Page 10 of Of Flame and Fate
“Is it?” Celia asks. “Each species would die for their kind and their leaders, even when their leaders may not be righteous.”
Good Ol’ Sparky gives me an involuntary twitch, making me almost lose my balance. She’s not happy, probably because one of those non-righteousweresate her predecessor.
“Sorry,” Shayna offers.
I don’t miss how she forces her attention away from me and Celia. I may have lost an arm, but Celia lost far worse.
In the quiet that follows we surrender ourselves to our thoughts, none of them good, and maybe some worse than others.
Quiet isn’t something that we welcome when we’re together. It’s too lonely and dark there. Perhaps that’s why Emme, our light, is the first to speak.
“There was a lot of damage to your leg,” she says. She keeps her head down and tucks a strand of her wavy blond hair behind her ear. “It took a lot for me and your body to heal you. You’ll need to eat and rest soon to recoup your energy.”
“I know. But I’m too wired to sleep and the last thing I want is food.”
I slip my toothbrush back in the holder, trying not to focus on my out of control hair in the mirror. The hair wins, giving me pause and letting me really see how ragged I appear. My dark waves are coated with leftover desert sand and blood. My dark blue eyes are streaked with ugly red lines from lack of sleep. Dry blood coats my legs, reminding me of the smack down with the demon and that sing-song knife, too. Man, the last seventy-two hours have sucked. Yet they don’t compare to the fear I feel every time I think of something happening to Celia.
I should be used to the danger. All of us should. Except none of us signed up for this shit, and if anyone deserves a smaller helping it’s Celia.
Regardless of all the madness and muck I encountered, I smile at Celia’s pregnant belly. There’s ababygrowing inside of my sister, a little miracle that brings me a kind of happiness I’ve never quite felt.
I’ve never been goo-goo, gah-gah, over babies, and I’ve never wanted any children of my own. But I’ll admit, my ovaries gave a little twitch when I learned she was expecting.
“Taran, I don’t want you working for Misha.”
Oh, and there goes my smile. “You did,” I remind her.
“That was different,” she tells me. “Everything’s changing, and too much is wrong with the world.”
I run cool water over the washcloth. “Ceel,” I say, wringing out the excess. “You joined vamp camp during the biggest supernatural war to ever transpire.”
“It was a dangerous time,” she admits. “But as bad as it was, this is worse.”
I dab at my cheeks. “Why? Because you’re carrying the first of what might be many kiddos to tip the scales on the side of good?”
“No, because I won’t be able to keep you safe. Not this time, Taran.”
The extent of her vulnerability hits us harder than it should. Celia was always the protector. Always. But I was a close second and it’s time for me to step up to the plate.
It sounds ridiculous in a way. When the ancient power of Tahoe began luring supernatural beings into the area, and said species began losing their shit—first the witches to power, and second the vampires to a supernatural plague—I was the first to pack our things and throw them in the car. I begged my sisters to leave and tried to convince them to flee someplace safe.
Our problem is, we’ve never been safe.
Through no fault of our own, us Wirds were born “weird”. We were cursed with magic meant to kill us. Well, peeps, the curse backfired, making us different from all races of human and supernatural, stronger than most beings in existence, and ultimately targets.
“Don’t you worry about me, Ceel.” My gaze falls to her belly. “Worry about you and junior.”
“Not at your expense,” she tells me.
She echoes Gemini’s words, not that I need to hear them. It’s not that they don’t affect me. But like with Gemini, I don’t want to argue with Celia. So I ignore her words as best I can, despite how each plea slaps me across the face and demands I pay attention.
Gemini, makes it a little easier. He returns, his rage as evident as it was when he left. He leans against the wall, the intensity behind his aura threatening to chip the tile.
I toss my stiff, disgusting hair. “You’ll excuse me, won’t you, girls?” I ask. “I need to tidy up and look good for my man.”
Emme scurries out as if she can already picture us naked. Shayna throws her arms around me, hugging me fiercely. “I’m glad you’re okay.” She pauses, whispering low. “Next time, you’re taking me and Em with you.”
She exits quickly, her ponytail swinging merrily behind her.