Thinking I was in for a long lecture or worse, I went back inside the bar. Hunter sat at the end, talking to Dimitri. Seeing the hulk of a vampire lean towards Hunter, I sped to them.
“Whoa, where did you come from?” Hunter’s eye blinked in rapid succession.
“Oh.” I tried to relax my shoulders and look normal.
“You appeared from nowhere just like when I walked in.”
“Yep, she’s quick on her feet, that one.” Dimitri winked at me.
“I have to get home. What did Chalondra say?”
“I’ll walk you.” Hunter stood and waved to Dimitri. “Nice to meet you.”
“You too, mate.” Dimitri saluted with two fingers.
In the front room, Eden hugged me. “You come by any time. And stop thinking what happened to that boy is your fault.”
“Thank you.” I squeezed her tight.
“So, you found me using a locator spell?” I asked Hunter as we left the shop.
“Yep. Got that one down pretty well.”
We walked a few steps in silence. “Are you going to tell me what she said?”
“I kind of have to digest it first. But you were right. She knew who my father was as soon as she touched me. Why won’t you let her find your father?”
“I’m not ready.” It was a partial truth, the only information I could share with him. One day, if our relationship survived the test of time, I would tell him about being half witch, half vampire.
The rest of our walk proceeded with me contemplating being able to leave him. I figured he was wrapped up in the information he learned from Chalondra.
As we reached my building, he took my hand. “Are you going to the funeral tomorrow?”
“Yes. Mother, Orm, and Elizabeth are coming with me.”
“I could come with you if you want.”
“I would really like that. Are you sure?”
“Of course. Whatever you need. But you have to turn on your phone and talk to me. Maybe eat something.” He moved my hair from my face and tucked it behind my ear. “You look like you’re going to blow away.”
“Okay.” I slid my hand in his. “We’ll pick you up at nine fifteen.”
“Good.” He leaned down and planted a kiss on my lips.
I heard the door swing open and turned to see Will’s huge form. “That’s my cue.”
“Got it.” He spun and walked away.
Mother stood in the foyer, hands on her hips and slapping her phone against her leg when I entered with Will.
“Will says Hunter kissed you.”
I swallowed hard. “Yes.”
“How long has this relationship been going on?”
“A week?”
“And you didn’t bother to tell me?”
“I don’t know what to think about anything anymore, much less what I’m allowed to do and not allowed to do.”
“It’s not a matter of being allowed. It’s a matter of being honest.”
“I was trying to figure out how I felt.”
“And you’ve figured it out?”
“Yes.”
“Well, I won’t have you sneaking around, do you understand? I am giving you a pass because your friend—”
I cut her off. “Don’t say it. That is for tomorrow. Thank you, and good night.” I took a few steps down the hall, and she shot around me blocking my path.
“Please eat something.”
“Tomorrow.” I hugged her and continued to my room.
Elizabeth woke me at seven, pulling the blinds back like always. Showering and dressing in a black dress that I found hanging on the closet door, I met her and Mother in the kitchen. Elizabeth generally dressed in black, but that day she wore a stylish black dress and heels under her apron. A slim black outfit replaced Mother’s business skirt and light silk blouse.
No one spoke as I ate my breakfast and set the plate in the sink, I guessed they were scared to say the wrong thing and jeopardize my meal. Mother didn’t object to picking up Hunter, and Orm met us in the foyer after I’d brushed my teeth.
Will had a second security vampire with him in the hall outside our condo, and we rode the elevator down. The car was packed with the two bulky guards in front, me and Mother in the back, and Orm and Elizabeth in the middle row. At Hunter’s apartment, I slid out to meet him on his steps. The sight of him, in his pressed suit and tie, helped me relax. If the kindest-hearted person I’d ever met could like me, I couldn’t be one hundred percent evil.
“You look nice.” I smiled as he reached me.
“You look beautiful.” He kissed my cheek and took my hand. My face warmed as I realized we had an audience.
We slid in the back and my family greeted Hunter. I introduced him to Will and Jacob.
“The car smells like the bookstore,” he whispered to me.
Yes, like vampires, that can hear you whispering, I thought.
The lane beside the church was filled with cars. I’d hoped it would be just the five of us attending the service, but Will and Jacob followed behind as we walked to the entrance.
“Are they really necessary?” I asked Mother.
“If there’s a chance Theron or his father will be here, yes,” she whispered in my ear.
Entering the church, we waited in line to pass the casket and greet his family. I held Mother’s hand tight as we passed the closed chest with a picture of Ganby beside it. Wondering what I would say to his family, my hands trembled in Mother’s.
The woman I assumed to be Ganby’s mother, held a tissue in her hand and patted her cheek with it between greeting each guest. A girl of about twelve shook my hand first, and I fought the tears threatening to form. Swallowing hard, I stepped in front of his mother. When her eyes met mine, her hand went to her chest. In a quick action, she wrapped the other arm around me.
“I’m so sorry,” I whispered in her ear.
The man beside her put a hand on my back. As I stepped away from the embrace, he spoke. “You are Alena.” He pulled a folded piece of paper from his pocket. “Ganby wrote this. I’m sorry.”
He held it out to me, and Mother took it.
Straightening my back, I looked at each of them. “I’m so sorry for your loss.” I couldn’t say more as my legs began to tremble, and my knees threatened to buckle.
Mother fitted her arm around my waist, urging me to move on. Looking out into the sea of faces seated in the pews, I found Sophie, Nick, David, and Annabelle.
“Can we go home? I’ll take flowers to the grave later,” I whispered to Mother.
“Sure, dear.”
We walked out into the sunshine, and I thought it cruel that it was such a beautiful day. Mother invited Hunter to spend the rest of the day with us, and I folded my hand over his, happy to be able to spend time with him without sneaking around.
Gathering in the family room after changing our clothes, Mother brought me Ganby’s letter.
“You should open it.”
Unfolding the page, I read the words he’d scribbled in pen. I’m sorry Alena. No one deserved to be picked on like I did you.
Picturing Theron forcing the thoughts into Ganby’s head, I ran to the hearth and threw the note towards the logs, lighting them as it hit.
“Wow. I didn’t even notice you had started the fire, Elizabeth.” Mother’s nervous laughter stopped my tirade.
“Yes, I thought it a nice day for a warm fire.” Elizabeth stood and poked the sizzling logs.
My phone buzzed on the couch beside Hunter with receipt of a call.
Hunter held the device out to me. “It’s Theron.”
“Come to my office.” Mother shuffled me into the next room. “Put it on speaker.”
I answered the call. “Theron, hi.”
“I’ve been calling for days.”
“It’s been pretty rough. I’m really upset about my friend.”
“Your friend? Wasn’t he the guy that picked on you all the time?”
“Yes, Theron. My friend.” Mother wave
d her hands in the air, indicating—I guessed—not to use a harsh tone. “I mean, he picked on me, but it was you know, just his thing.” I glared at Mother.
“Oh, well, I’d like to get together soon if you can. I’ve been thinking about things, you know. I mean, we are these special beings. No one has been like us since Hitler. What a genius, I mean, commanding all those people. And it took a coven of one hundred witches to bring him down.”
“Wow, I didn’t know that. I thought he killed himself. I didn’t realize he was a hybrid.”
“My father has so much information. You should come use his library sometime.”
“Yeah, that’d be nice. This is a bad week, though, with the funeral and Mabon.”
“I was hoping to see you before then. I have something I need to tell you. It can’t be over the phone.”
Mother shook her head and mouthed no.
“I’m really sorry. Mom always has a huge party, and she needs a lot of help with it.”
“Oh, right. I forgot, I think we got your invites. I can’t make it. I will be with my father that night. That’s what I need to talk to you about. Can’t you spare an hour?”
“Sorry, Theron, I can’t.”
“Is that your final choice?” His tone grew hard.
“Yes.”
“Okay, well, your loss then.” He cut the connection.
“Hitler?” I asked Mother.
“Shh.” She put her index finger to her mouth. “Yes, that is why beings like you are forbidden.”
“What have you done? I’m a monster.” I leaned against her desk.
She put her hands on my shoulders, shaking them and forcing me to look at her. “No, Alena, you’re not. You are a child of light. You won’t be like him.”
“What of Theron?”
“We act as if nothing happened. We don’t need a feud between the witches and vampires.”
Tucking all the bits of information in my brain, I opened the door to the sitting room. Elizabeth had arranged a plate of cheese and fruit.
“The gentleman said he liked everything,” she commented as she passed plates to us.
After we’d eaten, I asked Mother if Hunter and I could be excused to my room. She agreed, although we were instructed to keep the door open.
Passing into my room, I turned back to Hunter as he stood, mouth agape.
“This is your room? My whole apartment could fit in here.”
“Come on.” I pulled his hand. He walked to each wall of windows as I raised the blinds.
“I would never leave. How do you ever leave?” He spun to face the wall that held my bed. “Violet?”
“Violet.” I smiled, thinking of my nickname from when we’d played as kids.
“Come here, this is the best.”
I took his hand, and we walked up the step to my bed. I made him stand with his back to the bed, and with arms outstretched, we fell back onto the down comforter.
“This is so soft.” He pulled off his shoes and let them drop to the floor.
I sat beside him as he lay on his back. Pulling out my phone I texted him a message. No magic. No talk of witchy stuff. They can’t know about you.
I figured. No kisses? He added a frowny face to the message.
I rolled my eyes and lay beside him. With his cool body beside me, I relaxed for the first time in days. I wondered why I felt safe with him. With my magic, speed, strength, and fighting skills, I was stronger than any being I’d met, save Theron or Chalondra perhaps. But I still viewed myself as small and vulnerable. I wondered if the fear of my identity being revealed kept me scared, looking over my shoulder, waiting for a catastrophe.
“Penny for your thoughts?” Hunter asked.
“A million for yours.”
“I’m proud of you for going today. That was a strong thing to do.” He sat up and tapped my phone. What did Theron say? He wrote in a dialog box.
He wanted to see me. Said it needed to be before Mabon.
Mabon?
Celebration of the Fall Equinox, balance between light and dark, thanking the gods for the harvest, welcoming winter.
You celebrate that?
It’s mom’s biggest party of the year.
Why do you think Theron wanted to see you before then?
No clue. Said he’d be with his father that night.
When is it?
Friday.
I’ll talk to him. See if I can get anything out of him. He likes to brag so he might say something.
Good plan. Can’t wait to hear about your fortune-telling experience.
Tomorrow? Lunch?
I dread going back to school. Maybe I’ll skip. Mother may let me.
Hearing Orm’s shuffling feet in the hall, I looked up to see him shaking his head. “Kids these days. Never talk to each other.”
“I should go.” Hunter stood. “Mom will be getting up to go to work.”
I erased our texts and followed him out.
After taking him to say goodbye to Mother, Elizabeth, and Orm, Hunter and I rode the elevator down.
He slid over to me. “Now can I get a kiss?”
Pointing to the camera on the ceiling, I laughed. “Not yet.”
As soon as we were out of the elevator, he pulled me to him and kissed me. It earned us a throat clearing and cough from the lobby attendant, but I didn’t care. Nothing felt wrong with the world when Hunter held me.
“I’ll see you tomorrow. Text me.”
“I will.” I waved as I got on the elevator.
Upstairs, Mother caught up with me as I walked to my room. “You really like him, don’t you?”
“Yes.”
“Be careful. We don’t know what Theron is capable of.”
“I have Hunter’s bracelet, and he has mine.”
“But you won’t be able to get to him in time. Shall I have a staff member guard him?”
“Theron doesn’t know about Hunter. I didn’t see or text Hunter when I was wearing the necklace.”
“That is good.”
It was doubly good because it wouldn’t do to have one of Mother’s men following Hunter.
“Is it okay if I skip school and have lunch with Hunter tomorrow?”
“No and yes. I know this is hard, but you have to move forward.”
School, an empty seat formerly occupied by Ganby, and the outpouring of sympathy from every student I passed had me on the edge of my seat waiting for the bell to ring before lunch.
Sophie caught me in the hall as I tried my escape. “Are you going out for lunch?”
“Yes, sorry I’ve been a horrible friend this weekend.”
“Are you kidding? You were covered in Ganby’s blood. How do you get over that?”
“But I only knew him for a couple of weeks. You guys have been with him since forever.”
“And most of us have hated him forever.”
“I’m sorry.” I gave her a quick hug. “We should talk soon. Tonight, or something. I have to get food.”
In two blocks, I caught Hunter’s scent. I sneaked up behind him and covered his eyes with my fingers.
“Oh, my goodness. You are like a ninja.” He wrapped his hands around mine.
“That big guy Dimitri at the bar has been teaching me moves. Speaking of that night…”
“Yeah, I don’t know. Everything she said sounded like spiritual mumbo jumbo. Something like a child of light born before the dawn of the millennium would herald peace for his people.” He shrugged. “I have no people. There was something else she seemed concerned about, but she wouldn’t share it. Like another piece was missing.”
“Dimitri told me the people in the witch community are nervous.” I exchanged witch for vampire, thinking it but a white lie.
“Enough witchy stuff. You need to eat.” He dug in my bag and found my lunch.
As with the previous week, I trained with Dimitri in the afternoon. “That Hunter friend of yours has Chalondra all riled up,” he commented as we walked to an abandoned building.<
br />
“I’ll have to ask her about it.”
“Good luck with that. She doesn’t talk to vamps much. Only Fahim and Eden.”
Dimitri hung a punching bag from the rafters, and I practiced hitting it. “So how do you fight a witch?”
“You hope they aren’t as strong as you, or you run. Fahim may be able to fight one.”
“So, is Fahim like a leader?”
“Sort of. Nothing official. He’s the oldest vamp in this area. Us unregistereds tend to fall into the order of the old days.”
“So, you would fight with him?”
“Guess. Sure wish we knew what we were up against. Mabon’s coming, and it’s giving everyone the heebie jeebies.”
“Mabon? Like the fall equinox?”
“Read about that in the books, did you? At least we don’t have a full moon for this one. Going to be dark as heck, and that works in our favor.”
With preparation for Mother’s Mabon party, tension ramped up as Friday drew near. There were caterers, florist, entertainers, and costume designers in and out of the house from sunup to sundown.
“Hold still, child,” Elizabeth scolded as I craned my neck to see the back of the gown Mother had picked out for me.
“I have to change into my uniform and get to school. Fridays are game days.”
“I know, child. I’m almost done. Tell me, you don’t seem as excited for the event this year.”
“It’s the funeral and worrying about Theron.”
“Your mother has doubled security. You have nothing to fear.”
“I wish I could bring Hunter.”
A rare giggle escaped her lips. “You want to bring that luscious boy into a house of vampires?”
“Did you call my boyfriend luscious?”
“He smells of grapes and honey. Don’t tell me you haven’t noticed.”
“Okay, maybe a little.” I rolled my eyes and spun my head to face the mirror.
“And why can’t I come to this party tonight?” Hunter asked as we sat in the garden at lunch.
“It’s Mom’s work party. She’s very particular. She does this every year. Besides it’s Mabon already, and you still haven’t heard from Theron. Chalondra has been chanting in that room of hers all week. Something is going on. Don’t you feel this tug? I can’t explain it. And I’ve been having these strange dreams.”
The Kingdom Journals Complete Series Box Set Page 23