Page 84 of Dark Embers

Dread ran my blood cold as I stared at it again, realizing what it was saying. The spell usedlife essenceto revive the plant. That would explain my fatigue. How much time did I lose? Was the life essence something that regenerated, or was it something you could use up? And if it took some to revive a plant, how much more would it take to revive a human?

“Maybe there’s a workaround.” I flipped through the pages, but I could only get so far before it felt like they were sticking together. I’d encountered this before but hadn’t paid it much attention. But now, I needed more info. I needed to dig deeper.

The grimoire wasn’t going to yield its secrets so easily. I had to be careful, trying to get past the wards. Witch curses were notoriously horrible.

Despite the dangers, I found the thought of cracking this thing open exhilarating.

“I should call Julian.” Screw waiting for him to contact me. I'd been patient enough. Besides, he'd said to let him know as soon as I’d discovered anything. This had to qualify.

“Sedjed ka,” I said before I had the chance to chicken out. The familiar ringing sensation prompted me to conjure thoughts of Julian. I smiled as I thought about how he'd react.

“Julian, it's Shea,” I said when I felt the connection take. “Witch girl?”

“Shea?” Julian swore under his breath, though the words still carried through the connection clearly. “Where are you?”

“Oh. Um, at your apartment?” Maybe this was a really bad idea.

“Stay there, I’ll be right over.”

“Okie-dokie.” I closed the connection, then panicked. How long did he mean for me to stay? Was he close by? And out during the day? That didn’t make much sense. Vampires couldn’t go out in the sunlight.

“Crap, the curtain!”

If he was upset that I wasinhis apartment, then he'd be pissed to find that I'd ruined one of the few things he owned. I’d meant to try to fix that, anyway, but had forgotten amid the excitement of the roses.

“Come on, come on, come on!” I muttered as I flipped through the pages of the grimoire. “Ah!”

The spell for mending cloth came into view, and I put my finger on the spot to help guide me through the incantation. I ran through the words once in my head to make sure I had it right.

“Khepri ifed.” The hole in the curtain came together, but the sides weren’t even, so it puckered. “No! Not like that.”

I scanned over the page again, and found the one for patching holes, hoping it would fix it rather than making it worse.

“Hetem remy—ack!” The door opened before I could finish the spell, and my lack of concentration sent the fabric to puckering further, the spot turning a bright green color that started bleeding up the curtain like a vat of dye.

I stepped in front of the curtain, my cheeks burning as I faced Julian. “You got here quick.”

Julian raised a brow. “Vampires are known for their speed.”

“Right.”And for being incredibly attractive.

He was even more handsome than I remembered from our encounter in the alleyway. And something about the way he was looking at me sent shivers racing up my spine. Something inside me screamed, “Danger! Danger!” But for some reason, the thrill his eyes ignited overrode the fear.

“You shouldn’t be here,” he said, grabbing the note from the counter.

“Sorry. I just, I don’t really have anywhere to practice at home. I thought—”

Julian put the note back down, unopened.Not even a peek?“That’s fine. I meant you shouldn’t be in Chicago. There are vampires.”

I put my hands on my hips. “You think? There’s one standing in front of me right now.”

Julian barely batted an eye. “Can you get back home before dark?”

“Of course! Don’t you want to know why I called you?” I threw my hands in the air, letting them flop back down to my sides.

“Yes, but quickly, though. I don’t want anyone to know about...any of this.” Julian went to the fridge, and I put a hand over my mouth, hoping and praying he wasn’t about to open it.

“Ooookay. See the roses?” I said, my voice muffled by my fingers.

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