Page 45 of The Mating Fire
Jared turned and placed his warm palm over her chilled one.
“They went into hiding to protect you. Tried to live an ordinary life in New York City, a city that never sleeps and where it’s possible to hide in plain sight. They had enough money to keep to themselves, and avoided Others. But you were a curious five-year-old who wanted to go to the playground. You managed to escape the apartment and get out on the street and into Central Park.”
Jared stopped talking and regarded her. “They went after you. It was dark and…”
“Please. No more.” She shut her eyes, the unwilling memory surfacing like bubbling lava in a volcano.
Screeching with delight at seeing the trees and a nearby playground… running away from her parents’ heartfelt pleas to come back to us, come back…
The bad man dressed in dark gray who had been jogging, stopped and looked at her and slipped off the hood of his sweatshirt, revealing jagged teeth in a cold, red slash of a mouth. He raised his hands to summon power, oh, so much power the air crackled with it, and then as she screamed in terror, flung it at her…
“They jumped in front of me and were killed by a bolt of energy. It tore them apart in front of my eyes.” Tears leaked out of her eyes. Harper opened them. Jared had become a blur.
Two warm, gentle hands settled on her quivering shoulders. “Xavier told me Caderyn placed a forgetting spell on you to wipe out your memories so you could be placed with an adoptivefamily. Two Others who were childless and whose powers were fragile. They raised you as their own.”
Harper managed a bitter laugh. “Far from great parents. They were terrible.”
His thumb wiped away tears from her cheek. “They had their own issues. They tried.”
“They were probably afraid of me, afraid of demons coming after them as well. My birth parents… why did this have to happen? What good is my life?”
“Your parents loved you. They sacrificed themselves to protect their daughter from the shadows that would never give up their relentless pursuit, their quest to destroy you before you destroyed them. It’s the greatest act of love a parent can do for a child.”
Jared looked down at her solemnly. “They did it out of love, but they also knew you were destined to come into tremendous power of your own. Magick that could help change the world, fight evil during the darkest of times. Destroy anyone you deemed as evil. Any monster.”
The last sentence he uttered with some hesitation. She wondered why.
Harper sniffed, blew her nose and wiped her face with the paper napkin he offered. “Me, fight evil? I’m not exactly Wonder Woman.”
He tilted his head. “Oh, I don’t know. I think you’d look fantastic in a short skirt and a red bustier.”
She gave a choking laugh, glad he’d regained his sense of humor. “You know what a bustier is?”
“I watch a lot of movies late at night. Insomnia.” He squeezed her shoulder. “You’re going to be okay, Harper Ashley. Trust me. It’s not easy dealing with a shock like this, but you adapt. You survive.”
“I feel like I’m not safe anywhere.”
Jared slid a hand across the back of her neck, his touch warm and oddly comforting. “Nothing will happen to you, not if I can help it. You’re safe here in my castle.”
Safe? From him? Was anywhere safe? Confidence in her powers evaporated. What good was being powerful if a demon could slaughter her? Catch her unaware?
Harper drew in a calming breath. “There’s a big world out there and if I’m meant to use this against evil…” She wiggled her fingers as the coldfire glowed on the tips, “then I need to become a demon-fighting force for good.”
His hand dropped. “Or at least learn how to defend yourself. Small steps, Harper.”
“Guess I don’t have a choice. I have a tough legacy to live up to, my parents saving my life so I can…” She waved her hands. “Save the damn world.”
“Not save the world.” He looked solemn again. “Maybe only a small portion of it. Or one person.”
For a moment she forgot about her own pain and searched his face. Jared sounded odd, as if not talking in generalities. He was too serious. She almost preferred the sardonic, seductive Jared who was easy to distance herself from.
This Jared was the kind of guy you could fall in love with and fall hard.
The idea was almost as scary as the ridiculous notion of her being some kind of Superpowered woman with powers equal to an immortal wizard.
His deep voice interrupted her thoughts. “Harper? Are you all right? You look lost.”
Harper rubbed her eyes. “I was thinking you should start teaching me how to use this magick of mine before another demon tries to slaughter me.”
