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“Knowing why something happens is not the same thing as admitting to being guilty of it.” Her gaze flickered to mine. “He won’t believe me, but I am not your culprit.”
“No, he won’t.” I could feel it from Vin. He was set in his resolve.
“It doesn’t matter. I had other plans for the gift you gave me.”
“Do you know who it might be?” I asked and then processed what she’d said. “Other plans?”
“Come,” she said, turning around without answering any more of my questions.
We followed the winding path deeper into the marsh, deeper into the heart of the forest. The plants created an archway around us, closing us in and hugging us to the worn dirt path. My skin prickled with the humidity, like the temperature ratcheted up with every step we took.
We came around a bend and upon her outdoor workspace. Her house sat in the distance, surrounded by massive glass greenhouses. The grass grew up around structures in obvious need of care. For as overgrown as everything looked from the outside, they were much different inside. The insides were pristine, which made me think the outside was all for appearance’s sake. Maybe a deterrent of some sort.
“I don’t believe in coincidences,” Vin said as the priestess stepped behind a makeshift table and returned to grinding something.
“You don’t have to believe in them for them to exist. They sure don’t care, my boy.”
“Don’t feed me a line of bullshit.” The edge to Vin’s voice pulsed between us, and I couldn’t tell where his feelings ended and mine began. Our connection was dangerous in this situation. The possibility of us feeding off one another and making a situation worse lay raw under the surface.
I’d have to watch it.
Watch us.
“I used his gift for other purposes.”
“Other purposes?” Vin asked before I could.
“Yes, we all have our goals in life, and his gift was enough for me to want to bear it myself. I wouldn’t trade the essence of his spirit away so lightly. What the vampires do is a perversion.”
I stared at her, hoping she didn’t mean what I thought she meant.
“And how can we believe you?” Vin asked.
“Because she’s just admitted to something so much worse,” I whispered.
Vin turned toward me, searching my face. It was clear he hadn’t realized the gravity of what she’d said.
THIRTY-TWO
VINKETTIN
Iglanced between the two of them, realization clear on Dominic’s face and in our bond, but I was missing something. Neither of them enlightened me. I waited for him to speak. But his eyes never left the priestess. She laughed, turning away from us.
I locked eyes with Dominic. The silent question hung there.
“He won’t get there by himself,” she said, venturing farther from us. “Find me if you need anything more from me.” She ducked into a greenhouse, leaving us alone, and I felt like we had less than what we came here with.
“Tell me,” I demanded, letting my frustration edge into my tone.
“She’s keeping it for herself, don’t you see?” He laughed without humor.
My irritation grew with his reaction. How could he not care more about this? “For what? I’m not a moron. She wouldn’t have demanded it from you in the first place if she didn’t have some magical use in mind for it.”
“It’s not a magical use.” His words were curt, and pain washed through us. “Well it is, but not in the way you think it is.”
“I’m having a hard time knowing where I end and you begin.” I closed my eyes, sifting through my feelings, trying to separate mine, not able to tell enough to determine what all of this was about.
“I don’t know anymore.” He rubbed his chest. “You still don’t know, do you?”
