Page 68 of No One’s Daughter

I reacted.

Again and again.

By the time we were done, sweat coated my skin and my heart pounded in my chest. I’d pushed harder than I ever had, pushing my new body to the bounds of what it could take. Discovering my new strength, honing my new skillset. But I failed to summon more magic. It alluded me once again. It seemed to only show itself when I was in danger or angry beyond reason. No otherworldly beasts descended upon us either, and I didn’t know whether to be relieved or offended.

I brushed my fingers through my wet hair. At least this little dump had a shower. Davien and I hadn’t spoken since getting back, aside from his usual orders. We leave at sunset, blah blah. And he of course showered first and was now tucked into bed. Not that he’d sleep, though. No, his dagger eyes followed my every move. I swear he slept with one eye open—that’s if he slept at all. I still wasn’t sure. Unlike him, I seemed to be so damn exhausted. He claimed that to be normal for someone who had recently emerged and apparently with age I’d require less and less human-like necessities.

I sighed at the reminder that I was still none the wiser on who the fuck I actually was. I’d gone over the possibilities countless times, and still nothing. Nothing could explain how this—I—happened.

“I can hear you overthinking.” The sound of his husky voice startled me.

“I was just thinking. I don’t understand how I could possibly be a born vampire.”

“It’s a mystery alright, but there’s no doubt that you are.”

“I know,” I’d accepted that part. “You said there hasn’t been a true born in over a century.”

“To my knowledge, yes.”

“I’m only twenty-seven.”

“Yes, I know.”

I sighed. Would it kill him to say more than a few words to me at a time? “So all of this doesn’t seem strange to you?”

“Not particularly.”

“So why are you ‘hiding’ me?”

“I ask myself that on a daily basis,” he drawled.

“I don’t need a babysitter.”

“I beg to differ.”

“Well I beg to be left alone.”

That peaked his interest enough for his eyes to snap to mine, that tiny fleck of silver within them shining brighter tonight. I’d noticed they did that sometimes. “Why are your eyes almost silvery sometimes?”

He paused, seemingly deep in thought before he answered. “Sometimes, when humans are turned, they take on part of their maker’s aura—if said maker is powerful enough.”

“So your maker was powerful? And their eyes were, what, silver?”

“Pretty much,” he said, rearranging the pillows as if that could make this bed more comfortable.

“So why are yours sometimes more silvery? I've noticed it changes depending on your mood.”

“Studying my eyes now are you?”

“The change is hard to miss.”

He hummed in response, running a hand through his tousled hair.

“Are they still alive? Your maker?” I knew it was most likely a sensitive subject, but curiosity got the better of me.

“I don’t know.”

“You don’t know? Do you not feel like a tether or something?”