He presses his eyes closed as if my time tracking causes him pain. “Yes, I know. I’ve kept track too.” Johnny’s expression darkens slightly, and his brows draw in like he’s in deep thought. “And you’re with Alec now.”
I stand straighter and push my shoulders back, a defensive reaction to his statement. My throat tightens and all I want to do is scream. Somehow, I manage to keep my tone calm. “Isn’t that what you wanted?”
“That’s why you’re with him? Because you think it’s what I want?”
I shake my head. “No, of course not.”
He takes a step forward, and I take a step back putting me against the wall. “What if I told you that it’s not what I want at all? At just the thought of you with another man makes me so angry, that I start to do this.”
The floor trembles beneath us and I gasp. “Stop it, Johnny.”
The floor calms and he walks forward again, leaving me with nowhere else to go. My insides are squirming, and I can hear my shallow breaths escaping. Desperate to regain control, I wrap a hand around my emerald and squeeze it with all my might.
His gaze dips to where I’m clutching my necklace, and he must hear my struggle to breathe because his expression morphs to reveal concern. “Kat, are you okay?”
I take a long sip of air, but it’s a useless attempt with Johnny so close. My muscles start to weaken, and my mind fogs. I need an energy source as much as I need to get away from a man who is as much my past as he is my present. I need to escape him…but I don’t want to.
With that final thought, my legs give out. Johnny catches me, wraps me tightly in his arms, and then he’s pressing his lips to mine in a kiss that has the power to either kill me or save me. If I didn’t know I could energy source through him, this kiss would have meant death. But now I use his kiss to steal his air, gaining strength with each second that passes.
I don’t want to think about how perfect our lips fit together, or how quickly energy begins to circulate between us. I don’t want to think about the way his fingertips grip my waist like he’s latching on for life, or the way his eager moans fill my mouth. I don’t want to make this kiss anything more than the mere survival technique that it was. Which is why as soon as I regain enough strength, I press my palm against his hard chest and push him away, tearing our lips apart when he stumbles backward.
“Kat,” he breathes.
“No! No more talking.” I hold up a finger in warning. “I only let you do that so I could energy source, but that can’t ever happen again. I’m with Alec now.”
Johnny’s gaze darkens. “Are you sure about that? Because it sure felt like you were with me when we just kissed.”
“That wasn’t a kiss,” I spit out. “It was energy sourcing, which is the equivalent of CPR. Nothing more.”
“Nothing more, huh?” Johnny looks as if I’ve just slapped him in the face. “Does Alec do that for you too?”
I ball my hands up in fists. “No. Alec does something better. He stays. He doesn’t run off on some revenge mission. He doesn’t make me question whether everything we ever shared was a lie. He stays right here. With me.”
“It wasn’t just some revenge mission, Kat. It was more than that, and you of all people should understand. I have a responsibility as a descendant, just as you do.”
Even though I know he’s making a point, I struggle to believe that his reasons for leaving were for anything other than to avenge his parents’ death. Even so, a new emotion begins to creep through my veins, making me question every morsel of resentment I’ve felt toward Johnny. Guilt. Have I been putting myself before his mission all this time?
A knock on the open door interrupts our heated exchange. “Sorry, you two.” My dad pokes his head in. “We only have an hour before we need to head to Summer Island. And, Kat, there’s someone at the door for you.”
My dad enters the room first, with Rose trailing behind. They both give me a curious glance, but I avert my eyes just as quickly.
Johnny reaches out his hand. “Sir, thank you for seeing me. I only hope that all I learned on my trip can help us put a stop to Erebus and his Followers.”
My dad shakes his hand. “For the sake of the people I love and the rest of this community, I certainly hope so, son.”
Johnny nods, his entire demeanor oozing respect. Even after what just happened between us, his awkward formality with my father is somehow endearing.
As I’m walking out, Rose pulls me into a hug. “Be gentle with him, dear. He really does love you.”
At first I think she’s talking about Johnny, then I remember that there’s someone at the door. My heart sinks as I realize it’s Alec. Rose clearly knows what Johnny’s return has done to my heart. It must be obvious to everyone, even Alec.
I close the den door behind me, sneaking one last look at Johnny, who is already deep in conversation with my father. The latch of the den door clicks, and I hurry to the entrance of Summer Manor.
“Kat, I’ve been calling you.” Alec’s expression is a mix of accusing and worried. He also looks as if he hasn’t slept all night. “Wow,” he says, eyeing me up and down. “You look much better than I feel.”
Guilt eats at me. Does he know Johnny’s here? Can he sense I just kissed another man, no matter how innocent I want to believe that it was? I don’t want to hurt Alec. He’s been nothing but good to me, and we’ve only just begun to give our relationship a chance. His expression distracts the direction of my thoughts. His eyes are downcast, and his entire appearance seeps defeat.
In a second, all thoughts of Johnny and the tug-of-war I’m playing with my heart are gone. “What’s wrong?”
“Brett is still at the hospital. He won’t wake up.”
I step outside and close the door behind me before taking Alec’s hand. “Let’s go.”
We take Alec’s truck to the hospital, where Brett lies unconscious. It all feels so eerily familiar to when I met Trisha here after her Enchanting. In his room, Trisha is already standing beside him, her face streaked with tears.
She looks up at us and whispers, “His parents are grabbing coffee downstairs. I couldn’t leave him.”
All my blood feels like it’s draining from my body. Everything aches—every muscle, every organ, every thought. I’m at Trisha’s side instantly, wrapping my arms around her and letting her bury her face in my neck.
We stand like this for a while until her sobs subside and the room grows quiet, except for the beeping of monitors and the dripping of an IV. I release Trisha and stand at Brett’s side, grabbing his hand.
“Why didn’t anyone call me sooner?” I reach for his neck then place a hand on his heart. I’m checking for any sign of life. Not the life conjured by machines, but life that Brett still has control of. Nothing I find relieves me of the fear that one of my best friends could be near his death.
“I’ve tried everything,” Trisha says in a choked whisper. “I’ve been here all night. Everyone else who got hurt at the dance got healed and left already. Why not Brett? Why can’t I heal him?”
“It’s not your fault,” I say to her with as much conviction as I can muster. “You’re doing everything you can do. He’s still here, isn’t he?”