Her jaw slackened a bit. And frankly, the words shocked me as well. This urge to protect…I’d never felt it before, but it was real. It hung from me like an ill-fitting coat, but one that felt somehow natural.
“If you think you’re going to die, why not bring the shifters with us?”
“As I said, highly unlikely. Paranoia is suffocating. But being prepared is the only way to make it in this world.”
“True enough.” She started walking again, and I joined her. “Where is this place?”
“Two towers over. Not far.”
We walked in silence, but I found myself itching to ask about her. What was her life like on the outside? Who was she?
This strange curiosity was unsettling.
Fortunately, there was more than enough to distract me on the streets of Guild City. The streets between my tower and that of the Sorcerers’ Guild were a party zone, and the bars were busy. We passed drunken supernaturals of all kinds, and I could feel her interest.
“Have you not met many supernaturals before?” I asked, unable to help myself.
“No. Not until the murder.”
“What do you mean?”
“I didn’t know this world existed.”
“But you’re part of it.”
“On the outskirts, at best.” She sounded wistful, and I wanted to fix whatever made her feel left out.
What the hell was happening to me?
“How is that possible?” I asked.
“None of your business.”
Maybe, but I wanted to know more about her. I wanted to know everything about her. I craved the information like I’d once craved blood. Like I craved her blood.
I was going insane.
Fortunately, we’d arrived at the Sorcerers’ Guild. It provided a welcome distraction.
The tower was taller than any other guild tower, a monstrosity of dark gray granite that speared the night sky and dwarfed the towers around it. Only the clock tower was larger, and it was on the other side of town.
“Creepy.” Carrow started toward the front door, an enormous black thing studded with iron.
I reached for her, then clenched my hand into a fist, drawing it back. I couldn’t touch her. If I did, I might not stop.
“Not that way.” My voice was rusty.
She turned, brows raised. “That’s the door.”
“Precisely. We can’t enter that way. Come.” I turned and walked toward the city wall to the left of the tower, heading for a set of stairs secreted in the stone. I pressed my hand against a rough surface, and a section of the wall slid away, revealing the hidden steps.
I ascended quickly, and she followed. Despite her light footsteps, it was impossible not to be aware of her.
The top of the wall was empty at this hour, and I turned left toward the tower soaring upward. The stone was dark and smooth, rising high into the sky.
“So, this place is full of sorcerers?” Carrow asked.
“Yes. They specialize in spells.”
“Don’t the witches do that?”
“Yes, but different types of spells. The witches will sell you spells to take on your way. Useful things, but often not quite as powerful or dangerous as what the sorcerers sell.” I slanted her a look. “That’s not to say the witches aren’t as powerful as the sorcerers. They’re more so, but they don’t share their strongest magic.”
“Untrusting?”
“Very. Each guild has a motto. Theirs is, ‘We are the daughters of the witches you could not burn.’”
“They got caught up in the witch burnings?”
I nodded. “And they haven’t forgotten.”
“So then, if you want something powerful, you come to the sorcerers, and they sell it to you?”
“Exactly. But they insist on performing the spell, too. Unlike the witches, they don’t sell spells to go.”
“No magical takeaway from these guys, huh?”
I felt a smile crack my face and forced it back. “No.”
“What’s their motto?”
“‘Our own, first. Always.’”
“It sounds like they wouldn’t spit on you if you were on fire.”
“That’s accurate.” I stopped in front of the stone wall. There was nothing here—no door or window or light fixture. At least, not that the eye could see. Quickly, I located the stone that I wanted and tapped twice.
Pale magic sparked in the air, and faint wisps of light swirled in front of the stone.
“What are you doing?” Carrow asked.
“Secret entrance. Most of the sorcerers . . . don’t like me.”
“But you do have a contact inside?”
“I do, and this door was built especially for my use.”
“This is who you are, then? Someone who has secret power all over the city, lurking around like a giant bat?”
A rare grin cracked my face, and I almost felt a laugh rise to the surface. Almost. I looked down at her. “A giant bat?”
“You’re the one who made the flying joke.” She grinned up at me, so beautiful in the moonlight that it hurt to look at her. The glow of the moon seemed to give her a bit of extra color that my turned eyes couldn’t normally pick up.
My gaze lingered on the smooth skin of her throat, and I swallowed hard. There was something about her—about her energy and her spirit, as strange as it sounded—that called to me. I couldn’t compel her, and I liked that. But it was more than that. Strange to feel so much for someone I’d known so little . . . and bloody uncomfortable.
“You know, because you’re a vampire,” she clarified.
I’d been staring at her in silence for too long, and she’d taken it for confusion. “I understand,” I said.
“Are you really hundreds of years old?” She searched my face, avoiding my eyes. “Really Vlad the Impaler?”
Guilt streaked through me, so visceral and real that I almost twitched. Those memories were long buried—for my own sanity. I’d done things I wasn’t proud of, and in terrible moments, I wondered if I’d wanted to do them.
I had.
It had been more than the blood lust and insanity of a newly turned vampire.
I’d wanted to do terrible things.
The wall in front of me began to dissolve, and I turned to it, grateful for the interruption. I could feel her gaze on me as the wall disappeared entirely.
A pale man stood there, tall and broad-shouldered and wearing the long black cloak of the Sorcerers’ Guild. I felt a streak of annoyance as Carrow’s attention shifted to Remington. I didn’t want her to look at him. I wanted her gaze on me, always.
“Devil.” Remington nodded his head, his eyes going to Carrow. He frowned. “And a guest?”
“Indeed.”
“This is unusual.”
“Don’t think too deeply about it.” I had no intention of introducing Carrow. She was mine, though she didn’t know it yet, and Remington was powerful and dangerous. I didn’t want him to get too interested in her.
“I’m Carrow Burton,” she said.
I stifled an annoyed noise. I should have anticipated that Carrow would do whatever the hell she wanted. I hadn’t known her long, but I did know that.
“Remington, Sorcerers’ Guild.”