To Love a Vampire - A.K. Koonce Page 0,20

my trance and watching Nerissa as her hand touches Asher’s bicep for the third time, laughing again at whatever clever thing he’s saying.

I take a drink from my cup, the liquid burns down my throat and settles in at home with the fire that’s flooding my chest. I try to pull my eyes away from the sight of him, but I can’t.

We stared at each other for minutes, his silver eyes tracing every inch of my body until my pounding heart was struck with fear. What if Raske doesn’t accept another hybrid? Declan already puts the Wanderers on edge and my history with Asher could threaten the lord’s plans.

So, I let Raske and the rest of our community think that Asher and Gabriel are strangers to me, out of panic of getting them pushed out of the Wandering community. I moved past him without a second glance, my chest shaking with unshed tears the whole time.

“Really, walk on water and behold the magic of the sea, and suddenly you’re the most enthralling person they’ve ever met?” Luca’s icy tone causes me to finally look away from Asher. I steal a glance at my friend and find that she, too, is seething at the shameless flirting that’s happening just in front of us. I watch Luca a little longer. Her lip curls in disgust as Nerissa runs her thin fingers through Gabriel’s red hair and it’s then that I realize he’s different. One hand holds his drink, his shoulders stiff from the attention of the water fae, while his other hand… is missing. Just a little above his wrist the limb ends in nothing but smooth skin.

My stomach sinks low but I try to focus on Luca for a moment.

“You like him?” I say slowly, my eyes lighting up for the first time since I saw Asher earlier tonight.

She coughs into her cup as she chokes on her alcohol, her face scrunching into a look of pain. Declan stops at my side, smirking at Luca who attempts to find a normal breath.

“No, not at all. I just think it’s embarrassing how the water fae is throwing her tang at anyone now. Do you know what she looked like when she first came here?” A disgusted and dramatic shiver runs over my friend’s body.

I laugh a little too loudly at the remark, surprising even myself. Warm and slightly petty revenge settles in my chest at her words. Declan laughs with us and finds the target of our anger within the crowd.

“And here I thought fish analogies were below you two,” Declan says, smirking at me from over his cup, his silver gaze once again painful for me to look at. Luca rolls her eyes at his remark.

“You know what they look like in the water. Those hybrids are in for a surprise if she ever lures them back to the sea,” Luca says with a huff.

Across the fire, Asher looks at me for the first time since I brushed him off. The pain that soars through me plummets into the pit of my stomach like a comet obliterating the earth, and the smile on my lips falters.

He looks from Declan to me. A question dancing in his fire-lit eyes. Guilt presses in, crowding my already swarming emotions. Does Asher think there’s something between Declan and I? I watch as Asher chugs whatever’s left in his cup before tossing it into the soaring fire and walking away, leaving Nerissa mid-sentence. The beautiful fae doesn’t waste any time pulling her attention back to Gabriel, who also appears confused about his friend’s departure.

At my side, my hand jerks as Asher walks away. I want to correct him. To correct all of this. Us. I want to touch him. Hold him. I want what we no longer have. My chest is heavy with the weight of everything pressing within the walls of my ribs. Lead fills my lungs with each labored breath.

I bit my lip hard to surface pain that isn’t related to my emotions.

Declan takes a step closer to me, clearly watching Asher as well. “You’re thinking too much, love,” he says against my hair.

I sway slowly against Declan’s chest, the beat of the drums flowing through me. I swallow down the last of the alcohol in my cup. It’s empty again. It’s one of many I’ve finished. Luca continues to hand drinks to me and Declan continues to help me balance on my own two feet. Neither of them mentions Nerissa, Gabriel or Asher