Page 80 of Immortal Burden

Going down that road again with Mia was the last thing I wanted. Lucian and I were building something special, something that already meant so much to me. And this… situation… threatened that. It complicated everything.

Just when I’d started to actually feel happy and loved.

“Let’s just wait until we have all the information.”

He caressed my shoulder. “As you wish.”

I stepped forward, calling my magic, prepared to create a temporary path through the ward Mia had erected around her property.

As soon as my green fire connected, the translucent film of the ward shuddered into being. That was the norm. What wasn’t were the sparks of green light that ricocheted off it at my touch. Sparks of my magic.

I jerked back, dropping my hands. “Unbelievable.”

“What is it?” Lucian asked.

I shook my head with disbelief, telling him, “Mia has two wards up now. One is specifically meant for me, intended to keep me out.”

“What?”

“I know. The hits just keep on coming.”

Skillfully skirting that subject matter, Lucian kept to the immediate task at hand, asking me, “Can you breach it?”

“It’s blood magic.”

“Blood magic, how?”

I shrugged. “She must’ve gotten a hold of my blood somehow.”

“That’s incredibly invasive.”

I turned from the ward. “You go on in ahead.”

“You can’t breach blood magic.”

“Where there’s a will, there’s a way, right?”

He eyed me with a mixture of curiosity and concern. “What are you considering?”

“Nothing as invasive as what she’s clearly done here, so don’t worry. Just head inside before she realizes we’re here and takes off to avoid this fucked up but undoubtedly necessary talk we all need to have.”

“All right, I’ll have her drop the wards.”

“Don’t bother, I’ll have it down by then.”

He reached out and cupped my face. “Let’s try to swallow this down and keep things civil. We need answers and antagonizing her isn’t exactly going to be very conducive to that.”

I sucked in a breath, his hands on me making wonderous skin-to-skin contact helping to soothe me. “Okay.”

He smiled, then brushed his lips over mine, before vamp speeding into the building.

I turned back to the ward, narrowing my eyes.

“Here goes nothing.”

19

~Mia~

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