Page 45 of Blood that Burns
“Wasting time?”
“Your attempts to put space between you and Magdalena Drake. It’s destiny, Law, and you and I both know you can’t run from your fate.”
I completely ignore her words. Not because I didn’t hear her, but because I’m tired of talking about fate and predetermined destinies. This is my life, and I’ll do with it what I choose.
“What are you doing here, Shante?”
She lifts the corner of her eyebrow while shrugging one shoulder. “Julian asked me to read some of the new bites’ minds, to see if we could unmask who is behind these latest attacks.”
It’s my turn to raise my brow. Julian might be Crown because of our birth order, but he was always the one that was best suited. He’s brilliant.
“Any luck?”
“I haven’t begun.” She slinks closer to me.
Her long, extravagant robe trails behind. Shante has a style of her own, eclectic and vibrant in color. Today is no exception.
“Lawrence, I’m not your father trying to push you into marriage. I’m simply saying the girl’s blood makes you stronger, and you need that right now. Don’t be a fool. Pushing her away won’t help your cause,” she says, placing her hand on my shoulder.
“I don’t want to hurt her, Shante.”
“Then don’t.”
“It’s not that simple. She has different ideas about what we can and can’t be to each other.”
“And what’s that?” she questions, eyes narrowed in on me.
“She wants more than a simple partnership. She wants a union.”
“You might too, if you gave her half a chance.”
I shake my head. “She’s just a child.”
Shante smirks. “The lies we tell ourselves.” She chuckles to herself, and I level her with alet’s hear itexpression. “Magdalena is no child. She’s a young woman. A beautiful young woman, and you would be so lucky to win her affection.”
“I’d ruin her. Just look around this room.” I motion to my friends, who are still eerily quiet considering what I walked into earlier.
“Oh, Lawrence, my love.” Her eyebrows tilt inward, and she searches my face, hands clasped to my shoulders. Her eyes close and she inhales sharply before dropping her arms and stepping back. “Still browbeaten by your own mind.” She shakes her head. “When will you learn? Your father was wrong about you. You’re a good man. A strong man.”
My eyes cast downward under the heavy weight of Shante’s gawking. “I’m not Julian.”
“You’re right, and he’s not you. You are your own man. No less great. Your brother couldn’t do this without you. You’re stronger together, and you’ll need to believe that if there’s any chance of stopping whatever is going on around here.”
“How do I do that?” The words sound pathetic, escaping from my lips in a moan.
She looks at me warily. “What do you mean?”
I raise my shoulders in a shrug. “You’re the medium, Shante.”
She smiles. “You need to believe in yourself by listening to others. Trust that what they say is heartfelt and honest. Don’t let the world rest on your shoulders. Understand that there is a group of people at your back, ready to fight alongside you. You have to get out of that head of yours, and I think Maggie is the person to help you. Let her.”
I want to heed her advice. I want to believe that this is possible. But all I’ve ever caused is destruction and death. And that’s the one thing I will never allow. No harm will ever come to Maggie. I will avoid it even if it takes me forfeiting my own life.
I haven’t spoken these fears out loud, but Shante’s next words confirm that she heard them anyway.
“Then you’ll damn us all in the process.”
Great. Once again, I’ll be the cause of more harm to the people I care about.
Fan-fucking-tastic.