Kaia felt faint. “Of course. You know, Orion, I sometimes get premonitions. Bad feelings about things. And I have a really bad feeling that we need to leave here. Quietly. Just you and me.” She paused. “You’re from the vrykolakas tribe, correct? A vampire suited to water?”
“I’m from the only tribe that is.” He nodded. “I can swim faster than most merfolk. But I’ve never raced a sea witch before.” He looked her over. “I have to say, I like this version of you best. Your eyes look so blue. Fucking blazing.” He stared at her mouth and licked his lips. “We should fuck before we leave.” He smiled. “I smell your need, witch, and I like it.”
Her cheeks felt hot. Who knew she’d one day be in a position like this? Granted, she wanted her first time over with just so she could get that proverbial virgin sticker off her forehead. But not with a vampire who might tear out her throat in between thrusts. Could vampires even give orgasms? Did they drink blood when they came?
And why am I thinking about saying yes to this clearly bespelled death-bringer? Focus on the “death” part of his name, doofus!
Feeling beyond embarrassed, she shook her head. “Not here. Our first time should be special.” And, you know, safe and consensual!
“Good point.” He gave her a look of such love and trust that she knew she had to make him forget all this at some point or he’d surely bring her a world of pain. Vampires were known to be arrogant, an all-male society that took the patriarchy to new heights. Governed by envy and power, the Bloode Empire was a force no one wanted as an enemy.
And her mother had just snatched a vamp to her side, regardless of the danger and depravity in subjugating another.
Kaia started when a large hand settled on her shoulder.
“Are you okay, Sabine? You look a little lost.”
“Not with you here.” She gave him her perky best, hating the use of her mother’s name.
“You’re prettier than Macy and Fara combined. Bella too.” He stroked her hair. “I want to swim with you.”
She wanted to swim with him too, the call of the water beckoning her return. An alarm went out, and she wondered if the lycans had been found or if someone had noticed her, and not her mother, walking around. Feeling like an idiot for not taking better precautions, she shifted into a glamour of her mother.
“Still pretty, but I like your original appearance best.” Orion looked her over. “I do like the white hair though.”
Her mother had turned white overnight years ago, and no one knew why. Although at the rate her heart was racing, Kaia might go gray from fear.
“We need to sneak out. Maybe out the back door? We can vault over the back fence.” With his strength, that shouldn’t be a problem. Alone, she wouldn’t have attempted it. The stone wall surrounding the back courtyard had to be a good fifteen feet in height, protecting the garden beds that remained green, despite the weather.
“Come, witch.” He took her arm in his and strode through the castle as if he owned it, his footsteps sure on the stone floor. He didn’t take the time to look at the lavish decorations or many portraits of Sabine lining the walls, focused on their exit.
Finally at the back door, he glanced through a window and cocked his head. “I hear two gargoyles above. There’s an ogre patrolling the garden, and I see a female...” He peered through the window at the moonlit back courtyard. “She has no shadow, and I can see all of her when she turns.”
“All of her?”
“Her back has no flesh, just organs and muscle and an occasional bone. There, a rib. See? She’s got a garland of flowers on her head, but she’s very pale. And smiling.” He frowned. “Definitely a threat.”
Kaia should have known better. Sabine had secrets buried under secrets. “I thought she’d let that nyavka go.”
“What?”
She cleared her throat. “That’s one of my nyavkas. She’s a Slavic spirit with a particular bias against men. If she tries to lure you into the woods, don’t go. Stick close to me.”
“No, my beauty, stick close to me.” He lifted her in his arms as if she weighed nothing and raced outside and over the wall before she could blink.
A roar from the castle told her the guards knew they’d been bested, but their footsteps were lost as Orion plowed through the small swath of forest on swift feet.
Before she knew it, they stood at the edge of the water. He gently set her down.
Wow. Talk about fast. He’d bridged the mile from the castle to the shore in seconds.
“The boat’s gone.” He stared at the empty dock and frowned. “I hope I don’t get blamed for that.”
“Come on.” She grabbed his hand and walked with him right into the water.
“We’re swimming back?”
“I’m taking you to my home away from here. Where it’s more private.”
“Ah, private. Now you’re talking.” He followed her into the water.
Her eyes glowed, able to see in the darkness. “Follow me and don’t fall behind.”
He saluted, his eyes a bright red that burned. “Gotcha.”
She had no idea if he could communicate the way water-magir could, but they needed to leave. Swimming on the surface until she could submerge fully, she sped away, Orion by her side.
Now where to go with a bespelled vampire in her wake?
CHAPTER
SIX
Kaia didn’t have much to say to him since he followed close. They moved like sharks through the water, bulleting through Puget Sound in a blur until they made it to the beach where she’d left her car.
She popped her head up while treading water and reactivated the camouflage charm.
“That won’t work on me,” Orion said right next to her, so silent she hadn’t realized he’d joined her on the surface.
She found her breath and forced her nerves to stop jumping. “The charm will cover me. Wait until I’m at my car then join me. If you’re fast enough, they won’t see you.” She knew some vampires could move so fast they could almost teleport.
“No one will see me if you don’t want them to.”
“I don’t.”
He nodded, looking at her as if content to stare at her forever.
Kaia had so much to do before her mother learned that her vampire had gone missing. But none of it could be done here in the water before daylight, which brought its own issues. She had to get Orion safe inside somewhere, protected from the sun.
She moved as quickly as possible to her car, still parked alone in the lot, and purged the water from her. Now completely dry, she waved at Orion.
He appeared by the passenger side in seconds.
“Wow.” This guy can end me in so many ways. “Hold on.” She focused on the water all over him, envying the glide of droplets across so much muscle. “Focus, Kaia,” she muttered and purged him of the water in his clothes, drying him off. “Let’s go.”
She drove them not home, but toward the one safe space she knew she could protect. She parked in a common lot away from the Alister Doctrina Repository, her camouflage charm still working. “We’re heading inside the basement of that building.” She pointed to it. “We need utter si—”