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Elijah has it with Rainey.
But I’ve never had it before, not until now. With all of my other relationships, I’d had my guard up, but Tarnley knows me too well. We were friends first, and that changes things, doesn’t it?
“You okay?”
I meet his gaze and force a smile, trying to ignore the dark thoughts pushing their way into my consciousness. “Fine. Just hungry.”
He doesn’t seem convinced, yet still doesn’t press. “Go have a seat in bed and I’ll get the food. No clothes.” His wicked grin shoves the rest of my darkness to the side.
“Naked lasagna? You sure you want to risk marinara spillage?”
“I’ve never had naked lasagna, but I’m willing to risk anything for you.”
After retrieving the tray, Tarnley makes his way back inside and sets it on the nightstand. Then, he proceeds to fill each plate with a massive helping and carries them back to the bed.
“Dinner?” He offers me the plate, and I reach forward. My fingers grip the porcelain when a deafening scream fills my ears. I clasp both hands over my ears and shut my eyes tightly, trying like hell to drown out the migraine-inducing sound.
“What is it?” Tarnley yells, managing to barely break through.
“Can’t you hear that?” Daggers in my brain, I cry out, the pain so much worse and only intensifying. “It’s so loud.”
“I don’t hear anything!”
You should have listened to me. Yet, you chose the vampire.
“It’s the shadow magic!” I scream through the pain. Plates crash to the ground, shattering into pieces of porcelain and lasagna, and I struggle to maintain consciousness as black spots invade my vision.
Wrong.
The door bursts open, and the pain stops. I jump up just in time to see three witches rush in. Tarnley blurs toward the closest one, managing to snap her neck before any of them get off a warning shot.
I lunge to my feet, grabbing the knife from the nightstand and throwing it at the witch to the left. She crumples, falling forward and driving the dagger further into her chest.
But before Tarnley can get to the third witch, she blasts him with potent magic, sending him flying backward into the wall. Sheetrock dust rains down as he falls to the ground, unmoving.
“Tarnley!” I roar. A vise closes around my throat, severely diminishing my airway. The witch moves closer to me, arm raised, hand outstretched as she grins. “You aren’t so scary, are you?”
“Don’t kill her, Sonia. We still need her.”
“I won’t kill her.” Her eyes move past me. “But can I kill him?”
“Go for it.”
“No!” I scream as she drops me.
A hand tightens around my throat, slamming me backward into the male council member I’d seen earlier. “You know, it took us some time to find you. Had I known you were actively fucking the vampire, I would have come here first.”
“Leave. Him. Be.”
“I can’t do that. See, he will continue coming after you if we leave him alive, and well, I just can’t have any more trouble.”
“Tarnley, get up!” I scream at him, as I try like hell to pull at my magic.You were so vocal before!I think to myself.Where the fuck are you now?
Protecting you.
Never have two words pissed me off more than those. “I don’t need you! Protect him!” It’s not until the man behind me chuckles that I realize I’ve said it out loud.
“Talking to yourself, are you? Don’t be embarrassed, I hear it’s a side-effect of the dark magic. Yours is even more potent than any I’ve ever tasted, though.” He licks the side of my face, and bile rises in my throat. “So. Much. Power.”
