Ian laughed. “Aiden could have broken our bond the moment it happened, but he hasn’t because it’s against the vampire law to do so.”

I considered whether he was lying or not. There was no way it was true. Aiden would break the bond if he knew how. I wouldn’t let Ian get to me by badmouthing Aiden.

“Ask him,” Ian said with a shrug of his shoulders. He sat on the park bench and rested his arm along the back, his fingertips caressing my shoulder. I leaned up and out of his grasp.

“Aiden wouldn’t do that. He wants to help me,” I argued.

“I did not conjure this dream to talk about Aiden. You will see I am right when you talk to him tonight.”

“How did you know…” I let the sentence trail off. I didn’t like that Ian knew my plans.

“There isn’t much you can hide from me, little witch. I also know the witches want to go to war with the vampires, and Holly is using you as her personal weapon. This aggravates me, since you’re mine.” Ian looked off into the distance, his jaw tightening with his anger. I didn’t like the way he thought of me as his or that he cared enough to get angry about my problems.

“I’m not yours! You’re a monster. You kill my kind, a parasite, nothing more,” I told him.

His eye twitched and the hand that rested on his lap balled into a fist. I began to speak again, but Ian held up his hand to stop me. “Be very careful about what you say next, little witch,” Ian warned.

I remained silent. I wasn’t in a position to taunt a sadistic vampire who could wield magic. Until Kye taught me how to use my magic in different forms of reality, I couldn’t hurt Ian.

“Good girl,” Ian smiled. “Now, I can’t repudiate the horrible things I’ve done, but like everything else in the world, there are two sides to every story. I have reasons for what I did, and soon you’ll find out what those reasons were.” He moved closer to me on the bench. His arm wrapped around my waist and pulled me closer to his side. His other hand grabbed mine, and he brought his lips to my neck, his breath warm against my skin. A shudder ran through my body.

“I could have killed you; it would have been so easy. Your blood is one of the strongest I’ve tasted, little witch. If I am a monster as you say, why haven’t I killed you? Why do I worry when you’re anxious or upset? Would a monster be so interested in its prey?” Ian pressed a kiss to my neck, and against my better judgment, I closed my eyes from the feel of it.

His mouth moved up my throat and around my chin, finally settling on my lips. A whirlwind of panicked butterflies erupted in my stomach as I tried to turn my face from his. But he didn’t let me go; his tongue slipped inside of my mouth and swirled with mine.

I sat up in my bed panting like I’d just run a marathon. My fingertips went to my mouth, my lips still wet from our kiss. Either I had been licking my own lips in my sleep, or Ian or I actually kissed.

Jumping out of bed, I headed to the bathroom—I needed water. I turned the faucet on and cupped my hands to bring the cold liquid to my mouth. I splashed some on my face as well and hoped it would snuff the panicked heat whirling in my body.

I stared at my reflection in the large mirror over the sink. I looked pale, and my dark brown hair was a tangled mess. My blue eyes were wide with worry. I inhaled a deep breath and released it slowly. Running my fingers through my hair, I noticed something had fallen out. There on the stone floor were two pink petals. Bending down, I picked them up and rubbed them through my fingers. Magnolia petals, the same petals floating on the pond. It was a dream, but I was able to bring things back with me. Not only did I have to worry about Ian trespassing in my mind, but now he could show up in my dreams.

I had two hours before the sun set, and I could see Aiden. I didn’t believe what Ian said, but a small part of me wondered. I needed see him. I brushed through my hair and ran downstairs and to the kitchen. My stomach was in knots, too nervous to eat. I grabbed a cup of coffee and absorbed the heat.

“How’s training going?” Fiona asked.

I jumped not seeing her sitting at a corner table with Ethan. My mind was too occupied with Ian and Aiden to notice her. Ethan half turned and looked at me. He was good looking, but a little too preppy for my taste. He wore dark khaki’s with a blue dress shirt tucked in. His light brown hair was cut stylishly, and he was currently glaring at me. He looked like he could model for J. Crew or attended an Ivy League college.

“Good,” I answered Fiona and walked over to where they sat. It had been awhile since Fiona dated anyone, except for when she dated Ian a few weeks ago, but that was more of a spell than love at first site. I didn’t like the way Ethan looked at me, like I was a bug to be squished. I’d probably be getting a lot of those types of looks from my kind. I was the witch who was dating a vampire after all.

“What are you two up to?” I asked to break the uncomfortable silence. I hadn’t seen much of Fiona since she met Ethan, or at least that’s what I told myself. I had the strange suspicion she was avoiding me like I was last year’s fashion. I didn’t have proof of it, just the underlying feeling of doubt.

“Ethan and I are attending the Midnight Magical. Are you going?” Ethan grabbed Fiona’s hand from across the table, and Fiona smiled wide. They were the perfect couple, at least in the looks department. They were the type of couple who would live happily ever after behind a white picket fence with two kids and matching BMWs. A small part of me was jealous of them, of how easy they could be together.

“I’m heading to Seattle for some shopping, I don’t know if I’ll be back in time,” I told them. The Midnight Magical was thrown every Friday night. It was a convention of sorts where we could learn about magic, spells, and even get our fortunes told by the seers. A dance took place in the castle’s large ball room with an assortment of all kinds of foods. I attended one when I was sixteen, but I wasn’t in the mood to party and rejoice with the other witches and warlocks about killing vampires.

“Oh, by yourself?” Fiona asked, her tone saying she knew I was up to something.

“Yes. I just need some time away from Moon.”

“Well enjoy tonight because training for the war starts tomorrow,” Ethan said. I turned to leave and Fiona and Ethan began whispering back in forth like junior high kids.

4

I called my shop, Broomsticks, to speak with Penny on the cab ride to Seattle. Until recently Penny was my only employee. She was nineteen but already more responsible than even me sometimes. Before I left for Moon, I promoted her to manager and hired one other girl, so she’d have help. Sales had dropped enough to put a dent in my bank account, but Penny assured me she was working on something huge for the store.

“How’s Jillian doing?” I asked as I watched the scenery out of the rain splattered window pass by. Jillian was two years older than Penny and had seemed hesitant to take orders from someone younger than her.

“She showed up ten minutes late today, but I didn’t say anything. I kind of wanted to see if it was on accident or if she’ll make a habit out of it,” Penny said.

I rolled my eyes, there wasn’t a lot of time to interview potential sales clerks before I left, but I hoped Jillian would do until I got back—if I got back.

“Thank you, Penny. Keep notes on anything you think deserves my attention, and if it’s not working out, I’ll find someone else,” I told her.

The cab driver slammed on the breaks, and I hit my head against the window. I let out a silent curse and peeked between the seats to see why he nearly gave me a concussion.

“What happened?” Penny asked with concern.

“Just a minute.”

I scooted to the edge of the seat and stared out of the windshield. Two cars had collided and caused a small traffic jam. A pale thin arm hung out of one of the broken windows and blood seeped down the side of the silver car. The other vehicle had slammed into the passenger’s side of the silver car. Its driver stumbled out holding his head and crunching broken glass under his sluggish footsteps.

“Shouldn’t we call the police?” I asked the middle aged cab driver. His eyes found mine in the rearview mirror and he scoffed. “Lady, I have other people to pick up tonight. I call the police we’ll be answering questions all night.” He looked at the horrific scene before us and then back at me. “Besides, I’m sure someone else called the police already.”

I shook my head at him and told Penny I’d have to call her back. Supernaturals always got pinned for being monsters, but the cab driver was very much human and just as much of a monster as the bad supernaturals.

I really needed to see Aiden, like right now, but I couldn’t ignore the two injured patrons. I threw a twenty in the front seat. “I’m calling the police. Maybe you should take a trip to Oz and ask the wizard for a heart, jackass.” I got out of the car and soon the traffic moved enough that the cabbie left my insult in his rain soaked dust.

I flipped the hood on my jacket over my head, but its defenses against the rain were pathetic. “Are you okay?” I yelled to the man. He was staring at the ground, teetering back and forth. I walked over and could instantly smell the alcohol like he’d bathed in it. “You should sit down,” I told him, afraid he’d pass out and hit his head on the asphalt. I dialed nine-one-one, though I wasn’t sure of our exact location, Moon sat about fifteen minutes outside of Seattle, but I wasn’t paying attention before the crash.

I gave the dispatcher all of the information and hoped they’d get here soon. I wasn’t sure how bad the people were and it was raining buckets. The man was soaked and with the temperature being only in the forties, hypothermia was a possibility. It might not have been the smartest idea to jump out of the cab in the middle of the night during a thunderstorm. Maybe I should take my own advice and ask the wizard for a brain.

I walked over to the silver car and looked inside. A young girl, probably no older than eighteen, sat bloody and unconscious in the driver’s seat. A large cut on her forehead trickled blood down her face and matted with her brown hair. Broken glass lay in her lap and the arm that hung out of the window had a large gash.