Page 33 of Pieces of Halves

“You protected Rosie all of her life. I feel like it is only fair that I offer the same to the woman you love,” the prick says casually as he circles me.

Love?The word hits me like a brick wall, my mind scrambling.

My feelings for Izzy are strong, but we have known each other for a month. Standing still, I realize there is nothing I would not do for her. As long as I have her smile and her pleasure, I will be happy.

I am brought back to reality by the dull pain of a punch right in the middle of my chest. My body flies at least a few feet. I land on my back, sand dusting around me. Everything aches from the impact, making me grunt as I get up.

“You haven’t told her yet, have you?” Adrian laughs. The piece of shit has not changed a bit. “Oh, you haven’t realized it yourself yet.”

Everything happened quickly with Izzy and me. Have I had enough time to fall in love? Or are these powerful feelings just in my head – my mind protecting me from everything crashing around me?

“Victor will come looking for her. He is a vile man, but he will want his experiment back. I guarantee that the price he paid to make her was not cheap.” Keeping his distance, he casually circles me. “As long as she is under my roof, she will be safe. You have my word.” He glares at me as I get up.

As much as I dislike the arrogance of him, the man is always hyper-focused on justice. Maybe if I were shunned from a kingdom in the Upperworld as a reject because I believed in choice, I would have a point to prove as well. No matter our differences, Adrian, the Dark One, has honor. I am grateful he is promising her safety. Still, I want to land a good punch on that smug, pretty face of his.

Time to heat things up a little. Collecting my power into my center, I let hot energy travel through my veins.

“What did Victor want to achieve with this experiment?” I eye him while continuing to gather my power.

Adrian has been around for a very long time, and so has Victor. Plus, they are sort of like mortal enemies. It makes sense that Adrain has been keeping an eye on him.

“He did achieve what he wanted.” Adrian smirks. “He created a powerful being. She doesn’t know it yet, but she is strong.” Taking cautious steps around me, he squints his eyes. “Don’t you feel the strength in her? There is something deep inside waiting to burst.”

I scanned her vaguely, but I did not sense anything besides the vampire on her. That’s odd.

“No,” I respond. Keeping my focus on his every move, I turn. “What is exactly her power?”

Fire courses through me, ready to strike at any moment. Keeping it steady, I wait for him to answer.

“Hard to pinpoint. Genetics and all, but I felt force. It was like she could kill with just a gust of wind. It’s hard to decipher when she is not in tune with it. Volatile. Unpredictable.” His jaw twitches as he explains.

My teeth clenched, I try to contain my rage. Victor wanted to make a weapon. How original. It’s disturbing that he chose to do it with his own child.

My power is buzzing within me, ready to explode. I direct it at Adrian. The flames escape my palms, knocking him back. He flies backward, his arms flailing. Taking this chance, I move forward. My fist lands on his cheek with a solid thud. Satisfied, I huff as he tumbles back. He falls to the ground with a grunt.

Damn, that feels good.

Holding his bleeding nose, he gets up slowly. Glaring at me, he sniffles, inhaling blood.

“Your mother is a problem as well,” he states, wiping his hands on his brown pants.

Unfortunately, he is right. My mother managed to convince the fire fairies to help her get the root of Tartus, and it wasn’t by being polite. If she has been hunting vampires for the past twenty-six years, it would not be that difficult for her to add a few werewolves to achieve her end goal.

My hand suddenly burns, creating an unpleasant stinging sensation. Shaking it, I look down with my brows firmly brought together. It looks fine. This has never happened to me before. Frustrated, I growl at the situation. This is not a good time for things to decline.

“I’m working on that.” I sigh and run my hands through my hair.

Andrian’s glare becomes very suspicious as he watches me. He is observant, but he does not meddle.

“Work faster and fix whatever is broken with you.” He motions his hand at me.

“Aw. You care,” I coo.

I am working as fast as I can to solve this problem. It’s not like I enjoy this pain.

“Fucker,” he grits through his teeth.

Ideally, I would love to talk my mother out of this insanity, but I am not an idiot. She left her child for this – she will not stop because I ask her to. The most likely outcome is her death. The idea of killing my own mother is unsettling, but so is having her kill fifteen werewolves and ten more vampires just to create this spell. And if she does get what she wants, then what?

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