“You need to get some sleep,” he said, his face softening. “David can take you to my room if you like or back to the portal, whichever you prefer.”
“I’d rather sleep in my own bed.”
He nodded at the tall, bearded man who I assumed was David. My escort looked at me with a smile reserved for a child. Next to him, I probably looked like one. I followed him back to the portal.
“I’ve got it from here,” I said. “I’ll learn my way around soon, promise.”
“I’ll escort you anytime.” He gave me a shallow bow and left me staring at the familiar swirling fog that would take me home.
Spearmint assaulted my nostrils, and Logan crashed into me, dragging me through the portal.
“I thought you couldn’t use the portal!” I yelled when we landed on the other side.
“Be silent,” he whispered, standing perfectly still and holding me tight.
Tension and fear radiated off him. What could he possibly be afraid of?
“What are you doing?” I snapped.
“Trying to save your life, princess,” he replied. “I believe the house is empty, but we need to hurry.”
“What are you talking about?” I asked again as he pulled me down the hall and into Kellen’s room. He locked the doors to both the hallway and the garden, then went into the bedroom. Why all the fear and caution? He knew what happened to the Magister. That had to be it.
“You need to tell me something, Logan. You’re scaring the shit outta me.”
“Get in here,” he called from the other room.
I reluctantly obeyed, and he locked the door as soon as I entered.
“Are your things still packed in your trunk?” he asked, disappearing from my side and reappearing next to our boxes on the opposite side of the room.
“Yeah, why? What’s going on?”
He pushed the lid on both and started throwing my things into his. “Kellen killed the vampires in their cells—all of them. He buried the Magister’s ashes in the stone floor so it would look like she escaped.”
“That’s ridiculous,” I hissed. “This is Kellen you’re talking about. You know, your best friend, my partner.” I refused to believe it, but my mind drifted back to the trail of fine dust I’d fallen into. Was that the remains of a vampire? I looked at my hands and bile rose in my throat. I rushed to Kellen’s private bathroom.
“Do you have any other clothes besides the ones you’re wearing?” he called to me.
“Why does it matter? I’m not leaving. I’m exhausted and going to bed.” I turned on the water and scrubbed my hands with more soap than was necessary.
“You have to leave,” he said, appearing in front of me. “If my information is correct, you’re next.” His eyes softened. “I can’t let that happen.”
“Because my life is tied to yours.” I immediately felt guilty for the comment, no matter how true it was. Self-preservation was important.
He laughed, and I glared at him. None of this was funny.
“Come on, we’re leaving.” He reached for my arm, but I stepped back avoiding him.
“I don’t understand why. Kellen won’t hurt me. I’m pretty certain he cares for me.”
Logan’s smile vanished. “Does he care for you, or does he need you?”
I thought about his question. Couldn’t it be both? A dull thud startled me. Three more followed in quick succession, then muffled voices came from the sitting room. Logan quietly closed the lid on his trunk and grabbed the handle with one hand.
“Check the closets while I look in here,” a man’s voice said from the other side of the door. The handle shook. “Over here!” he yelled.
“We have to go, princess,” Logan whispered in my ear. “They aren’t here to chat.”
Fear and confusion froze me in place. Who were they, and why were they here? It wasn’t David’s voice.
“Just bust it down,” another male voice said. “I want to be back before dinner.”
“This doesn’t feel right. It’s like we’re doing the Magister, man.”
“Yeah, whatever.” The door shuddered, and its frame splintered against the impact.
Logan’s arm wrapped around my waist again. “Sleep, princess, and let me save you.”
“No,” I mumbled. “We aren’t doing this again.”
My eyelids drooped, and I felt him toss me over his shoulder. Sleep took me as the desert rolled by in a sandy blur.
Chapter 38
I woke to complete darkness and immediately panicked, kicking away the heavy quilt covering me. I sat up, blinking several times, but nothing changed. Cold air surrounded my body, and I shivered. Where the hell was I?
“Don’t panic. Take a deep breath and stay calm,” I told myself.
I remembered my phone and pulled it from my pocket, flipping it open. The faint blue light from the screen lit up a small space around me but did nothing to tell me where I was. I held it out at arm’s length and waved it around. The quilt laid at my feet in a pile. I ran my hand over the covered mattress. It was still warm and smelled like spearmint.
“Dammit, Logan. You could’ve left a light on,” I muttered. The bastard put me to sleep again. If he stole my memory, I was going to be really pissed. Would I even know if he did? I would ask and make him lie to me.
I dropped my bare feet over the bed and landed on soft carpeting. I creeped across the room, waving my phone in front of me, trying to locate a wall. Who put the bed in the middle of the room?
“At least he left my clothes on,” I mumbled, immediately regretting the thought as my memory took me back to Victor’s house several weeks earlier.
I took a few more steps before finding the wall. I followed it to a door and pushed it open. Low lights from a hallway spilled into the room, only illuminating the first few feet. I continued my trek along the wall until I found a light switch.
The sudden brightness forced my eyes closed. I leaned against the wall until I could open them with relative comfort. As I suspected, the bed was in the middle of the room, but I understood why. Bookshelves lined three of the four walls, and they were all filled with books.
I stared in amazement and disbelief. Did Logan live here, or were we borrowing someone else’s house? I reached for my connection and found him easily. Two doors occupied the wall I leaned against: one to my left opening into the hall and one to my right leading to Logan.
I pressed my ear against the wooden door and heard a shower running. “Not going there.”
I padded to the nearest book shelf, stuffing my phone back in my pocket. My fingers trailed the spines of dozens of books as I read their titles. He had everything from history to romance. Surely this was someone else’s house; Logan never struck me as the intellectual type.
“Did you find what you’re looking for?” he asked, surprising me.
He stood next to me in a pair of shorts. Water dripped down his bare chest from his wet hair. I scowled at him and opened my mouth to reply, but his lips met mine and stifled my response. Against my better judgement, I kissed him back, threading my fingers into his hair. Memories of our night together flooded my mind, not just the lust and passion, but the oneness we shared. He understood my fear of rejection, my need to be loved and accepted, and he willingly gave me all those things. He responded immediately, picking me up and carrying me back to bed. I wanted every part of him, but I also wanted answers.
“No, you don’t,” I said, scooting away from him. “We have stuff to talk about. I won’t be distracted so easily.”
“We can talk later,” he said, crawling across the bed towards me in full predator mode. I could feel his fierce desire, laced with anger and resentment. “No one knows where we are. We have plenty of time to discuss whatever you want. I’ve suppressed my feelings for you because of a man who only wanted one thing.”
I reached the other side of the bed and stopped. He hovered over me, his black hair hanging around his face. “He used both of us to remove the Magister,” he said.<
br />
I placed one hand against his bare chest, my heart pounding against my ribs. I couldn’t tell if it was fear or lust; maybe it was both. “You both used me to get what you wanted,” I whispered. “I’ve been lied to, manipulated, and seduced all to overthrow the Magister.”
He rolled onto his back next to me with a huff. “I thought I knew his motives,” he said. “I trusted him to restore the mages’ place of power.”
“Isn’t that what he did?” I asked, glancing over at his profile.
“Yes, but he wasn’t supposed to hurt you.”
“Were those his people at the house looking for me?”
He nodded. “Their only reason to be there was to silence you. Kellen had already told you to get some rest. He knew where you’d be.”
“But why did he need me silent?” I asked. “I would’ve stayed by his side and help him lead.” I bit my lower lip, contemplating my words. “Is he like my mother, looking for power of his own? No, that isn’t right. He wouldn’t have suggested a ruling council if he intended to keep everything for himself. Besides, that’s not the Kellen I know.”
Logan rolled onto his side to face me. “How long have you known him?”
“Whatever. It’s only been a month, but he’s my partner. I can feel his emotion.”
Logan raised an eyebrow at me and frowned. “Can you? Or do you feel what he wants you to feel?”
I looked away from him, thinking about my conversations with Kellen. When I first felt the connection between us, he was able to suppress his feelings. Did I catch him off guard that one time, and he hid them ever since? I didn’t think so, but I had no way of truly knowing.
“He told me he couldn’t live without me,” I replied. “I felt his hopelessness and sense of loss when he thought that vampire’s bite would kill me.”
“Was it a sense of loss for you or his cause? He’s been planning this ever since his parents’ death. Your arrival merely shortened his timeline.”
“I thought I knew, but you’ve planted these seeds of doubt. He saved me, Logan.” I rolled off the bed, glaring at him. “He saved me from a lifetime of living in that veil or dying because of my binding. He saved me from the wolves and vampires, and even my own mother. How I can doubt his loyalty? How do I know you aren’t lying to me?”
He propped himself on his elbow and returned my stare. “You already know that answer.”
“How can I possibly know that?” I braced my hands on my hips, scowling.
“Because I hate you with every part of my being and would kill you myself to see you die with me.”
Pain surged through my connection with him, and tears stung my eyes. I fell to my knees on the floor and cradled my head in my hands. The lie was so blatant it physically hurt.
“That doesn’t explain why he would want me dead,” I whispered.
“Because of me.” Logan was at my side within seconds, his fingers tracing my spine. “His partner cannot be bound to a vampire. How would their new council react to that? The people would abandon him, and his world would return to chaos.”
My argument died on my lips. Regardless of Logan’s loyalty and sacrifice, the mages would never see him as anything more than a vampire.
“What do we do now?” I asked.
“I need your phone.”
“Why?”
I pulled it from my pocket and handed it to him. He flipped it open and pushed several buttons, then crushed it in his palm. “I don’t think he can track a phone I gave you, but I need to be sure.”
I stared at him. “You suspected him when you gave me that phone, didn’t you?”
“I knew something wasn’t right, I just couldn’t put my finger on it.”
“Tell me,” I commanded, not feeling bad about it. I wanted to know what I missed, how I missed so much.
He rose to his feet and held out his hand. I looked at his long fingers and sighed. I’d been thrown into another situation I had no control over. I placed my hand in his, letting him pull me to my feet.
“When I realized I could feel your emotions, it didn’t take long to also recognize Kellen’s,” he said, sitting on the edge of the bed. “He would say what you wanted to hear, but he didn’t mean it. He patronized you constantly the last two weeks.”
“He did not,” I argued, standing a few feet from him. “I know what it feels like to be patronized.”
“Only from those people who were trying to get away from you,” he said softly. “Kellen wanted to keep you with him. His method was a little different, but the result was the same. He said what you needed to hear, to keep you close.”
His words hurt, no matter how true they were. I wanted to believe that Kellen and I would have more than our partnership. I didn’t want to accept that he used me. I thought back to all the time I spent with him. We shared a genuine friendship, if nothing else. I couldn’t believe he really wanted to kill me. Logan was convinced, but I wasn’t. Wouldn’t my elements have told me if they thought my life were in danger? I was certain Kellen and I would see each other again, and I’d force him to prove himself to me.
I bit my lower lip and frowned. My future was in turmoil once more, and the only certainty was the strengthening bond with the man in front of me. The security of knowing the truth from him brought more reassurance than I thought possible. My obvious desire scared me. I’d already placed my life in one man’s hands, and look where it got me. Could I really do it again? Did I even have a choice? I met Logan’s gaze, knowing he could feel my indecision. There was no judgement or hostility, just patience and understanding.
I closed the space between us and sat on the bed next to him. Could I get him to take me back to Vegas? Was it safe for me to go? Was it safe for me anywhere other than here with a vampire?
“Where are we?” I asked, looking around the room. “And that reminds me, I thought you couldn’t use the portal.”
“I cannot use it by myself,” he replied, flopping back onto the mattress.
“So, you used me as a shield to get through it?”
“Do you really think I would risk you just so I could use the portal?”
I felt the twist in his words, and the realization dawned on me.
“Yes.” I turned sideways on the edge of the mattress so I could see his face. “You believed they were killing me anyway. It was the quickest way to get both of us out of the palace. Whatever means you normally use to get in and out obviously takes longer. If they really did intend to kill me, you wouldn’t have gotten there in time, and your life would’ve been forfeit as well. Taking the risk with the portal ensured we died together, or survived and escaped.” It was devious, but had I been in his place, I might have done the same thing. Or not. I wasn’t sure I had the courage to do it. That was something else I needed to consider. It wasn’t just my life, but his as well.
He frowned and threaded one hand behind his head. “This is mine,” he said, waving the other hand above him and ignoring my comment. His quick change of subject had me confused, and it took me a minute to realize he referred to the home we were in. I would play his game, for now.
“Seriously?” I asked. He really didn’t strike me as the binge reading type.
“Just because I don’t dress like a professor doesn’t mean I can’t read.”
He looked away from me, but not before I caught his frown deepening. Did I offend him? Surely not.
“Have you read all of them?” I asked.
“Mostly,” he replied.
“You’re not pouting, are you?”
He rolled over, turning his back to me.
“Really? A sensitive vampire?” He didn’t reply. What a baby. I sighed and crawled towards him. “I’m not good at playing games, Logan. They usually just piss me off.”
Before I could react, he flipped over and pulled me to him. “Only because you lose,” he said, his face within inches of mine. His hazel eyes delved into my own, forcing his desire and longing through me. My own yearning bubbled through my core, my h
eart racing with it.
“You’re impossible,” I hissed.
“No, it’s called persistence.”
His lips pressed against mine, and I melted against him. I didn’t stop his hands as they inched closer to my ass, and I willingly allowed his tongue to explore mine.
Was he somehow making me want him? Was he manipulating my primal urges?
“Wait,” I said breathlessly, pushing myself a few inches from him.
The green in his eyes overtook the brown as he smiled.
“What are you doing to me?” I asked.
“I thought it was fairly obvious,” he replied. “Maybe I need to try something different if you haven’t figured it out.”
I couldn’t stop the corners of my lips from rising. “That’s not what I meant, and you know it.” I rolled off him, putting a little space between us. “My hormones don’t behave this way, ever,” I said. “Are you doing some magical-vampire-thing that makes me…” I paused feeling my face flush.
“Makes you what?” He looked at me with not-so-innocent eyes and a lop-sided grin.
“I think it’s pretty fricking obvious,” I replied.
“Yes, it is, and no, I’m not doing anything to you to make you want this,” he said. “I’ve never manipulated someone’s emotions like that and would never do that to you.”
I squinted at him, trying to detect the lie that wasn’t there.
“Are you done second guessing me?” he asked, raising an eyebrow at me.
“No. Well, maybe.” I took a deep breath, trying to quell the fire burning in places it shouldn’t. Or maybe it should.
“You know there’s an easy way to take care of that,” he said.
“Yes, I know, but I’m trying not to get distracted,” I replied.
“And I told you, we have plenty of time.”
“But I’ll forget my questions, if I don’t ask them now.”
He rolled his eyes and laced his fingers behind his head, stretching the lean muscles in his chest and arms. “Then let’s get on with the questions.”
Chapter 39
“What will Kellen do now that I’m gone?” I asked.
Magister's Bane Page 27
