She blinked, then groaned. “That makes sense. He wouldn’t shut up about fucking encyclopedias. I thought I was just being bored to death.”
A small smile tried to form at the corner of my mouth. “You were lucky I reached you in time.”
She swallowed, glancing down at her hands. “You keep saving me.”
“You keep needing to be saved.”
She looked up, and I saw the tremble of fear she tried to hide. The tether between us pulled, like a blade turning inward. Her fear weakened me. Her safety steadied me. I didn’t understand it, and I didn’t like it.
I reached up and brushed a strand of hair from her face. “Please don’t answer the door when you see a stranger on the other side.”
“Cristian…” she said quietly. “What the hell is going on? You’re clearly not telling me everything.”
“There isn’t much to tell,” I said. That was only half a lie. “There’s a group of ancient vampires. The Sovereign Court. They’ve wanted me in their ranks for centuries. I refused. They don’t take rejection well.”
She frowned. “So, they… put you in a coffin?”
“Stasis,” I corrected. “A prison of stillness. It was the only way they could contain me. They wanted my power for themselves, and I wouldn’t give it. They couldn’t kill me, so they buried me instead.”
Her eyes widened. “Why you?”
I hesitated. “I carry strength the court covets. They call it divine favor. I call it bad luck.”
“And now they’re back?”
“Apparently, their persistence doesn’t die any easier than they do.”
She exhaled, and the sound was one of frustration. “What are we supposed to do about it? I can’t live like a complete hermit all summer.”
“You won’t have to,” I said. “They’re pests. Dangerous, yes, but manageable. As long as I’m around you, they won’t touch you.”
“That’s even more reason we need to break this bond,” she said. “You can’t be my bodyguard forever. I have a life, Cristian. I can’t be bound to an undead man forever.”
The words hit harder than they should have, especially because I should want the same thing.Didwant the same thing.
Didn’t I?
I nodded once, careful not to let it show. “I’m still working on that. You have my word, it’ll be done.” And yet, I still had no idea how I would accomplish it. I couldn’t even leave her side, much less search for someone who may be able to help us.
I would find a way. Ambrosia might know. Or my brother.
Nadia was quiet for a long time, staring at her hands like they might hold the answer.
“What are you thinking?” I asked.
She glanced at me, her expression softer than before, eyes focused somewhere far away.
“I’ve been working on keeping my energy in my own space,” she said slowly. “My therapist keeps telling me I need to protect it the way I protect my students. Not everyone deserves access to it.”
She took a shaky breath. “When Hammond showed up, I could feel it happening. It was like he was pulling something out of me. Not just my strength, but everything. It was too… familiar. I’ve done that to myself before, in smaller ways, like when I overextend. When I bend too far for people who take and take.”
Her throat tightened. “My therapist calls it energetic over-giving. I call it forgetting to matter.” She let out a nervous laugh, but none of the humor reached her eyes. “What he did was a literal, visceral version of that. He walked in and took everythingwithout asking, and I couldn’t stop him. But I can stop other people.”
She looked up at me again, voice steadier now. “So, I guess this was the universe’s extremely dramatic way of proving my therapist’s point. Protect my energy. Keep it where it belongs. Don’t just hand it over because someone wants it.”
I watched her for a moment, letting the words settle between us.
“That’s good. Your energy is invitation-only.”
