Allure (The Lilituria Prophecy Book 2)

by Grace White

  “In here,” my sister said with an eerie calm to her voice, so I went straight to the kitchen.

  “Hey.” I dropped my bag onto the counter and helped myself to juice from the refrigerator. Demi was busy at the stove preparing dinner. “What are you cooking?”

  She laughed bitterly. “What am I cooking? Are you for real? We’re being hunted, Daiya, and you went to school. Just like that, like everything is normal.” She dropped the wooden spoon onto the counter and let out a frustrated sigh. “We need to leave.”

  “You know I can’t.” I won’t. “It’s not that simple.”

  “Because of the prophecy?”

  “I won’t leave him. I can’t leave him.” We’d been over this more than once this past weekend. And it always ended the same—Demi insisting we leave, me refusing, and Devlin storming out like she couldn’t care less.

  Demi turned slowly, her eyes filled with a skepticism I resented. “Devlin was already hurt. Her friends were killed. Killed, Daiya, by a man who came into our house and tied you to a chair and threatened you. Staying in Decker County is not an option. Maybe we won’t have to move far; maybe you can still find a way to see—”

  “No.” I cut her off. “I know you want to protect me and keep me safe, but it’s not your decision, Demi. I’m eighteen now. Maybe I’m wrong about the prophecy and about Kai. Maybe what I’m feeling is just a fabricated emotion, but for the first time since discovering what I am, I feel like I have a shot at a different path. I have to try, sister. I have to see if it’s true.”

  Because deep down in my soul, I knew it to be. Was I scared? More than anything. But I had a shot at changing my destiny. The destiny of all Lilituria. I couldn’t—wouldn’t—just walk away from that.

  “You’re letting your feelings for the boy cloud your judgment.”

  “His name is Kai, and he is a person, Demi.” It was on the tip of my tongue to reveal just how connected Kai was to all this, but if she found out the truth about his bloodline, I feared things would spiral out of control even quicker than they were now. I needed to know more first. More about Dei Venatores and the prophecy.

  “I won’t be able to contain Devlin forever. She’s hurt and angry, and that is a dangerous combination in our kind. She wants revenge, Daiya. People are going to get hurt, and I don’t want you in the caught in the crossfire.”

  We stood locked in a stalemate. Demi’s eyes burned with the determination of a sister who had spent most of her life protecting me. Trying to shelter me from the harsh truth of who we were—who I was.

  “I love you, Demi. I will always love you. But I’m not leaving Decker County. If you and Devlin need to leave, then so be it, but I am staying.” I didn’t wait around to see the disappointment in her eyes or hear the defeat in her voice. I had accepted my path, but I still wasn’t ready to accept some other things. Not just yet.

  After leaving Demi, I took a long shower and caught up on some homework. Anything to keep me busy. Kai had texted after practice, but I made some excuse about having dinner with my sisters. At least through a text message, I couldn’t feel his suspicion or see the constant doubt in his smile. He wouldn’t let me dodge the truth forever, but as I slid under the covers and closed my eyes, I chased away the black clouds hovering over me by picturing his face. Remembering our little slice of normal. And as sleep consumed me, I tried to conjure up the garden. Even if things in real life were falling apart, we still had each other in our dreams.

  “Miss Cattiva, I believe we need to talk.”

  I bolted upright, my tired eyes straining against the darkness. “Isaac?” My throat was dry from sleep … and something much worse. “Where are you?”

  I fumbled for the lamp switch, and a soft amber glow cast shadows around the room. Isaac stepped into the light. “What business do you have with my son?”

  “Your son?” I gripped the covers around my body, drawing them closer.

  “You heard me, Miss Cattiva.” His voice was flat, giving nothing away.

  “You abandoned your son. He hates you.”

  A flash of anger blazed in Isaac’s eyes. “How dare you. You know nothing of the sacrifices I have made. Now, do not make me repeat myself. How do you know my son?”

  Realization dawned on me. He knew about the prophecy, but he didn’t know about Kai’s role in it.

  How did he not know?

  “Maybe that’s a question you should ask your son.”

  The demon stirred, urging me to resist. To give him nothing. To fight.

  Isaac inched closer to the foot of the bed. “I am not someone you want to make an enemy of, Miss Cattiva. I didn’t leave to give my son a chance at a normal life only for you to pull him back into our world. Stay away from Kai. Consider this a warning.”

  He began retreating into the darkness. The severity of his tone paralyzed me to the spot, but then I was moving, pushing the covers away and climbing out of bed. The demon forced me after him, but I was too late. When I reached my window, Isaac had disappeared into the trees below. The Dei Venatores really did move like shadows.

  I locked the window and returned to bed, not that I suspected sleep would come easily. As I lay there in a restless state, staring up at the ceiling, Kai filled my mind. His smile. His smell. The way his eyes followed me around the room. He was becoming more aware, more attuned to our connection … more suspicious of it. And now, his father was back. Because of the Lilituria. Because of me. If he ever found out—when he found out—he would be forced to choose. Even if it was a decision he didn’t want to make, Kai would have to choose a side.

  When Heather had first explained things to me, I thought Kai was just the unfortunate human to end up in the middle of an ancient prophecy, but now, I realized it was much bigger than I ever imagined. I wasn’t the only one who had the power to tip the balance in the war between good and evil.

  Kai did too.

  KAI

  “Stanton, pull your head out of your ass and pass the puck like you know what the hell you’re doing.” The severity in Coach’s voice had me grinding to a halt and spraying ice into the air. “We cannot afford to throw the game all because our star player doesn’t know what goddamn planet he’s on.”

  I dropped my head in shame. Laker’s eyes burned into me, but I refused to meet his concerned stare. He was probably itching to tell me ‘told you so’ after his lecture before the game. And yesterday. And the day before that. All week, he’d been reminding me to keep my eye on the prize. But with Daiya still refusing to tell me what was wrong and Dad back in town, my mood had grown worse with every passing minute. It felt like a million spiders crawling underneath my skin, and no matter how much I scratched, how much I itched, nothing eased the discomfort.

  “Stanton, you hear me?”

  “Yes, Coach,” I grunted.

  “Good.” He whipped his ball cap off and swished it through the air. “Now get back out there and play. It isn’t like your whole damn career is riding on it.”

  I followed my teammates over the side and onto the ice, fighting the urge to search for her. Daiya was here. I’d already spotted her, sitting next to Poppy in their usual seats. I didn’t even need to lay eyes on her now to feel it. I just knew. But with how things were, I was beginning to wonder if it would have been better if she wasn’t here. Maybe then I could concentrate; maybe then I wouldn’t be playing like a rookie.

  “Can you at least pretend to be happy we won?” Laker grunted as he dropped down on the bench beside me with his towel draped around his neck.

  “I am happy; it’s just …” My voice trailed off. He didn’t want to hear this.

  “You and Daiya still fighting?” He rubbed the towel over his face and hair.

  “We’re not fighting,” I shot back a little too defensively. Fighting would involve talking, and we hadn’t done enough of that. Sure, we smiled in all the right places and hung out like the norm, but the distance was there. The million questions I had hanging between us like a vast ocean.


  “Dude, that girl has you so twisted. It’s unhealthy.” He pulled off the towel and balled it up, propelling it across the room into the laundry bin. “C’mon. The rest of the guys are waiting. Drinks at mine. The girls are coming.”

  I heard his unspoken message. If the girls were coming, Daiya might be there. Lacey always invited her, trying to include her with the other girlfriends. This was good. Maybe we could find time to talk—away from school, away from everyone else. But when we exited the locker rooms and went outside to the parking lot, Daiya and Poppy weren’t waiting. She was close, though; I could still feel her.

  Shit. Maybe I really was losing it.

  But as my eyes darted around the emptying lot, I spotted them huddled together next to Poppy’s car. They appeared to be arguing.

  “Coming?” Laker said, jolting me out of my trance.

  “Hmm, yeah. Give me two minutes, okay?”

  He followed my line of sight and sighed. “Yeah, whatever. Don’t be long. It’s not like we won’t see them there. Myers is becoming a royal pain in my ass.”

  Ignoring his jibe about Poppy, I hitched my bag further up my shoulder and started jogging in their direction. Poppy saw me first, her eyes widening to saucers. “What happened out there, Stanton?” she called, casting Daiya a look I couldn’t quite decipher.

  “Hey, what are you guys doing?” I tried to play it cool. “I thought you’d be waiting for us?”

  “So did I,” Poppy said with a hint of irritation. I really needed to find out what was going on with her and Laker.

  “Hey.” I turned my attention on Daiya. We hadn’t spoken much at school today. I’d been with the team for lunch, but we had texted a few times. “You came.”

  “I never said I wouldn’t.” Her voice was small, but I was more focused on her reply.

  “I know, but I thought …” I trailed off. “It doesn’t matter; you’re here. I’m glad. Do you want to all ride to Laker’s together?”

  “Hello, car right here.” Poppy swept her hand up dramatically. “We can follow you guys, right, Daiya?”

  “Actually, I’m kind of beat. Do you mind taking me home, Poppy, and then you can head to Laker’s?” Her head dropped, and I shot Poppy a glance silently asking her for a minute alone with Daiya. She took the hint, moving away from us.

  “Hey.” I brushed her jaw, tilting her face up. “What’s wrong? I thought we could hang out, talk?”

  “I—” She looked ready to bolt.

  “Daiya, talk to me. We need to talk about everything. Please, talk to me.”

  “Not here, Kai, not now. Go to Laker’s. I’ll speak to you tomorrow.” Daiya shirked out of my hold and folded her arms over her chest. Something bubbled in me, and I stared at her in disbelief.

  “Fine. Whatever. I’m out.” I didn’t want to leave her, but I needed space. Things were too confusing, and the more Daiya pushed me out, the foggier everything became. Walking away was hard. With every step, I resisted the urge to look back. Laker was right; she had me tied up in knots, so maybe space was a good thing.

  Even if it felt wrong.

  “She’s not coming, is she?” Laker said, glancing back and forth between me and the door; the same door I’d spent the past hour staring at.

  “No, she’s not coming.”

  He dropped down and handed me a beer. “Why didn’t you say something?”

  I shrugged; my eyes still planted on the door. “Come on; we don’t do this. You keep your secrets, and I’ll keep mine.”

  “What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”

  “You and Myers?” I turned to him. “What’s going on there? And don’t give me the whole ‘nothing’ crap.”

  “I—” He dragged a hand over his face and let out a frustrated sigh. “Honestly, I’m not sure anything is going on. A few years back, we were friends.”

  “You were?” I’d known Laker since I arrived in Decker County five years ago, and he’d never once mentioned her.

  “Yeah. Just before you arrived. Our moms were good friends back then. We went to kindergarten together.”

  “Were?”

  “We moved, and they drifted apart; you know how it is.”

  I did. Mom hardly kept in touch with anyone from our life back in Ewing. “So what happened?”

  “Shit, man, we were like eleven. It wasn’t like we were going to be friends forever. I discovered hockey, girls. Myers is …”

  “Myers,” I finished.

  “Yeah. She’s always marched to the beat of her own drum.”

  And I’d bet that drum didn’t fit in with the popular crowd. It made sense now. The banter, the constant digs. Somewhere along the line, even if unintentional, Laker had hurt Poppy’s feelings.

  “You hurt her,” I stated.

  “Nah, we were just friends. We hung out after school sometimes, did stupid kid stuff. We were kids, Kai. Nothing happened; I moved, and we stopped hanging out. That’s it. But now, she’s acting weird.”

  God, he was clueless sometimes. “She likes you.”

  He let out a bark of laughter. “You have met her, right? She hates me. Besides, she’s not my type.”

  I’d known Laker long enough to know no one was his type. He didn’t date; he didn’t hang out with girls outside the girlfriends and their friends. Sure, he went out with a lot of girls, but they never stayed the course. He liked Poppy, that much was obvious, but he had to realize it for himself.

  We settled into easy silence and watched the party unfold around us. It wasn’t crazy; Laker preferred to keep it low key, and I was thankful for that. Breaking the silence, he said, “Why isn’t Daiya here?”

  “Honestly?” I ran a brisk hand over my head. “I don’t know.”

  “Okay, then why are you here?”

  “Because you made me come.”

  “Jackass.” He punched my arm. “I mean why aren’t you with her? Usually, you’re following her around like a lovesick puppy, which is disgusting by the way, but if she didn’t want to come, why are you here?”

  Why was I here?

  I leaped up. “I have to go.”

  “Yeah, you do.”

  I handed him my beer, and he gave me a tight nod. “Go get the girl, Stanton. Just don’t forget about the rest of us, yeah?”

  “As if. You wouldn’t let me.”

  His laughter followed me as I headed for the door.

  To get the girl.

  My girl.

  On the walk over to her house, my mind turned to Daiya. Since walking away from her, the hole that carved its way through me whenever we were apart had grown, sweeping through me like a twister and taking everything with it. And I knew if I didn’t see her soon, it would consume me. But the second the door swung open and my eyes landed on her face, everything felt better.

  What was that?

  “Kai?” She gasped, no doubt surprised to see me standing on her doorstep after midnight.

  “Can I come in?”

  “I- I don’t know.” She glanced around me, looking for something. Someone. But I wasn’t here to argue or fight. Answers could wait. Right now, I needed something else.

  I needed her.

  Without thinking, I brushed past Daiya. The door clicked shut behind us, and her voice filled the hallway. “Kai, what are you doing? It’s late.”

  Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea. Maybe I should have thought this through more. But all I could think about was Daiya. She filled every inch of my mind. My heart. Before, I hadn’t recognized the cause of my mood swings, the empty feeling inside, but now, I realized.

  It was her.

  The girl standing in front of me, looking at me with confusion shining in her eyes. I’d always known something was different about her, but I just didn’t know what. I still didn’t know what. But it didn’t matter; none of it mattered. We were linked. I knew that with certainty now, and I refused to let her walk away from it. From us.

  “Kai, you should go.” She sighed, her blue eyes dropping away from m
e. My chest constricted. I was losing her; maybe I had already lost her. But I still felt it, the tether, the connection.

  Without thinking, I stalked toward her, sliding my hands into her hair and sealing my lips over hers. Daiya gasped into my mouth, and I took advantage, slipping my tongue inside and swirling it with her own. While I felt her resistance, her body responded, pressing into me. Fitting against me. Unwilling to let her run, I skated my hands down her back, anchoring us together.

  “Kai,” she murmured through the kiss. I refused to let up. To give her space to talk, to tell me all the reasons we couldn’t be together. She couldn’t think that, not when it felt like this.

  And then I sensed it.

  The change in her.

  Like that night at the bar, the first time we kissed.

  Daiya’s hands gripped my shoulders, and she pressed closer, filling every inch of space between us. But it wasn’t enough, and I hooked a hand around her ass and dragged her nearer.

  “Your room,” I mumbled, blinded by Daiya. My need for Daiya.

  She yanked away and took my hand, leading me upstairs. I’d been up here once after putting her sister to bed after the attack, but I’d never seen Daiya’s bedroom. And I didn’t get to because the second we stepped inside, Daiya threw herself at me, wrapping her arms and legs around me and kissing me with so much intensity the air sucked from my lungs.

  Hands roamed. Tongues danced. And my whole body felt ready to combust. What was happening to me? To us? I couldn’t get enough of her. Each touch, kiss, and stroke filled the emptiness I felt while away from her. Her energy fed me.

  What the …

  “Daiya, wait, wait …” My hands came up to her shoulders and held her, gently pushing her away. Confusion swam in her eyes, but I struggled to drag my gaze away from her swollen lips and flushed cheeks.