Page 135 of The Midnight Order
“Will I have magic if I… When I… You know?”
“You will. Drinking from the very magical vein that animates someone comes at a cost: eternity. But it gives you great strength, speed, and magic. It’s a curse in its own right.”
“I know.”
She flicks the lights on in the newly finished living room and gasps when she looks around.
Asher and Corvin had finished decorating yesterday, but we hadn’t had time to tell Silver, let alone show her.
“It’s so good. God, I could hire all of you.” Her big smile falls as one of her realities clashes with another.
I reach for her hand. “We’ll connect you to the real world so you can check on things with work.”
She squeezes my hand. “I honestly don’t know if I want to go back or speak to them ever again. So much has changed since I drove into this creepy ass town.”
I can’t help but laugh. “Getting kidnapped by four hard-headed vampires will do that to you.”
“Thank them for all their hard work, will you?”
I incline my head. “I will pass along the message.”
She and I sit on the couch for a while, discussing our pasts and learning to understand one another better.
When I finally bid her goodnight, it was hard to leave. Her presence has a firm grip on me and won’t let go.
When I pass Lowell on my way back to the manor, I clap him on the shoulder and keep moving, knowing he won’t be home tonight.
The oldest Thorngray Vampire is enthralled in his own right, and it would take much more than a drug to cure him.
I’m not even lookingor paying attention to my steps when approaching the manor again. My mind is whirling with thoughts of leaving Silver behind. Even while I know she’s under Lowell’s watchful eye, I don’t want to go home without her looming presence filling the manor that will feel emptier when I enter.
Asher wasn’t kidding when he said she threatened to leave behind memories so strong that we’ll never recover in her absence.
When I feel a nauseating wave of something zap through my body, I finally become alert, snapping my attention to the surrounding grounds, my eyes narrowing as I scan the tree line just in time to see a flash of blonde hair moving like a wisp on the wind.
“What the…”
A gnawing in my stomach settles in. Absently, I run my hand over it, taking off at full speed to chase what I saw.
The scent of the breeze is unmistakable.
The feeling of unease curling into my gut is remarkable.
I am at a loss.
When I’m confident that whatever it was has moved away, I race back to the manor.
I run into Asher first, and for the first time in centuries, I can’t breathe. It’s like everything is pressing down on me at once. It’s as if my world as I know it is coming to an end.
“What’s going on?” Asher holds me up. “Jasper! Look at me!”
My frantic eyes catch his. “She was here. In the woods. She’s watching us.”
“Who?”
“Valentina!” I breathe out right as Corvin walks into the room, his iPad in hand.
He stops dead. “What did you just say?” His voice is deadly, his lip curling over his fangs.
