Part of her wanted to defend him. He seemed like an honorable man with a defined self-sense of right and wrong. He had been gentle when he found out he was to be her first lover. There was a genuine affection between them in their time together. Her magic had recognized him the moment their eyes meet the first night. He was the one. The warm pool tried to force the pain out of the way, but the pain pushed back.
Betrayal, treacherous, cheater, liar. The words whispered in the wind around her, bringing with them doubt. A rolling sickness waved its way through her. She felt dizzy. For a moment, she was not sure she was still in the same place. Stumbling like an intoxicated drunkard, she found her way to a bench on the edge of an open green space.
The pain tugged one way. An outside force tugged another. Someone was calling her with magic. Not knowing who the person might be, she resisted following the pull. Her necklace flared to life. Brilliant jewel-tone rainbows flashed around her and the dizziness stopped.
“There you are,” Eleanor’s familiar voice said. Sabrina could not see her but knew Eleanor was nearby.
“Were you trying to call me to you?” Sabrina asked. Eleanor made herself visible a few feet away.
“Just now? No, I was tracking your magical scent. Why?” Eleanor’s features were heavily shadowed under the street lights.
“I felt dizzy and sick. Someone was calling me. It was like being pulled by a rope. I resisted being reeled in, but that made it worse. It only stopped when the necklace flared to life. I thought it was you,” Sabrina explained, her hopes dashed that the caller was Eleanor. As smoky quartz had long been used to ward off negative energy, she could only assume it was someone she did not want to meet.
A strong hand with long fingers slid over her shoulder. Clay was lifting her up. He drew her in for a tight hug. He kissed the top of her head and rested his cheek against her forehead. He rocked her gently from side to side. His scent of fresh rain and the nighttime woods contrasted with earthy dark-amber she longed for.
“You’ve had a hard night. Come home with me and let’s try to put this behind us,” he whispered.
“Behind us? Go home? How? We can’t undo or unlearn any of it. Nothing will ever be the same again,” she lamented. It would have been wonderful to be the carefree misfit again. The naïve country girl was gone. She would never be able to return. In her place was a woman full of unexplored power. Sabrina wanted to get to know that version of herself. That version was strong, almost willful in her independence, and capable.
“I’m the same. I still love you,” Clay assured her. His hand stroked her face, wiping away tears. Sabrina had not noticed she had been crying. She gave a heavy sigh.
“One thing will still be the same. You are still my best friend, Clay. You will always be the brother I never had. That will always be the same.”
“After everything we’ve been through, you’re still going to reject me. He’s not good enough for you, Sabrina! With me, there will never be any reason for you to doubt, no reason to worry. I can give you the life you should have. I’m a creature of the night and the moon, like you. We know each other’s every fault, every whim, and fancy. We’re alike. Tell me why I never had a chance,” he begged.
She stepped back and stared at him. In every respect, he was right. They were compatible in every way, save one. That one was very important. Her magic had not picked him. There was no other way to put it. They had grown up together, and she loved him. It just was not in the way he wanted to be loved. She pushed away and held him at arm’s length.
“I care about you deeply, Clay,” she started.
“Oh, great. Here we go,” he interrupted. He crossed his arm over his chest and rolled his eyes.
“As I was saying, I care about you deeply, but nothing happens when we touch. My magic flares into a fiery heat that layers me like a second skin when he’s near. It chose him. I can’t explain it. I don’t know why it happened and certainly didn’t ask for it. That’s the way it just is,” Sabrina explained.
Eleanor interrupted, “Your magic is linked to sex, like your mother’s. She could wield untold sums of power using lust and passion. You will always be drawn to people and creatures that have it in abundance.”
“Why didn’t you tell me about all this years ago? I could have known at least one parent. I could have at least understood why I was so different,” Sabrina wished aloud.
“When you were a baby, you destroyed a number of rooms before we found a way of limiting you powers. The mixing of dark earth and night magic was unpredictable. It was decided your father would not be capable of controlling you. Rather than tell him, we felt it was kinder to leave him out of it. Your mother’s punishment had to be an example to prevent the others from being so disobedient. I brought you here for your own safety from The Castle of Night nearly a hundred years ago. You’re not ninety-eight. You’re more like three hundred and ninety-eight. Time runs differently in the Castle than here,” Eleanor divulged.
“What about Clay? Was he brought here, too?” Clay remained silent but became wooden at her side. Sabrina wished she knew what he was thinking.
“No. I found him on my doorstep shortly after we arrived. I thought he might make what promised to be an otherwise lonely existence more bearable,” Eleanor admitted. “I had hoped you could move past your hang-ups about him. You aren’t really related. I never made any allusions to his being your brother. That is a connection you made. If you had been able to truly give yourself to him, your magic would have automatically mimicked his. You would have been no more and no less than a witch. Vampires possess unpredictable wild magic. But, the damage is done. Your magic will always have a wild edge to it,” Eleanor further explained.
“Why?” There were so many things she wanted to know and they all start with asking why.
“When you give your heart and soul over to another being, they become a part of you. In this case, they become a part of your magical self,” she said. It was as if she were explaining something really obvious.
“Is there nothing left for me?” Clay held out his hands to Eleanor palms up.
“You’ve been her quiet guardian for years. When I gave you the choice of returning to the world of the fae or remaining with us, I made it clear that choice had to be hers. You knew there was a risk of rejection, and yet you stayed. I make the same offer to you again.” Eleanor extended her hand to him. He shut his eyes and a deep level of strife played across his face. He seemed to be conflicted.
Before he could make a decision and shake on it, Eleanor’s head whipped to one side. The gladius appeared in her hand. The quiver and bow popped into existence on her back. Sabrina followed her gaze.
A man stepped out from behind a small thicket of trees surrounded by heavy, tall bushes. He raised his crossbow and took aim. A glint of light flashed. The bolt attached on top was deadly in more ways than one. It was silver.
Sabrina couldn’t believe something so horrible could happen. She saw the gleaming stake leave the crossbow as if she were watching an action scene from a movie slowed down for dramatic effect. The shock that a perfect stranger would do something like this had caused her to pause. Hesitation was never a good thing when under attack.
The stake flew through the air toward her. She began moving to avoid it but knew it would hit her anyway. All she could do was hope it would be some place easy to pull out and not as vital as its intended target, her heart. However, she had registered the stake was silver. The allergic reaction could kill her, even if it missed her chest.
Sabrina saw Clay dive for her without thought. He was shielding her. She could see his beautiful face as the stake found purchase in his back. The look of fear and pain for the suffering, relief over her safety, and the constant adoration he always held for her mixed as he slumped to the ground at her feet. She was so shocked, her scream didn’t register in her own ears. Her best friend since childhood lay bleeding to death in front of her. Dropping to her knees, she clutched his body to hers and pulled out the stake. It came out clean. At least the silver would not be what killed him. It was as deadly to fairies as it was to her.
Eleanor had already subdued the would-be assassin. She had him on the ground in a choke hold. Her long legs wrapped around him, pinning him. He was unable to move. “Who do you work for? Who sent you? What were your orders?” He rolled his tongue and bit down. He died before her questions could be answered.
Eleanor swept his mouth and pulled out a broken capsule. “Cyanide,” she said after sniffing it. “Whatever he knew, he took with him.”
A search of his pockets turned up nothing. There was no identification, no credit cards, not even a library card or a bus pass. A few bucks in cash and no personal items were all he had.
Standing over him, Eleanor seemed to stare at a tattoo on the side of his neck. She leaned in for a better look. “I think this is another Army of Light recruit.” She looked up from the body. Sabrina was holding Clay like a baby, crying quietly, watching her. Eleanor froze. He was still alive but only just.
Sabrina clutched him close to her chest. She cradled his head against her shoulder as if she were comforting a child. She turned her face away, not wanting him to see her tears.
“I have always loved you.” Gasp. Gasp. Foamy blood ran from the corner of his mouth. “Loving you made forever not long enough.” His voice was too soft. She almost could not hear him. She focused her keen hearing to keep him from having to exert more energy to be heard.
“Clay, please don’t talk like that!” Sabrina choked on the words. She took a deep breath to steady herself. “You will be fine. Eleanor is here. She can fix anything.”
Sabrina looked up at Eleanor, pleading with her eyes. The expression on Eleanor’s face told Sabrina all she needed to know. It was too late. Clay was going to die in her arms. He coughed and spat a bright-red trickle.
“I’m not,” Clay whispered. “You never could lie to me.” His breathing was rattling harder than ever. The intakes were shorter and the panting heavier. “Kiss me like you love me…the way I do you and not like we’re…best friends.”
She did not hesitate this time. She pulled him to her and, as tenderly as she could, she pressed her lips to his. She could feel what warmth they held slipping away. She kissed him again and again. He used the little strength he had left to kiss her back. When his reserves gave out, she laid him on the ground, buried her face in his chest, and wept. He was gone.
The grief overtook her. “No! No! No!” The sobs rocked her from head to toe. Eleanor placed her hands on Sabrina’s shoulders and tugged her up. “Clay! Please don’t leave me like this!”
“There is nothing left to do.” A firm hand pressed into her shoulder from above her. Eleanor could always be counted on to have a cool head. When things were at their worst, Eleanor was at her best. “That man was a member of the Army of Light. He may not be alone. Let’s get you out of here.”
“What about Clay?” Sabrina just stared at Eleanor, hoping that the answer wasn’t going to be to leave him on the street.
Eleanor sighed and blew a lock of flaming hair out of her way. Her soured expression clearly said carrying a heavy, bloody body wasn’t a part of her plan.
Sabrina did not want to abandon her best friend. Eleanor drew in a deep breath and sighed. “Dawn is only an hour away. The sunlight will turn him to dust anyway. Since we won’t have to bury the body, we’ll take him with us.”
Eleanor’s face took on a resigned expression. She picked him up in a fireman’s lift. Sabrina exhaled in great relief and led the way back to the parking deck.
* * * *
Hadrian stuck his head in Brandon’s bedroom. He gave the older vampire a gesture of welcome and offered him a place on the floor beside him.
“I would offer you my bed for the day, but, as you can see, it seems to be missing,” Brandon opened.
“Sabrina’s room will do just fine. I wanted to talk to you before we go down for the day. I find myself at a loss. Where to start?” Hadrian seemed exceedingly uncomfortable with what he wanted to say.
“That’s understandable, Sir. It’s not every day you find you have a daughter,” Brandon said, hoping to get the conversation out of the way.
“You’re right. And I ordered you to seduce her to get what I want,” Hadrian started. He looked down at his hands. The next thought played around his eyes but would not come out of his mouth. Brandon decided to act preemptively.
“I didn’t do it because you ordered me to. I did it because she is the most exciting, the most passionate woman I have ever met. Never in my long existence have I thought about settling for one woman, but I find myself wanting to be with her. Only with her. No matter what happens, I don’t think I will ever be happy without her. I need her like I need blood. She’s as vital as night,” Brandon finished. Somehow admitting it out loud made the words more real. Every word was true. Without her beside him, he felt incomplete. The sensation was both painful and disturbing.
“You really love her? In such a short period of time?”
“Yes. It baffles me, but I know it’s true.” He eyed his elder, who gave him a knowing smile.
“I know what you mean. Her mother had the same attraction all those centuries ago. If she is anything like Aradia, the feelings will be mutual. I give you my blessings and my condolences. Good luck. You’re going to need them both.” He patted Brandon on the leg, rose, and left the room.