by Grace White
“Kai?” she asked as if snapping out of a daze.
“Did you feel it?” I asked.
“I always feel it,” she whispered.
I leaned in, touching my head to hers. “What is happening to us?”
“Does it matter?”
Did it? I’d come here wanting answers. I needed them. The hundred different scenarios that plagued my thoughts were implausible. Soul mates, fate, kismet—I didn’t believe in any of that. It was the stuff of myths and fairy tales. But what I felt for Daiya was more than just first love or lust. Our lives were entwined, and there was no other explanation. The knowledge lingered on the periphery just out of my grasp. If only I could remember.
“Kai?” She brushed her nose across mine.
“It doesn’t matter.” I knew that now. Nothing Daiya could say would make me walk away. She was mine. Destined for me, and me alone. I felt it all the way down to my soul.
I just didn’t know what it all meant yet.
I pulled back; sliding my hand down her cheek and underneath her jaw, I tilted her face to mine. “I love you. I’m in love with you, Daiya Cattiva. I know there’s more to it—to us—but it doesn’t matter; all that matters is this.” My lips touched hers, waiting. Daiya responded instantly, moving her mouth against mine, and I had my answer.
DAIYA
He loved me.
Or, at least, Kai thought he was in love with me. I wanted to believe the words. So much did I want to believe that this moment was real.
“You can’t be in love with me.” The words tumbled from my mouth, and I instantly wanted to take them back. But they were out now, like an instant wall between us.
Kai blinked at me with confusion. “I think I just told you that I am.” His mouth curved up in a guarded smile.
“It’s too soon. You don’t even know me, and you have hockey.” I rolled my eyes at my lameness. Kai had just declared his love for me, and I sounded like an incoherent mess. But he’d caught me off guard. He’d said the words … said that he loved me. It would take time to sink in. Even if they might not be real—in the normal sense—I never imagined I’d ever get to hear them.
“Daiya.” He leaned in close, pressing his head to mine. “I don’t need you to say it back. Not right now. I just need you to know how I feel. From the second I saw you, I knew there was something about you. I had to know you. Had to be around you. I know it’s only been a few weeks, but it doesn’t feel right when you’re not around.”
“But …”
The argument died on my lips when Kai’s mouth found mine. His hands slid into my hair, anchoring me in place. Every glide of his tongue and every touch of his lips melted away another reason we couldn’t be together until my arguments were a distant memory. Maybe it was divine intervention. Destiny. Fate. Whatever it was, it felt right. Here in Kai’s arms, I felt right. I felt complete.
And I couldn’t be sure, but it felt a lot like falling in love.
“Good morning.” Kai smiled down at me, and I blushed. Somewhere between all the kissing, we’d fallen asleep on my bed. Nothing more had happened, but I still felt shy waking up next to him.
“What time is it?”
He leaned down, nudging his nose to mine. “Early. Will you get in trouble with your sisters?”
“Maybe.” But it wasn’t them I was worried about.
“I should go.” Kai sighed like leaving was the last thing he wanted. It made my stomach flutter. “Last night, I’m sorry for just turning up the way I did, but I needed to know that we’re okay. We are okay, aren’t we?”
He looked so vulnerable, so nervous, that my throat tightened, and I gulped. “Yes.” The lie almost painful.
Kai pulled back and flashed me a smile. Damn him, why did he have to be so perfect? “Good. Because I really need you on my side, Daiya. I feared for my life yesterday. Coach can be a scary guy when he wants.”
He was joking, but it didn’t stop the guilt from sucking the air from my lungs. How was I supposed to do this? Lie to Kai? Appease Isaac? All while holding on to the last shreds of my sanity? It was impossible.
“Has your dad been in touch again?”
“No, and hopefully, he won’t. I meant what I said, Daiya. I have nothing to say to him. I don’t want him in my life. He lost that chance when he walked out on us.” Kai paused, and something flashed over his face. “Why?”
“No reason.” I forced a smile. “I just didn’t like seeing you so angry.” My lips brushed against his, trying to cover my tracks.
Who was I right now? I no longer recognized myself.
“Okay,” he mumbled. “This isn’t going to lead anywhere good, so I should go before we get busted. I’m not sure I want to meet your sisters under these circumstances.” Kai untangled himself from me and got off the bed.
I glanced at the curtains to see that it was barely light yet, and my eyes traced over to the clock. “Five in the morning? Ugh. I need more sleep.”
Kai chuckled. “I told you it was early. Should I just sneak out?”
“Yes. No. Crap,” I stuttered. “I’ve never had to sneak a boy out before.” But I really didn’t want to deal with my sisters this morning. I dragged myself out of bed with a yawn. “Come on; I’ll make sure the coast is clear.”
The house was quiet as I peeked out the door and found both Devlin and Demi’s bedroom doors shut. “Come on,” I whispered, and Kai followed me. We tiptoed along the hallway and down the stairs. It was so quiet I was beginning to wonder if my sisters had even made it home yet. But when we reached the bottom of the stairs, I saw Demi’s bag slung over the coat rack in the corner.
“Okay, go, go.” I unlocked the front door as quietly as possible and opened it enough for Kai to slip out, but not before he pressed another kiss to my lips.
“I’ll see you later …” He hesitated, and I could feel the words lingering on his lips. “I love you, Daiya.”
Kai disappeared into shadows, the first signs of sunrise looming on the horizon, and I closed the door, feeling more confused than ever.
I didn’t go back to sleep after Kai left. Instead, I revisited the Historia de Lilituria, absorbing everything I could about the prophecy. Poring over Orla’s grandfather’s diary entries, I looked for anything that might help. I didn’t know what I was looking for; I just hoped I’d know when I spotted it. But there had been nothing new. Nothing that could help. So as soon as the sun rose, and it was an acceptable hour to call her, I’d called Heather and asked to visit her. I needed to know more, and Isaac had implied she could help.
Standing outside her door, I felt nervous energy bouncing around my stomach and making me feel queasy. I wasn’t sure I could handle any more surprises. But if anyone had answers, Heather did.
“Come in, come in.” Heather peered around my shoulder, and when satisfied the coast was clear, she ushered me inside. “Tell me everything.”
It hadn’t been that many days since we last spoke, but so much had happened. I wasn’t sure where to start.
“I need to know more about Dei Venatores.” I wasted no time as Heather took the seat opposite me.
“It’s not something I’m that well versed in. Most of it is hearsay and speculation.”
“But you do know about them? Isaac said to come to you.”
“Isaac?” Her brows bunched together, making her look older than her years.
“Yes, the man who came to my house. He knew my mother. He’s …” I trailed off unsure whether to divulge his connection to Kai and his bloodline.
“Daiya?”
“Isaac is Kai’s father.”
“The boy? His father is Dei Venatores?” Her eyes widened. “Interesting.”
“Not the word I’d use.” I slumped back against her worn-out couch.
“No, child, I don’t suppose it is. But it has divine irony written all over it. A daughter of Lilith destined to fall in love with the son of one of God’s Hunters himself. Very poetic.”
“And cruel,” I murmure
d to myself.
Heather excused herself to make tea while I tried to organize my jumbled thoughts. When Isaac realized I hadn’t done as he demanded—if he didn’t already know—it would only a matter of time until he paid me another visit. Who was I trying to kid? Of course, he knew. I assumed he was watching me closely. Probably watching Kai too. I didn’t doubt he was biding his time, waiting to make his move. In the meantime, I had to figure out a way to appease him; to make him understand the connection between Kai and I was more than mere teenager lust.
“You said this Isaac knew your mother?” She set down the tray and poured me a cup of tea.
“Thank you,” I said, taking the cup. “Yes. It was strange; he was talking in riddles, but I got the impression they were once friends.”
“A Lilituria and a Dei Venatores? It would be unusual.”
“What could it mean?” I still felt like I was missing so much.
“It means perhaps there’s more to this story than we realized. Wait here.” Heather disappeared again while I sipped my tea. When she returned, she was carrying another leather-bound journal. “This is everything I could find.”
“You knew before I came what I wanted?”
She smiled knowingly. I hadn’t given much thought to Heather’s powers, but she sure seemed to know exactly what I needed without me even having to ask. “It might lead nowhere, but it might help.”
“Thank you.”
“There are great ripples in the netherworld, child. The prophecy could change everything.”
People kept saying that. Isaac. Devlin. Now Heather. But no one had yet to tell me how, not really.
We drank tea in comfortable silence. When our cups were empty, Heather brought us cake, and we talked about everyday things like school and my sisters. She even asked about Kai. I was grateful for her attempt at giving me twenty minutes of normal when everything else was spinning out of control.
“I should probably go,” I said. Part of me wanted to stay here and hide away from everything, but then I pictured Kai. This wasn’t only about me.
It never was.
Heather walked me to the door. I thanked her and stepped out of the apartment, but at the last second, something stopped me in my tracks. Remembering something Isaac had said to me, I asked, “Did you cast a spell on me?”
The old woman’s lips curved up. “We all have our roles to play, but no, it wasn’t me.”
Then who …? My eyes widened with realization. “It was Jezebel.” Of course, I should have guessed sooner.
Heather nodded. “I have tried to call her, but there’s been no answer. I’ll keep trying because she may be able to help. She may have answers about your mother. They were close. If your mother confided in anyone, it would have been old Jessie.”
Hope blossomed in my chest. Maybe she could fill in the blanks. “Thank you, Heather, for everything.”
“I’ll do what I can, but now that they know where you are, I fear my efforts will be in vain. Your sister is right, child; you should consider leaving Decker County. It isn’t safe there.”
“You know I can’t.”
“I thought you’d say as much.”
“Then what should I do? Tell me what to do.”
Heather looked at me with such reverence that I sucked in a sharp breath. “Exactly what you were born to do, child.” And with that, she ushered me out of her apartment.
KAI
“I missed you yesterday.” I wrapped my arms around Daiya, dropping my head to her shoulder. “Did you get to do anything fun?”
She let out a soft yawn. “Not much. After you had sneaked out, I slept and then helped my sisters clean the house.”
“Sounds riveting.” I laughed, pressing a kiss to her neck. Daiya relaxed against me, and things almost felt right again.
“You two look …” Poppy appeared out of nowhere, her face scrunched up like she’d caught a whiff of a bad smell. “Disgusting. I love you, Daiya, but seriously, the hot boyfriend has got to go.”
Daiya stifled a laugh, and I tickled her waist. “Oh, it’s like that, huh?”
“Oh, please.”
“Sorry. We’re sorry.” Daiya broke out of my hold. “No more PDA.”
I snatched her hand back and pulled her to my side. “And do I get a say in this?” The air had only just cleared between us; I didn’t want to have to downplay our relationship because her friend couldn’t deal.
“Kai,” Daiya pleaded, and I grumbled, ducking my head to her ear. “Fine. But as soon as we’re alone, you’re mine.”
A shiver trembled through her. I hadn’t meant to sound so territorial; it just came out.
“Nice, Stanton, real nice.” Poppy barged past us with a heavy sigh. We fell into step behind her until Daiya shirked me off to catch up with her friend.
“Kai, wait up.” Laker fell into step beside me. “I see you smoothed things over?” He flicked his head toward the girls.
“Yeah, things are good.”
“Oh, geez, you make me sick.”
“What? You asked; I told.” I shrugged, lowering my voice. “Did you think about what I said?”
“About what?”
“About Myers?”
His hand flew out, stopping me in my tracks. “Keep it down.”
“Embarrassed?” I glared at him.
“Nothing is going on; I told you already. Drop it.”
“Keep telling yourself that. You know, when you finally pull your head out of your ass and realize you’re lying to yourself, it could be too late.”
He glowered at me. “What the fuck’s that supposed to mean?”
“You’ll figure it out.” I knocked away his hand and broke into a jog to catch up with Daiya. She was standing by her locker talking in hushed voices with Poppy.
“Everything okay?”
She gave me a tight-lipped nod, and Poppy chimed in, “Where’s fuckwit?”
My eyes widened. Had she really just referred to Laker as fuckwit?
“You heard me, Stanton. Don’t look so surprised. Laker is a Class-A douchebag. Oh, look, here he comes now.”
“Give me a break, Myers.” Laker raked a hand through his hair, but I didn’t miss the way his eyes darted anywhere but her.
“Well, for as lovely as this has been, I have to get to class. Daiya, Stanton, the pleasure was all mine.” She trained her eyes on Laker. “Fuckwit, it’s been … never mind. I’m out.”
“I need to make tracks, too.” Laker didn’t even say bye as he melted into the morning riot.
“And then there were two,” I said.
Daiya smiled, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes.
“Hey, what is it?”
“What is going on with those two?”
“Don’t worry about it. They’ll work it out.”
“How can you be so sure? Do you know something?”
“What? No! They just push each other’s buttons. It’ll blow over.”
“Will it?” Daiya looked down the hallway after Poppy, but she’d already disappeared.
“Hey.” I took her hand in mine, tugging gently. “You can’t carry the weight of the world on those shoulders.”
Something flashed in her eyes, but then it was gone, and she smiled weakly. “Yeah, you’re right. I guess we should get to class.”
Daiya went to move, but I pulled her back. “Not yet.”
“Kai,” she protested. “I really think we should—”
I ducked my head and kissed her, ignoring her no PDA rule. Her body relaxed into mine, and her hand curled into my hoodie. But too quickly, she pulled away while a pink stain colored her cheeks. “Kai.”
I smirked. “Now, we go to class.”
She rolled her eyes, but I caught the amusement there. Just like that, some of the lingering tension dissipated, and I felt certain we’d weathered our first storm.
Daiya agreed to sit with me and the guys at lunch, but her unease was obvious in the way she kept one arm wrapped around her waist as I guided us t
hrough the crowd. I was used to being the center of attention, but something told me Daiya never would be.
“Hey, it’s just lunch.” I laughed, tucking her into my side as I tried to lighten the mood. “Lacey and the girls have been asking about you.”
“You don’t need to do that.”
“Do what?”
“Pretend they all like me. They’re your friends, Kai, not mine.”
I paused and crowded her against the wall to give us some privacy. “Hey.” Daiya turned her head to the side, refusing to meet my eyes, so I slid my fingers under her jaw and coaxed her back to me. “Hey, what’s gotten into you?”
“Nothing, it’s nothing. Come on, let’s go.” She smiled, but it felt forced. For as much as I wanted to push, I didn’t. Laker could be an ass, but he had never made Daiya feel unwelcome to her face, and the girls seemed to like her.
“Hey, guys,” I said slotting in next to Laker and tapping the bench for Daiya to sit beside me. She gave everyone a small wave and slid in beside me.
“It’s great to see you, Daiya. We missed you the other night at the party.” Lacey flashed us a genuine smile, and I gave her a small nod. She had my back, at least.
“I was, hmm …” Daiya shifted awkwardly, but I deflected the limelight, stealing a fry off Laker’s plate and stuffing it into my mouth.
“Pig, get your own.” Laker batted my hand away and huffed. “Coach got any heads-up about when they’ll be out to see you?”
I shot Laker a glare. I didn’t want to do this right now, not in front of everyone—in front of Daiya. But her small voice said, “When who will come to see you?”
“Kai didn’t tell you?” Lacey said, unaware that I wanted to wait to tell her. “Rumor has it NHL scouts are coming to watch him play.”
“Wouldn’t be the first time,” Bobby chimed in, earning him a glare too.
“They are?” Her voice lowered, but everyone heard. “You never said.”
“It’s no big deal.” I shrugged. “I was going to tell you, but I just hadn’t gotten around to it.”
