“Of course it is,” she snarks, a hushed whisper falling out of her as she moves her wand.“There. They won’t be able to hear us now. What the actual fuck, Warin?”
She storms away from me, pacing the room, tugging at the wild pink strands of her hair. Her dress swishes with the motion, momentarily rendering me unable to focus as I catalog the way she moves. I’m not unfamiliar with watching Ember, I’ve beendoing it for years. But watching her move in my bedroom? Hearing her say my name?
These were things I thought I’d never have. I’d denied myself, thinking I was keeping her safe, I probably was. Staying far away from me was the safest thing for Ember.
Yet, the sick satisfaction of having her in my space outweighs anything right now.
I’ll keep her safe. It will just be more work.
“This is just fucking awesome. Fantastic really. Not only is there a vampire slayer who has a vendetta against me because I’ve accidentally been around vampires at the wrong time. I get kidnapped by one, and one of his lackeys wants to make a human juice box out of me. Now, some version of the vampire government strolled up, one of them you apparently used to fuck and wants to rip my head off?—”
“It was one time. Many years ago, before I even knew you,” I immediately add in.
I don’t tell her that it was in 1932 or that I haven’t been with another female since I learned what I did in 1933.
“Like that matters. They’re staying here in your house, and now for my protection, I can’t even leave your room. It’s the full moon in three days. If I’m not there with my coven, they’ll come looking for me and the last thing I want to do is put my coven in danger.”
“We will figure something out. With the help of the council, we should be able to take the Slayer out and they will leave. None of this will fall back on your coven.”
She pauses her pacing and stares at me.
“And then what, Warin? What happens after the Slayer is gone and the council leaves?”
“Then we continue our arrangement as we originally vowed.”
She takes two steps toward me, her wand at my chest as she looks up at me without an ounce of fear.
She’s gorgeous, and I’m not sure she knows how perfect she is. I’ll have to work on telling her more often.
“The arrangement? The one we had to protect me against the vampire council?” she seethes. “All of this from the beginning has been a trick, getting me to agree to the six months, giving me these old spells. What is it that you want from me?”
My hand comes up to her face, the pad of my thumb caressing the warmth of her pink cheek.
“Everything, Ember Hollow. I want everything.”
She blinks wildly as I drop my hand from her face and turn on my heel, leaving the room to deal with the council and before I slip and tell Ember everything.
Chapter 18
Vampires are dirty, no good liars, and it won’t be soon enough to be rid of them all.
I can’t believe the thoughts I had when I was sitting on Warin’s lap earlier, the fact that I was sitting on his lap at all. It was a ploy to not be on the vampire council’s radar, to protect myself and my coven, at least that’s what I keep telling myself. Admitting I liked the way he defended me and held me would be…well it would be absolutely ridiculous.
Almost as ridiculous as the words that just slipped out of his mouth.
He wants everything from me. What, every ounce of dignity and blood I have to spare?
All I know is that he’s tricked me into this entire situation. Everything that has transpired over the last few days is his fault.
Well, I suppose being in the back of the restaurant when that vampire was staked had nothing to do with him, but he has orchestrated every single moment since then.
I’m so angry that I can’t help the frustrated tears that slip from my eyes. I feel like an idiot.
Gus is still asleep from the spell I cast on him, and I don’t have the heart to wake him for my meltdown. I wish I had Iris or Violet to talk to. The idea of having one of them wrap their arms around me and giving me a hug has fresh tears falling down my face.
I’m not sure why I’m so emotional, but I chalk it up to being a prisoner and having no clue when I’ll see my coven again. I get ready for bed and stare at my crestfallen expression in the mirror. My cheeks are blotchy, and I try splashing some water on my face after brushing my teeth.
When I go back into the room, I wonder if Warin will come back here tonight and I hate that I’m at war with myself on whether I want him to or not.
