Page 94 of Midnight Kiss

That moment of hesitation was enough. Ezekiel leaped toward him and tackled him to the ground.

“No! Alex!” It didn’t matter that he’d lied. It didn’t matter that he’d taken the book.

Alex had come to find me. To save me. To make things right.

I ran toward Ezekiel and jumped on his back, screaming and trying to reach for that strange magic that Karn had injected into me, but it was too late.

Ezekiel elbowed me off his body with such force that I flew backward and hit the wall opposite.

Everything went black.

My eyes opened in an opulent bedroom with a four-poster bed, a desk, and a beautifully upholstered armchair. The large window looked out on sprawling green grass under a gorgeous moonlit night. The room itself was palatial, the finishing in gold. There were two occupants aside from me.

Jacques, the vampire, standing beside that ornate desk.

And then, the Guardian, Sofia, sitting in that armchair, leaning over a book. She examined it, turning the pages.

“It should be burned,” Jacques said.

“Burned? This is the only knowledge we have that pertains to the powers of Guardians. We can’t burn it.”

“It can easily be read. I don’t want others having access to this, Sofia, my darling. It’s dangerous. This type of information could lead to war.”

She appeared to consider it, leaning back in her chair and pinching her chin. Sofia, who looked just like me, who I now knew would dive off the balcony and plummet to her death. Chills ran up and down my arms at the thought.

“Then we store it elsewhere. In an item,” Sofia said. “We transcribe the knowledge into something using your powers.”

“Which item?”

Sofia reached up, touching her fingers to the necklace at her throat. It was a gorgeous necklace, with a ruby crystal at its center, all in gold. She stroked it. “This,” she said. “Then it will be with me forever.”

I cast my mind back. Had she gone over the balcony with the necklace? I couldn’t remember. I’d been so afraid …

“Very well,” Jacques said. “We’ll imbue the necklace with the knowledge and burn the book, but that will be it, Sofia. You will need to study the contents of this book if you want to practice your Guardian powers with any strength.”

“I can do that. How much time will you give me, my love?”

Jacques peered at the book. “A week.”

“Very well. You’d best leave me alone then.”

But he lifted her from the chair and swept her into his arms with ease. Sofia giggled and squirmed, and he laid her down on the bed, lavishing her with kisses and sweet whispers.

I ignored them. Granted, it made me blush that I’d witnessed their intimacy, but I was more focused on the book. It lay open on the table.

I went over to it and peered at the words on the page.

Of all the gifts a Guardian is privy to, the one that is most advantageous for vampires is their ability to heal those who are grievously wounded.

A Guardian, even unbonded, has the ability to heal through touch and intent alone. And if?—

The words continued on the next page, and I reached for the book, touching my fingers to it. It dissolved underneath me, the scene fading away into nothingness, and the knowledge I wanted so close yet so far from my reach.

32

ALEXANDER

Emily lay on the floor in a heap, unmoving.