Until the Sun Falls from the Sky (The Three #1)(82)
Author: Kristen Ashley

But it seemed like they were getting on with life without me just fine.

When Lana had been selected, she’d been lucky enough to move not that far away, a three hour drive. She was home all the time. My move was a two hour plane ride.

I thought they’d feel my absence but the whirlwind of “I have a lunch date…”, “We’re about to catch a movie…”, “I have a facial in twenty minutes…”, “If I don’t get to that sale, that pair of shoes is going to be gone and I’ll just die if I don’t own them…” (that was Aunt Nadia, she liked shoes nearly as much as me) was all I heard.

Not a single, “So, Leah, how are you getting on with the Mighty Vampire Lucien who you so desperately did not want to be separated from your adored family and pack of friends to go and service? Are you okay? Do you need, per chance, to talk to a beloved, trusted family member?”

Silly, mean, awful Buchanan bitches.

Now I find my mother, my mother, was chatting with Lucien.

I was going to disown her. As soon as she talked to me long enough for me to share that morsel that was.

Stephanie’s amazed words brought me back to my chore of just woken up eavesdropping.

“Like last night?”

“No, I talked to Lydia this morning and she said that never happened to Leah,” Cosmo put in. “She said often her dreams would be frightening and she’d be nearly inconsolable afterwards but she only cried or screamed, sometimes fought. Nothing like what you described last night.”

So, Mom was also not too busy to have a natter with Cosmo either.

Totally disowned.

“She’s very concerned,” Cosmo continued.

Yeah right, I seethed.

“She should be concerned,” Stephanie clipped. “It was f**king scary.”

“I’m concerned,” Edwina said quietly and I knew she meant it.

I liked Edwina and at that moment I liked her even more. Maybe I’d ask her to be my new Mom.

“She has abilities,” Lucien shared and you could tell he didn’t much like it.

My body tensed and my ears perked up.

“Abilities?” Cosmo prompted.

I imagined Lucien nodding before he spoke. “She can fight mesmerization. Not long, seconds, but longer than anyone else. She can talk back when you’re communicating with her, hold entire conversations, like you.” I didn’t know who he meant but I guessed it was either Stephanie or Cosmo. “She can also get into my head, speak to me without me calling to her. She can do it on her own, again, like you.”

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Not everyone could do that?

Lucien continued, “Her senses are advanced, particularly her sense of danger. Either that or she has the reciprocal ability to mark me, making me attune to her in a way that I don’t feel it and she doesn’t know she’s doing it. Either way, when there’s danger or a situation is uncertain, she senses it.”

“Fucking hell,” Cosmo muttered.

“You’re joking,” Stephanie whispered.

“I knew she was special,” Edwina stated.

Edwina was so… totally… my new Mom.

“I think it’s marking,” Lucien decreed and my heart started tripping. “I’ve never been marked. I do the marking but twice I’ve felt her trying to attune herself to me, sense my thoughts, my mood. It took effort to hold her back.”

Oh my God.

That whole pulsating thing. I remembered wanting to know his mood. I thought he was trying to probe mine but I was probing his!

And he was blocking me out which must have been why I was pulsating.

“How bizarre,” Stephanie mumbled.

She could say that again!

“I have a theory,” Lucien declared and I stopped breathing like this would help me hear better. “Her bloodline has been absorbing vampire essence for a long time. Each respective generation taking in more than any other concubine line. I think it’s affected her line and mutated, giving her powers other mortals don’t have.”

I started breathing again.

Wow.

I was maybe mutated. Vampire powers spliced in my genes.

That was huge! And cool!

I know you’re awake, my pet.

My body jerked.

Holy heck!

Lucien was so, freaking annoying. I couldn’t even eavesdrop without him cottoning on.

“I wouldn’t share that with The Council,” Cosmo warned, tearing me away from my thoughts.

“I’ve no intention to,” Lucien replied, his voice closer, coming my way and I assessed my options.

I didn’t know if he was angry but eavesdropping was never nice. Of course, in my defense, they were standing outside the door and the door was open.

I considered throwing myself out the window but I didn’t think my mutant vampire abilities translated to not breaking my leg upon such a feat. And I hadn’t been servicing Lucien long enough to get my super-healing vampire mojo going yet so I figured I should just face the consequences.

“Lucien, we’re not done talking,” Stephanie called.

“Leah’s awake,” Lucien informed her, sounding like he was right at the door.

Silence then, “Shit, she is. I wasn’t paying attention.”

Boy, vampires hearing heartbeats and breathing really sucked sometimes.

Lucien appeared. He closed the door and walked slowly to me.

“Hey,” I said hesitantly, testing his mood. My voice was rough as sandpaper.

This was a good move on my part. His expression had been thoughtful as if trying to decide which irritating, dominating vampire punishment to mete out. Upon hearing my voice, his eyes flashed then gentled as did his face.

He threw back the covers and got in bed with me even though he was fully-clothed, wearing jeans and a tight-fitting black t-shirt.

He pulled me in his arms.

“When did you know I was awake?” I rasped.

“The minute you woke,” he informed the top of my head scarily. “Now, stop speaking.”

“I’m fine,” I argued even though I didn’t sound fine, I really was. I didn’t feel any different than normal except my throat was kind of sore.

“I’m not arguing about this.”

“But –”

Quiet, Leah. He mind-controlled me.

Big, bad, vampire jerk!

I hate it when you do that, I snapped.

Why would you use your voice when we can converse perfectly well like this?

He had a point. Still, for good measure, I pouted. Seeing as my face was in his neck and he couldn’t see me pouting, this was a moot pout but at least it made me feel better.