“He doesn’t still drink from you, though, surely?” My brows beetle.
Rowan shakes her head. “No.” Her face falls for a moment, regret registering. “But the bond is still the same. The feeling of needing him.”
“I guess my situation is different,” Mia admits. “I got myself into trouble using the wrong kind of magic.” She looks down at her hands. “But if it hadn’t been for Soren, I never would have controlled it.”
I think about the surge of power I felt during the fight at Marcus’s penthouse, how our energies seemed to sync without effort. “But doesn’t that bother you? Having your power tied to a vampire?”
“It’s not like that,” Rowan protests. “The bond enhances what’s already there. It doesn’t control it.”
“Really?” I arch an eyebrow. “Because from where I’m standing, it looks like you’re becoming dependent on them. First, the blood-drinking, then the mind connection, now your magic? What’s next?”
“You’re oversimplifying it,” Mia says, her voice taking on that patient tone that drives me crazy. “A blood match is about balance, not dependency.”
“Says the hybrid,” I snap, immediately regretting it when hurt flashes across her face.
“That’s exactly why you should listen to me,” she counters. “I understand both sides better than anyone.”
“Or maybe being half-vampire makes you biased.” The words tumble out before I can stop them.
“Kara!” Rowan looks up at me sharply. “That’s not fair.”
“None of this is fair!” I throw my hands up, spinning away from the railing. “We’re supposed to be witches, not vampire groupies. Our power should come from us, not some mystical bond with the very creatures who’ve been our enemies for centuries.”
The hurt on my sisters’ faces makes my stomach twist, but I can’t take the words back. I don’t want to. Someone needs to question this whole blood match business, and if I’m the only one willing to do it, so be it.
“What bothers you so much about this, Kara?” Mia puts her hand on my shoulder.
I glance over at her. “Nothing,” I say, almost beneath my breath. “I’m just worried…about you. That’s all.”
“Or maybe about you?” Her eyes are sharp on me. “Is there something you want to tell us, sis?”
I shake my head. “Nothing to tell.”
“Really?” It’s Rowan now, and I’m feeling tag-teamed.
“Really, dammit! Now, will you just drop it?”
“From where I’m standing, you’re the one who started this conversation, Kara. Is something going on between you and Marcus? Do you think it’s…” She pinches her lips together, glancing at Rowan. “Are you experiencing symptoms?”
“Symptoms,” I spit out. “Appropriate word.” Because that’s what this feels like. A disease. One that makes me giddy and disoriented. One that makes me hot all over and gives me shivers…when he’s around.
One I didn’t ask for.
“Signs, then,” Mia corrects. “Have you noticed any signs that might show you’re a match for Marcus?”
I think about the way he’s been in my head. How I can feel his thoughts. Even now, I could be reading his mind if I wasn’t trying desperately to block him out.
“Kara?” Rowan presses. “Have you felt something? A connection?” They’re both watching me intently.
“I…” I rub my eyes. “It’s not real. Some kind of glitch. It’s not the same as what’s happened to you.”
Mia’s eyes are huge. “You can read his thoughts, can’t you.”
I shake my head wildly.
“You can!” Rowan claps her hands together. “You’re mind-bonded!”
“It’s different.” I refuse to concede. “With all that’s been going on lately, the magic…the energies are off kilter.”
