Only Dahlia would be brave—foolish—enough to call him names.
My breath snagged on the bile in my throat.
Karson dropped his gaze lazily to her. “I’m not going to ask you to leave again.”
A wolf’s grin tweaked her lips. “Fantastic, I will just head upstairs and talk to Amy, then.”
“Dahlia, enough,” Caron snapped, not taking her eyes off Karson. “You will be hearing from us again.” Her purple cloak fanned out as she spun, her heels thudding sharply on the floor as she stomped out.
Karson smirked at her back. “I’d like to say I look forward to it, but I don’t, so feel free not to bother.”
“Every moment she stays with you, you put her in more danger,” Dahlia threw over her shoulder as she followed Caron out.
The smile fell from his lips. I saw him flinch before his face quickly became a mask again. “I’d put more trust in my abilities than yours, Dahlia.”
Dahlia raised her hand, and using her powers she slammed the door shut behind her.
I sagged against the wall, my heart drumming in my chest. Dahlia was no match for Karson. He was the only one who could protect me against Sarah. Besides, I wanted to be with him. I was a witch, he was a vampire, and our species were arch enemies. But try telling the organ in my chest that what I felt for him waswrong. I’d been forced to live without him before Sarah attacked, and how empty I’d been—how broken. The whole time we were apart, it was as if a barbed rope was wrapped around my heart, yanking, winding me right back.
A few protesting witches wouldn’t change the love I had for him.
It was unbreakable.
Even if he could never truly love someone like me.
Chapter 2
Red Flag
Karson drew in a deep breath and let it out again, another tiny sign the encounter had caused him distress.
He waited until he heard the car drive off before he spoke. “You can stop hiding now, Amelia.”
I cursed under my breath. Sometimes I forgot his hearing was exceptional. My legs felt shaky as I stepped out from behind the wall. “I’m not hiding.”
Karson cocked a brow, before his gaze drifted back to the headless woman, without a trace of emotion on his face. He spoke to someone lingering in the doorway of the sitting room. “Clean that up.”
Leon, one of Karson’s guards, came out of the sitting room with long strides. He stopped, rubbed his brow when he saw the body on the floor, then sighed. “This was not a good idea.”
“I’m not paying you to tell me if it’s a good idea or not. I’m paying you to clean up the mess.”
Leon shook his head in disbelief. “Some messes are impossible to clean.”
“Noted, now please do your job.” Karson didn’t wait for a response before he flashed up the stairs and stood right in front of me. There was definitely emotion now, a gloweringannoyance. “I’ve told you if I have company to stay in your room until I let you know it’s safe.”
His dark hair fell over his forehead, matching eyes that were darker than their usual hazel color. His eyes darkened when he felt one of three emotions: desire, hunger, or anger. Like now. Which was considerably better than the red glow that burned when he was furious and everyone was about to die.
There was a thud as Leon slung the dead witch’s body over his shoulder. I tried not to notice how her torn flesh was jagged, or how a white bone jutted out, and how blood splashed to the floor like a shredded red flag.
My stomach churned. I tore my eyes away and willed my face to remain blank. Death and violence were a part of his world. It was about to be part of my world too, if I was expected to fight. I was going to have to kill. I couldn’t fall to pieces every time someone bled.
“Who was she?” I asked, dismayed to hear a whine in my voice.
He wiped his bloody hand down his slacks. “I don’t know, and it does not matter. Aside from the one witch in front of me, the only good witch is a dead one.”
The comment shouldn’t impact me, but it still struck hard. When Karson was a young boy, witches slaughtered his parents, so I understood why he hated them so much. I too would hate someone who murdered people I loved.
He must have noted a change in my face because he said softer, “Most witches are cold-hearted, traitorous creatures. They can never be trusted. They would sell their souls to the devil if it meant they could gain power. You will do well to remember that, Amelia.”
