Chapter 10

Clutching two cups of my special spiced rum, I joined Talisen on my bedroom balcony. “Here.”

He wrapped one of his big hands around a mug and eyed the deep purple bruise on my arm. “What happened?”

The concern lining his face touched me deep in my core. My kick-ass-and-ask-questions-later bravado vanished, and I started to shake.

Talisen gently tugged my hand, pulling me down next to him in the cushioned wicker love seat, his arms encircling me into his safe embrace. “Shh, it’s okay, Wil. Everything will be all right,” he whispered, stroking my hair. “I’m here now and not going anywhere.”

Unable to hold it in any longer, I choked out a sob and sank into his strong arms. God, two crying jags in less than two days. What the hell had I come home to? We stayed huddled together, Talisen murmuring soothing words until my eyes finally dried.

“I’m sorry,” I mumbled, wiping my face with a tissue. “I didn’t mean to do that. I couldn’t…”

He smiled. “It’s okay. That’s what big brothers are for.”

Since Beau’s death, Talisen had tried to fill the empty hole my twin had left. But no matter how close we got or how much I cared about him, he could never take Beau’s place. He knew it. I knew it. Both of us wanted to believe otherwise.

I mustered a weak smile. “Thanks.”

A sense of peace started to ease through me as Talisen cupped my cheek. His lips quirked into a lopsided smirk. “Of course, as your brother, I don’t think I should have the sort of thoughts I’ve had about you from time to time.”

I laughed and leaned back. “Way to ruin a touching moment.”

He shrugged and a lock of sun-kissed, light brown hair fell across one eye. “Anything to see that gorgeous smile.”

My heart skipped a half beat, the way it always did when he started flirting, even though I knew he didn’t mean anything by it. Tal behaved the same way around all women. He was an equal-opportunity flirt. The moment was so familiar, so comfortable, I slid off his lap and leaned against his shoulder, curling my fingers in his. “How do you do it?”

“What?”

“Make everyone around you trust you completely. Look.” I pointed to his feet. “You even have Link snowed.”

Talisen glanced at the Shih Tzu and reached down to pick him up with his free hand. Link licked his face once before settling on his lap. “If you recall, I bribed him with copious amounts of raw beef when I was here last spring. As for you and the rest of the females you’re no doubt talking about, it’s obviously my good looks and irresistible charm. Not to mention the magic-infused eilat stone I plant on anyone I want to exert my powers over.”

I started searching my pockets. Talisen was a fae gifted in crystal magic. An eilat stone could hold his power and wield any kind of energy he wanted to infuse it with. When I came up empty, I narrowed my eyes at his amused expression. “What? It’s not like you haven’t done it before.”

He shook his head, his lips twisted once again into a smirk. “When we were twelve.”

“Yeah, well, I haven’t forgotten.” One summer day, I’d followed Beau and Talisen the two blocks to the beach. At first I’d kept my distance, spying on them, convinced they were there to practice water magic, which we were all strictly forbidden to do without supervision. But after watching them throw a baseball for half an hour, I finally emerged and demanded they let me play.

They refused. When I wouldn’t leave them alone, Talisen suggested I cool off in the ocean…naked. An odd, complacent sensation had washed through me, and I’d instantly started unbuttoning my dress. Thank goodness Beau had stepped in, demanding Talisen revise his command. The last thing Beau wanted to see was his sister naked. I still ended up in the fifty-degree ocean, freezing my wings off. And my dress had been ruined.

“You deserved it,” he said.

I snorted. “Probably, but if you two hadn’t ditched me all the time, I wouldn’t have been nearly as annoying.”

“Again, we were twelve.”

“Yeah.” I sighed. If I could have Beau back, I’d gladly relive the times when he and Talisen had tormented me relentlessly as only a brother and his best friend could.

“I miss him, too,” Talisen said quietly, stroking Link.

“I know.”

We were silent for a moment. Then Tal lifted Link off his lap and set him on the ground. Shifting to catch my eye, he caressed my fingers, still clasped in his. “Now tell me, what has you so depleted?”

“Huh?” It took me a second to register he meant my energy level. Tal had a healing gift. He’d probably known as soon as we’d hugged I wasn’t one hundred percent. “Oh, I’m just tired. It’s been two very long days.”

He raised a skeptical eyebrow and passed me my cup of spiced rum. “Start at the beginning.”

I took a long sip. What could I say? My work at the Arcane was classified. Leaking information to an outsider wouldn’t get me fired; it would get me locked up. But only if Maude found out about it. I tilted my head, gazing at the man I trusted most in the world. The only one besides Beau I’d ever truly given my heart to. I didn’t give a damn about Maude or the Arcane. With the information I’d learned, I needed to tell him for my own sanity. Needed him to know about my secret life, especially after learning a vampire had killed Beau. I could never live with myself if I kept him in the dark and that’s all it really came down to.

I took a deep breath. “I can sense vampires.”

Once I started, I didn’t give Talisen a chance to speak. The words poured out, starting with the unexpected discovery of my new talent, my induction to the Arcane, Maude swooping in right after I signed my contract, the threat to my well-being, being partnered with David, and on to the discovery of Daniels’s death.

“See.” I stared at my clenched hands with anger and helplessness consuming me. “If I hadn’t discovered the Influence, that kid would still be alive. Damn Maude! This is exactly why I didn’t want to produce it.”

Talisen lifted my chin up with two fingers, forcing me to look at him. “Because you were afraid a dumb kid would get messed up with vampires over it?”

“Yes.”

He frowned, his lips forming a thin line.

“Okay, not exactly. I never wanted to produce it because it’s dangerous. Forcing people to do things against their will is evil. You know how I feel about that.”

“You think someone forced this kid to get involved with vampires?”

“No, that’s not what I meant.” I stood and paced the balcony. “Something I created resulted in the death of someone just starting his life. Allcot even said he killed the kid to help me.” Though Eadric must’ve had his own reasons for ending Daniels’s life. He was entirely too self-serving for me to believe otherwise.

Talisen leaned back in the loveseat, casually draping his arm across the back. “Wil, how is this different from drug dealers using cold medicine to make meth?”

I opened my mouth, but he cut me off.

“It isn’t. Influence is important to law enforcement. Think of all the criminals they’ve caught by using it and all the innocent suspects who’ve been exonerated due to your drug.”

He was right, and I knew it. Influence was used in criminal trials and by court order. It wasn’t a truth serum per se , but when used, if the witness was ordered to tell the truth, they did. A lot of falsely convicted criminals had been released after it went to market.

Talisen continued. “And what about its uses for hospitals? It’s used to help calm patients, get them to follow doctor’s orders. Your drug has been a miracle breakthrough in natural weight loss.”

Also true. One prescription of Influence, followed by an order to follow a strict diet, and people didn’t have to have invasive surgery to lose weight. They did it on their own and in the meantime established healthy habits.

“That’s different. All those people choose to take Influence under careful supervision so they aren’t taken advantage of.” I stopped pacing and crossed my arms. “You aren’t talking me down from this one. I’ll still blame myself, no matter how you spin it.”

He sighed. “You can’t be held responsible for the mistakes other people make. You don’t think this kid knew he was playing with fire when he went to work for vampires?”

“Not all vampires are evil.” I winced, realizing Phoebe had made the same argument just yesterday.

“No. But I’m sure he knew dealing Influence wasn’t the safest career move.”

I hated when he was right. Everything he said was true. But I couldn’t help feeling responsible. What if Daniels had been forced into it? Threatened, or just desperate enough for some reason or another. I didn’t want any part of it. The world survived before Influence, it could survive without it.

“You can beat yourself up all you want,” Talisen said. “But the truth is, Influence exists. It isn’t going to go away. Other faeries and witches are already trying to duplicate it. Hell, the university is working on something similar. If you bow out, you’ll have no say in how it’s controlled.”

Maude had made that all too clear when she’d forced my hand into producing the drug. My lovely aunt had even copied the formula and had come up with her own recipe. A deadly version, if the administrator wasn’t careful. That alone had been enough to convince me.

“I know. But it doesn’t make it any easier.” My voice cracked with emotion.

Talisen rose and pulled me into another hug. This time his left arm found the deep bruise gracing my right side. “Ouch.”

“I’m sorry.” He pulled away, his forehead creasing as he frowned. “You’re really hurt.”

I wrapped my arms around myself. “It’s nothing.”

“Nothing? Is that what you call this?” he asked, gently pushing the sleeve over my elbow.

“It was…David,” I stammered and squeezed my eyes shut. When I opened them again I met Talisen’s blazing eyes. I rushed to explain. “But it’s not his fault. I mean, he didn’t mean to do it.”

Talisen stared at me in horror. Suddenly he yanked the door open and stalked across my room toward the stairs. He’d almost made it to the first step before I caught him. “Wait!”

“Are you kidding me?” His voice rose with each word. “When did you turn into the whimpering victim? I cannot believe this. It’s not his fault? He didn’t mean to?” He spat the words out.

I grabbed his arm. “Let me speak before you go all crazy macho fae on him.”

He gritted his teeth and pulled away.

“Please, Tal. Give me a minute, and then if you aren’t satisfied, I promise you can stake his ass to the wall if you see fit.”

That got his attention. He turned back, arms folded. “One minute.”

A jagged breath escaped my lips. “It really isn’t his fault. He doesn’t know he hurt me.”

His face turned to granite.

“Holy hell. I’m doing a terrible job at explaining. Look, I told you I can sense vampires, right? Well, there’s something else. If they touch me, even just brush up against my skin, it hurts like I’ve been beaten with an iron wrench.”

“An iron wrench?” he asked in disbelief. His eyes narrowed as if he was trying to determine if I’d lost my mind.

I nodded and crossed my arms over my chest. A wrench on its own was bad enough, but an iron one? Yeah, iron sucked the life energy right out of me. Double whammy. “I got this bruise tonight,” I said, pointing to my arm, “while David was trying to protect me from doing something stupid at Allcot’s place. He held my arm down so I wouldn’t touch something. He didn’t intend to hurt me.” I raised my arm for inspection.

Talisen leaned closer. “Jesus, Wil. He doesn’t know his touch does this to you?”

“No. I didn’t want the word to get out to any other vamps.”

He nodded and tugged me toward my bed. “Good. Lie down. I have something with me that can heal this.”

“Healing crystals?” At his nod, I laughed. “Didn’t I already tell you crystals are for amateurs?”

“And once again, I’m going to make you eat those words, Rhoswen. Now let me get to work.”

I fluttered to my queen-sized bed in the enchanted oak and waited while Talisen scaled the trunk. Fae spent a lot of time in the woods. Climbing for him was as natural as flying was for me.

“Show-off,” I muttered, lowering myself onto my stomach.

“Can’t let you think I’m going soft.” He produced a canvas bag and rummaged through it until he found his crystal of choice. Amethyst.

I smirked. “I should’ve known. The cure-all.”

He leveled me with a glare. “Do I question what materials you use to concoct your edibles?”

“All the time. Wasn’t that you who bugged me nonstop in my mother’s lab the whole time—?”

“Okay. You’ve made your point.” He shifted, catching his foot in the comforter and losing his balance. His hand made contact with my back as he stabilized himself.

I hissed in a sharp breath, pain seizing my already battered spine.

“Sorry, did I hurt you?”

With my eyes squeezed shut, I shook my head.

Talisen said nothing and shifted again. I opened my eyes to find his shut tight and his arms stretched out above me, his beautiful hands clutching two dark purple crystals. Watching him draw on his magic was fascinating. Power seemed to glow beneath his skin, giving him an ethereal tan, his muscles tightening as he focused.

The graceful strength of his body heightened his natural beauty, and I couldn’t help but wonder if I’d ever looked even half as good as he did when he worked his magic mojo. I always envisioned myself resembling a day laborer in the fields while I tended my plants. Judging by the amounts of soil I washed from my hands, face, and garden apron, I knew my suspicions were close.

His hands came down, lightly caressing my back. “What happened?” he asked again.

“Huh?”

His fingers glided back and forth underneath my wings, barely touching the tender area. “Willow.” Impatience laced his tone.

Crap. “Another vampire incident.”

“David again?” He barely concealed his anger.

“Yes, but I already told you it wasn’t his fault.”

“You either need to tell him about this new…ability or stay the fuck away from him. Your whole left side is beat to hell.” His fingers slid under my shirt, leaving traces of tingling magic on my skin.

I shivered as goose bumps rippled down my arms.

“Sorry,” he whispered and increased the pressure of his touch. “Didn’t mean to tickle you.”

“It’s okay.” Telling him I wasn’t ticklish didn’t seem like the best idea under the current circumstances. Talisen had healed my injuries more times than I could count, but being with him, alone and on my bed, evoked fantasies I hadn’t entertained since we were teenagers.

Stop it. Talisen is like a brother. Sort of.

Not really, but he’d been Beau’s best friend, and that meant we’d never explored the harmless flirtation we’d shared for the last nine years. I knew if anything ever went south between the two of us, Beau would’ve taken my side. It’s what twins did. It wouldn’t have been fair to risk their relationship when Tal was never serious about anyone for longer than a month.

I figured he’d never made a move for the same reason. Now that Beau was gone, a romantic relationship was still out of the question. I never wanted to mess up the closest connection I had to my brother.

I just needed to remind my traitorous body of that fact. And soon. Talisen’s healing touch sent shivers of desire through my sexually deprived body, and I swallowed the moans rising from the center of my being. Forget the bruises. I wanted to feel his hands everywhere.

In my lust haze, I became aware of his fading magic as he moved on to a full back massage. My breath quickened and my wings tingled. His fingers kneaded steadily down my spine. Unable to hold back, my wings flickered in pleasure.

He chuckled, low and satisfied, moving his fingers from my back to glide delicately over the tips of my wings. I arched my back and flexed, pressing the sensitive tips into his touch.

“Excuse me,” a strangled voice interrupted.

Link bounded in from the balcony, growling and pacing in front of my door.

“Crap,” I mumbled and sat up, adjusting my shirt back in place. I’d been so engrossed with Talisen, I hadn’t even noticed David approach. In fact, I barely felt him now. Had Talisen’s magic dulled my senses? No, the tension between us moments ago had been anything but dull. I was just worn out. A good night’s sleep in my oak would cure me. “What?”

“Phoebe called. She needs us to meet her in Midtown ASAP.”

“She called you?” I jumped down and strode to the door.

He nodded toward the desk. “Check your phone. She says she tried you first.” He glared over my shoulder. “Looks like you had other things on your mind. I’ll meet you downstairs after you compose yourself.” David stalked back out of the room, his boots echoing on the stairs.

I glanced down and winced. A button had come loose, exposing more than a little bit of cleavage. The see-through lace bra I’d chosen that morning wasn’t helping matters. “Damn it.”

Talisen laughed.

“What’s so funny?”

“You. You’re cute when you’re flustered.”

“Stop. Just stop. This is your fault.” I stomped toward my closet. Then I remembered David had emptied it and changed course toward the freestanding canvas wardrobe in the corner. Talisen watched as I picked out fresh jeans and a tank top, my standard autumn uniform for hunting vampires. “Stop staring.”

“Can you blame me?”

I rolled my eyes but smiled as I locked myself in the bathroom. Goddess help me. Having David and Tal in the same house wasn’t a good idea. Not a good idea at all.