but I made sure each piece was destroyed when Emily went into dreamland or to the bathroom.
A few hours later, I learned that alcohol had no effect on me and that Emily was the same giggling drunk as before.
Still giggling, she slapped a hand on the table. "Thank you for this. It means a lot. I don't have a lot of friends. My close friends are all home but then I met you. You're a close friend now too, Davy. You were right. I needed to get out. I needed to this."
"I did."
"You're right. I feel like a new woman. I feel like I can go to all my classes alone now. Maybe I'll even tackle this feeling of grief I have. I know—" She snapped her fingers. "I'll go to a grief counseling group. That's what I'll do. It'll help me get Bennett out of my system."
I froze with my straw in my mouth.
"What do you think?"
What did I think? She'd have a place to talk and an outlet for her emotions. A smile spread on my face. "I think that's a great idea."
"It's decided. Tomorrow I'm looking for one on campus." She bent over, giggling. "How in the world are we going to get home? I can barely sit up."
"Ladies." Gregory materialized at our table. "There is a car ready for you downstairs. We will give you a ride home."
"Oh!" Emily was taken aback. "That's so nice of you. Is there money you need? I mean, do we pay? How much is it? I'm sorry. I'm a little drunk." Then she giggled a bit more, blushing behind a hand over her mouth.
Gregory swept his detached eyes over us both. "It's free of charge. It's a part of the service."
"That's wonderful." She clapped and then frowned. "This isn't normal? We're getting such great service. Why? Davy, do you know?"
I smiled and patted her hand. "The owner is a friend of Kates. I dropped her name before."
"Oh!" Then her eyes narrowed and disgust flared over her face. "I think I'm going to throw up." And then she scrambled out of the booth and to the bathroom.
Gregory's face twitched and then cleared again. He sat in her seat. "I don't think she'll be coming back soon. Her levels of intoxication are massive for a human."
I sighed and threw the last piece of Roane's note in the candle. Gregory studied me as I watched it go up in smoke and a small smile appeared on his face. He looked softer for a second. "You came to see him."
My heart sank and I shook my head. "Emily suggested this place. I couldn't say no. This night was about her."
"His office overlooks this table."
My head shot up. "What?"
He nodded and gestured upwards. "You can't see through the glass, but he hasn't moved from that spot all night since you'd been here."
Hope flared in me for a moment, but I shook my head and turned it off. I couldn't get excited at the idea he might have feelings for me. Talia still remained in his heart. He was just confused.
I looked where he had pointed and saw glass mirrors. At one section of the wall, they jetted out and around, framing an office above the entire club. I could tell Roane stood on the other side of them. Able to make out his silhouette, I pushed through and it opened up to my eyes. Gregory was wrong; I was able to see through them. My eyes met Roane's, his narrowed as he mouthed the word, "Stop."
I narrowed mine in defiance and sensed into him. It was so easy to slip in him now and I was met by his same boiling anger. He snarled at me in his head, 'What are you doing? You're not supposed to use your powers.'
'I'm in your head, your head only. No one can hear our thoughts here.'
'My shields are too hard. You're right. No one can read my mind, except you.' And I felt how he hated that.
I sparked back at him, 'Sucks, doesn't it? When someone might be more powerful than you.'
'Shut up. Return to your table. Gregory is annoyed that you're ignoring him.'
'He'll get over it.'
'He's grown a soft spot for you. He wanted to be the one to take you home tonight.'
'I like Gregory. He's nicer than Wren.'
Roane bit back a laugh. 'Go, Davy. Emily is returning to the table.'
I looked and saw her approaching. 'I'm sorry for bringing her here. I wanted to see you. I'm sorry again.' Then I slipped out of him and saw that Gregory had a perturbed look on his face. I was afraid to ask what that meant, but Emily had arrived.
She was pale with a green tinge and held a hand to her stomach. "I just threw up eight times. I don't ever want to drink again. Davy, don't let me drink again."
I stood and held a hand to her back. "You can still drink, just not that much next time?"
Gregory led the way out the club. As we followed behind, Emily groaned and clutched her stomach. I saw how the other customers turned and stared as we passed. Some of them were interested because we were humans. They knew Gregory protected us. A few others smelled Emily's nausea and turned away in disgust. Still others watched and their eyes lingered on the right hand of Lucas Roane.
As we climbed into the backseat of a car, I caught sight of my own car parked not far away. I could've driven, but Emily thought I was drunk. I had as much as her. I should've been affected. If I told her the truth, that I was stone cold sober, she would've wondered why. So I burrowed in to my seat and waited as Gregory drove us back home. When we got to the dorm, she stumbled out first and headed in without a second look.
I remained in the car and looked out my window.
Gregory got out and closed Emily's door, but then returned to his seat behind the steering wheel. He tilted the rearview mirror, but then turned in his seat.
A wave of sadness swept over me. "I finally realized and accepted tonight that I am completely alone. I've been fighting it, but I have to accept it now."
I didn't see his reaction, but I felt his acceptance. It was okay to speak to him about this.
I stared out the window, but I wasn't seeing anything. Saren told me to stay away from Blue, so I did. Roane told me to stay away and I tried. My roommate thought I was something I wasn't. The witch was too alarming and new and Pippa couldn't ever know.
I was supposed to be normal, do normal things, and that's what I had wanted in the first place.
"I feel like I'm in a prison. Every lie I tell is another door that I've shut around me. I can't talk to anybody about this."
Gregory didn't say anything for a moment. "Roane is building an army. All those vampires have declared their loyalty to him. He is going against the Roane Family line."
"What?"
"The Roane Elders are coming with their Family of vampires. They know the Immortal is here and they're going to fight their way in. Roane has declared war against them. He is no longer a part of the Roane Family. He is doing this to protect you."
"I'm the Immortal. No one can hurt me."
Wariness flashed in his eyes. "Yes, they can. They can torture you. They can imprison you with magic. No one knows how powerful you are, even us, but there's always a way to contain something. Roane fears that Lucan is with the Mori, that he is studying their ways to find a way to take the thread from you."
"Who are the Mori?"
"The ancient vampires. They have magic in them. Roane said you had an encounter with them earlier. He thinks his brother is with them."
"The ones who can have baby vamps. Oh—oh! That's not good."
I didn't know how magic could affect me, if I was immune, or if there was something that could be used against me. I knew that the Immortal thread no longer existed. It had dissembled when my body molded to the Immortal.
"Why are you telling me this? Why didn't Roane?" And could I still call him Roane if he wasn't with that Family anymore?
Gregory smiled. "You talk out loud sometimes. You should not do that so much."
Oh, yeah. My smile felt a bit foolish. "Why did you tell me this?"
"Because you should know. Roane chose not to because he is trying to let you live as normal a life as possible. If he needs to take you away from this place, you would never be able to be a normal human again. You would be on the run for the r
est of your life."
Which would be forever. I shuddered.
Then he continued, "You can always call him Roane. His given name is Lucas, but he prefers his Family name even if he is no longer associated with them. He has their standards in his blood. It is why he is making this stand against them."
I felt his trust and belief in Roane again. It was so powerful; it was almost stifling to me, but I could sympathize. Roane had a way of pulling that loyalty out of everyone, human or not.
"Okay." I nodded and reached for my door. "I know what to do. Be normal. Right?"
"It's what he wants for you."
"Then I will do that." And I needed to put a cork in my self-pity talk. Seriously. People had worse problems than mine, like Brown. Everyone would think she was crazy.
As I got out of the car and walked around, Gregory wound down his window. "If you really need to talk to someone, here's a number you can reach meat. I warn you that Roane will be told every detail that we discuss, but I can be a sounding board for you."
I took the piece of paper he offered and tucked it away. "Thanks, Gregory. And tell him thanks too. I know he said you could do this."
He jerked his head in a nod, a sign of respect from him. "He cares more for you than you might think."
When I finally went inside, I was a mass of emotions. I'd been rejuvenated, but when I heard Emily in the bathroom, guilt flared in me too. Pippa rushed out of the bathroom. "What's wrong with her? She won't stop puking."
"She had too much to drink. I should've stopped her." But I'd been distracted.
Pippa rolled her eyes. "She's actually green from vomiting so much, but she still says she had fun tonight. What did you guys do?"
"Nothing. We stayed there and drank. That was it."
"I can smell vampires all over both of you. It's disgusting." She wrinkled her nose and then went around me. "I'm going to grab some medication for her."
When she left, I went into the bathroom and found Emily in a back stall. She was bent over the toilet and gave me a weak grin. "I feel horrible."
"I'm sorry, Em." I patted her back as I sat beside her. I drew my knees against my chest.
As she felt another spell coming on and bent forward over the toilet again, I closed my eyes and drew some of her illness into me. It was there—ugly, slimy, icky stuff. Along with it remained some of her lovespell from Bennett. It still hadn't fully left her system. As it flowed into me, I felt Pippa's presence and then I felt her surprise. She knew what I was doing and I could sense that Emily was starting to feel better. After a few more minutes of drawing the illness into me, Emily was able to sit up straight and she sighed.
"I feel much better." She panted and gave us a stupid grin. Sweat soaked her hair. Some of it clung to her forehead in clumps and she brushed it back. "Much better."
I smiled and squeezed her hand before I stood up.
Pippa helped me up and met my gaze for a brief second. She studied me hard. Then she murmured, "You're not even affected."
I turned away from Pippa. It wasn't any of her business. "Emily, you want to watch a movie to end the night?"
"Pippa, you want to watch too?"
The wolf stood with a dazed look. Her mouth opened and closed. "I…uh…"
"Grab your blanket. We'll crawl in our beds and fall asleep. You can have the couch." I made sure there was a welcoming tone in my voice, but my eyes sent their own message. She knew not to say anything.
Then she closed her mouth and nodded in surrender. "I'll get my stuff. I have a stuffed animal."
"You do?" Emily mumbled as she cleaned her mouth.
"Let me guess? A little wolf?"
Pippa grinned before she went out the door.
"How'd you know that?" Emily asked, but she didn't care. Now that I'd taken the illness away, the exhaustion was evident in her. She was going to be asleep before her head hit her pillow. And as I put the movie in and she crawled into her top bunk, she was snoring before I even curled up in my own blankets. Pippa came through the door and stood in the doorway with her hand on the doorknob. "She's already asleep?"
"Yeah."
She fidgeted with the door handle. "Do you think should I go?"
Emily's snores roared through the room.
I gestured to the couch. "I already put the movie in. If she wakes up and doesn't see you on the couch, she'll wonder why you didn't come. She's going to swear that she never fell asleep and watched the whole time."
Pippa grinned. "I guess I can stay a little bit."
Then I pressed play and nestled back.
Twenty minutes into the movie, she asked. "What are you?"
I'd been tired, but I jerked awake now.
She hesitated. "I mean, you're not just empathic."
"I can't tell you and if you ever find out, you can't say a word to anyone."
Pippa didn't comment for a while. "The wolves know you exist. They know there's something different about you. I'm sorry. We don't have an open channel for our thoughts with each other, but we're highly in tune with the other wolves. The matriarch knew about you. She sensed my unease."
At her words, everything froze inside of me. I knew about the mother wolf, but I hadn't given her enough thought. First Brown had distracted me, then Roane came, and then Saren.
"Are they going to do anything?" My heart stopped.
She shook her head. "No. They're just waiting and watching right now. If you do something against us, then they'll act. They're protective of Emily, you know. Her kindred is important to the pack. They consider her one of us already."
I grinned at that thought. "Can you imagine when Emily finds all that out?" I whistled under my breath. "I'd like to be a fly on the wall that day."
She giggled. "I think everyone in the pack will feel her kindred's emotions. I'll tell you how it goes."
I shook my head. Emily's world was going to split wide open. She was still uneasy about the possibility of witches. I had quieted her questions about vampires, but all the folklore was going to become real to her soon. Except me. I wasn't in the folklore.
I settled back and tried to watch the movie.
Wren paused in his doorway and saw Roane with his back to the desk. He gazed over the club below him. She couldn't see from below, but she knew he'd be there and he was.
Gregory had passed the message that Davy was there. The ones who knew what she meant to Roane felt her presence immediately. They understood why a sudden intensity swept around the club and most of them waited. They watched warily to see what might happen next. Wren knew that her master wouldn't be leaving this spot for the rest of the night.
"Are you going to stand there and watch the whole night?"
Roane didn't turn around. He'd known she was there before she opened the door.
When he didn't answer, she took a seat on one of his leather couches and swung a leg over the armrest. "So what's the plan? Are you going to kick her out? She's here with her roommate and a wolf. She's here under her cover. Sneaky little bitch."
He tossed his drink back. "Gregory is going to watch her."
Wren snorted. "I bet he loved that assignment. Let's all watch the Imm—"
Roane was in her face before she finished. He grabbed her jaw in one hand and lifted her in the air. "You do not say that word. Ever."
Wren's eyes flashed in anger, but she managed a tight nod. She couldn't speak.