But then he showed up.
Closing my eyes, I step into the fire. I brace for the pain, but the fire doesn’t burn me. It doesn’t even singe my hair. Right, this is a dream. I think.
I’m honestly not sure anymore.
I look at myself, tied to the tree by its very own roots. I turn, eyes wide as I stare at the flames. He’s going to show up any second now. My heart speeds up and a dark shadow appears, just like he did the first time.
And just like the first time, I get an overwhelming sense of familiarity. There’s something in his eyes, in the way the energy comes off of him…it’s not only like I’m looking at an old friend, being around him is comforting.
Like coming home.
It makes no sense. I don’t know who this man is. How can he be familiar?
The other Callie is coughing and choking on smoke. I turn around, losing focus on the blue-eyed man. Lucas said I wasn’t speaking English. Maybe I can hear what I said and maybe figure out who this guy is and—
I wake with a start, shooting straight up.
“Bad dream?” Lucas asks, sliding his hand over my thigh. He’s already sitting up with a book in one hand. Right. It’s bedtime for me but party-hours for him.
“Uh,” I start and let out a breath. “More like a weird dream about that blue-eyed man that I saw in the fire.”
“I thought you said I had nothing to be jealous about.” His lips curve into a half-smile. “And now you’re dreaming about him?” He pushes his hands between my thighs. “Do I need to remind you why I’m the only one you want?”
“You are the only one I want, and it was far from a sex dream.” I heft back onto the pillows, body still tired but mind whirling. “It was like he was trying to show me something, but I have no idea what I was supposed to be seeing.” I close my eyes and shake my head. “It was basically just a replay of me almost burning to death.”
Lucas spoons his large body around mine. “Sounds like a nightmare.”
It does, but I’m not sure how to explain it to him that it wasn’t. I could just feel that it wasn’t.
“Maybe,” I mutter and put my hand on top of his. “Was I asleep long?”
“No, not more than half an hour.”
“You’re bored, aren’t you?”
“Not really,” he says after a moment’s hesitation. “I like being with you, and I know you’ve had a tiring day.”
“Let’s go out tomorrow night. Another fancy date is way overdue.”
“Can I take you to a fancy French place now?” His lips brush against my neck as he talks. “And I’ll translate for you.”
“You remembered I said that.”
“I do.”
I let my eyes fall shut and snuggle up against Lucas. “My brother said something today—before I turned him into a cat, of course—and it’s nagging at me.”
“What did he say?”
“He said I’m not his sister. At first, I thought he meant it in an I refuse to admit you’re related to me kind of way, but I think he meant it. Like I’m actually not related to him.”
“That wouldn’t be a bad thing, would it?”
“No.” I slip my fingers between his. “But if I’m not related to Scott…then where did I come from?” The image of the blue-eyed man flashes before me. “I don’t see how I can’t be related to him, though. I told you, I’ve seen pictures of my mother when she was pregnant with me. I have my birth certificate with my parents’ names on it. I just…I don’t know.” I sigh. “And if I’m not related to them, then who the hell am I?”
“You are Callie. The woman I love and arguably the most badass woman I’ll ever know. You are smart and kind. You are fiercely loyal and stand up for what’s right. And you are insanely beautiful, your blood tastes like starlight, and your pussy was made to have my cock inside of it.”
I can’t help but smile. “I agree with that.”
Lucas kisses my neck, gently putting his lips against the bite marks. “Get some sleep, my love. You need it.”
My eyelids are feeling heavy again. Closing them, I focus on the way Lucas’s body feels against mine. I don’t fall asleep quickly this time, having a hard time ignoring all the noise inside my brain.
If I’m not Scott’s sister…if I’m not my father’s daughter…that could explain why they hate me so much. I’m a witch, and no one in the Martin family has powers. But then again…how the hell did I get there?
“I don’t get it,” I tell my familiars, looking out the kitchen window. “Why won’t this one block out the sun?”
I set the bowl of smoldering herbs down. Every other window in the house has been enchanted and keeps harmful light out. But this damn kitchen window…I don’t get it. Every time I do the spell on this window, the black smoke covers it and then quickly dissipates on its own. I’ve tried it three times this morning, wanting Lucas to be able to move about the house and not go stir crazy from being confined to one room.
“I don’t think there’s a crack in it.” I climb onto the counter and lean over the sink, looking at the glass. I run my hand along the edges, feeling for any leaks of warm air coming in from outside, and feel nothing.
“And this window was replaced.” I turn, looking at Pandora. “It’s not like it’s special magic glass or anything.” I bring my hand down, and my fingers catch on the little gemstone wind chime I have hanging on the window. The chain breaks, and the chime falls into the sink. “Dammit,” I grumble. “I liked hearing this chiming when the window’s open.”
I hop off the counter and take the charm with me. The metal loops in the chain got pulled apart but will be an easy fix. I have tiny pliers upstairs in my room. I went through a phase where I thought making my own jewelry would be calming and a fun hobby, but all it did was frustrate me when I kept dropping the tiny gems.
I open and close my bedroom door as fast as I can, not wanting to burn Lucas. He’s sitting up in bed, typing on his laptop at vamp speed.
“You could write a full book in like a day or two at the rate you type.” I sit on the bed next to him. He’s doing something for work and has been going through emails and files all morning.
“I could. But I lack the imagination to write one.”
“I have an idea for a very hot forbidden romance. Sexy witch meets her match with an equally sexy vampire.”
Lucas laughs, sets his computer down, and grabs me around the waist, flipping me down onto the mattress. He runs his hands up my arms, pulling my wrists over my head. He takes the wind chime from me only to drop it onto the mattress.
“What is that?” he asks, pulling his hand back. There’s a small section of charred skin. It begins healing immediately.
“That burned you?” I reach for the wind chime. “It’s just a chime…with moonstone and quartz gems.” I gasp. “Oh my god. I think I figured it out.” I drop the chime and run back downstairs.
I pick up the bowl of herbs and stand in front of the kitchen window. Using magic, I set the herbs on fire and waft it toward the window. “Smoke thick as clouds and black as night, keep this room safe from the harm of light.”
Thick black smoke rises from the bowl, filling the window. It blocks out all the light, darkening the kitchen. Holding my breath, I wait. The smoke stays.
“
Lucas!” I set the bowl down and do a happy dance. “Come here!”
It hits me that he has no idea I’ve made the entire house safe from sunlight when I see him rush down the stairs and into the kitchen.
“Look!” I point to the window, though it’s pretty damn obvious why I called him down. Light from every other window in the house filters the sunlight, and in a few minutes, I’ll wave the smoke away from this window too. Lucas doesn’t have to hide out in my room like a grounded teenager anymore.
“The chime kept the spell from working?” Lucas looks around the house, eyes wide. It’s the first time he’s seeing more than my bedroom in the sunlight.
“The moonstone and quartz. I didn’t even think about it since I was focusing on the glass. But moonstone absorbs the sunlight and quartz enhances the properties of whatever gems or crystals it’s paired with. I knew that, of course, but didn’t realize how much sunlight it could hold until you touched it and it burned you.”
“Moonstone charged in the sun can burn vampires.”
“Yes. But I don’t think it’ll keep that charge for long. Crystals and gems absorb light as heat, and once that heat is gone, the light is gone too. I think. I don’t really remember the specifics.” I motion to the house. “But look. The house is safe.”
Lucas picks me up and sets me on the small island counter. “You are incredible.” He draws his fangs and leans in for a kiss right as my phone rings.
“Whoever is calling better have something important to say,” I groan, turning away from Lucas. My phone is on the counter next to the sink, and I hold out my hand and telekinetically bring it to me. It’s Kristy.
“Hey,” I say when I answer.
“Turn on CNN,” she tells me. “Now.”
“Okay, I will.” I end the call.
Lucas, able to hear what Kristy is saying, steps back so I can jump off the counter. We go into the living room. I grab the remote and turn on the TV, using the voice command to turn on CNN.
“He did it,” Lucas says, seeing the breaking news headline. “He actually fucking did it.”
I sit on the couch, eyes wide, as I watch the news reporter interview a spokeswoman from the Vampire Council about the “controversial proposed law” that would dictate where vampires live…and how vampires everywhere will be grateful to know it won’t be going any further.