Chapter 11
Elias
The Garden District hummed with protective magic as Talin and I walked through streets lined with ancient oaks. Spanish moss draped from branches like ghostly curtains, and the air thrummed with power that made my skin prickle.
This was witch territory. I'd needed explicit permission from Judy just to cross the wards without setting off every alarm in the coven.
Talin walked beside me, close enough that our arms brushed with each step. The contact sent sparks through the most intimate parts of me. Not the explosive fireworks from before, but something steadier. Warmer.
More terrifying.
"You're being too loud," she said.
I glanced at her. "Didn't realize I was saying anything."
"You're not." She gave me a curious glance. "But I can feel you brooding from here."
"I don't brood."
"Elias." She stopped walking and turned to face me fully. "You've been in your head since we left Lizzy's store. Just say whatever it is you need to say."
I flexed my hands, then shoved them into the front pockets of my jeans to keep from reaching for her. "I don't like this plan."
"Which part?"
"The part where you walk into a pocket dimension controlled by an ancient djinn who wants to use you as a magical connection, or whatever the fuck he has planned," I told her. "The part where I can't follow you. Can't protect you."
"You being there with me will keep me anchored here.
" She reached for my hand, pulled it free from my pocket, and laced our fingers together.
"I can feel you now. Feel your heartbeat like it's my own.
When I go in again to get Alex, that connection will keep me tethered to you.
To this world. And it'll bring me back."
"And if it's not enough?" My grip tightened on her hand. "If Marcus finds a way to sever that bond or use it against you? What then?"
"You'll pull me back before that can happen." She said it with such certainty, such absolute faith in me that it made my chest ache. "I trust you."
You shouldn't.
The thought rose unbidden, born from a century of barely keeping myself grounded in reality without losing my mind to the past.
"Besides, you need me now—or my blood, at least—or you'll die, right? So I think that gives you a pretty good incentive to keep me alive."
"That's not the only reason I want to keep you alive, little witch," I said quietly.
Pulling my other hand from my pocket, I brushed her hair back from her eyes where the wind had blown it as I struggled with the emotions whipping around inside of me.
Emotions I wasn't used to, but that had been growing exponentially since the first night she walked into the club.
Her skin was cold and damp, like the weather, and her scent was muffled from all the layers of clothing she was wearing. I didn't like either. "Come on, let's get you home and inside where it's warmer."
We started walking again, her hand still in mine. We didn't talk. Just enjoyed the stillness of the night. The only sounds our footsteps and Talin's breathing. There was too much to say, and not enough time to say it, and I think we both just wanted to enjoy this moment of normalcy, such as it was.
The blood bond we now shared pulsed between us.
I could hear hers rushing through her veins, louder than anyone else's, calling to me.
Heard the rapid beat of her heart, saw the flutter of her pulse on the side of her throat and felt it at her wrist. Felt the anxiety stiffening her muscles reflected in the depth of her beautiful green eyes every time she glanced at me.
She was afraid.
Of me? I wondered. Why would she be afraid of me after everything that's happened between us?
I started to say something, to ask her what was going on, but then she squeezed my hand. I looked down at her to find her staring straight ahead. I followed her gaze.
Her apartment building appeared ahead. An old Victorian house converted into units.
The paint was peeling a bit, and the yard needed to be mowed.
A piece of the past that deserved better treatment than this.
But people didn't appreciate things now like they used to. These days, it was all about money.
Talin stopped at the wrought iron gate and stood uncertainly, playing with her keys with her head down.
I waited, watching her internal struggle without interruption.
She was wondering whether to invite me in.
Little did she know that despite my own uncertainty about what was happening between us, I wasn't going anywhere tonight.
If she didn't want me in her apartment all day, I'd camp outside the door.
Hopefully, it was far from any windows, because even though it was winter, the sun would be coming up in a few hours, and I'd let it burn me alive before I left her again.
I saw the moment she came to a decision. "Do you want to come in?" The question carried weight, and we both knew it.
I should say no. Tell her I was fine staying somewhere else in the house so I'd be nearby just in case her magic acted up and she needed me.
She clearly wasn't ready for what was going to happen between us.
And it would happen. Talin was MINE, but if she decided to never sleep with me, well, then I guess I'd just become celibate.
Because even just the thought of fucking someone else made me recoil in disgust. I'd happily wait if she wasn't ready, even if it nearly killed me. "Yes."
She blinked up at me, and I couldn't tell if she was relieved or surprised by my answer. Maybe a little of both. After only a brief pause, she led the way up to the second floor.
Her apartment was small but tidy. A one-bedroom with exposed brick walls and windows that overlooked the street.
Bookshelves lined one wall, crammed with volumes on magic theory and mythology.
A comfortable-looking couch occupied the other wall.
There was no television, but I guess in this age of streaming you didn't really need one.
Just a computer, which I spotted at one end of the couch.
The kitchen was white, the counters cluttered, and there were a few dirty dishes in the sink, which I immediately wanted to wash for her.
Right before I reorganized her cabinets.
Talin locked the door behind us, then turned to face me, and the urge to clean her kitchen completely left my mind. The air between us crackled with tension, with all the things we'd been dancing around since that first night at the bar.
MINE.
The word reverberated through me all the way down to the marrow of my bones, and it was all I could do not to throw her over my shoulder and find the nearest flat surface.
But she looked so small and scared standing there in front of me…
"Talin, if you don't want me in here…" I left the rest of the thought unsaid, not sure what I'd do if she told me to leave.
"Do not want this?" I asked suddenly, gesturing back and forth between the two of us. "I know it's not why you came to me—"
She cut me off. "It's not that." Her beautiful eyes traveled over my face. "And maybe it was, but I just didn't realize it at the time. I mean, who can fight fate, right?"
"Are you absolutely sure? Because my offer to leave still stands." Like hell it does.
"No," she said, and I heard the note of surprise in her voice. "I actually feel better having you here."
Good. Okay. Now I was confused. "Then what's wrong? Is it the threads?"
She shook her head. "No. No, they've decided to give me a break tonight.
Which is weird. I just…I'm not sure…" She stopped.
Looked at me, then quickly looked away again.
"I mean, I know what happens. Between males and females…
" Her hands flew through the air, gesturing as she spoke.
"I'm your mate." Her eyes met mine. She didn't sound too sure about that.
"And I know you expect to…and it's not that I don't want to," she hurried to reassure me, "I mean… look at you."
My entire body hardened as her eyes traveled over all six feet three inches of me and her tongue swept out to moisten her lips. A deep, possessive growl rumbled deep within my chest.
At the sound, her eyes flew back to mine, and she swallowed hard. "I'm afraid I'll disappoint you," she finally admitted in a small voice as her eyes fell to the floor.
It was my turn to blink at her stupidly, not understanding how that would be possible. "Talin." I waited until she looked at me again. "That's not going to happen."
She just gave me a timid smile, and in a shaky voice said, "I guess we'll see, won't we."
I crossed the distance between us in two strides, framing her face with both hands. Her skin was so soft, I was distracted for a second by the feel of it beneath my rough palms. "Look at me."
Those green eyes lifted to mine, uncertainty swimming in their depths.
"I've wanted you since the moment you walked into my bar," I confessed, keeping my voice steady and patient despite the hunger clawing through me. "Even before that. Before I knew who you were. Before I understood what you are to me. I just wouldn't admit it to myself."
Her eyes were wide on my face.
"Talin, there's nothing about you that could possibly disappoint me." It was true. I knew this instinctively. After all, she was chosen for me for a reason.
She didn't answer, just bit her lower lip, and it made me want to bite it too as tears filled her eyes.
"Talin." I lowered my forehead to hers, breathing in her scent, soured slightly by fear. "Tell me what you're afraid of."
"I can't."
"You can." I slid my hands down to her shoulders, then her arms, feeling her trembling beneath the layers of clothing. "Whatever it is, you can tell me."
But she just shook her head, pulling back just enough to lower her eyes to the floor between our feet.