by Talia Vance
“Anyway, Micah and Jeremy are nothing to worry about. They’ve been hoping to meet someone like you for a long time, but they won’t hurt you. You’ll understand when you meet them. It’s the others who are dangerous. The breeders, too. They’re human, but in some ways they’re the most bloodthirsty of the lot.”
“Breeders?” If I wasn’t creeped out before, I am now.
“Humans who have been recruited into the Circle because of their genetic ties to Killian. First through sixth generation carriers.”
Whoa. It seems Sasha has some good intel. “Do the breeders know what they are?”
Blake nods. “Too much knowledge has been lost because the demigod power only manifests every seventh generation. The Sons didn’t know the secrets of the Seventh Sons that came before them. The giollas helped, but even they had their limits.”
The familiar word sends a new wave of fear through me. What had Jonah said? “Giolla?”
“Servants to our kind, like Joe.”
“What does he do?”
“He’s kind of a historian. He passes down information from the Sons that came before. There’s less use for the giolla now, since we’re able to isolate the Killian gene and test humans who might be carriers. Now that we can pinpoint the carriers to a specific generation, we can use selective breeding to create Seventh Sons in almost every generation.”
“How? If the power only manifests every seventh?”
“By combining carriers of the Killian gene from different generations. My dad’s a fifth generation carrier and my mom’s a sixth generation carrier, so I’m both a sixth generation carrier and a seventh generation Son. Since I have the sixth generation gene, my own sons will be sevens and manifest the demigod power too. They’ll be both Seventh Sons and first generation carriers.”
“Okay, that’s not confusing.”
Blake grins. “It gets more complicated. If I breed with a fifth generation breeder, my children will also carry the sixth generation gene, which means that my grandsons will manifest the seventh generation power. Dr. McKay wants us to breed with the more remote generations, so that eventually we can breed all seven generations of the Killian gene into one person, ensuring a line of Seventh Sons in every generation.”
“It’s not that different from how thoroughbreds were created from a mixture of other breeds,” I say.
“Kind of sick, right? But it works. We can pass down information directly to the next generation of Sons, so Joe mostly babysits the younger Sons. He makes sure we don’t do something stupid that will get us discovered before we learn how to control our powers.”
“You said that someone like me hasn’t been seen for generations.” I let the unspoken question hang in the air. Why are they breeding for more Sons if they think the main threat is gone?
“I always assumed the bandia legend was a common enemy to bring us together, or a folk story made up by generations past to explain our kind.”
“Where exactly are we supposed to have gone?”
“We thought we’d broken the curse.”
“How?” The big SUV feels altogether too small. I lean against the passenger door.
“By ripping out the heart of every last bandia.” Blake smiles then, teeth gleaming in the dark. “I guess we missed one.”
TWENTY-THREE
We stand on the concrete foundation of what had once been his house. “You want to see my bedroom?” Blake asks, eyebrow cocked. How can he even look at me when he still thinks I did this? He doesn’t wait for an answer. “My parents can’t agree on what to rebuild. Dad wants the same floor plan. Mom wants a completely new design.”
“What about you?”
He shrugs. “Nothing will bring back the old house.”
I wait for him to accuse me of destroying his home again, his life, but he doesn’t. “I didn’t do this,” I say.
He takes my hand and brings it to his lips. “You don’t have to deny what you are. Not to me. I’m going to show you how to defend yourself. But you’re going to have to trust me.” He gives my hand a little squeeze. “Are you ready?” he whispers. Before I can answer, he disappears.
And then I know I’m not ready. I’m not ready for any of this.
The flash of silver is blinding. I want to turn away, but I can’t. A dark circle grows in the center of the light, larger and larger until it takes the shape of a man. Not a man. Something far more potent. Holy crap. Blake is there. Not Blake, Blake. Bathed in starlight, his eyes shining silver. His lean legs are visible beneath the cloth that ties just below his waist. His chest is bare. And when he smiles, my stomach does enough double back-handsprings to make the varsity cheer squad.
“Wow.” Not exactly articulate, but it pretty much sums it up. I move forward, aching to touch him. When I see the jeweled sword in his hand, I back up. It all comes back to me at once: Jonah’s knife at Austin’s neck; the cuts on Austin’s arm and shoulder; the blood.
Blake doesn’t advance. “You’re right to be afraid.” His voice is warm honey. I want to melt into it in spite of my fear. “We’re warriors first, Brianna. Don’t forget it. In this form, we’re lethal, and you’ll have to catch us off guard to have a chance.”
He slashes the sword in the air. Then there’s a burst of light and he’s gone. The world is darker without his light, and I struggle to see. Then the flash is behind me. I spin to meet it, but it’s already too late. Blake pulls me against his chest, his sword raised to my heart.
“Checkmate.”
I’m too terrified to move. I can feel the sharp edge of the blade through my shirt.
He laughs and then vanishes again.
When he appears again, there’s no light. He’s just Blake, relaxed in a pair of black pants and a striped shirt. “If we disappear, you can’t attack us,” he says. “And we can appear again anywhere within our line of sight. If I wanted to kill you, you’d be dead before you even realized I was there.”
I don’t answer right away. I’m trying to remember to breathe.
“You need to know what you’re up against.” He rubs his hands from my elbows to my shoulders and back again. The gesture is meant to calm me, but my pulse is picking up pace with every touch. One hand slides down to my wrist. “Now take it off.”
My heart pounds in my ears. I blink up at him.
“The bracelet.”
I knew that. “Are you sure that’s a good idea?”
“The bracelet hides you, and it hides your magic. Taking if off will help you access your powers. You could have done more to hurt Jonah. You could have killed him. You need to learn how.”
Blake isn’t thinking clearly. It can’t be a good idea to teach someone with a dark soul how to kill.
Blake’s hand moves from my wrist along the underside of my arm. “You need to practice.” He grins as if he knows exactly what I’m thinking. “You’re not going to make this easy, are you?”
I step back from him, away from his distracting touch. I unclasp the bracelet and hand it to him.
The way he looks at me is a miracle. I’ve seen Blake Williams look at a hundred girls, but never like this. His eyes shine, not with starlight, but with fire. And then he is here, standing in front of me, his chest nearly touching mine. So close. His finger lightly traces the bruises on my neck; his lips brush my ear.
“I’ll kill him if I have to. I won’t let anyone hurt you again,” he whispers.
I want to believe him. I think I even do. But something in the back of my brain won’t let me relax, a niggling feeling that his protection doesn’t matter at all. That the threat isn’t something we can fight together.
Behind Blake, someone clears their throat. Blake spins around, forming a human wall between me and the shapes in the distance.
“Is that her?”
“Jesus, it’s true.”
Joe walks toward us, between two very tall guys who are identical except for their hair. “Settle, boys. Blake, you might want to—”
“Got it.” Blake pushes the bracelet into my hand.
“No way.” The guy on Joe’s right steps closer. His long hair brushes his shoulders in thick dark waves that Christy would kill for.
“What the hell?” The other twin’s hair is much shorter, closely cropped in a buzz. Funny—now that I know about the Sons, it’s almost impossible not to see that they’re something more than human. They move with an almost impossible grace that doesn’t fit their large, muscular frames. Their eyes sparkle, even in the dark. Their very maleness is on display in perfectly fitted clothes that accentuate slim waists and broad shoulders. They puff out their chests like peacocks unfurling their plumage. I would laugh if I weren’t so intimidated.
“Glad to see you’re okay,” Joe says to me.
“Thanks.” I manage a smile. “How’s Austin?”
If Joe notices that I don’t ask about Jonah, he doesn’t show it. I feel Blake’s blood rise at my mention of Austin.
Joe nods in my direction. “Already released from the hospital. He’s just fine.”
I’m grateful for the update. I don’t know if I could forgive myself if anything else happened to Austin because of me. It doesn’t seem fair to drag him into the middle of this disaster.
Blake steps to the side, reaching for my hand. “Micah, Jeremy, meet Brianna Paxton.”
The one with long hair smiles in the darkness. “Seriously? Where did the other one go?”
Blake laughs. “It’s still her. She’s protected by magic at the moment. So you can’t see what she is.”
Buzz Cut sniffs the air. “Total fail.”
Blake lets go of my hand. “Show them again.”
Is he serious? He wants me to reveal myself to more of them?
Blake feels my uncertainty. He floods me with a sense of confidence that is definitely not my own. “Micah and Jeremy are against the war. And against Jonah even more. They won’t hurt you.”
Easy for him to say. He watches me expectantly.
Long Hair, who I think is Jeremy, grins. “We don’t believe in destroying magic.”
Micah nods. “We should be hooking up, not killing each other.”
Blake laughs.
Joe takes a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and taps it lightly against his wrist. “Let’s just say that none of us would be too upset if you knocked Jonah down a peg or two. We’re here to show you how.”
“All of you?”
Joe nearly smiles. “We aren’t all bad.”
I unclasp the bracelet, setting it in Blake’s palm and stepping away.
“No way!” Jeremy steps back. “No effing way!”
Micah laughs. “Jesus, no wonder Jonah went all psycho-
spaz.”
“Dude, Jonah is always going psycho-spaz. It’s a permanent condition.”
“Check her out. He must’ve freaked.”
“He’s still a douche.”
So apparently Harold and Kumar go to the spirit realm.
Blake grins at them. “You guys want to help her learn to kick Jonah’s ass?”
“Does a baboon’s ass need Rogaine?” Jeremy high-fives Micah. And then they’re gone in a flash of light.
I take the opportunity created by their disappearance to confront Blake again. “Are you sure about them?”
Blake laughs. “I trust them. Not as much as Joe. But more than you.”
Micah and Jeremy reappear to my right. Still identical in every respect except their hairstyles, right down to the red and green plaid that drapes their bodies. And they’re huge. Built like linebackers, with wide chests, arms, legs.
Joe walks beside us. “Sparring rules: Light contact, no cuts.” He looks at me. “No fire. And if you kill someone, all bets are off. Break the rules, pay me later.”
Jeremy twirls a huge broadsword in his hand like it’s made of plastic. It’s not. I probably couldn’t pick that thing up with both hands.
Blake puts my bracelet in his pocket. “Remember. Keep moving. Catch them off guard or you’ll be firing at air.” He disappears at the same time that Jeremy and Micah do. I spin around in the dark, not sure which way to go, or what weapon I’m supposed to be firing.
Joe nods at me. “Anywhere but right where you are would be good.”
I run a few steps forward just as Micah and Jeremy both appear in the exact spot I was standing. They bump into each other, jostling for position on the same small patch of concrete.
Blake appears to my left, nodding toward the twins. “You’re missing your chance. It might be your only one.”
“What exactly am I supposed to do?” I concentrate on the air around me but nothing happens. I start to panic, but then water is there, flowing through my blood. Not my first choice when the twins are grinning at me with swords drawn. I send a geyser of water at Micah, but he disappears before it can make contact. Jeremy shakes his head as some spray lands in his direction.
“Dude! Watch the hair!”
I laugh. Too late, I see the flash of light out of the corner of my eye and Micah is next to me, his sword poised at my neck. “Point.”
Joe nods and Micah drops his sword.
Blake walks up behind me. “The count’s 0 and 2. You better start swinging.”
All three disappear at once. I don’t hesitate. I run toward Joe as fast as I can.
Blake appears ten feet in the other direction. Micah appears right where I was standing, like I would be stupid enough to stay in the exact spot this time. Jeremy guesses better. He’s only a few feet in front of me. I have to move to the left to avoid contact with his sword.
I don’t wait for him to come at me. A deluge of water rains down on his head as soon as he appears. He drops his sword and runs his hands through his hair. “Dude! This is not a water balloon fight!”
“Point,” I say to Joe.
Micah disappears and I start to run again. He appears on my right. I send a wave over his head, but it doesn’t faze him. He still runs next to me, wiping water from his face. “Water? Really?” Then he grabs my arm and throws me down on the ground with such force that the breath is knocked out of me. He falls on top of me, pinning me to the ground with his body.
Panic. Every nerve in my body is screaming. I’m screaming, kicking, and punching at Micah’s solid form as hard as I can. My fists bounce off his chest as he raises the sword above me.
Blake comes behind Micah, grabbing his wrist and pulling him off me. “Not cool.”
With Micah’s weight gone, my panic recedes. I pull myself to my feet. The fire that fills me is a welcome relief. I am not weak. I am not powerless. My fingers tingle with white heat.
Micah spins to face off with Blake. “Jesus. Chill. She’s not even hurt.”
Blake’s intervention is exactly what he told me to look for. A distraction.
The fire inside me grows, begging to be unleashed. When I look at them this time I see only monsters, men with swords drawn to kill. I won’t be their victim. Not now. Not ever. Not again. A ball of fire ignites in my hand, blue flames licking at the air, searching for fuel. I can end this now. I want to.
A hand brushes my shoulder, startling me. “Point,” Joe says, raising his eyebrows at the dancing fireball in my hand. He turns his chin toward the crumbling remains of a chimney.
My eyes dart back to Micah and Blake, still arguing. Jeremy walks up to my right, his sword poised to strike. I’ve missed my chance. It’s still an effort to beat down the desire to light them up, and for a second I’m not sure I can. Only Joe’s hand on my shoulder keeps me grounded.
I turn and throw. The fireball explodes with a shower of color as it hits the blackened b
ricks of the chimney. Blake and Micah turn to stare at once.
Micah looks lost. “I thought he said no fire.”
“Game’s over.” Joe pulls a cigarette from the red pack and places it between his lips. “Time to go.”
Blake hands me back my bracelet without saying a word. His eyes tell me everything. He knows how close I just came to ending this, to ending him.
Of course this isn’t a threat we can fight together. The threat is me.
Blake waits until the others have gone before he walks me back to his car. “Better. You’ll be ready for Jonah if he tries anything else.”
My eyes go to the blackened pile of bricks. “I’m not sure that’s a good thing.”
“We’ll find a way to get the Sons off your trail. For now, it’ll have to be enough for you to know you can beat them if you have to.”
Them. He’s shown me how to kill them—not just Jonah, all of them. Even himself. “Why are you doing this?” I ask.
“To keep you alive.” He smiles. “Can we drop it for now? For the moment, I want to pretend you’re just this really cool girl I met.”
“Pretend?”
“You know what I mean.”
I try to imagine Blake as just an ordinary boy. Me as a regular girl. It’s a fantasy I’ve never believed in. “Fine. I’m going to pretend that you called me after the night on the beach.”
“I wanted to.” His buries his hands in my hair and pulls me closer. “You have no idea how much.”
When we kiss, the warmth that fills me isn’t an all-consuming fire. The spiritual bond and strong physical connection are there, but my heart flutters just a bit, and there’s something between us that doesn’t feel like magic.
Something a little bit real.
TWENTY-FOUR
After only four hours of sleep, even a triple-shot latte isn’t enough to make me feel halfway human. I order a second drink from Kimmy and find a table on the patio of Magic Beans, still trying to manufacture the energy to get to the ranch.
A flash of honey highlights is the first thing that draws my eye to where Haley walks across the parking lot, her blue apron in hand. She doesn’t see me, but it’s too late to get up without her noticing. She has buds in her ears, and her head bobs along with whatever song is cued up. She’s almost to the sidewalk when she finally sees me. She raises her hand partway and wiggles her fingers in a tentative wave.
