Allure (The Lilituria Prophecy Book 2)

by Grace White

  “She was murdered because of me, Demi.”

  She froze, her whole body stiffening beside me. “W-what?”

  “The Dei Venatores killed her.”

  “Oh, my god.” Demi released me and pushed her chair back, standing. “We have to leave, Daiya. We need to get out of here. They know where we live; they know where you are. We have to lea—”

  It was the first time I’d ever seen Demi this way. She was always so calm and collected; even in the face of danger, she remained level-headed. But the quiver in her voice, the fear glistening her eyes, reminded me of the burden she’d carried for all these years. Demi had been our guardian, our protector, but who had protected her?

  I went to her, wrapping my arms around her. My touch unlocked the dam she’d spent so long preserving. “Shh,” I soothed. “Everything will be okay. We’ll figure it out.”

  We had to.

  But one thing was certain—I wasn’t leaving Decker County. As long as Kai remained here, so would I.

  After standing in the kitchen and holding Demi together while she broke in my arms, I realized we needed answers now. We couldn’t keep waiting. We needed something—anything—to work with. So I’d gone to the only person who had been able to help so far.

  “Daiya, come in, child.” Heather pulled the door wider, and I slipped inside. “Has something happened? Is something wrong?”

  “Did you manage to track down Jezebel yet?” I rushed out.

  “Calm, child, tell me what’s wrong.”

  “Kai is sick. Ever since his father showed up, he’s changing. I felt it in my dreams.”

  The old woman observed me. “You’ve been separated; it could be your bond weakening him.”

  “Or?”

  There was something—something she wasn’t sure she should tell me. I’d been here enough times to read her expressions now. She clasped her hands in her lap and exhaled a long, weary breath. “The boy is answering the call.”

  “The call?”

  “Of the Dei Venatores.”

  “You mean he’s becoming one of them? He’s becoming one of God’s Hunters?”

  I already knew the answer. In the back of my mind, I’d already considered it a possibility, but I needed to hear her say it. I needed to be certain about what it meant.

  “Kai has Dei Venatores blood running through his veins. It is likely that when his father returned, it activated the bloodline.”

  The room closed in around me. If—when—Kai discovered what I was, the hunter in him would want me dead. It explained his hostility toward me at school. The way he acted around me in our dreams. Fate really was a cruel thing.

  “Why didn’t you warn me before?”

  Her mouth downturned. “I didn’t know for sure, so I didn’t want to add to your burden. Sometimes, it is better to let these things play out the way fate intended.”

  “So it’s over? Once he knows, once he finds out the truth, it’ll all have been for nothing?”

  “Nothing in life is easy, child. ‘If their love tests true, their bond sealed, by God’s blessing it will be undone.’”

  “But how? How can our love test true? He’s born to hate me, to hunt and kill Lilituria. You said so yourself; Hunter blood runs through his veins.”

  “Do you love him?”

  “I- I-” I stared wide-eyed at her. Did I love him? I wanted him—the demon wanted him—and I felt the pull, the thread binding us. But did I love him?

  “I think so, yes.” I hadn’t been able to say the words because I wanted it to mean something. I wanted it to be real. I wanted to know with absolute certainty that what I felt was pure.

  “You either do or you don’t, child. Love isn’t something faked. It’s either there or it isn’t. You are bound, yes, but the bond must be true. There’s hope, Daiya. There is always hope.”

  “Hope,” I repeated to myself. With so many odds stacked against us, hope felt like a fickle thing.

  “You are awakened, Daiya. Not only to your demon, to what you are, but also to the prophecy. You have acknowledged and accepted your role in things to come, but the boy? He still must open his eyes to it all. Give him time. In the end, if it’s meant, it will be.”

  “If we’re apart—”

  “Now, now, child. I’m not saying you must let him be altogether, but he must find his own way. His father is an unexpected complication, but from what you have told me, there is indecision in the Dei Venatores ranks. This could be a good thing; you could find allies among them.”

  Try telling Devlin that, I thought to myself. She would never accept help in the form of Isaac or any of his men. Not after what they did to her friends.

  “Allies for what?” My voice was shrill, the panic too strong to swallow. “What is coming, Heather?”

  Her face twisted with sadness. “Honestly, I don’t know, but the tides are changing, the scales tipping.”

  “I need answers; I need to know what I am supposed to do.” A tear slipped from the corner of my eye. “You have to help me, please.”

  Heather cocked her head to one side and smiled. “Faith, child. All you need is a little bit of faith. You hold great power; all you have to do is trust in it.”

  More riddles. Riddles that were getting me nowhere. I needed answers.

  A plan.

  I needed a freaking miracle.

  When I arrived home, my sisters were waiting for me, and from the looks on their faces, it wasn’t good.

  “Oh good, the prodigal daughter returns.”

  “Devlin,” Demi scolded, and she flounced back on the couch, folding her arms across her chest.

  “It’s all her fault.”

  “What’s my fault?” I asked.

  “We were followed last night when we tried to go out and feed.”

  I turned to Demi and saw her guilt reflected at me. “You didn’t tell me?” This morning when she’d gotten upset, she hadn’t said a word.

  “I didn’t want to worry you. You have enough on your plate, and we were fine; they didn’t try anything.”

  Devlin made a tutting noise, but we both ignored her as Demi continued. “It was strange. They didn’t even try to engage us, but they saw us, and we saw them.”

  My mind went immediately to Isaac. Maybe he was on our side, after all … or maybe he was still deciding what to do about us.

  Me.

  He and Michael knew where we lived, but he said that the protection spell Jezebel had cast over me cloaked my whereabouts to the other Dei Venatores.

  “You have to be more careful,” I rushed out. “I don’t think they know we’re here yet. I mean, the others.”

  “Others?” Devlin arched her eyebrow.

  “Yes.”

  “Wait a minute. What haven’t you told us?” She was off the couch and in my face in a second.

  “Devlin, back off,” Demi commanded, but she didn’t move. Her glare penetrated my defenses, and my eyes shuttered.

  “Don’t you dare, Daiya. You know more than you’re telling us, don’t you?”

  I had planned to keep it to myself longer, but I was fed up with feeling alone in this. Demi knew I refused to leave, which meant she would stay put too. And as long as we remained in Decker County, they were at risk. They deserved to know the truth.

  With a deep breath, I started. “The man who broke into the house, the man who threatened me—he’s Kai’s father.”

  Demi’s mouth dropped open and bobbed shut like a fish out of water. Devlin’s eyes went wide with fury. “You’re telling me that boy toy’s father is the man who killed Cadence and Molly?”

  “Yes. But it’s complicated.”

  “Complicated how exactly? Because you’re fucking his son?”

  “DEVLIN, ENOUGH!”

  I jumped, startled by Demi’s roar. She dropped her head, her shoulders sinking, clearly disappointed she had lost her cool.

  “Look.” Her head rose slowly, glancing back and forth between us. “This is getting us nowhere. Daiya.” Di
sappointment shone in her eyes as they settled on me. “Why didn’t you tell us?”

  “How could I? You wanted to leave. I can’t leave, Demi. I won’t.”

  “But sweetheart, we needed to know this. You can’t keep hiding things from us. We’re in enough danger as it is.”

  I took a deep breath and started. “There’s some kind of protection spell on the house. The Dei Venatores know we’re here, in Decker County, but they don’t know where exactly. Well, apart from Isaac and Michael.”

  “And Isaac is Kai’s father? Does that mean—”

  “Kai is Dei Venatores?” I answered for her. “Possibly.”

  “What do you mean possibly?”

  “Heather said he has to answer the call, whatever that means. He’s been acting different, though, since his father arrived in town. I thought it was because things between us weren’t good, but now, I’m not so sure.”

  Devlin huffed, and we both threw her a look. “What?” she snapped. “This is a pile of bullshit, and you know it. We should get the hell out of here and not look back.”

  “Devlin,” Demi soothed.

  “Yeah, I know. Prophecy girl can’t leave.”

  “Does he know?” Demi’s lips pulled into a flat line. I knew where she was going with this.

  “No.” I hesitated. “Maybe. He knows something isn’t right. I think he senses my demon.”

  “If you’re right, if Kai does sense your demon and he’s becoming one of them, it’s not safe for you to be around him. You know that, right?”

  “But the prophecy—”

  Demi sighed. “Could be wrong. Maybe it was never supposed to happen, Daiya.”

  Was she right? I didn’t want to believe it. It wasn’t fair; that I could feel this way about him for it not to be true. But I knew better than most that life wasn’t always fair.

  “Daiya.” Her voice was calm. “You have to consider that maybe it’s all wrong.”

  I stared at my sister, unsure of who or what to believe. My mouth opened but a knock on the front door diverted my attention. Without thinking, I rose from the chair and started toward the door.

  “Daiya, wait, maybe we should—”

  But it was too late; my sister’s plea rolled off me as I opened the door. “Kai?” I gasped.

  His eyes scorched through me, but it didn’t burn; the look on his face chilled me to the core. “We need to talk.”

  KAI

  I rubbed the back of my neck, the knot in my stomach matching the tension radiating through my body. “Can I come in?”

  Daiya glanced back into the house. “Hmm, now is not a good time. My sisters are home.”

  “Oh.” I ran a brisk hand over my head feeling the prickle of irritation. I hadn’t considered she wouldn’t invite me in. I hadn’t really considered anything, too blinded by my need to see her and try to set everything straight. “Can you take a ride with me?”

  She hesitated for a second, her eyes darting at everything but me. The irritation flashed with anger. If she didn’t come, what would I do then? But her indifference slid away and was replaced with defeat as she said, “Okay. I’ll grab my purse and meet you at your car.”

  I nodded, and we stood awkwardly for a couple of seconds until Daiya turned away. Instead of waiting on her doorstep and risk losing my shit in earshot of her sisters, I went to the car, still digesting everything my father had told me.

  “Kai.”

  I turned around, my heart beating against my chest. “What were you doing there? Are you watching her? Me? What the hell is going on?”

  He moved like the shadows, appearing out of nowhere. This man wasn’t my father. I hadn’t seen it before, but I saw it now. He was changed.

  Different.

  “How are you feeling?”

  Tired. Confused. Like I was wading through muddy waters. But I didn’t tell him that. “Fine,” I replied.

  “You’re lying.”

  I shrugged, pinching the bridge of my nose. It was getting harder to focus.

  “Kai, son, look at me.”

  “No.” My fists clench. “You don’t get to call me that. Don’t call me that.”

  “Have you seen the girl?”

  My steely gaze met his. Something in the way he spoke prickled my senses. “How do you know Daiya?” I ground out.

  “It doesn’t matter.”

  “Yes, it does!” I roared, my hand slamming down against the counter. A flash of pain jolted through my palm and into my arm, and I hissed. Isaac’s eyes flickered to my hand. “You feel it, don’t you?”

  “Feel what?”

  “What do you remember about growing up, Kai?”

  “I’m not doing this.”

  “What do you remember?”

  My hand vibrated with pain as I jammed it into my hair and tugged slightly. “You never being there.”

  He shook his head slowly. “What else? Think hard. Let the thoughts in.”

  What did he mean?

  “You were eight. Your pee wee hockey team had made the championship, and you were so nervous that you—”

  “Puked in the car on the way to the rink. But you weren’t there. You had to—”

  “Work.”

  “You weren’t at work?” A memory worked its way to the surface, pushing through the wall.

  “I wasn’t at work.”

  “What is this? What are you trying to tell me?”

  “Kai?” Daiya slid into the passenger seat and commanded my attention, the memories evaporating for now.

  “I know a place,” I said unable to look her in the eyes, my hands tightening around the wheel. Without another word, I turned the ignition key and drove us to County Park, the same place I’d brought her after she’d opened up to me about her family at Franklin’s bar.

  We walked in silence until we found a quiet spot, and its familiarity wrapped around me, giving me the strength I needed for the conversation ahead of us. A conversation I never imagined I’d be having. Daiya took a seat next to me, and we sat in heavy silence. After a couple of minutes of nothing, she finally broke the ice. “What did he tell you, Kai?”

  My lids shuttered, remembering the moment my world changed. “He said I’m …” My eyes opened on a long, shaky breath. Daiya watched me. Waiting. Tears glossing her eyes. “He said the reason I feel different, the anger burning inside me, it’s because I’m …” My head dropped. I couldn’t say the words. Saying them meant they were true. Meant all this was true. And it couldn’t be. I didn’t want it to be.

  “Dei Venatores,” she finished for me. My head whipped up, and Daiya’s mouth curved in a sad smile. “I know, Kai.”

  “Because you know my father?” Anger flowed through me freely now, sizzling in my veins. She knew about me. About him. A million thoughts invaded my mind. What else did she know? What else had she kept from me? I clenched my fist against my thigh, pressing it against the denim until pain radiated through me. But the pain was better than this … this feeling growing, twisting inside me.

  “I didn’t.” Daiya’s voice was measured. “Not until I came here. I’d never even laid eyes on him. I promise, Kai. You have to believe me.”

  Believe her? I couldn’t trust a single thing that came out of her mouth. A low growl built in my stomach, clawing its way up my throat. “He wouldn’t tell me how the two of you know each other. How do you know each other, Daiya?”

  What did it say about me that after my father’s revelations about who I was—what I was—I was still more concerned about Daiya and my father and their relationship? I was weak. Completely and utterly under her thrall—a girl who kept secrets. A girl who lied to my face.

  She looked at me, trying to convey things I didn’t yet understand. The corners of her mouth tugged up, but the smile didn’t fill me with relief. Instead, I felt her slip through my fingers a little bit more. Whatever was about to come out of her mouth was going to change everything. I knew that now. Maybe I’d known all along, which was why I’d put off coming to see
her until now.

  But I needed the truth. I needed something to douse the fire sweeping through me. “How, Daiya?” My blood boiled. I felt it taking over, the blind rage, as my fists strained at my sides.

  “Because he’s hunting me.”

  Seconds passed, and neither of us spoke as the reality of our situation filled the space between us.

  “Hunting you? I … I don’t understand. He said that Dei V—” I shook my head, too many things running through my head. “Whatever they call themselves hunts evil. That they have an ancient obligation to protect good and eradicate evil. How can he be hunting you? It makes no sense, not unless …”

  And suddenly, it all made sense.

  How they knew each other. The flash of surprise—fear—in Daiya’s eyes when they landed on my father standing on my doorstep. My father was hunting Daiya.

  Time stopped.

  My heart crashed against my chest so hard my body vibrated.

  The lines of the truth and lies of the past few weeks blurred into a mist in my head, but as the events of the past few weeks started to make sense, it slowly dissipated. I hadn’t wanted to see it before—wouldn’t have known what I was looking for anyway—but now, I knew.

  Daiya was one of them.

  Lilituria.

  Or whatever my father had called them. Somewhere during his revelation, I had tuned out … too shocked to comprehend what he was saying.

  Daiya was a demon.

  “Oh.” I had nothing. Finding out you were a descendant of a secret demon hunting brotherhood was one thing—but finding out the only girl you’d ever cared about, the girl you had fallen completely in love with, was the very thing you hunted … it was too much.

  “I never meant for any of this to happen.” Daiya wouldn’t look at me; her gaze set on the darkness around us.

  “I always knew something was different about you.” My voice quivered. “Something I couldn’t quite put my finger on. Do you want to hurt me?” Like part of me wanted to hurt her. I fought it, refused to let it out, but it was there just under the surface. Daiya was the catalyst. I realized that now.

  “What?” She gasped.

  “Do you want to hurt me? Is that how this works? You lure me in, manipulate me, deceive me, and then what? Kill me? Feed on me? You’ll have to bear with me; I’m a little out of the loop here.”