fault.”
“You can’t help how you feel.”
“No, but I can help how I act.”
“Maybe not,” he said, looking up at me.
“Alexi seems to think otherwise.”
“You’ve been talking to Alexi?” I asked.
“Well, Alexi’s been talking to us,” he replied.
“What did he say?”
“A lot. But he makes a lot of sense. He knows
a lot about you considering you two just met. He
understands you in a way Max and I can’t.”
“What do you mean?”
“It’s hard to explain.”
“Try.”
Kai sighed. “He says you’re a lot more
powerful than you think. But if you use the
strongest of your abilities, it drains you. Just
using them at all causes your brain to
hemorrhage. If you keep using them, it could kill
you.”
“I don’t really use them on purpose, Kai. It
just happens. I can’t control it.”
“He said you could learn to control it – that
he could help you. He said… he said he could
help you, but Max and I would have to let you
go.”
“What? Let me go? What does that mean?”
“Your father and his father arranged your
marriage when you were born,” Kai said, his lip
quivering. “There’s nothing Max or I can do. It’s
already been sealed.”
“But arranged marriages haven’t existed in
hundreds of years!” I argued.
“Some vampires still practice it,” he corrected
me. “Your mother said her marriage to your
father was arranged.”
“Oh, that’s right,” I said, remembering when
Mother told me.
“She knew a lot of this,” Kai said. “But she
was hoping Alexi would never come. She didn’t
want you to go through what she went through.”
I was quiet, letting it all sink in.
“I think he may be right,” Kai said reluctantly.
“Max and I haven’t done the best job of
protecting you. You’ve been getting into more
trouble with us than you might have if you didn’t
know us. Maybe he’s… good for you.”
“Good for me?” I balked, scoffing. “That
psycho?”
“I heard that!” Alexi shouted through the
door.
“Figures,” I grumbled.
The door opened and Alexi walked in. He
chuckled.
“Can we have a moment alone, now?” Alexi
asked.
“Fine,” Kai said. Then, turning to me, he said,
“I’m not going anywhere, yet.”
I nodded, and he kissed my forehead and made
a hasty exit, shooting Alexi and angry glare on
the way.
Alexi sat beside me.
“How are you feeling?” he asked.
“I’m fine,” I said. “Physically, anyway.”
“What do you mean? Is something wrong?”
“This is a lot to absorb,” I admitted.
He nodded.
“Indeed it is.”
“How long have you known?”
“About the arranged marriage?”
“Yes.”
“Most of my life,” he told me. “My father told
me when I was very young, and he said he’d seen
us get married.”
“He saw us? What do you mean?”
“My father is a powerful Oracle,” he
explained. “He can see the future. He saw us on
our wedding day. He described you in great detail
– so vividly I could see you in my mind. I carried
a picture of you inside my head all my life, and
when I saw you, I knew it was you. I’ve loved
you for as long as I can remember.”
“You knew me because you saw a picture of
me in your mind?” I asked, confused.
“No, no,” he argued. “It was much more than
that. My father had visions of you as you were
growing up. He would tell me all about them.
I’ve known you for years. I watched you grow up
through his eyes. I was there when you fell off
your bike and scraped your knee on your fifth
birthday. I saw you crying the day your mother
told you why you didn’t have a father, because
you were too young to remember when he died. I
saw your first day at the human school. I’ve been
there for every painful, frightening, and even
joyous moment of your life. I’ve wanted so
much to be there for you – to hold your hand and
comfort you through the pain. But my father said
it wasn’t time.”
I listened intently, but
“You can’t help how you feel.”
“No, but I can help how I act.”
“Maybe not,” he said, looking up at me.
“Alexi seems to think otherwise.”
“You’ve been talking to Alexi?” I asked.
“Well, Alexi’s been talking to us,” he replied.
“What did he say?”
“A lot. But he makes a lot of sense. He knows
a lot about you considering you two just met. He
understands you in a way Max and I can’t.”
“What do you mean?”
“It’s hard to explain.”
“Try.”
Kai sighed. “He says you’re a lot more
powerful than you think. But if you use the
strongest of your abilities, it drains you. Just
using them at all causes your brain to
hemorrhage. If you keep using them, it could kill
you.”
“I don’t really use them on purpose, Kai. It
just happens. I can’t control it.”
“He said you could learn to control it – that
he could help you. He said… he said he could
help you, but Max and I would have to let you
go.”
“What? Let me go? What does that mean?”
“Your father and his father arranged your
marriage when you were born,” Kai said, his lip
quivering. “There’s nothing Max or I can do. It’s
already been sealed.”
“But arranged marriages haven’t existed in
hundreds of years!” I argued.
“Some vampires still practice it,” he corrected
me. “Your mother said her marriage to your
father was arranged.”
“Oh, that’s right,” I said, remembering when
Mother told me.
“She knew a lot of this,” Kai said. “But she
was hoping Alexi would never come. She didn’t
want you to go through what she went through.”
I was quiet, letting it all sink in.
“I think he may be right,” Kai said reluctantly.
“Max and I haven’t done the best job of
protecting you. You’ve been getting into more
trouble with us than you might have if you didn’t
know us. Maybe he’s… good for you.”
“Good for me?” I balked, scoffing. “That
psycho?”
“I heard that!” Alexi shouted through the
door.
“Figures,” I grumbled.
The door opened and Alexi walked in. He
chuckled.
“Can we have a moment alone, now?” Alexi
asked.
“Fine,” Kai said. Then, turning to me, he said,
“I’m not going anywhere, yet.”
I nodded, and he kissed my forehead and made
a hasty exit, shooting Alexi and angry glare on
the way.
Alexi sat beside me.
“How are you feeling?” he asked.
“I’m fine,” I said. “Physically, anyway.”
“What do you mean? Is something wrong?”
“This is a lot to absorb,” I admitted.
He nodded.
“Indeed it is.”
“How long have you known?”
“About the arranged marriage?”
“Yes.”
“Most of my life,” he told me. “My father told
me when I was very young, and he said he’d seen
us get married.”
“He saw us? What do you mean?”
“My father is a powerful Oracle,” he
explained. “He can see the future. He saw us on
our wedding day. He described you in great detail
– so vividly I could see you in my mind. I carried
a picture of you inside my head all my life, and
when I saw you, I knew it was you. I’ve loved
you for as long as I can remember.”
“You knew me because you saw a picture of
me in your mind?” I asked, confused.
“No, no,” he argued. “It was much more than
that. My father had visions of you as you were
growing up. He would tell me all about them.
I’ve known you for years. I watched you grow up
through his eyes. I was there when you fell off
your bike and scraped your knee on your fifth
birthday. I saw you crying the day your mother
told you why you didn’t have a father, because
you were too young to remember when he died. I
saw your first day at the human school. I’ve been
there for every painful, frightening, and even
joyous moment of your life. I’ve wanted so
much to be there for you – to hold your hand and
comfort you through the pain. But my father said
it wasn’t time.”
I listened intently, but
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