by Holly Evans
By the end, I carried the beautiful boots, three pairs of jeans, three shirts, and the most gorgeous black leather jacket I’d ever seen to the front counter to pay. Every item of clothing fit like a second skin, and it was all effectively light-weight armour. It had all been enhanced to protect against the popular forms of offensive magic as well as claws, teeth, and blades. I’d be screwed if someone shot at me, but nothing was perfect.
Dante gave the woman behind the counter a stunning smile that made her breath catch as she lost herself in his eyes. I crossed my arms and waited for her to come back to her senses. Dante only encouraged her, and I struggled to remain still and not roll my eyes as he gave the woman a seductive smile. She totalled up the clothing, and I almost had a heart attack when I saw how much it all came to. Dante handed over the expense card as though it was nothing, and I realised that it likely was nothing to him. We lived in such different worlds it was surreal.
THIRTEEN
Dante had insisted on taking me to Cafe Savoy for lunch.
“We need to eat, and it can go on the expense account,” he said with finality.
Cafe Savoy was another of those places I’d seen from the outside but not dared step foot inside for fear of them bodily throwing me out. Dante strolled up to the maître d’.
“Petra, it’s been too long,” he purred.
She blushed. “Your usual table is free.”
Dante’s smile broadened and once again he placed his hand on my lower back. I was going to have to talk to him about keeping his hands to himself. His bloodsong washed over me the moment his hand touched me. I shook my head to focus and push the feeling away. It was almost impossible to fight, but I wasn’t going to give in and lose myself to him and his damn blood. Maybe Kane would know something about demon blood that would help me keep my wits about me.
Petra led us between the small elegant tables where people were laughing and smiling. Many of them gave me filthy looks, as I clearly didn’t belong there. I scooted into the seat with my back against the wall and the beautiful golden mosaic-style ceiling caught my eye. I looked up and drank in the details. The broad design was a simple one, but there were so many smaller pieces within that. The chandeliers were made from very expensive crystal that caught the light without being gaudy. The entire place was designed for people in a much higher wage bracket than I was. The wall filled with top-end champagne bottles to my left only reinforced the point that I didn’t belong.
“She’ll have the chicken schnitzel, and I’ll have the tartare,” Dante said before I’d even had a chance to get a proper look at the menu.
I glared at him but didn’t say anything. I didn’t want to kick up a fuss in the nice restaurant.
He gave me a cocky smile. “Was I wrong?”
I had kept my menu and looked down it only to find that no, he wasn’t. I would have ordered the damn schnitzel had I have been given the chance.
“You’ll love it. Now, tell me a bit about yourself.”
His ice blue eyes were dancing with amusement again. He was the most infuriating man I’d ever had the displeasure of meeting.
“I’d much rather hear about you. It’s not every day you meet the son of, well, your father,” I said, remembering that there were going to be many non-magical people listening in.
There were very strong laws around the tenet that magic must be hidden from the non-magical. Anyone caught using magic around the non-magical, be that a spell, shifting, or something else, would suffer dire consequences. At best, they would have their magic stripped; at worst, they’d be thrown in some deep dark pit and wish for death. The Council did not screw around when it came to that. I might be working for them, but that didn’t mean I was exempt from those strict laws.
“I was raised by my mother with my older brother and my mother’s family. It was a privileged childhood with a varied education. I was released from their bindings aged eighteen when they could no longer claim I was a minor. After that, I went out and enjoyed the world and all it had to offer.”
I’d heard about the wild parties he’d thrown and the multitudes of women he’d taken to bed. There were rumours of more dangerous exploits, and if they were to be believed, then he’d snuck into the fae plane and stolen something of theirs. The fae as a whole were very protective. No one would dare steal something from their plane, or so I thought until I saw the pure confidence and absolute faith Dante had in himself. If anyone was going to do something as reckless as that and come out of it unscathed, it was him.
“What’s your brother like?” I asked as the waitress placed down a glass of lemonade.
Dante shrugged and stretched, his foot brushing up against my ankle.
“Boring. I enjoy life, adventure in all of its forms. Nathaniel prefers to play little games and read books.”
I hadn’t heard much said about Nathaniel. He was the quiet brother that dabbled in politics.
“Now, your turn,” Dante said with the edge of a command.
I bristled at that. I wasn’t some good little girl who was going to jump when he said so.
“I’m nothing special. You know what I do. I watch detective shows on Netflix when I’m not working.”
He pursed his lips. “Don’t dismiss your accomplishments so quickly.”
I laughed.
“My only accomplishment is managing to stay alive this long.”
His smile became sharp and his eyes hardened. I got the distinct impression he knew something. Fuck.
“You must have to dye your hair regularly. It seems like quite an extravagance for a girl like you,” he said before he took a sip of his ice water.
My hair was naturally blood red. It had turned that way when I came into my full magic at thirteen. It was one of the markers of my being a blood witch, a great big neon sign for all to see if they knew what they were looking for. I’d tried dying it, but the red came back through within twenty-four hours. In the end, I’d given up and just told people I dyed it that colour.
“Everyone has that one thing they do to make themselves happy,” I said with a smile.
The corner of his mouth quirked up. He was toying with me.
“It’s just an interesting choice, given your line of work.”
I shrugged. There was nothing I could really say to that without incriminating myself in some way.
“I would have thought you’d prefer something which wasn’t quite so clearly connected to blood. Unless, of course, you enjoy that side of your job…”
I rolled my eyes.
“I don’t know what you’re trying to get at, but I look awful as a blonde and dark hair washes my skin out. The red makes my eyes pop, and I love the fun of it.”
He smiled, a feline expression that made me all too aware I was going to be stuck with a predator for the foreseeable future.
FOURTEEN
The schnitzel was absolutely wonderful and hands down the best meal I’d had since I’d been in Inverness with Kane. Dante had remained quiet and watched me a little too closely for my tastes. Surely, if he knew what I was, he would have dragged me back to the Council already. He was clearly on good terms with them. I made an excuse and headed home at the first possible opportunity while texting Kane that I was heading back. I needed to unwind and relax after being so uptight from being around Dante. How was I supposed to survive the gods only knew how long in close proximity with him?
Kane was comfortable on my bean bag in just his jeans when I walked in. He was sketching something. I paused in the doorway and watched him with the crease of concentration on his brow and the way the tip of his tongue stuck out the corner of his mouth. After a minute, it was starting to feel like I was being stalker-y, so I walked into the room.
“What’re you drawing?”
He looked up at me, surprise in his beautiful sea-green eyes. The sunlight streaming through the large windows caught him just so and made him look almost angelic. He held up the sketchpad to show a stunning sketch of a lycan standing proud on a
rock before a grand castle.
“You could make a good living as an artist,” I said.
He stood up and stretched, showing the tight tone of his abs as he did so.
“Then it would be work instead of fun. I don’t want to lose the fun of it. Tell me about Dante Caspari,” he said as he walked over to the kitchen area and pulled a glass out of the cupboard.
“He’s infuriating! He can’t keep his hands to himself.”
Kane looked at me with a darkness in his eyes.
“Did he hurt you?” he almost growled.
I waved him off and slumped into my beanbag, which was wonderfully warm from the sunlight.
“No, he just insisted on putting his hand on my lower back. He got a bit weird about my hair colour, but I told him it was dyed, and he dropped it.”
Kane sat next to me and handed me a glass of water.
“Are you sure this is a good idea?” he asked gently as he stroked a lock of my hair away from my face.
“No, but I really need the money. Oh, and his bloodsong is unlike anything else. It’s so overpowering and almost addictive. I was hoping you might be able to help with that…” I gave him a hopeful look.
He smiled at me and gave a little shake of his head which made some hair fall into his eyes, giving him a softness that I wanted to embrace.
“What would you do without me?” he teased.
I grinned. “I never plan on finding out.”
He laughed and padded out of the room, leaving me to wonder if I’d made a really stupid decision. The bags from Silk and Thread said that it couldn’t have been that awful a decision. Those clothes would last me a couple of years, if I was careful. That alone was worth spending the morning with Dante.
“You’re in luck. I have been reading up on blood magic; you’re welcome,” Kane said with a broad grin.
“Don’t give me that, you love any excuse to read up on something weird or unusual,” I said with a laugh.
He sat back down next to me and opened his hand to reveal a small vial full of electric-blue powder.
“I think I can help you learn to control your blood magic. You can do far more than boil people’s blood with it. You can heal, you can forge bonds. Oh, and you can make sigils! Until we have time to dabble in those things-”
“I don’t think we’re going to have many volunteers for those experiments…”
He nudged me with his shoulder. “Until then, I have made this. It should work to both dull your senses, so you don’t get overwhelmed by Dante’s bloodsong,” I didn’t miss the bite when he said Dante’s name, “and hide your magic from other witches.”
My eyes went wide.
“Wait… other witches can feel my magic!?”
How had I not known that?
Kane placed his hand on my cheek. “They can feel that you have some magic buried deep, but they won’t be able to feel what type of magic it is. It would take a witch of a level as yet unheard of to be able to pin down what type of magic you have.”
“A witch who’s half demon prince?”
Kane frowned. “If he knew what you were, you wouldn’t be talking to me. Just… be careful. Please?”
I leaned in and rested my forehead on his.
“I’ll do my best,” I said softly.
He uncorked the small vial and tapped a little bit of the iridescent powder onto his fingertip.
“You need to put it just behind your ears, and over your heart,” he said quietly.
I pulled my hair away from my neck and smiled as he gently brushed the powder behind one ear and then the other. He looked at me with a nervous smile before he looked pointedly at my sternum and I realised I needed to lift my t-shirt. He’d seen me in my underwear hundreds of times before, but it felt different this time. I lifted my shirt and told myself he was just being helpful, that it didn’t mean anything.
The moment the powder touched the skin over my heart, I felt it. In the blink of an eye, the world suddenly became much quieter, Kane’s bloodsong vanished, and a feeling of panic filled me. It was as though someone had shoved earplugs in my ears and taken away one of my other senses. I felt lost, almost like I was floating and someone had taken away my anchor to the world. It was wrong. I hadn’t realised just how used to my magic I’d become, but I didn’t want to be without it. I felt blind. Kane pulled me into his arms.
“It’s ok, we’ll wash it off,” he whispered.
“I feel lost without it,” I said, trying to shrug it off.
My breath came in short sharp gasps, and the panic was growing despite my best efforts to tell myself I was being an idiot. He went and retrieved a damp cloth that he used to wipe off the offending powder. The shift back to feeling my magic was slower than when it had left. Slowly, the world became brighter, and I could hear Kane’s bloodsong again. I closed my eyes and listened to the intricacies of his particular song, with the gentle swell of the baseline that reminded me of the Scottish waves lazily lapping against a shingle beach. The mid-tones were a subdued battle beat that I knew would kick up a few gears if he began to fight, and the top note was a bright and playful almost flute-sounding thread.
The familiarity of his song helped ease the panic and bring me back into contact with the world around me. I opened my eyes and smiled. Everything looked more vibrant, more alive. The sense of detachment was gone.
“I guess I won’t be hiding from the witches.”
“We’ll figure something out. Just don’t use your magic around Dante. He’ll be able to feel it and pinpoint what you are if you do.” Kane said gently as he brushed his fingers over mine, a slow playful touch that made me smile.
“No problem,” I said, not believing myself.
I leaned on my magic more than I let Kane believe. I was careful, but my job was to fight badass supernals who had magic, strength, and speed on me. I needed every advantage I could get.
FIFTEEN
I wasn’t sure how Dante got my number, but when I answered the phone call from the strange number it was his voice on the other end. I’d settled down with Kane to watch the latest superhero movie on Netflix. We were just coming into the first big fight scene when my phone went off.
“Come and join me for drinks,” Dante said.
I rolled my eyes.
“I already have plans.”
“When was the last time you let your hair down and had some real fun?”
“I’m having fun.”
He laughed.
“Bring your pretty best friend with you. I’ll meet you outside your building in twenty minutes.”
With that, he hung up.
“Let me guess, that was Dante,” Kane said drily.
“He demanded we join him for drinks.”
Kane curled his lip and put his arm around my shoulders.
“He said he’d meet us outside the building in twenty minutes,” I said with a sigh.
Kane’s eyes darkened before he squeezed me closer to him.
“And he’s not the type of guy to take no for an answer,” he said in a deep threatening tone.
“No, he’s not,” I said.
I chewed on my bottom lip.
“It won’t kill us to have a night on the town,” he said with resignation.
I followed him into the bedroom and pulled my only dress out of my wardrobe. The dress was a pretty little midnight blue number which showed off my curves without being restrictive. It stopped halfway down my thighs, which wasn’t practical, but I reminded myself that I’d bought it specifically to look good to guys, not to fight whatever supernal had broken the laws that time. I dug out my black high-heeled ankle boots and glanced at myself in the full-length mirror before I quickly put on some basic make-up.
I finished applying my lipstick just as the buzzer went off. Kane looked me up and down with a smile slowly spreading across his face.
“You’ll turn every head,” he said.
I grinned at him. It had been a good while since I’d put any real effort into my a
ppearance. The redcaps and feral lycans didn’t really care if I was wearing eyeliner or not.
“We’ll be down in a minute,” I said into the intercom.
Kane hadn’t put in much effort, but he didn’t need to. The jeans he’d spent all day in were well fitted and showed off his slender hips and tight ass. The black shirt he’d pulled out of his bag highlighted his muscular arms, and he’d left the top couple of buttons off to reveal his strong chest. I looked away. He was my best friend, and he was supposed to be like a brother to me.
Dante was leaning against the wall waiting for us when we stepped out into the night. I’d been expecting to see him in another ridiculously expensive three-piece suit. Instead, he was in a pair of tailored jeans and a pale blue shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows revealing the sigil tattoos on his forearms. I didn’t realise that I was chewing my bottom lip and drinking in the details of him until I saw the smirk on his face.
“This is Kane; Kane, Dante,” I said, gesturing between them while hoping it was dark enough for them not to see the flaming red colour of my cheeks.
The guys gave each other a small nod before Dante gestured to the sleek black car he’d parked on the sidewalk. Unlike the one from that morning, it did have backseats. I stopped my mind from heading down the paths of what they could be used for and instead tried to focus on work. I took the passenger seat next to Dante and kept my hands in my lap, where I tried not to fiddle with the hem of my skirt. It rode up very high when I sat down.
“I’m taking you to Lunar,” Dante said as he pulled out onto the road.
