I tensed, prepared for Thomas to react poorly to being ordered to do anything.
But instead of getting angry, he smirked. “Point received.” He nodded. “I’ll save your human companion.”
Noah and I thanked him at the same time, but Thomas held a hand up to cut us off.
I pressed my lips together, waiting for what he was going to say next. I’d hoped he’d save Raven because a part of him still loved me and wanted to make me happy, but I’d prepared myself for that not being the case.
It was enough that we’d gotten this far without him killing us. It would have been foolish to truly believe that the man who’d broken our engagement over a phone call would save a friend of mine’s life simply to make me happy.
“I’ll save your companion,” Thomas repeated. “But only on a few conditions.”
6
Sage
“Of course,” I said, not surprised at all. “What are your conditions?”
“Before I get into that, you should know how vampire blood will affect your human companion.” Thomas sat down on one of the armchairs and motioned for me to do the same on the one next to him.
I did as he wanted, sitting on the edge of the seat as I waited for him to continue.
“My blood will heal her, as you already know,” he said. “But it will also give her vampire abilities for twenty-four hours.”
“Seriously?” I widened my eyes, not having expected that. “So humans can drink vampire blood every day and have vampire abilities without having to actually be vampires?”
“Technically, yes,” he said. “Which is another reason why we keep the effects of our blood secret. The last thing we need to deal with is crazed humans hunting us down for our blood.”
“Makes sense,” I said.
“But while our blood will give humans our abilities, it causes a lot of stress on their bodies,” he continued. “A human who constantly drinks vampire blood will age much faster than they would naturally.”
“How fast?” I asked.
“A few experiments have been done in the past.” He waved his hand, as if the idea of experimenting on humans wasn’t disturbing to him in the slightest. “In secret, of course. It’s not an exact science. If a strong, healthy human drinks vampire blood for a year straight, they’ll age about five human years. But it could age them as much as ten years. It depends on the individual.”
I did some quick math in my head. While it would lower the human lifespan significantly, I had no doubts that there were plenty of humans who would take ten to twenty years of supernatural abilities over a full life as a human.
I also couldn’t help realizing that a few weeks of drinking vampire blood wouldn’t age a human significantly. Meaning that if Raven drank vampire blood for the remainder of our hunt, she’d be a lot stronger and able to help.
But I’d breach that idea later. Right now, we didn’t know how much longer she had left. I needed to finalize this agreement with Thomas and save her life.
“I see the wheels in your mind spinning,” Thomas said with a knowing smile.
I dug my fingernails into my palms, hating how he knew me so well. It was yet another reminder of what we’d had and lost.
Despite my natural instinct to return his smile, I forced myself to keep a straight face. “Raven doesn’t have a lot of time,” I said what I was thinking. “What are your conditions?”
“I’m getting to that.” He held a finger up for me to be patient. “Like I was saying, your human companion—Raven—will have vampire abilities for twenty-four hours after drinking vampire blood. We can’t have anyone seeing her and thinking she’s a vampire, and then being confused when she returns to being human. It’ll ruin the secret of our blood. So she’ll need to remain hidden in a secure room in the penthouse until the supernatural abilities wear off.”
There went my plan of having Raven drink vampire blood for the remainder of the demon hunt. If Thomas wouldn’t let anyone see Raven while she was under the influence of his blood, he’d never let her go out and hunt with us.
Oh well. It was a good plan while it had lasted.
But we’d gotten this far with her having no supernatural abilities, and we only had one more demon left to slay until we had all ten teeth to present to the Earth Angel at Avalon. We could keep her safe until then.
“That’s fine,” I agreed.
“Great.” Noah looked down at Raven anxiously before returning his gaze to Thomas. “So are you ready to do this or what?”
“That was only the first of my conditions.” Thomas chuckled. “I have three more.”
“Let’s hear them.” Noah narrowed his eyes at Thomas, like he was challenging him to see just how far he’d go to save Raven’s life.
Hopefully Thomas didn’t want anything too extreme.
But knowing him, I doubted it.
“Firstly, both of you must make a blood oath with me that you’ll tell no one about what you know about vampire blood,” he said. “Once Raven is healed, she won’t be allowed to leave the penthouse until she makes the blood oath too.”
“Got it.” I nodded in agreement, and Noah did the same.
Blood oaths were the strongest promises supernaturals could make. Even humans could enter into blood oaths, as long as it was with a supernatural. If someone tried to go against a blood oath they’d made, their blood would turn against them and kill them. It was thought to be one of the most painful deaths imaginable.
I avoided entering into blood oaths—most supernaturals did. I’d never entered into one before. I’d offered one to Leia, the alpha of the rougarou pack in New Orleans, to ensure our safety. Luckily, I hadn’t needed to go through with it since we’d gained trust in each other and made an alliance instead.
This blood oath would be my first. But it was one I was willing to make.
“And your second condition?” Noah tapped his foot on the floor, getting antsier by the second. I couldn’t blame him, since Raven’s life was on the line and Thomas was acting like we had all the time in the world.
“I’ll require a private audience with Raven immediately after she’s healed,” he said.
“Is that to get her to make the blood oath?” Noah asked. “Because she’ll be a lot more comfortable making it if she has people she trusts by her side.” His fingers were now intertwined with Raven’s, his hand gripping her limp one. The blisters on her skin were popping and cracking, revealing more burned skin underneath.
I couldn’t imagine how much pain she was in. No wonder her body had shut down and forced her into this comatose state.
“It’s not about the blood oath—you’re free to be in the room with her during that,” Thomas said. “I want a private audience with her, and no, I’m not going to tell you why. You either agree to the condition or you don’t. If you don’t, you know where the exit is.” He glanced toward the elevator in the foyer.
“You won’t hurt her?” Noah asked. “Or lay a finger on her?”
Thomas glanced back and forth between Noah and Raven, as if understanding Noah’s concern. “I’ll be having a discussion with her,” he said. “That’s all.”
“All right,” Noah agreed. “But if I hear you tried anything with her…” He glared at Thomas, the threat lingering in the air.
“I urge you not to forget that I’m helping you here,” Thomas reminded him. “I’m the only one who can help you right now. Threaten me again and we’re done.”
The two of them were so different—like fire and ice. But right now, Thomas had the power, so Noah backed down.
“Understood,” Noah said.
“I’m a man of my word,” Thomas replied. “I have no interest in harming your girlfriend. I only want to have a chat with her—privately.”
It took everything I had to resist rolling my eyes when he called himself a man of his word. Because as far as I was aware, men of their word didn’t make marriage proposals and then take them back with an obviously fake explanation why.
&nbs
p; But as easy as it would have been to say something snarky in reply, I held my tongue. I wasn’t about to risk him retracting his offer to save Raven’s life because I was still bitter about the way he’d broken my heart.
“I see no problems with that,” I said instead, looking to Noah to keep myself cool. “What about you?”
Noah watched me closely, and while I could see he was still worried, he relaxed significantly knowing that I was okay with Thomas’s proposition. “I agree to the term.” His voice was stiff, and he turned back to face Thomas. “But you said you had three more conditions. What’s the third?”
“My final condition is the most important one.” Thomas’s dark eyes stared straight at me, as if he was seeing into my soul. “Because while it will be interesting to save Raven to try to understand how she—a human—imprinted on a shifter, it’s not why I’m entering into this deal.”
“Then why are you doing it?” I asked.
“Because I see this is important to you, and I care about you,” he said. “You know I care about you—you wouldn’t have come to me for help otherwise.”
“I know you don’t want me dead.” Every muscle in my body immediately went on guard—especially my heart. “There’s a difference.”
“Not really.” He leaned back in his chair, looking smugly confident in his assumption. “The knowledge you have about vampire blood has been kept within our species for as long as we’ve existed. The only people I wouldn’t kill for knowing about it are the ones I care about. Those people are few and far between. As for everyone else… this secret is more important than their lives.”
I nodded, since this was why we’d come to Thomas instead of any other vampire.
He cared about me—like someone cared for a pet they’d grown fond of. But he’d never truly wanted to marry me.
He loved the challenge of getting me to say yes to marrying him more than actually wanting to be with me.
I’d hoped that someday I’d be able to move on and get over it. But seeing him now re-opened the wound I didn’t think would ever truly heal.
“Where are you going with this?” I wished he would get to the point so we could agree to his deal, heal Raven, and get out of here.
“I hurt you deeply all those years ago when I realized it wasn’t in your best interest to spend your life with me, and I’m sorry about the pain I caused you.” He focused on me like I was the only person in the room, and I could barely breathe as I waited for where he was going with this. “So my final condition is that you grant me your forgiveness.”
7
Sage
I blinked a few times, unsure I heard that right.
Had Thomas just required that I forgive him for breaking our engagement and leaving my heart in pieces?
From the way he sat perfectly straight, awaiting my response, it was clear that yes—he was being completely serious.
And from the way Noah watched me with fire in his eyes, clutching onto Raven like a reminder about what was at stake, it was clear he wanted me to agree.
This was messed up on so many levels.
If I didn’t know Thomas, I would have felt pressured to say yes—for Raven’s sake. But I did know Thomas. And I knew that when he made deals, his terms were always up for negotiation.
So you could bet I was going to negotiate the hell out of this one.
“You can’t just demand my forgiveness,” I balked, sounding as repulsed by the proposition as I felt. “Emotions can’t be that easily controlled, and they certainly can’t be bargained for.”
Thomas’s eyes flashed with something—either disappointment or pain—but he hid it too quickly to give me any time to read into it. “Anything can be bargained for,” he said simply.
“Not that.” I didn’t miss a beat. “I agree to your first two terms, but not the last.”
“Sage,” Noah warned, looking like he was about to spring up and force me to agree.
Thomas held a hand up to stop Noah, his eyes locked on mine. “I respect your stance,” he said, calm as always. “So I won’t ask for your forgiveness. At least not yet. Instead, I ask that immediately following my private audience with Raven, you allow me to take you on a date.”
“What?” This shocked me more than his demand for my forgiveness. “You were the one who dumped me. Why do you want to take me on a date?”
“Because you’re correct that it’s presumptuous of me to bargain for your forgiveness,” he said. “But your forgiveness is still something I desire. By taking you out on a date, I’ll have a chance to earn it.”
I pressed my lips together, not wanting to say yes. It was hard enough for me to come here at all—to see Thomas and be reminded of everything I’d lost.
A date with him was something else entirely. He wasn’t one to do anything halfway, and that included dates. I knew better than to expect this date to be something as simple as dinner and a movie. Whatever he had in mind was going to be over the top extraordinary—a romantic whirlwind designed to impress, amaze, and most importantly, to seduce.
If I agreed to a date, I’d be giving him the power to break my heart all over again.
I’d come so far since our break up. It had been hard to sweep up the shattered pieces of my heart, but I’d managed. I’d gone from a never-ending pit of feeling bleak, lonely, and depressed to becoming confident, strong, and secure.
I refused to go back to where I’d been after he’d dumped me. I wouldn’t give him that kind of power over me ever again.
But then I glanced at Raven—well, at what was left of her. She’d been so strong and brave to come with Noah and me on our hunt, despite only just learning about the supernatural world. Then she’d suffered through immeasurable pain by holding onto the heavenly knife to help us against the warrior demon and his red-eyed shifter pet.
If she could bear the pain of holding onto a heavenly weapon that burned her to the core, surely I could bear one date with the man who’d broken my heart.
I needed to pull it together. Not just for Raven, but also for Noah. I could do this—for them.
“All right.” I tried to sound as cool and unattached as Thomas as I accepted his offer. “You have yourself a deal.”
8
Raven
I awoke with a jolt, sucking in a deep breath that burned as it made its way through my lungs.
I’d once heard that the most painful breath you’d ever take was as a newborn, when you filled your lungs with air for the first time. That was apparently why all babies cried after being born.
I couldn’t imagine that being worse than this.
Luckily the pain subsided a moment later, and I stared up into the eyes of Noah, Sage, and a man a few years older than me who I didn’t recognize. And while I felt like me… I also didn’t.
My vision was crisper than ever. I could see ridges and patterns in Noah’s brown eyes that I hadn’t seen before. With my intake of breath came an influx of smells, too. Warm, woodsy smells from both Noah and Sage, and a sharp, metallic smell from the man I didn’t know. There was also a trio of dull beating sounds somewhere in the background.
Was I hearing their hearts?
I blinked for a few moments, trying to center myself. I’d gone under anesthesia once—when I was eighteen and had my wisdom teeth removed—and the fuzziness I’d felt upon waking up then was similar to what I was feeling now.
So I thought back to the last thing I remembered—the fight with the demon and the red-eyed shifter in the alley in Nashville. Noah and Sage had been struggling with the fight. I’d used the heavenly knife to slay the demon myself.
Judging by the fact that I was here and not dead, I guessed I’d succeeded in slaying the demon. But why were my senses so heightened? Was it because I’d held onto the heavenly knife for so long?
“What happened?” I pressed my fingers to my forehead, sounding just as groggy as I felt. I vaguely remembered having intense, detailed dreams while I’d been asleep, but they’d nearly faded away comp
letely. Now I was lying on a couch in a sleek, modern room that was definitely not the hotel room we’d had in Nashville. “Where are we?”
“It worked.” Noah grinned, and the next thing I knew, he leaned down and kissed me.
His touch sent warm tingles flowing through my body, and as I kissed him back, I heard his heart and mine start beating in time with each other. I also felt something else—relief.
But that feeling wasn’t mine. It was Noah’s.
The connection between us was stronger than ever—just like when he’d kissed me the first time in that bar in New Orleans.
He eventually broke away, caressing my face as if I was a precious jewel and he never wanted to let go. “Don’t scare me like that ever again,” he said.
“Scare you?” I sat up, thinking back again to what had happened in the alley. “From what I remember, I saved you.”
“By using a weapon that’s deadly for humans to hold and nearly getting yourself killed,” he said. “You would have died, if we hadn’t used vampire blood to save you.”
“What?” I touched my head again, trying to make sense of it all. I couldn’t even think about Noah’s kissing me and what it meant between the two of us. I’d definitely think about it later, but not now. Because the insanely crisp vision, the intensely strong smells, being able to hear heartbeats… those senses were beyond anything I’d ever experienced.
They were supernatural. And if I was feeling like this because of vampire blood…
“What did you do to save me?” Suspicion gnawed at me, and I swallowed, bracing myself for what was to come. “Did you turn me into a vampire?”
“No,” said the man I didn’t know, and all of us immediately looked to him. He wore a perfectly pressed suit, and with his classic haircut and clean-shaven face, he radiated the aura of a high-powered businessman. “If I’d turned you into a vampire, you’d be out of your mind with the need to drain a human of their blood right now.”
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