Except healers couldn’t heal other healers. She’d learned that when she’d been led to Oklahoma and so desperately wanted to help the other healers of her tribe.
Then, there had been nothing to be done. Nowadays, there weren’t any other healers in or around New Orleans, so it hadn’t been an issue.
“Did a healer try to help me?” She paused for a second, taking inventory of her condition. She wasn’t one hundred percent, but she didn’t feel freshly shot, either. “How was she able to do it?”
Cael’s frown deepened. “She let you come so near death, your healing abilities were nonexistent, leaving nothing to stop her from partially healing your most pressing injury.”
“Ah. Good to know.” Not that she’d ever have to deal with another healer—she doubted they’d ever have another in New Orleans—but new information didn’t hurt. Besides, she didn’t want to stay on this topic. Cael was growing more irritated by the second, judging from the vein throbbing in his temple.
She smiled. “You don’t like that they almost let me die,” she teased.
A growl poured from him, making the bed vibrate. She laughed, but her laughter was cut off with his kiss.
“Don’t ever do that to me again.” She was still smiling when he spoke, but he was in earnest. “Please.”
That was her undoing. She pulled his mouth back to hers, and spent a good five minutes or so simply kissing him. There was something about the break in his voice when he’d said please that showed her how much it hurt him to see her in that state.
It warmed her unlike anything else ever had. She tried to imagine him close to death, and the mere thought caught her breath. Maybe, just maybe, he needed her as much as she needed him.
This time she ended the kiss, to Cael’s visible chagrin. “I could get used to this.” It was an unasked question, and Cael took his sweet time to answer. By the time he spoke, his eyes on hers with an intensity that raised the hairs on her arms, she couldn’t have guessed what he would say.
“You might become used to it, but I don’t think I ever will.” He pressed his lips to hers, then her cheek and the underside of her chin. “I’ve had a taste of you. I don’t think I can give that up now.”
Aiyanna’s heart soared. It was a step in the right direction, away from being forced to act as if their relationship were platonic. I should have kissed him five years ago.
Now, she would have a lot fun making up for their lost time.
“I wouldn’t let you give it up.” With his support, she managed to sit up. She smiled while he placed a particularly soft pillow behind her back.
The pain in her chest was blinding, but she refused to let it show. Cael seemed happy, and he’d worried enough about her for at least the next few years. She wanted to lift away the shadows that surrounded him, not draw them closer.
“What happened with the vampires? Uh, and where are we?”
The room wasn’t anything special—white walls, comfortable bed, and a pretty ceramic vase filled with flowers set by the television that still played the movie she liked so much. She didn’t recognize the space, and it didn’t seem to be a hotel room. Not enough people had stayed here for that. The lingering scents told her only a handful of humans and creatures alike had ever set foot in this room, and even less slept in this bed.
Cael couldn’t hide his smirk. “San Francisco.”
He’s free! She squealed, the shrillness of her voice causing him to cringe.
“I thought cats purred, not…whatever that was.”
Miming a pawing cat, she stuck her tongue out. “Quickly, tell me about the bloodsuckers so you can show me your wolfy elemental powers!”
At her description of his gift, he snorted, but obliged. When he told her about Pureblood, her anger at the unnecessary slaughter of humans returned, followed by shock and horror at the group’s capabilities. No wonder Christian and his friends had run; she would have done the same thing.
What she couldn’t understand was why anyone would follow someone like Phoenix. When she said as much, Cael wasn’t quite as bewildered.
“Vampires alienated themselves. Because of what they are, they couldn’t keep in touch with their families. Other creatures hate them.” He scratched his head thoughtfully. “It was only a matter of time before someone brainwashed a group of them for the sake of his own power.”
“That’s messed up,” Aiyanna murmured.
“Do you believe them?”
She didn’t hesitate. “Yes.” Cael nodded at her response, and she continued, “But I think you were right about one of the group betraying them. It’s the only thing that makes sense, unless one of them was bugged with a sort of tracking device.”
Enough of that. They could worry about the vampires later, when the pain in her abdomen decreased and she wasn’t cuddled up in bed with Cael. If she could, she’d refuse to let either of them leave.
Aiyanna grinned, clapping her hands together. “Show me what you’ve got.”
Knowing she referred to his air abilities, Cael froze for a second. She supposed that wasn’t surprising, considering his air had been bound for a century.
That didn’t mean he was let off the hook.
A faint whirring sound came from beside the television. The flowers rose, twirling, to circle above their heads. One by one, the small orange blossoms landed in her hair.
Reaching down, Aiyanna rubbed a soft petal between her fingers. “Telekinesis. That’s hot.”
A knock sounded at the door. With one look, Cael flipped the lock, twisted the knob and pulled it open, revealing the woman who had to have been Aiyanna’s healer. She remembered a short woman, and this one fit the bill perfectly. She looked so much like the healers she’d known so long ago, she blinked a few times for good measure. Behind the healer stood another, younger woman who was much taller. Freckles covered her nose and cheeks, and curly black hair fell down to her chin.
“I’m Ingrid, and this is Cassidy.” The older woman gestured to her companion. “How are you feeling?”
Aiyanna had skated around that question with Cael, but she couldn’t do that with another healer. There was worry beneath the woman’s smile, just as there was apparent fear in her companion. It amazed her, how someone who’d never met her before could care so much about how she felt.
Then again, she’d healed countless people before without ever speaking a word to them. And she’d never thought about it twice until now.
“I’m weaker than I prefer.” Pointing to the place where she knew a hole was currently trying to heal, she smiled. “It’s sore and hurts when I move, but it could be a lot worse. Thank you.”
Cael’s eyes flashed, but he didn’t lash out like she suspected he wanted to. She took his hand and squeezed, causing him to tense in surprise. His expression softened, and he tightened his fingers.
“Were you anyone else, you would have left here long ago, but we healers are difficult.” Ingrid pointed at Cael. “Sometimes we so lose ourselves in caring for others, we need a little help taking care of ourselves. That’s your job.”
He nodded respectfully, and Aiyanna bit back her caustic retort. She’d watched her own back for decades without needing anyone to look after her. Whether she wanted Cael around to yell when she overdid healing, or to fight any man who asked her out, was a different story completely.
Somehow, she imagined Cael took the woman seriously. She wondered whether the man could become more overprotective if he tried. Unfortunately, he probably can. She didn’t sigh only because she reasoned the sharp intake of breath would really hurt.
Glancing down at their entwined fingers, she realized she didn’t have all that much to complain about.
“Are you a healer too, Cassidy?” Aiyanna asked curiously. The woman hung back so far, she practically stood behind Ingrid. Her eyes became huge each time Aiyanna or Cael spoke, and now was no exception. She was definitely human.
“I—yes, I am.” Cassidy sq
uared her shoulders, proud of her response.
Aiyanna laughed, and there was a twinkle of amusement somewhere in the exasperated look Cael shot her.
“Is she—” Cael started, only to be cut off by Ingrid.
“Yes. I spoke with all the healers, and Cassidy elected to go back to New Orleans with you.”
“Not with you!” Cassidy came close to shouting, the pitch of her voice reverberating off the walls. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath before she spoke again. “I’m moving to New Orleans, but I’ll get there on my own and live on my own. If you or any humans need my help, I’ll make myself available to you, given you follow certain conditions.”
This human confused Aiyanna, but she was confident the pack as well as the shapeshifters back home would help her warm up to creatures. She made a mental note to keep Cassidy away from the Fey—they’d send her back to California, screaming.
It would be nice to have another healer on hand.
Voices sounded elsewhere in the apartment, distracting Aiyanna from asking what, exactly Cassidy’s conditions would be. There was a man and a woman whose muffled words were spoken too low for her to make them out.
“Found them!” Sophia bounded into the room, causing poor Cassidy to shriek and practically leap out of her way. There wasn’t a gentle bone in Sophia’s body; she jumped onto the bed and squeezed Aiyanna in a hug, making her gasp in pain.
The tension in her chest only lasted for a second, but it was enough to bring spots before her eyes.
Sophia was lifted away, as if caught on an invisible hook. She pointed down at Cael and cursed. “Put me down, or I’ll burn my name onto both your ass cheeks.”
“Hurt Aiyanna again, and I’ll toss you from the window so quickly, you won’t have time to open your lighter.”
From her dangling height, Sophia looked down at Aiyanna and blanched. “I’m so sorry!”
Puzzled, Aiyanna glanced at her chest. She’d been changed into a plain white cotton T-shirt by either Ingrid or Cael, as well as a pair of white drawstring linen pants. Red blossomed from her re-opened wound. It wasn’t a lot of blood, but the contrast in color made the ordeal appear worse than it was.
Cael wrapped a bracing arm around her, and she leaned against him gratefully.
“Don’t worry about it,” she managed, shocked by how much damage a mere hug from a friend could do. She was immortal, damn it!
Heath and Briony had quietly followed Sophia in the room. Heath shook from silent laughter as he watched his mate hang, hurling creative expletives at Cael.
“Let her go.” Aiyanna didn’t want to speak, not when it seemed to hurt so much. So she gripped Cael’s knee hard, and he practically threw Sophia at the door. Cassidy dove out of Sophia’s way a for second time. Ingrid merely shook her head.
Heath took the opportunity to speak to the human. “Are you Cassidy?” he asked. He kept his distance from her and spoke calmly, obviously aware she was terrified of him.
She nodded.
“If you and Ingrid would come with me, I’d be happy to talk about your payment for working with us.”
Aiyanna’s confusion must have been clear, because Sophia shot her a grin. “The vampires are paying you too, kitty-cat.” She winked and followed Heath and the healers from the room.
Briony stayed behind, her eyes fixed on Aiyanna’s bleeding midsection. “I can help with that.” She nodded decisively. “But I came here to talk to Cael.”
The witch perched on the edge of the bed, her hands tangling in the lace folds of her skirt. She frowned, an expression Aiyanna hadn’t seen her wear often. Briony was one of the most cheerful people she knew.
“When Big Mama freed you, I don’t think you listened to her.” She stopped fidgeting and glanced up, her eyes a darker shade of brown than usual. “Cael, do you understand that you didn’t kill that girl? You’re not a murderer.”
Aiyanna wasn’t surprised. Never had she thought Cael capable of killing any innocent in cold blood.
When she looked over to see his reaction, what she saw was a lost man.
Chapter 11
“MY cast sparkles.” Katarina waved her arm, frowning when tiny specks of glitter fell to the floor in an arc. “It’s going to get everywhere. There’s no way Christabel will let me back into her house now!”
“She’ll have to.” Vale was still brushing his hands against each other, trying to wipe the sparkles off his palms from when he’d made the mistake of touching her pink, bound arm.
To Briony’s credit, Katarina had asked for pink. She just hadn’t asked to become a one-woman disco ball. No, Christabel would sooner cast her from her flat before allowing her to shed one speck of glitter in her pristine home.
She was royally screwed.
“Christabel owes me nothing.” Mustering her courage, she met Vale’s gaze. “Let’s go.”
He took her from New Orleans to Halifax, this time to the door of Christabel’s penthouse rather than directly inside. She cast him a grateful look and knocked on the door tentatively.
“Who is it?” Christabel called. “Fuck it—I’ll only kill you if you’re unexpected, so here’s your chance to run…” A few footsteps, and then the faery opened the door. “What happened to you?”
If Katarina didn’t know Christabel so well, she would have thought the other woman was concerned, by her frown and careful inspection of Katarina’s arm.
Katarina told her about the vampires on the float, immediately regretting her attention to detail when Christabel’s hands flew up into an excited clap.
“What an idea! If I wore a mask, no one would know I wasn’t supposed to be on the float…”
“Don’t,” Vale said flatly. “We have enough problems in New Orleans without adding you to the list.”
Christabel pursed her ruby lips. “I just wanted to throw stuff at the most attractive men I see. Like my number, myself…” she trailed off, her eyes glazing over before she snapped to, pinning Vale an angry look. “I don’t hurt humans; I have no reason to.”
“Whatever you say, Christabel.” Vale smiled when he turned to Katarina. “I’ll see you later,” he said, and then that odd sensation that always came before he disappeared, a whoosh against Katarina’s side, came rushing.
“Wait,” Christabel called. Vale stilled, an eyebrow raising expectantly.
“You don’t seriously expect me to let that into my flat, do you?” She glanced at Katarina’s cast.
Katarina felt sick. Back to the streets. Heat rose up her cheeks, making her turn away from Vale.
“No amount of vacuuming could fix that,” Christabel continued. “Take her back to New Orleans. With that thing on her arm, she won’t be able to fit into her coats here, anyway, and she’s no help to me if she freezes to death.”
Christabel pushed a credit card into Katarina’s hands. “Get yourself your own place until that thing comes off. If I have anything for you to do, you’ll know.” She slammed the door in Katarina’s shocked face.
For a long moment she stood there, motionless save for running her fingers over the raised name on the card. Katarina Hval. It was her name. She’d never had her name on a card before—hell, she didn’t even have her own Social Security Card.
When she looked up, Vale was smiling.
“Where in the city do you want to go?” he asked.
“I don’t know,” she murmured quietly.
She was floored. She could choose where she lived. Maybe she could live somewhere within walking distance to the parades and a few good restaurants. Could she use this card to get food? She hoped so, because she already had a list of places she’d wanted to go if she ever had the money. And now I do!
First, she’d buy as many socks and blankets as she could carry. And when the space became too cold anyway, she could fix the temperature on the gauge the way she liked it.
Katarina couldn’t wait.
“Want to have dinner?” she held up the c
ard hopefully. “It’s on me.”
Vale laced their fingers together, and this time her blush wasn’t from embarrassment.
“I’d love to.”
* * * *
“They know one of us is in contact with you.” Oren was supposed to be grocery shopping, but this call took precedence. Because of those damned werewolves, his entire plan might be ruined.
Christian, Charlie, Ira and Porter might just get away. And if they did, Phoenix would have him killed.
No. There were more Purebloods flocking to the city, stronger vampires who accepted the challenge the werewolves had set. After so many of theirs were killed by that pack, the werewolves were as much a target as those who deserted Pureblood.
By the time Pureblood was finished here, there would be only the worthiest of vampires left, with no weres to speak of.
They might take out the shapeshifters too, for good measure. Oren would suggest it, and he was confident Phoenix would respect his opinion. He’d lived with vermin for over six months, gaining their trust and learning their secrets. Every one of them disgusted him, but the more he knew about them, the more he could help Pureblood.
The group was the largest to ever willfully defy Phoenix, and an example would be made.
“How could they know such a thing? Did you let on? That would be a direct violation of your orders.” Phoenix’s voice was smooth, calm…yet furious. One wrong word, and Oren wouldn’t be surprised if his neck snapped on its own accord.
He gulped. “Of course not! One of the werewolves suggested as much when they told everyone about the Purebloods on the float. It’s gotten everyone suspicious.”
“They were stupid, drinking from intoxicated humans. All of them deserved death for acting so foolishly, but they deserved to die by my hand, not from the claws of a were.”
“Apparently there was a warlock and a shapeshifter healer fighting with them.”
Phoenix hummed low. “Kill them. If the warlock isn’t with a float, that warlock is weak. And healers are always a weakness. Christian made a mistake by associating with one.”
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