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She snorts, hiding her grin with her mug as her eyes shift from Tessa to me. “I think I’m good, considering that poor woman’s heart was going to give out if Atlas looked at her any longer.”
I take a drink of the coffee, surprised to find it doesn’t taste like complete sludge. These hole-in-the-wall diners are always hit or miss, but Carol can make a decent pot.
Tessa taps her fingers against the side of her mug, peering around the room before she says quietly, “The spell on your blood will wear off in a matter of days, but if you want it removed now—”
“Remove it,” I tell the witch. It’s purely selfish, but I’m craving Calla’s blood like never before; it’s been too long since I tasted her.
Tessa’s dark emerald gaze hardens as she turns it on me. “I wasn’t askingyou.”
“You can remove it,” Calla says without looking at me. “Its intention was fulfilled, as you know, and honestly, I’d rather not have unnecessary magic just hanging out inside me.”
She nods, pulling her black hair back haphazardly using an elastic from around her wrist. “If you’re sure.”
Calla extends her arm, sliding her hand across the table, offering it to Tessa. I watch closely as Tessa takes her hand and slices into Calla’s skin with her nail, my jaw clenching as bright red pools in her palm. The witch closes her eyes, reciting some Latin incantation that makes the blood in Calla’s palm bubble briefly before it sinks into her skin, the cut healing itself. The whole thing takes about five minutes, and while they are focused on it, I’m watching the room to make sure no one is being nosy. If Carol comes back, I can handle her easily enough—probably wouldn’t even need to glamour the lady.
Calla pulls her arm back, inspecting her palm by poking at it with her finger. “All good?”
I return my attention to the table, my focus narrowing on Tessa. She hasn’t been practicing that long from what I understand, but the girl is powerful and certainly someone we’ll need to keep our eyes on. I’m not sure what her backstory is, but from what I’ve seen, she’s confident in her abilities.
Tessa nods, sipping on her coffee that’s more sugar than anything. “All good.”
Calla smiles at her. “I really appreciate it. You saved my ass, so thank you.”
“Selene bit you?” she asks, though she doesn’t sound surprised.
“Of course she did,” Calla says, “and then I daggered her psychotic ass.”
I don’t miss the way her knee bounces under the table as she recounts taking down the vampire. As confident as her words sound, taking a life—even that of a monster like Selene—took a toll on her.
By the time the mountain of food arrives, the girls are chatting about Tessa’s life in Oregon and planning a trip for Calla to visit during the summer. I want to shoot it down immediately, but the light in Calla’s eyes while they talk about it makes me bite my tongue as I remind myself that she deserves a life outside the four of us, even when that is a difficult pill to swallow.
The girls are reluctant to say goodbye once the bill comes to our table, and Tessa throws her arms around Calla when we get to the parking lot, making her promise to keep her updated on everything happening until they see each other again. At the last moment, she faces me with an expression sharp enough to cut glass and says, “You take care of her.”
I hold her gaze, nodding once. Hmm… perhaps she’s not the worst person for Calla to have in her life. “Safe travels home.”
Once we’re in the car on our way back to the hotel, Calla tilts the seat back slightly and shuts her eyes, sighing softly.
“Thanks for breakfast,” she murmurs. “It was nice to see Tessa again.”
I slow to a stop at a red light, glancing over, and can’t help but smile at her soft features. In all my time on this oftentimes dreadful earth, I’ve never cared so much for a human. And while that is a very dangerous thing, I know there is absolutely nothing that could make me stop. I let myself look at her a while longer as I wait for the light to change. “You’re welcome.”
“I know you don’t like her, though I’m not sure why. Maybe it’s a vampire thing, but—”
“She’s not all bad,” I cut in, keeping my gaze trained forward. Truth be told, the way she acted so protective over Calla, it did make me like her more, though I choose to keep that to myself.
“You guys did your background check and Gabriel said she’s trustworthy, so can you try to be chill about me having someone in my life that isn’t you? The whole territorial thing is annoying as fuck.”
I chuckle softly, adjusting my grip on the wheel for no reason other than to not reach for Calla. I’d like nothing more than to pull this car over and show her just how territorial I am. Instead, I say, “Duly noted.”
“Good,” she shoots back, “because you guys aren’t coming with me to Oregon this summer. It’s a girls only trip, so you’ll just have to learn to live without me for a while.” Her pulse jumps at the same moment my chest tightens. Those words hold new meaning, which is clearly not lost on either of us.
“Let’s get through this month before you start talking about the summer.” I steal a brief glance at her. “Okay?”
She presses her lips together, staying silent as she nods.
A few blocks later, a call comes through the Bluetooth in the car. Kade’s name shows up on the screen, and I answer it immediately. “Where the fuck are you?” Kade asks. “We ran into a bit of a situation.”
Calla looks over at me, but I keep my eyes on the road. “What happened?” I demand.
