Chapter 18

Too much drama is never good for you.



I jerked my legs, hoping to create a storm of fire, but I ended up burning my toes. The excess magic was buzzing in my ears, disrupting my thoughts and the plan that formed in my head melted away. It had been a hell of a day, but Jasper wasn't going to get me without a fight. Not this time.
"Julia, calm down. It's just me," the deep voice said that I recognised—and it wasn't Jasper’s. Tron released his grip. I turned around, breathing hard, my heart pounding away. He stood in the shadows, wearing a long black coat. His aura was shimmering tonight.
"God, you nearly gave me a heart attack!" I hissed. “What's wrong with you?"
My own energy reacted. sending a wave of magic, making the street lamps flash and buzz with electricity.
"I needed to make sure you were alone, that you weren't followed."
I should have been used to this by now. Tron liked showing up unexpected, and I hadn't heard from him since the funeral.
"Right," I said, not really understanding what he meant. "So, what are you doing here?"
The timing wasn't perfect, but I was looking forward to finding out if he had any new information for me, if he would finally tell me what happened to Alex. I needed to tell him about Grandma and all the stuff I found out in North Wales.
"We need to talk about the investigation," he told me, looking serious and worried. "Tell me; is there anything you found in your grandmother’s house?"
I didn't have much time to give him an answer, because we were blinded by lights coming from the black limo approaching from the corner. The muscles in my stomach contracted when I realised Nathaniel wasn't planning to give up.
The limousine stopped right in front of us. Roberto didn't move, but a moment later, Nathaniel climbed out of the back; my carefully prepared speech evaporating out of my head. He noticed Tron but looked straight at me.
"I need to speak to Julia urgently. Would you mind leaving whatever you need to discuss for later?" Nathaniel asked him. This didn't sound like a request, but more like an order. Tron didn't seem too keen on the turn of the events, scratching his chin.
I felt my pulse speeding as waves of magic tingled in my toes, making me a little dizzy. We heard the crackles of electricity nearby.
"Mr. La Caz, it's a pleasure to see you again. I believe you were abroad for a while?" Tron asked politely, like he insisted on making conversation. I was chewing my lips, trying not to pay attention as desire poured into my stomach. I was angry Nathaniel had ignored the fact that I didn't want to talk to him. I couldn't deny he looked gorgeous in an expensive black coat, blue scarf and that electrifying stare.
"I’ve been in Liverpool on business," Nathaniel said, never taking his eyes off me. The tension zoomed; I felt pressure in my core, heat that kept building between us.
"Tron, it's okay, I have nothing to discuss with this man. Do you want to come upstairs?" I asked, with the sweetest voice and raving smile.
"No, Julia, Tron is leaving, and we’re going to talk. Whatever he has to say to you can wait. Don't fight me on this, firecracker," Nathaniel said and my ears burned when I recognised that nickname. Bastard, he wasn't playing fair.
"I can't believe you’re being so rude. We don't—"
"It's all right, Julia. We can talk about this another time," Tron cut me off. The tiny veiled anger wriggled down my body. I didn't want to talk. Nathaniel was just bulldozing his way back into my life. "I will call on you again, Julia."
Tron nodded to Nathaniel and disappeared into the night, leaving me with my ex-lover. Neither of us said a word for about a minute. I couldn't take this any longer, so I finally looked at him. My heart had bled enough. I needed to know what he wanted this time.
"Why are you here?" I finally asked. So many things had happened since he left, and I was so lost, knowing that he didn't really care.
"Let's get inside. I don't want you to catch cold."
"I don't want to go inside, Nathaniel. I want to know why you’re here."
He sighed loudly.
"Don't be stubborn. It's cold out here and you’re freezing," he told me, then passed me and used the key that I’d given him to get into the building. I stood outside for a bit, fighting with myself to keep a lock on my emotions. As usual he behaved like everything was absolutely fine. There was no point worrying about what was coming or whatever, because Nathaniel didn't even care what I had been through.
He vanished upstairs and finally after five minutes I strolled in after him, wondering how this meeting was going to go. He was sitting on my sofa without his coat when I walked in and shut the door. My fingers were sparkling, and the heat shot down my body. Exhilarating magic was letting me know that it’d been a while since we made love. It was strange, but when we were together, my magic behaved. Now I could barely keep up with my breathing, aware of the power colliding in my living room.
This was going to be a difficult conversation, not for him, but for me.
I leaned against the cabinet and folded my arms over my chest, hiding my sparkling fingers. Nathaniel wasn't smiling; he was just looking straight at me with a serious expression on his face.
"Why did you come here? Do you think I'm going to forget about everything when you fucked off and left me alone when my grandma just died?" I shouted. This had never gotten me anywhere, and I hated being such a drama queen. He was pissing me off, acting like we were all right.
“You're right. Saying I'm sorry doesn’t cut it," he said, looking at me with a hard gaze that was melting my insides. "I have no right to come here and demand your attention."
"Obviously you haven't explained anything that happened to Charlotte. She just showed up here with that vampire killer thinking everything is perfectly all right." I threw my hands in the air, ignoring the vibes of burning raw lust. God, I wanted him so much, it was like some strange force was ripping my heart into a billion small pieces. It’d been so long since I touched him.
Nathaniel shifted on the sofa and rested his fingers together, staring at me.
"I know you were away this weekend. Your father reached out to vampires, and he nearly got himself castrated by a group of trolls."
I started laughing, knowing he couldn't be serious. Dad had no business speaking with vampires. I sat down in the chair, forgetting about my rules.
"And how do you know any of this?" I asked, as the heat eased the tension in my muscles.
"I had been back in the UK for over a week when this happened, but before I went away I asked some people to keep an eye on your family. Your father’s been trying to find your grandpa, using connections that he already had. My guy managed to drag him away, before things got out of control," Nathaniel explained. "The trolls were wound up, ready to take him to Lancaster. My guy had to pay them with gold to keep this under wraps."
"But how and why? Dad would never—"
"You have no idea what’s been going on. You mean everything to me and I do love you, Julia. I don't know what got into me at the funeral. I don't remember half of the things I said; everything from that day is blurry."
I was speechless, staring back at my fingers. The heated glare in his eyes wasn't helping as my skin tingled everywhere. I couldn't stay still. How could he not remember? His words were hurtful.
"My mother didn't say anything about this when I spoke to her last night," I told him, not wanting to believe that Dad would put himself in so much danger.
"Because she doesn’t know."
There was silence for a moment and I kept avoiding the pressure in my core, the craving for his touch, the connection that hung between us. I had him right in front of me. My head was vibrating as my magic increased; it was almost unbearable. The heat of my desire was spreading through me. We had only been apart a couple of weeks and now all of a sudden, I needed to remember how it felt to be lost to my lust for him.
"What happened? Tell me," I demanded
"He believes that trolls have information about his father. Dannika White stopped giving him updates about what’s going on, and they’re no longer on speaking terms. He’s conducting his own investigation, using illegal magic to try to find the killer."
I cursed, and a few sparks escaped from my fingertips. My father was stubborn, and he wasn't going to give up. I needed to speak to him, find out what he was planning.
"I went to North Wales with Michael, Kelsie and Kate to meet with the wizard who my grandma had been seeing," I blurted out, not even knowing why I needed to tell him all this. He was saying all the right things, but he’d left me on my own. I couldn't just forget what happened between us. After a moment I realised I shouldn't have said anything about North Wales. He probably still remembered what Jasper had done to me and the fact that I had asked him for help.
"And what did you find out?" he asked, leaning over, so I caught the seductive scent of his alluring aftershave.
"My grandma had been trying to protect me from someone. She’d asked him to brew Dragonfly. The illegal potion."
"Dragonfly! Are you certain that’s what it was?"
I nodded. Yeah, I never learned anything from the past. I was already providing too much information. My big mouth had gotten me into trouble more than a few times.
"Yes, Nathaniel. I'm not an idiot. I know for a fact she provided some of the ingredients. She seemed desperate, and possibly killed people, apparently to keep me safe…"
I wasn't supposed to tell him anymore, but I felt like I needed to mention the letter that I’d found in my grandmother’s office. Nathaniel wasn't asking any questions. He was just listening to me for a bit.
My skin crawled for contact, but I wasn't losing this battle just because I was so weak.
I told him about my theory about the royal fairies and Ella.
"This is serious. I paid a visit to your father, just before I came here. I don’t believe he’ll be a problem anymore."
My eyes widened.
"You did what? I mean, did he talk to you after what happened at the funeral?"
"I needed to see him to tell him that the allegations about his mother’s financial discrepancies were untrue. I hired a few forensic accountants to look into the matter and it turned out that a high member of the Association was paid to sell this story to the press. The police looked into the fake accounts. Your grandma hadn't made any transfers. The accounts were empty, but it was Marshal Douglas who fiddled with the books. He made it look like it was your grandma," Nathaniel explained, touching my hands.
My heart kicked me right in the chest when I thought about this, first from the information that I received and second from the sudden closeness. He just knew how to touch me, and I was his in an instant. Marshall Douglas worked for the Elves Association. He was close to my grandma. I didn't understand how Dannika could have missed this.
"What? Impossible," I managed to breathe out, staring into his hazel eyes.
"Someone wanted to make it look as though she had been in the centre of all this. S. H. That’s what I managed to find out. These initials keep popping up everywhere and your theory seems believable."
"Hold on, what did you say? S.H?" I repeated, feeling like my heart was beating a hundred miles an hour.
"Yes, that’s exactly what I said. Why?"
"Because those are the initials of the person who sent a letter to my grandma telling her that I belong to him, that he was coming for me."