Ivy touched it slowly. “It did.”
“And you don’t know anything about your mom, really,” Christy added.
Ivy nodded. “True. I heard more about my mom from Lydia tonight than my entire life.”
“That’s got to be tough.” Christy smiled sympathetically, but Ivy wasn’t listening.
She was studying me instead.
“How do you know so much about the Baobhan Sith, Carter?” Ivy’s lavender eyes glowed, and I realized what was happening.
“I was changed by one.” I held in a breath I didn’t need to hold and studied Ivy. “I owe everything to the Baobhan Sith. I owe everything to that woman. If she hadn’t found me that night of the attack and offered me the choice . . .” I shook my head. “I wouldn’t have been able to avenge my family.”
“Was that the reason you turned?” Ivy asked. “You wanted revenge?”
I nodded. “It probably seems absurd.”
Ivy’s gaze stayed on mine. “Not absurd at all.”
“What’s happening to you?” Christy asked, staring at Ivy.
Ivy brought her hands to her temples. “I don’t know. My head is pounding. I’m so thirsty I could scream.” Ivy took two steps toward me. “What was she like?”
“Take a sip,” I instructed, but Ivy shook her head.
“Tell me more.” She put the amulet to her lips.
“She wasn’t like most vampires. She didn’t sink her fangs into me.” I waited for Ivy’s gaze to return to mine. “She slit my neck with her long, sharp fingernail, drank, and turned me.” I shook my head. “She didn’t have to turn me. Like I mentioned, the Baobhan Sith only feed once a year. She was already satiated. She said as much. She was doing it to be kind.”
Ivy’s brows shot up. “To be kind?”
I nodded. “I believe so.”
I wanted to share the Baobhan Sith’s last words with me, but I wasn’t sure I could.
Or should.
“Her last words always stayed with me.” I hadn’t meant to say it.
“Which were?”
I looked away, and Ivy knew I wasn’t going to answer.
“Why didn’t you turn into one like her?” Ivy asked.
“Only females can be true Baobhan Siths. She passed on the lavender eyes, but that was it. I still needed to feed like a regular vampire. I didn’t lure my prey like they did. I couldn’t charm my way into a feeding. I didn’t have the powers they possessed.”
“Powers?” Ivy asked.
“It’s been said they descended from the fairies of the land, but I didn’t believe that to be true.” My gaze stayed on Ivy. “Until I met you.”
Chapter Thirty-One
Ivy
My throat clenched with thirst, and I brought the amulet up to my lips again. I’d just woken up from another deep sleep, and the mineral-tasting tincture had never tasted so good.
It calmed the thirst, if only for a little while.
It was these small things I needed to focus on because trying to concentrate on what Carter just revealed shook my world.
How could I be a descendant of the very creature I despised?
I looked over at Carter, who was sitting in a chair and talking with Christy.
How could I be falling in love with the very creature I’d spent my time hating?
None of this made sense.
Why wouldn’t my grandma have prepared me for this? Warned me it could happen?
“It’s five minutes until midnight,” Christy said, standing up. “Should I go get Lydia?”
I shrugged. “I guess. I’m surprised she’s not already back here.”
Christy nodded and wandered out of the living room.
“How are you feeling?” he asked.
Staring at Carter, I realized he was the only person in the world who even had an inkling of what I was feeling.
Since I’d met him, I’d been captivated. Even though I wanted to remind him at every chance I could that he was a despicable vampire, he’d still remained kind.
And patient.
“I’m nervous, confused, angry, and very thirsty.” I smiled.
“If it’s true, and when the change happens, your thirst will change to hunger.”
I shook my head. “The thirst is bad enough.”
“The hunger will be worse.”
I froze with disgust. I couldn’t feed on someone like me, a human.
I braced myself and took a deep breath, realizing each one of those was limited too.
“This can’t be happening,” I said, sighing.
“It’s starting to make sense though.” His gaze locked on mine, and desire thrummed through me.
My cheeks blushed, and his grin deepened.
“I guess there is one way to foil the change.” He laughed, and I nodded.
“It’s pretty tempting.”
His gaze darkened with the same longing I felt.
“Is it?”
I nodded, slowly licking my lips.
His gaze followed my tongue, and my hunger for him outweighed any thirst I’d had.
“I feel like this is mean to be, Ivy. I don’t believe any of this is a coincidence.” Carter walked over and reached for my hand. “I believe my father might have been right all along, but I know it’s your choice.”
“Is it, though?” I asked, my pulse racing.
“Okay, two minutes and counting.” Lydia flew into the living room with Dace, Bakula, and Greg right behind.
Christy walked in with Glinda by her side.
I looked around the room and let out a slow and steady breath.
“Am I supposed to do something? Will I know?”
“Have you made your decision?” Lydia asked. “The change has already started, but you can choose to stop it.”
“Why didn’t Agatha tell me?” I asked, squeezing Carter’s hand.
“She didn’t want to put that pressure on you. She wanted you to make your own life outside of magic so you’d know what you were or weren’t missing,” Lydia explained. “We were all against the idea of you having a choice, but I suppose she was right. I respected her wishes. I pretended to be horrified when I saw your eyes, and I stayed silent. Now, it is your choice. Agatha was right. It had to be that way.”
My gaze locked on Carter’s.
The clock struck midnight, and pain shot down my spine with a vengeance.
Every part of my body burned, itched, and ached with an agony unlike anything I’d ever experienced.
I closed my eyes and prayed that I’d made the right decision. That I’d put my selfishness aside and become what I was born to be.
My body writhed in searing pain as my mind flashed to things I could never know, people I’d never met, and a future I could never predict.
I saw my sister.
Alive.
Carter making love to me.
A family.
A world that needed saving.
My fingers found the amulet, and I shakily brought it to my lips as I fell to my knees, accepting my fate.
The blood of so many washed over me as I vowed to carry the burden of so many.
I was no longer in my living room.
I didn’t see anyone around.
But I felt them. Their spirits surrounded me in the middle of darkness as I reached for the light.
My pulse slowed.
My skin grew cold.
I no longer needed breath to survive.
My mind felt sharp, alive with knowledge and curiosity.
The thirst stopped.
But the hunger began.
I opened my eyes to see Carter kneeling in front of me.
“Carter,” I whispered, running my hands through his hair.
We were no longer at my home. I didn’t know where we were, but it felt far away.
Carter’s beautiful eyes locked on mine.
“Where am I?”
His smile widened as he stood. “My home.”
I looked around, unable to hide my smile.
“In your bedroom?”
“You’ve been out for days,” he explained. “I promised I would take care of you.”
I nodded my head slowly, unable to wipe the smile from my lips. “Makes sense since you’re the only vampire in the bunch.”
He shrugged. “That’s what I thought.”
I laughed softly, feeling every emotion spark me in a new way.
Desire curled itself into every part of my being.
The craving for Carter Voss only intensified, multiplied on some deep level so beyond lust I couldn’t even fathom it.
“I’m not thirsty any longer.”
He nodded, coming closer. “I’m sure that’s a relief.”
I nodded. “But why am I not hungry?”
He reached out for my hand. “From what I understand, as a Sith, it takes longer for the first hunger to develop. It’s also more intense.”
“Yay.” I spun my finger in the air. “Great.”
Carter laughed and drew me into him. “Still the same Ivy I fell in love with.”
My eyes stayed on his. “You’re in love with me?”
Carter nodded, his lips hovering near mine. “More than life itself.”
I giggled, realizing our lifetimes were endless. “I love you too, Carter.”
“Yeah?” His brows shot up.
“Even if you are a vampire.”
He laughed, and it felt like I could finally stop searching. I no longer felt like I didn’t belong.
Carter’s laugh deepened. “Takes one to know one.”
“So mature.” I rolled my eyes as his lips crashed to mine.
Without breaths begging to be breathed, I still felt the urge to sigh into him, to be consumed.
His kisses were nothing like before. I could feel every single touch, caress, and lick spiraling through my body.
Carter’s arms looped around my waist as I slowly walked backward until I felt the wall behind me. I treasured the support as his mouth worked along my jawline, nibbling and teasing the sensitive flesh along my neck down to my collarbone.
He unbuttoned my shirt, revealing a tattoo on my shoulder no one had ever seen.
“Wow,” he whispered, dragging his lips over the deepest of reds, black, and gray. “Beautiful.”
He pulled away and smiled, our eyes connecting. “I never would have guessed you had a tattoo.”
I smiled, feeling like the luckiest woman alive, getting to share this private moment with the man I loved.
“It was in honor of someone very important to me.” I smiled, curling my arms around Carter’s neck, bringing him in for another kiss.
His hands slid along my bare skin as I shimmied out of my skirt.
“You’re so beautiful,” he whispered, his voice ragged with the same desire I felt ripping through me.
He slowly laced his fingers with mine and held them above my head as his gaze canvassed along my naked body.
Each swipe of Carter’s fingers was laced with an eroticism I never knew existed. His fingers traded for his lips as I leaned against the wall and guided his head to all the places I desired to be touched. His kisses became more urgent.
I ran my fingers along his hair as he worked his tongue in places I’d only dreamed about. My body moved in a rhythm of our own creation. As my body rippled with emotion, pleasure, and longing, I whispered for Carter.
He brought his mouth back to mine as I slowly stripped his shirt away, kissing his bare chest and running my hand over his chiseled stomach. I didn’t just want to make love to Carter Voss. I wanted to consume him.
My eyes locked on his as I uttered his name. He shook his jeans off, and I tore his briefs away.
“Ivy . . .” he whispered, his breath skating against my bare breasts.
I slid my hands down his stomach, taking him in my hand, in awe of what I felt.
His hardness was breathtaking as I slid him into me, wrapping my legs around his waist.
His breath caught, and I smiled, knowing what that meant for a creature who no longer breathed.
My eyes closed as I ground against him and he carried us to his bed.
As he lowered me down, I opened my eyes to see the man I’d fallen in love with, and I knew I’d made the right choice.
Carter’s lip quirked slightly, and I smiled. “You’re such a cocky vampire.”
He laughed, shaking his head as he moved lower. “You’ll see why.”
I giggled and knew I never wanted to leave his bedroom.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Carter
Christy smiled, taking a look at me. “I see you’ve made good use of your time away.”
If I could have blushed, I would have. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Christy laughed, shaking her head. “I don’t want to know anyway.”
I smiled. “I never knew you could love someone so much and still function.”
Christy nodded. “He’s one of the good ones.”
“Is there such a thing?” I laughed.
“Hey, now,” Carter called from the living room.
We were back at my house, and I’d been dreading what I was about to do.
I still wore the amulet, even thought the thirst no longer haunted me, but I remembered Fuchsia’s words, and I needed my sister.
“Are you sure about this?” Christy asked. “I’ve tried to look up blood curses, and there isn’t much information that I can find.”
“If I don’t try this, I’ll always wonder.” I touched the amulet as Carter walked into the kitchen.
“You’re going to do it?”
I nodded. “It’s time. I want to do it before my first hunger, and I don’t know when that will be.”
Carter nodded in agreement. “Do you want us to go up there with you?”
“Yeah. Just in case something happens.”
Christy nodded and gave me a quick hug.
“Yikes. You’re a little stronger than you used to be.”
“Sorry.” I grimaced. “Still getting used to my own strength.”
Carter rubbed my shoulders, and I found myself taking in another deep breath.
It might not give us life, but it still felt good.
“Okay. I’m ready.”
Carter walked by my side and Christy fell behind as we went up the stairs to where my sister lay. She looked so peaceful that it made me wonder if I were making the right decision.
And it might not even work.
I removed the necklace from around my neck and took the cap off the amulet. I looked at Carter, who gave a slow nod as I moved it to my sister’s lips. I parted her lips with the bottle and let a tiny amount of liquid trickle down her lips and into her mouth.
When nothing happened, I moved the amulet away.
Disappointment soaked to my core as I took a couple of steps back, wishing it had been as simple as I’d hoped.
“Should we wait?” I asked.
Christy nodded and Carter squeezed my hand.
After several minutes, I noticed my sister’s breathing had quickened.
“Did you see that?”
Carter let go of my hand, and I ran to my sister’s side.
“Violet, we’re here.” I touched her forehead.
She shot up, sitting straight in bed, and screamed.
I climbed on the bed in front of her. “Violet, it’s Ivy. You’re going to be okay.”
Her eyes looked feral, rabid, as she looked around the room, but the moment her gaze found mine, she instantly calmed.
“Ivy . . .” Her breath hitched in the back of her throat as tears flooded down her cheeks.
I wanted to cry. I wanted to share in all the pent-up emotions, but nothing happened. All I could do was hug her, and I did.
With all my heart and my love.
I hugged my sister and hoped I’d made the right decision.
“Are you feeling okay?” I asked.
“You know that feeling when a rush of blood goes to your head?”
; I nodded.
“That’s how I feel.” She twitched.
“You’ve been out for a long time.” I glanced at Carter, and he nodded.
Now wasn’t the time to tell my sister what happened.
She needed rest.
“I’ll bring you some soup,” I told her, crawling off the bed. “That always made you feel better.”
Violet smiled, but something seemed off. She twitched again, and I wondered if she’d noticed.
I didn’t know what, but I’d hoped it was nothing more than my imagination.
As I was about to leave the room with Carter and Christy, my sister stopped me.
I turned around, and she smiled. “Have you seen Decker lately?”
I shook my head. “No. Why?”
She shrugged. “No reason.”
“I can have Carter summon him?”
Violet shook her head. “No need. I was just curious.”
I started down the stairs when a thought occurred to me. I turned around and went back to Violet’s room.
“Was Decker one of the vampires?” I crossed my arms over my chest.
Violet pulled up the covers. “What do you mean?”
“You know what I’m talking about.”
Violet rolled her eyes, and I’d gotten my answer.
By the time I made it downstairs, Christy already had the soup started on the stove, and Carter was petting Glinda. It was the picture-perfect family, except for my sister.
“She doesn’t seem right.”
Christy let out a sigh. “Thank God. I thought the same thing.”
“She asked about Decker,” I informed Carter. “He’s one of the vampires she’s spent time with.”
Carter shook his head. “Doesn’t surprise me.”
“I just don’t know why.” I shrugged. “Do you think she’ll still be trying to get changed?”
Christy tested the soup. “I hope not.”
“I don’t know what this spell entails that Fuchsia cast.” Carter pressed his lips together
“And we don’t know what feeding her from the amulet did either,” Christy added.
I nodded, hoping everyone was wrong about the blood curse and that my sister would be fine and maybe for the first time in her life, content.
Christy poured the soup into the bowl and put it on a tray for me to take upstairs.
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