Total pages in book: 111
Estimated words: 105144 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 526(@200wpm)___ 421(@250wpm)___ 350(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 105144 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 526(@200wpm)___ 421(@250wpm)___ 350(@300wpm)
“Not your wife,” I interrupt.
Xavier presses his lips together and huffs. “You have no desire to talk to Florence unless you are asking her about food to eat.”
Alan, held spellbound, gets to his feet and nods. He puts his hand over his neck and walks out of the room.
“He’s…he’s not gushing blood,” I say. “But you bit his neck.”
Xavier turns back to me and takes his time to look me up and down. “Your particular sect of the Order never dealt with vampires much, did they?”
I pull my lips over my teeth, looking at the spice rack behind him. “No. I know why now, but before…” I shrug and shake my head. “I guess it was foolish loyalty not to question them.”
Picking up a towel to wipe the blood from his face, Xavier continues to eye me curiously. “You aren’t an official member yet you followed without question.”
“Yeah, and I feel pretty fucking stupid for it now.” I hold out my hands. “Look where it’s gotten me.”
Xavier takes my right hand in his and runs a finger across my palm. “Do it again.”
“Do what?”
“The spark.”
“Oh,” I say when I realize what he’s talking about. “It’s called summoning energy.” I push my shoulders back and move my hand out of his. The air around my fingers gets warm as the energy rushes around me. A little swirl of blue and yellow light forms above my palm. Xavier leans in, curious. Somewhat apprehensively, he touches the energy ball. It burns his skin and he pulls his hand back, the raw, red welt healing in just seconds.
“And you’ve never really dealt with witches before, have you?” I ask, voice soft.
“It’s best to avoid them.” He cups his large hand under mine and closes my fist. The energy is absorbed within and the light fades. “How did you learn anything about magic? I know how the Order views witches.”
“I spent a few winters with a small coven,” I tell him. “They taught me everything I know.”
“Just a few winters?”
“Yeah.”
“Hmmm.” He studies me again and then extends his hand. “Walk with me. I’ll show you the garden.”
I glance back into the formal dining room, able to sense the other vampires still in there. I’m sure they know better than to eavesdrop, besides, with their better-than-human hearing, they don’t need to be close to know exactly what is being said.
We go through the kitchen and into a sunroom. Double French doors open onto a patio, and right away I can tell this garden was designed for the night. It’s a breathtakingly beautiful garden, with sparkling lights in the trees, reminding me of something from a fairytale.
Xavier holds out his arm for me to take, and we start walking down a path. The stones glow under the moonlight. This yard is straight off my Pinterest board, and it feels like I’m walking in a dream…that’s about to turn into a nightmare.
The cobblestone path leads under an archway of dark red roses that look almost black in the dim light. There’s just enough of a breeze to blow the sweet scent of the florals around us. We walk another few yards, stopping and sitting on a stone bench next to a koi pond that has a little fountain in the middle. There are lights inside the pond, giving it an ethereal glow. This place is truly enchanting.
“What is your active power?” Xavier asks.
“I can manipulate energy.”
“All witches can. What’s specific to you?” His blue eyes drill into mine, but his questions hit differently than I’m used to. He’s not asking so he can know how to counter my powers. He’s not trying to figure out how dangerous I am. He’s genuinely curious…and not scared of me. At all. He’s sitting here, in the dim moonlit garden, completely at ease while fully knowing who I am.
No one has ever done this before.
“I’m really good at reading people. I can sense their energy and just know things. Sometimes I can even hear their thoughts but not in a telepathic way. It’s like I just hear something, or just know it. It’s hard to explain.” A warm breeze blows through the yard, bringing with it the sweet scent of lilacs. My hair dances across my face and he reaches out, not hesitating as he pushes it back over my shoulder. His fingers are cool to the touch, and I swear I feel an electric spark when his skin meets mine.
“It’s a shame no one has cultivated your powers in the past. That can change here, you know.”
“Why?” I ask, resisting the urge to lean up against him and see if the rest of his body is as cool as his hands. It’s a curious thing, the way vampires are room temperature. They look so alive when they’re up and moving. You have to watch for the little things that give it away, like the lack of breathing and blinking. Lots of vampires continue to do such things, though, just out of habit. Nothing happens when they take in air; there’s no oxygen exchange, no blood cells waiting to take the O2 molecules while getting rid of carbon dioxide. Black magic is their heart, so to speak, circulating their blood throughout their body.