Page 90 of Of Blood and Smoke

“I apologize,” I murmured, bending to give my mother a kiss on the cheek.

“Do you have a specific plan?” my father asked.

“No,” I answered, taking the offered glass from my mother. I sipped on the blood, finishing the whole glass, as my father tossed me a couple blades I snatched mid-air. “Thank you,” I acknowledged both gifts.

“How is your magic?” my mother inquired.

I placed the glass down on the kitchen counter. “Non-existent. You know we weren’t trained.” My day-to-day life didn’t necessitate much more than the learned simple manipulation of inanimate objects or paralysis of my victims, and those same skills were useful for dealing with victims of the Court. When one was as fast and bloodthirsty as I, more magic wasn’t needed to remove any obstacles in the way.

I’d been schooled extensively in physical arts by the master's themselves—the Ancients, as had Micha. I hadn’t had much use for elaborate spells, and it was forbidden. Why bother?

My father grunted. “I don’t need to tell you you’re a fool.”

“Karl,” my mother began. When he whipped his head around, I knew he’d stopped her with a glance. I heard her faint sigh before she backed off, arms crossed.

“Our son broke free from his servitude and has had plenty of time to master his natural capabilities.”

He wasn’t wrong. My indoctrination ran deeper than I realized and now it was too late. I hadn’t given much thought to expanding my knowledge or skills, singularly focused on Ipomoea and building the brand. With regret, I remembered Micha hinting we should pursue the knowledge.

“Leaving the palace without her is not an option, and I won’t be alone.” My father eyed me dubiously. “I will bring Della by to meet you both as soon as I am able.”

As I turned to leave, my mother called out, “Josiah, honey, don’t let Della touch your clothes!”

I’d forgotten lily of the valley was deadly. My dear mother had gone and doused my leathers with poison.

FORTY-TWO

Della

A castle rose up in front of us, the dark granite walls carved with gargoyles and symbols I didn’t recognize. A long staircase flowed down from a double pair of doors, the base widening at the bottom. Jude led me up the length, walking directly behind me. At times, it felt we made no progress, getting no closer to the end, until suddenly, we’d arrived. A wave of dizziness hit me, and I was overcome with a sense of disbelief. There was no way this place was real.

Somehow, I’d accepted that my sweet boyfriend was truly a mythological creature; I’d compartmentalized it and shoved it into a box. It was my secret indulgence, loving his intensity and the illicit appeal of dangerous, bloody sex with a monster. It was a kink, but it wasmykink. Had I been thinking he was faking it?

Money could buy anything, including retractable teeth, right?

My mind scrambled, trying to make sense of everything I’d experienced the past several months, the things I’d seen. I’d accepted it as real, hadn’t I? My head began pounding as an ache formed. No, it was real. All of it. Josiah had explained it all to me and why would anybody lie about such a thing?

But this, the whole being whisked-off to wherever I was,thiscouldn’t be real.

It was intense, the hyper-reality of the scenery. I felt like I’d stepped into a digital painting or lived the moment the old Wizard of Oz movie had memorialized when all of a sudden color had been infused in the film.

Beads of sweat were forming by my hairline and as I frantically looked around it was obvious no help was coming. Even the air felt different, somehow. Trying to calm myself, I stared at my feet. Whatever this place was, it was messing with my head, and I needed to get it together if I was ever going to go back home.

I closed my eyes and then lifted my head, opening them again. The scene remained the same. Jude moved in front of me. “Follow me,” he said.

The castle, or palace, was monstrously huge and threatening in appearance, all jagged points and turrets. Tilting my head back, I still couldn’t see the top.

The doors were opened by a set of guards. The tops of the stone slabs were so incredibly high I had to crane my neck. Sixty feet? Taller? I’d never seen an entry like this before in real life.

My escort stepped inside the building with me right behind him, ogling everything with wonder. The space was an eclectic mixture of modern and medieval design with futuristic technology and what looked like Viking or Middle-Earth weaponry everywhere. I was both scared and fascinated, trying to take everything in.

“Where’s Josiah? Shouldn’t he have been waiting for us?” There was no sign of him anywhere and an odd prickly feeling started crawling over my skin when Jude didn’t answer me.

“He’s not waiting for me, is he?”

Jude glanced at me. “I never said he was.”

“You said he needed my help,” I corrected the man, trailing after him. We stopped at a desk where I was instructed to place my hand on the counter.

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