WAR OF HEARTS • hayley marshall

36 | WHATEVER IT TAKES

Hours later, it was night time and the Feast of Blessings parade begins. The witches march down the street, and the three currently-alive Harvest girls are hoisted above the crowd on thrones. The girls are each dressed for the element they represented in the Harvest – Monique in floral earth tones, for earth; Davina in bright red-orange, for fire; and Abigail in white, for air. Genevieve anxiously watches it all from the sidelines.

Khalia, as a favor to Elijah – who promised to stock her supply of vodka for the next ten years if all goes well, saving her the trouble of having to do it herself – was also in attendance. He also made her promise that she would watch over Hayley, because he didn't trust the witches. Feeling the exact same way, Khalia reluctantly agreed.

She still hasn't figured out what to do with Hayley.

Keeping her eyes on the doorway while hidden somewhere in the shadows, Khalia felt the itch to kill. All of these humans, all of this blood - warm and pulsing through the veins of the mortals. Out of nowhere, the feeling - the craving and the hunger - vanished as complete serenity washed over her, drowning the monster part of her.

Hayley has arrived then.

Ever since the realization of Hayley being her humanity, Khalia has been more aware of when the werewolf was in her immediate vicinity. It wasn't like she knew exactly where the werewolf was; just that she was close by.

Coming out of her thoughts, she looked back to where Elijah was welcoming the guests. Khalia's breath caught in her throat as she raked her eyes over Hayley's familiar figure. The vampire allowed herself to smile at Hayley. There was nothing wrong with smiling in the shadows. No one could see her.

The eldest living Original smiled at the werewolf, "Strange. I thought you'd be in the company of your colorful friends."

"Oh. You asked for a representative for the werewolves, so take me or leave me." Hayley deadpanned, eyes flickering around in search of her vampire. She, too, was now aware of the female Original's presence nearby. It irked her that she couldn't spot the accented woman. The werewolf's eyes flickered over the mass of people, desperately seeking her out. A low growl of frustration left her when she didn't find what she was looking for.

"You'll do." Elijah smiled at her once more. "But seeing as you are carrying my niece inside your womb, I acquired a chaperone to accompany and keep you safe this evening."

"I don't need a freaking-" Hayley cut herself off as her favorite Original vampire appeared next to Elijah. "Khalia." She breathed, sounding as breathless as she felt.

"Hayley." Khalia nodded politely, shoving her hands into the pockets of the black pantsuit she was wearing. "Drink? I saw water and apple juice somewhere."

"Sure." Hayley nodded, almost as if in a daze as she stared at the immortal girl. Nerves bubbled inside of her as they walked. What should she say?

"How's the baby?" Khalia asked out of nowhere, grabbing two glasses of apple juice as they passed by a table. She handed one to the pregnant girl.

"I thought you weren't talking to me." The werewolf retorted snidely, looking at her cup to avoid the vampire's eyes. Khalia didn't blame her. Still, it made her a bit uneasy.

"I talked to you the other night, but we can walk in silence if that's what you want." Khalia offered flippantly. She didn't want Hayley to know that she affected her, no matter how miniscule.