by Weil, J. L.
Heart failure.
“Don’t you dare say beautiful. That is too cliché.”
His eyes were unwavering and intense, like the man. “Okay, how about exceptional?”
My lips curled. “It will do.” I fidgeted in the dress, dying to get out of the silky material and into something less…actually, something more. I felt exposed. “I hate these things.”
I stubbornly refused to watch Zavier approach.
But what was the point?
My body was already responding.
A cool wash of male filled the air, and made me think of things that were outlawed in the Bay.
“I never would have guessed.”
I laughed, the sound of it raspy. “Liar.”
The tread of his shoes hit the hardwood floors. Then he was standing beside me, golden skin glowing in the moonlight. His face was impossibly attractive. The warden was drop-dead gorgeous, but damn if I would ever admit that to his face.
My heart gave an odd, dangerous heave, before I gave up trying to fight this feeling inside me. Reaching up, I ran my hands over his chest. I wasn’t sure what came over me, but I had to touch him, drawn to him like a love charm. “I’d much rather spend my time in here than downstairs at some stale party, talking about the security of the Bay.” I moved into him, and kept moving until my body molded into his, my arms twining around his neck like ropes.
He arched a sexy brow.
Heat washed through me as I met the liquid silver gaze. That was it. On impulse, I lifted on my toes and pressed my lips to his, brushing, retreating, brushing, before sinking warm against him.
A sound of seduction escaped my mouth, a shimmering promise of more to come. The party was forgotten. Everything was forgotten, everything but Zavier.
His scent, the subtle, yet unforgettable hint of fragrance that was all man and full of secrets, carried in with the warm breeze. It stirred something inside me, tangling my senses in a hot, satin punch of need.
I sighed, my fingers skimming into his hair as he started to ease away.
“You ready?” he murmured.
Zavier’s dark voice wrapped around me, making my skin prickle with awareness. I grimaced. “Not a chance.”
* * *
Members of the council and their families were gathered in the great room, vampires, witches, and humans all under one roof. These events made me uneasy, and tonight was no different. I was tense, waiting for the madness to descend. Soft music played from the corner of the room, a young man strumming on the keys of a makeshift piano. Instruments were scarce in the Bay, and the smooth melody of music put people in high spirits.
Appetizers and drinks were being offered and shuffled around. I grabbed two flutes of port off the tray. “Here, have a drink and loosen up,” I said, putting a glass in Zavier’s hand.
He scowled, and I expected a lecture about drinking on the job. “We got trouble coming.”
Trouble already. This night might be looking up. “When don’t I?” I mumbled, pulling a long swig from the glass before turning around.
Damn.
Liam.
Not the kind of trouble I was hoping for.
He looked dashing, his sandy hair combed back, and the crisp white shirt stretched over his chest. “Can we talk?” The insinuation was that it was a personal matter.
“Now?” A party with every council member’s eyes on me was probably the worst time to discuss what Liam wanted to talk about.
His eyes moved over my head, giving Zavier the stink eye. “In private,” Liam added.
Zavier’s hand was at the small of my back. “Not happening.”
I positioned myself in the middle, in case one of them decided to take a cheap shot. “Liam, this isn’t the time or place.”
He exhaled. “I know that, and I had no intention of speaking to you, but then I saw you.”
Shit.
I took another sip, wishing I had a buzz. It would make dealing with this situation less stressful. “Liam. I don’t want things to be awkward between us.”
“I know it has been weird, but maybe we both needed space. You look beautiful by the way.”
Zavier snorted, remembering I had told him how cliché being called beautiful was.
I gave Zavier a jab in the gut with my elbow, but it was like hitting a brick wall. “Thanks, but a few sweet words aren’t going to fix things between us, Liam. I meant what I said. I want us to be friends.”
“Friends,” Liam echoed. There was hurt and anger etched in his handsome features.
I stepped forward, closer to the warden who had always been a part of my life. “Would that be so bad?”
His emerald eyes searched my face. “There’s no changing your mind, is there?”
Silence. I didn’t know what else to say.
Liam reached out, taking my hand. “I thought you cared about me. Please, I can’t lose you.” He had lowered his voice.
Begging was not becoming on Liam, and Zavier didn’t think so either. He stepped forward. “Don’t make this harder.”
Zavier’s interference didn’t sit well with Liam, hardness snapped into his expression like a switch. “Let me guess. You’re the new flavor of the month. Don’t worry, she’ll get bored of you, too. It is what Skylar does.” And then Liam stalked across the great room.
“Asshole,” I muttered, downing the rest of my glass. I was beginning to understand that the damage was done, and Liam and I might never be the same again. I would have to live with it.
To his credit, Zavier didn’t flinch, but his lips twisted. “You look like you can use this.” He handed me his drink. “What did you ever see in that douchebag?”
That question was running through my head, too.
It was hard for me to get into the social mood. One of my good friends had been brutally murdered, and each day that went by with nothing done ate away at me. I wanted a few hours with my coven. Maybe even indulge in some evil ways to kill the bitch responsible.
And get drunk.
I was well on my way to the last as I picked up my third glass. The confrontation with Liam had left me unnerved and confused. What kind of person, was I? I had warned Liam that I didn’t have it in me to fall in love. He hadn’t believed me, had been determined to change my mind, but the truth was, Liam hadn’t been the one. And that had hurt him.
A raven brow flicked upward as I put the glass to my lips, thinking to down my guilt, sadness, and anger into booze. “Am I going to have to carry you out of here?” Zavier whispered near my ear.
“Admit it, you’d like that.” He tended to manhandle me.
The grin on his lips was enough confirmation.
Colin appeared at Zavier’s side, laying a hand on his shoulder before the warden could respond, Zavier’s eyes still glinting with humor. “You can’t hide behind Zavier all night.”
“Why must you torture me?”
“Because deep down, you have a caring heart and want the best for Frisco Bay, and that is what the mission of the council is, regardless how ignorant most of the members are. You won’t turn a blind eye at the first sign of trouble,” Colin said.
“Fine.” I sighed, looping my arm through my brother’s. “You can parade me around the room, and I promise to smile, but don’t ask me to keep my opinions to myself.” Because like he pointed out, I did care about the Bay. And who knew what kind of information one of these stuffy council members might have.
I made the rounds with Colin, kept the fake smile on my lips until they hurt, and laughed at one miserable joke after another. The minutes dragged, making the night seem as if it would never end. I couldn’t wait to blow this party and move onto important things—like the coven.
I sipped on my glass of port, taking it a bit slower. I would need a clear head if I were going to ditch this function later. I might have preferred night to morning, but I let a big yawn. A decent night’s sleep for once might be in order. At least that was going to be my excuse for leaving the party. What I was going to
be doing—sneaking off to the coven—was no one else’s business…except the warden.
Speaking of the devil. Where the hell was my shadow? He hadn’t been more than ten feet from me all night, and now that I needed to conspire with him, he was nowhere to be seen.
A chill chased down my spine as my eyes scanned the room. It was strange, as if someone had put a cloaking spell on him. I swore the shimmer of magic trembled in the air, and whether I wanted to admit it or not, there was this strange connection I’d felt with Zavier since our first kiss, as if he was somehow a part of me. That feeling was always inside, except for now.
I noticed it more because it was missing.
“Zavier?”
Chapter 16
Wafts of cool, fresh air drifted over my flushed face. “Zavier?” I called again. Where the hell is he? Goodie fucking gumdrops. The one time I needed him to be glued to my side, he was nowhere in sight.
What gives?
It wasn’t like Zavier to slack in his duties.
A rush of wind and suddenly, the air was filled with fluttering bats, swooping down from the night. I gasped and ducked as the flying black creatures filled the hall and into the great room, their squawks piercing my ears in a deafening sound. I spun, watching them swirl around the guests, their shrieks of surprise and fear joining in the chaos.
And then, for no reason I could see, the herd of bats scattered, flying out the door as swiftly as they had come. An eerie silence descended upon the room, and I knew the mayhem wasn’t over. Yep, it was only the prelude of problems with a capital P.
Vampires.
My mouth opened to scream an alarm, but I was too late. A pale hand wrapped around my mouth, cutting off my warning. “Well, hello,” a voice hissed in my ear as a vampire grabbed me from behind. “Just who I was hoping to run into. Must be my lucky day.”
Sure as shit was.
I had to act fast. Lifting my fingers, I managed to touch the rune on my other forearm. Tingles charged the air, like little jolts of electricity, and the stake I summoned from the training room materialized in my grasp.
His fangs had extended and ran along the side of my exposed neck. “You’re not what I expected, witch.”
I got that a lot, and would have told him if his grubby paw weren’t still attached to my mouth. Cocking back my arm, I embedded the wooden stake into his chest. The pythons holding me fell away, and I spun, seeing the startled expression on the Bitten’s face. I wasn’t done with him yet.
“Didn’t anyone tell you to pick on someone your own size?” I kicked out my foot, hitting the top of the stake with my heel and sending the stake deeper into his chest. “Still feeling lucky?” I asked, my tone going dry. A sudden burst of light and ash exploded in my face. “Thanks for ruining a perfectly good dress, asshole.”
With my heart lodged in my throat, I forced myself to stay calm. My eyes bounced over the madness that had descended into the great room, desperately searching for Zavier and Colin. I had to get out of here, lead the vampires away before anyone else got hurt. They had come for me, and in the back of my mind, I’d known this day was coming, but I had prayed there would be more time to prepare.
My gaze quickly found Colin. He had moved into warden-mode, ordering his guards to take down the vampires who had invaded Silent Bend and broken the rules, attacking both humans and witches. Hell, they had even attacked some of their own.
Completely messed up, but Lilith didn’t care who got in her way. They were meaningless.
Picking up my stake from the ground where it had fallen with the vampire’s ash, I wiped off the end with the drapes hanging over a nearby window. The housekeepers would be pissed, but in the scheme of things, my mess was nothing compared to the blood, bodies, and dead vampire ash.
I’d never had a warden give me the slip before. This was a first. Colin would blow a gasket, but then a terrifying thought hit me. What if Zavier was missing because he’d been hurt…or worse?
I refused to believe he was dead. No way. The man was too stubborn to die. I wouldn’t let him. It only took a few seconds to wind into a whirlwind of worry. “Where are you?” I muttered.
As if he heard me, Zavier rounded the corner, shooting into the room. He looked formidable with the stake clenched in his hand. Not that he needed it to be a badass. It was part of his genetic makeup.
A bone of dread settled in my belly like rocks. Zavier’s eyes went straight to me, and I opened my mouth to call his name. Before he could reach me, the lights began to flicker, and in a rapid sequence, they blew out, one after another. Sparks showered, raining from overhead, right before the room was submerged in utter darkness. People screamed. Zavier roared my name, but my feet stayed rooted.
Flutters of what felt like cold shadows weaved in and around me, giving me the willies. Throwing out my hand, I summoned a ball of light and tossed it into the air, shedding rays of glowing amber over the room.
Zavier cursed.
Somehow during the blackout he’d been able to find me, but he wasn’t the only one. We were surrounded by vampires. “I hate party crashers,” I grumbled, my back pressed to his.
A chorus of angry hisses vibrated through the room. Zavier wound our fingers together and groaned. “We should probably take this party outside.”
I shot him a weary look. “Uh, a little too late. Do you think they want to capture or kill me?”
“At the moment, it doesn’t matter. Neither is an option.”
“I couldn’t agree more, but that doesn’t mean we can’t kill them, right?”
He squeezed my hand. “I like how your mind works, minx.”
“Traitor,” one of the vampires growled, revealing his fangs.
What did he mean, traitor?
“That’s the best you got?” Zavier said, cracking his neck. His words were like ringing for dinner. The vampires all launched themselves at Zavier, the hunger for the kill shining in their pale blue eyes.
As Zavier went into ninja-stance, I wondered where the other wardens were. It wasn’t like them to abandon one of their own. It was against the handbook. Most of the guests had taken off for the hills, eager to find safety. The council wasn’t made of warriors, but prestigious old men, my brother the exception. He had taken my father’s place after his death.
I wasn’t sure what was going on, but this attack on Silent Bend had been well orchestrated—something only Lilith had the brains and patience for. She had wanted to get him segregated, and I doubted it was for a tropical vacation.
One thing was certain. I couldn’t leave Zavier to fight the mob of vampires alone. My muscles tightened as I tried to remember all the combat lessons Colin had drilled into me. It didn’t take long for me to figure it out once the first one reached me; instinct kicked in. I blocked out all the craziness in the room and focused solely on the vampire in front of me.
I kicked my leg out, catching him in the stomach before he could reach me. The key with vampires was to get the jump on them, because it only would take a split second to lose track of the bloodsuckers. Their speed made it impossible for human eyes to keep track of.
But not true for Zavier.
He didn’t seem to have any trouble following their sporadic movements, and why was that?
Something to ponder for another day. I needed to get this vampire off me. Spinning around, I threw out my arm in one clean sweep, catching the Bitten in the heart with my stake.
The vampire went up in ash.
I looked up, my eyes going straight to Zavier as he was pulling out his stake from the last vampire. Impressive, but I should have expected no less. I could only see the side of his face, but that alone was enough. His eyes brightened, the veins surrounding them darkening like spilled ink. Two fangs grew, extending much like a vampire, gleaming in the spilled moonlight.
I sucked in air, a gasp that to human’s ears wouldn’t have been heard, but Zavier angled his head a fraction of an inch toward me. Pain streaked across his eyes as mine locked directly with h
is.
My head shook back and forth, refusing to believe what my eyes were seeing. He couldn’t be—not a vampire—could he?
I should have known. How many times had my lips touched his? His essence had always been blind to me, hidden. My suspicion of him being different was beginning to make sense, but this?
Traitor. That was what the vampire had called him. A traitor.
I took a step backward. “You’re a vampire?”
His gaze dropped, the fangs receding and his eyes returning to normal. “Half,” he corrected.
Oh. My. God.
My warden was a vampire.
He had deceived me—deceived us all.
“You son of a bitch.” I could feel myself beginning to shake, and stinging tears gathered in my throat. Using all my strength, I channeled the hurt into rage. “You lied to me. You made me think you cared about me. You let me sleep with you.”
“It’s not what you think. I had to.” His hand reached out to touch my cheek.
“Don’t.” I slapped his away. “Don’t you ever put your hands on me again.”
“Will you listen for a minute?” he growled.
“It all makes sense now, why I could never get a read on you. How could you lie to me? You made me trust you?” It didn’t matter that he had fought and killed vampires to protect me. I was beyond being able to see anything but Zavier as a vampire.
“Minx—”
My hand cracked across his face before he could finish whatever he had been going to say. “Don’t ever call me that again. In fact, I never want to see you again. Get the hell out of my house!”
“Skylar, let me—”
I shoved past him and fled. I didn’t care if there were still vampires inside the compound. I didn’t care that they could be camping out in my room. The only thing I cared about was getting as far away from Zavier as I could.
