“Your track record is exceptional,” Caleb corrected me. But he retreated to the porch to stand with Bernard. Maxim followed.
I sighed and stared at the tomato, willing the fluid inside to move out. It did, but with a massive gush. The red juice hung in a cloud above the deflated tomato.
“Well, that’s not going to work.”
“I have an idea.” Bernard stepped inside and came back holding a lemon. He set it on the ground and backed away.
“A lemon?”
“Well, it’s less gory-looking and the skin is thicker.”
“But human skin is not that thick.”
“Yes, but Vamp skin is.”
“Okay.” I stared at the lemon and let the power roll out of me slowly. I felt the movement of the juice before I could see it. A fine mist filled the air above the lemon. I condensed it, lifting it in the air until it was a spinning star with wickedly sharp points. Then I sent it driving into a board we had set up for target practice after I refused to practice sharp objects with the trees. I could hear them cry out when they were injured. It was no bueno.
Maxim was a different matter. I was more than happy to practice on him. He gave me a tight smile and nodded his head. He heard me loud and clear. He knew I was annoyed with his line of questioning. That was good.
“Now all we need is some olive oil,” Maxim called out. He was clapping slowly, but I could see the respect in his eyes. He was impressed.
Yes. I am impressed.
“Okay, let’s try another tomato.”
“Use a really firm one,” Bernard called out with a grin.
The next time, I did better. And the time after that. Within an hour, I was able to pull from multiple sources at once as they were tossed through the air at me. The only issue I had was when they tossed fruit with soft and hard flesh at the same time. I did fine with the oranges and lemons, but any tomato in the vicinity got pulverized.
Which mean if there were humans and Vamps in the same area when I tried this for real, those humans were toast. I hoped it never came to that. I would only use blood as a last resort, I vowed. I would use air, dirt, fire, and any conventional weapon I could find before I tried this in battle.
But all the same, it was good to practice.
Bernard went to the market to get more produce.
It was going to be a long night.
Chapter 24
Where there’s smoke…
“It’s almost working.”
I snorted.
“Almost isn’t really going to do much good, is it?”
“Keep going.”
I nodded and tried again. I was standing in the sun, trying to condense the heat to make fire out of thin air. So far, all I’d done was make a few dead leaves smoke.
“Basically, I’m about as useful as a magnifying glass.”
Maxim was lazing on the porch, watching me. He barked out orders from the relative cool of the shade. He could withstand sun now, but unlike Bernard, he didn’t enjoy it. Caleb had left my training in Maxim’s hands for the day while he slept. He’d been poring over ancient texts through the night.
“Maybe you need a break. Switch skills?” He gave me a lopsided smile. “Something… cooler?”
I was red-faced and sweating. It wasn’t just that it was an unseasonably warm day or that the sun was blazing. It wasn’t even that I was working hard for hour after hour.
It was the fire. If you summoned fire, you got hot.
I’d learned to control fire that was already blazing. But like I’d learned to do with water, I needed to be able to conjure fire from nothing. I needed to be able to create it.
“A break?”
He nodded.
“I want to go out.”
“Where?” he asked, rocking back in his seat with his feet up on the porch rail.
“Pancakes?” I said hopefully.
He clucked his tongue.
“Bernard can make pancakes. Besides, you really should be avoiding any potential teenage werewolf hangouts.”
“Right,” I murmured to myself. The truth was, I was more worried about one of my friends getting hurt. If Janelle knew how much Caleb or Bernard meant to me… and I just knew she’d love to bite Maxim. Or she would if she ever laid eyes on him again.
He had been the talk of the prom the year before, I reminded myself.
“So, I’m tasty looking, am I?”
I gave him a look. “Chillies seems to think so.”
He laughed as the cat perked up and let out a low meow.
“I think I know what you need.”
I climbed onto the porch and slumped into one of the old camp chairs that had been there when we moved in. The were painted white with blue floral cushions, faded after what had to be half a century sitting out here in the elements. They weren’t too uncomfortable, to be honest, though I wasn’t sure that full Vamps even felt discomfort.
“Not that kind.”
“Huh?”
Maxim stared at me.
“Full ‘Vamps’ as you call us. We don’t get sore backs. Do you?”
“No, but I get hungry and cranky and sweaty.”
“Charming,” he purred, looking cool and collected as always.
“You seem to think so,” I threw back.
His smile only widened.
“Touché.”
He leaned back in his seat, pretending to sleep. I knew he was just getting used to being awake during the day, but I wasn’t fooled for an instant.
“So, what is it?”
“Hmm?”
“You said you know what I need.”
“Yes. I do.”
I tapped my foot in annoyance.
“Maxim!”
“Ow!” He groused when I slapped his shoulder. He was as solid as an oak. “So impatient, Sophie.”
“I thought you didn’t feel pain.”
He just smiled and closed his eyes again.
“What do I need, Maxim?”
He shifted slightly to look at me.
“You need to feed.”
“Oh.” I bit my lip. “That.”
“It will only increase your powers.”
“But that’s what I’m afraid of. I should learn to control them before supercharging them, or whatever.”
“Supercharging. I like that,” he mused, then turned back to me, an earnest look in his dark eyes. “You won’t lose control. You must know that.”
“I could. And anyway, I had my drops.”
“Drops,” he scoffed. “You need to feel fresh blood pulsing into your mouth. You need to drink from the very fountain of life!”
“Wow, okay, Maxim. I’ll play this out theoretically. Well, if I’m avoiding teenage hangouts and public places with security cameras, how exactly am I supposed to feed?”
He flopped his wrist out toward me.
“You can always feed on me.”
My eyes widened. I did crave Vamp blood from time to time. Far more than human blood. If I was honest, it was Maxim’s blood in particular that smelled delicious whenever he was near. It was probably a tie with Dylan’s Fae blood.
He pulled his leather jacket away from his neck.
“Or better yet, here,” he offered suggestively. I nearly leapt out of my chair, standing and staring out into the woods. Anywhere but at that delicious-looking vein.
“That’s not a good idea and you know it.”
“Why?”
“First of all, it might make this bond thing worse.”
“Worse?”
“Stronger.”
“And that frightens you?”
“No, Maxim, it annoys me!”
“Well, you have to admit it’s come in handy from time to time.”
“Yes, but—”
“Next. What else worries you?”
“It’s just . . . it’s far too intimate! And I shouldn’t get used to it. It’s not like I’m going to have Vamps on tap for all time. Especially not in the heat of the battle. I can’t rely o
n it.”
“You can. I’m more than happy to be your keg. That’s what human teenagers like to drink out of, isn’t it?”
I laughed and shook my head. “You’re nuts.”
“That’s not the word I would use.”
“What word would you use, exactly?” I turned to face him, leaning on the rickety porch railing.
He stared at me. I felt it. He didn’t have to use the words.
For a moment, it felt like the earth turned upside down.
If that’s really how he felt around me… I groaned and pushed away from the rail.
“I do need to get out of here. Maybe I’ll just go by myself.”
He was on his feet and blocking my way before I could blink. Nightfall, he was fast! I’d noticed it before, but it still took me aback.
“Not a chance, Princess.”
I narrowed my eyes at him.
“Were you always this fast, or is it another transfer?”
He grinned at me cockily.
“I think speed may be one of the gifts you shared with me.”
“I wonder what would happen if you drank my blood,” I mused aloud.
“Don’t tease me,” he said, his voice husky.
“It will never happen, Maxim. I was just being theoretical.”
He boxed me in so that I was against the exterior wall of the house.
“I don’t care. As long as you let me do this.”
I sighed as his lips crashed down on mine. If his first kiss at the waterfall had been gentle, he was making up for it this time. This kiss was demanding and urgent. His tongue swirled into my mouth skillfully. He’d clearly done this a thousand times before. It was almost like he was showing off. Kind of like he was trying to one-up Dylan’s kiss from the day before…
“Ugh!”
I shoved him away when that lovely thought broke through the kiss haze he’d put me in.
“You are trying to one-up him!”
“No. I’m not.”
A muscle ticked dangerously in his angled jaw.
“Well, whatever. I can’t go around letting you guys surprise-kiss me all the time. I have other things to worry about.”
“You are not going out alone.”
“Fine!”
I walked away, deciding I needed some alone time. If I was trapped in this house, I might as well do something more productive than arguing with Maxim. Chillies was at my heels as I stomped up the stairs and to my bedroom. I had a book I wanted to finish.
I curled up on the window seat with an arcane volume of lesser-known Greek philosophers. One of them was named Metresopholes. He had a lot of mystical theories that Caleb thought were grounded in truth. Caleb had a theory that good old Metres had been talking to Angels.
Or Vampires. Maybe both.
I needed something to distract me from that kiss. Anything. I looked around my room in frustration, feeling like I was ready to climb the walls.
You really can’t admit how much you enjoyed that.
Shut up, Maxim!
No response, but I could feel his smugness radiating through the bond. Thankfully, Dylan was silent. What was I going to do about the two of them? I liked them both, sure. Loved them both, if I was honest. But I was also annoyed with them both for making me feel like a chew toy in a tug of war!
I pulled out my phone and texted Karen. It was after school. I’d missed another day trying to keep out of Janelle’s way. Maybe Karen would be willing to come over and distract me. Maybe she could teach me how to put my heart on lockdown. For a while, anyway.
Friend emergency.
I’m working on your spells now.
Thanks. Can you come over?
Sure. These aren’t quite ready, I’m still doing prep.
I don’t care about the spells. Just bring junk food.
Karen responded with a laughing emoji.
See you in twenty.
We sat on the porch swing, sipping iced tea and eating cheese puffs. It was our second bag and I still hadn’t lost steam. Karen knew me well. I loved cheese puffs almost as much as eggrolls and pancakes. Bernard and Caleb were inside. I had no idea where Maxim had gone.
And I didn’t much care.
I waited for him call me a liar. Nothing. I nodded to myself.
He was finally learning to keep his thoughts to himself.
“So, because of your emergency, I didn’t finish everything. But I can do a simple warning spell now. It’s an Aviary spell.”
“Birds?”
Karen nodded, her pretty light brown waves cascading over her shoulders. I wondered briefly about creating an army of birds. It would be incredibly useful to have sharp-beaked birds swoop out of the sky to peck at the New Leaders and their army. I didn’t think it would be fair to the birds, though, not to mention far too conspicuous. It would be impossible to hide a glowing bird from prying eyes.
From any eyes, really. Human, Vamp, whatever. I had given up asking Caleb to list other supernatural beings. He’d handed me a couple of books which had been eye-opening, to say the least.
Apparently, even Gorgons were real. There were snake-haired women with discrete head wraps living all over the world. And I’d been living in the real world way too long.
If I was going to rule, I needed to know what was out there, especially before I created any more creatures.
Then again, maybe the New Leaders had Vampire birds, the way the Cotswolds had Vampire horses. It seemed a cruel joke to force upon a dumb animal, though the horses seemed content, if a little creepy.
Not just cruel. It could also be dangerous. Especially if you fed a pack of crows Vampire blood and then ended their mortal lives.
What if the birds started craving blood over a playground? I could just see it now, kids screaming and running. Nannies stabbing massive bloodthirsty crows with their umbrellas. It would not be good. At least my creatures didn’t crave blood. Not yet, anyway.
I’d have to bring it up to Caleb later. I knew that Karen was not aware of my ability to create ‘special friends.’ I didn’t like lying to her, but Caleb had pointed out that in this case, ignorance might be a shield to protect her. Dylan had agreed, so I had no choice but to accede to their wishes.
She was still my best friend, though, even if the past year had gotten really freaking weird. We’d been friends, then enemies, then grudging friends again, and now we were closer than ever and apparently on the same side. Even her great-aunt had come around.
My being part-Angel probably had something to do with it.
“How is it working? The steel box?”
“Honestly? I think I kind of suck at it. The bonds are growing stronger, if anything. Not the other way around.”
“Hmm,” she said with a small smile. “I’m not surprised.”
“What? Do you have a theory about that?”
“Well, yes. I mean, the laws of attraction are really simple. Like attracts like.”
“I’m not like either of them.”
“You are like both of them. If you had only drunk from one or the other, I doubt the bond would be as strong.”
“Oh, great,” I moaned. “So it’s a double-whammy.”
“Exactly.”
“Is there any way to break it?”
She tilted her head to the side, studying me with her serious eyes framed in a pair of bright purple frames. Karen was not a flashy dresser, though she’d gotten a lot more Bohemian this year. She always took fashion risks with her eyewear, however.
“Do you want to?”
I had to think about it. Really think. I was kind of surprised that the answer was, “I don’t know.”
She nodded.
“That’s the answer I was expecting. You three have changed each other. Dylan is more serious now, like you. And a little edgier.”
I nodded. I could see that. Especially when he had kissed me like that on the porch last week.
“What about Maxim? Is he different?” she asked in that way of hers. The way that made
you want to answer, even if it was an uncomfortable truth she was after.
“I don’t know. I didn’t know him that well. He was more mysterious before. Smug, arrogant. But he’s also kind. Intense.” I shrugged. “Maybe he’s more emotional now, but it’s hard to say. He always plays it close to the vest.”
“Do you like that about him?”
I shook my head.
“I don’t like or dislike it. He’s been there for me, even though it’s not really in his best interest. I trust him.”
“And Dyl?”
I looked at her.
“Are you untangling my thoughts?”
She smiled secretly, like she’d been caught out. Karen had always been good at this. It was not mind reading, per se. It was more like she could help you tug on the thread when your head felt like a jumble of thoughts. It seemed like she could get anything out of my head, no matter how hidden it was from myself. Although some of it was stuff I never said aloud, she was the one who helped me figure it out.
It must be a Fae quality, I reasoned.
Or maybe it was just pure Karen.
“I try not to think about this stuff, to be honest. It’s all too raw and mixed up and I don’t want to hurt either one of them.”
“I’ll put up a screen so no one can hear our voices.” I watched as she cupped her hands together. I could almost see a spark of light between her palms. I blinked and it was gone. “Or your thoughts.”
“You can do that?”
She nodded and closed her eyes. When she opened them again, I could swear I felt like we were inside a bubble. My breathing was louder. So was hers. Her heartbeat was a steady drum. Even the air felt slightly heavier.
“Wow,” I said breathlessly. “That was amazing.”
“So, spill.”
I sighed.
“Dylan is going to get hurt.” She opened her mouth and I held up my hand. “I don’t mean emotionally. I have no idea if I will live to see twenty, let alone wind up with either of them.”
She gave me a sympathetic look.
“I’m so terrified that he’ll get killed. Or worse.”
“What is worse than death?”
Rogue Prince Page 13
