Page 46 of Snow's Charming
“To us getting out of this mess and finally becoming mates,” Sylus said as he clinked his glass against mine.
I smiled at him as I drew the amber liquor to my mouth. The liquor slid down my throat smoothly, to my surprise. Whiskey was my first taste of alcohol.
Scotch was now my second, and my guess, given how smooth the taste was, was that this Scotch wasn’t cheap. Kids my age were getting used to wine coolers or beer, and here I was, relishing the hard and damned expensive stuff.
I liked the Scotch because of the familiar scent. Dad drank whiskey when he was with his brigade. The memories of them all gathered around a card table inthe middle of our living room swelled within me as I took another sip.
A silver mist formed on the bar top after I placed my glass down. A book with a green tattered leather cover appeared next to the tumbler. Armand slammed his glass on the table.
“That’s Raven’s Book of Shadows. She’s in trouble!”
“Armand, wait—it could be a trap. Let me go with you.” Zhang said. But before he could get the sentences out of his mouth, Armand had vanished.
“Zhang, I’ll go with you,” I said as Zhang summoned his staff.
“Princess, Accius wants to kill you. I won’t place you in harm’s way.” Said Sylus as he reached for both my hands, kissing each knuckle.
“Then we go together, Sylus. We are stronger together with that shield. We can help not only Zhang but also passersby. If Accius hurts humans, and I wasn’t there to stop it, I’ll never forgive myself.”
“As much as it pains me to say this, Sesi is right. If Accius is battling Raven and Armand out in the open, I’ll need the extra firepower to protect any mortals from stray energy balls. Take my hand. You both are coming with me,” Zhang said.
I clasped his hand just as white and blue balls of light surrounded us. Within seconds, the penthouse was gone, and a blue dumpster in a New York City alley came into my view.
“You will not allow those abominations to procreate!”said Accius from the opposite end of the alley, sailing an energy ball at Raven. The energy dissipated into a fine mist the instant Raven blocked it.
“You don’t have the authority to decide who lives or dies, Accius.”
“But that is where you are wrong. The Common Trifecta Law applies to her.”
“How do you figure that? She’s a shifter—sounds pretty simple to me.”
“Her lineage comprises shifter, witch, and vampire blood! That’s why they cannot procreate.” Accius said, throwing another energy ball in Raven’s direction.
“What in the gods’ fresh hell are you on about now? She is not a vampire. Therefore?—”
“The abomination has the trifecta in her blood. It’s the reason she has the power to heal, resurrect, and shield her pack from harm with the alpha. All three magical races’ genes can be passed on to their children. We cannot let that happen. They must die, and along with their pack, to keep the balance of power in check.”
“I swear you think like my Boomer grandma. This isn’t the 14th century, Accius.” Raven said as she held his energy ball in midair and chucked it back in his direction.
My eyes widened at the conversation. I’d just learned I was a shifter less than a week ago. I learned I had a witch bloodline minutes ago, but now? Now I’m told I’ve got vampire blood in me too? What the fuck? How was that even possible? From what little I knewabout paranormal folklore, vampires couldn’t procreate because they were, for intents and purposes, already dead. At least their human parts were, anyway. So, having a kid was impossible. Zhang must have read the confusion on my face and patted my shoulder.
“Accius is wrong about the vampire lineage. Well, sort of. You are related to vampires, but only when they were human.”
I crossed my arms, sucked in a breath, and shook my head before responding to what seemed like lunacy at this point.
“In the future, Zhang, you and I are going to have to sit down so you can explain this all to me. I’m having a hard time wrapping my head around the whole shifter thing. The rest is giving me a headache. Raven is right—what is this fresh hell? I swear the next thing you are going to tell me is that I’m related to Armand.”
I wasn’t sure why I blurted out his name. Perhaps it was out of nervousness, or maybe it was a lack of knowing what I was talking about. But then I noticed the look on Zhang’s face before Accius noticed us. A look that told me I was in fact related to the powerful vampire whose twin was the King of the Vlad Clan of Vampires.
“What?”
My voice came out mousy and a little inaudible.
“If he will not tell you, Sesi—I will! You are related to Alec and Armand Christianson, who are powerful vampires and masters of the black arts. They helped tobind your powers with Raine when you were little because they were the only ones who could. You need a relative to do a binding of that magnitude. To make it simple for you, blood was exchanged. Therefore, you are a trifecta abomination and must be vanquished at all costs.”
Accius shot rapid-fire energy balls my way, and if I weren’t so pissed at my family for keeping so much from me, I probably would have cowered to Accius. Instead, my shield grew to a five-inch thick fortress, housing Zhang, Raven, Sylus, and Armand.
“You are doing great, Sesi—keep it up!”
