“It’s nothing,” I lied. Inside, giddy butterflies fluttered about. “I just figured … this is our first Christmas together …” He unraveled the tie to the case and carefully tipped the bag. The watch slid out to fit perfectly in the center of his open palm. I waited in silence as he stared at it, not saying a word, his jawline shifting slightly.
“Amelie said you’d like it …” My voice betrayed my anxiety. What is going on inside his head? Does he like it? Is he wondering why I got him a freaking watch? What if Amelie confused things? She is a bit flighty …
“My father had one just like it,” he finally said, his voice turning husky. Tiny exhale … “I had it for years. Kept it in my pocket. When the war came and we fled, I lost it.” Beautiful jade irises lifted to absorb me and I could swear I saw them watering. But then I blinked and they were back to their perfect clarity.
He clutched the watch within his fist and, holding it to his chest, he whispered, “Thank you.” Stretching out to grasp my wrist, he yanked me toward him more forcefully than usual. My heart skipped three beats. With a hand cupped on either side of my face, his gaze lingered, a darkness growing in them that made my knees shake and my cheeks flush.
Finally, when I thought I might collapse under his consuming stare, he leaned forward to plant the gentlest kiss on my forehead. From there, his mouth skated down to the bridge of my nose and then the tip. Forcing my head back with his hands, his mouth caught the side of mine, right on the edge where it lingered. And lingered.
“I’m so sorry for everything I’ve put you through. It’s not fair, all that grief I gave you over Julian.”
“It’s okay,” I murmured, half dazed. With this new Bishop saga, I had forgotten all about that other lie.
Caden’s fingers slid under my chin and lifted my head to meet his eyes. “No, it’s not okay. I’ve dreamed about finding someone like you for seven hundred years. And now, here you are and …” His thumb moved to wipe away the fresh tear rolling down my cheek. “I won’t let us lose another second over this. I promise. It’s done. It’s forgotten. It’s—”
Amelie’s shrill screams cut Caden off midsentence.
He vanished before I could blink, his words to Wraith, “Keep her safe” hanging in the air. But I wasn’t waiting around with Wraith. Only one thing could make Amelie shriek like that.
Blood rushed to my ears as I ran across the hall, passing by Julian’s smashed door, my legs straining as if pushing through three feet of water. I dashed halfway into the room and came to a skidding halt. Amelie stood by the en suite, her ringlets sagging and dripping wet, hugging a white towel to her body, her face wild with confusion.
“How could he?” she whispered in a gasp.
I said nothing, rushing toward the bathroom. “Stay back,” I threw over my shoulder. I didn’t need to see him to know for certain that Wraith was on my heels. And in another second, he stood by my side, my demand useless.
“Caden?” I called out shakily.
“Eve!” Julian cried out instead, a strangled desperation in his voice.
“I’m coming in!” I announced, sucking in a gulp of air as I rounded the corner. Caden had Julian pinned against the wall, his forearm pressing across Julian’s neck. A puddle of water was forming beneath Julian’s feet, a byproduct of being ripped out of a still-running shower. At some point in the trauma, Julian had a chance to grab a towel. He held it against his lower front half, covering the part of him I had no interest in seeing.
“Tell me again why I shouldn’t kill you right now!” Caden growled through clenched teeth, fire in his eyes.
“No! You can’t!” I cried out, stepping forward. Wraith’s arm shot out from nowhere to shove me back to the opposite corner. “Is he a threat to Evangeline?” he asked moving forward.
“He’s a threat to all of us.” Caden’s tone was as icy as I’d ever heard it. He didn’t look in my direction as he released Julian from the chokehold and took three wide steps back. “Get rid of him, Wraith.”
Without further prompting, Wraith began closing in on Julian, his deadly hand lifting toward his shoulder. No, no, no! I choked back a sob. This wasn’t happening. I had to stop this… If Wraith attacked, there was no healing, no bouncing back. Julian would be dead. Another person close to me, gone.
“He saved my life. Don’t do it!” I screamed.
Wraith kept moving forward. It was as if I hadn’t spoken. He wouldn’t stop until Julian was dead. I needed to do something drastic, I realized, squeezing my fist tightly over the smooth hilt of my dagger, still in my hand. My dagger … There was one way to make Wraith listen.