“Well, I have
the
remedy,” Fiona said, motioning with her head to follow her and Ethan. Without another look at Dorian, I walked away.
“Gwen?”
“What?” I turned around and faced Dorian. I kept my eyes down, not sure why I couldn’t make eye contact with the angel of death or, at least, not willing to acknowledge the reason.
“Meet me in the graveyard when you’re done.” He walked over and picked up his jacket.
I c
hewed on my lip. “Why?” It was
9:00pm, so I couldn’t use
the late hour
as an excuse
not to meet him
. At the moment, I didn’t feel comfortable being alone with him.
“We have training to do. You’ll be practicing with the witches tomorrow, so we need to use tonight to continue with our project.”
I laughed.
Project
, that’s what he called summoning pissed off spirits? The events of the day made me forget all about the vials of vampire blood that waited for my attention. Holly ordered me to do it and I gave my word I would; whether I wanted to be alone with Dorian or not, I had to.
“Fine.” I coated my words with
irritation
.
When I left the gym, Fiona and Ethan were waiting for me in the large entry way. The fighting helped
dissolve some of the
extra energy, but I was still jittery. We went to the library and sat behind a large bookshelf, obscured from anyone who might wander in.
“What’s going on with you and
that guy
?” Fiona
waggled her eyebrows. She loved
juicy gossip.
Ethan
shook his head
and kept his attention on mixing a new spell.
“Nothing. He’s training me for my part in the war.”
Her smile didn’t falter with my explanation; she
wasn’t
buy
ing my explanation.
“You don’t waste any time, do you?” Ethan scoffed.
“What’s
that
supposed to mean?” I
snapped.
“You just broke up with the leech, and you’re already throwing yourself at a new guy. Don’t get me wrong, I hate vampires, but you could show a little decorum.”
My eyebrows arched in surprise, it was the most Ethan had said to me since I met him. I was also surprised Fiona didn’t tell him I was still with said leech. I was already a social pariah because I dated a vampire and sympathized with the innocent vamps, if they knew I was still dating one, I’d be outcast whether I helped in the war or not.
“What is your problem?” I glared at Ethan. “You don’t even know me.”
“Oh, that’s right, you don’t add thistle,” Fiona interjected. “That’s what I did wrong.” I could tell she didn’t want Ethan and I to fight, but I was tired of the nasty looks he threw me and wanted to get
to the bottom of his annoyance, despite Fiona’s unease.
“You’re right, I don’t, but you let a vampire feed from you, and that’s all I need to know.” He continued to add herbs to the mixing bowl. I couldn’t be mad on principle, I was against vampires feeding off of witches, but the situation with Aiden was a special circumstance.
“Yes, I did, but not for the fun of it. There was reason behind my decision. Don’t judge things you don’t understand.” My hands fisted and magic tingled within as my anger rose.
Ethan began to say something, but Fiona cut him off.
“Both of you need to stop!
Ethan, Gwen is a good person, and you shouldn’t hate her because of one decision she made.” I smiled at my best friend, but then she turned her attention towards me and the ire in her eyes made the smile disappear. “And, Gwen, don’t be so quick to judge Ethan, he has his own reasons for hating the vampires. Both of you are important to me, and I don’t
wanna
hear any more about it, understand?”
“Yes, ma’am,” I said, and Ethan nodded. Of course I hated being reprimanded, but I was proud of Fiona for standing up against her boyfriend and best friend. I wondered what reason Ethan had for hating vampires but didn’t ask, it wasn’t any of my business. I had enough of my own drama without having to worry about his.
Blue smoke rose from the bowl and curled towards my body and around my limbs and torso. The smoke dissolved into my skin like before, but I didn’t feel different, my energy and magic
still buzzed underneath my skin like an electric current.
“I don’t think it’s working,” I told Ethan.
“Give it a minute.” His eyes rolled as he looked away.
If Fiona hadn’t been sitting right next to me, I would have smacked him. Maybe if I was lucky, his eyes would stick like that. I giggled at the thought, and both of them looked at me. Shrugging my shoulders, I reigned in my amusement and picked a piece of fuzz off of my jeans.
We sat for ten minutes before I felt normal again. After being hyper for so long, norm
al felt sluggish in comparison
. I frowned
at the difference
. I missed the extra energy but at least now the spell would protect me from Ian—or at least I hoped it would. I didn’t exactly trust Ethan, so I wasn’t confident I wouldn’t see Ian tonight.
“How do you feel?” Fiona laid her hand on my arm and watched me with curious eyes.
“Normal. My energy buzz is gone.”
“Don’t sound so excited about it,” Fiona laughed.
“It was just cool to have so much energy, I felt invincible.”
Ethan cleaned up his mess and stood. “Well, if were done, I’ve
gotta
get back to studying. You coming, Fiona?”
She stood and looked down at me. “Give me a minute,” she told Ethan.
Without a word he turned and walked towards the door. Fiona grabbed my hand a
nd
squeezed it tight. Her eyes were filled with
apprehension
and sympathy. I knew what she’d say before the words ever left her mouth.
“Gwen, are you sure you’re okay? I can stay with you if you want.”
A smile spread upon my lips, even though I felt like frowning. I would act the same way if Fiona had been violated. As much as I wanted her to ignore it and just move on with life, I appreciated her empathy.
“I’m fine, really. More pissed than anything. I have to train with Dorian, so you can’t stay with me, unless you
wanna
hang out in the graveyard all night.”
I laughed because I knew
Fiona hated graveyards.
Her eyebrows scrunched and the corner of her mouth went up in an uneasy smile. “I think I’ll stay in here, but if you need me, just let me know; I’ll be in the ball room with Ethan and all the other soldiers.”
I nodded my head. “You didn’t…” I began as I stood up. Fiona waited for me to finish my sentence, but I felt bad even asking her what was on my mind.
“What?”
“You didn’t tell Ethan about what happened, did you
?”
It wasn’t that I didn’t trust her, I just needed to be certain. I hoped she would understand that.
“Nope, I just told him the ghosts wouldn’t let you sleep, so you needed a sleep protection spell. He didn’
t even question it.” She smiled.
“Thanks, Fiona.” I gave her a tight hug. “Tell him thank you for me, will
ya
?”
She nodded
before she turned and left to find Ethan. There was a big change in my best friend since we came to Moon. She was more mature and interested in things other than herself. Maybe she was done playing spoiled rich girl and was looking for a purpose in her life. Whatever the reason, I admired her development.
*****
Like every other night since coming to Moon, tonight seemed like it lasted an eternity. It was only 10:00pm, but I
very much
wanted to head up to my bedroom and crawl under the plush cotton comforter.
Instead, I met with Dorian in the graveyard. I spent more time in graveyards in the past few weeks than I had my entire life. If someone asked me where someone was buried, I was sure I could draw them a map with the exact type of headstone marking the grave.
Just as I got to the front door,
Kye
walked into the large entry way. I hadn’t seen him around much since Holly pawned me off to the Angel of Death. His sandy brown hair was spiked atop his head, and he wore khaki pants and
a blue polo shirt that fit a bit
snug. His eyes found mine, and I gave him a small smile. “Hey,” I said as he walked closer to me.
“Going for a night jog?” He crossed his arms and waited for my answer.
It took me a moment to understand his question. I looked down at my clothes, I still had on the yoga pants and baggy sweater I’d conjured at Aiden’s hotel.
“Oh, no.” I shook my head. “I have to meet Dorian in the graveyard, training again. I feel like I’m in boot camp.” I laughed.
Kye’s
head bobbed up and down and an awkward silence filled the space between us.
“You
wanna
come with me?” The words spilled out, and I rushed to explain. “You might want to learn, Dorian won’t always be around to teach new spirit walkers.” The truth was I didn’t want to be alone with him. I’d seen interest in his eyes on more than one occasion, and with
Kye
there he couldn’t act on those feelings.
Kye
looked away then back at me. “Yeah, I guess I could do that. I was just going to listen in on fighting techniques, but it’d be nice to get out of the castle for a little bit.”
We followed the cobblestone road that lead to the graveyard. The air was a bit chilly and carried the scent of smoke and food from one of the quaint restaurants.
Kye
seemed like he wanted to ask me something but was hesitant to speak. A small smile
crept onto my lips as I waited for him to gain the courage to tal
k. After a couple minutes, I
couldn’t maintain patience any longer. “What’s on your mind?”
He looked over at me and then away, nervousness showed in his eyes. “Your friend, the blonde one,” he began, and I smiled wider.
“Fiona? What about her?” I bit my lip to rein in my smile. It was obvious he was uncomfortable, and I shouldn’t make it worse by laughing. But it was sort of nice seeing him unsure of himself when he made me feel exactly like that through his training.
“Never mind.” He waved his hand in the air like it would make me forget the conversation ever happened.
“No, really. What did you
wanna
know?” I didn’t know him all that well, and all the time I spent with him convinced me a large stick was
probably
stuck up his ass, but I still liked him more than Ethan.
“Is she seeing anyone?” He rushed the question so it sounded like one word.
Fiona was
into Ethan so I felt bad about having to tell
Kye
, especially when he was so nervous to ask. “Ethan Rhodes, but I don’t know how serious it is,” I told him. We’d only been in Moon for a couple weeks, it couldn’t be super serious or, at least, I hoped it wasn’t. I was sure Ethan was nice enough to the right people, but I hadn’t seen that side of him yet.
“Oh,”
Kye
murmured.
Kye
and I walked down the dirt path in silence. Seeing Dorian leaning against a large mausoleum was a welcome sight, although by the look on his face, seeing
Kye
with me wasn’t one.
Sweetness on my lips, my tongue does yearn to lick.
I stopped in my tracks as Ian’s voice penetrated my mind. Fiona and Ethan shielded him from my dreams, but the spell didn’t stop him from communicating with me telepathically.
“What’s wrong?”
Kye
asked.
My hands itch to caress your breasts, and my mouth waters to taste your sweet nectar.
My heart sped up as Ian continued to taunt me. I covered my face with both hands and rubbed my forehead like that would eradicate him from my brain.
You will be everything she is not, be by my side and claim your spot.
“
Shut up
!” I screamed and
Kye
jumped beside me.
“Gwen?” Dorian asked, beside me
in an instant
.
Ian’s laughter haunted my mind and no amount of rubbing would erase the eerie sound. My anger
intensified
my magic to rush
through my
veins
and before logic could penetrate my conscious, I shot my hand out and a blast of blue
energy
hit a nearby tree. A large branch snapped in two, almost hitting
Kye
.
“What the hell is going on?” Dorian asked
Kye
.
Shit, how am I going to explain this? I’d have to tell them the truth, unless I wanted them to think I was going insane.
Thoughts rushed through my head as Dorian and
Kye
argued. When I looked up, two pairs of eyes were watching me. My body shook with fear and anger, and my chest heaved with my panicked heartbeat. What would the NAWC do when they found out I was bonded to the vampire responsible for killing so many witches? It didn’t look good that I lied about the bond with Ian for so long. I should have told the council as soon as it happened.