’d imagined Maxim in the arms of dozens of human females while he was gone. I was sure I was missing the mark by a lot. The look in his eyes told a different story though.
“No.”
I opened my mouth with no idea of what I was going to say. Caleb chose that moment to burst through the back door. Bernard was hot on his feels. He crossed his arms and leaned against the posts that held up the back porch.
“This I have to see.”
I rolled my eyes fondly as Caleb set a large juicy-looking tomato on the ground between us. I was grateful for the distraction, to say the least. I wanted to kiss the tomatoes rather than pulverize them.
“All right, Sasha. Let’s try this.”
I glanced at the tomato, and it exploded, sending pulp flying everywhere.
“You used air?”
I nodded.
“Try again, but use water. You need to withdraw the fluid. This might also work with wet soil, so try not to think about…”
“Deflating people like they are human sponges?”
“Yes. Try not to think about that. You want to draw the molecules out without destroying anything else. You may even be able to do this without harming anyone.”
I put my hands on my hips and stared at him incredulously.
“Seriously?”
“Yes. Imagine you stand before a crowd. You may be able to pull a tiny bit of blood from each and have more than enough.” He set another tomato down on the ground and stood back. “Imagine using blood daggers to kill Vampires. The scent alone would drive them to distraction.”
I nodded. “Yeah, okay. I still think this is extra-creepy.”
Maxim was smirking as he watched.
“Can you guys get back a little bit, please? I don’t have a good track record.”
Rogue Prince Page 12
