The witch lay on the floor, knocked out cold, covered in bruises. Vengeance burned in my blood.
“You think you have a right to her?”
I had sensed the two vampires approaching from behind before they spoke but waited for them to draw closer. “Who is responsible for this?” I asked.
“How is that any of your business?”
“What you’ve done here is wrong.” I turned to the vamps and stepped in front of the witch to shelter her. None of the vampires I’d seen so far were from Charleston. “Since you’re new vampires, I will let you claim stupidity. But you’ll leave now and let me take her.”
“We cannot allow that,” the thinner of the two said.
I arched an eyebrow. “Indulge me as to the reason?”
Both vamps circled me and stared intently, confident I would soon be dead. “You’re not privy to that information.”
I didn’t move from my position. These two fledglings didn’t pose a threat. Their pacing displayed their lack of combat skills. Vampires didn’t need to pace. They needed to hold, then strike with quick precision.
Too bad I wasn’t in any mood to show them their mistakes. I didn’t let them attack. I released a swift surge of power, flames circling up their legs until both vampires were dust on the cement ground.
I hesitated, listening for further threats but only heard mice scattering and the soft breathing of the witch. Lifting her in my arms, I smelled the drug used to incapacitate her. When I reached the outdoors, I leapt to the skies, the clouds whipping by, the wind drifting over my skin.
Within a few miles, I’d reached the Manor, a Greek Revival mansion that was headquarters for Charleston’s Vampire Sovereignty, standing among mature trees draped with Spanish moss. I landed on the front porch and carried the witch through the main doors a second later. My guards rushed to my side. “It’s fine,” I told them. “Back to your posts.” I entered the living room, placing her on the chaise and lifting my wrist to my mouth, biting down hard. I held her mouth open, blood seeping into her throat. Each time she swallowed, relief followed. Soon, the healing in my blood would eradicate the drug from her body, and the bruises would disappear.
Then she’d answer every damn question I had for her.
“Ew, I drank your blood,” I said, the moment Killian’s memory faded from my mind.
He gave me an incredulous look. “From that memory, that is what you’re focusing on?”
“Of course, all of that was horrible,” I said without hesitation. I’d never drunk blood in my life. Filthy was what I’d heard many times growing up about blood drinking. But I moved on. “Sorry, yes, thank you for coming to my rescue and”—I forced the next part out—“getting the drugs out of my system.”
He nodded briefly. “Did you recognize any of the vampires who attacked you?”
“Just one of them,” I answered. “He came into my bookshop earlier but rushed out like he’d seen a ghost. I don’t know what happened, or why he came back.” My gaze fell to the window where the sun was shining brightly. “Sorry, what time is it?”
“Ten o’clock.”
I shot up out of the chaise like a rocket. “My dragon! I need to get home. Quick. He’ll be so worried about me.”
Killian rose, a wall of hard muscle before me. “You’re not going anywhere until my questions have been answered.”
Vampires were afraid of Killian, but I was not a vampire. He had no right to keep me here. I took a step toward him and straightened my shoulders. “I wouldn’t care if you were the king of kings; no one comes between me and my dragon. If you want to ask more questions that I have no answers to, then you’ll have to come with me.”
“You will answer my questions now,” he growled.
Maybe it was the lingering drugs in my system, or just the annoyance of being abducted, but a witch isn’t a good witch if she’s not resourceful. “Can I use your phone?”
“Why?”
“To check in on my dragon.”
He sighed heavily, gesturing to a table on his right.
I used a landline to dial Finnick’s phone number. When he answered, I said in a rush, “Don’t ask questions. I need you to come get me.”
Killian muttered a curse as Finnick appeared, teleporting himself into Killian’s living room.
“You better have a good reason for interrupting me,” Finnick snapped, wearing gray jogging pants slung low on his hips. His sandy-blond hair was messy, his shirt gone, revealing a toned physique, his blue eyes maddened. “I had an incredible date last night.” Finnick loved sex. He had no preference for gender, appearances, or anything in between. He loved everyone and everybody as often as possible. “I was about a second away from getting my hands on Jeremy’s massive—”
“You know Killian Constantine, I take it,” I interrupted before he’d regret the next thing he said.
Finnick spun around. “Holy shit!” He slapped a hand over his mouth, glancing between Killian and me.
Guards rushed into the room on a wild breeze, their daggers aimed at Finnick’s head.
“We’re fine,” Killian said, eerily calm, and just like that, the guards were gone.
Finnick visibly gulped, an unnecessary move for a vampire. He gave me a scowl before glancing at Killian, putting on the professional expression he relied on as a real estate agent. “Warden, please forgive me for not only what I was about to say but for also showing up at the Manor uninvited. I lock on to a person with my power and do not know the location ahead of time.”
Killian’s glare nearly burned us both where we stood. “Then get out.”
“No, don’t get out,” I interjected, taking Finnick’s stiff hand. “I need you to take me home. I was abducted this morning, drugged, and I need to get home to Ambrose.”
Each word I said sharpened Finnick’s gaze. “Are you hurt?” he asked, looking me over.
“I’m fine.” I squeezed his hand tight. “But I really need to go home.”
Finnick’s eyes cut to Killian before returning hesitantly to me. “He doesn’t look happy that I’m here. Did the Warden not want you to call for me?”
“No, he did not,” Killian said through gritted teeth.
Finnick cringed. He released my hand to grip my shoulders. “Are you in immediate danger?”
“No,” I answered, not liking where this was going.
“Is the Warden a threat to you?”
I took in the vampire, seething in annoyance, still sitting in his chair. “No, he’s not an immediate threat.” Although I wasn’t so sure about what he’d do if I didn’t give him the answers he wanted.
“I love you, Willa,” Finnick said sweetly, dropping one of his warm kisses on my cheeks. “But I can’t step on the Warden’s toes, no matter how sexy those toes are.” In true Finnick style, he set a hard stare on Killian. “Will you promise to get her home safely?”
“I will,” Killian said.
“Okay, then,” Finnick said. He gave me a smile full of pity before disappearing out of sight.
“Traitor,” I grumbled, not ready to give in to anyone’s demands. Luckily, my head didn’t hurt because of ingesting Killian’s healing blood, but all I wanted was to go to bed. I could figure this mess out after a good sleep. Ignoring the hard wall of muscle and power behind me, I headed for the front door I could see down the hallway.