‘He should be here at any minute. I hope Kelsie stays sober until then,’ Quentin muttered, placing a small kiss down below my collarbone. I relaxed automatically, enjoying his attention. ‘I booked a table in the local restaurant. You girls want to join me and Julia later?’
‘Yes, of course,’ Kate said. ‘Chris hasn’t had a decent meal in ages. He has been working so hard to get all his paintings out on time.’
Kelsie was already on her third glass of champagne and smiling at a tall, dark-haired waiter. ‘Yep, I’m in, as long as you are paying, handsome,’ she said.
‘Yes, the meal is on me, and now if you please excuse me, ladies, I just saw a person that I need to speak to urgently. Time is money.’
Then off he went, with the look of determination of his face. Quentin had this superior ambiance around him and I liked that he always considered me in his decision-making process. I didn’t know much about art, but I was learning fast and he was patient with me.
‘So I see that the romance is evolving. Before you know it you’re going to be married.’ Kate chuckled, rolling her finger around her purple hair.
Kelsie nearly dropped her glass. ‘Oh, come on, she won’t marry him. Quentin is too perfect. Guys like him don’t exist. I bet that he’s a serial killer or something like that.’
A shifter in a very expensive suit was eyeing her from across the room, although she hadn’t noticed him yet.
‘We’ve only started dating, and I’m not rushing into anything,’ I said, feeling a little dizzy. All week I had been fighting to feel that intense magic all over me, and now my energy was back. The hair on the back of my neck rose and my fingertips became hypersensitive, drawing waves of electricity. Somehow I felt relief that I was back to normal, but I kept thinking: why now and right during an evening when I tried to relax?
‘Now, you’re making some sense,’ Kelsie whispered. ‘You are using him to get over that gorgeous douche that broke your heart. It’s obvious.’
Kate shot her an angry look, but I didn’t care anymore. Nathaniel was my past and Quentin was my future. Kelsie probably didn’t get it. From what she said about her past she’d never been in love, so she didn’t understand what I went through while Nathaniel was in my life.
‘I think you should stop drinking because you’re not making any sense,’ Kate muttered, pushing Kelsie and me away from the crowd. ‘Have you forgotten about that murder already?’
‘Kate, please. Jennifer was involved with some shabby individuals. It was clear that she pissed off the wrong crowd. There is nothing else to dwell on,’ I pressed, feeling a little overwhelmed with a sudden dose of magic. It was like someone switched on my body to produce and receive waves of heat.
‘How come you are suddenly not interested in this case?’ Kate asked, eyeing me with curiosity. ‘When Rufus went missing you were risking your skin just to find out more.’
‘Jennifer isn’t Rufus.’
‘Don’t change the subject. We want to know what’s been going on with you lately. You had strange panic attacks twice, one during the meeting with Rufus and the other when you saw Jennifer’s body. Come on, Julia, you’ve seen far worse than this and you always kept your shit together.’
Kate was reading me so well and now I had no idea what to say. She was right. I normally handled everything amazingly well and I never before lost it like I had in the factory. For a split second I was considering telling them about the blackouts, the fire, and this mysterious visit from Tron, but then I realised that I had to solve my problem on my own. There was no point getting my friends involved. And Tron had advised me not to discuss it with anyone. Was he really a teacher or just some crazy scam?
‘I’m fine, really. It’s just stress. Anyway, I need the rest room. See you guys later?’
‘As usual, Julia and her secrets. Sooner or later you’ll have to tell us what is going on,’ Kate called after me.
I hate that I have to lie to my friends. Maybe I should tell them.
I vanished into the ladies’ room, keeping my breathing steady. Kate was right. The secret would come out; it was just the matter of time. I didn’t want to think about this now. When I was done with my business I decided to blend into the crowd and admire the art, trying to enjoy myself. Quentin was talking to an older guy in a grey suit, pointing at his beloved painting. I sipped my champagne, looking around, checking out the most expensive pieces. My love life was slowly turning around. I didn’t want to think about the hurdles that I had to face. Everything was getting back to how it used to be.
‘Meredith, have you noticed that sculpture on the north side? Apparently it’s been made by the Ukrainian giant. You know the one that painted the Secret castle?’
The high-pitched voice belonged to a very strong English woman. I smiled to myself because I knew what piece of art she was talking about. Quentin was planning to purchase it right after he got his hands on the other painting. The sculpture was pricey, but he was hoping to make a lot of money on it.
‘No, I told you. I hate Eastern European art. My apartment is set in Asian style. He should have known that it was a waste of time coming here tonight,’ replied another woman. She wasn’t English. She sounded foreign, French maybe, but I couldn’t tell because her accent was difficult to pinpoint.
I finished my champagne, aware of the sudden shift in my energy. Magic was charging through me faster than ever before. Cracks of current appeared on my arms, pinning me down to the right corner of the gallery. I started taking in the pools of air. I had this odd heavy sensation inside me chest: it felt like I swallowed a balloon. The waves of magical energy were passing through my forehead, and a small breeze started ruffling my hair. Something was going on with me, but so far no one else noticed it. We were in a locked up building with no air conditioning, so either someone else must have created the wind or it was simply me.
I turned around in a search of a waiter and more alcohol. I had to get a drink fast, before something exploded.
‘Oh, there are you, darling. I was just telling Kim here that we shouldn’t have come tonight. Our new apartment in Geneva is set in Asian style and—’
I waved to the waiter who was walking toward the woman who was still complaining about this unfortunate trip, when a powerful wave of energy hit me so hard that I thought I was having a heart attack. I clutched my fingers.
‘We just got back to London and we aren’t here hunting for your next treasure. It’s a night out, Meredith,’ said another voice that I recognised straight away.
A cold chill passed through my entire body electrifying all my senses. Then the waiter who was carrying the stack of champagne glasses stopped abruptly. My heart felt like I had a piece of hot wire in my chest. The energy lashed out of me all of the sudden, sending a firestorm through the room. All the glasses exploded and the waiter went down to the floor. Someone screamed, and people started hurrying towards the poor caterer.
Nathaniel La Caz was standing a few meters away from me by the two mermaids that looked like supermodels straight off the catwalk. My heart was pounding somewhere around my throat and my usual crazy and unpredictable magic was back, sweeping me away back into the darkness. I had no idea what to do.
For a long moment I felt like time stopped. People around me became transparent, stuck in space between time. No one was moving when Nathaniel and I stood a few meters away, staring at each other. The air changed consistency, growing heavy and thick with waves of hot energy that was pulling me towards him.
‘I told you so. There are too many paranormals in here. Magic gets out of control; people get crazy,’ ranted the woman to Nathaniel with her super cute French accent. He wasn’t paying the slightest attention to her, because he was looking directly at me, and all my insides were melting. Desire curled up my toes and I was totally out, numb and breathless.
I had to do something, react or run away, otherwise I was going to make an absolute fool of myself. My heart felt as if I was going through a cardio arrest when I
dragged my suddenly stone-heavy legs towards him.
‘Julia, how nice to see you here,’ he said, before I had a chance to open my mouth. ‘Darling, let me introduce you to an old friend of mine.’
My energy was driving my oversensitive body into another seizure. I thought that I was going to collapse again, not because I was afraid or scared—it was because all those emotions that I’d been shielding in the past year burst out in the open, ready to crush me down. I wanted to die because I realised that Nathaniel La Caz was back in London.
Chapter six
SO WHY HER? WHY NOT ME?
I couldn’t make a sound. My skin crawled towards him and his signature scent was all over me, tossing my hyperactive heart all over my body. New, rebellious energy jetted through my core, pulling me apart into little pieces. Nathaniel La Caz was supposed to be a thousand miles away from London, but he was in front of me, looking more handsome than ever before.
‘Julia, oh there you are, we were just loo–’
Kate stopped talking in mid-sentence, as she followed my gaze, noticing the enigmatic Dhampir in front of me. Her green eyes widened, taking him in slowly, like she wasn’t quite sure if she was seeing him right in front of her. My magic kept running down my back, zooming through my whole body fast, igniting the fire in my chest that I’d kept away for months.
After an initial shock, I darted my eyes to the woman he just introduced me to. I thought that this whole unexpected meeting couldn’t be any more intimidating, but the paranormal who stood in front of me looked like she was Photoshopped, because no one could be that stunning. She was a pure-blooded mermaid. I wasn’t exaggerating, but to me she was the most beautiful-looking creature I’d ever laid my eyes on. Even Kelsie didn’t stand up to her perfect, flawless, radiant skin and glossy long straight hair that resembled the colour of caramel. As I stood in front of my ex and the woman I assumed was his new girlfriend, I felt like someone kept continuously punching me in my stomach and I wanted to puke my guts out.
There he is, back, and I can’t even look at him without turning into a mush.
I didn’t want to look at Nathaniel and Miss Perfect, so I became interested in my feet, ignoring the mess that I made with the glasses a few meters away. My palms were beaming with bright light, and I gritted my teeth, imagining that I was somewhere else, away from all the anguish and pain that he suddenly brought back.
‘Hi, Kate, how are you?’ Nathaniel asked like I didn’t exist. The sound of his voice brought a wave of heat down to my core.
‘Fine, great actually,’ replied my friend, moving her hand over my arm. I lifted my eyes, avoiding those hazel eyes with every bit of self-control that I had.
Don’t look at him. Just don’t. He isn’t here.
‘Hi, Julia, it’s nice to meet you,’ Meredith said, as a radiant smile appeared on her gorgeous face, finally aware that Nathaniel introduced us a moment ago. I didn’t know how to respond, but I had to say something. I couldn’t just stand there like a total moron and pretend that I didn’t understand English.
Words flooded out of my mouth before I could stop them. ‘So you are back to London, I see?’ I choked, ignoring Meredith. My voice was barely audible and I felt Kate squeeze my arm tighter. I didn’t plan to ask him that, but my mind was blank and I couldn’t think straight.
Nathaniel’s eyes never left me, and when I looked at him again long waves of electricity wrestled over my entire body, erupting tiny sparks of energy through my clothes. I savoured his ambiance, like the addict absorbs opiate, always panting for more. In a matter of seconds I was high on him, inhaling lime zests and lemons. The erotic images of both of us together were moving in front of my eyes rapidly, taking away my last ounce of self-respect. It was like we’d never broken up, like we were still together, swirled with passion and desire.
‘I heard about the murder from Lucinda, and I thought that it was time to get back,’ Nathaniel stated, obviously reading my emotion like an open book.
I was aware that Kate was shooting me those hard looks to start moving, but my body was completely numb. I had no idea how to get out of his sight.
‘Oh, darling, you are so modest,’ Meredith said, laughing. Nathaniel shifted, opening his mouth to interrupt her, but she lifted her hand quickly, letting him know that she wasn’t finished yet. ‘We are here because Nathaniel wanted to get married in the UK, you see.’
‘A wedding—who is getting married?’ I asked, before I thought about the question.
‘Oh, silly, we are of course. Nathaniel proposed to me last month and we are having a lavish wedding in Canterbury.’
The blackness obscured me straight after that statement left her mouth. I didn’t quite remember what happened to me after that. I was falling into the oblivion, not seeing the light. The world around me shifted into a gloom. Kate must have wrapped the conversation up because the next thing I knew I was in the bathroom, puking my guts out over the toilet. Someone was holding my hair, and although my stomach was empty, I couldn’t stop being sick. Water poured out of me, my stomach kept heaving, revolting, and those words about the wedding pounded in my head.
‘Julia, let me use my magic. You are going to pass out,’ Kate kept saying. I felt like someone was cutting my heart up piece by piece while I was lying on the table tied up, aware of every time the knife pierced through my skin. I was in heartbreaking agony.
‘We need to take her home right now, before Quentin starts looking for her,’ another voice said.
‘Okay, I’ll take her. You have to take care of him. Make something up about some emergency,’ Kate hissed, before her voice faded.
I wasn’t consciously aware of what happened to me after that. Someone must have carried me away, because, when I woke up, I was in my own bed snuggled in nice, warm sheets. I blinked a few times, getting used to the darkness. My head hurt and I flinched, seeing Kate and Kelsie next to my bed. I rubbed my eyes, remembering the pain in my chest, remembering Nathaniel. I searched for confirmation or denial, looking at my friends and hoping that I just had a bad dream. Praying that Nathaniel hadn’t just gotten engaged to the most perfect woman on this earth.
‘Julia, how are you feeling?’ Kate asked, touching my hand gently. She was using her magic to slow my heart rate. She didn’t have to say anything. I could feel the energy pouring out of her magic wand. She could do anything, but the pain was all over me, digging right through me, pouring into my bones, splitting healthy cells apart.
‘Just tell me, Kate, please tell me that I was dreaming.’
Kelsie moved around Kate and got into my bed wrapping her hands around my waist. She looked at me for really long time, and her eyes began to glow with bright yellow light.
‘He is getting married to someone else, Julia. I know that it hurts and I know that your heart has fallen apart, but you are the strongest woman that I ever met. You need to pull yourself together and carry on living—’
‘Kelsie, I don’t think that you should—’
‘Kate, shut up for a moment.’ Kelsie cut her off. ‘Julia is going to be all right. She doesn’t want to be pitied.’
‘Yes, Kate, she’s right. I don’t need this,’ I said quietly. ‘Nathaniel never promised me anything. I was the one that broke things up between us. It shouldn’t surprise me that he is with someone else.’
I knew that I was lying to myself and to them. I was furious that the man that I’d fallen for, the man who’d turned my life upside down was now marrying someone else. A beautiful foreign woman who wasn’t even a vampire. When he was around me he acted as if he couldn’t love, he couldn’t commit, and now he was getting married.
SO WHY HER, WHY NOT ME?
‘Quentin called. He is really worried about you and he is going to come over,’ Kate said.
‘What did you guys tell him?’ I asked.
‘I told him that you had a family emergency. You were already in the taxi when I found him. Quentin wanted to get to you as soon as I told him. He was really pissed
when I said that you’d already left.’
‘Thank you, Kelsie. I really appreciate it.’ I sighed.
‘Don’t mention it.’
‘Come on, Kel, I think Julia wants to be alone. We got to leave,’ Kate muttered.
I lifted myself up and thanked Kate with a smile. My head felt heavy and I didn’t want to use my brain to analyse anything, but I was prepared for more humiliation in a couple of days. The news would spread and people were going to talk about me.
Kelsie took her bag and left my bedroom.
Kate stopped in the door. ‘Julia, if you need anything—’
‘Kate, don’t worry,’ I said. ‘I’m not planning to kill myself. I know that Nathaniel and I, well, we are over, so please go. I’ll deal with this.’
Kate nodded and vanished. A moment later I heard the door close. I stared at the darkness trying to think about something positive. Minutes passed and I kept asking myself why I was so upset. The tears came later, hours after I woke up.
I knew that I was supposed to be that strong and independent woman. Breakups normally didn’t affect me, but I couldn’t hold back the grief any longer. I wanted to be sad, because I still loved him and I couldn’t believe that he had forgotten about me so easily.
That night I became a girl with a torn up heart because the love of my life was marrying someone else.
***
When Sunday came I had to be back to being normal Julia. Quentin arrived in the morning and if I wanted to be in a relationship with him, then I had to put on a brave face and act as if last night didn’t happen.
When Quentin was around, my life was in control. Our conversation last night was brief. He understood why I had to leave, and I kept lying, stating that my grandmother had a small accident with magic. Lies came easily, but Quentin didn’t deserve to hear about Nathaniel. This wasn’t the right time.