Page 74 of Hot Vampire Next Door: Season Five

“She absolutely will not,” Bran says.

I wink at Sam letting her know I’m totally game.

Bran and Cal split the group, but leave us with Arion, Baspin, and Bianca. Once Cal has the numbers he needs, they wave goodbye and slip through the gate.

“We’ll give them about a twenty-minute lead,” Arion explains. “Then we’ll go through and head further east. It’s an old trader’s route and it’ll be overgrown, but it should suffice for getting us around any ambushes and to the palace.”

As we wait for time to pass, I pace back and forth in front of the gate.

This is it.

This is really it.

Looking back, everything about my life was leading to this moment, starting with my mom making the decision to keep me even when she knew I wasn’t hers. Then Julian learning I was something special and shielding me from the other Houses. Rita binding me. Stanley protecting me.

And finally, Bran. Bran who helped me pull back the layers of myself, who stood by my side as I uncovered all of my dark secrets.

Secrets drenched in blood.

But mine nevertheless.

How can anyone embrace who they are without knowing their dark parts? Without knowing their truth, no matter how painful or hard it may be?

“If you have to,” Bran says, watching me pace back and forth, lost in thought, “use your voice. Command with it.”

I come to a stop. “That’s easier said than done. I still feel like my power is like water in my hands. It’s hard to hold on to.”

“Practice on me now,” he says.

I scoff. “I should have used it to stop you from making that deal with Dragon.”

“Draggun,” he corrects with a smirk.

I narrow my eyes at him. “Stop smirking at me.”

The smile disappears from his face. “See?” he says. “Easy.”

“Get on your knees for me,” I tell him.

He tilts his head, jaw flexing with a grit of his teeth as his knees bend and he sinks to the ground. “As much as I don’t enjoy this,” he tells me. “I’m proud of you.”

“Declare your undying love for me. Loudly.”

He sucks in a breath. “Everyone! Listen up! I love Jessie MacMahon more than I’ve ever loved another. She is smart, brave, cunning and bold. And sexy as hell. And when she’s in the bedroom with my c?—”

I rush over to him, clamping my hand over his mouth. I can see the glint of a naughty smile in his eyes. “You’re an asshole,” I tell him.

“You started it,” he says, the words muffled behind my hand.

When I pull away, he rises to his feet and scoops me into his arms. “You’ll do fine, princess. That barely took any effort at all.”

Using my power on Bran when not under pressure is one thing. But I don’t say that. I’m tired of defeating myself before I’ve even begun.

Because I think my voice, my power, might be our best weapon to use against the Summer Queen. And if I fail…

I can’t even fathom what will become of me and Bran if I do.

Episode Ninety-Seven