Macy didn’t understand. Kaia had met the real Orion, the vampire with doubts and hurts buried deep. Of course he wouldn’t show that to anyone else. He had to protect himself, living in a house filled with killers. No softness, no mercy. It was a wonder any of his kind survived.
“How do you live with them?” she asked her sister.
Macy shrugged. “I love Duncan. Vampires aren’t what everyone thinks they are. Oh, they kill. They’re natural predators. But they don’t all go out murdering people just because they can. They have a drive to dominate, and they go by the old code of might makes right. It can be annoying, sure, but to keep vampires in check, you need strength.
“Revenants are different than the vrykolakas. Duncan’s all about being smooth and sneaky. His smile is the last thing you’ll see before he slits your throat.” She smiled, as if that was something to be proud of. “But Orion is in your face. He’s big and mean, and you know not to mess with him because he can and will end you.” She glanced at Kaia before returning her eyes to the road. “I just have a tough time seeing the big guy making you breakfast or rubbing your feet. That spell Sabine laid on him must have really burned out the core of who he is.”
“I can see that now.” Kaia wiped her eyes. “It’s not his fault. But it’s not mine either.” She allowed herself to feel more than hurt, to tap into the anger at what she’d lost and embraced it. “I didn’t cast that spell. My mother did. I tried to free him.”
“Exactly. Get mad, not sad.”
“I can be both.”
“Right. And speaking of your mother... How are you going to handle her? She’s got to know it was you who broke her prisoners free since you did it before. What do you think she’ll do?”
Kaia sighed. “I don’t know. We’re supposed to meet for tea this Sunday. If she doesn’t know it was me that freed Orion and the lycans, and I don’t show up, I’ll look guilty. If she does know and I show up, she’ll be pretty mad.”
Macy turned wide eyes to her. “She could kill you, Kaia.”
“No way. My mom is brutal, but I’m her daughter.” Yet doubt lingered. “You don’t think she’d hurt me, do you?”
“I want to say no, but I’ve seen your mom in action. Maybe if you hadn’t caused her to lose a vampire, she’d be okay. But Kaia, she trapped one Of the Bloode. Then she lost him. She has to know Orion will bring the wrath of the Bloode Empire down on her head. Sabine is no fool. Unless Orion can’t talk, and you say nothing about what you saw.”
“Who would I tell?” She paused. “She might have used my face to deal with the lycans. So they might be after me too.”
“Too?”
“Well, Orion can’t be happy with me. I know it’s probably better to give him time to cool off and have Dad check me over, but Orion could decide he wants revenge on Mom and me.”
“I’ll deal with that.”
“You shouldn’t have to.”
Macy frowned. “I’m your big sister. I’m also the clan’s Bloode Witch. It’s my job to deal with witchy stuff. I doubt Mormo will want him going off half-cocked anyway.”
“Mormo is the magician. Hecate’s servant.”
“Yeah. He’s a powerful guy. None of us really knows what he is, though my bet is some kind of demi-god. He shares her power, and he can be scary as heck. No one has ever attempted to gather a group of vampires from different tribes to form them into a cohesive unit. Yet he, with Hecate of course, has done it. And Sabine messed with his people. There will be repercussions.”
“I just hope those aren’t aimed at me. If Hecate decides to do something, she needs to realize my mom had a dagger coated in brimstone. We’re talking demonic influence. That worries me.”
“Me too.” Macy was quiet for the rest of the drive, leaving Kaia to her thoughts.
She tried to stop missing the vampire and was only half successful. She did manage to contact her roomies to let them know to reinforce the house protections in case her mother stopped by, that was if they ever got done with their mission away from home.
Drake texted back, On it. Don’t worry. We got you.
Her eyes welled. Her three roommates had been nothing but friendly and supportive for the past two years that she’d been living with them. She knew some of that had been because her dad had a lot of status at MEC. But over time, they’d become good friends, giving her advice and helping out when she asked but never acting overbearing.
Unfortunately, due to their time-demanding jobs, they weren’t home often. But they trusted her to keep the house in one piece. She liked taking charge of the utility bills and cleaning up the common areas as well as enjoying the protection a lycan, a shapeshifter, and a water mage provided. Since they were rarely home anymore, they hardly made a mess. And even when they were home, the most she had to do was clean up a sink full of dishes when it was her turn.
Macy pulled into the family driveway. Will and Diana stood on the front porch, waiting, a beacon of safety and strength bound in love. Kaia did her best to hold in her misery, but when her dad opened his arms, she couldn’t help racing into them and pouring her heart out in tears on his shoulder.
“She’s okay. Just a little emotional,” Macy said. “The spell took a lot out of us.”
Diana didn’t say anything. She never spoke ill of Sabine in front of Kaia, but she didn’t have to. Her father normally did his best to hold back, but not this time.
“I swear, that woman doesn’t have a lick of sense. I’m getting MEC on this. It’s one thing to steal magir and sacrifice them for whoever the hell knows what reason. That’s a criminal offense in its own right. But getting the vampires involved? She’s going to start a war we can’t possibly win!” He patted Kaia’s back. “Come on, honey. Let’s take a look at your power base.” He guided her inside. “Heck of a way to go into your twenty-fifth year.”
She blinked. “Gosh, I’d forgotten about that.” In just another week, she’d have a birthday.
Another year, still single, no one to look at her with his heart in his dark-red eyes. She sniffed and let Diana fold her into a hug.
“Oh, Kaia. You were so brave to help like you did. Not smart going in without help though,” she chastised in a gentle but firm voice. “But we’re so proud of you for getting those magir to safety.”
“Yeah, don’t overlook that, Kaia.” Macy agreed. “Without you, who knows what those four would be? Sea chum, most likely.”
“For the White Sea Witch who’s outlived her purpose, yeah,” their dad muttered.
Once inside, Kaia took a brief break to use the bathroom and wash her face. She stared into the mirror. “You can do this. Time to get back to normal, woman.”
She sat across from her dad at the kitchen table, a place where they shared meals, where she’d grown up doing her homework and gossiping with Macy and Diana. Where her father had helped her with algebra and led her through some basic water-casting magic.
Home. Safety.
She took a deep breath and let it out, appreciating a sense of much-needed calm.
Her father cast a spell using golden light, warm energy that poured around her and through her, settling the raw bands where her magic had tangled with Orion’s. Her dad stared into her eyes. “Relax, Kaia, keep breathing, in and out, nice and slow. Stare into my eyes. It’s okay.”