Page 98 of Into The Light

“Well, thanks to our love, you found me and saved me. And luckily, your powers came back on just in time. We were so close to Leeya erasing me. How did you get them working again?”

“Rage. Fear. My need to protect you. It just shot threw me like a bolt of lightning and then they left again.”

“Was that what happened on the ground when you fell?” I remembered how scared I had been seeing him like that, writhing in agony at my feet and moaning in pain.

“I think so. It was like I could feel the power, the magic, leaving me. Like I was running on an empty tank of gas and I’d used up the final fumes. Now the tank is empty, and they’re gone.”

“Is that why you’re so sad? You miss your powers?”

His jaw ticked and his eye contact deepened. “That’s part of it. I hate that I can’t protect you anymore. But there’s more.”

“What?” I said, bracing myself for a blow based on the look in his eyes.

“I think Leeya was right. I think I’m dying.”

The world imploded around me. A push and a pull both crushing me and tearing me apart all at once. The air felt heavy and thick while I tried to inflate my lungs and struggled for my breath.

“You’re wrong,” I finally sputtered out. “You can’t be dying.”

“I’m weak, Emilia. I can feel myself getting weaker every day.”

“Maybe you’re sick... like the flu,” I tried to rationalize.

“I’ve been sitting here for two days waiting for other explanations, but the fact-of-the-matter is that something happened to me that night on the beach. I felt it leave, Emilia. The magic. The magic that started this curse in the first place. It’s gone. And without it, what happens? I think Leeya was right and I’ve been trying to figure out how to tell you.”

Tears slid down my face before I even realized I was crying. “You’re not leaving me, Aiden. I won’t let you. We will figure this out.”

He shook his head. “I don’t think we can, Emilia.”

“You’re not leaving me, Aiden!” I shouted, pushing up from the table and storming to the edge of the deck. I heard him come up behind me, and he wrapped his arms around me. Closing my eyes, I let the feel of his touch saturate my skin. I listened to his breathing in my ear and savored the sound. “I won’t let you die. Please don’t leave me, Aiden.”

“I love you, Emilia. And even if this kills me, I just want you to know I would make this choice over and over and over again. I would choose life. I would choose you. Every. Single. Time. These past days have been happier than any I’ve had in six hundred years. You were right when you said you’d rather live a short life filled with love and light rather than an eternity locked in the dark alone. You were right. I’ve lived longer than I should have, and perhaps this is just my time.”

“But I just found you,” I said with a trembling voice. “And if you leave me, then what is there for me? A lifetime alone in the dark.”

“I don’t want to leave you. I want to stay here with you, but I think the magic is gone and with it, my unnaturally long life is coming to an end.”

“So, what? You intend to just sit here and stare at the ocean until you die?” I spun around, my anger now colliding with my devastation. “If you want to protect me and take care of me, then you’ll fight, Aiden! You’ll do whatever it takes to stay at my side!”

“I... I don’t know what to do. I don’t think there’s anything I can do!”

“You don’t think? I need you to know there’s nothing you can do. And until you know, then I won’t accept this. I won’t accept you just giving up. If you really love me, then you will pick up that phone and call your fucking brother. Leeya knew something about this... maybe they will know something, too. And if they don’t know, he’s the fucking leader of the vampires. He can find someone who does!”

His eyes were wide with shock when he stared back at me.

“You’re not leaving me without a fight, Aiden. Call your brother.”

He bit his lower lip and took a breath before a nod tipped his head up and down. “I’m scared, Emilia. I don’t want to leave you.”

I threw my arms around his neck and buried my head in his shoulder. “Then fight for me, Aiden. Fight with me. Let’s face this together. And we’re not giving up until the last breath slips past those lips I need to kiss.”

“Okay,” he breathed.

The sound of his agreement forced my eyes shut. Tears pushed through and streamed down my cheeks, pooling on his shirt. He tightened his embrace and pressed his lips to my forehead before pulling out of my arms.

“Where are you going?” I asked, wiping the tears from my cheeks.

“To call my brother.”