Page 36 of Blood Gift

“Yes. Behind me with my powers.” He stood with his hands clasped behind his back, feet shoulder width apart. “I know you must have questions for me, and I’m prepared to answer them.”

I blinked. “Why would I have questions? Why would I believe anything you have to tell me?”

“Whatever you think you know, it’s untrue.”

“So you didn’t massacre vampires for fun?” I asked, tilting my head to the side. “And I’m not talking about that night at the club, either. I’m talking about your entire life. Your family’s hatred for vampires.”

Holden snarled behind me. “I could kill you for that. And I wouldn’t even get in trouble for it. You’re just a disgraced sorcerer. Nobody would even miss you.”

To his credit, Gentry didn’t back down. “You’re right. I wasn’t clear. And I won’t insult your intelligence. You’re right about my past. The way I was raised, the indoctrination I went through. There was no question that vampires were lesser forms of life than sorcerers. Lesser even than humans, which as I think we all know is around as low as a creature can get in our world—depending on who you talk to, of course.”

“And you listened to a hateful, hurtful, vicious bunch of monsters while you were growing up,” I murmured.

“Something like that, yes. But when I lost my powers…” He trailed off, shaking his head slowly. “It sounds weak and hollow after what I’ve done, but all the past beliefs melted away. Like a veil I didn’t know was over my eyes suddenly lifted, and I could see clearly. I could see how wrong I had been.” His focus shifted, moved over my head. “I can’t apologize enough, and I know apologies mean nothing. But it’s the truth. I can never make it up, of course, but I mean it when I say it was wrong and I don’t feel that way anymore.”

“Why should you?” I asked, folding my arms. “You killed a club full of them, all at once. You probably got it out of your system that night.”

“I didn’t do that. Dominic did.” He held up one hand, closing his eyes. “I know it sounds convenient.”

“Extremely,” Holden hissed.

“I know. But it’s the truth. I would sit down to a lie detector test right now to prove it. Dominic wanted to bring the clan together by showing force, wiping out an entire club of them all at once. The bomb wasn’t supposed to go off when it did, while humans were there. He knew our entire clan, across the country, would fall apart if they knew he’d done it. See, he’s head of the family. They all report to him. I was only head of our LA clan. He thought they could better absorb the damage if I took the blame instead of him.” He shook his head, snickering. “And he acted like stripping my powers was a mercy. The normal punishment would be death.”

“It can still be death,” Holden warned. I cleared my throat to signal his silence.

“Why should I believe any of this?” I asked with a sigh. “I mean, really. We’ve been on two dates, if you can call today a date. What’s the big deal? Two ships passing in the night and all that.”

His gaze didn’t waver. “You know it’s more than that.”

“Don’t tell me what I know.”

“I dreamed of you before we met.”

It hit me like a wave and almost knocked me off the couch. “You what?” I croaked.

“I dreamed of a room. A ballroom, falling apart and moulding and full of rodents. And you. Saving you from something, I still don’t know what. You were there, though, wearing a dirty nightgown, tied to a wooden X. I freed you and carried you outside. I dreamed that every night for a week before I first saw you on Sunday.”

I wanted to tell him he was lying, but how would he be able to describe my dream if he wasn’t telling the truth? I started shaking when I considered what it meant.

“I did, too.”

“What?” Holden stared.

I ignored him.

“You did?” Gentry asked. His expression softened.

“I could only see your eyes. The sun was behind your head, so I couldn’t see your face for the glare. But I saw your eyes. And when I saw them in the shop…”

I remembered squeezing Holden’s hand.

He had to remember, too.

“That was why you said “You” when I spilled my coffee.”

“And why you said the same thing,” he agreed.

I touched a hand to my face, rubbing my forehead. I could hardly handle everything racing through my head.

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