Oliver’s dark eyes glowed with urgency. “After I left you, I went home, and I felt… amazing, so full of strength… I went to meditate to contain the energy and… gods.” He shook his head, frowning. “This is so weird, I don’t quite know how to explain it… but when I finished meditating, I opened my eyes and looked at my hands in my lap. And… no hands. No lap, even.”
She blinked, trying to compute.
“I was invisible, Clare.”
“Invisible!”
“Uh-huh. And it only gets more bizarre from there.”
She listened intently as he explained the strange events that had followed, describing the vast citadel he’d seen being constructed, the turreted palace and parapet walls at its center, a different dimension being built up on the hillside above Tween, its residents completely unaware.
“And what is truly concerning is that the vile creatures building it are grimaalds, Clare. “
“The same as that demon that attacked you?”
“Yes. There were hundreds of them, toiling away to construct something on a much grander scale than Motham. And far more sinister. I haven’t a clue what all this is about,” he finished hoarsely. “But being able to gain access to it… I have a very strong hunch it’s because of… your blood.”
‘My blood?” she parroted again.
He took her hand and clasped it in both of his. Her senses lit up, and her pussy followed suit, despite her best efforts to ignore it.
Focus, Clare.
She scrabbled her brain back into some semblance of order.
“When I… when I tasted you, I knew your blood was unique, like no other blood I’d ever experienced—like nectar, the sweetest, rarest nectar. And then when I healed so miraculously, and felt so invincible, then accessed this whole other dimension, it finally struck me. It had to be because of your blood. I think you also have AOx positive blood, Clare.”
She stared at him, wide-eyed.
“You had no clue, did you?”
She shook her head. “No. It was just intuitive to offer you my blood. I sensed that it would help you and then, when you healed so quickly… I mean, I thought maybe that’s what happened when vampires drank blood. And I’ve never had my blood taken so…” She was frowning so hard her forehead hurt. She stared down at his hands, sandwiching hers.
In among all her confusion, a pang of hurt coiled around her heart. Had it just been her blood he lusted after?
She slid her hand from between his and clasped hers tightly in her lap, trying not let her emotions get the better of herprofessionalism. “So I guess that’s why you’ve… you have an attraction of sorts to me—because of my blood.”
She felt his gaze steady on her, willing her to look at him. “It is so much more than your blood, Clare,” he husked.
And damn it, her heart leaped. Stupid, errant heart.
She didn’t know how to answer, so she returned to what she knew. Practicalities.
“So now what do we do?”
“We go to Waldo and get your blood tested. He is the one person in Motham—or anywhere, for that matter—that I trust to do this.”
“Does he have the equipment?”
“Maybe not modern scientific equipment, no, but there are other ways, magickal methods known only to warlocks and witches.”
“And if we find that my blood type is AOx positive like the victims, what then?”
“I’ll make a decision as to whether you remain on the case.”
“No!” She arced up. “No, you can’t take me off the case. Not now.”
“I’ll do what’s best,” he growled.
