“Lucas, I don’t have time for thi—”
He stopped me, and my words fell short at the anguish in his eyes. His jaw was hard, set, and he was far too close. Thinking of him over the summer had been one thing, but being near him caused a constriction in my chest so sharp that I didn’t know how to respond when he grazed my cheek with his fingertips—scattering my sanity until I was only holding on by a thread. This wasn’t how I was supposed to act, but when he spoke, I couldn’t keep from being pulled in.
“Do you know I’ve waited three months to hear you say my name?”
I opened my mouth. Closed it. Now was when I ran. I had to run. I needed to. He wasn’t giving up so easily, though, and he reached out to stop me as I turned to leave.
“I know what you did today. I know you’re struggling. You saved my sister from a fate worse than death. I can never repay that. Let me help you, Selena.” His touch on my wrist drove me crazy. This unexplainable urge to touch, to feel, overwhelmed me.
I leaned into him, and the scent of the outdoors ensnared me. His scent.
He inhaled sharply, and I cursed myself.
“Stay away from me.” I threw up my walls and turned to flee. Back to safety, back to light, back to his parents who were waiting to hear what had happened to their daughter.
“Anything but that,” he whispered.
I heard it halfway up the stairs.
Chapter 61
“Mr. and Mrs. Hunter, I’m Selena. I wish I was meeting you on better terms.” I extended my hand to them.
I stood in the doorway to the main house, and the stairs creaked as Lucas followed me up. Mrs. Hunter stared at the scars I never bothered to cover. Scars from a demon blade wound down my arms, and a six-pointed star was etched into my skin just below the hollow of my throat—clearly more than she was comfortable with. I didn’t want to see how she would react to the one that covered my back.
“Would you rather I put long sleeves on?”
She looked taken aback that I was straightforward enough to address her very obvious aversion to my scars, but I wasn’t challenging her. As stiff as it was, this was my attempt at being cordial.
Mr. Hunter stepped forward and quickly took my hand, since it was clear she had no intention of doing so. “I apologize for my wife. We’ve never dealt with something like this… Your scars—you aren’t what we expected.” He paused, drawing in a deep breath. “I’m sorry, but we need to know what happened.” His voice was compassionate, but I didn’t miss the suspicion rearing its head.
“The Vampires ambushed them. Selena did everything in her power to protect Victoria. This isn’t her fault,” Lucas growled from behind me.
His mother’s dark eyes narrowed as they flicked between us. Clearly, he’d read both her mind and mine, and she wasn’t pleased.
That makes two of us.
“Why don’t we take a seat,” Mr. Hunter quickly interjected before anyone else’s toes were stepped on. He steered Mrs. Hunter into the living room by the small of her back, while Lucas and I followed. This family dynamic seemed odd, and very unlike the one I’d known until it was ripped away from me. Lucas tensed, and I carefully masked my face as I shoved him from my mind. This day had already taken a strange turn, and I didn’t need to add to it.
His parents took their places on the loveseat, and I made a beeline for one of the chairs, but that didn’t stop him from taking the one next to it, only separated from me by a small end table. I gritted my teeth and turned to his parents, ready for the suspicion in his mother’s eyes that wasn’t completely unfounded. Not like I was going to tell them that though.
“My bus was pulling up to the stop when I saw Tori. As I made my way to the front, I noticed the first Vampire.” I kept eye contact with Mrs. Hunter. She seemed to be the steelier of the two, and her eyes narrowed at the mention of Vampires. Good. Even for a controlling bitch who pitted her sons against each other, she wasn’t stupid. She wasn’t so apathetic as not to care.
“When I heard Tori scream, I took care of them, and she teleported us out. That’s all I know, but I promise you that whoever’s behind this is going to pay in blood when I find them.” Tearing my eyes away from the Hunters, I stared down at my palm. The six-pointed star forever sealed into my flesh. I clenched my fists.
“And how did you ‘take care of them?’” Mrs. Hunter asked harshly.
“I disabled them,” I murmured. “That’s all you need to know.”
Her mouth pressed into a thin line, but as much as she didn’t like that answer, I wasn’t in a good place to go into every gory detail. I needed to replay it, and dissect it, and pull apart every scream, every glance, every word until I knew what I wanted to tell them and what was too important to give away. I needed time.
“That’s my daughter downstairs. I want to know what you did—”
“With all due respect, Mrs. Hunter, that is your daughter downstairs. You should be thankful she’s still breathing, and less concerned with how I dealt with the threat. She’s not the only one who was attacked, and I need to process what happened.” I was careful to keep the contempt out of my voice, masking it with shock.
It should’ve been an easy enough sell, but something about her thinning lips and cold eyes said she wasn’t buying it.
Mr. Hunter patted her knee, and something passed between them when their eyes met.
Telepaths.
Not good, but not entirely unexpected. No two gifts were ever the same, but almost all of them were passed through genes. The abilities that weren’t…they were more of a curse.
“We can leave the how for another time. I want to know why they were there in the first place. Why attack?” Mr. Hunter said.
All three pairs of eyes turned to me, and the lie was out of my mouth without hesitation.
“I have no idea. I plan on finding out, though.” I shook my head in disgust at what they’d done to Tori. Biting a Supernatural was an act of war, and we were already on the brink of it.
“Attacks have been happening all over the world in the last few months. Supernaturals are being attacked in their homes. On the streets. These are dangerous times,” Mr. Hunter said, seemingly lost in thought.
Mariana hadn’t told us. “Do you think the Council will act?” I asked. My knowledge of my world’s inner politics was spotty at best.
“I honestly don’t know how this is going to play out with everything else going on...” He paused, turning to his wife. “It’s time to bring Alec home, provided the Fortescues can spare him.”
Lucas tensed next to me, but Mrs. Hunter only nodded.
I sighed when she threw me one last disapproving look before leaving the room.
“Do you really think that’s necessary?” Lucas said quietly to his father.
“I understand your hesitation, but Victoria was bitten, and perhaps Alec can help us get justice for your sister. At the very least, he’ll likely be able to shed more light on what’s going on at Court to cause these attacks.” Mr. Hunter pinched the bridge of his nose and inhaled slowly.
“What exactly has been happening? If Supernaturals are being attacked, why has the Council done nothing?” I asked, leaning forward and bracing my arms on my knees.
“Every week or so for the last two months, we’ve been getting news of Supernaturals being attacked in their homes. Most killed, but some taken.” He paused, and a shiver went down my spine. Taken was a delicate way to say they’d either been turned or tortured. “The Council has been gridlocked. Some believe we need to respond with force, others want to form a coalition with the Vampires—a truce to end the killing. With Aldric stepping down soon, and Anastasia taking his place as heir…it seems very unlikely any truce will be made.”
Lucas clenched his hands, no doubt remembering the invasive and aggressive heir to the Fortescue empire. “With the family member of one of the Fortescues’ own ambassadors being attacked, though…this could change things.” A crease formed between his eyebrows.
Mrs.
Hunter’s footsteps clicked sharply as she entered the room, a small smile on her lips. Lucas sighed, and I knew what was coming.
“Alec will be here tomorrow afternoon. The Council is meeting tonight to come to a decision about Victoria. You’ll be asked to give testimony upon his arrival. Hopefully, nothing will be forgotten while you process.” She pinned me with her stare, waiting for a response.
“Of course. I would expect nothing less.” I met her gaze, ignoring the latter comment.
A wicked smirk painted her lips for a moment, and I clutched the arms of the chair, my confidence faltering.
What did I just agree to?
Chapter 62
Scalding hot water ran down my back. Only hours had passed since Mrs. Hunter told us that Alec would be returning. I’d hoped I would find peace here—that the demons that had plagued me for months would disappear. Here I was, though, with the people I’d missed most, only to find those demons come to life. Tori had been attacked because of me, and with her being in the transition, I couldn’t confirm what she knew. She’d gone into shock when she was bitten, and it was very likely she hadn’t been able to process what I was saying when I told them to send a message.
Stupid.
How could I have let my anger get the best of me? I could’ve taken them down without revealing anything, and yet I’d sent a message—that I wasn’t their prey, but their predator. My hands clenched.
I gasped.
Dropping the razor, I stared at the blood running through the water then examined the chunk in my ankle. It burned like a bitch for a moment, but the pain receded as my body healed. Not even thirty seconds later, the mark was gone. Vanished. That shouldn’t have been possible. Healing this quickly was beyond unheard of, even for my kind. The only time I’d ever seen anything close to this was last March, when my sister had fixed her broken arm with energy she’d stolen from April. This was…not good, but I couldn’t stop myself from testing it again.
I picked up the razor and bit my lip as I brought it down on my open palm. Pain shot through me, bringing me back to the warehouse. Memories flooded me as I collapsed to the floor. The razor broke apart, the pieces disintegrating into nothing, and a pounding shook the door, reverberating through the bathroom.
“Selena, open the door!”
I turned the shower off and wrung out my hair before wrapping myself in a towel. Opening the door, I stared at Lucas.
“What just happened?” His gaze roamed over me from head to toe, but my already healed palm gave nothing away.
“Nothing, I just—”
“What is that?” He was staring at the shower.
Scarlet droplets were splattered where the water hadn’t washed away the evidence. I sighed.
“Goddamnit, Selena. Have you learned nothing about lying to me?” He closed the already small distance between us. I stepped back, but he advanced.
“I know you cut your hand.” My back hit the glass door, and I had nowhere to go. He was everywhere.
“Get out of my fucking head.” I glared at him defiantly, but he only glared right back and made no move to leave.
“How are you already healed?” His gaze flicked to my palm.
I clenched my fist and debating decking him just to remind him who he was talking to. “Since when do you get to make demands?” I snapped, digging my nails into the palms of my hands.
He snatched up the hand I’d cut and ran his fingers over the unblemished skin. I wanted to scream at him for being so pigheaded and nosy. Instead, I pulled away, hoping he wouldn’t see them tremble. He was too close.
“Answer the question, Selena.”
My control was slipping, and I was going to cross a line. Damn my body. Damn this reaction. Damn it all. That wasn’t what I said, though, because that would’ve given him too much satisfaction. Instead, I said, “Get out. I’ll talk to you when I’m dressed.”
He cocked his head to the side, as if he’d only now realized how little I was wearing. He lunged forward, closer than before but still not touching.
He leaned close, his lips at my ear. His breath was warm, and a shiver ran through me. “Oh, believe me, I noticed,” he whispered.
My eyes narrowed. Phantom hands threw him out of the bathroom and slammed the door. I exhaled unsteadily, and cursed my body, which refused to listen to my mind. Friends. We were supposed to be friends. No more.
So why do I have this reaction everytime he’s near me?
I dressed slowly, taking the time to think of what I was going to say to him. My cotton shirt brushed my skin, almost painfully. Ever since the warehouse, it was like my body had awoken into a whole new level of chaos. Faster. Stronger. More volatile than ever, and without boxing to channel it for the summer. Fortunately, I wasn’t the only one who’d left that warehouse changed, and it was those changes that had brought me Blair. Three months ago, I wouldn’t have thought that possible. She’d been bedridden and damaged, rattled to the core by Elizabeth’s betrayal. She’d grown up, though, and become the ice that ran through her veins. And it had all begun on the plane ride back to Mariana.
“I want you to train me,” she said, taking the seat next to me before one of my sisters could get to it.
“You don’t know what you’re asking,” I said dismissively. While we might’ve been equals, I really didn’t believe she had it in her to survive me. Not then.
“Actually, I do,” she said icily. She turned and swept her hair from her face, showing me the white scars that covered her skin like snow. She raised her head defiantly, not backing down, even though I was the one who’d given them to her. My power had lashed out, throwing her through a window. She didn’t cower, though, when I reached out, running my fingertips across her cheek. She didn’t flinch.
“Why?” I had to know her reasons. She had to have reasons.
Her eyes darkened. “I will never be trapped again. I don’t just want to learn to fight. I need to kill. I won’t spend the rest of my life looking over my shoulder.” She enunciated her words clearly.
I looked into her eyes and didn’t see the girl I’d once thought was there. I saw an apprentice. A warrior. “If you train with me, that’s all you do. Your old life is over.” I was asking too much, more than anyone would give, but I had to know how far she was willing to go.
“My old life died when my sister traded her life for ours.”
I gave her the smallest of smiles. In that moment, my cousin had sold her soul to someone darker than the devil.
Me.
Not once in these last three months had she disappointed me. Blair was strong, as strong as I had been. Both our powers were maturing, though, and while her strength made her a champion among our kind, mine made me a god.
It wasn’t all it was cracked to be, though. I’d taken three doors off the hinges this summer by accident, and nearly caused an earthquake the one time Blair nearly beat me to a pulp. My sense of touch was heightened in all respects, and while clothing was mildly uncomfortable, getting pounded on by fists made of solid ice was nearly unbearable. I still hadn’t learned how not to feel so much, or become desensitized to everyday things—like clothes and temperature.
Masking my discomfort with ambivalence, I opened the door again. Crisp air brushed my flesh, and I spotted Lucas outside on Tori’s balcony. Taking a steadying breath, I walked around the bed and onto the porch. Dusk was setting, casting shadows across the mountains and forests in every direction.
“There’s only one way I figure it’s possible for your hand to have healed within seconds of cutting it.” His voice was low as he turned to me. His eyes were molten green, so vivid in contrast to the pink sunset. “You’re stronger than you’ve led everyone to believe. Killing the demons last spring was only the beginning.”
I could’ve lied if I’d wanted to, but there was no point because he already knew. He wasn’t guessing. “Yes.”
He nodded, taking it in stride. He walked toward me, but I went to the railing, closing the balcony door with
a flick of my wrist.
“Who’s after you?”
I stilled. No one knew about that. No one was supposed to. Yet Lucas did. “What are you talking about?” I said, keeping my back to him. It was beginning to sound like my go-to line every time he caught me in a lie.
“I knew the second you arrived, Selena. Tori was waiting for you. I saw the entire thing through her eyes. You knew someone was after you, and you said nothing. You didn’t tell me, and I can only assume you’ve known since last spring.” He paused, and my heartbeat kicked up a notch as I neither confirmed or denied his suspicions. The silence must’ve been a confirmation of its own, though, when he followed up with, “The demons weren’t a coincidence, were they?”
“No, they weren’t.” I didn’t try to hide it. We weren’t around his parents, who’d only barely bought that lie, and Lucas knew me better than anyone.
“Why have you never said anything?”
I didn’t answer.
“Why didn’t you tell me, Selena?” he whispered in my ear. He ran his fingertips along the small of my back, grazing my sensitive skin.
I tensed. Screw him. He knew exactly what he was doing.
“No one can know. If people find out, they’re going to want to know why they’re after me, and I don’t have answers. If it were just my ability, this would’ve ended in the spring. Whoever’s hunting me would’ve gotten the hint. Which leads me to believe that there’s more going on then either of us know.” I turned, brushing against his chest.
If my lies wouldn’t keep him at bay, maybe the truth would. Maybe he would finally see that my life was too messed up to have room for him in it. Maybe he would let me go.
“No, I won’t, because even though you keep pushing me away, I love you.”
Or not.
Chapter 63
I stilled, and my hair whipped around us. I wanted to ask how the hell it was possible for him to read my mind so clearly now, but even I couldn’t do that. I couldn’t bring myself to completely ignore his confession.
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