Page 68 of Burn Falls

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I lied. I didn’t want to lie to her, but I wasn’t used to this. The two humans who knew I was a vampire hadn’t freaked out when they’d learned the truth, and all the others I’d compelled to forget.

“Don’t lie to me!” she yelled.

“Sweet—”

“Please, Draven. Just tell me the truth.”

“Can I do this when I’m not driving?” I pulled into her parking spot at her complex and threw the car in park. Calla flung the door open, and I quickly moved to her, grabbing her arm after getting out of the car. “Careful. You might still be lightheaded.”

She jerked her arm free from me.

“Calla,” I said, trying to plead with her that I wasn’t the monster she thought I was.

“You’re cold.”

“You know this.”

Calla grabbed my wrist and held two fingers to where a pulse point would be.

“Please, let’s just go upstairs,” I pleaded.

She closed her eyes and nodded. Once we were inside, and the door was closed behind me, she asked, “If I asked you to leave, would you fly out the door?”

Even though I knew she’d figured it out a while ago, hearing that question confirmed it. I closed my eyes for a second and then whispered, “More dragged out by an invisible force.”

Calla took a step back and crossed her arms over her ample chest. “Is your name even Draven?”

“Yes.”

“I thought that was your middle name?”

“It’s my real first name.”

“So your name is Draven Young?”

I paused for a moment. “No. My name is Draven Delano.”

She took another step back as though she had no idea who I was.

“Please,” I begged again, “don’t be scared of me.”

Her eyes grew wide, and her heart started to beat faster in her chest. “Wait. Did you … Did you kill my father?”

“What? No!” I roared.

“But—”

“I was in Anchorage on duty when the attack happened. You know this.”

She let out a breath to only quickly gasp again. “Was it Athan?”

I took a step forward, and she stepped back again. “It wasn’t Athan. We don’t know who it was.”

“How don’t you know?”

“Because I’m the onlyonein Burn Falls.”

“One what?” We stared at each other, and I realized she was no longer scared. She was angry. “Say it, Draven. Tell me what you are!”