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“That was already fast!”
“It’s because you drank some blood,” Hudson explained. “Without blood, it would’ve taken longer, as you would’ve been drawing on our reservoir of magic instead.”
“But since we want to stay topped up…” It made sense now why he’d brought me the bloodbag.
He nodded. “We’ll pack some bloodbags for the trip across the threshold this time, just in case.”
“Should’ve done that last time,” Nico grumbled.
“The DHA has been so accommodating,” Hudson said sarcastically.
“The Wildes coven probably smuggled those bloodbags out using Lan’s sibling, Eli,” I mused.
“Break’s over,” Hudson called, zipping back inside the house again.
When he came back out, he carried a sword in one hand and two sai in the other. He handed the three-pronged weapons to me, hilt first.
I took them and nearly dropped them. It wasn’t super painful, exactly, but it was the surprise of it — it instantly put me back to the day I’d held the truth-seeker artifact and gotten burned. This was a much lower-level burn, but it was distracting as hell.
“Is this what touching metal is always going to be like?” I grumbled.
“Some are worse than others,” Hudson acknowledged. “But despite our aversion to it, it’s only toxic to us if it gets in our bloodstream in large enough quantities, especially far from the threshold.”
I squared my shoulders and gripped the sai more tightly, noticing how the burn became less distracting the less I focused on it. Hudson raised his sword, and we sparred for a few minutes, reverting back to an old form we’d practiced a million times from our academy days.
Things had definitely changed, however. The movements felt totally different now that I had a vampire’s strength and speed. Since Hudson was also a vampire, I didn’t have to worry that my blows had become more powerful and precise. He countered my every move — he’d had more practice fighting as a vampire, after all. For me, it felt like I’d been training with a heavy steel sword and now practiced with a wooden one… Except more lethal, not less.
By the end of it, I felt much more confident that metal wouldn’t actually burn me. It was just uncomfortable.
“I’m going to wrap all my handles from now on,” I vowed. “I had no idea what you guys were putting up with.”
Nico shrugged, and Hudson said, “We’ve gotten used to it. Vamps living in a witch’s world.”
“It’s awful,” I said, “and you shouldn’t have to put up with it.” I paused, realizing I was in the same boat now. “Weshouldn’t have to.”
“Tell the rest of the world that,” Hudson said, pulling me to his side and kissing my temple.
“Anything else, sensei?” I joked.
“Strength,” Nico said, tossing a decorative yard boulder at me.
I caught it easily, then rolled my eyes. “These things aren’t as heavy as real rocks.”
Nico grinned. “You could bench press me if you prefer.”
I snickered, but Hudson tilted his head toward our short suburban driveway. “Lift up the van.”
“What?” I said, my eyes going over to the vehicle, which looked like it had seen better days after Nico’s rampage.
“You can do it. Nico and I will steady it so you don’t roll it over.”
With some trepidation, I approached the van. I came around to the front, and decided to test it out first. If this didn’t work, I was going to feel like an idiot.
“You know, normally I’d just draw a magic circle…”
“Quit stalling and try it,” Hudson insisted.
I put my hands under the bumper, braced myself, squatted, and then pushed upward through my legs. The bumper immediately ripped off in my hands, and Tempest’s laughter echoed in my mind as the guys’ chuckles met my ears.
