Burning in a Memory

by Constance Sharper

He did not leave. Standing there, he hovered between her and the door.

  “I wish I could think of something better to say with everything going on...” he said slowly. “I really didn’t expect you to get stuck here, but we will figure something out. This won’t last long.”

  He was wrong, she thought immediately. With Leon upstairs, they would never be quite out of danger.

  “So I guess you were wrong about me being able to stick around for a little while,” she said, feeling numb.

  She’d used Adam, met Leon, but felt immobilized. She couldn’t complete her mission now and she couldn’t touch Leon. But that also meant the Hawthorn shades would be coming for her life instead. It didn’t take a careful look in the bedroom mirror to realize how white her face had gone. She was a dead mage and she knew it.

  “I guess,” he scoffed lightly. “I’m sorry, Adelaide.”

  “Stop apologizing. It’s not your fault. You’ve been nothing but helpful,” she muttered. Finally she looked up at him and acted on impulse. Crossing the room, she wrapped her arms around his waist and pressed close to his chest. He held her back without hesitation.

  Closing her eyes, she saw her family beneath her lids. “Adam, are we safe here? Will the shades ever get the better of us if we’re all here?”

  She could feel the pace of his heart speed up.

  “Yes. It’s rough now but we’re going to be okay, so long as we’re together. And I know it sounds insane, but I will make sure nothing happens to you. I’ll protect you, Adelaide. You have to believe me,” he said.

  “I do,” she replied honestly, but there was more to it than that. “I’m just exhausted. Will you lay down with me?”

  She could feel his reluctance as his muscled tightened. Adelaide broke free from him and sat down at the edge of the mattress.

  “Just lay with me, Adam,” she said slowly. Adelaide needed his warmth and comfort now. As if he finally understood, he lay on the bed and beckoned her closer. She slid into the crook of his arm and placed her cheek back on his chest. After a minute, his heart slowed and his muscles relaxed. She tried to follow suit. The position was comfortable so it wasn’t very difficult. Breathing him in, she commented idly.

  “You smell nice,” she whispered.

  His chest rumbled and he wrapped an arm around her.

  “I always dreamed of a girl as beautiful as you saying that.”

  Breaking the spell, she laughed. Propping herself up, she looked down at him now.

  “Well, I’m stuck here now. And your brother’s back. So I think you don’t need to dodge me about this.”

  All of the relaxation that she’d earned from him disappeared in seconds. He nearly bolted up with both of them. She rolled on her belly next to him and watched him.

  “Hey, I’m not dodging you. And you’re being pushy about this,” he groaned. When she met his eyes, he appeared to fight off a smile. Adelaide dared to push a bit harder.

  “So just tell me, you don’t mind that I’m human?” she asked.

  “No,” he said quickly.

  His smile disappeared but he touched her shoulder. With a gentle tug, he tried to drag her back to their original position but Adelaide refused to let him.

  “So just tell me, do you think I’m cute?”

  He pressed his lips together. His gentle tugging became a bit stronger.

  “Yes, and I’m sure I just said that,” he said.

  “And tell me, you like me?”

  Adam gave up and hit the bed with his arm thrown over his face instead.

  “Yes. But that’s exactly why I don’t want to hurt you. Look at what’s happened already. Could you imagine getting used to this stuff? Could you actually be okay with it? Don’t answer that, because no sane girl would.”

  Adelaide suddenly wondered just how many people had run away from Adam and his mage lifestyle. Everyone liked the idea of vampires but no one liked nasty shades hunting them. Adelaide finally scooted back into his arms. She felt him stiffen below her but he never moved away.

  “You don’t need to protect me,” she pointed out then.

  “But I promised I would protect you, so I will protect you. Apparently whether you like it or not.”

  She maneuvered her elbow and propped up an inch. His face was within centimeters of hers and his breath tickled her cheeks. His eyes dropped to her lips but he stayed stiff for a stubborn moment longer.

  “But how am I supposed to stay away from you when you’re my hero?”

  Then she kissed him. If she was prodding him for a reaction, she got one. Adam moved quicker than she thought possible. He flipped them until he was on top, hovering inches above her. His proximity sent a wave of exhilaration through her body.

  His hand moved and he caught her chin between his fingers. Forcing her eyes to his, he held them. Where at first she saw a game, now she saw absolute sincerity. She let out a breath. Adam kissed her next, but his lips settled on her neck instead of her lips. The sensation of conflicting temperatures came as shock. His kisses moved achingly slowly while his hands settled on the exposed skin between her shirt and jeans. He trailed up to the line of her jaw, to her chin, and stopped just before her mouth.

  “What’s wrong?” she asked when he suddenly sat up.

  “I see what you’re doing, you know. This shouldn’t be happening,” Adam said.

  She groaned overdramatically.

  “That was all you, Adam,” she pointed out. His hands suddenly disappeared, but he simply rocked back with a smile on his face.

  Shaking her head, she patted the bed next to her until he lay back down. Snuggling up for a third time, she closed her eyes and listened to his heart.

  “Thank you for trying to protect me. There’s something to being a nice guy,” she said.

  His chest vibrated with a micro-growl, apparently unhappy with that label, but she continued anyway. “I was just shaken up from earlier. It’s nice to have a distraction.”

  His hand circled around her waist and pulled her closer. The gesture was comforting.

  “Go to sleep. I’ll take care of you.”

  She doubted that he even listened to himself as he drifted off. They cuddled in silence until Adam eventually gave in and fell asleep. Adelaide couldn’t do the same. The bed was comfortable, his arm around her secure, but she only thought of other things. She thought of her options. She thought of how long it would take the Hawthorns to come kill her when they learned that she failed her mission.

  She snuggled into Adam more.

  “Maybe I can stay here with you,” she whispered. Adam slept and never answered, but something about saying it was liberating. The Colton coven still thought she was human. They would protect her and she’d never have to complete her mission. She’d never have to be alone again.

  It sounded more and more appealing as time passed. Adam might not have been the type she chased, but he was certainly good for her. Plus, Leon would be able to get better and the coven would be together. This was the exact kind of coven she pictured ideally, despite their minor squabbles. Adelaide had nothing left to compare it to besides Mistel, the woman who was always burning in her memory.

  Eventually she did drift off. When she dreamt though, she dreamt of home. The grass, the pavement, the voice of her family on the other side of the house walls came and went, short lived. She never recalled the moment she woke up from her twilight sleep, but she recognized the sound of his voice. Her gut twisted immediately. She battled with the urge to shoot up from the sheets, and gently slipped away from Adam’s sleeping grasp. Her feet met the plush carpet and she crept to the door.

  The sound of her name came again, she was certain of it this time. He’d been calling her all along but she never recognized it. Opening the door, squealing on hinges proved to be more difficult, but she worked enough charm to escape into the living room. Dark out, the hallway was difficult to navigate. She moved methodically along the wall until she heard him call again.

  “Adelaide,” the sha
de called from the basement, “I know you can hear me.”

  Its voice was catlike and shrill, drawn out too long on every word. She itched to run but instead backed up extremely carefully.

  “Come here, Adelaide. You need to come here,” he said without her response.

  Her heart skipped a beat. She knew it likely overheard her name earlier, but why did it call to her now? Did anyone else in the coven know about this? She refused to find out. Nerves finally getting the better of her, she returned to Adam’s room and Adam’s arms. But then nothing about his embrace ever made the fear of the shade go away.

  Seventeen

  “Adelaide,” he called.

  She heard it again. The sound of her name slipped through the haze in her mind and she shot up in the bed. It took a moment before she woke up enough to recognize the source of the voice. She did a double take to find Adam standing near her.

  “Adelaide, I’m sorry to wake you, but you were moaning in your sleep,” Adam said, his tone soothing and quiet. It took her an embarrassingly long moment to nod and smile.

  “Sorry,” she whispered. “They were just bad dreams.” Her throat felt raw and her voice box burned. Certain she looked worse than she felt, she averted her face. If the shade called to her still, she couldn’t hear it outside of the memory still fresh in her mind.

  “Do you remember what about?” Adam asked.

  She only bought herself a moment by sitting up in the bed and smoothing her clothes. She’d slept in nylon that would never quite recover without an iron. The curls in her hair had flattened, but she raked her fingers through her hair to straighten it out.

  “No,” she lied through her teeth.

  Adam made a small noise in the back of his throat. Though she refused to look up at him, she was already beginning to recognize his quirks.

  “It’s okay. I have nightmares about shades all of the time too,” he said.

  Adelaide considered denying it, but it was a difficult lie to sell. She had just slept in his bed overnight to calm her nerves after a shade attack. It was unlikely she could get away with much bravery now.

  “That shade in the basement—how long is it staying down there?” she asked now that they were already down the rabbit hole. “And are shades still coming around the house? Are there any more outside?”

  “New rule, no talking about shades until after breakfast. And, besides, the more you think about them, the more they get into your head,” he said.

  Adam took a step back and opened the bathroom door. A flood of chlorine scented steam rolled out. She hadn’t even felt him untangle from their sleeping position or woken up when he hopped in the shower. She was stunned that she hadn’t seen it before now and Adelaide looked him up and down. Adam stood in nothing but a towel that he held cinched at his waist. It rode low on his hips and the beads of water still clung to his skin. Her mind suddenly went blank. He might have been saying something, but just sounded like a buzz in her ears. By the time she caught herself staring, she couldn’t look down at her lap quickly enough.

  “Should I get out and give you some time?” she offered.

  “I have the bathroom to myself. I just heard you and wanted to wake you before the dreams got worse,” he said.

  “Yea, okay,” she laughed, “just admit you wanted to walk around half naked.”

  Adam’s shoulders dropped. This time it looked like he remembered the towel. Without missing a beat, he closed the distance between them and reached the bedside. His lips locked onto hers within a second and pressed hard. The kiss was fleeting. Surprised, Adelaide let him do it.

  “If I was trying to seduce you, you wouldn’t even know it,” he said with a smile after he pulled away.

  “Uh huh, I bet I would.”

  He backed up, apparently ready to return to the bathroom alone. She spoke up quickly before he left.

  “Can I take a shower upstairs? I need to change,” she pointed out. She refused to feel slimy while Adam had a fresh start.

  “Sure. Leon isn’t up there anyway. You can just bring your stuff down for tomorrow too.”

  On that note, she hopped off of the bed and escaped from the room. Her pace slowed and she stopped. In the hall, she stood alone and the rest of the house felt like it was a world away. Her head tilted to the side and her gaze found the basement door. She’d heard the shade calling to her last night. It felt more and more surreal by the second but she knew it was too serious to be a dream.

  She listened now but the shade was silent. She waited, feeling certain it heard her walk on the floorboards and would call out again. A mix of fear and morbid curiosity tugged at her. She barely saw the ambush coming.

  “Are you sleeping with Adam?” the two asked in unison.

  Adelaide whirled but found her back against the wall. The sight of Priya and Preeti this close took a moment to recognize. Nothing like their mud covered, downtrodden appearance yesterday, the women looked vibrant. They wore bright colors that could put a peacock to shame and framed their pink cheeks. Adelaide’s ability to size them up was fleeting because she fixated only on their glowers.

  “What?” Adelaide managed to spit out.

  “You are! You definitely are sleeping with Adam,” Priya said. Preeti nodded along with her sister.

  “Wait, no!” Adelaide said, this time her voice spiking with realization.

  “You stayed in his bedroom last night,” Priya said.

  “Look at your hair,” Preeti added as she brushed the flattened mess of Adelaide’s hair.

  “Um…” Adelaide had nothing.

  “We should have seen this. Tony saw this. Tony said that’s why Adam fought so hard to bring you here,” Priya said with a condescending headshake. Preeti was nodding again. Though the twins managed to have differing features, not to be mistaken with each other, the tag team made those differences difficult to see.

  “We should have figured. Look at the way she dresses! Look at the way she acts! Wait! Did you say if she had a boyfriend?” Preeti asked the last question to her sister. That made Adelaide’s jaw drop. Before Priya could answer, Adelaide interjected to regain control of the conversation.

  “Hey, I haven’t even gotten a word in. I never said I slept with him,” she pointed out, but couldn’t follow up with much. She slept with Adam, never had sex with him, but that sounded like a seventeen-year-old’s excuse to her father. The twins wouldn’t believe her, she knew, with her voice already breaking.

  “We don’t actually want to hear details or anything for that matter. Adam’s room is right next to the kitchen, and I don’t need to hear that over breakfast.” Priya arched an eyebrow as if she’d already heard something.

  Adelaide shook her head vehemently.

  “You’re wrong about this!” Adelaide snapped.

  “Don’t worry, it’s not your fault. You can’t help but like Adam. He did save your life and you need to hit that while it’s hot,” Preeti said.

  “Wait, is this going to start drama between you two now?” Priya cued. Her sister answered apparently on Adelaide’s behalf. “Ugh, this is going to start drama. We’re all stuck in this same house together, you know.”

  “Why couldn’t you resist?”

  Then something in Adelaide snapped.

  “Stop!” she shouted, throwing both hands out quickly enough that the women jumped. “Nothing that is going on is any of your business and the only people starting drama are you two.”

  The women stiffened.

  “Yea, we’ll believe it when it happens,” Preeti spoke for them both and, with a huff, took off down the hall.

  Priya only lingered long enough to drive the message home with a petty glower. When the twins finally left her alone, Adelaide finally sucked in a desperate breath of fresh air. She’d felt crushed up against the wall and it took some difficulty to pry herself off of it now.

  Sleeping in Adam’s room hadn’t been a calculated risk but a moment of weakness. She just couldn’t decide if this would make things harder
with the coven or not. The gossiping could only get worse.

  She hurried to the safety of her old room and bathroom. Once the heat was all the way cranked up in the shower, she hopped in. Only under the faucet could she scrub the insults out from under her skin. Once out, she opted for more conservative clothing. If the twins thought she played the pretty role too much, she’d look like an angel now.

  She headed back into the bedroom but only made it one step.

  “How long have you been standing there?” she choked out. She didn’t see him, hear him, or feel his aura before now. It seemed impossible considering she fully felt it now with a nauseating closeness. Leon Colton stood in the doorway, holding onto the frame with a steel grip.

  “Not long,” he said, but it sounded strained.

  Her heart sped up too quickly and she struggled to size him up properly. Her mind immediately raced to the shade massacre only a day ago. Having no love for the monsters didn’t mean the power of the day escaped her either. He’d blown them to pieces without blinking and he stood before her in the room.

  “What do you want?” she asked secondly. Her gaze went above his head to the hallway but she found it empty. The scent of frying food had probably drawn everyone to the kitchen.

  “I just wanted to talk to you, Adelaide,” he said. Everything about the situation, including his slow speech pattern, seemed wrong. She wanted out.

  “I can’t be up here with you. Tony will be pissed,” she said.

  “Tony is outside. The twins are downstairs. It’s just us,” Leon said.

  “Well there’s food downstairs. Talk to me down there. I’d like that,” she said.

  He fidgeted.

  “I don’t want to. Everyone down there treats me like I’m losing my mind. And my brother is overly worried.”

  Based off of this exact moment, she could understand why.

  “What do you want to talk to me about?” She couldn’t actually believe she was asking.

  “I never got to talk to you in depth. You are the only one who isn’t my coven and isn’t going to treat me like a basket case,” he said, something flashing in his eyes. “Or maybe they’ve scared you away too.”