MY SISTER WAS barely holding it together. Her neck ached, her shoulder throbbed, her arm burned, but the hole in her heart was more excruciating than any of those pains. She watched her boyfriend being carried away from her with stoic resolve, but she couldn’t hide her feelings from me. She was wrecked, physically and emotionally.
After Hunter and his dad were gone, Mom and Dad cautiously made their way over to Nika. “Honey…you okay?”
Nika turned her head to answer Mom, but instead of speech escaping her lips, her knees buckled.
My arms were already around her, and I cinched her tight to keep her from crashing to the floor. Her head dropped back as she lost consciousness. I wasn’t sure if her injuries had finally pulled her under, or if she’d finally snapped from the strain. Either way, I swooped her into my arms as Mom felt her forehead.
“She’s hot…does she feel hot?” Mom twisted to Dad.
Dad felt her forehead, too, but shrugged. “She always feels hot to us, Emma.” His expression grave, he lifted his eyes to mine. “We need to get her to a hospital…have that arrow removed.” He paused, then added, “And check on Ben.”
A solemnity filled the church as we all looked at the bloodstain on the floor…Ben’s blood. Halina would have to send someone out here to clean it up. I wasn’t sure why that thought popped into my head. I guess concealment was so ingrained in me that covering things up was instinct now. If only those instincts had served me better earlier, when I’d decided to let my guard down at that Halloween party, then maybe I wouldn’t be staring at a puddle of blood on a once-pristine tile floor.
The three of us dashed away with Nika moments later. Dad unlocked Grandpa’s truck, and I gently laid Nika down on the back seat. She cringed as her shoulder compressed against the seat, but the stress and exhaustion had a firm hold on her, and she didn’t wake up. I folded her knees to make room for me, then sat beside her.
Dad started the truck and we drove to the hospital. We could have chosen to forgo the truck, zipping there in seconds with our super-speed, but Nika wasn’t in mortal danger…and I didn’t think any of us wanted to return to this spot once we left. Now that the library was receding in the rearview mirror, I knew I didn’t feel like ever going there again, and I had to believe my parents felt the same way.
The hospital was quiet when we pulled into the lot. That surprised me for some reason. I guess so much had happened in the past several hours, I expected everyone else’s lives to be equally turbulent. But no patients were waiting in the emergency room when we walked in.
The nurse on duty did a double take when she noticed Nika snuggled in my father’s arms; most people probably walked in on their own accord. My sister was still out, though. That was probably a good thing, since she would’ve been really anxious about what they were going to do to her if she’d been awake. Even though it was a little selfish of me, I was grateful that I wasn’t feeling her anxiety. I was wound up enough on my own.
I was still reeling over what had just happened. She’d turned him. My grandmother was adamantly against turning anyone…and she’d turned Hunter. True, she hadn’t had a choice—Nika’s life had been on the line, and maybe mine too—but still…turning someone into a vampire went against everything Halina believed. Even if I couldn’t feel her emotions, I knew she had to be sick to her stomach over her actions.
Halina loved us, and loved our family, and I think she even loved her life, but she viewed vampirism as a curse, a plague, a weed that we were trying to purge from our family tree. I never thought I’d see the day when Halina put another pureblood on Earth. And a hunter to boot. I had no idea what a vampire hunter turned vampire would do, but from Halina’s ominous last words before she’d turned him, I was certain she wasn’t going to let him do very much. Hunter wasn’t going to have a long afterlife. Nika was going to lose him twice. And she knew it…that was why she’d made sure to say goodbye at the church.
It didn’t take long for Nika to be checked in and assessed. She started to wake up when the nurse began examining her injuries. “How did this happen?” the severe-faced woman asked us, indicating the arrow shaft.
Dad’s face showed only concern for his daughter, as he told the nurse, “Hunting accident.” For once, he wasn’t lying; only, we were the prey, so it wasn’t really an accident.
The nurse pursed her lips but didn’t offer any additional comment. I wasn’t sure if she believed my dad, but it was an arrow in Nika’s shoulder, and what other explanation was there for getting shot with an arrow?
Nika stirred as her jacket was cut away from the wound. “Mom? Dad? Where am I?” she muttered, squinting her eyes.
Mom and Dad quickly glanced at each other, then Mom laid her hand on Nika’s arm. “You’re at the hospital, dear…and your mother is on her way. Teren and I are here with you and your brother…”
Mom stressed Dad’s name, subtly reminding Nika, and me, that we were back in the real world, and our “scripted” personas had to be put back on. Nika and Julian Adams were the offspring of Starla Adams, and our father was dead; Dad had called Starla while we were checking in Nika, and she was coming down here to sign the admittance forms.
Nika frowned as she looked at Dad. “Oh…” Then she winced and bit her lip to try and contain her agony; it washed through me, tightening my stomach.
“Stop, you’re hurting her,” I snapped at the merciless nurse who was now cutting Nika’s T-shirt away from the arrow. I tried to calm my expression when she looked up at me, but Nika’s pain was flashing through me in waves, and I couldn’t stop cringing.
The woman in scrubs didn’t seem sympathetic as she returned her attentions to Nika; she almost seemed ready to kick me out of the room, since, to her eyes, I looked to be bothered by the gory sight. “The doctor needs to be able to see the injury to know how to best proceed.” She paused, considering. “But I’ll get her something for the pain.”
She swiveled her stool around and left the room. Nika let out a low groan, and I squeezed her hand. Her moist eyes locked onto mine, grateful. Dad looked at us thoughtfully for a moment, then twisted to Mom. “Once she’s taken care of, I want to go check on Ben.”
Mom gave him a solemn nod. I could feel Halina’s presence upstairs. She was most likely close to Ben, awaiting his outcome. I fervently hoped he survived…and wondered if maybe one of us should call his wife.
Halina was pacing, and I figured she was torn between sticking to her assignment and rushing to us. Eventually, her desire to make sure we were safe superseded her sense of duty. When the nurse came back with Nika’s drugs, Halina stormed into the room. The nurse looked over her shoulder and snipped, “There are too many people in here. Why don’t you wait in the lobby?” Snatching Nika’s hand from me, she shoved an IV needle into a vein. Nika hissed in a sharp breath.
Halina narrowed her eyes. “I’m fine here…and be gentler with her.”
The nurse instantly obeyed Halina’s command, softening her touch when she resumed cleaning and preparing the wound. Nika relaxed as the IV medicine kicked in. I felt it, too, and my head started to swim a little. I pushed it back as best I could.
Dad stood and faced Halina. “Ben?” he asked in a hushed voice.
Halina looked at the floor. “He’s… They’re still working on him. The bullet ran along the edge of his skull, but didn’t penetrate his brain. They’re removing it, but…he lost a lot of blood.” Eyes shimmering with red tears, Halina shook her head. “His heart stopped on the table more than once. The last time it did, they had trouble reviving him.”
The nurse heard Halina and twisted to look up at her. “They’re still working on him? The doctors don’t usually give updates until the patient is off the table. How do you know all that?”
Halina let out an exasperated grunt. “Because I can hear almost everything that’s happening in this damn hospital, from the person with the incessant cough down the hall, to the couple having sex in the on-call room. It’s infuriating, having to weed through all the crap to hear the things that I need to hear…especially when they’re not things I want to hear! So, quit eavesdropping on my conversation and get a doctor in here to pull out that goddamn arrow!”
The nurse immediately fled the room. Halina closed her eyes and squeezed her hands into fists. My eyes were huge as I stared at her. I’d never heard her go off on someone before. She was having a rough night, and was understandably on edge, but, damn… Thank God she wasn’t mad at me.
Starting to get a little high, Nika giggled while everyone stared at Halina. Opening her eyes, Halina glanced up at the ceiling. “I know…I’ll take care of it,” she muttered, her expression sullen. Mom and Dad looked at each other, small smiles on their faces. Gabriel must have said something admonishing to Halina, something my weaker hearing couldn’t pick up.
Still on edge, Halina snapped her head to Dad. “What of the hunter and his…son? Did you take care of them?”
While Dad didn’t look away from Halina, it was clear by his expression that he didn’t want to answer her. He did, albeit very slowly. “I let him go.”
Halina didn’t like Dad’s answer. Zipping over to him, she grabbed his neck and lifted him into the air with one hand. I glanced at the door, but a privacy curtain was in place and no one could see the super-human act. “He was not supposed to leave that church alive, Teren! I thought you understood that, or I wouldn’t have left you in charge!”
Dad kicked his feet and tried to remove her fingers from his throat, but he couldn’t break free from the pissed-off pureblood. I was sure he couldn’t breathe…not that he needed to.
“Halina! Knock it off! The children…”
Mom indicated us watching Halina manhandle our father. Nika giggled, cooing in a sing-song voice, “Daddy’s in trouble…” Slightly buzzed by the painkillers flowing through my sister, I snorted.
Halina reluctantly lowered our father to the floor. He backed away from her, massaging his neck. “I didn’t have a choice! He wasn’t going to let Nika go without some assurance that I would let him take his son!”
Halina gave him a dry look. “Then you give him whatever assurance you need to…and you rip his heart out while he’s walking away.”
Dad straightened his stance and raised his chin. “When I give my word, I keep it.”
Halina stepped up to him. Voice low and menacing, she snapped, “Then whatever blood he spills from here on out is on your hands!”
Dad’s jaw tightened. “I know,” he told her, a quaver in his voice.
Halina looked over Dad’s stoic but tortured face. Her expression softening, she placed a hand on his cheek and spoke to him in her native language. “I’m sorry for the choice you had to make. I would not have made the same one…but that is why I love you so much. You’re a far better person than I’ll ever be.”
Dad nodded, a slight smile touching his lips. Frowning, Halina dropped her hand and placed her fingers on her stomach. “I apologize for being…on edge. It’s this feeling. I can’t stop…worrying.”
Putting a hand on her shoulder, Dad said, “It’s natural. Nika’s hurt, the hunters are still out there, and Ben’s…” His throat closed, and he swallowed.
Halina shook her head. “No, that’s not what I’m…” Blue eyes pale and wide, Halina grabbed both of Dad’s forearms. “I’m worried for the child.”
Dad furrowed his brows, not following her. I didn’t either. Nika’s high was slowing down my brain, making it hard to concentrate. Did Halina mean Nika when she said child? Because aside from being pumped full of endorphins, Nika was fine. I was fairly certain the doctors would be able to remove the arrow shaft and seal her up. Or did Halina know something I didn’t about arrow injuries? Should I be more concerned about my sister’s health?
Halina looked around the room, seemingly at a loss as to how to explain herself. Oddly, my drugged sister was the one who came up with the answer. “Ah, she’s worried about Hunter. How sweet.” She giggled again, and everyone shifted to stare at her, then Halina.
“You’re worried about the…vampire?” Dad whispered.
Halina bit her lip and nodded. Another figure blurred into the room, and Halina spun to face him. “I don’t understand, Gabriel. Why can’t I stop thinking about him? Why am I concerned? Why am I…scared?”
Gabriel surveyed the room, assessing Nika’s condition and my pseudo-high with his scientific eyes as he casually answered my grandmother. “You sired him, dear.” His eyes returned to hers. “That creates a permanent bond between you.”
Dad snapped his head to Mom. I watched them while my mind tried to hold onto Gabriel’s words. Halina was now bonded with my sister’s boyfriend. She’d be able to feel his presence, just like she could with our family…and I supposed, we’d be able to as well, since he had our family’s blood in him. But a sire bond was a little different than the familial bond we shared. When Dad had sired Mom, their bond had driven them to be together; even now, they got kind of a high when they came near each other. God, was Halina going to get buzzed by being around Hunter now? Nika wasn’t going to like this.
Looking back at Gabriel, Dad shook his head. “But Starla told us the sire bond varied in strength. That it depended on the connection between the pairing pre-turning. It was strong for Emma and me in the beginning because we were married, deeply in love before Emma changed.” He pointed at Halina. “She doesn’t even know Hunter. She shouldn’t feel anything for him.”
Gabriel shrugged, “While what Starla said is true, the strength of the bond is also dependent upon the individual.” Walking up to Halina, Gabriel grabbed her hand. “And you, my dear, have a deep place in your heart for children, for all children. And Hunter is now essentially your child. I could be wrong about this, but I believe your feelings for him will rival your feelings for your own daughter.”
Halina’s mouth dropped open. “This was not supposed to happen.” She shook her head; her long, black locks swirled around her, enhancing her frustration. “I was going to turn him, then kill him!” She gasped, holding a hand to her heart. “I can’t, Gabriel. I can’t kill him.” Anger flooded her features. “And if his idiot father doesn’t take proper care of him, he’s going to die tomorrow night!” Her mouth set in a hard line, and her entire body stiffened with tension. “He should be with me! I can feed him. I care take care of him.” Her lip trembled. “I can’t lose him, Gabriel…”
A bloody tear rolled down her cheek, and Gabriel wiped it away. Enfolding her in his arms, he rested his head on hers. “I know, love.”
Our room was quiet after that. I could hear activity in the rooms beside me; another patient had been brought in, an orderly was complaining about mopping up vomit, and a nurse was cussing out a doctor for being too busy in the on-call room to remove an arrow from a poor teenage girl who’d been in a hunting accident. I flushed a little, remembering Halina’s earlier comment, then, still high off my sister, I chuckled to myself.
When the doctor finally arrived, and Nika was whisked away (and the nurse’s memory was modified), our group shuffled off to wait for both of our hurt family members to recover…assuming they would. Halina paced while she waited, her anxiety over Hunter too great to contain.
With Nika farther away from me, some clarity returned. I still couldn’t wrap my mind around the change in my grandmother. Just hours ago, she’d been dead-set on ending Hunter’s life, and now she was more worried about his conversion than Ben’s surgery. Was Hunter really going to be as important to her as Imogen? That seemed bizarre to me. Those two were almost best friends more than mother and daughter…how would Hunter fit in? Would he feel the same way toward Halina?
There were so many unknowns about this that it boggled me. I was having a hard time picturing anything but the man who’d fired a gun on my father. But, I supposed I needed to stop seeing him that way. Hunter wasn’t that person anymore. He was a vampire now, a pureblood vampire. Everything was different.
We received news that Ben was stable and in recovery right as Starla and Jacen arrived at the hospital. Mom and Dad went to check on Ben, while I went downstairs to greet my “mother” so she could formally sign in Nika.
Gabriel came down with me to see Starla, and her face lit up when she saw that he was all right. Turning from the nurses’ desk, she ran over to Gabriel and slung her arms around him. He held her back, his hand patting her reassuringly. “Father,” she gushed, “I’m so glad you weren’t hurt.”
As her grip tightened, the smile on Gabriel’s face shifted to a frown. “No, I made it out unscathed, but others didn’t.” His blond head lifted to where Ben was unconsciously resting.
Starla pulled back at hearing his tone. She nodded, her face, for once, remorseful. “I heard about Ben, I’m so sorry.”
Gabriel nodded, then his smile returned and he cupped her cheek. “Your face brings me joy, child.” He kissed her head. “I am glad to see you in one piece.” His emerald eyes swung over to Jacen. “Both of you.”
Jacen smiled and nodded. The poor nurse on duty didn’t appear to know how to take in the dynamics of my expanded family. She kept looking between Starla and Jacen and Gabriel. She had to have noticed that Starla and Jacen were an item when they came in together. Even though the two were similar enough to be related, they were usually affectionate enough that it was clear they weren’t. But with how Gabriel was holding Starla, it must seem like they were together too. And the fact that both men looked twenty-something and Starla was creeping up on forty didn’t help. To the nurse’s eyes, Starla had two younger men wrapped around her finger. Considering both men’s actual ages, that was pretty laughable.
When Starla finished with Gabriel, she walked over to me. “Hey, Julian. You all right, kid?”
I nodded, then frowned. “Nika got hurt…” I knew she was already aware of that fact, but I couldn’t stop myself from saying it. From what I could tell of Nika’s emotions, she was still feeling no pain. They were keeping her pretty medicated while they worked on her shoulder; her exhaustion made me a little sleepy, or perhaps that was my own. Sometimes it was hard to tell.
Starla’s face softened as she took in my expression. “Yeah…I heard.” Thinking of something, she said, “You can feel everything she feels, right?” I nodded, and she asked me a question that no one else had. “So, you felt her pain all night?” I nodded again, and she frowned. “God, that bond sucks. Father needs to do something about that soon.” She rubbed my arm in sympathy, and I smiled.
It wasn’t too much later that Nika was all patched up. I carefully put my arms around her as she lay in her bed, recovering. Still a little groggy from the pain meds, she blinked up at me. “Ben?” she asked, her throat dry.
Mom and Dad sat on the other side of her bed. Grabbing her hand, Dad reassuringly told her, “He’ll be fine, honey. Don’t worry.”
I wanted to believe that, but there had been a touchy moment with Ben not too long ago. Alarms had gone off and nurses had rushed in. I’d been outside his room at the time, waiting while Starla and Jacen had checked on him. There had been so much chaos. His room had been cleared out, and a bunch of medical jargon had stung my ears while the frantic staff had tried to keep his heart going. Eventually, they got him back, but I was still on edge, waiting to hear those alarms again. The next time they went off…he might not come back.
Mom and Dad were checking on Nika when it happened, but they knew about it; they’d been listening. None of that showed on Dad’s face as he patted his daughter’s hand. She weakly clenched his. If she were more alert, she might have caught the slight crease of Mom’s brow, but Nika was too tired and closed her eyes. Her peace flowed into me, and I tried to let the horrible evening slip from me. I yawned.
Dad looked over at me, then up to Starla and Jacen standing with Halina and Gabriel. “Will you take him home? We’ll stay here with Nika.”
Halina nodded, but I shook my head, wide awake now. Staring at my limp sister, a bandage over her neck, another around her arm, and a huge piece of white gauze on her shoulder, I knew I couldn’t leave her. She’d endured so much tonight. Our bond was stronger the closer together we were. I had to stay with her, to give her my strength. I’d promised her that we were together until the very end, and I wouldn’t leave her now. “No, Dad, I’m not—”
Dad’s mouth set in a parental line of rigidness. “I’m not arguing this with you. You’re exhausted, you need rest, and your sister needs rest. You can return after school.”
Shock hit me like a brick wall. “I have to go to school? Are you serious? What about…?” I flung my hands to the window, indicating the maniac who was still out there.
Dad inhaled a deep, calming breath. “He’s…preoccupied with his situation. I don’t expect him to be a problem for a while.” His eye line returned to Gabriel’s, and his face asked a question while his tone gave an order. “Keep him safe.”
Gabriel gave him one curt nod in answer, and Dad relaxed. Fury built in me. It was so unfair! I should be allowed to stay. She was my sister, my bonded twin. They couldn’t make me leave her side. They couldn’t make me do anything. I was sixteen years old, practically a man! Dad should understand that. I mean, he’d almost fathered a kid when he was my age!
Exhaustion, anger, and fear all swirled within me. I wasn’t sure if I had a good argument, but I was going to start in on it. Especially when Dad looked back down to Nika, effectively dismissing me. I sat up straight on the bed and opened my mouth to start ranting. That was when Nika touched my face.
I looked down at her instead. Her eyes begged me to relax as she sent calm feelings my way. “It’s okay, Julian. You’re on edge, you’re tired…go rest. I’ll be fine…” Her eyes fluttered closed, and her hand dropped from my skin.
My anger melted away as I looked down on my brave, heartbroken sister. I couldn’t deny her request, not now. Glumly, I looked back at Dad. “Fine,” I sulked. I might have to leave, but I didn’t have to be peppy about it. Especially since I had to go to freaking school in a few hours. You would think being involved in a drive-by, getting shot at with arrows, being held hostage, and being awake for the past forty-eight hours would buy a person a few days off.
I left with Halina and Gabriel not long after that. Starla and Jacen left, too, following behind Grandpa’s truck in Starla’s sporty car. It felt strange to leave my immediate family behind. After everything we’d been through tonight, their presence being stretched from me was unnerving. And Nika was right, I was on edge. Having multiple attempts made on your life did that to a person.
It was getting close to dawn when we got back to the seedy motel. Arianna’s mom’s minivan was parked outside the door when we pulled up. Surprisingly, it looked exactly as it had pre-bullet holes. I marveled at how quickly and easily my grandmother’s compulsion had taken care of that little problem. I also wondered if Dad was correct—had the mechanic nearly worked himself to death to fix this thing?
Everyone greeted me when I stepped out of the truck. Imogen and Alanna inspected me for injuries, but aside from the few grazes I received during the shoot-out, I was fine. As Grandpa Jack warmly enclosed me in a hug, I spotted Arianna. She was standing in the motel room doorframe, biting her lip. Her eyes were red, and she looked on the verge of losing it. I furrowed my brow, trying to understand why she looked so upset. Had something happened?
When my family backed off, I took a step toward her. “Arianna? You oka—”
I didn’t get a chance to finish my question. She barreled into me, tossing her arms around me like she was trying to prevent me from falling off a sheer cliff face. Burying her head into my neck, she exhaled, “Thank God…I was so worried about you.”
Warmth burst through my chest, and as I protectively wrapped my arms around her, something else opened inside me. Feelings I’d been masking, blocking, all tumbled out. I couldn’t contain them anymore. I didn’t want to. I felt the fog lifting from me, and I suddenly understood everything I’d been confused about.
I liked her. Truly, deeply, I wanted-to-be-with-her liked her.
It was so painfully clear to me now that I didn’t understand how I’d missed it earlier. I guess I’d been holding onto Raquel for so long that I’d convinced myself I couldn’t like anyone else. But that was ridiculous. Of course I could. Especially since Raquel had never shown me more than the slightest glimmer of hope that she might care for me. Arianna had never tried to hide her feelings. And she’d never played games with me. She’d always cared about me, and even after learning what I really was, she still cared about me.
I kissed her head and breathed in her comfort. “I was worried about you too,” I murmured.
She pulled back to look at me, her eyes soft with warmth. “You were?”
She looked about to ask me more, but Trey bounded up to us, clapping my shoulder and inadvertently breaking us apart. “So, you guys put down the baddies?” He looked around, his grin dropping. “Where’s Nika?”
My head fell forward as I felt my sister. “She…”
Arianna’s eyes watered, and I couldn’t finish telling her about her best friend’s injuries. She understood my expression. “Is she going to be okay?” I nodded, and she asked, “Did Hunter hurt her?”
I shook my head to tell her no, right as Halina walked up to me. “Come, Julian. We’re taking everyone back to your house in the city.” Her pale eyes scanned the sky. “I can’t stay here, and Teren is right, we’ll be safe. Hunter’s father has too much to do to worry about us right now…” Her voice trailed off, and she chewed on her lip. It was clear by the look on her face that she would love to be with Hunter instead of leaving him with his father.
I nodded at her, and her dark head twisted to my friends. “I suppose I should clean them now.”
Trey looked down at himself, inspecting his clothes. Arianna looked back at me, a question in her eyes. With great sorrow, I supplied her with an answer. “Clean your mind of any knowledge of what happened tonight.”
Clutching my hand, Arianna shook her head. “No, I want to remember.”
Halina curled a corner of her lip in an expression that clearly said she didn’t really care what Arianna wanted…she had a job to do. I stepped in front of Arianna, blocking her from Halina. “She’s accepted us, and she won’t say anything. Please, Grandma…let her keep her memories. Let her know what I am.”
Halina examined the dark clouds above us. “I don’t have time to argue this with you, Julian. You know the rules.”
In Russian, I quickly told her, “But I want to be with her. You’ve always allowed people our family was dating to know…so long as it was going well. And, I want…to date her. I want to see if I could have a future…with her. Who knows…maybe we’ll give you children one day.” My cheeks felt red-hot, but now wasn’t the time to beat around the bush. I had to be blunt with her.
Halina answered me in her native tongue. I felt my other grandmothers staring, but I ignored them. “You think you might continue the line with this one?”
I shrugged as I shook my head. “I don’t know…but I’d like the freedom to find out—with her knowing everything. Just like Mom and Dad.”
Halina raised an eyebrow, then nodded. “All right, Julian. So long as she is your potential mate…I will not take her mind.”
Smiling, I nodded. “Thank you.”
She paused a moment, then added, “But if you end the relationship, even amicably, I will wipe her. And I’ll take it all, Julian. She won’t even remember you.”
Tears in my eyes, I nodded again. All or nothing, that was what she was offering me…and I would take it. Guilt poured into me as I thought of my sister. I’d just given her an all-or-nothing relationship with Arianna too. If things ended between us, and Halina wiped her mind of me, she’d surely wipe her mind of Nika as well. We’d both lose her. I really hoped Arianna wanted this.
Arianna had a questioning tilt to her head when Halina turned away from me. “What was that about?”
With a nonchalant half-shrug I told her, “Nothing.” My heart was beating harder as she stared at me. Her hazel eyes were drinking me in, the disbelief in them obvious. Tucking a golden-brown strand of hair behind her ear, she said in a droll voice, “Nothing? You were having a conversation in Russian over nothing?”
I blinked. “You knew that was Russian?”
She nodded. “This lady my mom knows speaks it, so I recognize the accent. Why do you speak it? And what were you saying?”
I rubbed my chin, not sure what to tell her, when I suddenly noticed that Halina was talking to Trey…and he was hanging on her every word. “When we get to Julian’s house, you won’t remember anything that happened tonight. You won’t remember anything odd happening at school. You won’t remember anything about vampires, or being shot at, or hiding out in a motel. In your mind, you went to visit Julian after school, got tired, and spent the night. You spent the evening playing video games and…looking through women’s underwear ads.”
Trey’s lips lifted into a smile, but his eyes remained dazed and dreamy. My mouth was agape when Halina finished with him and twisted my way. “You wiped him? Why?”
Icy blue eyes flicked up and down my body. “You’re not going to date him, and Nika will never be interested in that one.” She closed her eyes for a minute and shook her head. “Plus, he’s a chatty teenage pothead…not exactly a secure vault.” She lifted an eyebrow. “And our secrets must stay secret.”
Halina’s eyes drilled holes into Arianna. Arianna clenched my hand tight, but bravely nodded. “I wouldn’t say anything, ever.”
Resting a chilly hand on her shoulder, Halina leaned in and whispered, “I know you won’t.”
A shudder went down Arianna’s spine as Halina walked over to Gabriel. She slung her arms around his waist and pulled him toward Grandpa’s truck. While she had mostly recovered from her exposure to silver, she still seemed a little off her game to me—a little slower, a little stiffer—but still a force to be reckoned with. As I watched Halina get into the vehicle, I was both irritated and relieved. I supposed one friend keeping their memory was better than neither friend. And…Arianna was sort of my girlfriend now in Halina’s eyes. Crap. I should probably ask her out. My palms started sweating. Hopefully Arianna wouldn’t notice.
Arianna relaxed as I pulled her to the minivan. “So…Trey really won’t remember tonight?”
I let out a weary exhale as we passed by the perfectly repaired door. “No, as soon as we get to my house, he’ll think nothing out of the ordinary happened.”
Arianna frowned as she opened the driver’s side door. “And there’s nothing you can do?”
I shrugged as she climbed inside the minivan. “Aside from tell him again?” I paused as I thought for a second. “Or never go home?” Glancing over at the truck, I saw that Halina had heard me. She narrowed her eyes in warning, and I quickly turned back to Arianna. “No…once you’re tranced, you’re tranced.”
Arianna examined the wheel before looking over at Trey getting into the second row. He seemed completely oblivious to the fact that soon he wouldn’t remember tonight. She returned her eyes to mine; they were slightly moist. “Did she do that to me? Will I forget?”
Her eyes searched mine, and my pulse quickened. The dome light cast a soft glow on her hair as it backlit her face. She was so beautiful…how did I miss that? Shoving my hands into my pockets, I kicked a rock on the cement. “Ah, no…she won’t…do anything…as long as…” I peeked up at her, a small smile on my lips, “If you’ll go out with me…if you’ll be my girlfriend, then you can remember.” My words came out a little strangled, and I had to swallow the knot in my throat.
Arianna gave me a blank look, and I started to think she hadn’t heard me. Then she said, “What about…Raquel?”
Biting my lip, I wished I had the words to clearly explain how and why my feelings had shifted. Translating it into any kind of coherent speech seemed impossible. “I don’t… It’s just… Raquel will never accept me like you did. She’ll never care about me like you do. I’ll always be a ‘maybe’ to her, and I want more than that. I want to be with someone who likes me as much as I like them. I want my feelings to be…reciprocated. And you…” With a sigh, I lowered my gaze to the pavement. “I like you, Arianna. I think I’ve always liked you.” I lifted my eyes to hers then. “I resisted it for so long… But I’m done ignoring it, or brushing it off, or whatever the hell I was doing.” Heart in my eyes, I shook my head. “I just really want to be with you, and I hope you want to be with me too.”
I thought I might throw up while I waited for her to say something. As she wordlessly studied me, I saw myriad emotions pass through her eyes. God, I’m so sorry I ever hurt you. Like she heard my silent apology, she smiled, then nodded. “Okay, Julian…we can date. But just date.” My immediate joy faded, and I frowned. What did she mean by that. Seeing my confusion, Arianna explained. “I won’t be your girlfriend. Not yet. But if all goes well, and I’m completely sure you’re over her, then maybe, just maybe, I’ll agree to be your girlfriend.”
She gave a one-sided grin, full of teasing promise, then she leaned forward to kiss me. My heart soared as her lips met mine, and I melded into her skin. I was fine with dating first, and if I had to prove to her every day that I was over Raquel, then that was what I would spend every day doing. Gladly. I’d never felt such joy in a woman’s arms, and knowing it was reciprocated—100 percent—made all the difference in the world.
Even though the night had been disastrous, I smiled the entire ride home. I wasn’t even bothered by the fact that I had to go to school in a few hours. Once we got to our quaint Bavarian-style, two-story house, Arianna and I flopped onto the couch to watch a little TV before school. There really was no point in sleeping now, and I was too wired to sleep anyway. Trey wasn’t, and passed out immediately on one of the other couches. It saddened me that he wouldn’t remember…that he’d already forgotten, but as I squeezed Arianna’s hand, I took comfort in the fact that she still remembered, and more amazingly, she still wanted to be with me. And I wanted to be with her too.
A huge blanket was draped across the massive white couch that I was sitting on; its deep red color was the same shade as the blood it was covering. Halina’s blood, from her night of being poisoned with silver. This couch would eventually have to be tossed. Seeing that I was safe and settled with my girl, Halina escaped to an underground cellar that Dad and Gabriel had put in for her. It wasn’t as spacious and luxurious as her rooms back at the ranch, but it was better than sleeping in the ground. And while Halina had time to zip to the ranch before the sun came up, from the look on her face when she slipped away, it was clear she wanted to stay close to us tonight. Or, to be more accurate, today.
The rest of my tired family shuffled upstairs. Except Starla and Jacen. Once they received Gabriel’s permission, they headed home. Gabriel stayed on the couch in the living room, watching me with curious, scientific eyes. I knew he was examining my bond with my sister. That was usually the reason for him studying us. He was fascinated with our connected feelings, and he was probably wondering exactly what I’d gone through tonight. Normally I’d talk to him about it, answer all his questions, but I was too emotionally tired, the stress too fresh. Being terrified, heartbroken, scared, and in pain was hard enough to face on your own. Having it amplified by my sister had been excruciating. But we’d done it, and we were fine now. Nika was resting peacefully, and I was content with Arianna by my side. All was well…for now.