mark.” She looked up at me. “A healer can see it. It will fade in time, but the mark is there. Just as the bond is there. Bonds are odd things, though. If a stronger bond is set in place…or if a new bond is formed, he won’t have the ability to call you.”
I jerked my wrist back. “Meaning…what? I should find a local vamp to bite me?”
“It’s an option.” She smiled. “Kori’s lover is a vampire, and a lovely lady. A kind one. Plus, she’s a friend of the house, meaning she would have our protection should Jude decide to get…pissy. I’d rather enjoy that,” she said. The grin on her face took on a devious slant. “I’d enjoy it quite a lot, actually.”
I just stared at her.
“Not all vampires are of Jude’s ilk, Kit. As I said. It’s an option.”
“Not a good one,” Damon growled.
He had taken up residence over by the fire again.
I shot him a nervous glance.
Es made an odd little humming noise under her breath. “Well, there are other options, other bonds. Stronger ones.”
“Quiet, witch.” He bit each word off like he’d rather be biting into something.
Sighing, Es said, “Another option—I can offer you a spell. A charm of sorts, like what I did earlier that knocked him out of your mind. It will only last while you are in my home and I’ll have to do it again every day at sunset. It will work. But it’s only a short-term option. If that’s what you choose to do, the best choice might be for you to buy a plane ticket and then lose yourself somewhere very, very far away from here, Kit. If you stay away from him for a few months, the bond will fade and then he won’t be able to call you like this again. I’d recommend you have the local house spell your home against him and you should keep your distance from him in the future.”
“I’m not running.” Even as I said it, I wanted to kick myself. Damn it, I’d run before and done very well with it. What was wrong with me? “I’m not running away from that bastard.”
A soft smile curved her lips. “Then you need to think through the other options.” She brushed my hair back. “You could try approaching the Assembly. He did bite you without explaining all that would happen as a result and that is an ethical violation. But I wouldn’t recommend that.”
“Bad idea.” I shook my head. “Makes me look weak in their eyes and I’d rather not look any weaker than I already do.”
“Kitasa…” She chuckled as she turned away. “The Assembly hardly sees you as weak. Not as physically strong as some, but you’re impossibly clever, incredibly quick and you managed on your own in this world. It’s a singular sort of strength, but strength nonetheless. You should rest. You can think this through in the morning.”
Chapter Twenty One
I stood in the bathroom, staring at the shower.
I needed to get in there and get clean.
I couldn’t even manage to let go of the blanket wrapped around me, though.
I am aneira. My heart is strong. My aim is true. And I’m now scared of water.
There was a knock at the door.
The sound of it made me flinch.
When I didn’t answer, Damon just came inside. One look at me made him sigh and he tugged the blanket out of my death grip. He didn’t take it away, just held it steady, ready to lower it. “It won’t get better if you don’t face it,” he said quietly. “Sooner is better.”
“I just drowned, what, a couple hours ago?” I said. I sounded like a bitch. I didn’t care. “I think I can have a day or two to freak about it. It’s totally understandable that I have a few moments about water right now. I should be allowed to freak out a little.”
“You can freak about it for the next hundred years.” He looked down at me and brushed my hair back from my face. I could see the blood on his hand. “I’m going to. I know that.”
“Why are we all bloody?” I spread my hand over his chest. There weren’t any wounds left, but earlier, his chest had looked like somebody had tried to carve him up like a Thanksgiving turkey.
He grimaced. “Well, I got to see firsthand how good you are with your sword. And you’re good. Very good.”