Broken (Keeper of the Flame Book 4)

by Lila Kane

  “Really,” I tell him. “I feel better.”

  He brushes his thumb on my cheekbone. “You look better. Not so tired. What about…” He touches my hand.

  I roll onto my back and hold my arms up, staring at my fingers. They feel normal. No extra energy. Nothing lurking beneath my skin. I feel like I did before I came to Shadow Hill. Or maybe before I ever knew I had powers. And if I could walk out of this town right now, marry Logan, and start my life over, I would.

  But it’s not over.

  He leans down and kisses me. “You’re thinking a lot, but not telling me anything.”

  I drop my hands. “It’s still there. It’s got to be. Otherwise…I don’t know. I’d be happy if it was gone. But then what kind of weapon do we have against Kane?”

  “We’re going to reverse the spell. We’re going to do what your ancestors did all those years ago, unless we can think of something even more permanent. We don’t need the blue fire. It…” A muscle works in his jaw. “It makes you more vulnerable.”

  “It makes me stronger. I can stop Kane or Wes–” I swallow and correct myself. “I mean Kane. It can stop him if he wants to get near us.”

  “It makes them want to come for you. You really think Kane’s going to be satisfied knowing you have more power than him? What do you think his ultimate goal is here? Because I really doubt it’s to make friends in this town and have a nice, cozy little life here.”

  I blink at the sting of his words. I know he’s angry with Kane and the situation. That he wants me to be safe. But still, the hardness there makes me flinch, and then roll to get off the bed.

  “Wait, Willow–”

  “You’re right.” I nod. “It gives him a new purpose.”

  He sighs, reaching for me. “Still, I shouldn’t have said it like that.”

  “No problem.”

  He snags me around the waist before I can turn, and pulls me to him. The muscles of his shoulders are long and lean beneath my fingers, but I still fight the urge to give in for just a moment.

  “I’m sorry,” he murmurs, pressing his cheek against my chest.

  And that’s all it takes. Not even the apology, but the tone of his voice. The love there. I know why he’s angry. I know why he’s nervous, and I know that deep down somewhere, he’s also scared. That resonates with me more than anything. We have a plan, but so far, our plans haven’t worked out well.

  “The longer I’m stuck here and we don’t hear anything from Kane, the more worried I get,” I whisper.

  Logan doesn’t say anything, just keeps me tight in his embrace.

  “What’s he up to? You think he’s still at the hotel?”

  “I don’t know.” Logan’s voice is rough. He stands and kisses me once on the lips. “Let’s get breakfast and talk with the others before we worry too much about this.”

  I nod, but my thoughts are still on Kane. If his plan is to get the blue fire, why hasn’t he come for it? Or is that what Wes was doing?

  And now that Wes is gone, how is Kane going to react? Maybe he’ll leave us alone.

  Doubtful.

  Logan and I get ready side-by-side in the bathroom. I have fresh clothes from Myra and a few cosmetics, but I regret that I don’t have anything more. Especially with Logan’s ex downstairs. It shouldn’t matter to me what she looks like or what she thinks of me, but it does.

  “We should do this more often,” Logan says as we finish up.

  I give him a half-hearted smile. Not while Morgan is living in the same house as us.

  “Hey.” He wraps his arms around me. “You’re still not telling me something.”

  I lift my chin and kiss him on his jaw. “Just more worries. Let’s get downstairs.”

  He takes my hand after we descend the stairs, and that’s probably the first thing Morgan sees when we enter the kitchen. The first thing I see, however, is titian hair waving down a nearly bare back and expressive green eyes. They’re wide with laughter at something James has said.

  Her lacy sleeveless top barely reaches her midriff, and her long legs look even longer with cutoff shorts. I’m pretty sure she does all her shopping in the junior’s section at the mall.

  But behind all that, including too much makeup, Morgan is stunning. Not just pretty, but goddess gorgeous. Which makes me shake my head. Of course, she’s gorgeous. So is Logan. They look like they belong together. They look more like a couple and he and I.

  Even though Logan’s holding my hand. Even though I’m the one he asked to marry, I still feel a flicker of doubt. Of jealousy, even. And most definitely mistrust. All because of her looks.

  “You must be Willow,” she says, walking to me so swiftly I step back. But she grabs me and locks me in a hug. We’re fellow witches, but that doesn’t bond me to her the way it should. “Everyone’s been telling me about you.”

  I hope that by everyone, she means Logan, too. He did tell her about me, right? Isn’t that what he said? And I don’t just mean my situation with the spell. I mean, about our relationship and how serious it is.

  “It’s nice to meet you.” I’m trying to be polite. I’m not very good at it.

  She waves off my comment like it means nothing. “I’m sure it’s pretty difficult under the circumstances.”

  She’s not even looking at me when she says this. Her eyes are full on Logan’s face. He takes my hand again and smiles at me.

  It boosts my confidence some.

  “What was all that noise down here this morning?” Logan asks.

  Cheyenne’s sitting, disinterested in the conversation. She lifts her head long enough to roll her eyes at me, and then returns to the book she’s reading.

  James points to a plant on the counter. “This was dead an hour ago. Morgan brought it back to life. We just had a little casualty with the pot.”

  It’s impressive. Not blue fire impressive, but even that scares me.

  Morgan shrugs. “This kitchen needs some life.”

  I bite my lip, grateful Myra isn’t here. She loves this kitchen, and anyone saying anything bad about it is insulting her directly.

  I pour orange juice and sit at the counter, watching as Logan leans casually against the cabinet, his eyes watchful. Maybe he’s enjoying this dynamic. Old friends and new friends. But all of us paranormal in the same way. Regardless, he doesn’t look as stressed as I feel, and I think most of that has to do with the hospital last night. I wonder how often he’s going to have to do that. If bagged blood will be enough when Kane is obviously drinking something else.

  It’s thinking about Kane that must trigger it, because one moment I’m at the counter, and the next I’m in the hotel room with him.

  He walks out of the bedroom in just a towel around his waist, and immediately I look away, but not before noting how much he looks like Logan. And just like Logan, he looks stronger, more alert.

  Then my stomach rolls. There on the couch is a girl, probably no more than eighteen, looking completely out of it. She’s got bite marks on her neck and a dazed expression.

  The other shapeshifter sits with her, his mouth in a scowl. “I don’t think she’s going to make it.”

  Kane leans in and narrows his eyes. “Her heartbeat is still steady. I didn’t take that much.”

  “Yeah, but you did it twice in one day. Is that how it’s supposed to work?”

  “If I give her some of my blood, too, then yes,” he says thoughtfully.

  The girl’s eyes flutter. “No,” she murmurs. “Please.”

  I reach out automatically, wishing I could take her away from all this. But there’s nothing I can do from here. Kane and the shapeshifter can’t even see me.

  “It’ll be all right,” Kane soothes, touching her temple. He stares into her eyes. “Just take a little nap. You’ll feel much better soon.”

  The girl’s eyes fall shut and her head slumps to the side.

  “It’ll take another day or two for her to change, but we’ve got time.”

  The shapeshifter le
ans forward on the couch, clasping his hands together. “How much?”

  “As long as it takes,” Kane murmurs, a small smile on his lips. “I’ve got eyes and ears where it matters. All we need is an opening.”

  Eyes and ears where it matters? He’s got to be talking about our group. But who? James? Something deep inside tells me that can’t be it. Unless he got to James somehow and told him he’d spare him if he eavesdropped for him. But still, James helped me. He’s not a bad guy.

  Morgan.

  It hits me like a punch to the stomach. That has to be who he’s talking about.

  “Willow!”

  I’m yanked from the vision and come face to face with Morgan.

  Chapter 10

  I cough, trying to get my bearings. The room spins around me for a long moment while Logan holds onto my shoulders.

  “Breathe,” he says.

  My fingers are tingling, buzzing with energy and glowing blue. Morgan’s eyes are fixed on them with wonder.

  “What happened?” she asks.

  I sputter out a response before anyone can say anything. “I just felt dizzy, that’s all.”

  “You looked like you were somewhere else,” Morgan says.

  I shake my head.

  “Did you see anything?” James asks.

  I silently curse him when Morgan’s eyes widen. I don’t need her knowing I have visions, and especially not that I can see what’s going on with Kane. Not if she’s working with him.

  Then I check myself. That’s not fair. I don’t know what Morgan’s up to. Logan trusts her, so I should, too. But…who else could Kane be working with? Or was Kane talking about something entirely different?

  “Willow,” Logan says. “What happened?”

  I stand, gritting my teeth when the room sways.

  “Willow,” Logan starts.

  I smile at him. “I’m fine. I just need a minute.”

  He opens his mouth to protest, but I grip Cheyenne’s hand hard when I pass and she says, “I’ll go with you.”

  “Thanks.” I flash another smile at Logan. “I’ll be back.”

  His jaw is set, but he stays where he is and I’m grateful.

  I lead Cheyenne to the library and close the door, hoping to block out the sound of our voices. “You think they can hear us?” I whisper.

  She glances to the door. “Can you hear them?”

  The murmur of voices reaches my ears, but I can’t make out entirely what they’re saying. It’s mostly James, I can tell that much. I hope he’s not saying anything specific about my visions.

  “Not completely,” I say, “but I don’t think I can hear as well as a vampire.”

  “According to James, the one with the blue fire has the power of all paranormals. Your hearing should be just as good as theirs.”

  I frown. I don’t want hearing as good as a vampire’s. I want normal hearing in a normal body. The old Willow. “I don’t think I’m at full power yet,” I say.

  And because I still can’t get the echo of the images from the hotel out of my head, I sit hard at the table and drop my head into my hands.

  “He has a girl there,” I whisper.

  Cheyenne perches on the table next to me. “What? Who?”

  “Kane.”

  “You had a vision of Kane?”

  I look up, meeting her eyes. “Yes.”

  “But…” She glances to the door again, keeping her voice down. “You don’t want anyone else to know.”

  Swallowing, I nod. “Kane said…he said he has eyes where it matters. I think someone is helping him.”

  “The shapeshifter?”

  “No. Someone here.”

  Cheyenne’s eyes flash with anger. “That witch!”

  “Shh! Cheyenne, I don’t know that for sure. But she’s the only one I don’t trust.”

  “What about James?”

  I bite my lip, shaking my head slowly. “I don’t think so. No, he’s on our side. Also, my mom said to be careful of Morgan.”

  “She can do a spell, right?”

  “To figure out Morgan’s intentions. Yes, good.” She’d done the same thing with Logan and it worked. “Because if she’s not on our side, she’s dangerous.”

  “And she’s already in this house. Willow, you can’t be around her. We need to do something–”

  “No, she’ll be suspicious. We have to pretend like everything is fine.”

  “What about Logan?”

  I stand. “No, she’s his friend. And if I’m wrong, he’ll think I don’t trust him. I can’t–I can’t do that to him. Not right now.”

  Cheyenne folds her arms. “Let’s tell the others at least. Everyone needs to be on the lookout. She could be here to try to take the blue fire.”

  My stomach twists. If she’s here to take the blue fire, it means she’s here to kill me. I blow out a measured breath. “I don’t think she’d do that.”

  She lifts her eyebrows. “We don’t know this person at all. If we can’t trust her, who knows what she’s here for. And if she’s on Kane’s side, she’s even less predictable. She could be telling him she’s going to help him when she’s really here to hurt you.”

  “Let’s just…talk to my mom first. We’ll figure out where she stands, and then go from there.”

  “In case you’re wondering, I don’t agree with this plan.”

  I try a small smile. “I can tell by your expression.”

  “I’m not kidding, Willow. We didn’t get this far for you to get hurt. For you to…” She looks away, blinking her eyes behind her studious glasses. “This is bullshit.”

  “Cheyenne,” I whisper, surprised by her emotion. When she doesn’t look at me, I say her name again. “I’m sorry.”

  When she returns her gaze to mine and I see tears in her eyes, I wrap my arms around her. “I’m really sorry, okay? You’re right, we need to be careful.”

  “You need to be careful,” she says.

  “I will. I am.”

  She returns the hug, but says in a fierce voice, “I’ll give you one day to talk to your mom and figure this out. After that, I’m telling Logan and the others.”

  Leaning back, I open my mouth to protest, but she shakes her head. “No. No negotiating. This isn’t a game, it’s serious. Say you understand.”

  “Cheyenne–”

  “Say it.”

  I give a heavy sigh. “Fine. One day.”

  She nods. “Good.”

  “Which means I need your help.”

  “With what?”

  “In my vision, Kane was still at the hotel, and he had some girl there. He’d fed on her and–and he said something about changing her. How it would take a day or two. I need–we need to get her out of there.”

  “You’re not going anywhere.”

  “Well, someone has to get her out of there.”

  Cheyenne taps her finger against her lips in thought. “Shit. I can’t do it on my own. I need Ryan. A lookout. We have to tell at least a few of the others.”

  “Not James, though.”

  She narrows her eyes. “Why not James?”

  “Because he has a big mouth and he’s already half in love with Morgan. I don’t want him to say anything on accident. I can help. We’ll just–”

  “No. You’re staying here. With a bodyguard. And…” Cheyenne shoves her hand into her hair, thinking again. “I don’t know. We need to tell the others.”

  “Not yet.”

  “Willow,” she growls, frustrated.

  There’s a knock on the door and I freeze.

  “Willow?” Logan says from the other side.

  “Don’t tell him anything,” I whisper as quiet as I can.

  Cheyenne glares at me, crossing her arms over her chest when I walk to the door to let Logan in.

  “Hey,” he says, rubbing his hand down my arm. “Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine.” I touch my forehead. “Just a headache.”

  He frowns, glances at Cheyenne, and meets my eyes again
. “Can we talk a minute?”

  “Yes,” Cheyenne says before I can answer, giving me a pointed look. “You should talk. I think we all need to be on the same page here.”

  Her words are a small stab, and they heighten my guilt. She’s right. I know she is. But how am I supposed to tell Logan I don’t trust his friend when I barely know her? How am I supposed to tell him and the others without making Morgan suspicious? If she really is helping Kane out, the less people who know, the better.

  Cheyenne eases by us, leaving me and Logan alone in the library. He walks inside and shuts the door.

  “What was that about?” he asks.

  “It’s just…” I can’t finish the sentence. I’d rather not lie outright, and I figure that’s probably what I’m going to have to do.

  Logan paces to the window, staring out into the sunshine. He squints some, but doesn’t stop looking. “I know you don’t have a headache.”

  I bite my lip. Of course he does.

  “You healed yourself when you cut your hand. A headache should be no problem.” Logan turns, leaning his shoulder against the window frame. “And whatever just happened in the kitchen…” He sighs. “You’re keeping something from me.”

  “You’re right.”

  He lifts his eyebrows. “Then tell me.”

  “I can’t.”

  “You can’t?”

  “No. I mean–it’s not like I’m keeping something from you that–”

  “You are keeping something from me. If you’re not telling me what happened in the kitchen, you’re keeping something from me. And I have a feeling there’s more. I thought we were in this together.”

  “We are.” I step closer to him. When his shoulders tense, I freeze. “We are in this together. Logan–”

  When tears fill the corners of my vision, I swipe at my eyes, angry with myself. I should be telling him the truth. He’s the one who should be upset, not me.

  I see his shoulders relax, and take the last step to reach him. I wrap my arms around his neck. “Please understand.”

  “I don’t understand. After the last time, we made a promise to each other–” He shakes his head, pulling back to see my eyes. “I kept you out then, I know, but I also know it was the wrong thing to do and I haven’t done it since.”