Page 100 of Dark Flame

Carina gathers the three to take to the garbage nearby. “Nah, not for another five hours or so. We’ll start close to midnight.”

“Speaking of”—Jasper gathers his phone, shoving it into his pocket—“I need to get going. I agreed to meet up with Colton, Jackson, and the others beforehand. Want to come?”

And meet more people? Morgan said she’d introduce me at the ceremony, and I’m not sure I’m mentally prepared to meet anyone prior to that.

Thankfully, Carina senses my anxiety and saves me. “Your asshole friends will drool all over coven royalty, so hell no. Besides, Mom’s kinda hiding her until tonight, doing it all at once.”

“Colton’s been asking about you,” he comments to his cousin, who immediately scrunches her nose.

“Been there once. Actually twice. I’m good. Not again.”

Jasper chuckles. “Suit yourselves. I’ll see you both later.” He tips his head to me in goodbye and walks away, getting sucked up by a family walking nearby.

“Besides,” Carina starts once he’s out of earshot, “it’s nearly dark.”

The sun is a barely there crest. By the time I get back to Morgan’s, it’ll likely be set. The enchantment on the basement will be lifted, freeing Alec, who’ll undoubtedly come for me.

“I can walk you back, if you want. Or we can keep exploring town. We have hours to kill.”

Although I don’t want to be rude and turn down the continuation of her tour, Alec will interrupt regardless. I still don’t understand his moods, and I wouldn’t want Carina to be caught in the crosshairs.

“You mind if I go back?”

“Sure thing.” She stands with me, her mouth opening and shutting twice before she begins walking away. She doesn’t ask whatever she obviously wants to, and curiosity starts gnawing at me.

“What is it?”

“I get you don’t remember me, so I didn’t want to pry. Just wondering how it works, that’s all. A vampire and a witch. Does he…you know?” Her eyes flick towards my neck, which is hidden by my hair.

Checking to ensure no stray humans are close by, I slide my hair away from my neck and remove the enchantment on my wrist so she can see both marks.

“Shit,” she curses, but stares with curiosity over disgust. “Did it hurt?”

“No, it felt…nice.”Pleasurable. Sexy. Blissful.But she’s right. Considering I don’t know her, going into details like this feels a bit much.

It shouldn’t have been.

If life were different, Carina and I would probably be very close. Talking about personal things would be normal. My chest twinges, wishing we were like that. Being homeschooled and kept away from anyone but the neighbours on either side of us, I learned to entertain myself and hide any personal issues. Not that there were many, considering what in my life could have led to drama? I wasn’t given the chance to have typical, human, high school experiences.

“Huh.” Her curiosity breaks out into a smile. “Can’t wait to meet him.”

“You could come with me,” I offer. “He won’t hurt you.”

“That sounds—” She stops when her phone vibrates and glances down at the incoming message with a groan. “Actually, Mom needs a favour. I gotta get materials from the shop.” She thumbs behind her. “You can come, unless you’re still stuck on seeing your vampire boyfriend, which honestly I’d choose over chores.”

I laugh, finding Carina’s easy personality infectious. “Thanks, but I’ll go make sure he’s okay. How should I get to the ceremony later?”

“You have a phone?”

“Somewhere. Left behind when Alec kidnapped me.”

“Okay, be at Mom’s house at 11:30 p.m., and I’ll come get you from there.”

“If you give me directions, I’m sure Alec can find it by scent. A gathering of witches in the forest probably won’t be hard for him to miss.”

Her brows fly into her hairline. “Never thought of that. Kinda cool.” She rattles off decently descriptive directions, gesturing through them. “If you’re not there by 11:45 p.m., we’ll find you. Tracking one of our own in a place this tiny isn’t hard. You good to return to Mom’s alone?”

“I think I got it.” But just in case, I point in the direction I think I need to take, recalling the path Morgan took me on. Carina confirms and we split, her heading deeper into the town while I head towards the residential area.