by Kim Faulks
“Right, to bed with you,” Nero murmured.
But I just turned my head slowly, forcing the pain underneath the desperation. “No, that’s not why I need you.”
One brow rose. He glanced to the others leaving and then turned to me. “What are you up to?”
“Your mom.” My words were hoarse and raw. “I need you to take me to see your mom.”
Sparks danced in his eyes. “You want to see a Witch?”
I gently nodded. The more I thought about it, the surer I was. She told me I needed to be strong, and if this was being strong...then I was failing miserably. She had answers. I knew she did.
“Meet me out front.” He touched the back of my hand, drawing my attention. “Can you do that?”
I nodded and gripped the table as he left. I grabbed my notebook and snagged the strap from my backpack off the chair. The room spun as I slowly made for the door. Still I held onto everything I had and slowly followed.
Sunlight pierced through the clouds and stung my eyes. I winced and yanked my hand upwards. But the sun tingled over my skin.
The car was a dark blur at the edge of my vision. The engine roared, and then slowly died as Nero pulled to a stop in front of me. He shoved the driver’s door open and raced toward me with a heavy leather jacket in one hand and a pair of sunglasses in the other.
I stared at the sleek sports cars and then lifted my gaze to him. “This your car?”
He threw the jacket around my shoulders and slid the sunglasses gently onto my face. Darkness consumed me, and I lifted a shaking hand to his. “Thank you.”
The jacket smelled of Judas; deep and powerful, and every bit of an Alpha.
“No, this is Judas’, but today it’s ours. Come on quickly before Ms. Stone comes out,” he murmured.
I followed, climbing into the passenger’s seat as he raced around to the driver’s side and slid inside. With a slam of the door, we were off, pulling away from the front doors of the academy, and heading toward the main gates.
“Last time we did this we were looking for clues,” Nero murmured and cast a careful glance toward me. “What are you looking for now?”
I swallowed hard. “The truth,” I answered as he turned the car left at the gates, heading toward the city. This was more than a surge of power, more than the poisoning of blood.
Someone was out to hurt Vampires.
And I needed to understand who.
The diamonds clinked and rattled in my pocket. I couldn’t bear to look at them now and didn’t want to touch them. But if I was away from them for any length of time the pain only grew worse. So, I resigned myself to shoving them back into my pocket.
I settled into the seat and gave myself over to Nero. He’d take care of me...all my Wolves would take care of me, and Ava. I reached out, placing my hand on his thigh. “Thank you.”
He cast me a panicked glance and pressed the accelerator harder. This...connection we shared was evolving, moving deeper the more time we shared. Judas and Bond were protective, sometimes battling each other for who guarded, and who protected. But with Nero it was different, he was careful, quiet, and controlled. He saw things the others missed…
He lowered his hand to mine on his thigh. “We’ll work this out.”
“It’s because of the diamonds, Nero.” I felt sick with the words. “It’s all because of the diamonds.”
He turned the car again, and then punched the accelerator, pushing me back into the seat as we sped toward the towering skyscrapers of the nearby city. But we weren’t going to the glitz and glamor of high-end boutique stores like I was used to, and the more I thought about it the more I realized that was the old me.
I wasn’t that person anymore. It didn’t matter how many carats you wore, or which designer was creating your outfit. Hell, I was friends with Ava who called Chanel, “Channel.” I winced with the thought and smiled. She always made me laugh, even when we were miles apart.
We drove for a while and already, the afternoon sky dimmed.
“Almost there.” Nero turned the car, heading to the darker, quieter suburbs.
Familiar sights of seedy buildings and darkened alleys filled my view. Nero hit the turn signal and pulled the car hard up against the curb. I lifted my gaze to the familiar brick building and the entrance to the courtyard.
Nero was out of the car in a second and rounded the front to open my door. I clenched my jaw and blinked behind the sunglasses as I climbed onto the pavement. “I hope she’s home.”
“There’s only one way to find out.” He shoved the car door closed behind me.
Every step was agony, but the shadows of the entrance soothed the sting of the sun. I glanced up to the balcony as we entered. But I couldn’t quite see her door.
“Let me run up.” Nero lunged and raced for the stairs, and I lost sight of him around the corner.
“She’s not home.” An old woman’s voice murmured behind me. I turned to see a silver-haired woman step out of the shadows. Dark eyes gripped mine as she moved forward. “Take off your glasses,” she commanded.
I reached up, slipping the shades from my eyes.
She was slow and hunched. Gnarled fingers reached upwards, sliding the sides of her fingers down my face. “You’re sick, power sick,” she murmured. “What’s your name?”
“Morwenna,” I murmured.
“Your last name, child,” she muttered, her voice climbing with impatience.
“Livingstone.”
With a hard breath she murmured, “Someone doesn’t want your kind in the limelight anymore.”
I flinched at her words, thinking of all the strange occurrences of late, the sick Vamps. Her words resonated with everything. “Who are you? How do you know this?”
“Morghanna.” Nero’s Mom stepped out of the entrance. She cast a panicked glance toward me, and then the old woman. “Everything okay?”
“The Undead have come to dance again,” the old woman snarled. “They will fall...it’s inevitable.”
Nero’s Mom reached for my arm and pulled me. I stumbled, catching the momentum as she drove me toward the shadows of the stairs. “What are you doing here?” she hissed in my ear. “Where’s Nero?”
I glanced over my shoulder to find the old woman was gone. Nowhere in sight.
“Mom?” he called from the top of the stairs.
She hurried him down with a wave, and the frantic thunder of his steps filled the space.
“This isn’t a good time,” she warned and cast a glance toward the shadows. “Things have gotten...troubling.”
Fear crowded Nero’s blue eyes. “What do you mean troubling?”
“You don’t want to know,” she murmured. “But you can’t come here, not anymore. Stay away, call me if there’s trouble. But don’t come near us, you understand me, Nero?”
The way she said it made my skin crawl.
She lifted her gaze. “The Witches are angry.”
“It’s to do with the diamonds, isn’t it?” I reached into my pocket and grasped the bag.
Her gaze followed the movement, catching on the purple bag. Confusion filled her, her brow furrowed, her breath caught.
She shook her head, her eyes widening as I dragged the purple bag from my pocket.
“Show me,” her voice was guttural and strange.
She hadn’t wanted to see them before. But now…now there was fear.
I reached in, grasped a few of them and pulled them out. The diamonds were broken inside, but they were still intact, one half of the jewel was black, and the other clear.
“One side fighting with the other,” she muttered, her voice crackling with fear as she lifted her head. “And the Vampire line grows weaker.”
Chapter Seventeen
Something Is In The Air
And the Vampire line grows weaker.
I tried to curl my feet under my body, closing in, pulling away.
“Hey,” Nero reached out and touched my arm. “You okay?”
I tried
to nod, but it just wasn’t in me. I was sick… all Vamps were sick. I watched the overhead lights blur as we passed them. One after another, they flicked out of view. Night swallowed everything else: the city, the cars, the skyscrapers.
Might as well take me too. My muscles twitched, nerves frayed. I hurt. Heart hurt. Desperation hurt.
But that would mean quitting. Livingstones are fighters, Dad’s words filled me.
I ground my jaw. I’d fight to the end; until there was no fight left in me.
I’d fight for my family.
I’d fight for my line.
I shook my head, unsure how to feel. “Your mom said don’t come near us.”
He never answered, just tightened his grip on the wheel.
“Us means Witches, right? She was telling us to stay away from Witches.”
He just nodded and hit the gas pedal, pressing my spine into the seat.
“She didn’t help us much,” I added. Well, unless proclaiming doom and gloom counted.
Nero didn’t respond right away, but kept driving, kept racing down the road. Only the rhythmic grunt of the motor kept us company. No other cars passed us, and part of me wanted to reach over to Nero and ask him to keep driving, to never stop, to make me somehow forget my life had turned into a massive knot and I had no clue how to untangle myself.
“She gave you those tea leaves.”
I dropped my gaze to the console between us and stared at the sandwich bag filled with varied dried herbs and leaves.
They’ll ease the pain, she murmured before pressing the bag into my hand and pushed me toward the entrance of the compound. Go now, were her parting words. And don’t come back.
“I won’t leave you,” Nero murmured. “I’ll help you figure this out.”
Nero braked, pulling into the Academy driveway and headed for the main building. No lights were on inside, but the long driveway was lit with bright lights that haunted us as Nero drove the car into the parking lot.
A cold wind whipped around my legs as I climbed out and shut the door behind me and walked around the front of the car.
“Come here, take some of the Wolf warmth.” He wrapped an arm around my shoulder and walked with me toward my dorm.
But the cold stayed, slithering along my spine.
A shadow slipped between the trees, and then cut across the open in front of me.
It was the woman in black. The one from my dreams. My steps stuttered, drawing Nero’s gaze.
“What is it?” He followed my gaze.
“Do you see her?”
Everything was silent. There was no wind. No sounds of animals. No sounds of anything.
The silvery moon lit up the woman. She stretched an arm out and opened her fist exposing a palm filled with black stones. She tipped her hand forward and the rocks tumbled from her palm. The moment they left her touch, they changed color from black to clear, glinting in the moonlight.
I touched the pouch in my pocket; my diamonds were still there.
She nodded as if sensing what I was doing, as if what she showed me was a symbolism. That in her touch, the stones were filled with darkness. What in the world did that mean?
“See who?” Nero stared around, but he seemed to look right past her.
I turned to him, my voice shaky. “Right there.” I pointed but she was gone, and I stifled the urgent need to run for my life.
Nero hurried our walk, holding me so damn close we moved in unison.
Opening the door to my room, I pushed into the darkness, my gaze scanning for any intruders, especially on the balcony. That woman from my dreams kept haunting me. This wasn’t the first time I’d seen her around. Maybe I was hallucinating and going mad?
Nero remained in the doorway, the corridor light encasing him in a golden aura. He moved closer, his hand reaching out, cupping my cheek. I naturally stepped forward, desperation to not be alone wavering through me.
“I won’t let anyone harm you.”
“I know,” I replied in a low voice, and the first burst of tingles swarmed down my arms.
He leaned in gently and kissed me, his lips warm and soft. I grasped his arms, holding on, drifting away on the wings of what he promised me—escape. He held my head with two hands and kissed me passionately, fiery, his tongue breaking the seam of my pressed lips. I opened myself for him, wanting him, needing him.
He broke away, and I gasped, burning up. A small whimper of anticipation fell from my mouth.
“Judas said to take care of you, and that’s exactly what I’m going to do. First, I’m going to get us hot water and cups for the tea. So, get ready for bed.”
He said us, not for me, meaning he intended to join me, and as much I bounced on my toes inside my boots, I held back my excitement. Something about not being alone flooded me with joy. Before I could respond, he turned and vanished down the hallway. I locked the door behind him and flicked on the bedside lamp, unable to stop thinking about his kiss. How delicious he tasted. How my lips still tingled from his. I rushed to get changed into my pjamas, pushing away the yawns that kept plaguing me.
I picked up the bag of diamonds from my desk and pulled open the ties. The once clear and sparkly stones now looked dull, darker. Why did they keep changing colors? Then I recalled the woman in black on the grounds earlier tonight, how they cleared once they left her touch. I could only assume this had to be the handy work of Witches. And was that woman the one who’d cast this spell? Except, she didn’t look familiar to me. I tied the bag back up and left it on my desk, not wanting to deal with them now.
It wasn’t long before Nero returned, carrying an electric kettle and two ceramic cups with the Academy crest and a strainer.
“Where’d you get those from?”
“I have my ways.” Nero kicked the door shut behind him and busied himself to prepare our teas. “Your pjamas are cute.” He glanced over his shoulder, eyeing my tee and silk shorts with zebras on them.
“They’re misunderstood animals. I mean they’re equids but are neither horses or donkeys, and they have the most gorgeous stripes. Did you know that the pattern on their coat is as unique as a person’s fingerprint?”
“Didn’t know that. Or that you’re a zebra fan.”
“Not many people do. Saw them once at a zoo with Dad and he told me no one knows why zebras have stripes, and something about that made me admire them. They have this secret no one knows about.” I climbed into my bed and tucked my legs under the blanket, finding warmth, my eyelids growing heavy.
It wasn’t long before Nero handed me a hot cup of tea, the herbal scent of aniseed and lemongrass flooding my scenes. “Your mom said these are safe for me to drink.”
“People used to come to our home from miles to buy her teas, claiming they healed them.” He eyed the spot next to me in the bed. “Can I join you?”
“Of course, I’m freezing,” I answered without thinking, the desire to have him stay with me instinctual and needy. I drew back the blanket for him to get underneath for warmth.
He toed off his boots and got in next to me, the mattress bouncing until he found a comfortable spot. We sat with our backs to headboard, sipping our tea. The taste was subtle but it had a way of almost instantly calming me. Could be the whole placebo effect, or having Nero so close to me, but I didn’t care. It felt incredible to feel something other than sickness and fear.
I slid my feet toward his under the blankets, and he claimed them between his legs as I said, “I don’t mind if you stay the night.”
He was drinking from his cup, his gaze widening from over the rim of his mug.
“I don’t want to be alone, please.”
Lowering his drink, he set it on the bedside table and turned to me. “Of course.”
And with my tea finished and set aside, I flicked the bedside lamp off before sliding deeper into bed. With my back to Nero’s chest, he collected me into his strong arms, and I snuggled against him.
His breath brushed through my hair. Despite the heavin
ess in my stomach from how terrible I’d been feeling over the past few weeks, my insides now fluttered at the feeling of his body pressed against mine.
“Want to know a secret,” I murmured.
“What is it, beautiful?”
“This is my first time someone has shared my bed.” The moment the words left my mouth, I regretted them. Stupid! What made me tell him that?
He kissed the top of my head, his breathing quickening. “Well, I’ll be sure to hold you all night then.”
“Deal.” And I closed my eyes, not wanting to overthink anything, just enjoy the comfort he offered.
The next morning, I woke with a shudder, drowning in another nightmare but this time I was completely alone in a world that seemed devoid of people. Except, I didn’t want to think about those nightmares because for the first time in too long I felt refreshed, my head was clear, and I was ready to jump out of bed and tackle anything. I rolled over to thank Nero for his company, for his mom’s tea, but I found myself alone. A piece of paper lay on the empty pillow. I reached out and took it.
Morning beautiful. Loved being your first. Had to go to training. Didn’t want to wake you.
I smirked to myself and pushed my legs out from under the covers, then plugged in the electric kettle to boil water. If the tea from Nero’s mom indeed helped me, then I needed another cup. Then time for a shower, yet my mind couldn’t stop thinking about Nero and how good it felt to sleep in his arms.
Swallowing the last gulp of tea, I dialed home on my cell. I’d been calling Dad once a week to see if he gained any insight on the diamonds. Three rings and Dad’s croaky voice answered.
“Morwenna, is everything all right?”
“You sound dreadful.”
He coughed, and I cringed because my dad never got sick. “Your mom and me haven’t felt too well this past week. But you’re sounding better.”
I opened my mouth to tell him I’d visited Nero’s mother, but I doubted he’d take the news of me going to a Witch as good, and in particular when he grilled me about who Nero was. “I’ve been drinking a new tea with anise and lemongrass. I’ll give Chuck some to bring you.” Part of me wondered if I ought to ask Nero to take me back to his mom’s and beg her for a big batch for my whole family.
