Semua Bab A Vampiric Kiss : Bab 61 - Bab 70

62Sienna. I woke up to the sound of the kettle hissing.For a second, I didn’t know where I was. My head ached, my arm throbbed, and my entire body felt like it had been through a minor war. Which, technically, it had.Then I looked over and saw Isaac leaning against the kitchen wall like he owned the place.One leg crossed over the other. His arms folded. Watching the steam curl from the kettle like it had done something to offend him.“What are you still doing here?” I croaked.His eyes flicked to me, calm and casual. “Good morning to you too.”“I’m serious.”“So am I.”I sat up with a groan, every muscle protesting. My bandaged arm rested in my lap like it didn’t belong to me. I winced and tried not to let it show.“You didn’t leave,” I muttered.“Nope.”“You just… what? Slept in the corner like a guard dog?”“Didn’t sleep much,” he said. “And I prefer ‘vigilant gentleman.’ Has a nicer ring to it.”I narrowed my eyes. “Isaac.”“Yes, Sienna?”“You can leave now. I’m fine.”He step

Chaprer Sixty-Four. Sienna. There were things I never told anyone. Not because they were secrets, but because they were scars. Old ones. The kind that lived in the corners of my bones and didn’t show on the surface. Memories that settled like dust in the chest, seeming harmless until you breathed them in too deeply.I never planned to tell Isaac.And yet, somehow, there we were. On the floor of my living room, a thick blanket spread between us, tea gone cold on the table. I wasn’t even sure how the conversation started. One minute we were talking about rogue witches and hex patterns, the next, it was history.My history.“My family wasn’t just shunned,” I said, my voice lower than usual. “We were exiled.”Isaac looked at me. He didn’t interrupt. He didn’t crack a joke or shift uncomfortably. He just… waited.“It was years ago,” I continued. “I was maybe nine. My mother broke coven law. Something about forbidden herbs, trading with blood kin… I don’t even remember all the rules anymo

66Isaac. Sienna didn’t kick me out, not exactly.But she did open the door, leaned against the frame, arms folded and chin tilted like she wasn’t about to have feelings about this. “So… you’re leaving?”I smirked, slinging my bag over one shoulder with unnecessary flair. “What, you’re not throwing a parade?”She didn’t rise to it, or scowl, or flirt. She gave me that unreadable stare she’d perfected, a shade somewhere between “don’t go” and “don’t you dare stay.”That was the thing with her. The sharp mouth and sharper eyes were all armor. But underneath… she was just someone who’d been left too many times.I glanced down at her hand gripping the doorframe. “You okay?”“Don’t get sentimental,” she said. “It’s too early in the morning for emotional damage.”I grinned. “You say that like you didn’t practically snuggle me last night.”“I did not snuggle you.”“There was definite limb entanglement.”“That was an accidental tangle.”“Sure,” I said. “And this is an accidental goodbye.”Sh

68IsabellaThe clearing looked different in the late afternoon.More shadows and more silence. The kind of quiet that didn’t feel peaceful anymore, more like the woods were watching me, waiting.I didn’t care. I needed air, I needed space. The walls of the cottage felt too tight, like they were pressing in on all sides. I hadn’t slept. I couldn’t. Every time I closed my eyes, I heard that woman’s voice in the dark.“You’re not human.”I didn’t have a plan or direction. All I was following was my instinct.My boots crunched over dead leaves as I stepped off the path. I told myself I was being brave. I told myself this was just a walk. But deep down, I knew I was doing something reckless. Something angry. Something that dared them to come back.And they did.I felt them before I saw them.The air shifted subtly but immediate. The same ripple I felt yesterday. A distortion. A warning.Footsteps, too light for deer.I stopped breathing.Then I turned.They were there. The same three. The

70Noah. The moon was high when I finally walked up the stone path to Isabella’s door. The house was quiet, lights dimmed, but I could feel her still awake. Her energy buzzed through the air, restless and uncertain, but not panicked.I paused on the porch, one hand hovering over the door.She knew now, about herself, about me, about everything.There was no going back to the half-truths after this.I knocked once.The door opened almost immediately.She stood there barefoot, wrapped in one of those oversized cardigans she wore when she was trying not to feel things too hard. Her hair was tied up in a loose, messy knot, a tea mug in one hand. Her expression was unreadable, but she didn’t look afraid.“Hey,” I said.“Hey.”“Can I come in?”She stepped aside and let me pass. The air inside was warm, a little heavy with the scent of mint and something faintly sweet.I moved to the living room and sat on the far end of the couch. She didn’t join me right away. She walked over to the windo