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The dhampir belonging to Ren’s memories coughs, lifting himself into a sitting position. His short brown hair is tangled atop his head, his face marred with a cakey mixture of blood and mud.
The other two, both strikingly similar in appearance, lift to rest their weight on their elbows. They are younger, with reddish hair that trails past their waists.
Twins, perhaps.
I give Ren’s hand another squeeze before releasing him. The brown-haired male’s focus is hardening on Ren, and I move to the side until he’s forced to look at me alone. “Hi, I’m Thea.” I begin, lifting my hands in a surrendering motion as I step forward.
The male’s chest heaves. “Stop.” His voice is dry, throaty.
I do as he says, turning to stone where I stand.
“Who are you?” the first twin asks.
The other twin nods his agreement. “Yes, and why are we…?” He glances down at his hands, turning them up and down in amazement. “Why are we here?”
As they question me, the other male shoots to his feet, eyes darting around like an ensnared rabbit.
My throat clenches, burning with the need to soothe him, and knowing I cannot. “I’m someone who wants to help you. We’re starting a settlement. There’s a young girl there already, you could meet her-”
A shy voice announces herself from behind us. “I’m here, Thea. I thought you might need my help.” Rhyl turns the corner at the end of the alley, approaching cautiously. Her sights zoom in on the group of freshly cured. “She’s an honest person. You can trust her.”
“It isn’t her I’m weary of trusting,” the frightened male grits out, his gaze searing into the spot behind my shoulder.
Ren.
Rhyl cocks her head. “Your name is… Norvyc?”
The male doesn’t respond. His eyes are slitted, burning a brighter shade of red as each second ticks by.
“Norvyc.” I echo the name Rhyl spoke. “Norvyc, you can come with us if you want. Ren isn’t who you think he is.”
My attention is divided between the betrayal simmering in Norvyc’s stare and the pain I feel consuming my mate. There’s a choice to be made here; force the dhampir to follow us, knowing it will cause my mate great suffering as he works through this trauma, or let him leave.
Norvyc, with his wild, fixated gaze, chooses the path for me.
He backs away from our circle, shaking his head. “I thank you, truly, buthe,” his finger shoots out, stabbing toward Ren. “isn’t who you think he is. I’ll not be joining your party, not while he’s a member.”
Ren’s arm circles my waist, pulling me to his side. He growls. “I’ll always be with Thea.”
I’m able to see a fraction of Norvyc’s crumbling devastation before he disappears into the fog. Vanishing like a phantom. Ren’s eyes have darted upward, following a sight I can’t see.
“You said you’ve built a settlement?” one twin asks, unbothered by Norvyc’s speedy departure. The twin stands, offering a hand to his brother.
My chest feels raw, but I shield it from surfacing. The pain will have to wait.
There are still two newly healed dhampir in front of me, and they need help.
“It isn’t built yet, but it will be.” I nod, fighting to keep my voice free of tears. “You can call it your new home away from home.”
Six Weeks Later
“I think it’s time.”
It’s noon, and we’ve been working since sunrise. We’ve completed three new apartments in the last two days, and Ren is smoothing a cubby into the concrete wall of our newest room. It took him hours to learn how to apply enough pressure not to break through to the outside, but now that he’s mastered the skill, he speeds through it with ease.
These rooms don’t have owners yet, but they will.
We’ve added ten new members to our ‘clan’, as Ren and Rhyl like to call it. Only one person we’ve saved has chosen to go their own way. Norvyc.
