Foretold, page 27
I ran fingers down to where the horn began at his temple and felt a shudder go through him. My eyes went to his, startled by the heat I found in his pale blue gaze. I was struck by two opposing impulses, one to run away, the other to stay and see what happened next.
“ I ’ ll kiss you before I go if that ’ s what you really want, ” he said, a weird catch in his voice.
I inhaled sharply and nodded. This was it. My chance to bind him. Now, where was the magic Peter had promised me? Vasilios bent close, tentatively pressing his lips to mine. He hesitated, sensing my stiffness. I needed to loosen up, make him believe I wanted this.
So, I weaved my arms around his neck, pulling him close and opening my mouth. Vasilios held still as I kissed him. Did he know I was faking it? Panic trickled in, but then he started kissing me back, his tongue meeting mine in a seductive slide.
A growl rumbled from his chest as his hands came up to cup my cheeks, and I took the opportunity to run my hands down his arms. At that moment, a jolt went through me, like an electrical charge. The combination of magic from Peter, Rita, and my mother zipped through my veins. It was like nothing I ’ d ever felt before.
I suddenly realised what I ’ d been missing out on all these years.
Now I knew why witches and warlocks were so proud when it came to the magic they possessed. It was a powerful feeling, knowing you could wield a spell against someone, hold them at your mercy with nothing but a muttered incantation.
My hands continued roaming down Vasilios ’ arms until I reached his wrists. He was so deep into our kiss that he didn ’ t immediately notice me closing my fingers around them.
Another sensation zapped through me, a strange vibration. It wasn ’ t Peter ’ s magic nor my mother ’ s nor Rita's. It was my own. Something in their combined magic channelling through me had awakened a spark of my inherent power.
I gathered it all, all of the magic that was culminating inside of me, and directed it around Vasilios ’ wrists, allowing it to form a magical bind. The magic sang within me, telling me the spell was working. The invisible binds fastened around him, muting the vast power he possessed. Suddenly, Vasilios tore his mouth from mine.
“ What are you doing? ” he demanded in outrage. His magic resurged, fighting against the binding. I struggled to keep it in place, and it faltered for a moment, like silk ribbons slipping away. No, you can do this , I told myself. Vasilios might ’ ve been powerful, but I had the magic of two sorceresses, a warlock, plus my own trickle of magic inside me now. I could overpower him. I just had to focus.
I felt him rage against the binding once more, but I held firm. I stared into his furious, betrayed eyes and focused harder than I ever had before. I visualised the long strands of magic circling his wrists, twisting and fastening them tight. Vasilios ’ magic weakened once more and his hands snapped together as though drawn by magnets. A sense of triumph rushed through me. I ’ d done it! I ’ d actually managed to complete a spell for once in my life.
Whatever forcefield he ’ d surrounded the house with shattered as I stepped away from him, confident now that the binds would hold.
“ You want to kill my parents, ” I said calmly. “ I can ’ t let that happen. ”
I expected him to rant and rave, but instead, he fell eerily silent. Finally, he seethed, “ I won ’ t forget this. ”
A chill skittered down my spine at the dark look he gave me. Then the door to the house burst open. My parents, Rita, Peter, and several members of the Guard flooded in. Vasilios stood still as a statue as the Guard surrounded him, snapping a pair of bespelled handcuffs on him that would further prevent his escape.
I noticed Rita standing in one spot, staring at Vasilios with a strange expression on her face. “ Who are you? ” she whispered.
He didn ’ t answer, only glared at her with hatred in his eyes. I stepped forward, placing a hand on Rita ’ s shoulder. “ His name is Vasilios Girard, and he ’ s your half-brother. ”
“ He ’ s her half what? ” Mum exclaimed while Dad inspected me for injuries.
“ Theodore had a son during his time in Oreylia, ” I explained.
Rita stepped away from me and approached Vasilios. “ Theodore was truly your father? ”
“ It will never cease to amaze me how that psychopath managed to convince women to sleep with him, ” Mum said, shuddering,
Vasilios levelled his eyes on Rita. “ Yes, and I will kill you one day for what you did to him. ”
“ You clearly have no idea what he was like. He was a madman. ”
“ Maybe I ’ m just like him, ” Vasilios replied darkly right before the Guard escorted him from the house. He turned back before they reached the door, making eye contact with me one last time. His look seemed to say, This isn ’ t over , and I momentarily regretted tricking him into that kiss. He didn ’ t seem like the kind of person to let something like that go lightly.
“ He came here for revenge on everyone who had a hand in Theodore ’ s death, ” I said. “ He also wanted to finish what the sorcerer started by taking over the city. That ’ s why he was using his demon powers to stir up dissent among the vampires. ”
“ He wanted to start another war, ” my father stated solemnly.
My attention was drawn to Peter. He stood on the other side of the room, looking like he wanted to sweep me into his arms but was hesitant to do so in front of my parents. I had no such qualms. I closed the distance between us, throwing my arms around him and pulling him tight to my body.
“ I ’ m so glad you ’ re okay, ” he said as I buried my face in his warm neck.
“ I can ’ t believe you managed to channel all that magic through our connection, ” I went on. “ It was like nothing I ever felt. ”
“ I wasn ’ t sure it would work. ”
“ Well, it did. You ’ re a genius. Also, it was freaking Nic, I mean Vasilios, who messed with our spell. He pretended that the spell knocked him out when he was the one behind it all along. ”
Peter ’ s eyebrows shot up. “ It was him? ”
“ He thought having your voice in my head would distract me from trying to discover who killed Mr Williams, ” I said, then fell silent. Something felt different. I tried to speak in Peter ’ s mind, but only empty quiet answered back. “ Peter, ” I said, my heart pounding as I searched his eyes. “ I think our connection is gone. The magical binds on Vasilios must ’ ve somehow erased the spell. ”
“ No …” Peter trailed off, clearly trying to communicate with me telepathically and failing. All this time, our connection had seemed like a problem to be solved, but now it was gone, and I was oddly bereft.
Peter exhaled a heavy breath. “ You ’ re right. It ’ s gone. ”
“ Is it weird that I feel sad? ”
He shook his head, running the backs of his knuckles gently across my cheek. “ I ’ d gotten fond of having you in my head. ”
“ Me, too. ”
We stared into each other ’ s eyes. The sense of loss was palpable, and yet, I was still grateful that we had each other. I was grateful for our time in the library and that he had been my first. Our magical connection might be gone, but the emotional bond we ’ d developed was stronger. It wouldn ’ t be so easily severed.
“ I love you, ” he whispered, then bent to take my lips in a sweet, tender kiss. I kissed him back with all I had, hoping to erase the kiss with Vasilios. I wanted to forget his weird obsession with me and just focus on Peter.
“ Love you, too, ” I breathed when we finally broke apart for air.
“ Well, this is an interesting development, ” Rita said, and we turned around to find everyone staring at us, my parents included. I wanted to crawl inside my own skin and die of mortification. Dad ’ s expression was stoic, while my mother wore the ghost of a smile on her lips. I certainly knew which parent would be the easier one to win over when it came to accepting my relationship with Peter.
I didn ’ t know what to say, and seemingly Peter didn ’ t either because he stood holding my hand in silence. Thankfully, the awkward moment was interrupted when the doors to the dining room creaked open. My good friend Nic, the real Nic, and his parents emerged, looking dazed and confused.
“ Might I ask what you ’ re all doing in our house? ” Mr Baumann questioned.
18.
“ Wait, so who ’ s the guy we arrested in the forest? ” Mum asked on the drive home from the Baumann house.
After a short reunion with Nic, and after we explained everything that had happened to them, we left the Baumanns to their privacy and headed out. Peter and I shared one more heated kiss (thankfully while my parents were busy talking to the Baumanns), and he said he ’ d catch up with me tomorrow. I hated the idea of him going back to the library on his own, but it wasn ’ t like my parents would agree to him sleeping over in my room.
“ His name is Sven, ” I told her. “ He came from Oreylia, too. He ’ s part demon, part vampire, which explains how Mr Williams was killed. Supposedly, he let himself be caught to take the heat off Vasilios, who was going to help him escape later on. ”
We ’ d dropped Rita off at her house, so it was just my parents and me in the car.
“ About Peter, ” Mum went on. “ He seems like a very nice boy. ”
“ He is a nice boy. ”
“ He better be a nice boy, ” Dad added, hands tightening on the steering wheel as he muttered something under his breath in Romanian, his mother tongue.
“ She ’ s eighteen years old, Ethan, ” Mum chided. “ She was bound to start bringing a boyfriend home sooner or later. ”
“ How about later? ” Dad replied. I reached forward and squeezed his shoulder.
“ Thanks for being so laid-back about this, ” I teased, and Mum chuckled.
Dad gave a noncommittal grunt. “ I ’ ll give him the benefit of the doubt. At least until he fucks up, then I ’ ll deal with him in a fitting manner. ”
Mum swiped him on the arm. “ Don ’ t swear in front of our daughter. ”
“ When he messes up, then, ” Dad corrected himself.
I sat back, glad that he at least wasn ’ t forbidding me from seeing him. I decided to take it as a win. A few minutes later, we arrived at our house. Dad stayed in the car, telling us he had to go to the Hawthorn Council and let them know the true demon warlock had finally been apprehended.
Mum gave me a long hug as we stood at the bottom of the stairs, and I sensed her relief that I hadn ’ t been hurt tonight. I ’ d managed to avoid telling anyone the real reason Vasilios had marked me. I hoped it was something that didn ’ t need to be brought up. They all presumed he ’ d done it as a way of punishing my parents and not because he spotted me through a window and fell head over heels into a weird obsession. He thought we were kindred, but aside from our mixed heritage, we had absolutely nothing in common.
I headed to my room and took a shower. While I washed, my mind wandered to the boy I thought was Nic. He ’ d been a friend to me, but it wasn ’ t real, and I felt sad to have lost the person he was pretending to be, even though I would be getting my real friend back.
I wondered what might happen to Vasilios now. Likely, he ’ d be sent to the Prison of Thorns. I wasn ’ t worried about him, though. He ’ d brought it all upon himself.
I stepped out of the shower and dried off, then threw on a silk robe. On instinct, I reached out with my mind to talk to Peter, then remembered we no longer had our connection.
My heart sank.
It was going to be a while before I got used to the silence.
I walked into my room, wrapped up in my thoughts, when I stopped short. Peter was sitting on my bed, and my heart did a little somersault at the sight of him. He turned, his eyes heating when he saw me. His hair was wet, and I suspected he teleported to the showers at St. Bastian ’ s after he left me outside the Baumann house.
“ I missed you too much to stay away, ” he said, gaze trailing down my body. I ’ d been completely naked with him, given him my virginity, and yet I still grew shy under his keen attention.
“ You ’ re lucky my dad ’ s out, ” I said with a teasing smile as I walked to the bed and came to stand between his legs. “ Because he wouldn ’ t take kindly to you teleporting into my bedroom at this hour. ”
Peter ran his hand up my thigh, along the curve of my backside, before coming to rest on my lower back. My nipples beaded under the silky fabric of my robe.
“ It wouldn ’ t be the first time I ’ ve teleported into your bedroom, ” he said huskily, his other hand going to my hip as his eyes devoured the outline of my breasts.
“ You were lucky those times, too. He was asleep. ”
“ Is it safe for me to stay a little while? ” he asked, staring up at me.
I sank a hand into his thick hair and yanked his head back a little. “ I think so, but only if you promise to be good. ”
“ What does being good entail? ”
“ Kissing me, ” I whispered, my nerve endings coming to life just from how he looked at me.
“ Where? ” he breathed, and my pulse picked up a notch.
I didn ’ t say anything, but my eyes must ’ ve told him the answer. He reached for the knot holding the robe together and quickly untied it. He pushed the robe open, revealing my naked form. “ So beautiful, ” he said, taking me in, and I remembered a time when I ’ d heard him think the same thing.
I was certainly going to miss those little glimpses inside his mind.
His mouth closed around my breast, and I gasped as his tongue flicked across my nipple. My knees grew weak, and my hands went to his shoulders to steady myself.
“ I don ’ t think I ’ ll ever tire of this, ” he rasped before dragging his tongue along the top of my breast. I reached for his shirt and pulled it up over his head. I ran my palm along his chest and shoulders, then over his broad back.
Peter bent forward and kissed my stomach, scattering tingles everywhere his lips touched. His hand went between my legs, lightly touching my sex. I shifted my feet apart to grant him more across, and he found my clit, rubbing delicious circles as his mouth continued its journey south.
I let out a small squeak when he slid off the bed and knelt on the floor. He guided my hands back to his shoulders before hitching one of my legs up onto the bed. I watched in arousal and excitement as he lowered his face between my thighs, picking up where he ’ d left off earlier.
“ You have no idea how good you are at this, ” I said, my voice barely a whisper. “ And that makes it even sexier. ”
He didn ’ t say anything, just stared up at me with those bottomless brown eyes as his mouth did wonderful things to me. I came with a strangled cry. My mother and Rebecca didn ’ t have my dad ’ s superhuman hearing, but they still had ears. And though this house was big, it certainly wasn ’ t big enough for me to be as loud as I wanted to be right then.
“ You ’ re incredible, ” Peter said as I stared down at him, so many feelings filling my chest. Love, awe, adoration.
“ Make love to me again, ” I blurted, still coming down off my orgasm high.
Peter chuckled quietly. “ If I must. ”
He rose from his knees like a king rising to meet his queen. I loved how he made me feel. He made me feel like I was the most desirable thing in the whole universe. Eyes not leaving mine, he interlaced our fingers and guided me down onto the bed. I lay beneath him as his hard body came over mine, and we gave ourselves to each other once more.
***
I wasn ’ t sure how long we slept for, but I felt rested when I woke up, so I knew it must ’ ve been a while. It was also dark out, which meant we ’ d slept through most of the day. I reached out with my dhampir hearing, and the house was quiet. My parents and Rebecca had gone out.
Peter lay spread out on the other side of my bed, his face mashed into the pillow. My heart filled to see him sleep so deeply because I knew he hadn ’ t been getting a lot of rest sleeping in the library. A part of me wanted to ask my parents if he could move in here, but even in the unlikely event that they said yes, Peter wouldn ’ t accept it. He had too much pride, and I knew he wanted to find a place of his own. He didn ’ t want charity. He wanted to work and achieve it for himself.
I gazed at him, stroking his back and taking him in. When he finally woke up, a tired smile shaped his lips.
“ Hey, ” I whispered.
“ Hi, ” he replied before tugging me closer and folding me into his arms. I buried my face in his neck and breathed him in, absorbing the essence of him. A second later, he swore under his breath.
“ What ’ s wrong? ”
“ I slept through my shift at the market. Clay ’ s going to be pissed at me. ”
“ I ’ m sure he ’ ll understand if you explain what happened last night, ” I said.
“ Yeah, I hope so, ” he replied, rubbing soothing circles into my back. We stayed like that for a long while, just holding each other before I kissed his jaw and asked, “ Want something to eat? ”
“ What about your family? ”
“ They ’ ve gone out. ”
“ Okay. Let me get dressed first. ”
I nodded, and Peter sat up. I watched, admiring his bare chest as he grabbed his T-shirt off the floor, pulling it on when we both heard someone come in the front door. Feet pounded up the stairs, and then my bedroom door flew open, revealing Grace, her dark hair in a messy bun. She looked from me to Peter.
“ Okay, so who wants to tell me what happened last night because I have been hearing some wild shit, ” she said, not even bothering to comment on the fact that Peter and I had clearly spent the night together.
A half an hour later, we were sitting in my kitchen eating a mountain of bacon and pancakes while we filled Grace in on everything that happened the previous evening. She sat in slack-jawed horror as I recounted my discovery of Nic ’ s true identity.
“ I just don ’ t get why he went to all the trouble of befriending you. I mean, sure, it got him a little closer to your parents, but it wasn ’ t entirely necessary. ”
Trust Grace to bring up the topic I ’ d been hoping not to have to discuss.
