4. Rowan #2
“Forcing the curse to feed on me? On us both?” Lane asked.
Nicole nodded. “Do you know much about parasitic curses?” Lane shook his head, and Nicole’s expression tightened. “They’re powerful, and grow stronger once they start feeding. This curse consumes magic and lifeforce. Countering it isn’t going to be straightforward.”
Rowan’s spine stiffened. “What are you saying?”
“We aren’t getting rid of it this morning.
Lane’s incredibly lucky it latched on to you, Rowan.
Even if I’d been here the second Lane arrived, and knew exactly what was happening without investigation, I couldn’t have saved him in time.
I’d say this curse is incurable when cast on anyone but an immortal.
But in this case, it has a limitless supply of magic and life to keep it busy while I work out a counterspell. ”
Lane’s voice pitched high. “What if the bridge breaks before then?”
Rowan leaned forward. “It won’t if we stay close.”
“What about when the effects of our shared blood wear off? Vampire blood only lasts a day after ingestion, right? Then the bridge will break.”
“You’re right, it will only last about twenty-four hours. Will you need longer, Nicole?”
“Most likely. I haven’t found anything about countering deadly parasites yet. It might never have been done.”
Lane leapt from the couch. “So I’m going to die tonight?”
“No.” Rowan stood swiftly, moving around the coffee table to grip his shoulder. “We can keep the link alive by exchanging blood again.”
Lane was speechless, looking at Rowan like he couldn’t believe the offer. Damnation. Lane’s fear was like a slap in the face. He’d come to Rowan for help, placing trust in him, which he clearly no longer felt.
“Maintaining the link shouldn’t be a problem,” Nicole agreed.
Lane pulled from Rowan’s grasp. “For how many days? We’re stuck together until you find a counterspell.”
“Until then, yes, you are, so I won’t waste any more time.” She nodded to Rowan and strode from the room.
“Wait.” Lane took a step after her, then halted, throwing Rowan an agonized look.
“She’ll be headed to the witch room. There’s no point keeping her here.”
Lane’s voice rose. “What if she can’t find a counterspell?”
“She will.”
“You don’t know that.”
“Nicole is brilliant, and she has a number of equally brilliant friends.”
Lane’s eyes were saucers, Rowan’s attempt at reassurance a failure. “That’s no guarantee, but of course you aren’t worried. The curse can’t kill you.”
A heavy weight fell between them. Lane was right. Rowan was in no danger, and Lane was completely at his mercy.
“I didn’t let you die last night. I’m not letting you die now.”
“Not today,” Lane agreed. “But you regretted saving me pretty quickly. How long until you’re sick of dragging me around at your heel?”
A chill cascaded down Rowan’s spine. “I don’t regret saving you.”
“No?” Lane shouted. “Then what was all that crap about how I did this on purpose?”
Rowan’s voice rose against his better judgment. “It’s natural to be suspicious!”
“Oh, is it? And it’s not just as natural for me to second-guess your willingness to keep me as your shadow?” Lane trembled, his face and neck a splotchy red.
Rowan pulled himself together. “You’re right, it’s just as natural. But I swear, I won’t abandon you to die.”
“Why not?” Lane’s eyes turned glassy with unshed tears. “You hate me and think I’m here to trick you. Why wouldn’t you kill me to get away?”
Rage sparked in Rowan’s chest. “Is that a serious question?”
“You’ve done it before,” Lane spat.
Rowan stilled, the anger inside him changing shape.
His voice dropped dangerously low. “That was different.” The power imbalance between Rowan and his sire had been the opposite of what lay between him and Lane.
Rowan had been at Cristóbal’s mercy, his subordination sewn into his immortal blood. “I’d never harm someone in my care.”
That sin was more Cristóbal’s forte.
“Care?” Lane spluttered. “I’m not in your care.”
“Your life is in my hands. There’s no point dancing around it, but I promise I will take care, Lane. Don’t believe all the rumors you hear.”
He rubbed at his eyes, leaving them red-rimmed. “So you didn’t kill your sire?” He said it as nastily as possible, yet Rowan took no offense this time.
“I did. But it wasn’t for personal gain.”
There were rumors that Rowan killed Cris in a quest for power, to be rid of a restricting force he’d tired of.
He didn’t generally refute these claims because they worked in his favor.
Killing one’s sire was nearly impossible due to vampire magic and the bonds shaping vampire lineages.
The magic world feared Rowan for the accomplishment.
He didn’t kill Cris for power, but he took any power he’d gained as a result and used it without shame to further his real goal. Protecting others.
Whenever he could, Rowan protected humans from abuse at the hands of vampires and witches, and the magic community from one another. Anyone on the short end of a power imbalance, because Rowan had been that person once.
It was much easier to be a protector when other powerful beings believed you were ruthless. Rowan’s image was a delicate balancing act, and the reason doing the right thing would always come out on top wasn’t something he shared.
Lane would just have to trust him on this.