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Tarnley
My apartment, while familiar, feels completely different now. Or maybe it’s me. Perhaps I’m the one who’s changed.
After all, this life is nothing like it was before. Below me, paparazzi wait, hoping for a glimpse at the vampire who’s been secretly living in their midst. Or maybe they’re waiting for the witch who is beside me.
“This can’t be good for us,” she says, as she drops a bag onto my couch.
“Things are definitely going to be interesting, that’s for sure.” It’s been three days since our big fight. Thirty-six hours since Rainey unleashed a supernatural can of worms to local and national press.
“They won’t be calming down anytime soon, that’s for damn sure. Rainey and Elijah are still in Washington,” she says, recapping everything we’re dealing with. So many changes in such a short period of time.
She continues, “Delaney and Cole are hiding out on pack lands with Willa until things calm down, and my father is doing his best to keep the supernaturals in line until an official council can be formed. We haven’t heard from Ridley, and I’m going to have to tell Rachel’s friends something. They keep calling and calling her cell.”
I head into the kitchen and uncork a bottle of red wine. After pouring two glasses, I head into the living room and take a seat beside her.
“Thanks.” She takes the glass and drinks.
“Fearghas said Ridley could be back at any moment.”
“Sarah said that he could be trapped there forever if they choose not to let him bring her back,” she counters.
After setting my glass on the coffee table in front of us, I take hers and set it next to mine, wrap an arm around her, and pull her into my lap. “Things could be worse.”
Bronywyn snorts. “Really? That’s what you’re going with? The entire supernatural community has just been outed, and you’re saying things could beworse?”
“We could be dead.”
She sighs and leans against my shoulder. “While that is true, I still don’t see how this plays out in our favor.”
“The witch trials were a long time ago.”
“They were. But you’ve seen it, the legends born of the persecution of our kind. Tarnley, those accused of being vampires were hunted and slaughtered after that whole Van Helsing myth.”
“But the world resumed normalcy shortly after.”
“After a high price was paid,” she replies. “We wanted normal lives, and we’ve never been further from normalcy than we are now. Maybe we should have run.”
I press a kiss to her temple and cradle her against my arms. “Running would have done us no good, and you know it. This was destiny, Bronywyn. The way things were meant to play out. If we’re lucky, most of the humans won’t believe it’s true, anyway.”
“Maybe.”
“Rainey will figure something out. We simply need to hang in there until she gets back. Everyone is lying low until then.”
“Not quite everyone.” I know she’s referring to the two vampire clans we’ve had to deal with after they decided to make fans out of humans searching for us. Her father has ordered everyone else to remain in hiding and offered shelter inside the new council headquarters at Bronywyn’s estate.
“I just don’t know how we’re going to recover from this.”
Before I can reply, a woman appears in our living room. We both jump up, prepared for a fight.
“Rachel?” Bronywyn questions as she stares back at the woman. Dark eyes wide, she regards us with complete confusion.
“What the hell is going on?” she asks.
Ridley appears beside her. “You can’t fucking do that to me!” he scolds.
She glances at him, then back to me. “What is happening to me?” Her voice cracks.
“Ridley? When the hell did you get back?”
