Slayer(96)

“What?”

“Cillian wants me to come over and watch Eurovision. Odd request when he was technically dead a couple hours ago.” I pause. “Oh, you don’t know about that. A demon attacked him. I think it’s the same one who got Bradford and Cosmina. Our working theory is succubus. Do you think the text is a code? He needs help but can’t say? No, he would never use Eurovision lightly.” My phone buzzes again.

Everything is fine. Bunk off and come over right now. Rhys wants you to too.

Kind of busy, I text back.

Stop being busy. Or be busy here.

I’m with Leo.

Perfect! Bring him.

Cillian has Rhys to watch over him. They don’t need me. And Leo’s not quite right—the world might end. It tries to with aggravating frequency. One of these days, I could be the girl behind it.

Leo keeps looking over his shoulder like he’s expecting someone else. “We’ll go to Cillian’s, then. Check up on him. We can talk there.”

“No, Rhys is there, so Cillian’s safe. We have bigger problems. Sean and Honora attacked my mom and took Doug back to Dublin. My mom’s going after them. I am too. You can tell the Council. What’s left of it, anyway.” I turn toward the castle again.

“No!” Leo dances around me, blocking me. “Let’s go talk with Rhys and Cillian.” He glances over his shoulder again.

“Is someone else coming?”

“Nope. Let’s go.”

“Why aren’t you listening to me?” It stings. Leo is the one person who has listened to me this whole time, without fail. “Sean and Honora were here when Cillian was attacked. Bradford died the morning Honora showed up and was distracting us. Cosmina messed up Sean’s pit fight. I have to confront them.”

“No.” Leo is vehement. “It’s not your problem.”

Now he sounds like Artemis! I glare. “Umm, it definitely is. It’s my responsibility to protect the Watchers.”

“It’s not your responsibility, though.” Leo huffs in frustration. “They don’t need you.”

I step back, folding my arms. The sting of his words has turned to a deep cut.

He hurries on. “Besides, you have your whole life ahead of you. It’s hard to see, because you’ve been in between for so long. I understand . . .” He tips his head back. “God, I understand what it is to be two things at once, and at the same time not quite either.” He reaches out and takes my hands, fixing his eyes on mine. “You’re trying so hard to prove you have a place here. But you don’t need to. Please. Let me clean all this up for you. Let me redeem myself that way. I swore I’d protect you.”

His cool fingers slip between my own and he takes a sharp breath. His dark eyes clear of their distraction. They burn now, like coals breathed back to life. And then, before I realize what’s happening, he kisses me.

It’s like the first shock of diving into a cool pool on a summer day—bracing and delicious. He lingers, his lips over my bottom lip. “Run away,” he whispers. “Right now.”

I pull back, startled. I daydreamed this exact scenario more times than I could count back when I was thirteen. And if I’m being honest, maybe a few times since Leo returned. I laugh, but when he opens his eyes, he’s not laughing.

“Get Cillian and Rhys. Jump in Cillian’s car and go. Don’t ever look back.”

“And do what?”

“Anything!”

Why does everyone want me to leave? The thrill of the kiss has gone right back to pain at his words. “This is my home, Leo. Besides, are you going to run with me?”

“I can’t,” he says. “I have to—”

“Exactly. We all have things we have to do. I’m part of this too.”

“But you shouldn’t be.”

I flinch. Even my Watcher thinks I can’t handle being a Slayer. I thought he was the one person who really saw me. Maybe he is. And this is his conclusion: that I should leave it to the people who are capable. The ones who matter.

I untangle my fingers from his.

Dawn is here. That liminal space between night and day has broken, and with it, my reignited dream of being with Leo. The black of the trees overhead is slowly fading to reveal orange and brown. Soon the forest will wake up in a crisp salute to the changing seasons. The trees are gnarled and ancient, growing close together over the carpet of ferns.

Easy to get lost in here. And easy to hide. I’m done hiding.

Leo sighs, his face falling. He pulls out a phone. “Change of plans,” he says into it. “Meet me on the south end of Shancoom.” I edge around him, but he sticks out his arm, holding up a finger for the universal wait a sec symbol. “Yeah. I’m bringing her.” He pockets his phone, then gives me a tight smile. “I need you to come with me.”

I take a step back.

He takes a step forward. “I’ll explain when we get there. But we need to go. Now.”

I take another step back. My mind spins, turning to things I don’t want to consider. “Where were you this morning? You said you were going to stay in my room. And then you were gone.”

“Another thing I’ll explain. Trust me.” He holds out his hand.

I want to take it. More than anything. I want to kiss him again, to get lost in it. To luxuriate in the miracle of Leo Silvera wanting me. I want to walk through the woods holding hands, go hang out with Rhys and Cillian, turn this whole mess over to Wanda and Ruth and Eve.