“Give you what?” he asked, pressing me for the truth.
I gazed out the door at the conservatory, unable to get Monoclaude out of my mind, wondering what he would think of my divulging the clan’s secrets to a vampire. “Immortality.”
Hawk stared at me for a few seconds as if he hadn’t heard me correctly. “You’re immortal? How could I have missed that?” he muttered under his breath, cocking his head and squinting at me. “You don’t look like an immortal, and you don’t smell like one either.”
There he went with the smell thing again.
“You need to stop smelling me, Hawk.”
He shrugged and stepped closer. “It’s the hawk in me. My eyesight is superior too.” By the way he was examining me, I doubted he was convinced. “If you’re immortal, you shouldn’t have needed me to catch you the other night when I tossed you over the building.”
Way to go, Hawk. Keep reminding me.
“That’s because I haven’t reached majority yet. I’ll transition on my thirtieth birthday. I’m a hunter because it’s my duty as head of the clan.” I headed toward the kitchen to get those drinks I’d offered him earlier. Even if he didn’t want one, I did.
“So you’re a witch and a future immortal?” he said, following me into the kitchen.
“That’s right.” I poured two glasses of wine and handed him one. “Congratulations. You know my deepest and darkest secrets.”
“Then we’re even.”
I knew his, and he knew mine. If things went south for us, our leverage against each other would mutually cancel out.
He drank his wine in one shot and set his glass down, leaning closer to look into my eyes. I would have taken a step back, but I was already pressed against the counter. Instead, I lowered my eyes to his chest.
“I’m half vampire,” he whispered as he lifted my chin to bring my eyes back up to his. “Will you eventually kill me too?”
My breath hitched when I saw the gold in his eyes shine. “I hope I don’t have to.”
He slid his hands around my waist and pulled me against him, barely touching his lips to mine until I couldn’t stand it any longer. I deepened the kiss and forgot about all the things that could tear us apart. Half vampire, half hawk—it meant nothing in that moment.
I took his hand and led him to the bedroom, stripping off my clothes before he could come to his senses and change his mind. He didn’t. We stood naked in the moonlight shining through the windows and gazed at each other, separated by just enough distance to consider the consequences of our union. Then we met in the middle and embraced, falling onto the bed without a doubt in our minds that the choice was no longer ours to make.
I rolled over and watched my vampire sleep, his thick eyelashes twitching as he dreamed.
Dear diary, what the fuck have I done?
It was six thirty, an hour before I had to get up. We were up half the night and had probably gotten less than two hours of sleep. By noon it would catch up with me.
Too distracted to go back to sleep for a few more minutes, I quietly pulled the journal out of the nightstand drawer and continued where I’d left off.
Katherine Winterborne
December 28, 1994
It’s been weeks since I’ve written. I guess I’ve been a bit of a zombie lately, paralyzed with fear of what will happen next and unable to put down in words what I’m feeling right now. But I think what scares me most is documenting the truth for anyone to stumble across. What if I get hit by a bus tomorrow? My things will be picked through, and this journal will be all the evidence the clan needs.
Phillip has been calling me and trying to talk his way back into the house. After what I’ve done, that can never happen. He’s a good man. I love him, but I’ve never been in love with him. Not the way a wife should love her husband. Our marriage was nothing more than a convenient solution for my unplanned pregnancy with Avery, and that’s all it’s ever been. And now I’ve felt real passion for the first time in my life, and I’ll never settle again.
Unfortunately, there are consequences for this passion. Ryker is beginning to scare me. I tried to end the affair shortly after I discovered what he was. Well, discovered is a pleasant word. Ryker went out of his way to show me and to make it very clear that I would never leave him, and he holds something very precious as collateral. That and the power he’s always had over me. If I had only known what he was before he seduced me, I would have died before taking the risk.
For now I’ll play Ryker’s game. But there will come a day when I’ll be free. They say the truth will set you free, but this truth will be a death sentence for my unborn child. I’m pregnant with a girl. I know it in my heart, and the gods have shown me.
So, I write our history for you, Morgan, and I’ve made damn sure this journal will be well hidden until you’re ready to know your legacy. The dark legacy of all Winterborne women.
I dropped the journal in my lap, stunned by what I’d just read. Then I picked it up and read it again twice to make sure I hadn’t misinterpreted the part where she mentioned my name. Michael was right, at least about my being a product of our mother’s affair. Avery and Ethan were both born years before they’d met, and based on her obvious regret when she found out what Ryker was, I doubted she’d made the same mistake twice. She must have gotten pregnant with Michael after Phillip moved back in.
“That must be why he’s stalking me,” I whispered to myself. “I’m his daughter.”
Hawk woke up and pulled me toward him. “What’s this?” he said when the journal slid from my lap and fell between us. He rolled onto his back, grinning as he opened it. “Are you writing about me in your diary?”
I snatched it out of his hand and hopped off the bed. “It’s my mother’s journal.”
He must have read the shock on my face because he lost his playful smile and sat up. “Is everything all right?”
“Everything’s fine.” I grabbed my robe from the chair and quickly put it on. “I have to get ready for work, and you should probably get going before the sun comes up.” I just assumed his vampire side was intolerant of sunlight.
By the look on his face, I’d given him the wrong idea. Made him feel convenient and used. “I guess I should leave.” He found his pants and pulled them on but stopped to look at me before hunting for his shirt. “Did I do something wrong? Because I thought we were both enjoying ourselves last night.”
I put the journal back in the nightstand and shut the drawer. “Last night was perfect. I just remembered an early meeting I have at the auction house this morning.” It occurred to me that he knew nothing about my mundane life. “We own Winterborne’s. It’s an auction house.”
“I know what Winterborne’s is,” he said, searching for his missing clothes.
He finally found his shirt, but before he could put it on, I wrapped my arms around his waist. “I’m sorry, Hawk. I’m not trying to get rid of you.” His skin was soft against my cheek. “I wish I could keep you here all day.”
“Good, because I’ll be back tonight.”
Otto’s voice startled both of us. “You have a visitor, mistress.”
Before I could think to hide Hawk in the closet, Avery came barging into the bedroom. “Don’t tell me you’re still in bed.” She stopped in her tracks when she saw Hawk standing next to me half-naked.
Hawk pulled his shirt on and extended his hand. “I’m Hawk.”
Avery gave him a once-over before shaking it. “Oookay. It’s nice to meet you, Hawk.” She glanced at me and then back at him.
“Coffee?” I grabbed Hawk’s hand and headed for the kitchen to make some.
“I have to go,” he said as I dragged him halfway across the living room. “I’ll see you tonight?”
I nodded, and he headed for the terrace without thinking.
Avery went to the door after he walked outside. “Where did he go?” she asked, stretching her neck to look past the conservatory.
“Uh… home?”
S
he followed me into the kitchen and grabbed my wrist to turn me around. “I was going to ask you who your new friend is, but I guess I should be asking you what he is. Unless you’ve had an elevator installed recently, there’s only one way off the terrace, and don’t tell me he’s waiting for you in the conservatory.”
I pulled my wrist away and started the coffee, hoping she’d drop it if I ignored her. Avery was smart, but she had the attention span of a two-year-old at a circus.
“Hawk,” she said, cocking her head. “What an odd name. His parents must be new-age hippies.”
“Something like that,” I mumbled.
“Tell you what,” she said. “I’ll tell you about my new boyfriend if you tell me about yours.”
Avery had been on the rebound for nearly two years. After her douchebag boyfriend, Royce, broke off their engagement a month before the wedding, she swore off relationships and hadn’t started seeing anyone since. She said she was tired of men, but I thought she’d been pining for Royce all along.
“You first,” I said.
“Well…” She got a ridiculous grin on her face as her eyes traveled up toward the ceiling like she was trying to find the words to describe him. “His name is Decker and he’s rich, which doesn’t really matter because, well, so am I. And he’s very handsome.” She went on for the next few minutes about this and that, boring me to tears.
The coffeepot mercifully filled, and I handed her a cup. “There’s half-and-half in the fridge if you’re drinking dairy again.”
She sipped her black coffee and continued without missing a beat. “I’ve been exploring Buddhism.”
I choked and nearly spit my coffee out. “Buddhism? You have got to be kidding me.” Avery was a borderline atheist, which didn’t sit well with the clan—or the gods. The only thing she seemed to believe in these days was herself.
“Well, I’m glad you find that funny. Do you want to hear this or not?”
“Please,” I said. “Continue.”
“I met him at a meet-and-greet at the temple. We hit it off immediately, and I decided to become one of his pupils.”
Suddenly fascinated by the conversation, I asked, “What kind of pupil?”
“He’s my spiritual advisor. Laugh all you want, Morgan, but he’s helping me.”
Avery never asked for help from anyone. She couldn’t even conceive of the idea that someone knew better than her. The epitome of a know-it-all.
“He’s helping me shed my immortality.”
The cup went still at my lips. You didn’t just shed immortality. You could go to the Winterlands like our grandparents had, but there was no guarantee of ever finding your way back out, especially without the help of the immortals she wished to distance herself from. And affronting the gods with such a request could get you killed. Make no mistake, Avery liked her life. But underneath it all, she just wanted to be a privileged mortal New Yorker with an Upper East Side address, a devoted mortal husband, and two perfect children enrolled in Dalton.
There was more to this story. I could feel it. And then she proved me right.
“We’ve been living together for a few weeks, but don’t you dare tell Cabot or the Elders. They’ll cut me off.”
“No one’s cutting you off, Avery. At least not as long as I’m head of the clan.” Spiritual advisor? Please. I suspected he wasn’t rich at all and was after her money.
She took another sip of her coffee and grimaced. After putting her cup in the sink, she folded her arms and gave me a pointed look. “It’s your turn.”
There was no time to beat around the bush, and I had leverage now. “Hawk? He’s a shifter.” I didn’t dare mention the vampire part because that might have been enough for her to betray me, for my own good of course. “I’m sure he was already flying over the park before you made it to the terrace door.”
“Really, Morgan? A shifter?”
“You’re such a snob, Avery.” I headed out of the kitchen. “I have to get to work, so let yourself out.”
She headed for the elevator but stopped to check her face in the mirror. “We’ll invite you and Hawk to dinner next week. You’re going to love Decker.”
“I look forward to it,” I said as she got on the elevator.
As soon as she was gone, I went out to the conservatory to see if, by some miracle, those shattered pieces of stone had put themselves back together again. It wouldn’t be the first time a witch’s familiar had escaped death.
I made my way past the orchids and headed for the waterfall. As I took a step through the giant ferns, I hit something hard. I stuck my hand beyond the leaves and felt a flat wall against my palm. My heart raced as I tore at the foliage and clawed at the wall until my fingers hurt.
A lump filled my throat as I stepped back and looked at the solid wall where the conservatory ended and Monoclaude’s realm used to begin. He was gone.
Chapter 20
The entire world beyond the boundaries of the conservatory was gone, along with Monoclaude’s stony remains. I touched the solid wall one more time and pulled myself together because I couldn’t call my assistant at the auction house and tell her my old familiar had died and I needed to take the day off to mourn.
After putting on a pair of slacks and a white blouse, I sat in front of the mirror to do something with my face. The sight of my messy hair and the bed in the reflection conjured the memory of Hawk and me having sex the night before. Or making love. Whatever we were doing. Time would tell what last night really was. All I knew was that his skin had felt right against mine, and I couldn’t wait to feel it again.
I glanced at the three green boxes on the dresser. I don’t know why, but I put the bracelet on, and the moment it touched my skin, I felt a surge of energy run up my arm. Maybe it was because I thought it had belonged to my mother at one time, just like the earrings had. It practically glowed against my fair skin. I put the earrings on next, my smile growing as that same spark tingled through my ears and traveled down my neck. Before I knew it, I’d taken the ring out and slipped it on my finger.
With my eyes closed, I felt warm energy weave through me, like I was touching a live wire with a mild current running through it. Even my mood began to shift, and the sadness of losing Monoclaude drifted away. But in its place, a heaviness began to fill my chest as hunger gnawed at my throat. I suddenly felt like I was going to be sick as I stared at the bright rubies twinkling back at me through the mirror.
I took the earrings and bracelet off and put them back in their boxes before shoving them in the drawer. But when I tried to remove the ring, it wouldn’t budge. The harder I pulled, the more my finger swelled, making it impossible to wedge off. I went into the bathroom and covered my hand with liquid soap, frantically twisting the ring until a streak of blood appeared. It suddenly popped off and landed in the sink, the running water washing it down the drain. I thought about letting it go, but then I turned the water off and stuck my finger into the hole as far as I could. The ring was gone, possibly stuck in the elbow of the pipe, but it would have to wait until I got home that evening.
The cut was superficial and stopped bleeding almost immediately. I wiped my hand clean and walked back into the bedroom to put the ring box back in the drawer with the others. When I picked it up, I gasped and dropped it on the dresser. Nestled in the velvet interior was the ruby ring I’d just watched disappear down the drain.
I scooped the box into the drawer, careful not to get my fingers anywhere near that ring, and slammed it shut. As I stared at the dresser, I contemplated what to do. I knew one thing for sure—I wanted that jewelry gone, preferably packaged up and addressed to Ryker Caspian on Riverside Drive.
Pulling myself together, I slipped my shoes on and headed for the elevator. On the way down, I pressed the button for Michael’s floor. I needed to talk to him, and it couldn’t wait. If Ryker Caspian was my father, there was a slim but possible chance he was Michael’s father too.
The elevator opened, and I walked down the hallway, tr
ying to decide what to say. The last thing I wanted to do was blurt out what I’d read in the journal that morning, although Michael was the one who’d suggested we might be products of our mother’s affair. The idea didn’t seem to bother him one bit. But when you hadn’t known the man you thought was your father, it probably didn’t matter.
The door opened a few seconds after I knocked. A guy wearing jeans and Nikes was standing on the other side.
“Hi,” he said, breezing past me as he pulled his sweatshirt on and headed for the elevator.
“Who was that?” I asked Michael when I walked inside.
He sat down on the sofa and propped his feet up on the coffee table, just as scantily dressed as his friend. “Just some guy I met.”
By the looks of his bare chest and messy hair, I’d say my brother was up to his usual reckless behavior. “Please tell me you at least know his name.”
He swung his legs off the table and sat up, resting his elbows on his thighs. “Of course I know his… first name. Jesus, Morgan, what do you think I am?”
“I think you’re a reckless little man whore.” I grinned at his mock look of indignation. “At least tell me you’re being safe.”
He laughed it off. “I’ll be immortal in six years, so who gives a shit?”
“Not if you’re dead before you reach majority. Seriously, Michael, he could have been a psycho.”
Leaning back into the cushion, he rubbed his face and ran his hands over the top of his head, smoothing his disheveled hair. “Do me a favor and make me some coffee before I die.”
Dark Legacy (House of Winterborne Book 1) Page 15