by G. K. DeRosa
This was the exact opposite of how I’d imagined this conversation going. “So where does that leave us?”
“Even.”
I crossed my arms over my chest in case Delacroix decided to stab a knife in my heart. This seemed way too easy. “Excuse me?”
“You heard me, Azara. You keep to your business, and I’ll keep to mine.”
I eyed him, my brow curving into a skeptical arch. I opened my mouth to bark out a sarcastic response when the thunder of rumbling walls jerked our attention to the interior of the janitor closet.
“I believe your dragon guard has arrived.” His dark lip curled into a sinister smile. “Aren’t you a lucky girl? A dragon and a werewolf sworn to protect you.”
I threw him a good eye roll as Talon’s shouts echoed through the narrow corridor.
“You better get going.”
I started to walk out, still half-certain he’d knife me in the back as I left.
“One more thing, Azara, watch your back. Thax doesn’t appreciate being made a fool of, and whatever he wants from you, it’s not likely he’ll simply forget.”
“Thanks for the warning.” Or was it a threat?
Talon’s pounding fists grew louder, his yells becoming more enraged so I darted through the secret passageway back into the closet before the dragon had a complete meltdown and burned down the entire building.
Normally, I’d find his protectiveness endearing, but after our last fight, I found it annoying.
“I’m coming!” I shouted as my hand encircled the old knob. I whipped the door open, and two-hundred pounds of dragon shifter barreled straight into me. He hit me with such force, we both flew across the small closet and landed against the opposite wall. Oomph! All the air squeezed from my lungs as brooms and mops rained down on us. Luckily, Talon’s massive form draped over me, shielding me from the flying debris.
“Sorry,” Talon muttered as he loomed over me, his corded arms caging me in. The entire length of his body pressed against me, and the familiar warmth spread through my core. I shoved aside the lusty sensations. He was hot; it was normal for my body to react to him like that. It was just physical—nothing more.
An excruciatingly long moment later, he pushed himself up and offered his hand. I took it begrudgingly. Mostly because there were so many brooms strewn across the floor, I was scared I’d accidentally step on one, slip, and end up on my butt again.
The moment we were both upright, Talon released my hand, only to sear me with a scorching glare. “What the hell were you thinking meeting up with Delacroix by yourself?”
I popped my hands on my hips and glared right back at him. “I was thinking I could handle myself just fine. Which I did.”
“You had no idea what he was up to. Thax could’ve sent him as payback.” He raked his fingers through his hair, pulling at the wild ends. “He could have killed you down there, and no one would’ve found your body for days.”
“Well, obviously not, since you found me in a matter of minutes.”
“Because I’m freakin’ phenomenal at my job.”
“Right... So now we’re back to that. Now that I’m not your blood buddy, I’m just your job, is that correct?”
“No,” he gritted through clenched teeth. “You’re the one that said—” He snapped his jaw shut, the tendon fluttering like a wild hummingbird.
I inched closer, rising up on tiptoes so I could be closer to his eyelevel. “I’m the one that said what?”
“Nothing,” he growled. “It doesn’t matter anymore.”
“Then if it doesn’t matter, why didn’t you let me deal with Delacroix on my own?”
“You still matter, Azara.” He shook his head, working his jaw. “Things are just more complicated now.”
I was about at the end of my rope. First, things were complicated because of the blood bond, and now they were complicated without it? We were obviously doomed from the start.
“They’re complicated because of me,” said a deep male voice.
I hadn’t even noticed the closet door opening in the middle of the drama. Vander stood in the doorway, dark circles around his eyes.
“No.” Talon shook his head, but the wild look in his eyes said something else. Obviously, Vander could see it too.
The wolf huffed out a breath and pivoted his gaze to me. Brilliant flecks of amber lit up his hazel eyes and for the first time, I recognized them. It was like a switch flicked on in my brain. I’d seen them dozens of times before, in the back of a crowd, at the grocery store, on a walk around Emi’s neighborhood. They were familiar in a way I couldn’t explain. “I’m the reason you and T aren’t together right now.”
My brows slammed together as I stared at the familiar stranger. “What do you mean?” I spun at Talon, but he was staring at the floor so hard I thought he’d bored a hole into the concrete.
Vander moved closer, and I remained still. It didn’t freak me out like it would have if anyone else invaded my personal space like that. “Guarding someone is a difficult assignment,” he began softly. “I’m sure you’ve witnessed that firsthand since your arrival at Darkblood and ending up with this guy.” He flicked his thumb at Talon who still refused to meet my eyes. “Anyway, it’s easy to get wrapped into your mark’s life, into their world. You see more than most friends or family members would. You become protective, maybe even over-protective, to the point that they become all that matters.”
I swallowed hard.
Vander’s hand reached for mine, and I let him take it. His hands were big like Talon’s but not as rough or quite as warm. “I let myself get too involved in your case, Azara. It got in the way of letting me live my own life. I was obsessed.” His eyes chased down to our interlocked fingers, and he exhaled softly. “I thought I was in love with you.” He let out a rueful chuckle before meeting my gaze. “Which is crazy because I hadn’t even met you.”
His words tugged at my broken heartstrings, and an unbidden swell of emotions filled my chest.
“So whatever fight you and Talon were having is likely because he’s trying to be a good brother.” His gaze pivoted to the stoic dragon. “But I don’t have any claim on Azara, T. I may have met her first, but I was only in love with the idea of her. And you, you got to experience the real version. Don’t give that up because of me.”
Talon shook his head, his lips pressed in a tight line.
At least now I knew why Talon had been acting so strange—why everyone had been. That’s what Talon had meant when he said I was the one. Was that really why we weren’t together right now?
There was still the missing bond.
“It’s not only because of you,” I blurted out when Talon remained mute. “Didn’t he tell you about the blood bond?”
Vander nodded. “In all the years I’ve known that surly dragon, I’ve never seen him offer a single drop of his blood to anyone.”
Talon shot him a narrowed glare. “Thanks, brother.”
“Just keeping it real, T.”
Two shrill blasts of a horn put an abrupt end to our conversation. Or maybe saved us from dragging out the awkwardness further. Vander was in love with me? Talon had put the brakes on our budding relationship as loyalty to his brother? I needed time to process this new information before my head exploded. And tomorrow was my first day at the SIA. I needed to be in the right headspace for that.
I waggled my fingers at both boys and darted out of the janitor’s closet.
Chapter Twenty-Six
“Now try controlling the flame.” Ella stood on the opposite side of the sprawling SIA training room. It put the one we had at Darkblood Prison to shame. Not only did it contain every weapon known to man, it also had special magical shields that divided the room to aid in practice.
I stared at the small sphere of witchfire in my palm and imagined it growing larger. Then smaller. Then ginormous. So far, today’s lesson had been a success. I could tell from the smattering of jealousy written across my cousin’s face. She was supposed
to be the uber-gifted magical one on the team.
I’d been careful not to let my warlockness slip out but the more I used my mystical powers, the more the dark warlock ones clawed their way to the surface. I’d never really understood why it was such a big deal to be a female warlock until I’d felt the power. Coupled with my inner she-demon, the sensations were heady. I could see why it would cause the Coven Council to be in a tizzy.
Ella darted across the room with a physio spell. It enhanced natural physical abilities, increasing strength, speed, senses, etcetera. Since I already had a lot of those innate talents due to my demon half, I hadn’t bothered to learn that one. Ella hadn’t been too pleased when I told her that.
“So, how’d I do, teach?”
She gave me a half-smile. “Good. Really good, actually. I can’t believe you only started practicing magic a few weeks ago.”
“Guess it helps to have it running through my veins.”
“Guess so.” She snapped her fingers, and two bottles of water appeared on a small table at the corner of the room. “Let’s chat until your next session with Talon.”
I rolled my eyes by accident.
“What’s that about?” asked my overly perceptive cousin as we walked toward the table.
“Nothing. I’m tired of training, that’s all.” I slumped into the chair, trying to sell the comment.
“So, it doesn’t have anything to do with Vander’s return or Vessa’s arrival to Darkblood?” She smirked mischievously.
“How did you know all that?”
“Girl, I work for the SIA, I have to know all that stuff.”
I untwisted the cap and chugged half the bottle before looking up. Ella waited at the edge of her seat.
“Okay, yes, it has certainly changed the dynamic. Did you know Vander… you know… had a thing for me?”
She propped her elbows on the table and leaned in. “We all knew he was buttcrazy in love with his assignment, but I only now put two and two together. How awkward is that?”
“A little.” And a little not. Which was the weird part. It was like all the years Vander had spent stalking me, I’d somehow gotten used to him. Now he’d become a familiar presence that I didn’t mind.
“And what about Vessa?” Her lips puckered as if she’d swallowed an entire lemon. “I remember when she and Talon were dating, and she showed up here a few times. Man, she was intense.”
“Wait, what?” Talon had said they’d dated years ago.
“Um, yeah. She came a few months before he left on his assignment at Darkblood Prison. They’ve been on and off for a few years, according to the guys. Ugh, the way she fondled him… Eew.”
Maybe it wasn’t only the blood bond and Vander’s presence that had changed Talon’s mind. Maybe Vessa’s arrival had altered things too. A queasy sensation filled my gut. I needed to get away from all the drama, but that wasn’t an option when you were a prisoner.
The creak of the door opening pulled me from my muddled thoughts. Talon strutted through in his SIA workout gear. Black tank top and tight shorts that left nothing to the imagination. Great. This was going to be an interesting hour.
Ella stood and shot me a wink. “Good luck, Azara. If things go well in the next week, you could be out on assignments in the real world before you know it.”
That was exactly what I needed. As Talon approached, I vowed to put all the BS behind us. All that mattered was passing my week of training and becoming an official agent. Then two more years, and I was free.
As Talon sauntered over, his dark eyes drilling into me, I cringed. It was going to be a very long two years.
“You did well today.” Talon glanced down at me from the corner of his eye as we walked through the dim passageway toward the secret entrance to the prison.
These tunnels sparked unwanted heated memories of Talon, and his hard body pressed against mine. Funny how much things had changed in a few weeks. “Thanks,” I finally muttered.
“Ella was impressed which definitely says something. She’s a tough one.”
“Yup.” If only he knew she was my cousin. Every time we were together, a twinge of guilt pricked my insides for keeping the truth from him. But only a twinge.
He stopped walking and swiveled toward me. “You okay?”
“Yeah, fine. Just have a lot on my mind.”
His hands closed around my shoulders, and he dipped his head to fix his eyes to mine. “I screwed up last time I attempted to say this, so here we go again.”
“Talon, don’t—” I shook my head, trying to break free from his mesmerizing gaze.
“No, I have to. I was a total ass when we first met because I thought you killed my best friend, then I got to know you and in spite of my best efforts, I started to like you. Even before the blood bond. That obviously accelerated things and since its disappearance, I haven’t felt whole. It’s like a part of me was carved out, leaving a gaping chasm.” He paused, and I swallowed hard, his words like a warm hug to my battered heart. “I care about you a lot, Azara, and I hope that means something to you, even if whatever you felt for me was only a result of the bond.”
My heart screamed to tell him the truth, that I was being stupid to try to protect myself. Of course I still had feelings for him. I finally forced my mouth open to spill the words I should’ve said days ago, but Talon cut me off.
“We’re going to be working together for the next two years, and I’d like to at least be friends. With the Vander situation, I think it would be best for all of us. If you’re okay with that?”
My heart plummeted, taking a one hundred-and-eighty-degree nosedive. Friends? But what I could I say, no? That I was still crazy for him and screw his best friend-slash-brother. I blinked away the hot tears stabbing at my eyes and nodded. “Sure, I’d like that.” I hoped my tone sounded more convincing out loud than it did in my head.
“Good.” The ghost of a smile ticked up his lip, and he released me.
Blood bond or not, my body still ached for his touch. My skin protested its absence the moment he turned away. How was I going to survive two years of this?
We walked the rest of the way in a semi-comfortable silence. It was going to take me a minute to switch from lust-zone to friend-zone. Somehow the shift from enemies to lovers was a much easier one.
When we finally reached the secret entrance to Darkblood’s own mini SIA headquarters, muffled voices seeped through the metal door. A tiny swirl of happiness kindled in my insides. Hayden and Dallas had been sent off on assignment, so I hadn’t seen them in the last few days, and I definitely needed their humor in my life right now. Talon whispered the words of the incantation, and I waited impatiently.
The door slid open, and I muttered a curse under my breath.
“Hey Vessa, what are you doing here?” Talon gave her a broad smile, one he reserved for very few people I’d come to realize, and she bounded toward him, wrapping her arms around his neck. Geez, hadn’t they just seen each other?
Vander appeared a second later, poking his head through the training room door. “Oh hey, I was giving her the grand tour. Hope that’s okay.”
Talon released Vessa, and my burgeoning murderous urges simmered a notch. “Yeah, that’s fine. I know a vampire who can wipe all those pesky memories away if Vessa gets out of line.” He booped her nose, and I almost puked.
“You know your secrets are safe with me, T.” She slowly ran her hand down Talon’s chest.
Okay, I’m out of here. I darted toward the door, but Vander’s bulky form blocked my escape.
“Where are you off to?” he asked.
Anywhere but here. I quickly shuffled through my thoughts before I said something nasty. “Um, out to the yard. I need some fresh air.”
“You can’t go by yourself.” Talon’s booming voice shot across the small space.
“Why not? Delacroix already said he wants nothing to do with Thax anymore. That means I’m safe.”
“You trust him, just like that?”
“Yeah, I do. He’s never lied to me, Talon. There’s no reason for me not to believe him.”
“Why don’t I go with her?” offered Vander. “It’ll be like a compromise.” He smirked, and his amber eyes twinkled. They were warm and inviting, so different than Talon’s.
I found myself agreeing before I could stop. “Sure.”
Talon shot me a dark glare before composing his features to normal.
“Perfect, then I can show you my room, T,” said Vessa.
All the air siphoned from my lungs, and it took everything I had to keep my jaw from unhinging. We’re just friends, we’re just friends. I repeated the mantra over and over until my stupid heart got it. Grabbing Vander’s hand, I twirled him to the door. “This way,” I barked as I dragged him from the room.
Talon’s piercing gaze bored into the back of my head as I raced out of there, but I didn’t dare look back. He was just being his normal, protective self. I was his job and nothing more. He’d made that perfectly clear, and I wouldn’t start reading more into his behavior.
When we reached the top of the staircase, I finally slowed my pace and released Vander’s hand. He sidled up next to me as I trudged toward the door to the yard. In all my weeks here, I’d only been out there a handful of times. It was much too cold to be pleasant, and Talon hated having me out in the open like that. Too bad it didn’t matter what he wanted anymore.
“Everything go okay at the SIA today? You seem a little pissed.”
I glanced up at Vander, having forgotten he was next to me for a few seconds as I stewed over Talon. “Yeah, it was fine. It’s your brother’s overprotectiveness that gets annoying.”
He clucked his teeth and smiled. “That’s just Talon. He takes his job very seriously.”
“Oh, I know.” If he tells me he’s good at his job, I’ll punch him. I don’t care how nice he seems.
“Plus, there was the blood bond…” He side-eyed me as he whispered the words.