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“Josie’s too smart to fall for this. You’re going to regret it. When Sebastian gets wind of this, he’s going to snap your neck.”
Summer laughs. “Then I can join my husband, both of us dying at the hand of a vampire. Seems ironically fitting to me. You see, it’s a win-win.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
JOSIE
My concerns about searching for Finn during the sunlight hours become moot because it takes over an hour for Rune to talk Sebastian off the ledge. I didn’t mean to make things harder for him by suggesting he feed from me. I genuinely believe it will ease his more carnal and dangerous urges.
I’d rather offer him my blood with Finn or Rune there to help if things get out of hand than have him go feral and rip my throat out.
And as he stared at me in the library, that’s exactly what he was fighting against. It was obvious in his scarlet eyes, in the tension of his rigid muscles, when he locked himself down, and in the snarling growl that tore from his chest.
Sebastian is at constant war within himself, and very soon, something will set him off and he will be more dangerous than he’s ever been.
But for now, focusing on finding Finn helps.
Our Celt is obviously better at tracking the emotions of our unity bond than me, Rune, and Sebastian, but after a long and circuitous route through the city, we end up on the street of my family home in Tremé.
“Is he hiding in your house?” Rune asks, his face scrunched up as if he’s trying to work out a particularly tricky puzzle.
I shrug. “Maybe he wanted some distance but wanted to stay close to me?”
Rune pulls into the driveway and shuts the car off. When I stand out in the night air, I feel Finn close. I also feel my phone ringing in my pocket.
The screen shows an unknown caller, so I hold a finger up for Rune to give me a second. “Hello?”
“Hello, Josephine, this is Summer.”
Rune makes a face, obviously picking up the conversation with his vampire heightened hearing.
“Hey, Summer. What can I do for you?”
“That’s exactly why I called. Are you missing something? Or should I say—someone?”
A wave of unease washes over me as I hustle up the porch steps and pull out the keys. “That’s a very specific question. Why are you asking?”
When I open the door, Sebastian blasts past me in a blur.
“Because I have the Celt and will happily let him return home if you do me one small favor.”
Sebastian is back from searching the house and shakes his head.
“And what’s the favor?” I ask.
“Drop out of the running for high priestess.”
“What?”
“You heard me. Tomorrow, before the last trial starts, I want you to withdraw your name.”
“That’s not going to happen.”
“You had no plans to become high priestess. You were only in town for Claudette’s funeral. Go back to where you came from.”
I realize as she says the words, that’s exactly what I’ve done. From the moment I stepped out of that airport, I knew I was finally home. New Orleans is in my blood and always has been. “This is where I came from, and I’m here to stay.”
“Fucking right, you are,” Rune whispers.
