I hardly hear him. My power roars to life, soaking in every ray of light it can reach, dragging them deep and feeding some unquenchable hunger so far inside of me that I gasp at its sudden existence.
I’m not dead.
I’mnot dead.
And not only that. My power filled the room before, but now it expands far beyond that, rolling down the beach and into the water, over the road until it butts up against the buildings at the other side, and the van—
The van.
The bodyguard flinches when I meet his gaze. The bartender is faster, scrabbling back, already yelling for the human to start the fucking engine, but the troll… Trolls are slow.
I leap on him before he can move and ignore the screech of tyres as I bring him down onto the sand. Living souls are all around us, their energy brushing up against my tsunami of power, but none are outside; none will witness this.
He tries to fight back, but it is nothing more than a thought to pin him in the sand. Less than that to dig my fangs into his throat, and I taste the fizz of magic in his blood, but aside from that, it tastes no different than before. Once he’s gone still beneath me, heart stopped, I get to my feet and turn to face the sea.
The sun still hangs in the sky, a little higher than before. Waves break on rocks, and I swallow a terrified, exhilarated sob. It can’t kill me. Whatever power the Huntsman gave Vlad, whatever he passed onto me, has given me this gift. This ability to not only stand in the sun, but have it strengthen me.
Vlad.
The bond thrums between us. When I tilt my head to one side, I see it, a snake of gold that will lead me straight to him. And it is shaking on his end because he is in trouble and I do not doubt for a second that I can help him.
I grin, let out a loud bark of laughter, and break into a run.
Vlad’s snarl makes my heart stop. I’m halfway down the corridor to our room, and I see the flimsiness of the wards and hear the sounds of fighting from within.
I lower my stance and swallow my own growl. He’s mine.Mine. These fae should be able to tell. Fae magic is built on bonds, on their connection to the earth in this realm and theirown. They know a bond exists between us and they tried to separate us anyway.
None of them are expecting the way I tear into the room. The puca has Vlad all wrapped up in his shadows, playing with his food, but I flood the room with light—and my power leaps to protect Vlad because it’s me, part of me, and we won’t ever hurt him—and the puca screams and shrinks back into his glamour.
I kill him quickly, pivoting on the ball of one foot before I set my sights on the redcap. Redcaps can be vicious, and this one looks the part. I don’t care. Margate might be overrun with vampires, but this room is my territory, mine and Vlad’s, and these fae are trespassing.
Blood streaks the wall when I rip into the redcap’s throat. He gurgles and falls, and I wipe my mouth with the back of my hand, watching until he goes still. Power still twists inside of me. I don’t want them here. They don’t belong here. They should go back to her. She’ll already know I survived. Let her know what I just found out about myself.
One blink to the next, and they’re gone. The blood is gone. Vlad makes a sound I’ve never heard from him before and when I turn to him, he takes a wary step back.
I whimper, wrapping my arms around my middle. It’s hard to think, what with everything I can feel right now. The wards need strengthening. Humans surround us, waking for the day, and they’re too close. It’s too unsafe to have them close—
“Grant?” He sounds like he doesn’t believe it’s me. Tears sting my eyes and I nod. “How did you… It’s daylight.”
“I know.” My voice comes out hoarse. Have I made a sound this entire time? I don’t know. I glance to the side, and the bond between me and Vlad fills my vision, a shining golden light. Does he want to get rid of it? I think I could do that now. I don’t want to. I’d refuse. But I think Icould.
“You—” He’s without words. It’s different to the quiet he usually commands. He doesn’t know what to do, and I—
I shake my head. It’s like the night we met. I turn all my focus back to him, magic flexing around us both, and Vlad gasps, I guess at the feel of it. I’m still hungry. I don’t think I can be sated. Or maybe this is the bloodlust I should have felt in the first place, but I’ll need to go out in the sun to be fed.
I don’t know. I don’t care. I watch the way Vlad swallows, eyes wide but never leaving me, and a new hunger surges forth, one I’m much more familiar with.
He doesn’t retreat when I approach. Not this time. His lips part and my mouth waters and I’m going to do something I can’t take back but why shouldn’t I? Fuck the consequences. I should be dead. He should be dead. I know what my regrets are, and I can fix that right now.
“How do I know it is you?” Vlad asks. I’ve rarely stood so close to him, and with the height he has on me, I have to tip my head back a little to look up at his face.
“You think it’s not me?”
“Puca can shapeshift.”
“You think I’m fae?”
“I think you should have died in the sun.”
