The Heartless Hybrid Queen

Chapter 32 - Aurora

When we exit the portal, we're surrounded by trees and I'm immediately hit with familiarity. I look around; I spent almost two years living in this forest. There's no time for reminiscing though, as we start walking straight ahead until the trees thin, and the town of Heart's Content is visible.

"Alright," Samael says, breaking the silence, "you three stay here, Aurora and I will make our way to Eli's house."

Adrian, Dimitri, and Kieran nod their heads without a word, and I can tell they don't really think I should go through with this. I ignore them and focus on changing my appearance.

Addie's constant reminder that magic is about willpower comes back to me and I concentrate harder. I focus on my own blood pumping through my veins and feel the rush of power it brings me. I don't feel any of the euphoria that drawing from the blood of others makes me feel; in fact, I feel a deep ache in my veins, but with Danika's strength it's a lot easier to manage, and after a moment, my appearance changes back to the wavy brown hair and chocolate eyes I had for seven years.

"You look like a human, but both of you are still too tall," Dimitri mutters. "Slouch or something."

Right, I forgot to ask Addie about changing my height. I grew a lot taller when Danika awoke.

Samael and I do as Dimitri says, and he rolls his eyes, "Good enough."

I turn to my mate who is unbuttoning his shirt and forget whatever I was about to say. His muscles are like steel, his skin like silk, and his wings are majestic as they rip through his shoulder blades and shake off drops of his blood.

"Are you ready for this, my love?" He asks, holding out his arms for me.

"Yes," I breathe out, retrieving his shirt from the forest floor and letting him pick me up. His wings extend and he flies into the air, high enough that we won't be spotted.

"I know the general area of his address, we'll land close by," he says as he circles the town, looking for the right spot. A moment later he freezes, then plummets to the ground with vampire speed. I give a yelp of surprise, gripping him tightly, and hear his chuckle rumble deep in his chest. "Sorry, my love, the faster I land the less chance we're seen."

"Right, just a little warning next time."

He shoots me a sly grin and I know I'll never get that warning.

We landed in a small alleyway between two shops. It's early enough that most doors are still closed, though there are a few people walking in the street up ahead.

Samael's wings fold in on themselves, detracting back into his shoulder blades, and his skin heals over quickly. I hand him his shirt, which he puts back on much to my disdain, and we walk towards the street.

"Go to the left," he whispers to me, and I do as he says, turning onto the wide cobblestone road. We walk for a few minutes, and I recognize the area we're in as the upper-class part of town.

We're ignored by most of the residents, though I feel a few curious stares follow us as we walk by; it's a small town so outsiders are easy to spot. We make our way down a side street lined with houses, and after about five minutes turn down another. Samael points to a cute house with a wrap-around balcony and a small yard overflowing with weeds.

"That's Eli's house, we'll go around the back," he says quietly. I nod, and we duck beneath some trees, making our way to Eli's back fence, which we jump easily, landing in tall grass that obviously hasn't been trimmed in ages.

We walk up the balcony stairs and straight through the back door, which he must've accidently left unlocked, and into a spacious kitchen. We don't explore the house, or even leave the kitchen, we sit at the small table against the wall and wait.