Wicked Soul (Ancient Blood #1)(49)
Wait on delving deeper into my suddenly-appearing magical power? Yeah, that sounded pretty all right. One supernatural disaster was enough to focus on at a time, and at the moment, the skinwalkers kinda had priority.
“Yeah, sounds good. But, uh… one question.” I drew in a deep breath, steeling myself. “How does one become a witch? Where does the magic come from? Is it hereditary? Like, were one of my parents…?”
Joana shook her head. “No, it’s nothing like that. It’s tied to the soul, not the blood. Your parents can be the dullest accountants west of the river, but you could still catch the spark. And even then, you could live go your whole life with no sign of it. Maybe a few moments of deja vu, a dream of future events now and then, a strong sixth sense, but no real magic.”
“But why me?” I hadn’t meant to ask, but the denial that it could be hereditary made the question burst past my lips before I could stop it. I’d hoped…
But of course that was just a silly child’s dream. Any little girl who’d been abandoned by her father would wish there was a reason, or at least some mystical tie that would one day lead her to him.
My mom always said my dad walked out on us because he didn’t want to be a father anymore. Hoping he was a great witch hiding from evil vampires was probably too much to hope for, when Mom’s explanation was the far likelier.
“Your path is going to be long, Liv. And maybe you’ll find the answer to that question one day—but not yet. We have to focus on the skinwalkers, and on forging an alliance with the vampires, and you’re our only link. We can’t risk that. Not now.” The redhead gave me a sympathetic look.
“So hang tight until war’s no longer about to break out before I go on any spiritual navel-gazing journeys?” I grimaced. “Gotcha. Don’t worry, I’ll get Warin to meet with you. As much as he might dislike witches, I’m sure he’d rather focus on getting rid of the skinwalkers in his territory.”
A small gasp escaped Joana's lips and she stared at me, eyes wide. “Warin? Warin Waldlitch? The Night Lord?”
“Uh, yeah. Is that a problem?” I hadn’t really realized Warin’s fancy vampire title might bleed into my day-to-day life, and seeing the complete shock on Joana's face at the sound of his name was unexpected. But then again, I guess getting cursed by a witch wasn’t really day-to-day for me, either.
“No, that’s—“ She blinked again, appearing to shake herself out of it. “That is potentially fantastic. Please bring the Night Lord at Isla tomorrow night. We will talk more.”
I watched Joana leave the staff room, hoping this meeting was going to go as both she and I hoped. Because if not… there was still plenty time for me to regret this curse. I patted my chest where I’d last felt the swell of magic from within, hoping Warin would see it for the opportunity it was.
15
“What exactly do you mean, you ‘met with a High Priestess’?”
Oh, boy. The dangerous quality to Warin’s voice and his narrowed eyes as he glared at me from across the sofa made me fidget in my seat. So far my “he’ll totally see this as the greatest idea since bagged blood” idea wasn’t in line with reality. He’d been in my apartment for a grand total of five minutes before I’d mentioned my meeting with Joana—leaving out the curse aspect as a fun surprise for later—and I was already starting to regret it.
“Calm down, okay? It was the logical thing to do. The witches—at least this coven—want to get rid of the skinwalkers too. We can work with them. They’ll have valuable insight we couldn’t get without them.”
“There are ways of getting information out of an enemy without aligning yourself with them! Have I not made myself clear, Liv? They are dangerous! You are not to be around them, let alone make deals with them!” Warin’s nostrils flared, and for a moment he looked more predator than human, eyes dark and upper lip curled in a snarl.
Unfortunately for him, even in the face of this much anger, I wasn’t afraid of him. I was, however, getting mightily pissed off at being bossed around.
“Stop talking to me like I’m your goddamn property!” I got up from the couch, rounding on him. “I see and speak to exactly who I want, and you need to stop treating me like I’m some idiot who needs to be protected from her own stupidity! We need the witches on our side, and if you weren’t so goddamn prejudiced, you’d see it too. You want to avoid a war? This is the way we do it.”
Warin stared at me. Then, slowly, like a stalking panther, he got to his feet and walked the two steps to stand in front of me. Power, the full extent of his presence, wrapped around me in a dark caress that should have been intimidating, but it just made the blood in my abdomen pulse harder.
Dammit. Down, girl, down!
“You will let me protect you. You will not question my will on matters concerning your safety, and you will stay away from these witches. Understood?”
Warin’s voice was a low growl, gravel wrapped in silk, and it sent a shiver down my spine as my nipples tightened to aching points underneath my shirt, and my mind hazed while uninvited images of what it’d be like if he spoke to me like that under different circumstances flashed through my brain.
Oh, holy wow, why was it so fucking hot when he went all bossy vampire on me!? I shook my head to clear it from the hormonal fog and crossed my arms over my chest, partly to close myself off and partly to hide my traitorous nipples.