Reborn Yesterday - Tessa Bailey Page 0,51
reach her. His lips spelled out the words. “Please, don’t.”
For some reason, with those words from the stranger, she expected the moment to dissolve. For the night to fade and fade like a pencil sketch submerged in water. It didn’t, though. Another presence tugged her attention to the left, away from where it truly wanted to be—on the stranger beneath the tree. Someone else was there with them, though.
Static crawled up her Ginny’s arm. Her head turned toward the other presence lethargically, but there was only an outline of a dark figure surrounded by the yonder lights of the fair.
A figure in a crimson hood.
Ginny bolted upright in bed, a sob caught in her throat.
Her fingers tore at the bed sheets, twisting them in her grip to keep her grounded in the present. In wakefulness, too. Last time she’d had the dream, she’d woken up in the middle lane of the parkway. Not this time, thank the Lord. She was in her bedroom, even if she couldn’t shake the gravity of the dream. Part of her even wished she was still asleep, so she would know what happened. What was the stranger beneath the tree distressed about?
And how could every second of it feel so vivid, right down to the gravel and grass crunching under her feet to the smell of roasted chestnuts?
The lingering haze of the dream drifted away and last night’s events came hurtling back in. Automatically, Ginny’s fingers went to her neck, to the spot where Jonas’s teeth had accidentally nicked her and drawn blood. There was no cut, no pain, nothing to prove it had ever happened.
A lead weight sank in her stomach.
Mate.
What had he meant by that?
Mate.
“Any fresh bodies for me to see today?”
A delighted shock ran through Ginny and she scrambled to the edge of the bed to find Roksana lying casually on the floor.
“You’re back,” Ginny breathed, moisture rushing to her eyes. Before she could stop herself, she rolled off the bed and landed beside the slayer, promptly throwing a leg across her body and pulling her into a bear hug. “Where did you go?”
“I don’t appreciate this display of emotion,” Roksana said, contradictory laughter in her voice. “It makes me feel lumpy.”
“Lumpy?”
“That’s what I said. Get off, you crazy animal.”
“Okay, fine.” Ginny let go of Roksana and scooted back, fairly vibrating with excitement over having her friend back. Since the slayer had left, she’d mostly been worried about staying alive, but seeing Roksana in person now made Ginny realize she’d desperately needed her friend. “You didn’t answer me. Where did you go?”
“Upstate. Downstate.” Roksana studied her finger nails. “Here and there.”
“What made you come back?”
“The prince.” She snorted. “Who else?”
Ginny’s brow knit. “I don’t understand. He took care of the threat last night. I’m no longer in danger.”
“Hmmm.” Was it her imagination or did Roksana’s attention slip to her neck. “Perhaps that is true. Perhaps he thought you shouldn’t be alone on your birthday.”
When she should have experienced warmth or pleasure over Jonas’s thoughtfulness, there was only a scalding, syrupy sense of foreboding. “He isn’t coming back, is he?”
Roksana evaded her gaze. “This vampire drama does not concern me. I am only here to party.”
“Roksana, please,” she whispered. “Something happened last night—”
“Hold that thought,” the slayer said quickly, rolling under the bed. “We have company.”
No sooner was Roksana out of sight than Larissa stumbled into the room with a bottle of NyQuil clutched to her chest and a wadded up tissue protruding from one nostril. “What the hell are you doing on the floor?”
“Oh, um. Looking for an earring.”
“Whatever.” She waved the bottle of blue liquid. “I’ve come down with a cold. This is why I hate hosting the viewings. Every granny in the house wants to blubber all over my shoulder or make me shake their snotty hands. God.” She shivered and took a swig of the cold medicine. “Kristof’s second viewing is today. I have no idea why they wanted two when barely anyone showed up yesterday, but as long as they’re paying, I’m not questioning it.” She paused to deliver a wince-inducing scream sneeze. “Can you handle the second viewing, as well as your shift tonight? It’s four to six.”
“Yes, I can do that.”
Anything to get Larissa out of the room. Not to mention, if there was a lack of guests at the wake, she would like the chance to show some support to the grieving family. It’s what her father would have done.
“Great.” Larissa smiled and tilted her