The combination of using magic and fist fighting with a vampire exhausts me. I sleep through the night without waking once. The warm sun streams in through the window some time the next day to wake me. I stretch out and open my eyes, and there he is in the chair, staring at me. I don’t even jump today because I almost expected it.

He doesn’t care that it’s creepy. He only cares that he wants to watch me sleep. It doesn’t matter what I think.

“Do you sleep at all?” I yawn.

“Not usually. It’s not a requirement. I have boundless energy. Some women find that rather appealing.” He waggles his eyebrows.

I roll my eyes. “Whatever. I’m too tired to fight with you about it, so watch me all you want as long as you don’t end up in bed with me.”

His grin transforms into a playful smirk, with a deep dimple all but winking at me.

“You floated in your sleep last night.”

I sit up and stare at him. “What?”

“You did. About a foot off the bed. The covers draped over your body, leaving little to the imagination—not that I minded. When you started to stir, you just kind of floated down like a feather, swaying a little from side to side. It was rather curious. I’ve never seen that before, and trust me when I say I’ve seen just about everything.”

“Well, that’s interesting. You think I can fly?”

“I don’t see why you couldn’t.”

I consider that a moment. Being able to fly never occurred to me as something I’d learn how to do as a witch, but I floated in my sleep, so I must be able to. Of all the things I’ll learn about my magic, I don’t think any skill or ability could top that. Soaring above the clouds with the birds... Getting a view of the world like no other human ever could... I bite my lip to hold back the silly grin that creeps up along my lips. That’s cool. Very cool.

“Can you fly? Alexander didn’t give me a straight answer the other night when I asked.”

“I don’t know where people got this ridiculous notion. We don’t sprout wings or turn into bats, so why on Earth would they assume we can fly?”

“Good question. I don’t have an answer. But Alexander said something about ‘not anymore.’”

“Made vampires never could. As for elders, well, that’s a matter of opinion.”

“Humor me.”

He rolls his eyes and clears his throat. “Elders are the fallen. So I suppose they could fly at one point but not since they were cast down.”

“Wait. What?” I sit up tall and straight in bed. I did not expect that response, and it sucks me deeper into this conversation. “Like angels?”

He shrugs and stands. He looks down at me in bed, his finger twitching at his side.

“Get dressed, and come to breakfast. After that, we’ll start training.”

“You can’t just throw something like that out and then tell me to come eat.” How could these creatures that feed off humans be angels? It doesn’t make sense to me. And I want to know all about it.

“Sure, I can. There’s nothing else to say,” Sebastian says plainly.

“There’s a lot to say,” I snap back.

“Well, they don’t talk about it, so I have no details to give. Get your ass out of bed.”

“For the record, I think fighting either of you is a really bad idea.”

“Noted.” He exits the room but leans back in, his hands on either side of the doorframe. “By the way, call my name in your sleep one more time, and I might have to make your dreams a reality.”

I open my mouth in shock, and nothing comes out. My face and neck are on fire. Please tell me he’s joking?

I spend breakfast asking him and Alexander a million questions about angels and vampires and get virtually no new information. In the end, I file away those facts for later. If they won’t give me answers, I’ll find out more myself, maybe while I’m fighting one of them.

After breakfast, we head to a room at the back of the house I haven’t gone into yet. It’s as big as a gymnasium with weapons attached to the walls. A dozen skylights allow the sun to shine in rectangular shapes on the floor. It touches my face, warming me, and I look up and close my eyes, enjoying the feel of the heat and light. When I open my eyes, I notice the change in my aura. I hold my hands up and spin around like I’m wearing a new dress, but it’s just me, and I’m gold and silver with a touch of purple pixie dust.

Sebastian stares at me with a ghost of a smile on his face. I grin from ear to ear.

“What the fuck is she doing?” Alexander says, ruining my mood.

He doesn’t yet know that I’m a seer, and that’s probably a good thing.

I shrug. “Just enjoying the sunbeam.”

“I detest humans,” he mutters.

Sebastian stands to his brother’s right. He reaches out and grips Alexander’s shoulder, and his humor fades. “The stronger she is, the safer we are. We need her to be able to kill Markus dead the first time she tries.”

Alexander scoffs. “I know very well what we need.”

“Kill her, brother, and you’re a slave forever. So am I.”

“I’d rather be a slave than dead.”

Sebastian levels a stare at him.

It occurs to me that I have no idea who Sebastian’s master is, and he’s not once asked me to seek him or her out. I would probably kill his master if he asked me. Why doesn’t he?

“I gave my word I wouldn’t kill her.” Alexander shrugs off his brother’s hand. “I’ve never broken a promise to you. Not once in all the years we’ve lived.”

“No, you haven’t.” He bows and takes a few steps back.

I shift on my feet and nervously pick at my long sleeves. “What now?”

Alexander’s eyes sparkle. “Now, I hurt you.”

My eyes go wide as he rushes toward me like a bounding lion. His face contorts as his eyes blaze like red-hot magma. With two hands together, he pushes me as hard as he can. I fly through the air to collide with the back wall, inches above a set of spears with sharp metal tips, then fall to the ground with a thud that echoes through the high-ceilinged room. My body begs for air that won’t come. It takes almost a minute to finally force my lungs to fill again. Searing pain radiates from my back to my legs and hips. I force myself to roll onto my side and ignore the burning. I feel as if every bone in my body should be broken, but I don’t think a single one is. As I move to all fours, I’m struck with a surprising realization. When the vampire came at me, my adrenaline should have kicked in. My whole body should be super charged with energy and electricity, but I feel nothing of the kind. Where I should feel fear, all I feel is...anger. I’m angrier than I’ve ever been.

I push myself to stand tall and stare at Alexander, who tips his head to the side to watch me with a menacing grin. He saunters forward, his eyes on fire and his fangs exposed. He lets out a growl, and his face morphs into harsh, protruding bones and bluish veins.

I hold out my hands and concentrate, trying desperately to find magic that will help me get the better of him. I want to hurt him. I want it more than anything, but when he rushes me again, he picks me up over his head. Electricity sparks from my fingers, but it doesn’t come quickly enough. He tosses me into the air and springs to the side as I smash into the thin wood flooring which most definitely covers a slab of cement.

I scream as searing heat and sharp pain radiates from my leg. I roll to the side again, gripping it. “It’s broken.” I can’t catch my breath. My pulse pounds fiercely in my ears. There are cuts and scrapes along my arms, but I don’t feel anything but the break in my leg.

Sebastian curses.

“I thought you had more fight in you,” Alexander taunts.

Sebastian whirs forward to crouch at my side. He sinks his fangs into his wrist and holds it up to me. “Drink it. You’ll heal quicker.”

I don’t hesitate. The pain is excruciating, and I’m desperate to be rid of it. I take a long pull and feel his cool blood snake down my neck and into my belly. Drinking blood should repulse me, but the longer I drink, the sweeter it becomes. I grip his arm and take longer, deeper gulps, hungrier than a starved dog. I want more. All of it. He pushes me away, and I fight him for more, but he holds me firm with his other arm.

His blood drips down my chin, and I lick the traces of him from around my tingling lips.

“That’s enough,” he says quietly.

I take a deep breath as my femur burns hotter. The pain recedes as the bone knits itself back together. Bruising magically fades, and my senses come alive. I hear his breathing and smell a hint of lavender on him that I haven’t noticed before.

“Okay. That’s enough.” I assume we’re done for the day. Or maybe they’re going to rethink their strategy, but that doesn’t happen.

“Let’s go, witch. I have other things to do today.”

---

That first day of fighting, I’m confident I broke twelve bones, the worst of which was part of my spine. How frantic I was when I could no longer feel my legs and arms. All of those breaks healed with no after effects. Now two weeks later, after fighting every single day, I’ve grown used to the pain. After the first drink of blood, the broken bones don’t hurt so much.

Today is day twenty-four, and I have yet to find any magic other than a few sparks, and it’s seriously pissing off all three of us. I’m not sure who’s angrier. Probably Alexander. He’s hitting even harder these days. One of these days, he’s going to hit me so hard I won’t recover.

“Enough!” Alexander says today after I’m in a pile on the floor, recovering from having my hand mangled so badly from his crushing fist that it hangs like jelly from my wrist.

Sebastian approaches me to feed me blood for the first time today.

Alexander stops him with a hand across his chest. “No, this isn’t working. Maybe it’s the blood. Maybe it won’t work with our blood.”

“I can’t leave her like that.”

I stand fifteen feet away, cradling my hand to my chest, desperately waiting for blood to make this pain stop.

“You will stay where you are,” he says to Sebastian.

“Don’t do this,” Sebastian says.

“Stay.”

Sebastian tries to move, but he can’t. I watch, confused. Then it hits me. The reason he’s never asked me to kill his master has been right in front of me all along, evident in the way Alexander took charge of this house and often of him. His master is his brother.

The realization hits me harder than my mangled hand. He kept his promise because he chose to, but Alexander can do whatever he wants where his brother is concerned, and Sebastian can’t do a thing about it. He’ll kill me dead right here, and Sebastian can’t save me. I’m alone.

Alexander stalks forward, his nails elongated to claws longer than my fingers. I’ve never seen them do this before. I gulp at the murderous look on his face and his fangs gleaming in the sunlight, expecting this to be the end.

And then something shifts in me. He won’t beat me, I decide. I won’t let him. And I won’t let him hurt his brother. I frown at him and scream, “Stop!” and he does. He jerks, his left leg flexing but not moving. Then he manages to pick up his leg, but his face contorts as he uses all of his strength to do it. Then he picks up the other, slower, and stomps down, the floor shaking from the force.

My light builds, especially around my hand. I hold it out and watch the bones move under my skin as it mends. Alexander doesn’t stop trying to come closer. He’s only four feet away. I can reach him. With both hands in working order, I lay them on his shoulders, and I don’t even have to grip him as I use my power like a magnet to steel to pick him up off the ground and toss him through the skylight.

Shards of glass spray the area around me, and I hold my hands up to protect myself. None of them reach me. Like I’m covered by an umbrella, they fall all around me. My hands and arms are intact. Not a speck of blood.

Sebastian smiles, and I return it. I have the urge to run to him and wrap my arms around his neck, excited that I found the magic inside me. But I don’t do that. I quietly whisper, “I did it.”

He flashes me a wink. “Now come here, and let me give you some blood.”

I hold up my hand and wiggle my fingers then turn it over to see my palm and the back.

His smile fades. In its place sits a frown, as if he’s upset that I don’t need him to help me. Is it because he enjoys me drinking his blood, enjoys me needing him? Or is it the connection it builds between us? I don’t know, and I feel like that’s a conversation for another day.

Now that the fight is over, he’s able to move again. He wordlessly asks for my hand, and I give it to him without hesitation.

“Amazing.” He traces his finger along my palm with a stroke lighter than the dusting of a feather. His touch tickles me, and the tingle travels down my arm and spreads to settle somewhere deep in my core. My hunger for him returns. Each day I spend with him, I come dangerously closer to giving in. I don’t know how much more willpower I have left. This body craves him, and I’m starting to think I do, too.

I pull away, the door flies open, and Alexander stalks in. His expression isn’t wild like I thought it’d be.

“She could have killed you,” Sebastian says, though he doesn’t sound upset.

He shrugs. “And I could have killed her. All she needed was to believe the threat.”

I scoff at him. “Don’t pretend you wouldn’t have finished me off if I didn’t come through. You were as frustrated with these sessions as I was.”

“I made a promise,” he says. “Where I come from, that means something.”

I stand up tall and look him straight in the eyes. “It means something to me, too.”

“Good. Then kill Markus.”

“Tell me when and where.”

“Easy children,” Sebastian says. “We need to plan this and leave no room for error because we all know what’s at stake. We take him out, or we all go down in flames.”

“I already have a plan.” Alexander takes two steps back. He motions with a hand for us to follow him as he heads for the hallway. I step forward to follow, but Sebastian lays a hand on my arm. His grip is firm, but it softens until he lets go, and he brushes the back of his hand down the length of my arm.

“It won’t happen unless you’re sure you’re ready. You can say no… For now.”

“I thought my life was on the line, and my magic didn’t let me down. I have to believe it’ll be there if Markus tries to kill me too.”

He nods, but his aura quickly dulls, and I feel his concern. It warms my heart to know he cares, though he’s never said as much. I pull him into a hug, startling him, and I pucker my lips to kiss him tenderly on his cheek. We still as nervous energy fills the air. He seems as uncertain of our embrace as I am, but I don’t want to let go. Slowly, his arms wrap around me, and I hold him tighter, letting my head fall to his shoulder. I release a sigh and let myself enjoy the moment, unsure if it will happen again. Though I can’t be certain, I feel slight pressure on the top of my head, like the soft brush of his lips against my hair. It happens so quickly I wonder if I’m imagining it. When I look up at him for confirmation, his smile is slight, and his head is bent.

“We should go,” he says softly.

I nod in agreement, but I’m comfortable here in his arms, and in this moment, I’m not sure if I’d rather be anywhere else.