Page 57 of Reckless Witch

“Her relationship with Cordero?” Raith repeats in a deadly cold voice. “She put a stake through my heart and left me there for Cordero to find.”

“She didn’t—”

“She did,” he snarled.

“We have known Ciarah for millennia,” I say. “She has never truly done anything to hurt us.”

“You’re the one lying to yourself,” he says. “People change.”

I give a slow nod. “Yes, they do.” I start to turn, then stop and add, “If any harm comes to her as a result of your actions—or inaction—I’ll make what she did to you seem like love play.” Without another word, I stride from the room.

Chapter Twenty-Five

LEILAH

Prisons

Heads turn as Blade and I walk across campus. He has given me his shirt, which hangs down far enough to cover most of the blood stains on my pants, and his jacket. Of course, Blade is left in a tank top. The temperature can’t be above thirty-five but, being kin to nature, fae aren’t easily touched by the elements. He has stuffed his hands in his jeans’ pockets but, otherwise, gives no outward indication he feels the cold.

Female passersby—and a couple males, I notice—openly stare at Blade. And why not? The damned tank top lays bare his muscled arms and emphasizes a taut torso that I could probably bounce a quarter off. Oddly, bouncing quarters isn’t what I want to do. I want to wrap my arms around him, press an ear to his hard chest and count the beats of his heart. Does he agree with Raith? Does he believe I’m no good? I can still hear the quiet click of the door when Raith left. Why did they bring me here? That obsidian energy ball I called forth to fight the green demon. Obsidian. I’d never called forth energy that dark.

“Leilah.”

I start and snap my eyes up to Blade’s. He lifts a brow and my heart jumps. God, did he read my mind? “What happened back there?” I blurt, then inwardly wince. Great cover, Leilah.

“Raith saved your life,” he replies.

“I’m not in the habit of drinking blood. How did he get me to do it?”

Blade gives me a sideways glance. “There’s no shame in liking it.”

I flush. “That’s not what I asked.”

“Vampire blood is…good stuff,” he says.

I stare. “You drank his blood?” I wasn’t sure whether to be disgusted or fascinated.

“Drinking from female vampires is just as pleasurable,” he says.

Three twenty-something girls pass, their eyes glued to Blade’s chest. His eyes remain fixed on the path ahead and I find I’m a little surprised. He clearly finds me attractive. Why not them? No way he can have any real feelings for me. A wave of self-consciousness washes over me and I suddenly feel like that starry-eyed seventeen-year-old girl who fell in love with the local bad boy she’d met on the streets. That love affair had been doomed from the start. Never mind Alec was ten years older than me, and that my commitment issues set the relationship on a path to crash and burn. Which it did in spectacular style when I bound him with magic to our bed and left him there.

“Who might want to kill you?” Blade asks.

I grimace. “What, no sweet talk before you ask a girl who hates her enough to kill her?”

His mouth twitches in amusement. “We could have dinner and discuss the matter. I promise to ply you with lots of wine and tell you how beautiful you are before we get down to business.”

Something in the way he says get down to business sends a shiver down my arms. “I’m serious,” I manage in a level voice.

“Hmm,” he intones.

“What about that girl—what’s her name—Hanson. Jennifer Hanson,” I ask.

“Jennifer?” His amusement vanishes. “She wouldn’t have the courage to make an attempt on someone’s life.”

“People can surprise you,” I say.

“Indeed, they can.”