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He tilted his head, letting his eyes find me briefly. "You couldn't pry me away unless I knew you were safe."
The intensity in his eyes burned through me. This moment would be the perfect moment to kiss him... If I could do it without dying, of course. That was the only thing we couldn't figure out. Everything else felt perfectly in sync. Everything else about us was so natural.
My mom had originally thought that it was the Coldwell blood versus the Craymon blood. Ayla was Craymon blood and Jay had Coldwell blood, so obviously that threw a wrench in that hypothesis, because they were constantly in a lip-lock. I could only hope that we figured it out—together.
I finally stopped thinking of our messed up... whatever it was long enough to think of something I could actually use to start a conversation. The silence that was surrounding us was suffocating me.
"Who's that girl?" I pointed to the headlights shining brightly behind us.
"Josephine. She's a washer."
There he went again, speaking another language so casually, as if I knew what he was saying.
I said the same exact line I must have said a hundred times in the past several months. "She's a what?"
He laughed as he realized that yet again I was out of the loop in the magical terminology.
"She's a washer. It's a witch with the power to wash away the scent of another witch. She cleansed your essence from the woods the day you were first attacked. She'll make sure that none of you leave a trail to suggest where you've gone. It's just a little added precaution. I'm sure they have some fierce trackers."
I started remembering all of the references made by everyone about washers and washing. I did vaguely remember him mentioning a washer that first day in the woods as well, but that was the least of the questions I had on that day. That was the day my entire life changed. That was also the day I knew I was in love with Tallis.
We drove for at least three hours before finally I could feel Tallis easing off the accelerator. He turned onto a rocky driveway that seemed to stretch on for half a mile. Josephine turned one-hundred-and-eighty degrees in the road in one swift motion, never slowing down, and drove back toward the Verdan's place.
There was a cabin with all kinds of crazy symbols, sitting off in the middle of nowhere. I looked at Tallis as he winked at me and suddenly there were lights on.
I looked, tensing. "Is someone here?"
He grinned. "No, that was just a little magic." He seemed very proud of himself, almost smug.
Henry laughed as Amelia stared at him, confused. "You used magic to turn on the lights? Why not just flip the light switch?"
Now I was hiding my mouth on the inside of my shirt collar to conceal my laughter when Tallis pouted. Amelia maintained her unimpressed expression.
"Thanks for ruining my moment," he muttered dryly.
Amelia giggled. "I hope that's not the best you can do, otherwise we're in trouble. I don't know how scared the bad guys will be when you break out that big-bad power."
I couldn't help but laugh along with Henry and Amelia. She had been unconscious when Tallis had shown his true power against Taryn's soul mate.
That made me think of poor McKee and what he must have been going through. He had found out his sister was in league with Graven and dead in one night. I could only imagine the pain and mixed emotions that he had to be feeling. He most likely felt guilty for mourning his sister's death. And he probably needed a friend. I felt horrible because I couldn't be that friend right, considering I was too busy hiding from my own secret dark family.
What a twisted new world.
Tallis noticed my deep thoughts. "Are you okay?" he asked, worried.
I forced a smile. "Yeah," I lied, trying not to add to his already full plate.
I put my hands in my pockets and followed him as he carried our bags inside.
Amelia flipped on a light in the kitchen. Then she smirked before saying, "Hey Tallis. Did you see that? Pretty magical, huh?"
I laughed despite the dread weighing me down as Tallis smiled and shook his head.
"So they can't smell our essence here, right?" I asked as Amelia and Henry became lost in a sickening display of staring at each other with stupid grins on their faces.
Tallis smiled as he pointed to thousands of crazy symbols. "Those are some of the most powerful crests ever created. A small space like this is easier to protect. Those symbols can block any scent, but they take a great deal of magic.
"They're not like ordinary crests. They took centuries of work. No one can get in unless escorted by me or my direct family. Not even someone from my coven. You'll be safe for a half-mile radius. Don't step outside the perimeter, and you'll be fine. This is our safe house. I have a larger place that is just as safe—safer actually—but I think this will be good for just the four of us."
