“We don’t have to stay here long,” I told her after she came back from exploring the small ensuite.
She did one more spin, eyes probably lighting on horrible details she hadn’t seen the first time around, then fell back onto the bed with her limbs spread like a starfish. At the very least, I knew my bed was comfortable as fuck. I spent too much money getting that pillow top out here.
“Once the djinn are dealt with, we can find you a better place. Your own place, if you want.”
Her head snapped up, an adorable frown causing her nose to wrinkle. “Are you insane?” She dropped her head and started moving her arms up and down, like making a snow angel. “The little window in your shower won’t close because of all the flowers growing through it, and you have an actual waterfall faucet built into the ceiling. It would take all the djinn in the world to pry me out of here.”
Her sigh of contentment was like icing on a cake; sweet and so, so satisfying.
My smile grew as she rolled over and nestled deeper into the covers. “So, you don’t hate it?”
“Never. Leaving,” came her muffled response.
Well then. With my fear of her hating my sanctuary no longer a problem, I could finally enjoy the sight of my bond surrounded by all my things. The way her shirt and little shorts rode up as she snuggled against my pillow. Her cute bare feet dangling off the side of the mattress. Even her red hair looked perfect, fanned out against the pale sheets; she was a focal point in the room against a backdrop of light woods and green plants.
Never before had this place felt more like home. I needed to see her all over; needed a permanent stock of images in my mind of her on my couch, laying on the rug in front of the fire in winter, and sitting on the counter licking cookie batter from a spoon.
Until we dealt with the djinn, those moments would have to live in my imagination. Kai already warned me that we’d be busy over the next few days. There was a lot he needed to catch me up on, and if I wasn’t seen doing my job, my aunt would banish me like she’s been dying to since my birth.
And then what would happen to Rani? My failures put her at risk, and I’d been bouncing from one fuck up after another lately. I swore to do better. Tobebetter. She might not think me a monster, but I was familiar with the color of my soul, and I refused to allow it to taint hers.
Rani
The headache started yesterday, and I knew it was because I hadn’t touched the ocean in over twenty-four hours. There wasn’t even a bathtub in the cottage—a slight I fully planned on fixing the second I had a chance. It didn’t have to be fancy. A copper tub smack in the middle of the gloriously overgrown garden would work.
There’s no one around to see me naked anyway.
And no, that wasnotme being petulant because I hadn’t seen nor heard from Ezra since falling asleep ass up in his comfortable cloud of a bed. Did I snore or something? Was he pissed that I left no room for him? He could have rolled me over. Ugh, my headache throbbed the harder I tried to figure it out.
“Did we overdo it? I swear, once you get used to keeping your shield up, you won’t even notice the drain on your magick.”
Eryn’s green eyes peered at me with worry. Her thick mane of curly hair was tied up on top of her head, but the living room fan blew a few strands loose. We sat on the plush carpet across from the open back door, trying to catch the cross breeze that blew through every so often. I didn’t expect to spend my afternoon learning to shield my mind from the djinn while also drilling facts about this new world I now belonged to, but here we were.
“Oh gods, please don’t tell me I fried your brain,” Eryn whined. “Ezra will kill me, and I don’t want to be a popsicle.”
“Shut up,” I snickered and whacked her with a couch pillow. “My shield is fine, I just need to get into some water soon.”
And if Ezra didn’t return today, I swore I was going to march my ass right back out those gates and into the nearest canal. We weren’t so far inland that there wasn’t saltwatersomewherewithin walking distance.
“It’s still weird to think about you as anything but human.” Eryn’s smile was a little sad, and I knew it was because she was thinking about how my lack of humanity came to be. I was past the point of blaming her for it, but it was still a sore spot for both of us. “Anyway,” she chirped. “Where were we?”
“Vampires,” I supplied. “How Buffy got them so very wrong and now my teenage dreams of being ravished in a graveyard crypt by a brooding bleach-blond are irrevocably ruined.”
She snorted, then choked on her soda. I pounded on her back until fizz came out of her nose and shook my head. The all-powerful and terrifying nightmare, everybody.
“Well, it’s not a crypt, but a sea cave definitely counts. And Ezra is blond, and he ravished your—”
I smothered her mouth with my palm, cutting her off, and just in time. “I never should have told you about that.”
She knocked my hand away and managed to scoot out of reach with an easy speed I was jealous of. No amount ofbackyard training made me anywhere near as fast. I narrowed my eyes at her impish grin.
“Mention anything to do with my ass around Ezra and I will put itching powder in your lube,” I threatened. That man needed no further encouragement.
When she saw I was serious, Eryn straightened with a scowl. She stuck her tongue out and mumbled something about me being a prude before reaching her hand into the bag of chips at her side.
“Fine. Vampires; very real, verynotanything like Spike.” She popped a chip into her mouth and continued listing off the real facts, “Aside from increased senses and strength, and the very obvious need to drink blood, everything the humans know about them is false. They’re honestly near the bottom of the tribunal in terms of power.”
Ugh, the tribunal. Huge influence. Huge ability to fuck up my life. Huge pain in my ass.
