He risked a glance to his left, Kyra still soft with sleep and curled in her seat. He had expected questions, to catch her staring at him then watch colour bleed into her cheeks before those large cat-like eyes skirted quickly away. But she had been strung so tight beside him, her chi sharp and electric as if she was subconsciously protecting herself.
She was always asking questions, so curious. He had wanted her to ask, to snap at him with such controlled anger his beast wanted to poke, to press her just so they could watch her reaction. But instead she had sat in silence, for hours she had been a statue he didn’t dare to tease in case she shattered. It had taken hours before she had spoken a single word, and that was only to comment about the rolling hills of the countryside before they went back onto another motorway. It took a few hours more until she unwrapped her arms from around herself, and then relaxed against the door with her eyes closed.
Her pulse had slowed with sleep, so Xander had sat in silence and listened to her quiet and steady breathing. Every now and then he would simply look over, noticing the crescent shadows that her lashes cast against her skin, at the way the strands of hair that had escaped her braid had curled.
He hadn’t expected her kiss, and definitely hadn’t expected his own reaction. He had had many lovers over the years, and nothing compared to the burn he felt when she set her lips on his. How blood had rushed after a single touch, and when he heard her moan he became hard as granite.
All from a single kiss. A kiss that had nothing to do with passion, or sex, but was a way to get rid of the Daemon’s charm. A kiss that left him wanting more, craving more of the one woman he couldn’t stand.
How fucking pathetic.
The steering wheel creaked until he released it.
It angered him that she had had no choice, that she was put in such a vulnerable position. But that didn’t matter, not when he had to keep himself distant. His brothers were working on the threats, stalking her place until they found the scum that had left her those notes while he kept her away. And then she would go back, practicing the magic he had grown up hating, fearing. He couldn’t help but judge her life, her choices even if they were for survival.
A small noise, a whimper.
Xander reached over, careful to not scare her. “Kyra,” he said quietly.
The whimpering intensified.
“Kyra!”
She shot up in her seat, a cry caught in her throat as she flinched away from his touch.
“You were having a nightmare,” he explained when she looked over, eyes wide.
She blinked, fingers immediately touching the loose strands of hair, tucking them behind her ear. “How long was I asleep?” she asked, her voice hoarse.
“Not long, we’re about twenty minutes away.”
Kyra blinked, frowning out the window at the quickly darkening sky. “It’s snowing.”
He had pulled off the motorway, the open, busy road changing to dirt tracks and towering trees. He knew in the spring the surrounding area would be covered in thick grassy knolls and beautiful meadows. The place he grew up was a slice of paradise in the Borderlands, and ever since he was given over to the Archdruid like some sort of prize as a young boy, he had never wanted to come back. Twenty-two years later and he still wasn’t sure why he returned, having never spared a thought to the mother who had turned her back on her only child.
And then she had called. The community forbade the use of electrical devices, believing they corrupted their gifts, and yet she called him.
“If you look in the distance,” he said to distract her, and maybe himself, “you’ll see the mountains.”
Kyra smiled, the silhouette of the high peaks shadowed against the pink and purple sky. “I’ve never been this far north, it’s beautiful.”
“It’s cold, and wet,” he grunted as the tyres slipped in the snowy sludge. “But in the summer it’s beautiful.” He turned down a darkened passage, the distant spirits greeting him with caution.
He had asked a spirit once how he had found himself there, his name lost in memory but his image was still vivid. He had been old, died naturally in his sleep surrounded by friends and family. His face had been creased with a lifetime of laughter, and his eyes had glittered as he had told a quiet four-year-old about those he loved. He hadn’t been ready to pass into the light, to take the step in whatever was next. Instead he felt a tug, and he had followed it until he found his way to the compound.
He hadn’t understood the difference between life and death when he was young, not understanding that not everyone could see those that had passed. It was a gift, unique to the Aes-Si Seer and something that was coveted by many black magic users.
“We’re here,” he said as he pulled up outside the main manor, the spirits that usually protected the entrance vanishing as they approached. The pale brick, visible beneath the foliage was still tarnished, scars of the battle he had witnessed as a child. “Conceal your chi. Please,” he added softly when she recoiled.
Black witches had attacked the grounds, wanting to somehow absorb their gifts and use it to control the dead. They had slaughtered all that had fought, destroying everything in their wake until there was nothing left but corpses and pain.
While the ground was still wet with blood he was sent away, abandoned with memories of the screams. He had cried, screamed himself until his voice had broken and nothing but distressed sobs remained. And still his mother had turned away, never once calling out to her son.
Xander hadn’t realised he had gone rigid, not until Kyra’s warm palm settled on his shoulder. He tried to relax, to forget what had happened, but old rage burned through his veins. He was only a child, and he had been tossed aside like he was nothing.
She didn’t ask any questions, not when he was wound so tight. He was thankful for that as he slipped out the car, anchoring himself to the soft earth beneath his feet and to the cold wind that lashed out like icy whips.
He thought he would feel pain when he looked upon his mother, but he felt nothing as the tall, willowy woman walked out of the double doors. Her face had aged, but still beautiful when she brightened at him, her smile genuine until it settled on Kyra.
