Page 14 of Dance of the Phoenix (Cloak of the Vampire #3)

Aileen

Ragnor waited for me outside the cafeteria after lunch for our afternoon training session. He was leaning against the wall, talking with another man, a gorgeous bronze-haired, golden-skinned Adonis—his Lieutenant, Magnus.

Every vampire that passed them by on their way in and out of the cafeteria seemed transfixed by the sight of the Lord and his Lieutenant chatting casually out in the open.

I felt almost embarrassed when I walked toward the two, sensing multiple pairs of eyes landing on me when I came to a stop before them.

“I’m here,” I said lamely, drawing both men’s attention. I flushed slightly as the feeling of being watched grew stiflingly worse. “Can we go now?”

Ragnor nodded impassively and said, “Let’s go.”

To my surprise, Magnus followed us toward the exit. He kept on following us even when we were already outside the warehouse, nearing Ragnor’s SUV.

I paused then and turned to Magnus. “Are you coming with us?”

He gave me a blank look and said, “Yes.”

My heart fell, and my stomach churned in disappointment. I wanted to have Ragnor to myself. I was barely seeing him with this whole Hecatomb shit as it was, and every time we did, we were arguing.

But after witnessing Jada and CJ going through a major relationship crisis, I realized how good Ragnor and I had it, and I wanted to make amends. I wanted us to go back to how we were before everything started going to shit.

Before I stupidly let him know I was still hiding something from him.

It appeared today would not be that day, unfortunately.

Magnus took the passenger seat, and I let myself into the back seat. When we hit the road, Ragnor suddenly said, “Aileen is a Sacred.”

I froze.

From my seat behind Ragnor, I could see Magnus’s profile. His face went slack with shock as he whipped his head toward me. “What did you just say?”

“You heard me,” Ragnor said with a tired sigh. “The point is, you’re coming along with us so Aileen can experiment using her powers on you.”

Magnus’s confused gaze turned to Ragnor. “How many people know?”

“Three, including me and you,” Ragnor said, and I could feel his rising tension even without seeing him. “The other one is Atalon.”

“Huh.” Magnus leaned back, a deep frown on his far-too-impeccably-perfect face. “So. You’re not going to tell me what power she has.”

Ragnor shook his head. “Just like I won’t tell her about yours.”

Irritation made me speak before I could think. “You know that ‘she’ is right here, right?” I snapped, folding my arms as I turned to look at Magnus. “You’re Gifted, aren’t you?” I remembered someone telling me that the Lieutenants of every League were always Gifted.

But to my surprise, Magnus shot me a smirk and said, “I used to be.”

“Used to?” I repeated, frowning.

His smirk turned into a Cheshire cat grin. “I know, right?”

“Stop toying with her,” Ragnor murmured before he said, “Aileen, what I’m going to tell you must not leave this car.”

“Don’t worry,” I muttered, feeling somewhat bitter when I added, “I’m good at keeping secrets.”

Ragnor snorted. “Don’t I know it,” he said lightly, but there was gravity in his words. A heaviness both of us could feel. But he broke the slight tension by saying, “Magnus is a Sacred too.”

Now it was my turn to be shocked. “Seriously?” I said, looking at him. “But doesn’t that mean you have to become a Lord? Why are you still a Lieutenant?”

Magnus arched his brow. “Why are you not a Lady, too, then?”

I opened my mouth to speak before silently closing it, thoughts running through my head.

Did my being a Sacred mean I had to be a Lady eventually?

But Magnus wasn’t, though I didn’t know how long he’d been Sacred, since he said himself that he used to be Gifted, and I knew Gifted could become Sacred after a few centuries of living, but still . ..

“Aileen.” Ragnor’s voice brought my eyes to the top mirror.

His gaze met mine before he turned it back to the road.

“Not all Sacreds become Lords. While it is mandatory for a Lord to be Sacred, some Sacreds prefer to live under the radar, keeping their true status to themselves. Granted,” he added, “almost no Sacred chooses this path. Most Sacreds would rather not have to answer to anyone, thus they become Lords of their own Leagues.”

“I’m special.” Magnus grinned and winked at me. “I’d rather have our Lord here order me around than have to be responsible for others in return for freedom. Can you imagine?” He widened his eyes comically.

A chuckle escaped me. “Yes, that sounds like a true nightmare indeed.”

Ragnor scoffed. “I feel like you’re taking a dig at me here,” he said, before adding in a murmur, “Ungrateful brats.”

Magnus snorted and teasingly pushed Ragnor’s shoulder. “Shut up, old man.”

“You’re almost as old as me,” Ragnor told him as he nudged his shoulder back with far more force. “So you shut up.”

I burst out laughing. I’d never seen Ragnor acting so childishly.

It was beyond refreshing. In fact, it made him seem the age that he appeared to be—in his late twenties.

And Magnus too. I’d never talked to him like this, let alone seen him freely express his emotions not just in front of Ragnor, but me too.

Soon we arrived at Ragnor’s town house, and we settled in the living room this time. Ragnor and Magnus pushed the two sofas to the walls, creating a spacious area for me to train in.

Ragnor turned to Magnus. “Once we start, you may feel certain pains you cannot fathom.”

Both Magnus and I frowned, but before I could speak, Magnus said, “All right.”

Ragnor then faced me. “When you’re ready, do it.”

I didn’t need to be told twice about what to do. It was self-explanatory. So I closed my eyes, and with a force of will, shouted inside my head, Stop !

Pain exploded behind my eyelids, and I sucked in a breath, forcing my eyes open. Magnus stood there frozen while Ragnor walked toward me. “Hold on,” he told me quietly, “and hit him.”

I gritted my teeth as I willed my legs to move toward the Lieutenant. Once I was right in front of him, I raised a shaking fist and sent it into his midsection. He was immobile, the impact unseen.

Ragnor nodded and said, “Now kick him.”

I didn’t have the capacity to feel sorry for the helpless Magnus with all the pain pounding in my head, so all I could do was oblige. I shot a kick to his shin before the pain suddenly became unbearable and I lost my balance, falling down on my ass.

And just like that, time slipped out of my control, and without me even thinking anything, it resumed on its own.

Magnus grunted and staggered back, glancing between Ragnor and me with bewildered eyes as he cradled his stomach. “What the hell?”

Ragnor smirked. “I have to say, it’s quite satisfying, seeing you so confused.”

Giving him a filthy look, Magnus rubbed the places I’d hit and narrowed his eyes on me. “Whatever your power is, I didn’t even see you moving,” he said with a hint of awe.

Then he stretched his hand toward me, and I took it, letting him help me up on my feet now that my own pain had subsided. “Sorry for that,” I murmured, massaging my temples. “But for what it’s worth, I have to suffer when I use it too.”

“And I guess you’re not going to tell me what it is,” Magnus said.

Ragnor didn’t reply, and when I turned to look at him, I saw his gaze on Magnus, who was still holding my hand. Heart jumping in my chest, I shook Magnus off and quickly said, “So what now?”

As his eyes narrowed, swirling with emotions that made my heart race, Ragnor said, “Let’s do it again.”

Once Magnus and I were ready, I stopped time once more and bit my lip as the pain returned.

Before I could move, Ragnor was suddenly in front of me, his hands cupping my face, forcing my eyes to lock with his glowing ones.

“Keep holding on no matter what,” he said, and before I could question him, his lips crashed against mine.

The kiss shocked me so much I froze. Thousands of thoughts exploded in my head, causing the pain to rage on even stronger.

I groaned, needing him to step away so I could gather myself and keep holding on to time, but then his tongue flicked against my lower lip, causing me to gasp and him to deepen the kiss in return.

My entire body melted as I grabbed his shirt and kissed him back, heat burning every fiber of my being. The pain was a nuisance, but the more he kissed me, the less I could focus on the pain.

Lust poured through me as he ravished me, his hand fisting in my hair while the other arm grabbed me, pulling me closer and tighter to his body. I shuddered, melting against him as his kiss turned even more ferocious, as if he couldn’t get enough and, in all frankness, neither could I.

It felt as if we hadn’t touched each other in ages, and the sudden hunger I felt was all-encompassing.

But as abruptly as he started it, Ragnor ended it, stepping away from me, causing me to sway desperately forward, needing his hands on my aching breasts, flicking my pebbling nipples, cupping the blazing heat between my legs ...

Then I saw his face, saw the anger and frustration there, and I froze once more. And when he said, “Don’t ever let another man touch you,” it was as if he poured a bucket of ice all over me.

My eyes widened as my lips parted. “What?”

But just then, with his touch gone, the pain returned with a vengeance, reminding me it was still there, and I cried out, pleading with it to be released .

Time resumed, and I fought for breath, needing some sort of reprieve. I walked to one of the sofas and sat down, wiping the perspiration on the skin of my forehead with my sleeve as I closed my eyes and leaned back, sighing.

“Um, I don’t feel any pain this time?” I heard Magnus say, confused.

“Consider it your one pass,” Ragnor murmured, his voice lowered, laced with a threat that confused Magnus but made tension spread through my body.

I had so many things I wanted to say in response to that, but I was utterly depleted of energy. I’d somehow managed to stop time for much longer this time. It had been at least twenty seconds, all thanks to Ragnor’s distracting kiss, and now it took its toll.

But his words rang in my head as I recalled the look on his face when Magnus helped me up.

What the hell was up with Ragnor now? Why was he so jealous all of a sudden?

There was no reason for him to go all caveman mode on Magnus for daring to grab my hand.

Did he really think I was interested in anyone else but him?

I opened my eyes and turned to look at the man in question.

He and Magnus were chatting in quiet voices, their faces serious.

I knew we were having a hard time right now when it came to trust and keeping secrets, but I thought that at least he had enough faith in me to believe I wanted him and only him.

I’d told him I loved him, even after everything he’d done to me, for God’s sake!

I was reminded of CJ and Jada just then. Their fight back in the kitchens. How Jada felt about the looming Hecatomb and CJ’s participation, and how this thing seemed to have ruined their relationship beyond repair.

While our situations were different, I couldn’t help but think that the fate of my current state of affairs with Ragnor would not lead to a better outcome.

Perhaps the fact he considered me his, that he was crazy enough about me to get jealous, should’ve made me happy. But in the end, it only told me one thing.

Unless Ragnor knew all my secrets, he would forever doubt my loyalty.