Chapter 16
16
JESSE
I waited in the hallway outside Ryan's apartment, listening to her and her mate talking inside. I'd left Cruthú home with Shea for this visit, although my oldest friend wasn't happy about being left behind and let me know about it before hopping over to my vampire mate for comfort. But I didn't want her getting her feathers ruffled during the conversation my sister and I were about to have.
There was no need to knock. Ryan and I had a connection through our shared bloodline. If she was too distracted to notice me here, the spirits would tell her through the other ability we shared—communicating with those not present in this physical realm. Ryan was just beginning to grasp the full extent of this power, something that filled me with sorrow as I reflected on how she'd believed herself to be mentally unstable for so many years before our paths crossed once more. But I was helping her learn to have the upper hand with her spirit friends.
The sound of my sister’s laughter, light and carefree, brought an ember of warmth to my soul, and a smile played around my lips. However, I knew the moment she realized I was here by the sudden lull in conversation on the other side of the door, and the whispered argument that soon followed.
My smile fell as quickly as it had appeared. Christian, my sister's mate, did not like me, and his feelings were shared among his coven. This normally didn't bother me in the slightest. I couldn't care less about any vampire's opinion of me other than my Shea's. But to spare Ryan these arguments with him, I normally kept my visits to the daylight hours when he was still asleep. He knew we saw each other often—that was no secret, and he knew I was the only one who could help Ryan control the power within her—but it spared him the uncomfortableness of seeing us together.
However, this conversation couldn't wait until tomorrow, because Luukas had just received a phone call from our new friends in New Orleans.
As I knew would happen eventually, our father had returned to The Big Easy to continue his quest to recruit my very distant cousins. Only this time, he knew I'd be waiting, and he'd be more careful.
Christian flung open the door, but didn't move out of the way so I could enter. Over his shoulder, my sister's turquoise blue eyes silently asking me why I was disturbing their night together.
I ignored him and addressed her directly. "I'm sorry it's so late, but I need to speak with you."
He answered for her before she could respond. "Yeah, it is late. So why don't you come back tomorrow."
It wasn't a question, so I didn't bother to answer it. "It's important, Ryan."
After a moment, she sighed and gave a small nod. "Let him in, Christian."
Only then did I shift my eyes to him. My sister's vampire wasn't happy with this development, but like me, he could deny her nothing. Grudgingly, he stepped back and allowed me to walk past him.
"What's wrong?" she asked as soon as the door shut behind me.
I got straight to the point. "The djinn, our father," I clarified. "He's back in New Orleans. Killian just called Luukas to let us know."
She crossed her arms over her chest in a protective gesture. "And what does that have to do with me?"
I stared at my sister as she twisted her hands nervously in front of her, completely ignoring the heat of her mate's glare on the back of my neck. I had no doubt his fangs would be deep within my artery, draining the life from me, if he thought he could get to me before I would react. Fortunately for Christian, he knew he couldn't, and wasn't stupid enough to try anyway.
"I need you to come with me this time. I don't think I can beat him alone. And even if I could, I don't like the odds. I'd feel better about them if you were there."
Immediately, she shook her head, and for a moment, the vibrant oranges and blondes and reds of her hair held my attention as the strands slid over each other like a fiery waterfall. So beautiful. The color came from our mother, who she resembled greatly. "I don't think that's a good idea."
I reached out and grasped one of Ryan's hands in mine, feeling the tremble of her fingers against my palms. Even after all the time we'd spent together recently, she was still afraid of me. This knowledge made my voice sharper than I'd intended. "You have to trust me, sister. I wouldn't ask this of you if I didn't believe you were strong enough."
Christian growled low in his throat, the sound rumbling through the room before he spoke. "She said no. You need to respect that."
I never took my eyes from Ryan's pale face. "This isn't about what you want, vampire. It's about what needs to be done."
"And putting my mate in danger is the answer?" Christian stepped around me to stand at my sister's side, his muscles coiled tight beneath his copper skin. His voice rose. "She's not ready."
Anger, sudden and hot, erupted within me and my eyes flew to his. "I don't need her to be ready! I can take what I need from her at any time. With or without her permission. I only need her to be close."
He was toe-to-toe with me between one heartbeat and the next, fangs bared and fists clenched at his sides. "You won't be taking anything from her without her permission, warlock. I don't give a fuck who you are."
I was done arguing with this one. With a small tilt of my head, I ordered the spirits to remove him from my sight. His eyes widened and Ryan cried out as he was lifted from the floor and thrown across the room into the floor-to-ceiling windows that lined the far wall. Lucky for him, they were specialty windows, designed to keep the vampires safe from the sun…and from falling to the pavement below.
As soon as he touched the floor again, a loud hiss raised the hair on my arms and he surged forward, his glowing eyes fixed on me.
Hold him , I ordered silently.
Once again, he was thrown back against the windows and held there.
"Stop it!" Ryan shouted.
With effort, I softened my expression as I turned back to my sister, understanding the fear that gripped her. "I know what I'm asking of you is a lot, but you're stronger than you realize. And you won't have to fight, but I’ll need you to be nearby. I just need your power.”
Christian struggled against the invisible hands holding him. "She'ashil, you don't have to do this. He can find another way."
"There is no other way," I gritted out, my eyes never leaving her.
"You don't know that," he argued.
My patience was wearing dangerously thin. "Except I do," I snapped at him. "I tried to take him on alone, and I failed." I wasn't ashamed to admit this fact. Maybe if he hadn't had help getting away, I would've had a chance, but I wasn't about to bet my life on it.
Christian's eyes flashed bright amber, that low growl a near constant rumble in his chest. "Marcus isn't our problem. I won't risk Ryan's life on some vendetta you have against your father."
The dark magic I shared with that father crackled beneath my skin, but I held myself in check. It would break my sister if I burned her mate to ash where he stood. She would never forgive me, and I was only just getting to know her after spending a lifetime apart.
"If I fail again, it won't only be my life that's in danger, but Alex and Alice's…and Ryan's . She is his daughter, after all. Or have you forgotten that fact, vampire?" Marcus had allowed our mother to hide her from him once, but if he knew the untapped power she possessed, he wouldn't allow her out of his sight again.
Ryan stepped between us, her hands raised in a placating gesture. "Stop it, both of you. This isn't helping." She turned to face me, her turquoise eyes pleading. "Jesse, I want to help. I do. I want nothing to do with that…thing that impregnated our mother and if there’s a way to make him disappear, even better. But I don't see how my being there will help anything. I don't even know what magic I'm capable of yet. And the little I do know, I can barely control."
I softened my expression, reaching out to grasp her shoulders. "As I said, you won't need to do anything. If you share your power with me, I can join it with mine to make myself stronger. And it will give me the advantage."
Christian's gaze darted between us. He'd finally stopped fighting. "I don't fucking like this. There has to be another way."
I shook my head. "There isn't. Trust me, I've tried. I'm the only one who has anything near the power of our father, other than my sister." My eyes found hers again. "This is our best chance to remove him from our lives.”
Ryan studied me for a long time. "I'll think about it. If you release Christian before he breaks the windows and falls nine floors to the sidewalk."
"Ryan, no," Christian protested, his voice strained.
I agreed to her terms. "We leave in three days. As soon as Luukas ties up some things here. Unless something happens before then and we need to go sooner."
She nodded, her expression troubled.
"What is it?" I asked her.
After a pause, she asked, "Do you really think you'll fail again?"
"He'll kill me next time," I told her honestly. "Without you, Ryan, he'll kill me. He won't let me take him by surprise again."
My sister stared up at me, only the darkening of her eyes telling me that she wouldn't be happy about that. "I'll be ready in three days," she whispered.
The weight I'd been carrying around since I last confronted Marcus suddenly lifted, leaving me feeling lighter than I had since the day Shea told me she loved me. Ryan may not know what she was capable of, but I did. I felt the darkness inside of her every time we trained together. I felt it now.
"Thank you," I told her sincerely. And to her mate, I said, "I swear to you on my life I won't let anything happen to her. Our father won't even know she's there."
"I know he won't," he growled. "Because I'm coming with you."
Of course he was. And I understood his need, so I didn’t bother to try to talk him out of it. Nodding goodbye to my sister, I let myself out of their apartment, ordering Christian to be released.