I blinked.
Again.
And again.
“Wait. Are you telling me you rescued me?” I asked.
A nod.
I took a minute to really see my surroundings, suddenly coming to realize I was sitting in Killian Constantine’s living room at the Manor, a sprawling plantation, where Killian and his guard lived and conducted business. I sank into the couch. Gwen had told me on more than one occasion, “Piss off any vampire you want. I’ll deal with them. Just not Killian Constantine. You don’t want to get on his radar.”
I scoped out the exits when Killian asked, “What source is your magic?”
“I don’t have any magic.” I admitted my greatest flaw. “I failed the Summer Solstice Rite.” The rite showed a witch where her fate lay—some witches made potions, some held strong defensive magic and trained as protectors for the coven, and others simply worked for the coven, keeping the band of witches tight. The Goddess gave magic to witches, and witches gave back blessings to the Goddess through rituals. I sucked at all of it, and after I failed the rite, I was blacklisted and kicked out of my coven. Even though my Aunt Flora, the witch who raised me, was one of the strongest witches in the coven, she could do nothing to save me.
Killian’s expression remained a mask of arrogant male annoyance. “Who is your coven?”
“I belonged to the Southeastern Coven.” Witch covens were split into regions of the United States. The Southeastern headquarters was in Blowing Rock, North Carolina. And while witches never went to war with humans, when the vampires fought their war, witches came to the aid of humans to protect their cities with magic, finally outing themselves to a world that once burned witches at the stake. It had left bad blood between witches and vampires, but a peaceful relationship between humans and witches had been forged during that battle and remained strong. They’d received a televised apology for the murders of the Salem witches and compensation to the covens.
Killian arched an eyebrow. “You don’t belong to your coven any longer?”
“Like I said, I failed the Summer Solstice Rite, so they banished me.” I had no doubt that the second I moved into Charleston, I was on his radar, being the only witch in his city. “Shouldn’t you know all this about me already?”
He held my stare for a long moment, his magic brushing across my skin like warm fingers I didn’t hate caressing me.
All vampires had some ability gifted to them through dark magic. Gwen could shape-shift into a crow. Finnick could teleport himself by locking on to someone’s location. But the older the vampire, the stronger the magic.
Killian’s power made the air crackle.
“What I know is that you were a quiet witch who brought business to town,” he eventually said. “I didn’t object to your stay because of this.” The air thickened as his power swept over me, no doubt searching for deceit or hidden magic. When the power dissipated, he leaned his elbows on his knees and leveled me with a hard look. “But you are not a quiet witch any longer.”
“I am a quiet witch,” I retorted, keeping the snippiness I felt out of my voice. “I did not abduct myself. Shouldn’t you be out there finding out why those vampires attacked me?”
“I’m not certain I believe your story.”
My anger flared. “What reason do I possibly have to lie? I’ve lived in Charleston without incident for three years.”
A pause. A long, long pause. “You called to me telepathically for help.”
Silence descended. Heavy silence filled with questions. I waited for him to laugh or do something to indicate he was joking. The silence continued.
“You’ve got to be wrong,” I implored. “I have no magic. I couldn’t have done that.”
“You did.”
I had no gifts, no power, no anything. “Impossible.”
“Not impossible,” he said dryly. “Since it happened.”
I held his gaze, not finding any deception, only disbelief in what I was telling him. I felt the blood draining from my face. “What the fang is going on?”
Chapter Two
Seated in his chair, Killian stared at me for a good minute, the longest minute of my life, before he asked, “Are you questioning whether I’m telling you the truth?”
I walked a very dangerous line. Even the air seemed to grow heavy with the warning. “It’s not that I don’t believe you, but something else must be going on. I don’t have magical abilities. I never have.”
His gaze flashed with irritation, and with vampire speed, he stood in front of me. I gasped as he snatched my wrist in an unforgiving hold. The heat of his touch burned my skin, and as his magic brushed through my head, his memories soon flooded my thoughts.
“Help. Help me.”
The soft voice laced with fear rattled in my head. I flew above the dark country road that passed in a blur. The wind roared as I soared through the air, the smell of flowers in my nostrils. The full moon lit up the night, but my vampire eyesight was as keen as my senses, and everything inside of me was alarmed.
“Help. Help me.”
The words. That voice. It all wrapped around me, urging me to fly faster. The only voice that had ever slithered through my mind was that of my Sire …
“Help. Help me.”
The words kept repeating again and again as an old farmhouse on the left drew my attention. I didn’t question my instincts; the presence of the woman who belonged to that voice pulsed around me. I flew down the quarter-mile-long driveway, lined by magnolia trees, toward the plantation. I studied the house as I closed in; it appeared to be built in the early eighteen hundreds as were many of the houses in Charleston. I hit the ground and hadn’t taken two steps before a vampire rushed out the door and flew off the steps, lunging at me.
I braced myself, readying for the hit. The new vampire had little chance to win this battle. Within a step, I latched on to the vampire’s head, twisted, and proved my point by yanking my dagger out of the back of my pants and slicing his neck. As he fell, gurgling his regrets, I released a tendril of power to burn his body.
I charged up the steps, then rushed into the house. The air was static with energy, indicating three other vamps were here. And I smelled something else that laced my veins with hot rage.
The woman was a witch, not a human.
These vampires were committing the most unforgivable act in vampiric law. No vampires wanted a war with the witches. Death would come, fierce and brutal, and no city would survive. For that reason, witches and vampires held peace.
“You have no right to be here,” a low voice snarled to my right.
The vampire was physically strong, but the weak air about him declared he’d not been turned all that long ago. “Where is the witch?” I demanded.
The vampire took a step forward. His fists clenched at his sides. “You have no authority here. Leave now.”
“Charleston is under my protection, you fool.” I rushed him at a speed this young vampire wouldn’t be able to match. My hand wrapped around the vamp’s neck, right before his eyes widened, then … snap! A slice with my dagger ended any further argument, and the smell of burnt flesh quickly filled the air.
I proceeded through the lavishly decorated house. On my third step, I picked up shuffling below my feet. Following the energy to the basement door, I listened a moment, waited for the others to come. None came. Taking two steps at a time, I flew down the staircase, and froze, time slowing to a stop.