Page 24 of Dallas

I looked around outside, but nothing aside from windblown leaves and driving rain greeted me. Where was Dallas? I hoped he hadn’t taken it on himself to go too far, for where would that leave Callie and myself?

“We don’t need him. We don’t.” I looked down at my sister. “We don’t need him, or anybody. I can take care of you if need be. Without him. It will be all right.”

Would it? I imagined her asking me this if she were awake, because it was very likely what she would’ve said. Would it be all right? Would we manage on our own? I had no idea where we were, I was certain there would be no cell signal, and the road might very well be impassable by this point. What was there to be done?

Damn it all. I needed him much more than I wanted to admit.

“I wish I knew what to do about Dallas,” I whispered, then jumped as a crack of thunder split the air the same moment a jagged bolt of lightning streaked through the sky and threatened to blind me. I held an arm over my eyes, squeezing them shut against the dark spots dancing in front of them.

“Hecate!”

My heart jumped at the sound of his voice. Relief washed over me. I blinked to clear my vision and soon found him standing behind the vehicle, peering inside with his hands cupped around his eyes. Once he saw that he’d gotten my attention, he pointed to his right. “There’s a cave in the woods. Very near here. Shallow, but dry.”

I chewed my lower lip and cursed the fact that my powers failed me. Without them at their full strength, I was little better than a helpless human.

There was nothing to do but go along with him, no matter whether I wanted to or not.

“We need the fire to stay warm and dry off,” he reminded me, raising his voice above the storm.

I nodded, exaggerating the motion so he could see me in the dimness.

“Wonderful,” I mourned, looking down at Callie. “Just wonderful. How will we manage this?”

He came around to the driver’s door and slid into the seat. His clothing might as well not have existed, painted onto his body the way it was. He ran his hands through his plastered hair, pushing it back from his forehead. “It’s surprisingly easy going out there.”

“Really? Why are you panting as if you ran a marathon?”

He cast a doleful look my way. Even in the dark, the green in his eyes seemed to leap out at me. “I did quite a lot of scrambling around before I found the cave. Once I did, I cursed myself for not having found it sooner. It’s just nearby.”

“That is a relief. We’ll have to carry her there.”

“I know,” he grimaced. “I suppose I’ll be the one carrying her, unless you feel up to the challenge.”

“It isn’t as though she weighs a ton,” I chastised him. “But yes, it would be better if you did. Though you must be careful not to jar her too violently.”

“Once again, I remind you…”

“I know what you wish to remind me,” I snapped. “And the answer is still no. You will not share your blood with her.”

We stared at each other for a heavy moment, so heavy I forgot to breathe. How could I breathe when it seemed there was no air in the vehicle and the hairs on my arms and the back of my neck stood straight up? How could I take a breath when my heart was no longer beating?

“Why don’t you let her decide when she wakes up, then?” he challenged, raising an eyebrow. “And do not come back at me and say you won’t allow her to come out of this trance, for that is the most ridiculous and pitiful thing I’ve ever heard, and I haven’t even heard it yet.”

My cheeks burned as shame painted my face. “How did you know? Oh, wait. You do not have to tell me.”

“I sensed it in you.”

“I just said—”

“I know what you said, but you needed to hear it. You seem to forget easily that I’m in your head now.”

He couldn’t be too deep inside my head if he blamed me or thought me stubborn or hateful, which was very clearly the case. The disgust which twisted his handsome face into something snarling and threatening told me as much.

And I could not tell him the truth. It would mean risking the fragile peace between his clan and my coven. If I blamed my mother, he would hold it against her.

He didn’t understand how torn this left me. He might have sensed my conflict, but he did not sense the reasoning behind it.

The spacious vehicle was suddenly far too small, too enclosed, too airless. It was indeed a wise decision to find a cave, for I needed to put a little more space between us.

---