Page 20 of Master Oradea

Oradea doesn’t need to answer, or deny what we both know to be true. “You need sustenance. I’ll feed you and then let you get some sleep.” I watch as he joins me on the bed, rolling up his long-sleeve shirt to reveal a corded forearm, rippling with muscles that have protected me, loved me, and even saved me from certain death. He would have given me anything but cannot bring himself to love a witch. “When I slit my wrist, I’ll help you latch on for the very first time. Your instincts will take over, though, and from there, your body will do the rest. You’ll take what you need and then rest, continue to heal. I have work to be done, but Elda will be close by if you need anything.”

The blood comes to the surface of the slit he carves into his wrist. One hand cradles my nape, tilting my head as the other lets his pure blood flow into my mouth, giving me the nutrition I need to sustain, to be a vampire like him, even though I am a witch at heart. The taste of blood is pungent, and I latch onto his wrist, to devour every drop as though I’ve been craving this life source for an eternity. When I’ve finished, he pushes a wayward strand of hair from my eyes. “Rest. We both need time to process, and I have lots of work to do.”

I nod as he walks to the door, unable to say a word, lest tears of sadness fall from my eyes. I will not be that girl. He will never see me shed a tear for what could have been because even if we have no future together, at least I know what it is like to love someone, truly love them. I love you, Oradea. No matter that you are not human, that I am a witch, and that you cannot accept me as that. I have no doubt my feelings for you will never change.

He pauses for a moment and then walks right out the door. I don’t know what I was thinking, maybe that if I professed my love to him, he would come back to bed, suddenly forget all about what the witches have done to the vampires for all these centuries, forget their feud amidst our feelings for each other? I pull the blanket up to my chin, rolling over and pushing my face into the pillow, letting the blood from Oradea sooth and calm me while trying to absorb it all.

Chapter 19

Oradea

I hover down the steps to the lower level, fueled with too much energy to walk. A witch. What in the world makes her think she is a witch? I would know. Every time one of the pesky creatures come along, I’ve been able to tell. Even when they like to mingle amongst a crowd in a bar or other public place, not once have I not been able to scent them out just like these rogues. They may have eluded us at the Benzini’s and for the last few days, but they are not going to escape my wrath for long. I’ve made good use of my time, waiting and researching every nook and cranny that I can think of.

Her brothers can’t possibly believe she is a witch, or they would have said something. They would have wanted to use it to their advantage, told me she didn’t need protection because she would take care of herself. Any, or all of those things, would have been said if Natalia was a witch. And not a damn word. Instead, I was asked to protect her, because she was human, couldn’t take care of herself against these vicious killers. She is not a witch.

I get to my office and slam the door, heading to my chair with my phone already out. There’s only one way to find out for sure, and I aim to do just that. Campania answers on the first ring. “I need a favor. Willow has the power of sight, the real strong stuff, right? Do you think she would be able to tell if someone else were a witch? I mean, sense it instinctively?”

He lets out a long, drawn-out sigh. “She can, Raven can, and Madria too; although her witch status has not been officially confirmed, all can sense the spirit of another witch. I take it Natalia told you?”

I scowl. “Told me what?” There’s a pause on the other end of the line, but he doesn’t walk it back. “Natalia knows she’s a witch because all the ladies, including Embry, told her. They know it, and now so does she. That’s probably why she left in the first place, Oradea.

My jaw locks so tight that my teeth hurt. “Thanks, Campania.”

He clears his throat. “Before you hang up, there’s something you should know. You may be down on yourself right now for her leaving, maybe even feeling badly that she left and ended up attacked.”

The growl leaves my throat so fast it’s impossible to control. “What do you think? She left because she thought I wouldn’t accept her as a witch, otherwise I’m pretty sure she would have told her brother to go to hell and that she was staying. She was killed because of me. At the end of the day, I am the reason she was turned into a vampire, something that she never wanted to be.”

“Hold on, Oradea. There’s more that she apparently didn’t tell you. She snuck down to see Embry with the other ladies. One thing led to another, and it ended up with the witches telling the ladies that they believe they are all witches. That they were intended to meet the vampires, to show them the way, to help them overcome the rogues once and for all.”

“Fuck, and how’s Sardinia taking it?”

“Better than you, but he’s had time to prepare for it. It’s always been a possibility with Madria. I mean, she does carry the other stone. Madria is his heart. He’s never going to let the fact that she’s a witch stand in the way of what they have. He told me about your disagreement. Some of that is probably him dealing with his own feelings. Sometimes destiny is a bitch, but what she says goes; there’s no way to change it, and eventually you understand why things happened in the way they did; not always but most times anyway.”

“It still doesn’t change the fact that I’ve turned her into something she never wanted to be.”

Campania laughs. “I swear, if it gets back to those females that it was me who told you, we’re going to have problems, my friend. But Natalia told the ladies she wanted to be a vampire and not a witch. She said she could help the vampires in so many ways. Thought that her family would side with us if she were a vampire. Don’t you dare repeat that I shared Willow’s pillow talk with you.”

“Natalia really said that?”

“She did, my friend.”

My chest tightens with the overwhelming realization that witch or not, her heart is pure, and not all witches are out to get the vampires no matter the history. “Thanks for telling me this. I appreciate it. I’ll text you when I have word about Lucas. I’m hoping it won’t be much longer. It’s been days.”

“He’ll show his face when we least expect it.”

I shift in my seat. “I have no doubt you’re right, my friend. I’ll talk to you later.” I stare at the wall for a moment, contemplating our conversation, the fact that Natalia wanted to become a vampire, even after learning she was a witch. And even upstairs, I walked away, just let her think that I didn’t accept her because of it. Even after what she’s been through.

My concentration is disrupted. Natalia is in danger.

I transport upstairs to my bedroom, ready to fight Lucas to the death, only to find Natalia sleeping soundly in my bed. Still, my heart beats with unprecedented fear, knowing that her life could be snuffed out and over with one well-placed stake to the heart as a fuck you to me. I sit on the edge of the bed and stroke a finger down her porcelain cheek, and the emotion hits me so hard that I can barely breathe. “I love you, enchantress.”

Natalia is in danger. You need to come and talk to me. I can help.

Embry. The need to get to the bottom of whatever Embry can tell me roils in my stomach. I transport downstairs because I know Natalia is not safe until Lucas and the other rogues are contained, and Embry’s going to tell me what she knows, dammit. I’m done playing games. I will throttle it out of her if I have to.

Lucas has turned into a completely different person than we know. There is no way he’s going to admit the defeat of not ending Natalia’s life, of not paying the Benzinis back for siding with us instead of the rogues, knowing the manpower they have beneath them in every city between here and Italy. I saw that in his eyes, and I will do whatever it takes to keep her safe. I knock on the door, inserting my key in the lock to find Embry’s purple eyes on me when I walk in, watching me with keen interest.

I narrow my eyes at the little waif who dares call me down here with such tactics. “What danger is Natalia in? Tell me what you know, or you’ll be here until you die.”

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