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20
Tarnley
Copper explodes in my mouth, water against the flames steadily eating me alive. I grip a slender wrist, pinning it to my mouth and earning a gasp as I bite down, needing more of what it has to offer. My teeth slip into tender flesh that smells faintly of orange and caramel. But right now, I focus only on the blood.
Blood that holds a hint of alcohol and sates the parts of me that have long been left unsatisfied. Opening my eyes, I stare up into wide, green ones.Bronywyn.I release her quickly and shove away, trying to get distance before I bite down into her jugular.
Canines fully extended, I growl, sucking in breath after breath as her blood breathes new life into me. “What the hell am I doing here?”
“You were dying.” Her tone is flat, her face emotionless. She lifts the blade from beside her and holds it out. “It won’t be complete until I drink from you.”
I stare at her. “Why the hell am I here?” I ask again, hoping for some answer that doesn’t involve Elijah carting me in unconscious.
“Your fan club brought you here for me to save, but it won’t be complete until I drink from you,” she snaps again, and raises the blade.
I glance down at it, then shift my gaze back to her as I try like hell not to remember how she’d looked, black-eyed and soulless, the last time she drank from me. But feeling better than I have in months and knowing her taking my blood in is the key, I hold out my wrist. Bronywyn digs the dagger into my skin, and I wince as the burning sensation shoots up my arm.
Then, she lowers her head and presses her lips to my skin. One drink, and she’s pulling back, wiping her red lips with the sleeve of her sweatshirt. “Thanks. You can go now.” She pushes up and stalks away from me.
Blood already working in my system, I’m on my feet and blurring in front of her before she’s more than a few yards away. The room sways, and I’m forced to reach out and steady myself on her kitchen countertop.
She glares up at me, defiance burning white-hot in her eyes. “I said you can go now.”
“Why did you help me?”
“If you’re looking for some kind of evidence, some sign that I’m still the same girl who once followed your every lead, hung on your every word, you are sadly mistaken.” Her shoulder slams into me as she pushes past, but I reach out and grip her biceps, turning her to face me. Her stern gaze travels from where I’m holding her up to my face. “Let. Me. Go.”
“Not until you answer me.”
Jaw tight, she purses her lips together. “I saved you because it was the only way to save me, Tarnley. Or have you forgotten the bond affects us both?” She starts to pull away, but my grip tightens. Even as my hand begins to burn, her magic searing my palm, I remain unmoved.
“You can fool everyone else,” I tell her, voice low. “But you cannot fool me, Bronywyn. I know you too well.”
She leans in, jaw hard, face contorted in anger. “If you knew me as well as you claim to, then you’d know that when I tell you to let me the fuck go, it’s not a suggestion.”
Begrudgingly, I release her, still holding her enraged gaze. “Why are you being this way?” In all of the years that I’ve known her, she’s never been so cold. At least, not toward me. Well, other than the time she ignored me for a decade over an order of onion rings. Even then she’d throw me a grin every once in a while. Standing here now, though, I see nothing but hatred burning in her gaze.
“You took what you knew I felt for you and exploited it in order to trap me.”
“I wasn’t exploiting anything.”
“No? Because that was the first time you’ve ever kissed me, and it was because you needed to lure me into a trap.”
“Not a single word spoken was false.” Her eyes widen, and she takes a step toward me.
“That right?”
“Yes.” My heart hammers within my chest, the heavy thumping so damned loud it’s nearly all I can hear. “I meant all of it. Every single word, and it pained me to speak them under such circumstances.”
She leans in, and I hold my stance, unwilling to move and yet wanting nothing more than to close the distance between us. When her lips brush against my ear, I shiver at the delicious need spreading through my veins like wildfire.
“I sure hope you had your fill, then. Because you will never get your hands on me again.” She snaps her fingers, and something slams into me, flinging me back into the wall. Sheetrock caves behind me, dust falling to my shoulders.
Eyes completely black, Bronywyn grins at me, the savage smile out of place on her face. “See you later, bloodsucker.”
“Wai—” Before I can even finish the sentence, whatever shoved me backward grabs a hold of me and flings me forward then slams me through the front door. Wood splinters around me, and I skid to the asphalt.
Within moments, I’m back on my feet and blurring toward the door. But just before I can cross the threshold, I slam into an invisible shield; a barrier between me and the woman unknowingly trapped on the other side.
