Kane smiles, too, and suddenly the hexer's words rush through my head.
"Kane, oh fuck. Kane, you're like me. If you kill—"
"I know," he says, a salacious grin growing. "It was a fucking shock that floored me, but I found out in the prison." His grin falls to make room for a frown. "A little girl told me. I couldn't get out. I couldn't save her. She said something about going with a woman in white. We're trying to figure out who she is."
"The hexer. She saw her in a vision. Maybe she can help us."
He purses his lips, and I'm sure his reason for pause has something to do with the fact he's spent a long time believing the hexer cursed him for reasons other than to save his life.
"Chaz called her already. She doesn't know her identity, and the little girl never would tell me."
He seems focused on all the important stuff, but like the fool I am, I'm focused on the one thing that doesn't have anything to do with surviving. I look at him expectantly, waiting on him to say something about our supposed destiny. Kane's a rebel. He doesn't like being a part of destiny's plan. He'd better not even think about leaving me.
"You okay?" he asks softly, studying my eyes.
I ignore him, and instead, I ask, "What all did that little girl tell you?"
His smile comes back, and he leans down to just barely brush his lips against mine. Chaz groans as he starts walking away, and Kane deepens the kiss for just a minute before pulling back and saying, "She told me that fucking dark user wasn't meant for you. She told me you were mine, but let's face it, I told you that a long time ago."
My grin floats happily across my face, and I stifle a girl giggle just before the front door slams.
"Alyssa!" Mom yells, probably having a bit of a panic attack, considering the madhouse it has been here.
Kane tugs at my hand and leads me into the living room to meet my—parents? Why the hell are they covered in blood?
They're splattered in red, their hair is matted by the sprays, and their clothes are tattered and well—bloody, of course.
"What happened to you?" I gasp, covering my mouth as I gape at them. It looks like they ran through a massacre.
Drackus mutters something too low for me to hear, but mom loudly hisses, "A group of bottom-feeding night stalkers." She looks up at an almost smiling Kane, and then her gaze drifts over to Zee and Deke who are also stifling their grins. "No offense," she adds, not sounding sincere at all.
Kane chuckles, unable to bite back his laughter anymore, and he sits down in a chair. I don't need an invitation. Without any hesitation, I settle onto his lap, still waiting on my mother to elaborate as my night stalker wraps his arms around me.
"They found the black diamond of Roth," she grumbles, eyeing Drackus.
"Don't look at me. I told you not to take the bloody thing with us."
He eyes her back, and she finally sighs while looking away.
"The ones who were after Alyssa?" Kane says, shaking his head. "I should have tracked them down and killed them. What's does the black diamond of Roth do?"
"Too many things. Its power is limitless. It's too strong to control, and too damn strong to destroy. I was charged with keeping it safe. I've done great for centuries, but I kept worrying they'd find it if I left it behind. So, I grabbed it when we came back. Little did we know the bastards had been following us.
"We killed the bulk of them, but that son of a bitch leader snatched the diamond and fled, while leaving behind some of his minions for us to fight. Then your father," she says, growling the last part, and Drackus sinks to chair with a huff before she continues, "fucking lost it. He killed the ones who didn't get away, but I had to waste time bringing him down instead of going after the fiend who stole the diamond."
Fiend? Gah, she's old.
"You need a shower," Drackus says, seeming a little random.
Then again, he could be shifting the subject to keep her from exploding on him.
"Why didn't you just use your magic?" I ask, curious as to why they're still wearing all that blood.
Kane bursts out laughing when Mom shoots me a scowl.
"What?" I ask, genuinely confused.
"I never thought to use my magic, Alyssa," she snarls, angry sarcasm in her voice.
Damn. She's irritated.
"The night stalker opened the planes of the blood realm with the black diamond of Roth. He didn't mean to. It just happened. It can't be cleaned with magic. It'll take a long time to wash all this out."