Pretty When She Destroys (Pretty When She Dies #3)(22)

Chapter 5


Cian sat on the kitchen counter watching Cassandra chopping vegetables with impressive expertise. Aimee had a cauldron bubbling on one burner, while sautéing mushrooms in a skillet on another. Amaliya had rushed off on an errand, so he’d opted to hang out with his daughter and her girlfriend before dealing with any of the problems that had brewed during the daylight hours. He was wearing his favorite Homer Simpson t-shirt and black cargo shorts, which his daughter had found hilarious.

“Oooh, scary vampire,” she had joked when she’d seen him.

Scratching his stomach, he tried to ignore the hideous smell of human food. “So you modeled and went to culinary school in Paris.”

“Yep. But I had to quit because of Mom.” Cassandra’s voice took on a guarded tone instantly at the mention of Galina. “She gets confused easily.”

“That’s what you said,” Cian said, lowering his gaze. It was his power that had plunged Galina’s mind into constant confusion. He wasn’t about to admit that to Cassandra. It had been deliberate. Cian had wanted Galina not to remember the terrible things she had seen. Dr. Summerfield had hid her away and not let Cian know where she was to protect her. Though Cian was still miffed that Dr. Summerfield, who he had considered a friend, had kept Cassandra’s existence from him, he had to admit it was a smart move. The man he had once been may have killed his offspring.

Cassandra pinned him with a warning look. Her mother was a topic she did not discuss with him. They had accidently stumbled onto the subject while discussing Cassandra’s life before she became a thief and vampire hunter.

“And then you were recruited by this man Scott to be a thief?” Cian asked, prompting her away from the matter of her mother.

“Yep. And I did that while also working as a waitress as my cover story. It was pretty lucrative until I got hired to steal a relic in Vegas.”

“Then she ran into me,” Aimee grinned. “Literally.”

Cassandra bestowed a loving look on the witch. “I got lucky.”

“No, I did,” Aimee said, smiling affectionately at the dhamphir.

The two women shared a sweet kiss, then returned to their tasks.

“Frank, the * who had her enslaved to him, figured out what I was, so he set a trap for me.” Cassandra handed off the sliced vegetables to her girlfriend. “Aimee managed to use some of her magic to warn me. So I went in knowing what was up and we basically rescued each other from the jerk.”

“And this is when you broke the blood bond,” Cian said, trying to sound nonchalant.

Cassandra narrowed her eyes, while Aimee nodded. “Yes. I cast a spell that broke it.”

Busying herself with cleanup, Cassandra pressed her lips together, giving her father speculative looks out of the corner of her eyes, which were green tonight, he noted.

“May I ask how?” Cian tilted his head, his attention squarely on the witch.

Aimee finished whipping the eggs before starting to create the actual omelets. Her long hair was braided around her head and she wore a simple brown maxi-dress with lots of sparkling necklaces, bracelets and rings adding color. Cian could see why Cassandra was so drawn to the woman. Not only was she lovely, she exuded intelligence, confidence, and power.

“Cian, I’m a witch. What worked on me won’t work on Amaliya,” Aimee finally said. “The Summoner’s blood made her. His power made her. To completely break the supernatural ties between them may be impossible. Hell, it may kill Amaliya.” Aimee didn’t look at him while she spoke, but concentrated on the egg mixture bubbling in the skillet.

The words she spoke made sense, but Cian couldn’t accept them as the complete truth. “Rachoń and I benefited from age and being apart from him for so long. The ties between us wore down and eventually broke. Maybe you could find a way to accelerate that process.”

“But you’re a regular vampire,” Cassandra said over the running water spilling into the sink. Scrubbing the vegetable knife, she finally looked directly at him. “Amaliya is anything but a regular vampire.”

“Cass, is right. The rules that apply to you don’t necessarily apply to her.”

“You used Cass’s blood, didn’t you?” Cian asked, addressing the one point they were all trying to ignore. “Dhamphir blood breaks bonds.”

“Yeah, between vampires and humans.” Aimee finished one omelet and started on the next.

“And between vampires and witches,” Cian added.

“And maybe even vampires and other supernatural creatures. But a vampire and the offspring he or she created with his own blood?” Aimee shook her head. “I doubt it. It would be like trying to remove your genetics from Cass.”

The father and daughter exchanged amused looks that perfectly mirrored one another.

Aimee slid a plate over to Cassandra along with a fork. “That just proved my point.”

“Can you try to find a way?” Cian tried not to flinch as Cassandra started to eat.

“I’m already on it.” Aimee pointed to the small cauldron. “Amaliya gave me some of her blood tonight before she left. Cassandra gave me some of hers, too. I’ll need some of yours. Sadly, we don’t have any of The Summoner’s.”

Cian slid off the counter, grabbed a knife from the butcher block, and held out his hand. “Take what you need.”