Voodoo Kiss (24 page)

"She's awake," the guy whispered.

"Last time I checked no one was blind," Cass muttered from my right.

My head shot in her direction, surprised to find her here. And there he stood.
Thrain
. Right next to her. For a moment, I forgot to breathe as I lost myself in his impossibly green eyes. Smiling, I reached out for him. He grabbed my hand in a tight grip, placed a soft kiss on my palm, and leaned over me to whisper in my ear. "I was so scared I'd lose you."

"Fat chance." My raspy voice was barely audible in my ears. "How long have I been gone?"

"Too long. Now drink this." He held a glass of what looked like water to my lips. I took a few sips and grimaced at the bitter residue on my tongue.

"I'm so sorry," the dark guy with blue eyes said, drawing my attention to him. It took me a split second to remember where we had met. The garden behind our hotel in Rio de Janeiro. He had been the one to warn me. Kieran.
How strange I didn't see the resemblance between Aidan and him straight away. Must have been because it was dark.

"You should be, moron. It's your fault she was almost killed," Cass hissed. "What's it with you and killing mortals? Must be a curse or something." She turned to face me. "Sofia, this is Aidan's brother, Kieran McAllister, who must've inherited the stupidity in their clan." I nodded because I appreciated the introduction even if I didn't need it.

"How could I've known the weirdo intended to use the blade to murder someone?" Kieran said. "He claimed it was a collector's item."

"Collector's item, my ass," Aidan muttered. "A bounty hunter's job is to find out what the object's used for before retrieving it."

My head snapped from left to right as I tried to make sense of their words. Gael had employed Kieran to look for something. Could it be a blade?

"The Blade of Sorrow," Cass said, reading my mind as she shot Kieran a venomous look. "Every idiot could look up on the internet what it's good for. Seriously, with all the weird writing on it, did it
look
like a collector's item to you? You wouldn't even see it if it had a sticky note with the words 'ritual killing' attached to it." She smirked.

Her words triggered my memories. The stone circle and the rising sun, so beautiful and yet terrible. Gael wanting to spill my blood, claiming only the blade in his hands could kill me. Me knocking my head as I tried to escape that madman's blow.

"It's okay. I'm sure you had a reason." I smiled at poor Kieran who had so clearly been played, just like me.

"Sure, he does," Cass said. "Since big brother had to hide in Hell, money's been tight. Kieran had two options, either get a day job like everyone else, or turn part-time crook and steal stuff. Do I need to point out which option he chose?"

"Bounty hunter," Kieran said through gritted teeth.

"Is that what you call it?" Cass asked, grinning. "Don't flatter yourself, mate. I'm outta here. Call you later, Soph." She kissed my cheek, then breezed out the door, the bright rays of sun falling in through the window catching in her red mane. I wondered whether by calling she actually meant popping over any time she wanted. I hoped she would.

"What happened to Gael?" I asked Devon. "Did you—"

"Kill him?" He raised his brows. "We don't kill our own kind, Sofia."

Nodding, I swallowed hard. They had no problem betraying others though. "So Gael's a Shadow?"

"Half Shadow. His mother was one of us. His father's something entirely else." He hesitated, and I wondered whether there was more to the story. Devon continued, not giving me a chance to pursue the matter. "He's been trying to take his place among our kind for years. He thought by killing you and passing your powers into our possession to save our Queen, we'd finally grant him entrance to our world."

Kieran snorted, interrupting him. "The guy's clearly messed up big time. Who in their right mind would want to join a legion of black eyed freaks with the personality of a freezer?" Aidan elbowed him in the ribs. Grinning, Kieran shrugged. "You're right. I'm so sorry, I'm offending one of the greatest inventions of our time. Humanity would be lost without a freezer."

A dangerous glitter flickered in Devon's eyes, reminding me of the way Gael had looked at me many times during our relationship. "Let's get back to the topic before someone gets seriously hurt. There's no doubt he'll come back for you together with others, who'll want to use your powers for their own gain. I won't be there to protect you."

My heart sank in my chest at the implication of yet more danger. As though sensing my emotions,
Thrain
squeezed my hand. As my bonded mate, he would face it with me, I knew it. He didn't even need to say it. I raised my chin defiantly. Whatever fate had mapped out for me, I wasn't scared.

"Bring it on." My voice didn't sound quite as convincing as I intended to make it sound. "That reminds me, why are you even here? I thought you couldn't enter the property."

Aidan smirked. "He doesn't. Amber
invited
him. For some inexplicable reason, she still thinks his kind and the vampires should be burying our ancient misunderstandings."

"They weren't misunderstandings, only consequences," Devon said. "One of you killed half a dozen of us. I was there and remember the incident clearly."

"Dude, how old are you?" Kieran said, grinning. "If you start crumbling into dust I swear I'm not going to clean up after you."

Devon's jaw set. His serious expression betrayed the fight he was leading with himself. In the end, his shoulders tensed but he didn't take Kieran up on the offer of a brawl. "As he was saying," Devon continued, pointing at Aidan, "Amber invited me in to sit with you in case your wellbeing deteriorated. And I agreed wholeheartedly because your time hasn't come yet. Our rules state that no mortal soul shall come to harm at the hands of a Shadow." He leaned forward to look deep into my eyes. I flinched at the perfection of his features and the blackness of his gaze standing in contrast to the smooth, pale skin. "We want your soul, Sofia, make no mistake about that. And your soul will belong to the Cemetery of the Dead as arranged many centuries ago."

"Never,"
Thrain
hissed, startling me. I patted his hand, my gaze begging him to keep his mouth shut and let Devon reveal his intentions. Knowing what to expect was the key to finding a way to get out of that binding contract I had signed centuries ago.

"Our Queen has never been wrong," Devon continued unfazed. His gaze glimmered black, daring
Thrain
to disagree.

I took a deep breath and squeezed
Thrain's
hand a bit harder to send out a warning. "My sister died at the hands of a Shadow, Gael's brother, Derrick. I bet you didn't know that, huh?" Anger rose inside me. Why hadn't they been there to help her? Why would I deserve to live and not Theo?"

"Her time had come anyway. She'll be reincarnated," Devon said, coolly. It was a cheap excuse for not monitoring the lunatics among them, and I had no doubt many Shadows were marked by madness, what with their queen feeding from her own people, turning them into something unnatural, evil.

I bit my lip hard to keep back a biting remark. Blaming others for my own failure wasn't me.

"I shall leave now. Goodbye, Sofia, and if you ever change your mind about joining us, you know how to reach us." Devon's hand touched my shoulder lightly, then pulled back.

"I'll accompany you out,"
Thrain
said, standing. My gaze followed him as he walked out a step behind Devon.

"You know you can't trust him," Aidan whispered as soon as the door closed. I nodded and shot him a smile. His expression remained serious, worried. "You can stay here for as long as you want."

"Thank you for the offer, but it's time to go home."

He hesitated. "As you wish. But if you ever need help, we'll be there for you. Amber and I will always be in your debt for saving Dallas."

My smile widened. "I appreciate it."

"I didn't take this job for the money," Kieran whispered. I opened my mouth to speak but he raised his hand, stopping me. " I don't know if you know about the Lore court." He trailed off, making it sound like a question. I shook my head so he continued, "Okay, I probably shouldn't tell you, but since only that blade can kill you I guess you're immortal too, sort of. Ever since Amber was turned into one of us, immortals from the Lore court have been after her, my brother and me. Gael was a member of the Lore court. He tried to get in touch with Aidan but couldn't get hold of him, so he made a deal with me. He said the Lore court would stop hunting us if I found the blade for him."

I could see the shame in his blue eyes. "Don't worry about it. I understand." I squeezed his hand to signal that I meant it.

"So we're good?" I nodded. A smile lit up Kieran's face. "You know, you're a gem. If
Thrain
and you didn't—" he clicked his tongue, making me blush, "—I would've taken you out to dinner, get a few drinks." His voice trailed off again.

"Kieran." Aidan's tone was sharp. A warning. Grinning, Kieran winked at me, and then we said goodbye, and he left with Aidan.

I stood up and walked to the window, minding my still aching ankle. The crow was there, peering at me from the sill. I opened the window and held out my hand gently to avoid startling the bird. But it wasn't shy. Cawing softly, it jumped on my arm, its claws pressing into my skin.

"You're a girl, aren't you?" I don't know what made me draw that conclusion, but it felt right. The crow cawed, whether to agree or negate my statement I couldn't tell.

"I'm sorry if you're not. And I'm really sorry for thinking you were the bad guy when all you wanted was to warn me," I whispered, smiling. "To my excuse I have to say my knowledge of human nature is crap."

The crow let out another caw before taking off into the sky. Maybe she was pissed off at me for assuming she didn't mean well. Or maybe she wasn't a girl after all. It didn't matter. What mattered was that I had fallen for Gael's lies and I wasn't proud of it. I should've seen behind his calculated mask and his fake friendliness. The signs had been there: his controlling behavior, his cold gazes when he thought I wasn't looking. My need for comfort after my sister's death had made me too trusting. It wouldn't happen again.

Thanks to a couple of painkillers, the pain in my chest had receded to a bearable throb. Engrossed in my thoughts, I took a shower and changed into my clothes, ready to go home. As much as I adored my new friends, all I wanted was a bit of solitude to plan my next step regarding my career because, yes, I wanted to be a star, but safety came first. And that needed lots of planning, which involved a home movement, a change in name and appearance so that Gael wouldn't find me straight away.

Dressed in my jeans and top, I sat down on the bed and took a deep breath to steady my sudden nervousness. What would be in store for me now? How would my relationship with
Thrain
turn out away from all the turmoil and excitement?

A knock on the door and
Thrain
peered in. "Ready?"

I nodded and interlocked my fingers with his. We joined the others downstairs to say goodbye.

"You sure you don't want to stay a bit longer?" Amber whispered.

"I can't. College's starting soon and I have a million things to sort out first." I smiled and gave her a last squeeze. "See you again?"

"You bet." Her eyes sparkled with interest. "Do you think you'll enjoy college?"

Her strange question took me by surprise. I moistened my lips as I tried to make sense of it. "I hope so."

Aidan wrapped his arm around Amber's shoulders and pulled her close. "Want us to teleport you home?"

"Nah, we got that part covered,"
Thrain
said.

"We'll miss you," Amber whispered, pushing a bundle into my hands. I peered at my passport and a few other things I thought I had left back in Rio.

"Thanks." I could feel moisture gathering in my eyes. Wiping my tears away, I let everyone give me one last hug and then accompanied
Thrain
to the car parked in the driveway.
Thrain
held the door open and I hopped in. As the vehicle pulled away, my resolve crumbled and the first two tears spilled down my cheeks. We drove through the open gates and down the winding country lane, past impenetrable scrubland and thick trees with dark green leaves that filtered the sunlight. I leaned my head back, prepared for a long drive.

"I forgot to give you this,"
Thrain
said, breaking the silence as he pulled out a red envelope from under his jacket.

"What is it?"

"Why don't you just open it?"

With shaking fingers I tore through the thick paper, cutting my finger in the process. Inside was a white card with gold cursive and lots of glitter. I began to read. "It's an invitation to Cass's birthday party," I said eventually.

Thrain's
eyes twinkled as he winked at me. "You're officially one of us now, which means don't even think about coming up with an excuse for not attending because she won't have it. Knowing Cass, she'll bite your head off if you even try."

"I wouldn't even dream of it." Laughing, I pushed the envelope inside my handbag for safekeeping. "Are we going to the airport?"