by Tara Brown
“Never speak of her in that manner, Hanna. She was a dear woman. She loved your father with all her heart.” Roland sat across from me. “I am sorry you’re just learning of all this now. Your father never wanted you to know about this world, not while you were a normal kid. His backup plan was always to send you to Lydia’s to help you contain the monster, if worst turned to worst. But no one expected you to take after both your parents. But make no mistake, he loved her.”
“How could he not love her? She forced him. I bet everyone loved her.”
“No, you don’t understand. Marcus created an elixir that made anyone who drank it impervious to a siren’s magic. He thought he was saving your father from the clutches of a siren. However, when the elixir entered his system, he fell more in love with her because their love was real.”
I put my face back into my hands. “Marcus, again Marcus. I’m going to have to go back there to that friggin’ castle. God!”
“If you explain, I am certain he will understand.”
“No, he won’t.” I groaned. “And he’s not alone in this. I need a bunch of that cure. God, how pathetic am I?” I had almost considered having sex with Marcus. My skin crawled, imagining that was all compulsion, his and mine. It was like mentally date rape drugging myself. “This is so gross.”
Roland put his hand on mine. “Hanna—”
“How long have you known I was like this?”
“I never knew until today, but I suspected and have been watching.” He sighed. “The day Aleksander came to the house and you refused to get out of bed. I sent him up there to lecture you, but when you came down the stairs I sensed something was different.”
“I’m a menace.” I got up from the table and walked out of the kitchen. “I’m going to see a monster about a potion.”
I went out the door and climbed into the small car my aunt had convinced me to buy when I turned sixteen—a shitty old Civic. Of course she did. Meanwhile she had a Lexus stashed away for when I died.
Could it get worse? Honestly?
The drive to the castle made me uneasy, but as I pulled up I became outright nauseated.
Henry stood at the front door, smiling at me as I stepped out of the car and walked up to the mansion. I tried to ignore the clenching in my chest.
Henry opened the door, not speaking, but smiling like a fool. I wondered if I needed seven batches of the cure instead of six.
“Is he inside?” I asked as I strolled in.
Henry nodded and pointed.
I walked toward the lab, knowing he would most likely be there. My flats made a slapping noise along the hardwood floors. He would hear me coming.
When I reached the lab door, I knocked softly and waited but heard nothing.
He was likely still mad about the whole Aleksander thing.
I knocked again, just as the huge metal door slid into the wall, revealing the stark white lab.
“Hanna?” He narrowed his gaze on me. I barely noticed because he was in a pair of tight-fitting jeans and a charcoal-gray turtleneck. The outfit showed every muscle along his body. My pulse quickened which made his dark crystal-blue eyes look pained. “To what do I owe the honor?”
I took a deep breath. “Do you know why you love me?”
He laughed bitterly. “Can we play these games later? I am quite busy today.”
“In all the blood tests you did on me, did you ever test against my mother’s?”
His head shot up sharply. “What? No.”
“While I’m a lot like my father, it seems I’ve inherited a few of her—charms.”
My heart hurt, watching him take it all in. After a moment he winced. “A red-haired siren. I’m quite sure that’s never happened before.”
“Yay, I’m special. I was wondering when I would get to be special.” I slumped against the wall, rubbing my eyes. “I’m sorry to ask this, but I need that tincture you made to stop it. I have some roadkill to clean up.” I laughed and fought the urge to cry.
“Roadkill indeed.” He chuckled as he walked to the far side of the lab and opened one of the huge white cupboards, causing steam to blow out into the lab. I frowned, wondering what kind of cupboard it was.
“I need a few doses, well, unless you think Henry could possibly have fallen under my spell.”
With his back to me, he spoke softly, “It’s better if Henry is smitten with you. You will always be safer with him on your side.”
He gripped a silver tube. It resembled a toothbrush case for traveling.
He closed the cupboard that I began to think was a fridge and walked to the table and grabbed a couple of vials. He poured a bright-pink liquid into them, the same amount in both. “Give them these. It will take it away immediately. To prevent it from happening again, you need to get Lydia to create a charm for you. It will put a wall up around you that stops the manipulation.” He put the vials into a dark-purple bag and passed it to me.
“You need to drink one too.”
“I drank one years ago, my dear. When I met your mother.”
That made me feel much worse. “You loved her?” Oh God, gross. Had she kissed him too?
“For a moment, but it wasn’t real. I took the cure and it faded instantly.” His eyes were still haunted.
“Did she love you?”
“No. Always your father.” He sounded bitter.
“Well, thanks for this.”
His face was stoic.
I wanted to turn away but I had one thing I needed to say, “Marcus, I’m so sorry. I assumed the worst of you at every turn, and you didn’t deserve it.”
“I deserve it in every way, Hanna.” He stepped toward me, taking my small hand in his. “I am unworthy of you.”
“No.” My eyes misted over. “You’re exactly the kinda guy I should date. I can’t ruin you or hurt you or kill you or force you to feel anything for me. And you’re weird little snacking habit is not nearly as bad as my maiming innocent people and animals in the woods.” I laughed again, but much more bitterly this time. “I think I would go out with you, once I have all of this cleaned up and get my ducks in a row.” I lifted the soft bag. “You should ask me out sometime. I would say yes.” I was on the verge of crying I was so upset with everything, but I forced myself to sound nonchalant about the whole thing. Forcing people to like me made me sick.
“Hanna.” He said my name like it was the most treasured thing in the world. “I swear I will do everything in my power to protect this, what we have.”
“From what?”
“Myself,” he whispered.
The smell of him made me want things, but my stomach tensed and my brain whispered I would make this happen. I had to be cured before I could ever trust my feelings.
“I need to go. Thank you.” I turned and fled as usual.
Chapter 21
Toast with a side of trouble
I drove directly to the house, not mine.
“Morning,” I said to Sarah as she faded and vanished.
“Did Annabelle make you breakfast?” I sat at the table, wondering where everyone was. Even Lydia wasn’t there in the kitchen.
Sarah nodded, letting her color come back, probably realizing I wasn’t going to do anything.
“Danny had a bad dream last night. He saw them breaking in here and taking us—the Dark Ones.” She spoke quietly with her little squeaky voice as she bit off a piece of toast.
“Danny? That sounds like a bad dream. But you know it’s protected here, right?” I smiled, hoping one of the others would come so it wasn’t just me trying to cheer the poor thing up. I was too preoccupied.
“His dreams come true.”
“Oh.” I cringed. “I better talk to Lydia about that. Where is Danny now?”
“He’s hiding in Annabelle’s room.”
Okay. I got up and walked out of the kitchen. Annabelle had the attic all to herself. When I got to the room, I knocked on the small brown door at the very top of the second flight of stairs.
�
�Yes.”
I opened the door, peering in. “Morning, Annabelle. I was wondering if I could speak to Danny quickly?”
“Oh, he’s in the window cupboard.” She pointed to the huge dormer closet and vanished.
“Danny, can I ask you something?” I crept into the room, not liking being in there with the freaky angel kids. But when I opened the closet I smiled. Danny had built himself a fort out of blankets in the closet. He sat in it with an Archie Comic and a flashlight.
“How’s it going?”
He shrugged.
“Want to tell me about your dream?”
“No.” His little face didn’t lift to mine.
“Please. Or even better, come and see Lydia.”
“She’s not here,” he muttered.
“Please tell me then.”
Danny put down the comic with a sigh. “I was standing in the kitchen and we were eating. I was getting juice. A woman came into the house. She was a human but special somehow. She grabbed Sarah and stabbed a needle in her arm. She did the same thing to me. I dropped my juice. Then another woman was there, and she did what Aimee does and winked us to a new house. It was cold and dark. I just remember the glass shattering on the floor and juice spilling everywhere.”
“I see. So your dreams come true?”
“If it’s the last dream before I wake.”
“Well, lucky you have them then. Lydia can help you. Why don’t you come downstairs?”
Danny picked up his comic again and started reading. “I’m not going in the kitchen, just saying.”
“Okay. I’ll get Annabelle to bring your breakfast up here.”
“Milk, no juice.”
When I got back downstairs Sarah had finished her breakfast and was laughing, talking with Sam.
“Good morning.” Sam sat back in the chair and folded his arms across his chest. “I didn’t expect to see you here.”
“Did she tell you about Danny’s dream?” I asked, ignoring the lust filling me.
“Yeah.” Sam grew serious.
“I spoke with Danny. Sounds pretty possible.”
“They can’t get past the guards.” Sam glanced around the room.
“I guess if they do I can always Hulk out.” I tried to make a joke but the nerves and hormones attacking me were too much.
Sam smirked. “Hanna Hyde. We decided that when we make the toys to sell from our superhero franchise, Hanna Hyde will be your name. It has a nice ring to it.”
Aleks entered the room. “Don’t push it. You piss her off and she tears the house down. You’ll be sorry.”
Sam laughed, winking at me. “I can only imagine what Hanna’s like when she’s angry.” His black eyes sparkled and my stomach ached.
“What’s for breakfast, Annabelle?” Lydia walked in, pulling her long gray hair into a bun.
“Trouble, Miss Lydia. Today it be trouble for breakfast.” Annabelle pointed to the window.
Just then a blast hit the house.
We were thrown to the ground as smoke and some kind of stench filled the air.
My head buzzed, not like I would change but like I’d hit it.
Voices I couldn’t understand rattled around in my fuzzy thoughts. The children were screaming. Everyone panicked but I couldn’t see.
Finally, through the haze, something cleared in my vision. It was Aleks on the ground next to me. He blinked and peered down at the blood staining his hands. At the same time, we both followed the blood to the exposed flesh on his stomach.
He shivered.
“What the hell, Aleks? What happened?” I cried out.
“I don’t know. I haven’t bled in a very long time, Hanna. Something is in the smoke. Something bad. Find the kids.” He tried to stand but couldn’t. I jumped up, seeing a snarling Lorri. She was livid.
“They were humans! The guards couldn’t keep them out. I couldn’t kill them. I wounded them over and over, but I couldn’t kill them. It was like they felt nothing,” she screamed at me and stormed past us through the kitchen to the sitting room.
I helped Aleks up and followed Lorri to where Lydia lay unconscious on the ground. She barely had a heartbeat.
“Is she dying?” I asked.
Aleks dropped to his knees, cradling the older woman. “It feels that way.”
“Son of a bitch! I’m going to rip his limbs off and eat them slowly in front of him,” Lorri seethed, leaving the sitting room. She returned with a small glass of red liquid.
“No, Lorri.” Aleks’ voice was stern. “You know Lydia’s opinions on such things. She wouldn’t want this.”
“Make her drink it.” Lorri sank into the chair. “I don’t have any choice. The children are all missing, except the chubby one who sees the future. Annabelle is blaming herself, she thinks it’s her fault.”
“How could any of this be her fault?” Aleks scoffed as he pulled Lydia up into his arms, cradling her.
Lorri sighed. “Annabelle controls the guards. She’s powerful, more than Lydia. They were never Lydia’s guards. How could this happen? How could humans be that strong?”
“I think I know,” I whispered. “I gave my blood to Marcus Dragomir. He was using it to make a cure for what I am. Aimee found out he was also using it to help the Dark Ones.”
Lorri shot up from the chair. “Where is he?”
“I don’t know.” My eyes filled with fear and sadness.
Lorri was gone with a flash.
I slumped onto the floor, on my knees. “It’s all my fault.”
Aleks picked Lydia up and placed her on the couch. “No, it’s not. None of this is your fault. We never should have let you go back there.”
“Aleks?”
We both gazed up to see Aimee’s horrified expression.
“Help Lydia,” Aleks said softly.
“What happened?” Aimee rushed to the couch, feeling for Lydia’s weak pulse. “Giselle. Come quick,” Aimee shouted.
“No, you know her wishes,” Aleks repeated what he’d said to Lorri.
Aimee cried. “Aleks, we have to save her. Giselle’s blood can save her.”
“You can’t save her like that. She wouldn’t like it.”
Ari ran into the room, covered in sweat, with a huge brown wolf beside her. “What the hell is going on?”
Aleks sat beside me, putting a hand on my leg. I hadn’t realized I was fighting the shift and at that point it was too late.
“Everyone stay calm. If Hanna changes, she could kill you all,” Aleks spoke softly, trying to hide his anger. “Her blood has things in it that can make a weapon.” Immediately, his eyes darted to Aimee. “She wasn’t aware of this. Marcus Dragomir tricked her and took her blood, giving it to the Dark Ones. They used it on humans who apparently came for the kids. Aimee discovered it the other day. We’ve been trying to find out more. We thought the formula was in the works, not being used already.”
Aimee frowned. “The guards should have kept everyone here safe.”
Aleks’ expression didn't change. He was visibly pissed off and fighting it. “They don’t keep humans out. We never expected Daniel to use it on humans.”
Ari also looked savage. “I can push Hanna and send her back. It’ll undo all of this.”
Aleks thought for the smallest of seconds. “No. No, she could die, or change and kill people.”
Lucas crept along to the couch and sniffed me as I sat vibrating and fighting the transformation. He walked away after a moment, leaving the room.
“What are we going to do?”
Aleks turned to Aimee. “Come up with a plan.”
“We need to kill the chemist. He’s in Boston. Some new young chemist. Marcus said he was smarter than anyone. He is almost done making the cure for me,” I whispered.
Aleks wrapped an arm around me. “No, we have to wait for him to finish your cure. You will die if you fight without immortality. We have to keep you the safest of everyone. You’re important. More important than the others.” His words cut into me,
bringing me back to the other problem I had, beyond changing in a room filled with good people.
“You aren’t thinking clearly, Aleks.” I lifted the small purple bag I clutched. With trembling hands I reached in, pulling out a tiny vial filled with bright-pink liquid and placed it in his hand. “You need to drink this.”
Aleks was obviously confused. “What?”
More tears fell from my eyes.
“She’s a siren.” Lucas came back into the room fully dressed.
Gasps filled the room.
“You don’t talk about her like that.” Aleks stood, snarling at his friend.
“I am. Drink it. Trust me.” Tears filled my vision. Fortunately, in my self-pity and shame I lost the urge to change.
“I don’t need to drink it. You can’t affect me.” He was so fooled by the magic.
“You have to if she’s a siren, Aleks. Don’t be an idiot,” Lucas snapped.
“Aleks, you have to drink it. I demand it.” I made myself sound like I was in charge.
Without hesitating, Aleks took the vial and opened it. He drank the liquid, and when he was done, he blinked and I could see the difference in his eyes. His expression was like I had betrayed him. “No. Hanna,” he said as if seeing me for the first time.
“I’m sorry.” Tears poured from my face. “I didn’t know. I just found out.” My lips trembled. I turned to Lucas. “You knew? How can you stand it? How is it not getting to you?”
“Easy.” He shrugged. “My wolf has a mate. There isn’t anything as strong as that.”
Ari looked at Lucas and smirked. “Nice. Brownie points for later.”
“And I’ve smelled one before. In Italy. It was like dessert. A rich chocolaty dessert I wanted to bite into. You smell the same.” Lucas folded his arms. “I wasn’t mated then. It was bad. Sirens are deadly.”
Ari frowned as Lucas lost his brownie points.
“I have a few people I need to give the cure to.” I watched Lydia. “I need her to make me a charm. She has to live.”
Aimee stroked the old woman’s face. “She will. It’s Lydia. Nothing can kill her.”