Once upon a time, I would have said all night stalkers deserve death, but my bond with Kane is really messing with my head. I couldn't bear the thought of anyone hurting him. What scares me the most is I'd let him kill me before I allowed anyone to touch him.
I shiver as that unbidden, morbid thought comes to mind.
"Okay. Should I be safe here? I've still got Castine's locator mark."
I hold up my wrist, and he frowns.
"By now, she's figured out Drackus was there solely for you. She won't mess with you until she's back at full strength. Apparently, that amulet she wears gives her the powers she's trapped from our kind that have used our magic against her. After fighting with Drackus, one who seems to be immune to its magical hold, she's been weakened."
"Why is he immune?" I grumble, feeling a little sick of my father's overwhelming heaps of power.
"Possibly because he's unaligned. The powers that forged that gem were light and dark. They created it directly after the division of magic. That's the only thing I can figure."
Then Thad chimes in. "I know when I called him to tell him Castine had nabbed you, he said he'd handle her with no problem. I don't think he was expecting her to be so strong."
"She had dark user help," I quickly add, filling Thad in on the part he missed.
"Well that's just fucking great. As if her horde of minions weren't diverse enough."
"Tell me about it," Gage growls. "Drackus called to inform me of that bit. Of course I pretended it was news. He wants me to find out which of my people would be dirty enough to involve themselves with her. The guy was a blur. All any of us caught a glimpse of was dark hair."
Speaking of dark hair, I need to find out who Dray is to my father and to Kane.
"I'll see you soon. I need to get going. Stay in Edgebrook and away from Kane's coven. Call me if you need me for anything," Gage murmurs, interrupting my thoughts.
I give him a small, forced smile. I don't want to tell him what I did with Kane, and I sure as hell don't want to tell him how much it has only fed my hunger now. I have to find a way to break the bond.
"Okay, dark boy. Be careful."
He smirks as he pulls me to him, and he plants a chaste kiss on my forehead before vaporizing his exit.
"How bloody cute," Thad snarks. "Leave it to the pierced, tattooed guy to get the girl."
I just laugh, and then I lean against the dresser in the room.
"Well, this girl needs answers. The only place I can get answers is from the night stalker the tattooed, pierced boy just forbid me to see. Care to be rebellious with me?"
He lets out an exasperated gust of air as he drops back to the bed.
"No. Absolutely not. There's nothing you can say or do to convince me otherwise."
"I can't believe I let you talk me into this," Thad gripes as we pull up to Kane's house.
I let a laugh out at the easy-to-fold changer.
"Well, I need answers, and you have to admit you're curious, too."
"About a guy who ties your father to Kane? Not in the least. What I want to know is if your ex-night stalker has any clues as to how long it will take Castine to recover. Your dad will serve me to an ogre if I lose you to her again, so I need to be prepared."
"You didn't lose me, technically."
"He can't know Gage is involved, and I can't keep you safe without Gage's help."
We get out of the car, slowly making our way to the beautiful cabin full of enormous windows. I see Kane with his back to us, unaware of our approach, as he speaks to someone I can't see.
Butterflies form in my stomach, reminding me how much stronger the bond is when I'm around him.
"Why can't Gage be around me? He's only keeping me safe, not that Drackus really cares."