Page 86 of Cruel Destinies

Julian cradled the cat closer against his chest. “It’ll be okay. I’ll keep an eye on him.”

“Like when you kept an eye on him as he turned Mrs. Vamp Cat?” I snapped.

“That was one mistake, which will not happen again now that I know the signs.”

I folded my arms. “And yourInitiateis okay with this?”

He shrugged, his gaze falling to the cat still purr-growling in his arms. “She actually wants to be a vampire.”

“Shewantsto be a vampire?”

He nodded, his expression grim. “She and a lot of other people, actually. There’s a whole Initiate program designed to lure in the best and brightest human minds to recruit into the vampire hive.”

“Brilliant idiots.” I sighed. What would a girl who wanted to be a vampire that much do? I had a few ideas, myself—not that I wanted to be a vampire, but the thought had crossed my mind. On more than one occasion.

“I was hoping you’d be able to find the spell that allows vampires to daywalk,” Julian said. “You know, for Rainbow’s sake. I have to put him in the bathroom during the day, as well as his lady friend who’s still suffering the ill effects of the transformation.”

I sat on the edge of the bed again, covering my face with my hands and throwing my head back until I hit the mattress. This was a nightmare. I’d actually turned Julian into a cat person. Except it wasn’t regular cats, it was a monster cat. Or two. AndI’dcreated those monsters.

Which meant they were, unfortunately, my responsibility.

“Do you know where she wrote the spell down?” I asked, lifting my head and peering through my fingers at him.

He smiled. “No. But I’d recognize her handwriting.”

I sat up, resigning myself to this new task. “Okay. Got a few minutes?”

“Yes. I’m not expected back for at least an hour.”

“Then let’s give this a shot.”

I grabbed my bookbag and pulled the book out. I tossed the grimoire onto the bed, scooting up to the headboard to sit. Julian hesitated a moment, but then sat beside me. I almost ragged him for it, but decided against it. I’d take whatever I could get from the vamp. For now.

“So the book is divided into three sections,” I began, angling it so Julian could see. “The first is the simple spells and a little on history and techniques. Obviously, your spell wouldn’t be in there.”

I flipped forward a few pages, the smell of ancient oils and magic tickling my nose. “The second section is a little more advanced, and certain pages are sticky. I think it’s the magic holding them together. It could be in there, but most likely it would be in one of the sticky bits.”

I thumbed forward until I came to a block of pages that were either completely blank or refused to budge. “The third section is completely inaccessible until I can figure out how to unlock it.” I looked at Julian. “Have you done any research on your girl’s family?”

I had a feeling there was some plant-based magic in the mix, but whether it played into unlocking things was hard to tell. If I knew more about what they did or favored, I might be able to start unlocking the grimoire’s secrets.

He shook his head. “I haven’t had the time. And I don’t know how she unlocked it. All I know about Alice’s family is what she told me, which didn’t extend much past the general abuseshe received at the hands of her sisters. Maybe let’s just try the second section and hope it’s in one of the non-sticky areas?”

I nodded, though I had a feeling we’d come up empty-handed. I had never heard of a spell thathelpedvampires, so I figured that one would be buried deep.

Together, we scanned through page after page, but nothing jumped out at me, and Julian didn’t seem to recognize anything either.

“If you don’t mind me asking,” he said, making me notice how close he now was, his shoulder pressing up against mine and his mouth a breath away from my ear. “Just how serious are you and Caesar?”

I looked over my shoulder at him, my insides coiling with the desire for him to come even closer. “Well, after I told him about you, he basically pinned me down and told me I was his.”

He nodded, his eyes not breaking from mine, and the look inside them was impossible to read.

“And, how do you feel about that?” He drew closer, his cool breath caressing my cheek.

My breath hitched. “Like I still really want you to kiss me anyway.”

But he didn’t close the distance between us, just kept staring at me. I could feel those eyes pulling me into a trance, but I resisted the tug, wanting to be fully alert for this moment.

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