The Phoenix Prophecy: Nova

Tanner is watching me when I wake. “That’s kind of creepy,” I tell him, pushing myself up onto my elbow.

“I can’t help it.” He kisses my forehead. “You’re beautiful.”All content © N/.ôvel/Dr/ama.Org.

I sniff the air and smile. “Mack’s cooking?”

“Bacon and eggs.”

I look down at my hands and pick a loose thread in the bedsheets. “Does he know what happened last night?”

“I don’t think so.” Tanner flicks my hair from my shoulder and kisses the spot between my neck and my collarbone.

“Was it stupid?” I ask, sighing beneath his lips.

“Probably.” He edges my tee shirt to the side and kisses a line over my shoulder. Then he looks up at me. “It was fucking good, though. Right?”

Laughing and pulling away from him, I swing my legs out of the bed and search for my jeans. As I’m swapping my tee shirt for a bra and a black tank top, Tanner stands up and pulls on his pants.

“Tan?” I sweep my hair back and tie it at the base of my neck.

“Mmm?” He puts on a pale blue tee that makes his eyes and biceps look incredible.

“What’s a blood bond?”

Tanner pauses, winces a little, then sits down and leans onto his thighs. “It usually only occurs between vamps and humans. They bond. The vampire drinks their blood and feeds them a few drops of their own. Not enough to turn them. Just enough to create a blood bond.” He looks up and meets my eyes. “It’s usually unbreakable. It ties them together. Forever.”

“But Kole’s not a vampire, and I didn’t taste his blood.”

Tanner offers me a wry smile and stands up. Tucking a flyaway strand of hair behind my ear, he says, “One thing I’ve learned about you, Nova, is that you don’t abide by the same rules as everyone else.”

We press our foreheads together. I slide my hand up his chest and loop my arm around his neck. “Is that a bad thing?”

“Oh, no.” He kisses me softly. Lovingly. “It’s a very good thing. I always hated the predictable.”

Chuckling to myself, I nudge his upper arm. “Isn’t a prophecy the definition of predictable?”

He looks at me, laughs a short, loud laugh. Then heads for the door. “Coming?”

“Coming.” I pick up my phone and shove it into my pocket. I’m at the top of the stairs when it vibrates.

As Tanner jogs down ahead of me, I take it out. One new message. My heart flutters. Kole. Maybe it’s Kole.

We have the seer, Fire Witch. Come alone or he won’t live to see tomorrow. Franklin Warehouse. Sunset.