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“Sure,” I tell him, “I was going to make a chopped salad if you want to do that.” Salads have always been one of my go-to meals. They’re hard to mess up and easy to customize with a variety of ingredients to keep them from being repetitive and boring.
“You got it.” He pushes away from the counter and walks to the fridge, while I resume chopping up the potatoes.
I suck in a sharp breath when the knife slips, slicing into the side of my hand. “Shit.” I press my lips together and turn toward the sink to rinse the cut out, but Lex moves in front of me, blocking my path as blood drips onto the floor between us. “Lex—”
He grins at me, taking my hand gently in his. “Don’t waste it.” Lifting my hand to his mouth, he drags his tongue along the cut before closing his lips around it.
I wince against the pain ebbing around the wound and yelp when Lex pulls back abruptly, covering his mouth and squinting as if he’s trying to convince himself to swallow something he doesn’t like the taste of. Instead, he starts coughing, and I frown at him. “Uh, I’ll try not to take that as an insult.”
When his face reddens and he starts to choke, my pulse races. Before I have a chance to call for someone, Kade, Gabriel, and Atlas all rush into the kitchen. Kade moves to Lex’s side, guiding him over to the sink, where he heaves crimson into it.
“What the hell?” I breathe.
Gabriel disappears for what can’t be more than a few seconds, returning with a blood bag, which he opens and tosses to Lex. He downs it quickly, tossing the empty bag onto the counter, and coughs a bit more before straightening.
Atlas watches the whole thing with dark, narrowed eyes.
“Are you okay?” I ask Lex in a small voice, unable to ignore the pit in my stomach.
He clears his throat. “Never better.”
“What was that?” I demand, looking around at the guys.
Atlas and Gabriel share a look before Atlas says, “Selene must have used a witch to spell your blood to produce an adverse reaction to any vampire who drinks it.”
“Likely the same witch who created the barrier spell around Selene’s home that kept us from finding you.”
I press my hand against my forehead, fighting an oncoming dizzy spell, and lean against the counter. The thought of being manipulated by yet another supernatural is making my skin crawl. “What does that mean? Is it going to go away?”
Gabriel sighs. “Magic like this is tricky,” he explains. “It won’t go away on its own. The witch who performed the spell needs to reverse it.”
“Or die,” Lex chimes in. “Dead witch means no spell.”
“Right,” I say, shaking my head as I straighten, my head a little less fuzzy than a minute ago. “Or the four of you could just keep your fangs to yourself,” I offer dryly.
Kade snorts. “As if you actually want that.” His eyes snare mine, and the dark heat there warms my core. “Deny it all you want, we know just how much you enjoy being bitten.”
I want to look away, to hide the heat flaring in my cheeks, but I don’t. Instead, I say, “Whatever. We need to focus on the bigger issue here. Selene didn’t get what she wanted. We have to prepare for retaliation.”
“I’ll take care of it,” Atlas says in a grim voice.
My eyes snap to him as my chest tightens, and I walk around the counter to get closer, jabbing him in the chest. “I don’t care how powerful you think you are, that woman is insane. You can’t just—”
Atlas cracks a smile, stopping my tirade mid-sentence. “You’re worried about me.”
“I…” I clamp my mouth shut, unable to dispute his claim. Because damn it, I do care. About him—about all of them. “I think we need to explore the idea that killing Selene may not be the best course of action.” Glancing toward Gabriel, I quickly add, “She absolutely deserves to die. If you ask me, she deserves far fucking worse, but she’s connected to the hunters—at least one of them. We should explore that, get some answers, and then deliver her the fate she deserves.”
15
Gabriel
Listening to Calla at this moment, I’ve never been more certain of one terrifying thing. I don’t wish to live in a world where she doesn’t live and breathe.
She is resilient and brave, and in the face of such atrocities as she’s experienced since we came into her life, she remains one of the kindest—albeit sharp-tongued—humans I’ve met.
Calla is absolutely magnificent. Truth be told, her fiery attitude and defiance only intrigue me more, and the thought of one day losing her, whether it be to old age or something else, twists me up inside.
After the incident with Lex in the kitchen, I help her finish making dinner, and the five of us sit around the table in the dining room, mostly picking at our food. No one seems to have an appetite now.
