“I don’t need your help.” I turn my back on him, scanning the clearing. Maybe I’ll find something that will help us somehow – footprints, a trail, a sign of which direction they went.
“What’s that in your hand?” His voice is right beside me, and when I turn to face him, he’s inches away. I bite down a yelp of alarm.
Goddamn vampires and their stealth movements. I hate it. In fact, I hate everything about them. I can’t understand how both of my sisters have managed to get themselves hooked up with these bloodsuckers. Mia, of all people, should be more cautious around them. The bastards had her locked up for an entire year, for fuck’s sake.
“You going to tell me?” Marcus’s expression is inscrutable.
“What?” I scowl. I realize my hand has closed into a fist around the small charm. “It’s no business of yours,” I say, knowing I sound belligerent and not caring.
He doesn’t seem to care either because he squats down and examines the ground where we’re standing.
“Looks like he took her from over here.” He looks up at me.
“Well, duh.” I roll my eyes. “The scuffed earth and flattened grass would be the obvious giveaway.”
“Along with the enhanced magic signatures right here,” he says, dusting his hands off as he rises.
“You can read magic signatures?” I frown.
“Of course I can,” he says as if it’s the most obvious thing in the world. He nods at my hand. “You gonna show me what you found?”
I glare at him for a long moment, debating. Every instinct screams not to trust a vampire, but if he can actually help track Gran…
“Fine.” I uncurl my fingers, revealing the crystal bell. “It’s from Gran’s charm bracelet.”
Marcus reaches for it, but I pull back. “I’ll hold it.”
He sighs, extending his hand palm-up. “Place it here. I just need to make contact.”
Reluctantly, I let the crystal bell drop into his palm. The moment it touches his skin, a jolt of energy surges between us. My magic flares instinctively, clashing with whatever power he’s channeling. Purple-white sparks crackle in the air.
“What the hell?” I try to pull away, but his fingers close around mine, trapping them against the crystal. The feedback intensifies, sending tingles up my arm. It’s not exactly painful, but it’s…unsettling. Foreign.
“Wait,” he murmurs, stepping closer. “I’m picking up something…”
He’s so near now I can feel the cool radiating from his skin. My heart pounds traitorously as I look up at him. In the moonlight, those indigo eyes seem to glow with an inner fire. For a split second, I forget he’s a vampire, forget everything except the strange connection humming between us.
“Get your hands off my daughter!”
Dad’s voice shatters the moment. Marcus releases me instantly, stepping back as my parents emerge from the shadows.
I clutch the crystal bell to my chest, trying to steady my breathing.
What the hell just happened?
Dad strides forward, his hair gleaming like mercury in the moonlight. Mom’s right behind him, her face etched with worry. Rowan appears from another direction with Darick. Mia and Soren are right behind them. Soon, the whole family is converging on this spot where Gran vanished.
Just moments ago, we’d all been inside, celebrating Mia’s return, talking about Rowan’s future with Darick. Everything had felt so normal, so hopeful. Then Rowan found that note by Poppy’s tree, and Gran rushed out here…
Now she’s gone.
“I can track her,” Marcus says, interrupting my thoughts. “The trace is still fresh.”
“Like hell you will,” I snap. “This is family business. We don’t need vampire help.”
“Kara—” Mia starts, but I cut her off with a glare. Just because she’s fallen for a vampire doesn’t mean I have to trust them.
“Look,” Marcus says, his voice irritatingly patient, “I understand your distrust, but I can smell things your magic can’t detect. There are traces here—”
