Chapter 5
FIVE
PHOENIX
Layden helps me arrange the meat on the smoker like I did yesterday, and we take turns priming the pump while the other washes off. I try—and fail—not to watch him tug his shirt off.
Fuck.
The farmer must’ve been built like a linebacker because Layden’s about to Hulk out of that fabric. His arms have gone from gaunt to carved, muscles splitting the seams.
“How the hell did you bulk up in one day?” The words come out sharper than I mean them to.
He glances over, catching me staring. A small smile plays at his mouth. “Perhaps this is simply what I’m meant to be. I only needed enough fuel to return to my true form.”
“I’m hungry,” he says, buttoning another doomed shirt. “Is there anything else while we wait for the meat?”
I nod toward the cabin. “I checked this morning and there’s four new eggs from the chickens. And some unmarked cans in the cupboard.”
“You take the eggs. I’ll handle the cans.”
“There’s four. We can split—”
“No.” His voice drops, goes soft. Almost... wounded. “You need to eat. I should have saved some of the meat for you. It’s unforgivable.”
The guilt on his face makes my chest tight. Jesus, this man and his ridiculous chivalry. “Fine. Whatever.”
He heads to the pantry and starts downing cans—green beans, plums, corn—tipping them back like shots. No chewing. Just swallowing.
“Christ, do you even have a gag reflex?”
He wipes his mouth, burps without shame. “What’s that?”
A laugh barks out of me. “Never mind.”
I head to the brick stove in the corner. Fresh logs are already stacked—more of Layden’s morning overachieving. The stove’s one of those old village models with logs in the bottom and burners on the sides. I haven’t used one since...
My hands still on the cast iron pan.
Since I was a kid. Hidden away with Mom and Dad in cabins just like this. Little nowhere nooks where Grandfather couldn’t find us.
God, those were good days. The three of us. Safe and warm, before everything turned to shit.
“Phoenix?”
I jerk my head up. Layden’s watching me, concerned. Too fucking perceptive.
“What?”
“Where did you go just then?”
I grab the pan harder than necessary. “Nowhere that matters.”
He’s smart enough not to push.
I crack the eggs while he demolishes the pantry. When I’m plating my food, he turns back to me. “The couple who owns this cabin. You used compulsion on them.”
I shrug. Obviously.
“What did you tell them?”
“To leave immediately. Stay with relatives for two months.”
His whole face lights up. “So we have two months?”
I drop the skillet back on the stove with a clang and eat out of it, standing up. “You looked like death. I didn’t know how long you’d need. But now that you’re magically fixed, feel free to squat here till they come back.”
He squints at me, sees right through my bullshit. “And you? Will you leave now?”
My eyes drop to the earthen floor.
“Where would you go?” His voice goes softer.
“Where are you from, Phoenix? Or did you just burst from the air itself?” He’s half-murmuring now, talking himself through it.
“Maybe I’ve hallucinated this entire week.
Maybe this is what happens when I finally lose my mind.
” His translucent gray eyes settle on me. “Not an altogether unpleasant madness.”
I roll my eyes. “I’m not a figment of your imagination.”
“I don’t know, dream girl.” His smile is soft, devastating. “I can’t imagine how you could possibly be real.”
Something swoops in my belly. Low and dangerous.
He’s the dream. Not me.
I want to be the kind of dumb, impulsive girl who believes in fairy tales. But I know better. Dreams don’t come true for girls like me.
Layden stands. Moves toward me. Each step deliberate.
“Who are you, Phoenix?”
I hold up a hand to stop him. He does stop—but only when my palm presses flat against his chest. His heart beats steady under my hand. Slow. Strong. While mine’s a fucking rabbit.
“Where do you come from? Who are your people? Why were you alone in that forest when you found me?”
My mouth stays shut. His eyes bore into me until I can’t take it anymore.
“Doesn’t matter,” I whisper. “You’ll never see me again.”
I try to pull away but he catches my hand. His fingers wrap around mine, warm and careful.
“It does matter. We’re alike, you and me.” His words pierce something in my chest. “You’re alone like I am.”
“It doesn’t matt—”
“It does. Because you aren’t alone now. You’re here. With me.” He steps closer, backing me against the cooling stove. “You were running from something just like I was. What’s the point of bringing me back to life and making me hope, if you’re just going to disappear into the fog?”
My eyes flash up, angry, because angry is safer. “I don’t owe you anything.”
“No.” He steps into me, one hand still holding mine, the other lifting to my face. His thumb traces my cheekbone. “You don’t. But what if we ran away from the rest of the world together? It’s just two months.”
His face inches closer. I can’t think. Can’t breathe. Can’t do anything but feel the nearness of him—his lips, his scent, the overwhelming presence of him.
“Say yes,” he whispers.
I can hear both our hearts now. His, that steady bass drum. Mine, racing like I’m prey about to be devoured.
Am I prey? Do I fucking care?
Because for the second time in my endless existence, everything else drops away. I am pure want. Impulsive and hungry and alive.
I want to kiss this man. I want to consume him and be consumed.
Our lips inch closer. The tension between us pulls taut like a wire about to snap. We’re both savoring this moment before connection. This last chance to pull away.
Neither of us does.
I suck in a breath, giddy and terrified, because I have the awful, thrilling feeling that this is about to change everything. A kiss from a fallen angel.
Our lips barely touch. His chest starts glowing with blinding light—
… And then a loud knock shatters everything.
We leap apart, both turning toward the door.
Layden moves to answer but I shove him aside.
“I got it.” Obviously I’m the one who should face threats.
I yank open the door, compulsion ready on my tongue—
And my eyes go wide.
“Sabra?”
I grab her arm, drag her through the door, slam it shut. “What the hell are you doing here?”
She looks exactly the same as always. Frizzy brown hair in that long braid. Those too-big glasses. Baggy clothes that make her look like a kid playing dress-up, even though she can afford better. But the money would be from Vlad, and Sabra would rather die.
“Warmest greetings to you too, bestie.” She pushes up her glasses—that familiar gesture that breaks my heart.
I pull her into a hug. “You know I love you. But what the hell? You’re supposed to be on the other side of the world by now.”
We had a plan. Run and don’t stop running. I have to stay within five hundred kilometers of Grandfather—blood bond bullshit—so I planned to run in circles until he found me. But Sabra should’ve been long gone. Safe. Away from me and my nightmare family.
She pulls back. The look on her face—
“I made a deal with your grandfather.”
The world tilts and legs give out. Layden catches me from behind.
“No,” I whisper. “Tell me you didn’t.”
“I didn’t make a blood oath.” She’s talking fast now, helping me stand. “I’m not stupid enough to make my mom’s mistake. Come on, who do you think I am?”
I can breathe again. Barely.
“Then what—”
“He knows I’m a powerful witch. And I decided I didn’t want to spend my life running.” She meets my eyes. “This has always been my home. So I contacted him. I told him I’d work for him like my mom did—but only on my terms.”
“Sabra...” My head tilts. She can’t be this naive. “You know what he’s like. Give an inch and he’ll steal your soul.”
But she juts her chin out stubbornly. “This way I get to study with powerful mages around the world. Which I have a much better shot at doing with Vlad’s resources than as a runaway.” Her eyes go hard. “He owes me. I’m just demanding what I deserve.”
Despair curls in my gut. She knows Grandfather as well as I do. She knows how evil he is. “In return for what?”
Her eyes soften. Our shared sisterhood of brokenness has always been a bond between us, both raised as children in the house of Vlad Dracul.
“… For dragging me back,” I finish.
“We both know you’d have to go back eventually.”
I shake my head. “He never found my parents. There is some way to escape him.”
“Well unlike them, I don’t plan on hiding in some hole forever.
” She grasps my hands. “I’m a mage. One of the most powerful of my age.
I’m meant to do important work. I can’t do that if I’m always afraid my magic will be detected by him or one of your dammed uncles.
” Her hands squeeze mine. “Come with me? We’re always better together. ”
My chest seizes. I can’t breathe.
“Who the hell is Vlad?” Layden’s voice cuts through. “Is he your grandfather? He sounds like a real asshole.”
My eyes fall shut. The almost-kiss flashes through my mind. What I nearly let happen.
I open my eyes as Sabra asks, “Again, who the hell is this?”
“No one,” I say at the same time Layden says, “Someone who’s good at dealing with assholes.”
A laugh escapes me despite everything. I turn to him. “Not this one. Look, we both knew we’d have to return to real life eventually. Well, my real life just showed up.” I gesture at Sabra. “This is where I leave you.”
“What?” Layden’s alarm is immediate and visceral. “You saved my life. And it sounds dangerous where you’re going. I can’t let you—”
“You don’t let me do anything.” The words come out harsh, but that’s what real life is like. “This isn’t your world. And I assure you, chivalry’s been dead a long time.”
“I’m hungry,” Sabra announces. She heads to the kitchen, starts opening things.
Layden’s eyes narrow on me. “What about your debt to me?”
“What debt?”
“I’ve changed my mind. You do owe me. You dragged me out of the forest where I was perfectly content to rot forever. You brought me back to life. For what?” He gestures at Sabra. “Just to resurrect humanity’s most ancient nightmare? Look at her.”
I watch as Sabra reaches for bread. The second her fingers touch it, it turns black. Moldy. She drops it and steps back.
“Whoa. Did you guys see that?”
“You should’ve left me alone if you were just going to leave me the second I got used to company again.” He points at the bread. “I’m a curse upon this earth.”
My mouth drops open. I never thought about—
“What about your brothers?” I ask, even though I know I’ve asked before. But surely he’s got some family that will take him in—
He barks out a bitter laugh. “The ones who buried me alive?”
I wince. Good point.
“You did that?” Sabra’s poking at the bread with a knife. It crumbles to dust. “Whoa.”
Layden looks at her. “I apologize. I’m cursed. You should get away from me quickly.”
“Whoa,” she says again.
I breathe out hard. “Look, I didn’t mean—”
“What?” He turns on me, and his eyes are different. Harder. The openness I’ve seen all week is gone. “For any of this to happen? You were just being a Good Samaritan? Well, next time, keep your charity.”
He heads for the door. My hand lifts to stop him but I force it down.
He’s right. I’m no good to him. I’m no good to anyone. Even this—the one good thing I tried to do—I’ve gone and fucked it up completely.
“Wait,” Sabra calls.
He stops. Turns back, with his hand on the doorknob.
My heart leaps even though I don’t know what she’ll say to him. But I look at her with wild hope she’ll fix this, even though I know better.
He should go. I should let him go before I fuck things up worse than I already have.
More than anybody, I know there are no happy endings.
“What?” Layden’s voice is low. Dangerous.
Sabra steps forward, stands beside me. “I’m a powerful mage. Maybe I can fix you.”
Layden laughs—bitter, hard, so different from before. “I’ve been like this for thousands of years. This curse was woven into my being at birth. So forgive me if I don’t think some human barely out of diapers can help.”
Sabra’s eyebrows lift. She cocks a hand on her hip. “I might not be a crusty thousand-year-old, buddy, but I come from a powerful line of witches. You’re a magical being. I move magic.” She tilts her head. “Have you ever even tried anything for your magical disability?”
Layden pauses, looking a little stunned.
“I—Well... no.” He frowns. A disability?
” Another long pause, his eyes darting around on the far wall like he’s thinking.
“I guess my brothers could walk around without inflicting their curses on everyone they met. Like they could direct theirs. It was just me who couldn’t.
” His eyes flick to Sabra. “You really think it’s something like a disability? Something that… could be… fixed?”
But Sabra’s clearly caught on an early point, perking up. “There’s more of you?”
I bump her shoulder. “Focus.”
“Look,” she glances at Layden. “Come back with us. Let us help you.”
Immediately, Layden’s eyes lock with mine. Hope leaps in my chest—stupid, dangerous hope.
“Only if you want me to come,” he says. He’s not asking Sabra. His gray eyes are on me. Only me.
“Of course we want you to come,” Sabra pipes up. “The chance to work with a magical being like you is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! Unless you think any of your brothers would volunteer?”
Layden ignores her. Still watching me. Waiting.
My breath catches.
If I say no, will he go back to that forest? To just sit in the dark for another two hundred years? He doesn’t know the world’s changed around him. Cities sprawl now, and roads cut through almost every wild place. There won’t be a forest that much longer. He can’t hide forever.
But if he comes with us, Grandfather will try to use him. Grandfather loves power more than anything. Certainly more than he’s ever loved me.
Then again... Layden was an angel. Maybe he’s the one person Vlad can’t overpower, even with his clever manipulation.
“Yes.” The word pops out before I can stop it. “I want you to come.”
The smile that breaks across Layden’s face is devastating. Gorgeous. Everything I don’t deserve.
“Then let’s go.”