the side of his cheek with the tips of my fingers. Gods, Thallon is so handsome. His sun-kissed brown hair hasn’t lost the shine it always had, and locks frame his face, bringing out the glow to his unusual white and blue eyes. I lean closer and press my lips to his, the instant connection between us rocketing in my heart, and I almost gasp. His hands grip my waist, pulling me closer as we kiss like nothing has changed.
Like we are two normal young adults falling in love. And I’m kidding myself if I say it isn’t love. The door is knocked two times, and we break apart as I sense who is behind the door without opening it. Ren. Dammit, the dinner I promised.
“I will be back later,” I tell Thallon, climbing off the bed. He sits up as I open the door, and Ren walks in before I can stop him.
“You must be Thallon.” Ren then introduces himself, his arms crossed tightly as he stares down at Thallon. “I’m Ren, but you know that.”
“Yeah. You’re the fucking moron who hurt Kaitlyn,” Thallon replies. “And then took over the academy.”
“I made a mistake,” he grits out and closes his eyes, gathering some composure. “But I have offered Kaitlyn your protection in the academy and for you to go back to your gardening. The academy is looking a mess, and you will be helping us.”
“I don’t do shit for you,” Thallon growls out.
Ren looks ready to fight him as I step in the middle, looking up at Ren. “Don’t we have dinner to go to?”
“Yes,” he replies, taking my hand, and I don’t fight him on it though I want to. I hate that his large hand fits mine so perfectly and feels so comforting. Why do I love the touch of a monster? What is wrong with me?
We walk to the door, but Ren pauses and looks back, meeting Thallon’s gaze. “Have you ever royally fucked up? Have you ever regretted something so much that you wanted to end your life? That’s how I felt the second after I lost control with Kaitlyn, and I will forever regret what I did. I don’t deserve to have her here, and I am under no illusion that Kaitlyn will ever forgive me, but she is my mate. We are bonded for life, and we need to be close together. I will be in her life...even if it’s just to protect her.”
“That isn’t up to you or me,” Thallon warns, his eyes drifting to me as I stare at Ren, struggling with what he just admitted to. I want so badly to see him as a heartless monster, because I know it’s the only way I will be able to kill him. If I, even for a second, let him close to me again...I won’t be able to trust him not to hurt me. Ren nods once, his eyes flickering over to me before tugging my hand and leading me out into the corridor. A tense silence meets us as Ren leads me to a set of stairs, and we head up to a door at the top. The cold night breeze greets us as we step out onto a small rooftop of one of the towers. I hope we aren’t flying to dinner. Crap on a cracker, I don’t want to crash into anything today.
Ren writes something in the air before uttering one word. “Lumito.” A burning light bursts into existence in front of me, making a rectangle shape before it stops spreading. I step closer and run my fingers across the light, and it feels like touching cold silk.
“Vampires have old magic, like none the world has ever seen. With training, we can travel anywhere we want and even stop death,” he whispers to me, stepping to my side. “Vampires are magic like nothing the world has ever had.”
“Can I do this?” I question, lowering my hand and meeting Ren’s gaze.
“I am unsure.” His brow furrows. “You are not like anyone I’ve met. You come from a vampire bloodline, even diluted with human blood, you are so powerful, and you can see ghosts. It is very possible your powers will be stronger than mine.” He smiles and shakes his head. “But this is a date, come on.”
“Wait, I never said it was a—” I gasp on the end of my sentence as Ren tugs me through the portal, which wraps around all of my body before vanishing, leaving me