approached the witches would have been defenseless.”
“I don’t know.”
“Maybe one of the races you named
“It’s possible. But why do so? To send a message?”
“A we-know-what-you-are-and-we’re-coming-after-your-kind sort of thing?”
“Yes. No. Maybe. I don’t know. Nothing like this has ever happened before. We clean up our battles. All of us. We rarely leave evidence for humans to find. That’s how we’re trained from birth. That’s how we survive.”
“Times change.”
“Yes,” she said flatly. “They do.”
What did that mean? He’d changed, and she no longer liked him?
Junior belted out a hungry roar.
With a sigh, Aden fell back on the mattress, winced and draped his arm over his forehead. “I’m not thinking straight. Let’s talk about the murders after we eat, okay?”
Her hesitant “Okay” gave him pause.
“Did you already eat?” For that matter, “Where did you sleep last night?” He’d taken her room, and she had not been here. And he could have kicked his own butt for simply falling asleep on her, making her feel as if she didn’t belong in her own digs. He knew how important having personal space could be, having been denied his own for most of his life.
Before, Victoria would have felt comfortable enough to snuggle up to him. After the way he’d treated her lately, she probably hadn’t known if he would welcome her or reject her.
“I stayed in Riley’s room,” she said, her hand going back in her pocket to play with the wrapper or whatever it was.
A growl rose up in his throat before he even realized he was having an emotional reaction to those words.
He recalled the first time he’d seen Victoria outside one of Elijah’s visions. She’d been standing in a forest clearing just beyond the D and M ranch, Riley towering behind her, protecting her. Aden had wondered what they were to each other—and even when he’d learned they were just friends, thrums of jealousy had refused to leave him.
Closeness was closeness, no matter how you sliced it.
“You could have slept here,” he told her.
“Well, did you, the king of heaven and earth, mention that a single time since coming here?”
No, she hadn’t known. “I’m mentioning it now.”
“Meaning I’m more human?”
What
“Yes, it is. You’re saying I wasn’t good enough as I was.”
“No! That’s not what I’m saying at all.”
Still she wasn’t done. “The fact that you’re improving is great. Wonderful.”
He was going to hate what came next, he just knew it.
“But I’ve decided to hold a grudge,” she finished.
Yep. Hated. “Are you serious?”
“Am I known for my delightful sense of humor?”
When she gave in to the new human side of her, she really gave in. “Why are you holding a grudge?”
“Because I feel like it.”
And how did you argue with that kind of logic? “Fine.”
“Fine.”
“I still need to eat.”
Flames lit up the blue in her eyes. “Do you want me to fetch you a slave?”
No. Yes. “No.” Only one name was etched into his menu of choice, and it was still hers. But he’d had Sorin’s blood. And, hey, why wasn’t he seeing the world through Sorin’s eyes? He asked Victoria.
“The blood only works that way for a limited amount of time, and since you’ve spent an entire day dead to the world, your connection to Sorin, and his to you, has passed.
“Now,” she added. “Why don’t you want a slave?”
“I’ll find someone to chomp on in a minute.” He would force himself. “I need to clean up first.”
“What’s in your pocket?” he asked
Her checks flashed bright red. “Nothing. Now go. Clean up.”
O-kay. He lumbered from the bed and hobbled to the bathroom, certain he resembled an old man with a walker, and yes, he hated that Victoria was seeing him like this.
“Oh, and Aden? Thank you for not killing my brother,” she said just before he shut the door.
“You’re welcome.”
He brushed his teeth, showered quickly, noticed Victoria had already stacked fresh clothes in the corner, and dressed in the plain gray T-shirt, jeans and his own boots. Everything was pressed and a perfect fit.
As Junior’s roars came more frequently and Caleb’s choking sobs finally faded, Aden studied himself in the mirror. It was still a jolt to see himself with blond hair. He’d been dying the mop for years. His eyes jolted him, too. Last time he’d seen them, they were gold. Now, they were a kaleidoscope of colors.
What stunned him most was his lack of bruises, swelling and punctures. He looked one hundred percent racer ready. His insides clearly had some catching up to do. Even after that steamy shower, he hurt. Considering he’d expected his lips to resemble something out of a horror flick and the fact that he’d lost a tooth—which, three cheers, had regrown during his healing sleep—he wasn’t going to complain.
“If we want to quiet Junior—” at least for a little while “—we’ve got to eat.”
The term
His ears twitched. Footsteps in Victoria’s room. Frowning, he threw open the bathroom door. Before he saw who had entered, he
Nathan was pale from head to toe. Pale hair, pale blue eyes, pale skin. Maxwell was gold. Both were handsome—he guessed—but both were cursed by witches. (Who wasn’t, nowadays?) Anyone the pair desired would see a mask of ugliness when looking at them. Anyone they did
Aden, of course, saw their true faces.
Both were scowling and taut with their worry and trying to comfort a crying Victoria.
“What’s going on?” he demanded, stalking over, ready to grind them both into powder if they’d hurt her.
He was just about ready to throw a punch, anyway, when she held out a goblet to him. “Here. Drink this.”
He smelled the sweetness before he saw the blood. Junior went wild, his roars more of a yes, yes,
