Although it pissed me off that everyone always pulled the ‘Bishop card’ out to keep me in line. It was the only downside to having my twin so close.
I begrudgingly took a step away from Wilder, and Vlad chuckled at me.
“Don’t make me cut an eye out or something,” I snarled at Vlad, my fingers tracing my trusty butterfly knife beneath my suit jacket.
His eyes narrowed as he tracked my movements. “Please tell me you haven’t got a knife hidden in there?”
I grinned widely. “I haven’t got a knife hidden in my jacket.”
I totally had. As well as in my boot.
And the waistband at the back of my trousers.
“Byron,” Vlad sighed with a touch of disappointment, although why he was disappointed is beyond me. I never left my house without a knife. “The wedding is supposed to be neutral ground.”
I pointed to Wilder. “What’s his excuse?”
“Ex-fucking-scuse me?” Wilder gasped, his pouty mouth dropping open.
“It’s not like he can leave his powers at the front door, is it?” I said with a huff. “Don’t you consider him armed?”
Vlad cocked an eyebrow. “We can trust him to behave.”
Wilder pinched the bridge of his nose and then dragged his hand through his hair, mussing up his orderly locks. “I’m not drunk enough for this conversation.”
Then he left. Turned on his heel and walked away from me.
I went to follow him, but Vlad stuck his hand out and planted it firmly on my chest.
“Leave him be,” Vlad said softly.
My eyes burnt a hole in Wilder’s back as he disappeared into the crowd. His shoulders were up by his ears, his hands deep in his pockets, and I had the insane urge to try to make him feel better. I didn’t even know where that thought came from. The only other person who ever made me feel anything was my twin, but there I was, watching Wilder and wantingmore.
I looked up at Vlad and stared deep into his eyes. “I can’t.”
And I think that might have been the most honest thing I’d said all day.
Chapter Two
Wilder
Icouldn’t get away fast enough. Byron Blake had me all sorts of confused. I went from wanting to punch the asshole to… well, I wasn’t quite ready to admitthatto myself.
My head was pounding as if there were a herd of elephants in there, and that was never a good sign. I needed to find a quiet spot because this vision felt like it was going to be a bitch. I darted through a couple of doors, not even paying attention towhere I was going. I just wanted to be far away from the crowds in case I screamed.
I’d been getting visions for as long as I could remember. They were never overly clear, just flashes of images and emotions. I wasn’t even sure theywerevisions. They didn’t show me the future, or at least I didn’t think they did. They felt more like memories or things from the past. I hadn’t told anybody about them, not even my sister. She’d just worry, and then I’d be held in a cage somewhere while she figured it all out. Like I wasn’t capable of doing that myself. I was. I just didn’t want to. I wasn’t ready to know what they really were, so I was ignoring them until I couldn’t ignore them any longer. Not very sensible, I know, but that was me. If I didn’t think about it, it wasn’t a problem.
White lights sparked behind my eyes, and my blood thundered behind my eardrums. Fuck, this one was going to suck.
Pain exploded in my head as I stumbled into another room. Maybe I should have told someone. Should have mentioned it. Then I wouldn’t be so alone.
I wasn’t sure if this one was going to knock me out. Would anyone even notice I was missing?
Knives scraped the inside of my skull, and I pressed the heels of my hands into my eyes to try to stop it, but it was useless.
My knees buckled with another wave of pain, but somehow I didn’t hit the floor. Strong hands grabbed under my arms and held me up. Fuck, I could barely stand. They must be strong. But who had followed me?
I looked over my shoulder into two pools of ice-cold blue. “Byron?”