AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Seconds later, we tear off into the night, heading straight for the one man on this planet capable of destroying both of us.
NINETEEN
Yves
Being surrounded by the safety and love of my family does little to ease the impending doom tugging at my chest. Memories of what he did to me after he sent Damiano away taunt me, prickling across my skin like daggers.
Damiano, aware of my turmoil, strokes my hand, kissing it every few seconds, but even his touch can’t combat it all.
“Yves,” Damiano whispers. “I should tell you something.”
“What?”
“If something happens to me?—”
“No.” I shake my head. “No, Dami. Don’t even say it.”
“But, Yves…”
“No.”
Vivienne twists around from the seat in front of us. “Yves is right. Don’t give it power by voicing it. Tell him something different.”
“Like what?”
“Like that you’ll tell him when it’s all over. When you’re both victorious and safe. Tell the universe the outcome.”
Damiano nods, exhaling slowly. “I have something to tell you when this is over, Yves. Something I want you to know about. Something wonderful.”
Forcing a smile to my lips, I rub my hand over his chest. “I look forward to hearing it.”
Damiano pulls my hand to his mouth and kisses my knuckles. We don’t speak for the remainder of the drive, but we never look away from each other’s eyes. His, so pretty and deeply lavender, see straight through me. I exist again, fully, in his eyes. All the parts of me I tucked away and hid from my brothers are laid bare with him.
He nods, aware of my thoughts. “I love you,” I whisper.
“Like the stars love the moon?”
A ripple of memory moves through me. “You used to say that to me.”
“Yes. I’ve never once gazed at the night sky and not thought of you. All this time, we lay under the same moon, counted the same stars, but what joy it will be to do it together again.”
I nod. “That’s what we’ll do. We’ll count the stars together.”
Syn turns the vehicle onto the road leading to Lair, drawing my attention. It’s eerily quiet, as if the chaos just a few hours earlier didn’t happen, but as we exit the car, blood stains the concrete lot.
“How many mortals did we lose here?” I ask.
“No idea,” Hale answers. “I only know the surviving vampires took off, and I assume the mortals wandered back to their own lives. Hopefully sufficiently forgetful.”
“Fuck,” Tiago mutters. “If any of them remembered and told someone…”
“Bigger problems to tackle first,” I say. “We can deal with any mortal tales later.”
Vivienne and Viper hurry ahead of us, carrying the bowl with their potion in it. We hover around them as they paint the door with the sigil and flick some of the potion on the windows in front.
Vivienne turns to me. “All done, boss.”
“Let’s go inside.”
