I waved at her and the dog cocked its head, but remained in place.

“I think she still wants to give you space,” Brennan suggested. “She probably knows that you’re still upset with her.”

“Of course I’m still upset with her!” I snapped. “She tied my soul to a jewel. Who does that? How could she not have seen what problems it would cause?”

Brennan studied me thoughtfully. “Who does that? Not normal families for sure… but your family isn’t normal. Your mother is the goddess of witchcraft. And maybe you’re right. Maybe she just got a little too big for her boots because she’s handled so much power for so long. But I’m sure that she didn’t mean any harm. She only wants to protect you. I don’t even know her and I know that.”

“I know,” I said simply. “But I can’t help how I feel, Brennan.”

I blinked my eyes back toward the horizon to find that my mother was gone. But I knew that she wasn’t very far away. She was clearly here to watch me, so I knew that was exactly what she was going to do. And I had to admit, the knowledge that she was near was comforting.

“Okay, so we’re here for a purpose,” Brennan said uncertainly. “But I feel strange doing something so intimate with you when I know that your mother is watching us.”

I smiled. “I know. But that’s something that you’ll have to get accustomed to. When you live in a world where your mind can be read, your thoughts are not private. It’s just something you learn to live with.”

“It’s not really my thoughts I was concerned about,” Brennan muttered and I had to laugh.

“You know we’re not having sex right now, right?” I asked with another laugh. “There’s no way we could handle that kind of power right now. We’d lose focus and maybe take out the Eastern Seaboard.”

“The Eastern Seaboard?” Brennan gasped in mock outrage as he clutched at his chest dramatically. “Not the Eastern Seaboard! And I’ve always held such a special place in my heart for… New Jersey. Or Rhode Island.”

We laughed, but only to cover up our nervousness. He had made a valid point. It would be strange to partake in any kind of intimacy while we knew my mother was watching. As if to prove that we could do it, he pulled me to him and I melted into his strong embrace. I fit so perfectly in his arms.

He lowered his lips to mine and gently kissed me. I wrapped my arms around his neck and leaned into him, deepening the kiss. My heart slammed in my chest from his nearness, something that always seemed to happen. I heard a roaring in my ears but ignored it as I allowed his mouth to ravage mine, my fingers clutching at his strong chest.

After a few minutes, I came up for air. When I did, I realized that the roaring hadn’t been in my ears. Our tent was in flames, the orange and red fingers scorching at the sky. I dropped my head, stepped away from Brennan and sighed.

“It seems that we have a lot of work to do,” I murmured dejectedly as I conjured water to douse the fire with. Brennan gazed at the charred remains of our little shelter, the burned edges of the tent flapping in the breeze.

“We did that?” he asked incredulously. “Just by kissing?”

“I’m afraid so,” I replied tiredly. “Just by kissing. The more you develop your powers, the more our energy reacts to each other. We’ve got to get a handle on it.”

“There’s no time like the present, then,” Brennan said determinedly as he grasped my hand. I nodded in agreement.

“You’re right. There’s no time like the present.”

I focused on clearing off the charred mess of our tent and replacing it with a clean, new shelter filled with everything that we would need. Bending, I pushed through the new tent flap and pulled Brennan inside with me. Stretching out on the plush sleeping bag, I patted the ground next to me. Brennan slid next to me.

“Now what?” he asked nervously. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

I had to laugh at that. “You could never hurt me,” I answered confidently. “I’m certain about that.”

He groaned and pulled me to him. “I won’t. I promise,” he growled, clutching me tightly to his chest. I felt both fragile and protected within his arms and I was reluctant to leave his embrace. But it was necessary.

Backing up, I slid my teeth along the soft skin of my wrist, creating a short slice in my arm. I held it out to him at the same time as he offered me his own. Without hesitation, I bit, drinking in his warm, mortal blood. Instant strength and light flooded my limbs as mind-shattering sensations enveloped me. His blood tasted just the same as it did last time…like no other. I drank for a few minutes before I opened my eyes to look at Brennan.

His eyes were wide and stricken as my blood streaked down his chin. He gazed past me toward something that I couldn’t see. I pulled my wrist away from his mouth and clutched at his shoulders.

“Brennan, what is it?” I asked quickly, stroking his back. “Are you alright? What’s wrong?”

He turned to me, his tanned face pale, his fingers shaky. “You were right, Em. The world’s going to end and it’s going to be our fault.”

Chapter Twenty

“The world is not going to end,” I insisted slowly, taking in the desperation on Brennan’s stricken face. “Why would you think so? I was wrong when I said it would, Brennan. We can prevent my visions. We can do anything we set our minds to.”

Brennan turned to me, his expression slightly calmer than it had been a scant moment ago. I reached out to grab his hand, but he backed away, causing my heart to race. He stepped out of the tent and I trailed behind him quickly.

“What is it?” I whispered. “What did you see, Brennan?”

His eyes were pain-filled and stark when he answered. “I saw flames and floods and a lot of blood. There was so much blood. I saw the same things that you did, Empusa. And if we both see it, I think it is likely to happen.”

“It won’t!” I cried, gritting my teeth and throwing myself at him. Clutching at him, I gripped his shoulders, trying to make him touch me. Yet he still shirked away from my fingers like I had a sickness. It was alarming.

“Why are you moving away from me?” I asked helplessly, trying to ignore the cold pit growing in my belly. “I didn’t cause your visions, Brennan. I wish nothing more than to protect you from any ugliness in the world.”

“I know,” he admitted softly. “But I also know that this isn’t going to work.”

His voice was like gravel, painfully scraping the surface of my heart with every husky syllable. “I can’t be with you,” he repeated.

He was so casual, so perfunctory, as though we were simply talking about a Cubs game or the weather. I stared at him, at his flecked hazel eyes that gleamed in the sunlight and my chest literally constricted at the thought of even one day without him.

“Yes, you can. You’re perfect for me,” I answered uncertainly, reaching for him, trying to pull him close. If he could just feel my heart pressed against his, I knew that he might bend, if only just enough to listen. But he would have none of it and backed away, leaning against the rocks behind us. He knew the danger within my touch.

“Brennan,” I tried again, stepping forward. The way that the sun bathed him in backlit glory was breath-taking and I had to re-focus. It was difficult not to concentrate on his handsome, rugged face and the way his mouth moved as he spoke.

“Em,” he continued, as if I’d never even spoken. “I’m not…I’m not strong enough for this yet. I won’t be able to control my abilities- I just saw it. I can’t jeopardize the entire mortal world simply because I can’t master my power. And Circes… she said that you would risk everything for me. I can’t allow that, Empusa. I can’t be the one who extinguishes your light. That won’t be me.”

He pushed away from the rocks and strode down the ledge with his distinctive lope. He paused just once on the edge, before he bounded, landing gracefully on his feet far below me. He didn’t look back, he simply walked away from me. I stood still, frozen by his words, astounded by their meaning. Until I realized that if I didn’t do something right now I would never see him again.

I lunged from the ledge, landing roughly in the packed sand below before I raced along behind him. Even employing supernatural speed, I didn’t catch up with him for a mile. He had mastered speed himself, it seemed. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a flash of black and I knew that my mother was close, watching us, but it didn’t sway me.

I pushed Brennan against a nearby red stone rock mound, shoving him hard and he stumbled, staring at me in shock as his back collided with the stone. He had never seen me lose my temper. No one had. I always had to be so careful, so controlled.

“You think it’s only up to you?” I shouted. The wind whipped my hair around my face and I ignored it as I stared directly into the mesmerizing eyes of the only man I had ever loved.

“I have a say in this, too,” I insisted. “You think you can just throw everything away with a handful of cliches? Newsflash: The old it’s not you, it’s me line isn’t effective. If you don’t want to be with me, just be man enough to tell me why. Don’t tell me that it is because of the visions. We can overcome them. I know it. If there is something else, tell me right now.”

My face was barely an inch from his. I was close enough to feel his heart beat through his shirt, to feel the heat from his skin pulse through and bleed into my own skin. I was close enough to inhale his very breath. I knew what my nearness would do to him, but I didn’t care. I closed my eyes and leaned into him… instantly absorbing what he felt; the jagged pain, the overwhelming uncertainty, but mostly, his unbridled need for me. It filled him up and spilled into me.

“Tell me,” I murmured against his lips.

He groaned and pulled me against him, his large hands flattening against my back as he smashed me to his chest and ravaged my lips with his own. He kissed me like the world was ending. And I knew, with every breath in me, that if he left, my world would end.

His body was rock hard and he smelled like the sun. I inhaled him as I grasped his hair and pulled him closer to me, as close as I could possibly get. Even in the heat of this moment, though, I had to keep a corner of my consciousness carefully focused, making sure I didn’t absorb too much of his strength. But I still allowed myself to taste it, to enjoy it.

He was delicious. Everything about him.

His tongue rammed into my mouth, swirling with mine and he tasted like honey as his very life flowed into me, wispy and transparent, but pulsing hard. He was so vital.

It made me wild and I couldn’t control myself. I ripped at his shirt, breaking the buttons as I frantically pushed it off of his shoulders. I knew it was expensive, but I didn’t care. My only thought was consuming all of him, every bit and I needed him inside of me to do that. It was the only way. My focus faltered and then was obliterated. Nothing else mattered now but my need for him.

I began seeing things in blurs of color, tasting the scents in the air and feeling the textures beneath my hands as everything else faded away. His breathing was ragged, his heart beat stuttering and racing as we fumbled with clothing. Our skin was hot and sticky as we pressed together. I felt his heart beat join with mine, synching perfectly, as the process began. My fingers pulsed and my vision unfocused. It was happening. I would only need a moment longer.