by Kensie King
“I’m not.”
He grinned and snatched my shirt before I could put it on. “I’m not sure I’m done with you yet.”
“You’re going to have to feed me first.”
“I’ll do better than that,” he said. “Stay there and I’ll bring you a plate. You can eat by the fire.”
“You don’t have to.”
He flashed another smile and handed my shirt back. “I want to. Stay there.”
So I waited. And thought about Savannah. I wasn’t sure if her powers faded because I took off the necklace or because she used too much energy this morning shoving me into the well. Maybe she’d be out of energy again tomorrow and I could get into the cave without her interfering.
“You look like you’re plotting something.”
I yanked in a breath, rising halfway to my knees. “Gage.”
He set the plates aside. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. I was thinking. You’re so quiet, I never hear you coming.”
Gage returned to the blanket and pulled me into his lap. I laughed and turned to him, but he buried his face in my shoulder. He breathed in deep. “You smell good.”
“Soap,” I said with a smile. I rested my cheek against his hair. “From your shower.”
“It smells better on you.” His voice was low and deep when he said, “I’m sorry I scared you. You had a long day.”
“With a really nice ending.”
He looked up. “Yeah?”
I nodded.
He brushed my jaw with his thumb. “Are you sure? Is this okay?”
“I’m not…I’m not at the same place in my life as you are. I don’t know what I want for the future. Coming here sort of changed my plans. But right now...” I kissed him. “This feels right.”
“For right now,” he answered, “that’s just fine by me. Let’s eat.”
That night I slept in Gage’s bed, curled on my side with his hand resting on my hip. And even though the fire helped heal my bruises and my head, I was still exhausted. When I dreamt, I dreamt deep.
Savannah was there, sitting next to me on the bed in Gage’s room. She looked different—wearing clothes from this century instead of her time period.
I looked over at her, words from my mind whispering to her. What are you doing here?
Helping you.
She touched my hand and then vanished. But when I sat up, I could feel her in me. And she was powerful again.
Kitchen.
I eased away from Gage, pausing when he murmured in his sleep. He turned his head the other way, and I crawled out of bed. My feet were bare on the hardwood as I left the bedroom. It was dark in the hallway, but Savannah was leading me. All the way down the stairs, past the front door, and to the kitchen.
In the darkness, I walked to the stove. My hand automatically reached for the knife on the magnetic strip against the wall. It was a butcher knife, long and sharp. The blade flashed in the moonlight streaming through the window.
Silently and smoothly, I padded back down the hallway, up the stairs and to Gage’s room. He was still sleeping peacefully. I walked around to the other side of the bed. His cheek was pressed against the pillow, dark hair blending into the deep blue pillowcase.
He’s a vampire. Vampires are evil. Stab him.
There was a hitch in my step when I moved closer to the bed. I stopped, something niggling at the back of my mind.
Kill him, Link. And we’ll all be free.
I rested my legs against the side of the bed, slowly pulling the covers from Gage’s chest. Then I raised the knife high and aimed for his heart.
I was about ready to plunge the knife into his chest when his eyes opened. His reflexes were faster than mine, and he grabbed my wrist.
“Link!”
I yanked away from him, stumbling a few feet from the bed.
Kill him, quick!
Gage was out of the bed when I lunged at him again. He caught my wrist, but I had the strength of Savannah’s power—and her anger—now, and I shoved him before attacking again. His foot caught on the edge of the rug and he took me down with him. I rose up with the knife and swung it down. He stopped it an inch from his chest, fingers tight around my wrists.
“Link.” His cheeks were taut with the strain of holding me off. “Listen to me, Link. This isn’t you.”
My grip faltered some, and in that instant, he gathered his strength and flipped me over. I landed on my back, elbows rapping hard against the floor. The knife came loose and clattered on the hardwood. I reached for it, but Gage’s hand closed over mine, trapping it against the handle. Then he switched his grip, pressing both wrists to the hard floor and straddling me.
“Link, listen to me. This isn’t you.”
I shook my head. Kill him! Get him!
Savannah’s voice wouldn’t stop.
“Link,” Gage soothed. “Please. Shut her out.”
Savannah screamed inside my head, and then it all went silent. Her power was dormant again, and my body sagged. Gage came into focus in the dim room. I yanked in a breath.
“Gage. Oh, God. I didn’t mean to—”
He eased his grip, and I scrambled to a sitting position, eyes wide and panic racing through every inch of my body.
“You need to let go of the knife,” Gage said.
I looked down, surprised to find it still in my hand. I let go, and it rattled against the floor. Gage kicked it away.
Emotion clogged my throat. Tears burned hot at the corners of my eyes—I was mortified. “Gage, I’m so sorry. I swear I didn’t know—"
“I know, Link. It’s okay.”
“No, it’s not. It’s not okay.” He reached for me, but I shoved to my feet, backing against the wall. “Stay there. Don’t—don’t come near me.”
A light came on in the hallway and we heard a knock on the door. “I heard something,” Audrey said from the other side. “Is everything okay?”
“Link had a nightmare,” Gage called quickly. “It’s okay, you can go back to bed.”
She didn’t respond, but then the light vanished from the hallway.
“What happened?” Gage asked, keeping his place near the bed.
“I don’t know,” I whispered. “I was dreaming but I…I could see what I was doing. I just—I didn’t have any control over it. I swear I didn’t mean to do this, Gage. I had no idea—”
“Does it look like I’m angry?” Gage stepped closer, and I flattened my back against the wall. “I know this wasn’t you, Link. It didn’t even look like you.”
I stared at my hands. I could still feel the coolness of the handle against my palm, Savannah’s urgency to plunge the blade deep into Gage’s chest. When I looked up and spoke to him again, my voice broke. “I’m so sorry. I couldn’t stop her.”
“Sweetheart,” he said.
The endearment undid me, making a tear drip the length of my cheek. “Don’t say that. Please, Gage, I should leave.”
“No. No, you shouldn’t leave.”
“I’m going to hurt you—”
“That’s bullshit.” In one lightning quick movement, he was standing in front of me, hands on my arms. “You didn’t do this, Link—”
“Stop. Gage, please. Oh, God—please let me go.” I pressed my hands over my eyes, trying to take deep breaths, trying not to freak out. But I was already there. “Just stay away from me.”
There was pain in his voice. “You don’t mean that.”
“Yes, I—”
“No. Look at me, Link.” He pried my hands from my face. “Look at me.”
I swallowed back more emotion and lifted my chin. “If I leave, I can’t hurt you.” When he didn’t respond, I looked around. “Or—the basement. Yes, you have that room—lock me in there until I can fix this.”
“I am not locking you in the basement.”
His arms encircled me. I straightened, stiff and unresponsive against him. But he only rubbed my back, hands warm on my bare skin, and murmured soothing words. I was
torn between apologizing over and over again and running hard and fast to the door.
“I could call Grace to pick me up,” I said, voice muffled against his shoulder. “Or Dylan.”
“We’re not calling the shifter.” Gage’s voice was weary and frustrated. “I want you here with me.”
I didn’t answer, and he pulled back slightly to see my face.
“Please,” he said. He cupped my cheeks between his hands, imploring, as he wiped the trail of the tear from my cheek. “Please.”
“You… You’re risking your life by asking me to stay. You don’t know what’s going to happen.”
“Then I guess I’ll risk it.”
I let him guide me to the bed. I sat on the edge, but he urged me to move over. To slide beneath the covers.
“I should sleep in another room,” I told him.
He laid down and pulled me next to him, turning me so I was facing him. “You should sleep right here.”
“What if she comes back?”
He wrapped his arm around my waist and hauled me close enough our bodies touched the entire way down. “I won’t let go of you. You can’t hurt me that way. I’ll keep you close.”
If I couldn’t get up, I couldn’t get a knife. I couldn’t get any kind of weapon. I exhaled when his hand slid around me, rubbing the small of my back in lazy circles.
“You can’t let me go,” I whispered.
“I won’t.”
Chapter 19
I tried not to panic when I woke up the next morning and Gage was gone. I jumped out of bed, looking around, afraid I’d find him lying on the ground, hurt or bleeding. The knife was gone from the floor and everything looked as it should be.
I still wasn’t convinced. I grabbed a sweatshirt from Gage’s dresser and bolted from the room, my feet slapping the bare wood as I jogged downstairs. I followed the sound of low murmuring all the way to the kitchen. When I found Gage at the stove, a spatula in hand, I sagged against the wall.
Audrey was at the counter and she shot me a strange look. “What’s up?”
“You’re okay,” I whispered to Gage.
He turned and saw me. He smiled at first, eyes dropping to the sweatshirt I’d borrowed, and then frowned when I stayed put. “Of course I’m okay.”
“I woke up and you weren’t there. I thought…” My voice trailed off and I realized how needy that must sound.
Besides, did Audrey even know what happened?
Gage handed Audrey the spatula and walked to me. “I’m sorry. I wanted to make you breakfast. I figured you’d be hungry, and I wanted you to be able to keep sleeping.”
“That was nice of you.” I stood straighter and folded my arms over my chest.
Gage leaned in to kiss me. “I didn’t think. It worried you. I should have stayed.”
I eased away from him, skirting around the island, and putting some distance between us. He followed.
“No. We’re not doing this again,” he said.
“Gage—”
“He told me what happened last night,” Audrey interrupted. She flipped an egg and turned back to me.
“What happened,” I echoed.
“Savannah came back.”
I looked to Gage, wondering if that was all he said. My eyes strayed to the knife near the stove. Images of it in my hand hovering over Gage’s bare chest flashed through my mind. I looked back at Audrey.
“I know you weren’t trying to hurt him,” Audrey continued.
That didn’t help. Knowing what might have happened still made me a mess of nerves inside. “You shouldn’t trust me.”
“Link,” Gage said, but I shook my head.
“Audrey, will you please tell your brother it’s safer to keep his distance? Because he won’t listen to me.”
Her eyebrows lifted. “What makes you think he’ll listen to me?”
Gage folded his arms, jaw clenching, and waited for my answer.
“Make him,” I said, imploring her help. “Please.”
Audrey sighed, looking torn. “Link, I don’t think that’s the solution.”
“I need to use your phone, please.”
“Uh…” She sent Gage a bewildered look but pulled the phone from her pocket and passed it over. “Are you sure you don’t want to have some breakfast first?”
“I need to go. My car’s still at the hotel and—”
“And we’ll get it soon.” Gage closed his hand over mine before I could use the phone. “Breakfast first.”
“Gage—”
“I’m asking you to have breakfast first. I’m asking, Link. Not trying to tell you what to do. I want us to figure this out together.”
Audrey nodded. “He’s right. We can figure this out together.”
“Can you just…” I looked up into Gage’s eyes, resisting the urge to wrap my arms around him and sink into his embrace. “Not stand so close to me?”
“Probably not.”
I gritted my teeth when he smiled. He plucked the phone from my hand.
“I’m glad you think this is so funny.”
He set a plate at the island counter and pulled out a stool for me. “I don’t think it’s funny. I’m just not worried.”
“I tried to stab you in your sleep.”
Audrey whipped around and her gaze fixed on my face. I guess Gage didn’t tell her the entire story. “You what?”
Gage held out a soothing hand. “Come on, this isn’t appropriate breakfast talk.”
“You didn’t tell me he tried to stab you.”
I stood again. “See? I’m telling you, I’m dangerous.”
Gage snagged my arm before I could leave. “Okay, let’s be productive here. Have a seat, Link. Audrey…stop looking at him like that. It wasn’t his fault.”
Audrey frowned but slid eggs onto the plates. She added bacon as well.
Gage nudged my plate over. “Come on. Eat. You shouldn’t be so worried.”
“As long as I’m not around you or any sharp objects, I won’t be as worried.”
He smiled again and it was so gentle, I couldn’t stay mad at him.
“Look at it this way. You’re in a house with vampires. It’s two against one. Right now, you’re not much of a danger to us.” When I lifted my eyebrows, he continued. “And Audrey has the chance to get even stronger.”
“What are you talking about?” she asked.
I shook my head at Gage. “I said I need to practice first.”
Gage’s lips curled at the corners. “We already did practice.”
My cheeks heated, and I stabbed the eggs with my fork.
“I probably don’t want to know what you’re talking about,” Audrey said, “but still. Give me some sort of clue here.”
“Link thinks he can help you.”
“I don’t know if I can, Gage. This is different—”
Audrey shoved aside her plate. She hadn’t touched any of her food anyway. “I want to do it. Whatever it is.”
I stood again and pulled away when Gage reached for me. “Stop. Just wait.” I turned to Audrey. “I don’t know if I can heal you. I have an idea. But I’m not sure if it’ll do anything.”
“Let’s try,” she said.
“You don’t even know what it entails.”
“I don’t care.”
“You might—”
“Nope.” She flashed a smile. But when she saw my hesitation, she stepped closer. “Link, you don’t understand. I didn’t have hope anymore until I came here. I feel horrible all the time. I… I’ll try anything. Please, whatever it is, I’ll do it.”
I ran my hands over my face before looking at Gage.
“You can do it,” he said. “You won’t hurt her.”
Meeting Audrey’s gaze again, I swallowed and nodded. “Okay. After breakfast, we’ll try. But please don’t get your hopes up.” She smiled. “And try to eat something.”
#
We were in the garden again, the sun shining bright on us and the flowers that bloomed all over
.
I flashed a glance at Gage before turning my attention to Audrey. “Okay, you need to sit down.”
She plopped on the stone bench nearest to us and I sat with her. I wouldn’t let hope invade my heart. I was too scared it wouldn’t work and Audrey would be left disappointed, still hurting. Still dying.
Gage walked up behind her and set his hands on her shoulders. “You have to keep contact with Link. Don’t let go, even when the fire starts.”
Audrey dipped her head in a nod.
“I’m going to start small to make sure I’m not hurting you, and if that works, I’ll…push the fire further. Is that okay?”
“It’s okay. I trust you, Link.”
“You have to tell me if I’m hurting you.”
“I will,” she whispered.
I swallowed down fear and closed my eyes. I had to control the fire, so I couldn’t be scared. The flames ignited inside, burning from my core and spreading out. I pushed them toward my fingertips and opened my eyes.
Audrey was staring at our hands, connected in front of us. Mine were on fire, and it was spreading toward her.
“Stay still,” Gage said.
The fire touched her hands. I waited for her to start screaming, but she didn’t move.
“Are you hurt?” I asked her.
“No, it feels like my hands are asleep. They’re tingling all over.”
“Good,” Gage said. “That’s good.”
“Okay, just…” I exhaled. “Don’t freak out.”
I pushed the fire slowly, trying to hold it back. It wanted to race up her arms and straight to her heart, but I made it go slow. My breathing picked up. I could feel her pain inside of me now. Not from the fire, but from her illness. It made my stomach twist. I blinked and shook my head.
“Are you okay?” Gage asked me.
I nodded, afraid if I opened my mouth to speak, I’d vomit. It was like Audrey’s sickness had transferred to me. The fire took over now, moving up her arms to her neck and traveling the entire length of her body.
She yanked in a breath, and my eyes shot to hers, but she didn’t look like she was in pain. “It’s working,” she whispered. “I can feel it.”
I tried to rein the fire in, but it wouldn’t stop. It engulfed me completely. Trying not to panic, I broke away from Audrey, pulling my hands from hers. The flames went out instantly, and I stood, dizzy, next to the bench.
