Little does she know the significance to me, that every time I see that ring on her finger I picture it as my claim on her. It suddenly dawns on me that if she completed the spell that she had the help of another vampire.
There’s no fucking way.
There isn’t a vampire in a hundred miles who would dare help a witch with something like this.
Unbridled rage fills me as I grab the frame of her door with both hands, making myself larger.
“And who might I ask gave you what you needed?”
Her eyes narrow at me. Maybe it’s because she knows I can’t come into her home. There’s also our vow that I’ll never cause her harm. Little does she know she’s cast it twice now and there was never a vow necessary. I’d never dare to harm her.
“Me. I handled it. Did you just come here to check on my progress, or is there something else you need?”
“Whose blood was it, Ember?”
She arches a brow at me, unimpressed with my line of questioning.
“Does it matter?”
“What did they look like? Who the fuck gave you their blood? Did you drink it?” I question, my rage ratcheting up too quickly.
“Hmm, you know, I didn’t get a good look at him. I think he was maybe taller than you.”
“What was his name, witch?” I ask, my anger festering.
I never thought I’d be anything like Oz, but I am considering hunting down this vampire and staking him right in the heart for even approaching her.
“I didn’t catch his name, it was all rather quick,” she says with an arch of her brow.
Without even realizing it, my grip on her door frame tightens. It splinters and cracks under my palms as chips of wood fall to the ground between us.
She looks down at the mess on her porch, then back up at me before clicking her tongue and slamming the door in my face.
I blink at the door, not remembering the last time anyone dared to disrespect me in that way.
“Don’t come back until you fix the frame!” she shouts from behind the door.
“Open the door, Ember!” I shout back.
She doesn’t answer me or open the door and I stand there dumbfounded; she truly just slammed the door in my face and all but told me to fuck off.
I stare at the closed door a while longer, along with the mess I made with my tantrum. I pull out my phone, scrolling with unbelievable speed as I place an order at the home improvement store.
As I’m checking out, a nagging voice interrupts my thoughts, a voice I know all too well.
“Really fucked that up, didn’t you, War?”
I pinch my nose,and glare at the shutters next to the door where my bat familiar is all but snickering at me in her head. Humans got some things right, but assuming we turned into bats was pretty far from the truth. Just like witches, vampires have their own familiar, with some significant differences. One being that vampire familiars only ever bond with one vampire, when their vampire meets their death, so do they. The other is the way we’re able to communicate, it’s all telepathic.
It’s another way I’ve been able to keep tabs on Ember all these years.
“Mind your business, Betty,”I tell her through the mind connection we have.
“Oh, shall I unfurl myself out of this shutter and go about my day then? Do you know how insufferable these fairies are? I guess I’ll also keep the very vital information of whose blood it was too.”
“Don’t be petty, Betty.”
“I should be. You’re being a dick. Apparently, I’m not the only one who feels this way, either.”
