Page 73 of These Dangerous Fates

“What if it isn’t a true warehouse?” I ask. “Maybe that’s just what they call it.”

“That’s an idea,” Cade muses as he bends over the laptop again, reinvigorated.

I roll my eyes and toss my book on the coffee table. Plucking Ellis’s book from her hands, I add it to mine. She looks up at me with narrowed eyes and I give her my best smile, the one I know she melts for.

“That won’t work, Kai.” She reaches up and places her hand on my cheek before giving it a not-so-gentle pat.

A tap on the patio door stops me from saying something I’d probably regret, and Ellis pops up so fast I almost think she used supernatural powers to do so. Before she can get to the door, though, Sterling is there and peeking out into the darkness. His shoulders relax and he pushes the door wide to allow Allie to step inside.

The girls look at each other and emit such a high-pitched squeal I’m certain they hit a frequency that causes dogs in all of Altair to go deaf. I chuckle when I see Sterling rubbing his ear with a grimace. Ellis and Allie rush at each other and collide with a force that knocks them to the ground. They sit like that on the floor, hugging, laughing, and rocking back and forth, exchanging whispers I can’t hear even with my supernatural hearing.

Cade looks up from his laptop and watches the display with amusement. Our eyes meet and my heart thumps harder when I remember what happened earlier. The emotions I picked up from him are ones I have been pushing down for a while now. What do I do with it, though? Dragging my gaze away from his is harder than it should be.

“Cade called me,” Allie says, as Sterling helps her to her feet. “He told me to come over and see you. I was so worried about you, Ellis.”

Ellis glances at Cade with gratitude shining in her eyes. “I’m sorry I worried you,” she says, tugging Allie to the couch. “I’m okay, though. But shit, so much has happened in such a short amount of time.”

Ellis launches into the tale of her finding out about her dad, and us discovering her sharing Cade’s power. They demonstrate, and I still can’t believe it when I see the purple light wreathing Ellis’s arms. The violet that sparkles in her amber eyes is breathtaking. Typically, when a mage uses their magic, their eyes will take on the color of whatever magic they possess. Cade has always been different, with his violet eyes always the color of his magic

Allie’s expression mirrors my own. Awe, confusion, wonder. She stares until Cade lets his magic disappear, the glow fading from Ellis as well. “How is that possible?” Allie breathes. “How is any of this possible? Ellis, there has to be something bigger going on here than just Thomas Kennedy and Sam wanting you for their sick purposes.”

“I agree,” Cade says as he shuts his laptop with a snick. “It’s unheard of for someone to be bonded to three different people, let alone three different races. And to top it all off, you have no magic of your own. Now, you’re suddenly able to use my magic at the same time I’m using it?” He rubs his chin, beard scruff scratching in the quiet. “I’m really wondering if Kennedy and Sam know something they’re keeping hidden.”

“How could we ever figure it out?” Ellis asks quietly.

“I wonder …” Allie says before trailing off.

We all look at her as she intently stares at Ellis with a furrowed brow until Ellis squirms uncomfortably.

“Sorry,” Allie says. “I just … I wonder if my aunt may be able to help?”

Ellis jerks at the suggestion. “Your great aunt? Crazy Aunt Madge?”

Allie shrugs and gives us a small grimace. “She is a little crazy, but I’m pretty sure she’s crazy because she is part witch. Or maybe elf? I’m not sure. Either way, she has predicted the future a time or two, and has an uncanny ability to read people.”

“I knew it,” Ellis says, sitting back against the couch cushion. “I always assumed you had a distant relative with some kind of magical blood. You were always spot on when something happened and would call to check in on me.”

“I always just got a feeling. I would get anxious and jittery. Something would tell me I needed to call you.”

“I don’t think I’ve ever told you how much I appreciated those phone calls,” Ellis says quietly, looking at her hands in her lap. “Or any of your attempts to get me out of that situation, no matter how much I resisted.”

Allie leans over and hugs Ellis tightly. I’m eternally thankful Ellis had a friend to support her in her darkest times. I glance at my two friends, my brothers, if not by blood. We’ve had each other’s backs countless times. And to know we now can add Ellis to our family, to protect her and care for her? Damn, that’s a powerful feeling.

“So,” Cade says thoughtfully. “It sounds like a visit to Aunt Madge is in order.”

* * *

“Well this isn’t creepy or anything,” I mutter under my breath.

We are standing at the base of some seriously rotted stairs that are attached to an equally rotted porch. One pillar has fallen over, now just a pile of wood that is no longer holding up the saggy roof over the porch. The other three pillars look like a gentle breeze is all it will take for them to join their fallen brethren.

Vines cover every inch of the facade, hiding the color of the house behind a wall of dark green. In the dying light of the sun, the shadows between the vines are impenetrable. A screen door hanging by one hinge swings in the wind, emitting a screech that sends shivers over my skin. No light pours forth from the windows, and when I look closer, I realize it’s because they are completely boarded up.

Who the fuck knows what’s hiding inside that house.

“Nope, not doing this.” I grab Ellis’s hand and tug her backward. “That house is haunted. It’s infested with ghosts, I guarantee it.”

Ellis rolls her eyes. “Is my big, bad vampire afraid of ghosts?”

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